The Parchman Trials

<v Announcer>A production of the Mississippi Center for Educational Television, the Parchman Trials <v Announcer>58:30 7/25/78 Director Less Anderson. <v Announcer>This program funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. <v Washington>Let me off, before I fall off. <v Guard 1>Yeah, keep it up.

<v Guard 1>Washington. <v Guard 1>But you got a while ago, yeah. <v Washington>Why? Why don't why don't you let me help the man with the leaves? <v Washington>'Cause I'm, I'm gonna fall off from here. <v Inmates>[Unintelligible] <v Richard Johnson>Man Give me a cigarette. <v Inmate 1>Say man, how long he been out there. <v Richard Johnson> Man's been out there ten, eleven hours. <v Richard Johnson>Man, that dude too old to be standing on that crate. <v John Wesley Washington>Take me off. I'm going to fall off. Oh God. God. <v John Wesley Washington>Christ.

<v Guard 1>Stay put. Man. <v John Wesley Washington>If you don't let me off. I'm gonna fall off. <v Guard 1>Washington catch that box. <v Guard 1>Catch that box, Washington. <v Guard 1>I said, cut that damn box [shoots rifle]. <v Guard 1>Washington-. <v John Wesley Washington>[Sobs] Oh God oh God oh God. <v Guard 1>[Rifle shot]. <v Inmate 1>What's going on out there? <v Inmate 2>Hey, man, you really dumb talking to that lawyer?

<v Richard Johnson>You mean you ain't gonna? <v Inmate 2>You crazy. You're talking ain't no lawyer nowhere gonna be able to help you. <v Guard 2>Water break. <v Guard 2>Right here. Bring that bucket on in here boy. <v Water boy>There you go [unintelligible]. <v Richard Johnson>I don't care. I ain't gonna let them get away with it, especially after they shot old Washington. <v Inmate 2>You really liked that old man, huh? <v Richard Johnson>Yeah. Got them off of me in the shower one day. <v Inmate 2>Man, I really hate this chop and cut. <v Richard Johnson>What do you mean? You learnin' a trade. <v Richard Johnson>Learnin' how to make it on the outside, Mr. You've been <v Richard Johnson>in rehability. <v Inmate 2>Yeah, and we're still just like slaves on the plantation. <v Richard Johnson>You ain't got no call to complain. You won't stand up like a man and tell it like it is. <v Inmate 2>Listen man. I'm serving my own time. <v Inmate 2>Yeah.

<v Richard Johnson>And you're gonna let them do you just like they wanna. <v Richard Johnson>Things they ain't got no right to do. <v Inmate 2>Don't don't do it. <v Richard Johnson>Man, this place done broke you. <v Inmate 2>I'm servin' my own time and getting out of this place. <v Inmate 2>You, you lookin' for trouble. <v Richard Johnson>What do you think you've got right now? <v Editor>Deadline's 8:00 p.m. sam. <v Sam Osborne>This part of the story is taking longer than I thought. <v Editor>The lawsuit really got them all stirred up over there. <v Sam Osborne>A veritable frenzy. Something may really come of it. <v Editor>Like what? <v Sam Osborne>Like total integration. <v Sam Osborne>Like doing away with the armed trusty system. <v Editor>And who's going to guard the prisoners. <v Sam Osborne>Oh civilian guards like any other prison. <v Editor>Mhmmm. And who's going to give them the money to pay the guards?

<v Editor>The legislature? <v Editor>Parchman isn't gonna change. <v Editor>And you ain't gonna get the politics out of it. <v Editor>Nothing's gonna change. <v Sam Osborne>I hope you're wrong. <v Sam Osborne>Have you ever been up there? <v Editor>No. <v Sam Osborne>You don't want to go. <v Sam Osborne>You don't want to think that people live like that. <v Editor>It's that bad? <v Sam Osborne>Yeah I think it's that bad. <v Sam Osborne>At least according to the depositions. <v Sam Osborne>Seems that everything Parchman's been for the last 70 years is coming out. <v Sam Osborne>Finally. It's like a history. <v Editor>Well, one good thing about Parchman, it's always news. <v Sam Osborne>March 13, 1971, special to the Delta Press-Tribune by <v Sam Osborne>Sam Osborne. <v Sam Osborne>Evidence continues to mount in the massive prison reform suit. <v Sam Osborne>Gates versus Collioure as inmates come forward to testify. <v Attorney 1>Washington, you understand that you're not being tried.

<v Attorney 1>The information you give us in this deposition will be used later when the case comes to <v Attorney 1>trial. Yes. Would you state your name, please? <v John Wesley Washington>John Wesley, Washington. <v Attorney 1>And how long have you been a prisoner of Parchman? <v John Wesley Washington>Thirtieth of this month would be eighteen year. <v Sam Osborne>The Mississippi attorney general's office represented the defendants in the case. <v Sam Osborne>Superintended of Parchman, the penitentiary board and the governor of Mississippi. <v Sam Osborne>The lawyer for the plaintiffs: the attorney from the U.S. <v Sam Osborne>Department of Justice, which filed a motion to enter the suit against the defendants. <v Attorney 1>Mr. Washington, you state that you've been permanently injured due to your incarceration <v Attorney 1>at Parchman. <v John Wesley Washington>Well, I can't walk good. <v Attorney 1>And what happened that caused you not to be able to walk well? <v John Wesley Washington>Sergeant.

<v John Wesley Washington>He made me sit down on a box. <v Attorney 1>Excuse me. <v John Wesley Washington>It's a it's a balancing. <v John Wesley Washington>You have to stand on a Coca-Cola bottle box. <v Attorney 1>You were shot by a trustee. <v John Wesley Washington>Yes. <v Attorney 1>And a trusty is an inmate armed by the Parchman administration for the purpose of <v Attorney 1>guarding other inmates. <v John Wesley Washington>Yes, sir. <v Attorney 1>May we see where you were shot? <v John Wesley Washington>Right here in the leg see? <v Attorney 2>Mr. Washington, why were you being punished? <v John Wesley Washington>Well, they said I stole somethin' from somebody here <v John Wesley Washington>at camp. <v Attorney 1>Mr. Washington, have you ever been imprisoned in solitary confinement in the dark <v Attorney 1>hole? <v John Wesley Washington>Yes sir. <v Attorney 1>And what was the longest time you spent in the dark hole? <v John Wesley Washington>Couple of days. <v Attorney 1>Days?

