Shane Crum – Victim of Injustice

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you were forced to do something that you not only did not want to do, but every fiber of your being tells you to resist and fight what is happening to you? I would say to you, others have had to do this on a scale you may never be able to conceive.

At one point, I found myself being arrested for a crime I knew I did not commit. I had to convince myself that the system works, and any resistance I gave toward the circumstances would likely only make things worse. I sat in jail, as the court proceedings carried on, still wanting to resist, and waiting to learn my fate. I was convicted, and all I wanted to do is fight to prove my innocence and regain my freedom. After the conviction, much of the next few weeks were a haze. I do not even remember the sentencing hearing. It was as though I woke up to a nightmare already in progress when I found myself sitting in a holding cell meant to hold 5-10 people. However, there were about 35 men in this cell.

They had given us these boxes so we could send home the personal belongings we were wearing and had on us at the time of our arrest. I remember writing a note to my Mother on the inside flap of the box. The other men around me saw me do this, and they all started writing notes to their loved ones. I still wanted to resist and fight.

I kept telling myself that if I were to fight against these people holding me, it would only make things worse as I continued to work on proving my innocence. I just wanted to be free from this nightmare, but a thought came to me that said, “Shane, you just have to do this.” I was scared out of my mind. The uncertainty of this new experience, and the fact I was now convicted of raping my own daughter. God only knew what was in store for me, but I had to do what was required of me. Everyone knows how child molesters are treated in prison, and here I am forced to enter this environment under those conditions and knowing I am actually innocent. None of which would matter to anyone but me and my family.

Over the years, I saw the strength my Mother had in uncertain times. I do not think anything I did would be considered brave. I still think it is something I needed to go through. So, I just followed my Mother’s example. I stood up and stepped forward. I have been doing this for 25 years now. The fear, uncertainty, and anger have become a part of my everyday life. It is hard to remember what it was to live without those things so very present everyday. The toll it takes on your confidence, your trust in others, and how you view the world is more than anyone should have to pay.

I am a social pariah to everyone (staff and inmate alike) in prison. The vast majority do not care about my claims of innocence. Even if they would be willing to look at the evidence, their first response is usually something like,”You had to do something to get all of that time.” It really is a no win scenario.

Many people can identify with the idea of having to do something they would never want to do. I say to you, think about what it would be like to be forced to go to prison knowing you are innocent. Think about what it would be like to go to prison for raping a child, not only knowing you are innocent, but to know no such crime had ever occurred. Then, think about what it must be like to be forced to live in such conditions for 25 years.

I have always said that I spend most of my time either attempting to prove my innocence or preparing myself for when I do finally go home. Among the ways I work to prepare myself is to try to create new programs for the entire inmate population. You see, ODRC does not always have the educational opportunities I would need to ready myself. So, I try to create those programs just so I can take them myself. Unfortunately, there are staff members that throw roadblocks at every turn. Such as the situation I mentioned in my last post.

I have been called tenacious when it comes to things like this. Nevertheless, I am calling on many of you to help me with a program I am trying to get started. It is “Recirculating Aquaculture” (fish farming). My family and I had been discussing starting a fish farm at home that would eventually incorporate “Aquaponics”, which is a combination of a fish farm and a hydroponic crop productions system. I have recently read an article that said the National Sea Grant is supplying grants to start fish farms in the Great Lakes Region. We would like to apply for these grants. Among the reasons we want to do this is that it will not only provide a job for me upon my release, it will also provide my entire family with an income. Additionally, by the time I do get out of prison, I will be too old to work long enough to earn a decent retirement. A business like this would enable me to provide my family and I with some necessities into my old age, and past the point where I can work.

It took my family and I a couple of months to obtain a Cornell University textbook “Recirculating Aquaculture” 4th Ed. 2018. One of the Authors, and a Professor at Cornell University (Professor Michael B. Timmons) not only helped ensure I received this book, but he even sent it to me free of charge. A textbook does not beat hands on experience. So, I have been trying to inquire with Professor Timmons as to both any grants available for my family and the institution to use to start fish farms, and if any of his colleagues in the area would be willing to come in this prison to teach it?

Information I have gleaned from the textbook gave me some contacts, and I have sent letters, but I have not heard anything back from them.

