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Group Denounc
Dear Sir:
Tha incidents of iiujump^^
teneeand carelessness requiring
the amputation of inmate
Alphus Hill's penis are typical,
of the N.C. Prison system
which is staffed aiiu run by
inhumane and barbaric individuals
who care nothing for the
lives and welfare of the .
ca
prisoners who have been
entrusted to their care.
We hold the State of North
Carolina and the Department
of Corrections responsible^for
Rhodes (the attending physician
who. did^so ?littleattending)
for this is just one
more instance of the criminally
negligent medical treatment
in the prisons.
Last Xiine^ 18 William
McLaughlin, inmate at Wagram
Prison campu, collapsed
and died after being refused
medical treatment for . three
weeks. Only after he was in a
coma did the prison system
see^fit to transfer him to the
Central Prison Hospital Unit.
Joe Wright and the Rev. Ben
Chavis of the Wilmington 10
have been subjected to denials
~of treatment by private
What Aboi
Dear Sir:
Were we so - spent by
4'Roots" and "the Joan Little
Case" that we failed to take
proper note of what was
happening to Charlene Ward?
1 believe that we were, and
that there is a great need for
someone to take an impartial
look at her case and to right
any wrong wtiich this child
suffered.
. It took an all white jury
which was selected in about an
hour's time, less than 55
minutes to free L.C. Jester,
Jr., a white, former Yadkin
County Deputy Sheriff, charged
with raping the 16 year old
black girl in her jail cell.
The trial, recessed twice for
the convenience of the court, *
was allowed to proceed
without the presence of four
key witnesses, infnates at the
time of the incident, who had
been subpoenaed, but failed
to appear to testify. Nonetheless,
Miss Ward's testimony
demonstrated that she could
not have known many points
she related on the stand.if thw?
incidents had not taken placc
the way she claimed. A wet
spot on the front of the
defendant's pants shortly
after the attack and the
presence of seminal fluid in
A
Miss Ward's sex organs
? corroborated her testimony.
It appears that the deciding
factor in the case was Miss
a
; \ *****
The EditorI
V
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.V.V.\V.V.V,V.V.VAW/,V.VA*
e? Castration?
?phYS^anR *n the last-year.
These incidents typify the
sort of 4 medical care' the
Department of Corrections
provides. Denial or the threat
of denial of medical treatment
- is used as a form of
intimidation of _inmates in
order to harass and frighten
tnem into submission.
^ m
We demand a thorough
investigation of the Alphus
Hill incident by a Citizens
Committee selected by the
zrinmates th^mseU^s^^u#lher7^
proper medical facilities must
be established at evfiry camp
in the N.C. prison system. The
state must cease to cut corners
at the expense of. inmates'
health and lives. We demand
that inmates be allowed access
to private physicians if they
wislu tot see ihem in order to
avoid the John Rhodes of this
world. Finally we demand that
Dr. Rhodes, the physician
whose incompetence and
brutality led to the castration
of Alphus Hill, be fired for his
actions. _
N.C. Alliance Against
kacist and Political I"
1 Repression
ut Ms. Ward
. Ward's reputation. Other
factors emphasized __by trt^u -=
defense were Miss Ward's
inability to pin point the exact
time of the attack (she had no
watch or calendar), the
introduction of some "altered"
and "manufactured"
correspondence, and the
shocking surprise testimony
that Mr. Jester is sexually
impotent.
The jury was told: "you do
not have to believe the
>
evidence" but "consider the
demeanor of the witness and
the interests of the witnesses
in the case." Also, to "find
the defendant not guilty to
paint white the black marks of
^fhe trial" and "to show that
the community does not
approve of such behavior as
Miss Ward's.
Miss Ward was unable to
afford private counsel and the
district attorney appeared to
apologize to the jury for his
having to prosecute the case.
No community group came to
Miss Ward's defense.
An impartial investigation
of this case will do much to
dispell the notion which many
hold that the justice one
receives in the courts of our
land is a measure of the
number of dollars that one can
muster.