<v John Wesley Washington>Days. <v Attorney 1>Mr. Washington, I would like you to look at some photos I have here marked Exhibit eight. <v Attorney 1>I'd like you to describe them for us. <v John Wesley Washington>That's the hole. <v Attorney 1>Would you describe the hole? <v John Wesley Washington>It's about six foot <v John Wesley Washington>square. <v Attorney 1>No windows? <v John Wesley Washington>No no nothing. No windows, no lights, no sink, no nothing. <v Attorney 1>What clothing did you wear when you were kept in the dark hole? <v John Wesley Washington>I didn't wear no clothes. I didn't wear none. <v Attorney 1>You were placed in the dark hole naked? <v John Wesley Washington>Naked. <v Sam Osborne>In addition to inmates, Parchman officials from the superintendent down to camp <v Sam Osborne>sergeants are being called to give depositions. <v Attorney 1>And how long have you been an official at Parchman?

<v Parchman official>Seven years. <v Parchman official>Little longer than seven years. <v Attorney 1>All right, would you explain the trustee system as its practice department? <v Parchman official>This is a security system we operate under by state law. <v Parchman official>We have the sergeant select their trustees from among the inmates and their camps. <v Parchman official>And these trustees guard and oversee the inmates in the fields. <v Attorney 3>So basically it's a case of prisoners guarding prisoners. <v Parchman official>That's right. <v Attorney 3>Would a conviction of murder preclude an inmate from being named trustee? <v Parchman official>No. <v Attorney 3>Would a conviction of armed robbery? <v Sam Osborne>In 1971, the Mississippi legislature issued a report detailing inadequacies <v Sam Osborne>at Parchman and directed the penitentiary board to eliminate armed trustees. <v Sam Osborne>By 1974. <v Parchman official>Yes. All right. <v Attorney 3>How would you describe the general conditions of the camps <v Attorney 3>and sanitary facilities? <v Parchman official>I'd have to say poor. <v Attorney 3>For which conditions are poor?

<v Parchman official>The building. The water, the sewage is poor. <v Parchman official>The bathroom facilities are poor. <v Sam Osborne>Four days before the trial was scheduled to begin, the penitentiary, in effect conceded <v Sam Osborne>the case. The evidence was overwhelming. <v Sam Osborne>Judge William Keady met with attorneys, federal officials and Governor William Waller <v Sam Osborne>to make the last-minute settlement. <v Defense Attorney>We are, in effect, your honor, admitting the constitutional <v Defense Attorney>provisions have been violated. <v John>Hey Sam. <v Sam Osborne>John. <v Sam Osborne>Parchman to be model prison?

<v John>That's what I wrote. <v Sam Osborne>There's not one word in your story about the conditions in Parchman. <v Sam Osborne>Not one word about the state throwing in the towel, just Parchman to <v Sam Osborne>be model prison. <v John>That's what the whole thing's about. <v Waitress>Hi, what can I get to you today? <v Sam Osborne>Hi Julianne, a chicken salad sandwich, please. <v Sam Osborne>And coffee. <v Waitress>Okay. Do you need anything else? <v John>No, thank you. <v Sam Osborne>I'm glad there's more than one paper in the delta. <v Sam Osborne>What it's all about the way people have to live at Parchman. <v Sam Osborne>Judge Keady's still going to rule on the evidence. <v Sam Osborne>Getting out of the trial is not going to get Parchman out of the suit. <v John>They're just foregoing the trial so they can get some federal money to work on the place. <v John>Parchman is not admitting anything. <v Sam Osborne>Cutting their losses, they're beaten. They know it. <v Sam Osborne>They must have had some case against them. <v John>If you give any credence to a bunch of convicts.

<v Sam Osborne>The governor said to Judge Keady, we are, your honor. <v Sam Osborne>Admitting unconstitutional practices. <v John>I have known every superintendent at Parchman for the last 20 years. <v John>They're good Christian men. They're doing a damn good job considering their budget. <v John>Don't have any riots. Only prison in the country where a man can be alone with his <v John>wife and picking a little cotton never hurt anybody. <v Sam Osborne>The point is that-. <v John>People seem to forget that these are criminals we're talking about. <v John>They're not up there for singing too loud in church. <v Sam Osborne>We're talking about constitutional rights. <v John>Osburn, those guys don't have any rights. <v John>They lost their right to rights. <v Sam Osborne>You really think that? <v John>They knew the penalty when they broke the law. <v John>I have no sympathy for them. <v Sam Osborne>All they've been through up there are still human beings. <v Waitress>What else now? <v Sam Osborne>That's all. Thank you.

<v John>It's not as bad as you think. <v John>Have you been up there? <v Sam Osborne>Yeah, I've been there. I've seen the way they live. <v Sam Osborne>If you don't think it's bad, you're crazy or you don't have your facts straight. <v John>Listen, Sam. They've got those people locked up to protect us, <v John>the victims. That's what prisons are for. <v Sam Osborne>I agree. But Parchman isn't-. <v John>All Parchman needs is time and money, not lawsuits. <v John>Lots of things that could stand some work. <v John>Tell your friends in the legislature they could use a realistic budget to do it with <v John>their working on it. <v Sam Osborne>Yeah, but don't you understand? Only with a lawsuit breathing down their collective <v Sam Osborne>necks. That's what it took, apparently. <v John>What do you want? A Holiday Inn for a bunch of murderers. <v John>Seems like you and people like you are more concerned about those criminals than you are <v John>about decent people who somehow manage to live according to the law. <v Sam Osborne>You wait until judge Keady rules and then we'll see what the law says about Parchman.

<v Judge Keady>Conditions in Parchman are philosophically, psychologically, <v Judge Keady>physically, racially and morally intolerable. <v Judge Keady>Housing units at Parchman are unfit for human habitation under <v Judge Keady>any modern concept of decent. <v Judge Keady>Penitentiary records indicate that many of the armed trusties <v Judge Keady>have been convicted of violent crimes. <v Judge Keady>Although many inmates possess knives, other handmade weapons. <v Judge Keady>There is no established requirement or procedure for conducting shakedowns <v Judge Keady>to discover such weapons. <v Judge Keady>There is no way that anyone can guard the safety of an inmate <v Judge Keady>in the Parchman situation. <v Inmate 3>Oh, look at the book all night man. <v Inmate 4>Oh, God. <v Inmate 4>Oh, God, do not take this [unintelligible].