Exactly what I need is this:

1) any available grants my family can use to start a fish farm.

2)any available grants the institution can use to start a fish farm.

3) to find someone who can come into this institution and teach a recirculating aquaculture class here.

The contact information I gathered is:

Professor Michael B. Timmons
Cornell University
Biological & Environmental Engineering Department
302 Riley Rob Hall
Ithica, N.Y. 14853
mbt@cornell.edu

Cornell University
Attn: John Osborn
Ken Post Labs-#190 C
512 Tower Road
Ithica, N.Y. 14853

Brian Vinci
The Conservation Fund
Freshwater Institute
1098 Turner Rd.
Shepherdstown, W.V. 25443
bvinci@conservationfund.org

Dr. James Rekocy: Principle
The Aquaponics Doctors
4604 49th St. N.
P.M.B. 155
St. Petersburg, Fl. 44709
tadcontacts@theaquaponicsdoctors.com

I truly appreciate any help any of you can provide.

As a man who has spent the last 25 years in prison, I can tell you this is a really horrible and lonely place. There are those who commit some really serious crimes, and should spend some time in a place like this. However, there are those who have committed crimes that should not spend any serious time in prison, and those who are in prison who are innocent and should have never seen the inside of a prison. I have proclaimed my innocence from the very beginning, and do not believe I should have ever known what these places are like.
Many of the staff in these places act in a criminal, cruel, and negligent manner. The inmates who attempt to stand up for themselves are almost always retaliated against. Hopelessness and despair are what they learn. Imagine spending decades being treated this way? I have seen the most confident of men be reduced to a timid hand shy individual who can not make a single decision without first asking staff. I wonder what will become of such men once they are released? A caged animal without the restraints of prison staff let loose on the world. Is this what they mean by preparing inmates for their return into society?
I firmly believe that staff are trained to break the inmates spirits. We certainly do not have any recourse for the times we are mistreated. I recently was accused of writing a snitch kite by an inmate. I have never wrote any informant kites my entire 25 years, and never would. Because this inmate suffers from Stockholm Syndrome, and is a staff members personal pet, the staff member believed the inmate. Then other staff members believed the first staff member. I was never given a conduct report, and never found guilty of anything. Nevertheless, I have this cloud of suspicion over me. The reason I have never been formally accused, nor found guilty, is because I did not do what these people accused me of. They even went as far as comparing my handwriting with the one used to write the kite. Obviously, my handwriting did not match. I feel like I keep going through this same scenario over and over in life.
What am I suppose to do? Just as with the case that landed me in prison, all of the evidence proves I did not do this thing, yet, I am guilty depending on who you talk to. The issue with the snitch kite is far less important than proving my innocence in this case. None of this compares to having the ability to restore my relationship with my daughter. Still, this is persistent and nagging issue. I keep wondering how much of this crap I will have to face when I do finally go home. It is a daunting thought.
The one thing I can tell you about this is that I have continuously fought to prove my innocence. Now, every time someone falsely accuses me of something, they just stoke the fire a bit.

I was talking with another inmate, who also claims actual innocence, when the subject of a support network came up. I watched as tears welled up in this man’s eyes, as he spoke of the few supporters he had were dying off. Literally, dying. Inmates lose family members while they are incarcerated. It is difficult enough to lose a family member, and not be able to say goodbye as it is. When that family member is the total of your support system, it has a deeper impact on the inmate. When they are lost, hope is lost with them. The possibility of a future is gone.

When the inmate is reliant upon the lost family member in support of proving a person’s innocence, well, I can think of no greater crushing effect on a person’s hope. I am sure that there are many who would sacrifice their freedom to have a lost family member back. Maybe, that is just my opinion,

The judicial system makes it extremely difficult to prove your innocence. They come up with new ways to prevent a person from getting the court documents they need. They limit the number of times you can file an appeal. They put time limits on filing those appeals. It becomes important to have someone outside fighting for you. A person who can do the things a person locked inside a prison simply cannot. A support network.

