By Keith Malik Washington
**This essay has been edited for length; the full version of this article can be found at www.sfbayview.com**
On the morning of Nov. 19, 2017, a very intelligent and handsome young white man named Benjamin Larue was found hanging in his cell on G-Line at the Eastham Ad-Seg Unit located in Lovelady, Texas.
Ben had been my next door neighbor for a little over two months. I introduced him to my human rights work and he shared some of his personal history, which included details about what landed him in this horrible place.
I actually cried hard on Nov. 22, 2017. I mourned Ben’s untimely death. I am sending out a call to action to activists everywhere to shed a strobe light on Eastham Ad-Seg Unit. I’d like to ask the media and the general public to help me find Ben’s family so they can know the TRUTH surrounding Ben’s death.
The Facts
On Nov. 19, 2017, prison guard Asongkeng Ngu began his count of prisoners housed on the G-Line Ad-Seg Housing Unit at Eastham. Shortly thereafter, prison guard Eugene Loving performed his cross-count on G-Line. Loving immediately stopped at Ben Larue’s cell, noticing and sensing that something wasn’t quite right with the way Ben was sitting on his floor.
CO Loving called to Ben but he was unresponsive. CO Loving did not waste any time. He called on his radio for emergency first responders, and I can tell you that the officers and medical personnel responded quickly – but it was too late. TDCJ prison guard Lonnie P. Kessinger III helped pull Ben’s lifeless body from cell C-l-14 at approximately 12:23 a.m.
CO Kessinger is a 15-year veteran of TDCJ. I have had conversations with him in the past and I know him to be extremely professional. He respects us as human beings, which is kind of rare in this environment.
CO Kessinger began to explain to CO Ngu how serious the situation really was. Ben’s body had been found hanging from a sheet, which he had tied around his neck and secured to a hole in the top bunk. Apparently, Ben had already been pronounced dead.
Enforcing silence
At 2:48 a.m. on Nov. 19, Assistant Warden Bruce Johnson, Major James Kent as well as an investigator from TDC-OIG State Police arrived in order to conduct the preliminary investigation into the cause of Ben’s death.
These high ranking officers knew I was up watching and listening to everything but no one ever asked me what I saw or heard. On Nov. 21, Capt. Christopher Farrel, the Ad-Seg supervisor, asked his officers at the morning shift meeting, “Is Washington still on G-Line?”
When they responded in the affirmative, he said, “We need to move him because we have some people coming to observe that cell where the offender hung himself and we don’t need Washington trying to talk to these visitors.” When people conspire to obscure facts or cover up the truth, that leads me to think that they have something to hide. What do you think?
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has sought to place the entire blame on TDCJ Correctional Officer Asongkeng Ngu. However, there has been much more going on here than meets the eye.
Why did this happen?
I am not a trained mental health professional, but I was trained to be a Pharmacy Specialist (01-0) and a combat medic in the U.S. Army. I have a ton of experience working in the medical field and I can say with confidence that prior to his death Ben had exhibited numerous behaviors which suggested that he was suffering from acute depression.
When Ben was first in-processed at the Holliday Unit in Huntsville, Texas he was very depressed. Ben’s girlfriend had left him; he felt abandoned and betrayed and chose to attempt “suicide by cop” by trying to climb one of the security fences at Holliday Unit.
Ben was taken to the Sky View Mental Health facility. When Ben arrived here on Eastham Ad-Seg Unit a few months ago, he told Capt. Daron Lane that he would most likely try to kill himself again but the next time he would succeed.
Capt. Daron Lane was promoted to major a couple of months ago and was transferred to another prison unit. Did Major Daron Lane communicate the risk? Did he warn anyone? New Ad-Seg Capt. Francisco Villegas was just recently demoted and transferred for brutally beating up an Ad-Seg prisoner. Capt. Farrel took his place. Eastham has a history of abuse!
In relation to Ben’s death, the operative words here are neglect and deliberate indifference. In the two months that I was right next to Ben, the mental health staff here on Eastham never engaged Ben in a meaningful way. They virtually ignored him and did the bare minimum!
In relation to Ben’s death, the operative words here are neglect and deliberate indifference. In the two months that I was right next to Ben, the mental health staff here on Eastham never engaged Ben in a meaningful way.
Mental Health Case Manager Kathleen Caldwell and Mental Health Manager Kimberly Klock are responsible for providing quality psychiatric services and support for prisoners who have been placed on THE PSYCH CASE LOAD. Ben was on their case load. They failed Ben and they failed Ben’s family. Officer Ngu is not the only culpable party here.
Let me describe to you what Eastham mental health staff did to “treat” Ben. Approximately three weeks prior to Ben’s suicide, Mental Health Manager Kimberly Klock came to Ben’s cell and asked, “Would you like to attend the mental health ad-seg program on Michaels Unit?” Ben said “No.” I think he signed a refusal and Ms. Klock walked away. That was it!