<v William Harden Bogard>God's over, man. Man, you better get that sewing machine out of there. <v Inmate 3>You got to watch that man. <v Inmate 4>I'm watchin' that man. <v All>[Talking over each other.] <v Inmate 5> Hey, just don't take your eyes, man, off our players tell you. <v Inmate 5>I want to be free. <v Inmate 3>You got it. <v Inmate 3>No, he went back home. Went back on the farm. <v Speaker>[Stabbing occurs]. <v All>Oh, no, no, no. <v All>Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, <v All>hey, hey, hey. <v Sam Osborne>In September of 1974 in Greenville, Mississippi, a former Parchman

<v Sam Osborne>inmate sued penitentiary officials claiming they were responsible for conditions <v Sam Osborne>at Parchman, which led to his stabbing. <v Sam Osborne>Defendants included former Parchman, superintendents Tom Cook and John Collier <v Sam Osborne>and former Parchman physician Dr. Hernando Abril. <v Judge Almer Smith>At this point, I'm going to ask the parties if they'll make an opening statement. <v Sam Osborne>Judge Almer Smith, United States district court judge. <v Lawrence Zelle>The plaintiff in this action is William Harden Bogard. <v Lawrence Zelle>Mr. Bogard. <v Lawrence Zelle>Is paralyzed from the waist down. <v Sam Osborne>Lawrence Zelle, one of three attorneys representing Bogard. <v Lawrence Zelle>The evidence will show that this man was injured seriously

<v Lawrence Zelle>and severely because of deprivation of his constitutional <v Lawrence Zelle>rights. And because of cruel and unusual <v Lawrence Zelle>treatment while at Parchman. <v Lawrence Zelle>And it was not Mr. Bogard alone. He wasn't just singled out. <v Lawrence Zelle>But he is the man sitting in the wheelchair. <v Lawrence Zelle>The evidence will show that these individuals who had the statutory <v Lawrence Zelle>responsibility to run and administer Parchman didn't do a very good job. <v Lawrence Zelle>Notwithstanding that they may have had limited funds to work with. <v Lawrence Zelle>And notwithstanding that it was a bad prison to begin with. <v Lawrence Zelle>The evidence will show living <v Lawrence Zelle>conditions in these camps, particularly, the black camps <v Lawrence Zelle>were subhuman.

<v Lawrence Zelle>You will hear about the insecurity of life at Parchman. <v Lawrence Zelle>And how it was from day to day, a question of survival. <v Lawrence Zelle>That is where Mr. Bogard went. <v Lawrence Zelle>The evidence will show clearly that Parchman was <v Lawrence Zelle>a disgrace and a shame <v Lawrence Zelle>to the state of Mississippi. <v James Robertson>Ladies. <v James Robertson>If I heard Mr. Zelle correctly. <v James Robertson>If I heard the entire tenor of his presentation. <v James Robertson>He might as well have been asking you to take Mr Cook <v James Robertson>and Mr Collier, these men who went up to the penitentiary <v James Robertson>in complete good faith and tried to do the best

<v James Robertson>they could. <v James Robertson>To take them out and string them up. <v James Robertson>Now ladies-. <v Sam Osborne>James Robertson, Greenville is one of four attorneys for the defense, <v Sam Osborne>he represented the United States Fidelity and Guarantee Company, which had bonded, <v Sam Osborne>superintendents Cook and Collier. <v James Robertson>But it is obvious that the plaintiff wants to put on trial the Mississippi State <v James Robertson>Penitentiary and for that purpose they have got the wrong <v James Robertson>defendants. <v James Robertson>Where is the legislature of the state of Mississippi? <v James Robertson>Which by statute authorized and directed the administration to use <v James Robertson>this trusty system. <v James Robertson>Where is the legislature of the state of Mississippi that by statute <v James Robertson>said use this dark hole? <v James Robertson>What about the governor of Mississippi who appoints the superintendents? <v James Robertson>And what about the people of Mississippi who scream about taxes constantly?

<v James Robertson>And the legislature hears that and appropriates a pittance for the operation <v James Robertson>of the penitentiary. They have got the wrong man. <v Richard Johnson>Hey John Wesley! <v John Wesley Washington>Hey Richard. <v Richard Johnson>I ain't seen you in a while! <v John Wesley Washington>I've been in disability camp. <v John Wesley Washington>They transferred me there when I got shot for falling off those damn crates. <v Richard Johnson>You testifying too?

<v John Wesley Washington>Oh yeah <v Richard Johnson>Hey, John Wesley. <v Richard Johnson>What you think they gonna ask us about at the trial? <v John Wesley Washington>Well ask about what it's like at Parchman how bad it is. <v Richard Johnson>Well, what you gonna tell them? <v John Wesley Washington>How bad it is. It is just like I told them three years ago when they asked me the same <v John Wesley Washington>thing. <v Richard Johnson>Do you think us testifying before really did us any good? <v John Wesley Washington>I suspect so. <v John Wesley Washington>Some good anyway, leastwise. Those damn trusters ain't got no guns no more. <v Richard Johnson>They gonna ask you 'bout Bogard? <v John Wesley Washington>Expect they is. <v Richard Johnson>You see it when he stabbed him? <v John Wesley Washington>Yes. <v Richard Johnson>I don't care nothin' about Bogard. <v Richard Johnson>You know, that. <v Richard Johnson>Man can't move his can move his legs. <v John Wesley Washington>Yeah.

