Dear Comrades: Targeted
Dear Comrades,
When we got the Less is More Act passed in 2021, legislation that overhauled the worst parole system in the nation, I was quickly made the target of Correction Officers (COs) at Elmira Correctional Facility, where I was incarcerated at the time, and even a Republican senator in a news article about the new law.I was consistently targeted for everything petty and simple, like suddenly not being called to visits in a timely manner and denied showers, to more serious incidents like being assaulted by a CO while recovering from surgery in the prison’s medical facility. I take those bruises proudly though because thousands of incarcerated people came home instantly when Less is More was signed, and the number of people in jail on non-criminal technical parole violations dropped by 90 percent over the course of the next year. That pleasure far outweighed the pain I endured.
After the assault, the administration transferred me to Five Points Correctional Facility the week that Governor Hochul was planning to sign Less is More into law. It was the closest thing I was going to get to an admission of wrongdoing. There, I was quickly targeted by staff during a cell search that produced Unchained organizational paperwork: grant applications, mission statements and objectives, typical nonprofit documents. Nothing crazy. However, I was written up for it, as if advocating for justice was somehow worthy of a misbehavior report. I was written up for a bunch of nonsensical charges, allegedly related to the documents, apparently in an attempt to obstruct, interfere, and discourage me from fighting the same oppression that they were so adept at handing out.
At the disciplinary hearing, the hearing officer (the civilian head of the vocational department), read magazine and newspaper articles I provided that showed the work I was directly involved in, including an article about the Less is More bill signing. I was quoted in the Governor’s press release about signing the bill into law, and my wife Emily spoke at the bill signing alongside the Governor and several legislators. Still, after being applauded for my work and told that I would be found innocent, the hearing officer subsequently found me guilty of all charges after postponing the hearing for a day. It became obvious to me then that the prison administration had it out for me and had no interest in my accomplishments or my rehabilitation.
Two days later, however, after Emily placed a phone call to our contacts in the Governor’s office, my disposition was overturned in a full reversal. It made me think though, why had my accomplishments become so outweighed by hatred? I could look to history for that answer, but yet and still, the impact on my soul was felt no less. To make matters worse, someone claiming to be an advocate for victims wrote an op-ed that was printed by the New York Post claiming that the reason that Less is More was “so bad” was because I had written it. First of all, I would never take all the credit for writing that stunning piece of legislation. It took a whole lot of us to craft that piece of work, and that’s why it’s so damn good. However, when maniacs start taking shots, I have no problems being the one taking the bullets for it. It’s no secret that all the COs who can read, read the New York Post, so how in the hell was I going to stay out of the spotlight anyway?
Despite suffering mentally due to the ongoing harassment from prison staff, I would soon also run into a physical challenge, one instigated by a CO, and there was no way I was going to let them assault me again. I left Five Points and was sent to Upstate to serve 90 days in the box as a result of that incident.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be dropping short Dear Comrade letters filling you in on the ways I’ve been targeted over the past several years and keeping you posted on my current journey as I approach my release in the fall of 2027. Please join me, get to know me, and give me your feedback. You can send messages to derek@weareunchained.org, and our team will make sure your notes get to me. Your thoughts matter.