Very sincerely yours,
Charlie B. Hauser
y
0
To Be Equal 1
Sun
There are the first glimmerings
of a new war between the
states, this one an economic
wafrVoTces^are being raised
about the way states in the
south and west are growing
fast while those in the east and
central part of the country arc**
growing slowly or clipping into
decline.
The economic resurgence of
the south illustrates this.
Between 1970 and 1975
population there increased by
-r .\j pv i will V.UlIipaiCU IU tX UI1C
percent rise in the north, while
non-farm jobs increased by
16.7 percent compared to a
measly 1.3 percent rise in the
north. :
Much of the new business
boom in those states is due to
cheap power, weak unions, tax
concessionsfrom^js^?
4eea^ovCTnrnentsTand favorahle
weather.
But^iranjrpeopte^laim That
the boom is encouraged by
other forces too, especially
federal favoritism in policies
that take tax dollars from the *
north and speed them
southwward in the form of
federal spending.
Many northern states are in
"deficit," while sunbelt states
Mid<
a _ r i
loieer
" Buy a Midas
and we lid
Every year the Eas
helps thousands of ha
children and adults g
and get back into the
mainstream of life.
This year you can 1
them, and at the sam
get something nice
for yourself.
Stop by your local
Midas shop and buy ?
muffler and cap set, a
we'll make a donatio!
the local chapter of
Easter Seals.
Not only will you g
i. .. J 1 1 * -
OUL W1 LI 1 a glXXl IOOK1I
muffler and cap, but
with a warm feeling
inside and out.
i
\U
4
The Chronicle - Saturday
?r Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
belt Vs. Srn
enjoy a high "surplus." The
Great Lakes states, for
example, jsent $62 billion to
Washington in taxes7 but got
back only about $43 billion in
total federal spending there.
Southern states, on the other
hand, got back $11.5 billion
inure in federal spending than ..
they paid in taxes.
Those figures had tremendous
impact in places like New
_York, Boston and Detroit,
*\vhere fiscal problems have
caused cutbacks in oublic
I
-services. And the impact was
deepened when it- became?
clear that much of the inflow
of . federal dollars to the
Sunbelt is for -defense
spending -- army bases,
shipyards, electronics and
others.
?-:Fh^~lJeTense share of the
total of all wages and salaries
in the South and West is 15.6,
percent, but in the^ Northeast
and Midwest, it is 5.7 percent.
Other sources of disparity
include disproportionate federal
funds going to public
works projects like highways,
and social security payments
to northerners who migrated
south.
So it's all shaping up as a
acwantc
warm all
?Mtifflerand CapS
onate $1.00 to East<
;ter Seal Society r
indicapped
?Ww? <?"? ? ' ^ 'JL?w*e*^upJum3H!W K*HSRDmmdtS*^***a&BiW
neel warn
all over.
726 N. Cherry St.
Phone 724-5582
i February 19, 1977 - Page 5
iwbelt
new economic war between
the states, and that's a big
mistake, for the sunbelt is not *
as Tich- as some would make
out, while the north is not as
poor. The facile assumptions
that one region is getting fat
while another is rivinfr are with
~J ...0
oui basis.
The South, for example, is
still behind other regions in
per capita income. Yes, it is
growing a lot faster than the
rest of the country, but it . ?
, starts from so far behind that *
current arguments on regional
favoritism are flawedAjarger
proportion of the nation's poor
still lives in the South and
there's little indication that
the dramatic economic expfan- ?s
ionJias__*uj4^hetr~TTu^^
THe^regional economic boom
has not reached southern
blacks, who still lag far behind
other Americans in income
and jobs.
Instead of arguing about
where federal funds are spent
it would be more fruitful to
o
concentrate on who gets them
and for what purpose.
With the exception of a
handful of states, most of the
country shares a need for *
See Jordan, Pace 12
VOU
lover.
>et for $4.95
er Seals.
n ?
ttUDAS"
*