<v Richard Johnson>Can't move nothing from the waist down. <v Richard Johnson>Can't never have another woman again. <v John Wesley Washington>Yeah. <v Richard Johnson>That old slicker Just walk up to him and stuck him. <v Richard Johnson>Had I been there could have been me just as easy. <v Richard Johnson>You never know. <v Richard Johnson>You never know when somebody stick you or crack you over the <v Richard Johnson>head. <v John Wesley Washington>That's right. <v Sam Osborne>Bogard's attorney called several Parchman inmates to testify about Parchman conditions. <v Sam Osborne>The first aspect of Bogard's suit, although many of the inmates who testified were black, <v Sam Osborne>violence at Parchman crossed racial lines and was prevalent among white inmates as well. <v Sam Osborne>Testimony was limited to events and conditions up to July 1972 <v Sam Osborne>and did not refer necessarily to conditions at the time of the trial. <v Sam Osborne>1974.

<v Bailiff>Nothing but the truth, so help you God. <v Richard Johnson>I do. <v Sam Osborne>David Lipman of the Mississippi Prisoners Defense Committee, Bogard's principal attorney. <v David Lipman>For the record, would you state your name? <v Richard Johnson>Richard Johnson. <v David Lipman>Where do you currently reside? <v Richard Johnson>Parchman Prison. <v David Lipman>What crime were you convicted of? <v Richard Johnson>Burglary. <v Sam Osborne>You remember Johnson from Gates? <v John>He testified in Gates too. <v John>He likes to testify. <v John>The testifying burglar. <v John>I bet he's a Muslim. <v Sam Osborne>He's a pretty articulate guy. <v John>It's very easy to make romantic, oppressed heroes of these guys and forget the simple <v John>fact that they're up there in the first place for killing, raping or <v John>robbing somebody. <v Court>Some of [unintelligible]. <v Sam Osborne>You ought to read his Gates deposition.

<v John>I don't have to. They're trying Gates right now. <v Sam Osborne>The second aspect of the suit dealt with the personal injuries Bogarde sustained while an <v Sam Osborne>inmate at Parchman. <v Sam Osborne>First of these was an incident in which he was shot in the foot by an inmate trusty. <v Sam Osborne>But the major damages were being sought for the stabbing. <v Lawrence Zelle>State your full name. <v James B. Davis>James B. Davis. <v Lawrence Zelle>Where do you presently reside? Mr. Davis? <v James B. Davis>At Parchman Penitentiary. <v Lawrence Zelle>How long have you been in Parchman? <v James B. Davis>Five years. <v Lawrence Zelle>You were admitted on a charge of armed robbery? <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>And you've since been convicted of assault with intent to kill. <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>Involving the assault and stabbing of William Harding Bogarde. <v James B. Davis>Correct. <v Lawrence Zelle>Do you see Mr. Bogard in the courtroom? <v James B. Davis>I do.

<v Lawrence Zelle>Do you recognize him as the man whom you stabbed on July 7th, 1972? <v James B. Davis>I do. <v Lawrence Zelle>Your rule for living at Parchman: anybody who is a threat to you, you're <v Lawrence Zelle>going to kill them before they kill you. <v James B. Davis>If they threatened my life. <v James B. Davis>Yes. <v Lawrence Zelle>Remember the sewing machine incident? <v James B. Davis>Yes, I do. <v Lawrence Zelle>That was the day of the stabbing, wasn't it? <v James B. Davis>Correct. <v Lawrence Zelle>You had this sewing machine in the cage. <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>Bogard had told you that it shouldn't be there. <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>He told you to get it out. <v James B. Davis>He did. <v Lawrence Zelle>Didn't do it, did you? <v James B. Davis>No, I didn't. <v James B. Davis>It didn't concern Bogard. <v Lawrence Zelle>Did Bogard tell Sergeant Peaks?

<v James B. Davis>Yes, he did. <v Lawrence Zelle>Did Peaks come and tell you to get the sewing machine out? <v James B. Davis>Yes, he did. <v Lawrence Zelle>You still didn't do it. <v James B. Davis>No, I didn't. <v Lawrence Zelle>You didn't like it that Bogard told him about it? <v James B. Davis>No, I didn't. <v Lawrence Zelle>You were going to get him, weren't you? <v James B. Davis>Yes, I was. <v Lawrence Zelle>And you were gonna get Peaks, too, weren't you? <v James B. Davis>Yes, I was. <v Lawrence Zelle>And anybody else that was around. <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>Went and got a knife, didn't you? <v James B. Davis>Correct. <v Lawrence Zelle>You didn't have any trouble getting it. Did you? <v James B. Davis>No, I didn't. <v Lawrence Zelle>It was in the cage. <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>It was your knife? <v James B. Davis>No, it wasn't my knife was the state's knife. <v Lawrence Zelle>Started out that way. <v Lawrence Zelle>You borrowed it for a while.

<v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>Started off in the slaughterhouse, didn't it? <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Lawrence Zelle>On July 7th, 1972, you decided to use it to <v Lawrence Zelle>kill someone. Is that right? <v Lawrence Zelle>Did you not? <v James B. Davis>I did. <v Lawrence Zelle>Do you know how to kill a man with a knife? <v James B. Davis>I do. <v Lawrence Zelle>What was your intention when you approached Belgard? <v James B. Davis>To the heart. <v Lawrence Zelle>Tell us what you did. <v James B. Davis>A single thrust. <v James B. Davis>

<v Lawrence Zelle>There's no question you are trying to kill him, was there? <v James B. Davis>I was. <v Defense Attorney 1>If you wanted to kill someone at the penitentiary today, <v Defense Attorney 1>could you do it? <v Judge>Just a moment. <v Lawrence Zelle>I object, Your Honor. The question being irrelevant and immaterial. <v Judge Almer Smith>Objection. Overruled. <v James B. Davis>The possibilities are great. <v Defense Attorney 1>And if someone wanted to kill you at the penitentiary, given enough time, <v Defense Attorney 1>couldn't they do it? <v James B. Davis>They could. <v Defense Attorney 1>Now, you have stated that you have been in several other penal <v Defense Attorney 1>institutions or penitentiaries. <v James B. Davis>Right. <v Defense Attorney 1>Have you also stated that the inmates had weapons in these <v Defense Attorney 1>institutions?

