Quiet Tyranny

Wasted Honor -

Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.

Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -

Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.

His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.

Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.

He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.

I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Quiet Tyranny

Arizona is a difficult place for politicians to hide from the media or other sources willing to criticize public servants and services. Flying under the radar appears to be a tricky quest for many but not for prison director Charles L. Ryan. He has managed to remain silent and unnoticed for the past six months even though his agency is under constant barrage of criticism and lawsuits for poor custodial care, wrongful deaths and security concerns related to public and staff safety.

He is now a more prominent member of the Brewer administration. He has served her every whim and every demand has been fulfilled under his term. Apart from feeling the heat by the media he has remained cool and calm under duress as if whatever is said doesn’t matter to him as he has been assured by those that put him in power, his job is secure as long as he serves loyally and focuses on the expansion of private prison beds under his command. He has certainly earned his dark wings from them.

Ryan has faced many drawbacks and has caught more flak than any other director from the past and rightfully so. His resilience is mastered only by the strings attached to the governor’s office that clearly fronts every decision he makes. There are no counterparts, no competition for his job and he is well situated to do more of the governor’s bidding.

He is neither the point man nor the major decision maker for the agency and takes this role in stride. All signs point to the Chief of Staff for the governor as being the shot caller but that may be offset by the legislative influences of the private prison lobbyist that put money in their pockets. His low key approach and staying away from television cameras is paying off.

He has managed to go unnoticed in public and has not drawn any attention to his agency’s numerous failures and investigations into medical delay litigation, personnel criminal activity and other well controlled failures and flaws hidden under the disguise of being “under investigation” drawing a no comment status.

The perks for this lower profile has become clear – he is a direct benefactor of the private prison lobby group that will receive a large and significant endowment of funds from state government for beds filled and unfilled. The advantages were negotiated in their contracts and appear to be self-assuring of making a significant amount of profit for 2014 and 2015 and maybe as far ahead as 2016.

As chief executive of an ailing agency he has decimated its wellness into a state of chaos. He has consistently refrained from granting interviews citing litigation as the reasons. Although he used to be like a magnet of bad news since the Kingman escape, he has succeeded to stay low and still serve point man for the cause of privatizing prisons.

His demeanor shows not compassion or kindness to anyone. His cold and ruthless manner of operating the agency is reflected by a high number of staff assaults and excessive deaths within the prisons. He continues to resist building a more open and transparent relationship with state media outlets as well as regulators that appear to be interested in his management style of Arizona prisons.

In the meantime, through his personal relationships with former mentors and bosses now with the private prison groups, he is adopting a more conservative tone with them and has not apologized for anything they have done since he took over as director.