Moral support will not get an inmate home. It will not prepare them for success when they get home. Inaction early on ensures decades behind bars. In a justice system that is this corrupt, there are no bystanders. What they do to one free citizen in the US, they will eventually do to many others. If you think I am kidding, look at the sex offender registry. They started with sex offender, then arsonist, and it has vastly expanded from there. Some states register drug offenses, drunk drivers, and violent offenders. You may think these registries are needed. What you may not know is that all the studies show these registries do nothing for public safety, and the government spends millions of dollars to maintain them.

It is important for inmates to have someone who can and will help them. However, if you are going to be that support system for an inmate, be proactive. What would you want people to do for you if you were wrongfully incarcerated and stuck in prison? Would you want people to let precious time slip by? Time that is forever lost to you. The time you could have been spending with those you love? I think everyone should adopt an inmate and help them. Find an inmate online and contact them. Learn about them. You will see we are all regular people no different than you.

When I first came to Marion Correctional Institution, there were so many programs and things for inmates to do that I stayed busy throughout the day. I would get up at 5:30, get dressed, have a cup of coffee, brush my teeth and hair, and be out the door by 6:30. I would stay gone until count time around 10:30, and would leave again by about 11:30 for chow. I would stay gone until the next count time at around 3:30 and leave again at 4:30 for chow, and not come back to my lock until around 8:00. I would get a shower, grab a bite to eat, and get some sleep to start all over the next day.

These programs give inmates something to look forward to, keep their minds and hand occupied, and gave them reasons to stay out of trouble. When inmates have nothing to do, nor look forward to, they begin doing what they use to do. The things that caused them to come to prison in the first place. Unfortunately, when the state begins to complain about running out of money, the first thing they take from inmates are these programs. When the programs go, there is a dramatic increase in fights, drug use, and theft among inmates. Attacks on staff increase as well. When these attacks increase, the state says, “see, this is why we need more money. To hire more staff to keep prisons safe.” Sometimes, the administration in a certain facility will start stripping away programs just to cause a rise in violence. This way, the state will provide more money to that facility.

After everyone gets what they want, these programs never really come back. Inmates can spend years putting programs together and have it all wiped away for no apparent reason.

I firmly believe that the money set aside for security of a prison should be kept separate from funds used for programming. I also think that the wardens of each institution should not be allowed to cancel programs without a legitimate cause. Especially when one considers the fact that these programs reduce the very activities that cause the violence in the first place.

I would ask everyone to advocate for more programming in prisons that cannot be simply taken away at the whim of any administration for no apparent reason. These administrations should not be allowed to use the “Threat to Security” claim to get rid of programs when these programs are known for reducing these very threats.

Keep in mind, when these inmates get out of prison, they will be your neighbor, or the neighbor of someone you love. I once created an inmate group at Trumbull Correctional Institution called “Links.” The moto of the group was, “There is no greater community service we can provide than to ensure inmates succeed”. Think about it.

At some time between 2004 and 2010, I was receiving a lot of studies from the Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. These studies provided me with all kinds of information that included recidivism rates, the differences in defining recidivism, crime rates, and even how education effects all these things.

Of all the statistics that still swirl in my head, the things that always jumped out at me when reading these studies was how much of this information was based upon race, and how that caused division. It is true that the statistics on race are quantifiable. You can show the numbers. However, the more important detail seemed to be missing. They can show prisons are filled with approximately 60% African Americans and 30+% whites, but if you view this from a purely economic standpoint it looks something like 98% poor and lower middle class, and 2% wealthy. Sadly, almost every study shows the race statistic, and everyone gets offended about the racial disparity in the judicial system. The problem within the judicial system is not the racial disparity, but how the whole system is intended to incarcerate the poor. Making the matter worse is that if people continue to focus on the racial statistics, the people are so divided and angry that they cannot unite to fight against the real issues.

What I find really disturbing is how this racial issue has permeated the political arena. They keep saying things like systemic racism in America, and how bad it has gotten. Politicians call one another racists or white supremacist sympathizers. When did all of this become okay?

One other strange aspect to this is that the media seemed to be promoting this idea that white people are the only ones who can be racists. I cannot begin to tell you just how wrong that idea is. I have been locked up around 25 years, and I can assure you I have seen Black, White, Latino, and even Asian racists.