<v James B. Davis>I have. <v Judge>Did they conduct shakedown at these other institutions? <v James B. Davis>Yes, they did. <v James B. Davis>Not on a regular basis. <v James B. Davis>No more regular than at uh Parchman. <v Defense Attorney 1>In the shake downs, did they get your weapons? <v James B. Davis>Well, I'd carried a weapon more at other <v James B. Davis>penitentiaries than I did at Parchman. <v Defense Attorney 1>What type of weapon did you carry in the other institutions? <v James B. Davis>Well, at Leavenworth <v James B. Davis>I had a stainless steel rod <v James B. Davis>with a leather handle. <v James B. Davis>It reached approximately to my knee.

<v James B. Davis>It was made into a very keen point. <v James B. Davis>To be driven completely through a person if necessary. <v James B. Davis>If there was any wooden obstacles around, like <v James B. Davis>a table. <v James B. Davis>A wall. <v James B. Davis>I tried to pin him to it like <v James B. Davis>a butterfly. <v Judge>Call your next witness. <v Lawrence Zelle>We would like to have the plaintiff, William Harden Bogard, to take the stand. <v Judge>All right. Come around. <v Bailiff>Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you

<v Bailiff>God? <v William Harden Bogard>I do. <v Attorney>State your full name, please. <v William Harden Bogard>William Howard and Bogarde Junior. <v Attorney>Now, Mr. Bogard, I'm going to ask you if you will sort of describe to the court and the <v Attorney>jury what your average day is like as a paraplegic. <v William Harden Bogard>I am just like a dope addict. <v William Harden Bogard>I have the sack pills over there to take every day. <v William Harden Bogard>All day long. <v William Harden Bogard>First of all, I have to carry myself to defend myself. <v William Harden Bogard>I have to hold my legs together. <v William Harden Bogard>Because if I don't, it is just like being in a fistfight. <v William Harden Bogard>They can throw you out of the chair. <v William Harden Bogard>You don't control them, right? <v Attorney>You call it a muscle spasm. <v William Harden Bogard>They can throw you out of the wheelchair very easily. <v William Harden Bogard>I'm in an awful lot of pain right now.

<v William Harden Bogard>24 hours. <v William Harden Bogard>May seem to use, though, I'm sitting here and not suffering at all. <v William Harden Bogard>But I am in pain right now. <v William Harden Bogard>I have been ever since I was stabbed. <v William Harden Bogard>Two years I've been hurtin' every day. <v William Harden Bogard>My body is not normal anymore. <v William Harden Bogard>Nothing can take the place of my legs. <v William Harden Bogard>Nothing. <v Attorney>How do you care for yourself? What do you have people help you? <v William Harden Bogard>Well, I have to have people to help me. <v Attorney>What do they help you do? <v William Harden Bogard>They have to lift me where I can't lift myself. <v William Harden Bogard>They have to sit me on a toilet. <v William Harden Bogard>They have to sit me in a bath tub. Most of the time, I am confined. <v William Harden Bogard>Might as well be back at Parchman. <v William Harden Bogard>Because I am confined. <v William Harden Bogard>When I'm in my home, I am confined. <v John>He would still be in Parchman if they hadn't pardoned him after the stabbing, let

<v John>him go back to Chicago. <v Sam Osborne>Let what's left of him go back? <v Attorney>That completes direct examination of the witness, your Honor. <v Judge>All right, you may take the witness on cross-examination. <v John>Every prisoner who's testified is black. <v John>Why weren't there any white inmates involved? <v Sam Osborne>It was all segregated. Blacks and whites didn't have a chance to kill each other. <v Sam Osborne>If you'd been up there, you know. <v Sam Osborne>Pascol Townsend, co-counsel for the defendant. <v Pascol Townsend>Now, did you ever have any personal incidents that involve Mr. Cook? <v William Harden Bogard>No, I didn't. <v Pascol Townsend>I will ask you same thing now in regard to Mr. Collier that I ask in <v Pascol Townsend>regard to Mr. Cook. <v Pascol Townsend>Was he ever present at any time or involved in any way <v Pascol Townsend>in any incident that you have testified about? <v William Harden Bogard>No.

<v Lawrence Zelle>So would you state your name for the record, please? <v Arnold Juliau>Arnold ?Juliau? <v Lawrence Zelle>And where are you employed? <v Arnold Juliau>Well, I am working in The Parchman. <v Arnold Juliau>The assistant resident in the hospital in Parchman. <v Lawrence Zelle>Who was your immediate superior on July 7th, 1972? <v Arnold Juliau>Well, the chief of the medical staff was Dr. Hernando Abril. <v Lawrence Zelle>Now, I would like to direct your attention to July 7th, 1972. <v Lawrence Zelle>What did you do when Mr. Bogard was brought into the hospital? <v Arnold Juliau>Well, I passed the patient on to the extra room, <v Arnold Juliau>I ordered the test. The film was ready. <v Arnold Juliau>I make all my examinations. <v Arnold Juliau>No feeling at all from the feet to the navel to the the <v Arnold Juliau>waist.

<v Arnold Juliau>And then in comes my boss, and he says to me, what happened? <v Arnold Juliau>Well, the man was stabbed. And the wound was so deep it cut <v Arnold Juliau>the spinal cord. <v Arnold Juliau>We have no equipment. <v Arnold Juliau>This man needs to go to Jackson for for treatment. <v Arnold Juliau>Well, my my boss tells me he says, pass this man on to the <v Arnold Juliau>operating room to to see what we can do for him. <v Lawrence Zelle>Okay. What did Dr. Abril do? <v Arnold Juliau>Well, he cleaned the back of Mr. Bogard. <v Arnold Juliau>He wrapped up Mr. Bogard. <v Arnold Juliau>And tu, tu sabes all the all of these standard procedures, <v Arnold Juliau>when when we're going to to make one up operation. <v Arnold Juliau>And then he began to look for something, some some instrument to <v Arnold Juliau>to pull out the knife.

<v Arnold Juliau>He Pulled with one. Nothing. <v Arnold Juliau>So he pulled with with another, nothing. <v Lawrence Zelle>You say he pulled with one. <v Arnold Juliau>Probe , probe, probe probe test. <v Arnold Juliau>You know, he don't know how to do. <v Arnold Juliau>He he he he. <v Arnold Juliau>Probe with with one in this, his slip, slip, slip. <v Lawrence Zelle>It was slipping off. <v Arnold Juliau>Like a clamp. <v Arnold Juliau>We we have no instrument. <v Arnold Juliau>We we have at that time. <v Arnold Juliau>Also at this time, we have no proper instrument. <v Lawrence Zelle>Was Dr. Abril successful at all at that time in pulling out the knife? <v Arnold Juliau>No, he he failed. He ask, he says who <v Arnold Juliau>is the strongest man in Parchman. <v Lawrence Zelle>What happened then?