Inhumane conditions fuelled Ben’s desperation & depression
Prior to Ben’s suicide, the Eastham Ad-Seg administration had refused to turn on the heat, so it had been very cold in the building on a number of occasions. Two days after Ben’s death, Eastham Unit prison officials turned on the heat!
The month of November 2017 here at Eastham Ad-Seg Unit was one of the worst I’ve ever had in 10 years of incarceration in Texas. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 20 we were in a LOCKDOWN MODE. Eastham uses these “lockdowns” numerous times throughout the year for Ad-Seg prisoners.
They use these lockdowns as an opportunity to starve us by “bird feeding” us with these paltry brown bag meals which consist of raisins, a meat sandwich and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Lockdown was exceptionally oppressive in November because the water was shut completely off between Nov. 1 and Nov. 4. The smell of fecal matter and urine was pervasive throughout the building and we had no way to flush our toilets!
Ben said he had never experienced anything like this in his life. You see this was turning into a traumatic experience of epic proportions for Ben.
Every day during the lockdown I shared my food with Ben by giving him two sandwiches a day (I hate to see anyone go hungry and I had commissary in my locker). During the lockdown, Ben had been receiving visits from his mom, but when I asked him had he told her about the living conditions, he said he didn’t want to worry her.
My close friend and mentor Professor Victor Wallis Ph.D. wrote an article entitled, “‘13th’ and the culture of surplus punishment.” In this article, Professor Wallis illuminates the mentality that allows these tragedies to repeat themselves in the TDCJ Ad-Seg Units:
“The point here is that the very mindset that gives police the license to kill gratuitously – i.e., even when they are clearly in no danger – also tells prison officials that they are entitled to inflict both physical and psychological torture on the people in their custody.”
A pattern of practice
On the morning of Nov. 22 at approximately 9 a.m., TDCJ Region I Director Tony O’Hare along with various investigators arrived on G-Line at the Eastham Ad-Seg Unit. I knew O’Hare well from a horrible affidavit he created in order to thwart my attempts to practice my religious faith.
In January 2015 a prisoner rights advocacy organization based in Austin, Texas, released a report entitled, “Cruel and Usual Punishment: Excessive Use of Force at the Estelle Unit.” The Prison Justice League is the name of the organization. The report states:
“In 2014, the Prison Justice League conducted research which revealed countless instances of Estelle officers using excessive force on prisoners, with injuries including missing teeth, fractured skulls, broken bones, ruptured eyeballs, and prolonged hospitalizations. It is a PATTERN apparently well known to prison officials but ignored.”
The major over security at Estelle Unit during the most abusive time period was Mr. Gregory Vaughn. Vaughn feigned ignorance in respect to the physical abuse perpetrated by his officers at Estelle Unit where most of the victims were predominantly elderly and disabled prisoners!
Gregory Vaughn is now the chief supervisor and assistant warden in charge of the operations at the Eastham Ad-Seg Unit. But even more interesting is the fact that Region I Director Tony O’Hare was the senior warden at Estelle Unit during Vaughn’s time there.
There is a systemic problem of cronyism which has created an environment that lacks transparency or accountability. TDCJ rewards ranking officers who abuse prisoners and keep their mouths shut. It is time to dismantle these corrupt and unjust criminal practices. TDCJ has been allowed to spiral out of control, and the taxpayers continue to have to pay for these multi-million dollar wrongful death lawsuits!
New name, same torture
TCDJ claims that the agency has abolished the use of solitary confinement. However, solitary confinement has just been given a new name and re-branded as ad-seg. TDCJ’s intent is to place a more acceptable and public friendly label on the torture chambers the state of Texas uses to house their so-called threats to security. Ben wasn’t a threat to anyone except himself and for some reason none of these high paid prison administrators noticed the warning signs.
TDCJ Executive Director Bryan Collier has claimed that the agency has abolished the use of solitary confinement. However, solitary confinement has just been given a new name and re-branded as ad-seg. TDCJ’s intent is to place a more acceptable and public friendly label on the torture chambers the state of Texas uses to house their so-called threats to security.
Sometimes it takes a senseless tragedy such as this in order to raise the public’s awareness and to force the hand of the legislators in Austin who continue to ignore all the “red flags” and who believe every word coming out of the mouth of these violators of the public’s trust.
Ben was a young man, 27 years old, with only a three-year sentence! Three years – just think about that for a minute. Ben could have picked up the pieces of his broken life and really gotten himself together.
TDCJ prison officials have thrown Officer Asongkeng Ngu under the bus. They have found their scapegoat and sacrificial lamb. To them, it is all about skirting liability for the death of this young man named Benjamin Larue.
I saw the tears in Officer Ngu’s eyes after Ben’s death was confirmed. CO Ngu cared about Ben and that is more than I can say about the mental health professionals and high ranking prison administrators who don’t want their reputations soiled by Ben’s tragic death.
Please contact the Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott and help me find Ben’s family. Dare to struggle! Dare to win!
ATX Anarchist Black Cross 