Judy White: Open Letter To President Obama

This letter is from Judy White, the wife of Gary White, the Republican Jefferson County (Alabama) Commissioner who was sent to prison after he refused to perjure himself despite pressure from prosecutors p to say as he was directed in Grand Jury testimony against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

Mr. White refused to participate in a wrongful prosecution. Federal prosecutors made their case without his help and then prosecuted White for bribery and conspiracy; they began delivering subpoenas the very day after he refused to comply with their demands. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. After being directed to bring all prescription medications, when he arrived at federal prison on September 29, White told his wife that his medications were immediately confiscated. Earlier today, he reported that he is still without medication, despite daily requests. Mrs. White has called and wrote prison officials warning them of the dire consequences and begging them to provide the prescribed medications, all to no avail.

After contacting members of their delegation, the House and Senate Judiciary Committee, the Bureau of Prisons, Office of Inspector General, and the Regional Office with oversight of the prison, Judy White is now appealing directly to President Obama to right this wrong.

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October 10, 2010

VIA E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov

FAX NO. (202) 456-2461

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Re: URGENT Request for Emergency Assistance

Dear Mr. President:

My husband, Gary White (age 63, with no prior criminal record, former elected official), is one of the innocent victims of a selective, vindictive political prosecution at the hands of corrupt Bush-administration officials; as a result, he became an inmate at the federal prison camp in Edgefield, South Carolina on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, twelve days ago. His innocence, however, is irrelevant to the matter about which I am pleading for your help. (And as an aside, both of us had been life-long active Republicans, but after becoming enlightened to the politicization of the DOJ and their corrupt actions, particularly in Alabama, I voted in the Democratic primary in 2008 for the first time, and even put an "O" on my car where my "W" had been.)

I am writing to you to implore your urgent intervention in hopes of saving Gary's life, which, along with his health, is in grave jeopardy as the result of prison officials withholding critical medical treatment. Gary was ordered to self-surrender. When he was contacted by a U.S. Marshal and told the location of the prison, the marshal also told him to call the prison and find out what he was to bring with him. Gary did so, on speaker-phone; I witnessed the conversation. The prison official told Gary to bring all his prescription medications with him, which he did. (In fact, although Gary has been recognized and designated as indigent by the Court, the day before he went to prison we refilled two of his prescriptions to insure against any lapses in medication. Some of his medications carry warnings of adverse consequences of missing doses and/or sudden cessation; some are in demand as street drugs.) Upon entering prison, Gary's medications were taken from him and he has been denied and deprived of them since. Specifically, the last time he was able to take the medications prescribed for his serious health problems was on Wednesday morning, prior to becoming a prisoner and the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Gary has communicated with me about this situation (monitored by prison officials) daily since Friday, October 1st, when he was first allowed telephone privileges. Each day since Wednesday, September 29th, Gary has requested his medications, and has made attempts to receive them, to no avail. He has kept records of his efforts, which he has mailed to me. We have discussed the desperate situation by telephone (monitored by prison officials) every time we have been able to speak, and I wrote a letter to the warden which I faxed and e-mailed last Friday, the tenth day of the withholding of his medications. There was no response to my request to the warden; Gary continues to be endangered by the withholding of the medications.

The prison's handbook, in relevant part, acknowledges prisoners' rights and the prison's responsibilities (excerpted from pages 44 and 45):

5. RIGHT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT, CONSIDERATION, AND DIGNITY.

10. RIGHT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE PRESCRIBED MEDICATION AND TREATMENTS IN A TIMELY MANNER, CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESCRIBING HEALTH CARE PROVIDER. (Emphasis added.)

More compellingly, the USDOJ's Federal Bureau of Prisons "Program Statement", OPI: CPD/CSB, Number: P5580.07, Dated 12/28/2005, Subject: Personal Property, states in relevant part on Page 11:

"Medicines the inmate carries into the institution at the time of commitment (e.g., voluntary commitment) will be forwarded to the institution medical staff for disposition. If appropriate, this medicine will be returned to the inmate." (Emphasis added.)

The "Program Statement" goes on to state at

12. "Voluntary Surrenders" that "When an inmate voluntarily surrenders to Bureau custody he or she will be permitted to retain [m]edical or orthopedic devices."

Among Gary's medical conditions about which I am most desperately concerned is his high blood pressure, which was being carefully monitored and controlled by medication. Being innocent, but prosecuted and imprisoned certainly would exacerbate most medical problems, with blood pressure being of paramount concern. Without proper treatment and medication, Gary could imminently suffer a stroke, an aneurysm, or even death. Please understand that Gary has never even been examined by any doctor since becoming a prisoner; he was given a TB test and had the injection site examined, and his blood was drawn for DNA purposes only. This is not a situation where a doctor, employed by the prison, examined Gary, diagnosed him, and modified his treatment or need for medication. His prescription medications are simply being withheld, as depraved indifference, reckless endangerment, and gross negligence.

I love my husband, and do not want him to suffer from medical neglect or abuse or even die; he was not given a death sentence by the judge. I hope and expect he will prevail on appeal and be freed from the destruction inflicted upon our family. In addition to being my husband, he is a loving and devoted father to our five children, an enamored grandfather to his only grandson, a loving and concerned son to his elderly and ill parents, as well as my parents, the only brother to his sisters, a caring and engaged uncle to numerous nieces and nephews, a wonderful brother-in-law, and the best friend anyone could ever hope to have. Please help all of us to save his life and health.

Sincerely,

Judy White

Cross post from OpEdNews: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Husband-Denied-Medications-by-Judy-White-101010-18.html

Judy White of Leeds, Alabama, is the wife of former Republican Jefferson County Commissioner Gary White and is dedicated to the pursuit of justice in his case, as well as other political prosecutions. She is devoted to their children and family, which includes a number of "furry children." A long-time community and political volunteer, former member of the Alabama and Jefferson County Republican Executive Committees and former congressional district director, Ms. White is currently the administrator of a small Birmingham law firm, and a licensed real estate broker. Two years ago, having become aware of the corruption in the DOJ, she voted in the Democratic primary for the first time in her life.

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