<v Arnold Juliau>Well, uh some person I don't. <v Arnold Juliau>I don't remember who. <v Arnold Juliau>The strongest man he asked. <v Arnold Juliau>He says he calls out. He snaps his finger. <v Arnold Juliau>He said, Stapleton, call to Stapleton. <v Lawrence Zelle>Who told them to call to Stapleton? <v Arnold Juliau>Dr. Abril, he requested to to Stapleton. <v Lawrence Zelle>That is boss Stapleton. <v Arnold Juliau>Si, yes. <v Lawrence Zelle>Is boss Stapleton- <v Arnold Juliau>[Unintelligible] boss Stapleton. <v Lawrence Zelle>Is boss Stapleton, an inmate? <v Arnold Juliau>Yes. <v Lawrence Zelle>Then tell us what happened. <v Arnold Juliau>We will we hold the body. <v Arnold Juliau>And start belly. Grab a hold of his stuff and was grasping, <v Arnold Juliau>grasping the the the the the knife, trying to to <v Arnold Juliau>pull out, pull out. <v Arnold Juliau>And we we. <v Arnold Juliau>We hold the thebody of Bogard. <v Arnold Juliau>Dr. Abril he is still holding onto the instrument because he he

<v Arnold Juliau>has the the the strongest grasp, and he <v Arnold Juliau>he, he. Try, try. <v Arnold Juliau>Firstly, he cannot do it. <v Arnold Juliau>Entonce after he take a short break, and he he <v Arnold Juliau>began to to to. <v Arnold Juliau>Push. Push up, push up, and he. <v Arnold Juliau>Relief release, release, out, out the <v Arnold Juliau>piece of knife. <v Lawrence Zelle>Boss Stapleton. <v Lawrence Zelle>Finally pulled the knife out. <v Arnold Juliau>Yes. <v John>Boss Step Hale. <v Sam Osborne>Stapleton. Hey Julio's testimony was pretty damning. <v Sam Osborne>You think Bogard's going to win? <v John>Well, that jury sure doesn't hurt his chances five blacks out of six <v John>jurors.

<v Sam Osborne>He does win it could really set some legal precedents, like making a superintendent <v Sam Osborne>responsible for what goes on in his prison. <v John>I can't see it. <v John>Lock a bunch of criminals up together and what do you expect? <v John>Sunday school picnic? <v Sam Osborne>Somebody's got to be responsible for what goes on up there. <v John>Prisons are violent places. <v John>No one can do anything about it. Not Cook, not Collier. <v Sam Osborne>Somebody's got to take responsibility. <v Judge Almer Smith>Ladies of the jury, the plaintiff has now rested and the defendants <v Judge Almer Smith>will begin introducing their testimony. <v Defense Attorney 1>Dr. Abril, the plaintiff, alleges or charges you <v Defense Attorney 1>with gross negligence and medical malpractice in not providing <v Defense Attorney 1>the plaintiff with immediate surgery. <v Defense Attorney 1>I would like to ask you whether or not, in your opinion, <v Defense Attorney 1>the plaintiff should have been provided with immediate surgery.

<v Dr. Hernando Abril>I don't think so. <v Dr. Hernando Abril>I don't think he needed <v Dr. Hernando Abril>immediately surgery. <v Dr. Hernando Abril>Because the spinal cord had been, <v Dr. Hernando Abril>as I said before, severed, since the beginning. <v Dr. Hernando Abril>I don't think that nobody could have <v Dr. Hernando Abril>done anything to repair that injury. <v Defense Attorney 1>Is there anything else that could have been done had immediate surgery been performed <v Defense Attorney 1>on Mr. Bogarde? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>No, sir. <v David Lipman>Doctor, is it correct that between the time you were hired in October of 1970

<v David Lipman>until the time you obtained your institutional license in 1971, that the only <v David Lipman>Full-Time physician at Parchman was an unlicensed doctor and was a doctor who was not <v David Lipman>licensed to practice medicine in any State of the Union? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>Yes. <v David Lipman>How many inmates were at the Parchman institution when you first took the job? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>I don't know. <v Dr. Hernando Abril>Probably. One thousand eight hundred or <v Dr. Hernando Abril>something like that. <v David Lipman>And were you also responsible for giving medical aid to dependents of the guards and <v David Lipman>staff? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>The employees. Yes, sir. <v David Lipman>About how many of those were there? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>Guessing, I think it was five 500. <v David Lipman>So we're talking about a total possible population of about 2400 people? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>Right. <v David Lipman>For which there was one unlicensed physician, full time and <v David Lipman>two licensed practical nurses and one part-time physician. <v Dr. Hernando Abril>Two part-time physicians. <v David Lipman>Two part-time physicians, is that all?

<v Dr. Hernando Abril>Right. <v David Lipman>And no registered nurses? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>At the time, no. <v David Lipman>Physical therapists nor any other medical specialty? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>No. <v David Lipman>Do you know whether or not the hospital department has any accreditation as a hospital or <v David Lipman>a license? <v Dr. Hernando Abril>It was not accredited. <v Sam Osborne>Tom Cook, Parchmans superintendent, 1968, 1972. <v Defense Attorney 2>And what condition did you find the hospital in when you arrived? <v Tom Cook>It was run down in a bad state of repair. <v Tom Cook>Much of the equipment was worn out. <v Tom Cook>That was pretty much the state of the hospital as well as everything else. <v Defense Attorney 2>Mr. Cook, what did you find relative to the job of hiring a full-time doctor at State <v Defense Attorney 2>Penitentiary? <v Tom Cook>It was just about an impossible task to get a doctor to come to the state penitentiary. <v Tom Cook>We didn't have anything that would entice a doctor to come to the state prison to live. <v Defense Attorney 2>And, Mr. Cook, I would like for you to describe the physical plant at the time you

