OFF THE WIRE
agingrebel.com
Neither the United States Department of Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the Governor of Texas, the President of the United States nor any of the score of smurfs and fools currently running for President has so far dared to come to the defense of the scores of men and at least two women who remain unjustly imprisoned under cruel and unusual circumstances in the McLennan County Jail.
The Southern Nevada Confederation of Clubs has stated that the jail is desperately overcrowded, that some prisoners are not being fed and that others cannot get needed medical attention. A week ago a Bandido named Jeff Battey had to post a $1 million bond before he could go to a Dallas hospital to have bullet fragments removed from his arm.
Yesterday on its Facebook page, the Southern Nevada COC said it had received the following messages from “family members” of men who were rounded up in the indiscriminate mass arrests that followed the shooting deaths of nine men and the hospitalization of 17 more following a barrage of gunfire outside the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco on May 17.
Please Help
“Third world conditions – please help!”“My husband still has a bullet in his chest and can’t use his right hand. He has a heart condition, has a stint and a-fib, and they are trying to change his medication. He is afraid he might bleed out in his cell.” “Heart meds not being disbursed. Has bullet in chest and cannot feel hand. Believes he has nerve damage but they will not treat him”
“My brother is type 1 diabetic and is not receiving insulin. His blood sugar is 550.” “Meds not being distributed – takes insulin”
“Blood pressure meds not being given”
“No blankets or pillows. Sleeping on cold floors”
“Husband just had back surgery and was on prescription meds for pain. Simply decided to go to the meeting to get out of the house. He was told he was being given a sleep med and instead they gave him ADHD /bi-polar medication. He has also not eaten anything for almost 10 days now since surgery”
Kenneth Carlisle
There are numerous accounts of men being illegally arrested and detained. For example, a plumber named Kenneth Carlisle was arrested because he was wearing a Harley-Davidson shirt. According to the San Antonio Express-News, Carlisle spends “most of his time raising money for multiple causes for ill children, cancer victims and survivors, wounded warriors, and cooks in barbecue competitions in which the proceeds are donated.”Carlisle’s wife Lindsay told KABB-TV “He wasn’t wearing any vests, no colors, no bike, was in a vehicle and was in the wrong place, wrong time.” She said he had driven her car to the Confederation of Clubs Meeting and was arrested “eight minutes” after he arrived.
“This is has been beyond difficult. The worst nightmare of my entire life,” Lindsay Carlisle said. “What happened to innocent until proven guilty? In this case that’s not what’s happening.”
No Answers
So far, authorities in Waco have been oblique about how 26 men came to be shot; what part police played in the massacre, or why people who self-evidently had nothing to do with the shooting were arrested and charged with murder.McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna has intimated that the bikers are being punished for not telling police what police want to hear. In an interview with television station KXXV, Reyna said “I’ve heard enough about my person was a victim and most of the people were victims. Well, guess what? If they’re victims they shouldn’t have any problem coming to law enforcement and cooperating to be sure justice is done and the individuals solely responsible are brought to justice. And, through the first round of interviews we aren’t getting that.”
The hard news in this case portrays the city of Waco and McLennan County as rogue governments that have gone mad.
The Waco Tribune-Herald reports “McLennan County is spending $7,958 a day to house those jailed in the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout. So far, the county has spent more than $80,000 to arrest and incarcerate people who went to a brunch in Waco and then tried to avoid getting shot.
Only two men, Battey and Christopher Stainton have made bail so far. Neither man has a criminal record. Both are required to wear an electronic monitoring device and observe a curfew while they await their day in court.
As of this morning, 175 of the 177 people arrested in the vicinity of the May 17 shooting remain locked up. Thirty-four men have filed for a reduction in their bonds. About a score of those have bond reduction hearings set for either June 5, 12 or 19. Most of the prisoners haven’t filed for bond hearings because they do not yet have lawyers.
Seventy-five of the alleged murders have requested a public defender. There are only 29 lawyers in McLennan County qualified for the job. The County has 26 prosecutors.