<v Defense Attorney 2>arrived at State Penitentiary. <v Tom Cook>Yes, sir. I found that I had some 15 units where the inmates were housed. <v Defense Attorney 2>Now, describe the condition that you found those quarters in. <v Tom Cook>The inmate housing, of course, was probably built in the early nineteen <v Tom Cook>hundreds. It was in a bad state of repair. <v Tom Cook>And I found in making an estimate that it would require a great sum of <v Tom Cook>money in order to bring the housing up to the desired standards that we needed <v Tom Cook>at Parchman for the inmates. <v Sam Osborne>Cook described improvements he instituted at Parchman. <v Sam Osborne>Despite his limited budget, these included gas stoves to replace <v Sam Osborne>the old wood burning stoves, hot water heaters, new mattresses and new bathroom <v Sam Osborne>facilities. <v Defense Attorney 2>Now, Mr. Cook, will you tell us something about how and where you obtained your funds to <v Defense Attorney 2>operate and run the state penitentiary? <v Tom Cook>All of the funds came through a budget, through the general legislature budget. <v Defense Attorney 2>Could you tell us when you first went to the penitentiary what the budget was to operate

<v Defense Attorney 2>the state penitentiary per year? <v Tom Cook>Less than two million a year. <v Defense Attorney 2>They've got a budget now of over eight million. <v Defense Attorney 2>Now, did you make any request to the legislature or the building commission for any funds <v Defense Attorney 2>to do anything with the physical plant at the state penitentiary? <v Tom Cook>Yes, I made requests for renovation and repair of all the camps. <v Defense Attorney 2>Were you successful in obtaining the necessary funds? <v Defense Attorney 2>No, I was not. No. All right, sir. <v Defense Attorney 2>Now, Mr. Cook, what really was the determining factor in what you could do <v Defense Attorney 2>in the way of physical facilities for the handling of the inmates and employees? <v Defense Attorney 2>What was the single determining factor along that line? <v Tom Cook>Money. <v Defense Attorney 2>And where did it have to come from? <v Tom Cook>The state. <v Lawrence Zelle>Now, Mr. Cook. <v Lawrence Zelle>We've heard you talk this morning about rehabilitation, not sending men <v Lawrence Zelle>out as men with dignity. <v Lawrence Zelle>Isn't that right?

<v Tom Cook>That's correct. <v Lawrence Zelle>That's what you were striving for. <v Tom Cook>That's correct. <v Lawrence Zelle>I believe in your line of defendent's exhibit number 137, you wrote, <v Lawrence Zelle>I'm quoting it, I'm paraphrasing it. <v Lawrence Zelle>"Each inmate is a person and is <v Lawrence Zelle>priceless in the sight of God." Is that correct? <v Tom Cook>That's right. <v Lawrence Zelle>You believe in it? <v Tom Cook>I do. <v Lawrence Zelle>Do you live by that philosophy? <v Tom Cook>I do my best to. <v Lawrence Zelle>Then I'm sure you can explain to me how you can rehabilitate a man by having him stand <v Lawrence Zelle>on a Coke case for 48 hours. <v Tom Cook>I didn't understand the question. <v Lawrence Zelle>I said, how can you rehabilitate a man when you have him stand <v Lawrence Zelle>on a Coke case for forty-eight hours? <v Tom Cook>I think that discipline is very important toward rehabilitation. <v Tom Cook>You have got to have discipline before you can have a man at all. <v Tom Cook>And if this would aid in his rehabilitation, I see nothing wrong with it. <v Lawrence Zelle>Does the same thing apply to a man when he's chained to a fence?

<v Lawrence Zelle>Is that a proper form of discipline? <v Lawrence Zelle>Does that add to the dignity of the human being under your care at Parchman, sir? <v Tom Cook>There were times when this was important. <v Tom Cook>It was not my policy to tie a man to a fence or to to hang men from <v Tom Cook>the fence. I never saw it happen, happened. But one time and at that time I put a stop to <v Tom Cook>it. When people were unruly, you had to do something to detain them. <v Tom Cook>I don't know what you're referring to. <v Lawrence Zelle>So it would be in violation of your sensibilities? <v Lawrence Zelle>Yes, it would. To chain a man to a fence for how long? <v Lawrence Zelle>One hour or two hours? <v Tom Cook>Well, two hours or an hour or three hours. <v Lawrence Zelle>How about taking a man to a bayou where there're lots of mosquitoes? <v Lawrence Zelle>A high mosquito population and leaving him there overnight, <v Lawrence Zelle>tired and handcuffed to a tree? <v Tom Cook>I don't recall that having been done, sir. <v Lawrence Zelle>You don't recall that having been done? <v Lawrence Zelle>No.

<v Sam Osborne>Champ Terni, co-counsel for the defendant. <v Champ Terni>State your name for the jury, please, Sir. <v John Allen Collier>John Allen Collier. <v Champ Terni>Have you had occasion to be employed by the Mississippi State Penitentiary? <v John Allen Collier>Yes, sir. I had on occasion to. <v Champ Terni>In what capacity? <v John Allen Collier>As superintendent. <v Champ Terni>When was that, Mr. Collier? <v John Allen Collier>Seventy-two. <v Sam Osborne>John Collier, like his predecessor, Tom Cook described the difficulties of <v Sam Osborne>running Parchman on its appropriated budget. <v Champ Terni>Did you make any changes in the physical facilities at these camps? <v John Allen Collier>Very limited. <v Champ Terni>Why was that? <v John Allen Collier>Because there was no money. <v Sam Osborne>Collier, even though he was superintendent for only 10 months, bore the financial brunt <v Sam Osborne>of the suit because Bogard was stabbed during his administration. <v Champ Terni>State your name for the record, please. <v Winston Moore>Winston Moore. <v Champ Terni>Where are you presently employed? <v Winston Moore>I'm executive director of the Cook County Department of Corrections. <v Champ Terni>Have you ever visited the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman? <v Winston Moore>Yes, I have. I was sent here by REAA and American <v Winston Moore>Correctional Association to look at Parchman. <v Champ Terni>State whether or not a pattern of behavior of inmates for violence was also found

<v Champ Terni>at the Mississippi State Penitentiary. <v Winston Moore>Yes, it was found there, but no more than any other penitentiary. <v Champ Terni>State whether or not there is an observable pattern as to possession of weapons by <v Champ Terni>inmates in prisons. <v Winston Moore>Yes, there is. Inmates have a tendency to get and to accumulate <v Winston Moore>and to hide and to make weapons ?before he knows? <v Winston Moore>Just about anything that can be used as a weapon. <v Winston Moore>They will use. <v Champ Terni>In your experience, what's the only way a prison administrator can guarantee complete <v Champ Terni>protection of an inmate? <v Winston Moore>The only way that a prison administrator can guarantee absolute safety of an <v Winston Moore>inmate, both from others and from himself, <v Winston Moore>is to more or less lock him into a cell for 24 hours a <v Winston Moore>day, stripped naked. <v Champ Terni>And what does this do to the inmates? <v Winston Moore>That will make them an animal. <v Champ Terni>Now, you testified under cross-examination that the committee you visited Parchman with <v Champ Terni>in 1972 found a lack of basic standards at the Mississippi <v Champ Terni>State Penitentiary as far as physical facilities are concerned, I believe.

<v Champ Terni>Now, what do you and your committee attribute this condition <v Champ Terni>to? <v Winston Moore>To neglect by the state of Mississippi. <v Winston Moore>That is what we attributed to the governor, the legislature and the people in Mississippi <v Winston Moore>who were trying to run the prison at a profit. <v Bailiff>Jurors I have your note in which you say you're ready to return the verdict. <v Sam Osborne>The jury found for the plaintiff, William Hardin Bogarde, and awarded him five hundred <v Sam Osborne>thousand dollars, the largest settlement ever made against Parchman officials. <v Sam Osborne>But one year later, in 1975, Judge Smith overturned the jury decision. <v Sam Osborne>The case is now in appeals and the Gates case goes on and on. <v Sam Osborne>Judge William Kaedy has continued to monitor Parchman to ensure that his 1972 order <v Sam Osborne>for improved conditions is implemented. <v Sam Osborne>The Mississippi State Penitentiary is changing, Parchman is integrated.

<v Sam Osborne>Inmates are now guarded by trained security guards. <v Sam Osborne>The new hospital will be completed in 1979 at the Parchman Vocational <v Sam Osborne>School. Inmates continue to learn various job skills. <v Sam Osborne>New housing is being constructed to ease overcrowding. <v Sam Osborne>Prison population has been reduced. <v Sam Osborne>Satellite prisons throughout the state also reduce overcrowding and allow <v Sam Osborne>inmates an opportunity to work at regular jobs as a transition step <v Sam Osborne>toward return to society. <v Sam Osborne>At the Pascagoula Restitution Center, selected inmates work a normal workday <v Sam Osborne>and return at night to supervised housing. <v Sam Osborne>The offender pays back the victim of his crime with the money he earns. <v Sam Osborne>The Mississippi legislature has appropriated funds for three additional centers. <v Sam Osborne>The 1978 legislature increased Parchman's appropriation to 16 million <v Sam Osborne>dollars, and the legislature, evidencing its increasing concern with

<v Sam Osborne>the state penitentiary, created the Department of Corrections, which for the <v Sam Osborne>first time put all aspects of adult corrections under one agency. <v Sam Osborne>The department sponsored a night in prison for reporters and legislators <v Sam Osborne>to give them some concept of prison life. <v Guards>All right. Alright, get up. <v Guards>Wake up. Get Out of there. Get up. <v Guards>Get up out the bed. Get that boy up fella. Come on, get over here. Be quiet. <v Prisoners>Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, <v Prisoners>ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. <v Guard 3>Be quiet! This <v Guard 3>is a shakedown. You people are gonna have to get up off of your knives. <v Guard 3>You're inmates and there's not gonna be in a knife in his camp. <v Guard 3>You understand?

<v Guard 3>You understand? <v Reporter>I don't even know what's going on! <v Guard 4>Get back up over there. You heard the man talk to you. <v Guard 4>What's wrong with you fella? You think you're on the outside? <v Sam Osborne>The reporters spent the night in one of the sub-standard camps, which are slowly being <v Sam Osborne>shut down to comply with Judge Cady's ruling. <v Sam Osborne>The next day, reporters visited new inmate housing first offenders <v Sam Osborne>camp, new women's camp, a new temporary unit's. <v Sam Osborne>And they talked with prisoners at the new medium-security unit where the inmates <v Sam Osborne>live in single cells rather than dormitories. <v Sam Osborne>Things any better? Do they seem to be getting better than, say, five years ago, <v Sam Osborne>three years ago? <v Richard Johnson>Not really. Things about the same. <v Richard Johnson>To tell the truth. <v Reporter>What do you mean? You've got train guards.

<v Reporter>New cells. <v Richard Johnson> We're still locked up ain't we? <v Reporter>Well, how do you expect huh? <v Sam Osborne>What about the guards? Do they treat you any better? <v Richard Johnson>Now, that depends on the man. <v Richard Johnson>Some of them pretty decent. <v Richard Johnson>Treat you like a man. <v Richard Johnson>Some of them try to take that from you. <v Richard Johnson>Make you lose your pride. <v Richard Johnson>You know, we still human beings, even if we are locked up. <v Richard Johnson>We still men. <v Sam Osborne>How much longer do you have? <v Richard Johnson>Well, supposed to be getting out on parole. <v Richard Johnson>Job is what you need to get out of this place. <v Sam Osborne>So here you are. <v Richard Johnson>Man the days are long in here. You know that? <v Reporter>What are you in here for? <v Richard Johnson>Burglary. <v Richard Johnson>You think you can help me get a job? <v Richard Johnson>You know, I do a lot of writing. I write a lot of poetry since I've been here.

<v Sam Osborne>I don't know. I don't do the hiring. <v Sam Osborne>I see. <v Richard Johnson>I need a job to get me out of this place. I've been in here a long time. And after a while, you <v Richard Johnson>kind of lose hope. Lose all hope. <v Sam Osborne>Over 98 percent of the people who go to prison eventually return <v Sam Osborne>to society. <v Sam Osborne>Society will have to deal with them again. <v Sam Osborne>Society will have to deal with the kind of people they became in <v Sam Osborne>prison. <v Announcer>This program funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.