I cannot help but wonder, if all this rhetoric is not just another means by which to keep all of us divided? I am white, but I am not a racist. My skin tone does not mean I was born racist, or that I grew up in a racist home. What is all of this doing to us as Americans? What is it doing to our beloved country?

I will say that when people go around saying there is racism over here, or over there; the common people will start finding in places it has never existed nor ever will. At that point, no one will ever be able to work together to fix the problems that plague us all.

For the most part, I have always maintained a positive outlook on life. Sure, I get depressed, sad, tired, and any of the other bad feelings. Yet, they rarely show themselves in my demeanor. To some degree, I just do not wear my heart on my sleeve. I tend to rely on reason and logic, and less on feelings. I find I do not get into trouble when I attempt to remove my feelings from the things I deal with daily. Today, I am just feeling tired.

I am tired of the loneliness, despair, and disappointment this place breeds. Do not get me wrong. I do have friends and family who stay in touch with me daily. Nevertheless, that is not the same as having a girlfriend or wife who is standing by your side. I cannot have the same conversations with friends and family I would with that special someone. I see plenty of men who have been incarcerated as long as I have, and they have girlfriends and wives. I wish you could see their faces when they talk about them. They really light up.

I have noticed that when you are charged with the crimes I have been, people treat you like you are less than human. Who wants to spend time getting to know a person who has committed crimes against a child? I explain I am innocent and attempt to show the evidence. They just do not want to waste their time. Especially when the grand prize is a friendship or intimate relationship with someone like that. I cannot win.

It does not help that the whole of society acts this way. I am not found of people who harm children. Yet, my experience tells me, I cannot say who those people might be. I have been convicted of just such a crime, and there has never been any kind of evidence to suggest a crime occurred. Let alone the idea I am guilty. I have no doubt, that when you meet me, you would never guess I have been convicted of such a crime, much less being capable of committing it.

I may have an easier time meeting and getting to know people once I get out. Maybe. That does not help what I go through in here, and now. I would never ask anyone to simply believe what I tell them. Rather, I would ask that they compare what I say to the documents that prove what I am saying. I would suggest that you do this with everyone who has been accused of committing such a crime, and who claims actual innocence. Look at the proof. Then, ask yourself, “how is it possible that so many innocent people are in prison?”. Going even further, ask yourself how many of them are dealing with the same loneliness, despair, and disappointment I mentioned. Being in places like these can leave a person with a broken spirit among other things.

My last couple of post were failed attempts to convey just how difficult it is for me to accept harsh treatment, and how O.D.R.C. staff apply their rules unequally. Try to imagine being punished for something you not only did not do, but something that obviously never occurred. Imagine being punished with individuals who have done things.

Most of the inmates that I have met, that can show they are innocent, are usually angry. They are angry because they have been wronged. They are angry because they are in prison. They are angry because they are continuously being wronged. They are angry because no one is taking the time to listen to their plight. They are angry because the staff mistreat them. They are angry because they are made to follow arbitrary rules created at the whim of staff for no other reason than they enjoy being sadistic.

I wish I could say that I am different in this regard. Truth is, I am angry too. Still, I realize there are proper methods to air any grievances. The issue there is that the grievance procedure in the whole of O.D.R.C. is broken. This by itself makes a lot of inmates angry. In prison, inmates are always wrong, even when they are right. There are no such things as truth, honesty, right, wrong. There is only inmate and staff.

Inmates who spend any real time behind bars, leave having no sense of fair play. They get poked and prodded like animals, and they leave here in a sense of rage. I would imagine this is not a safe and productive way to treat and release inmates. It is definitely not good for our civilized society for a certain.

Now, imagine being in this environment while being innocent. I suppose it would be a little easier to accept if you had done something wrong, and worthy of punishment. Even then, the staff go overboard.
No one deserves to be mistreated. People do not have any right to be cruel to another human being. If we treated everyone in prison as though they too may be innocent, there would be a systemic change in the prison culture. I keep seeing this word being used, “re-imagine”. I am not a big fan of it, but maybe people should apply a similar concept to the whole of the judicial system? Retrain staff to be more compassionate. Remove those that can not seem to grasp the idea. Create laws that empower inmates to defend themselves against abusive staff, and prepare themselves for life outside of prison. Create laws that enable inmates who claim to be innocent to prove that innocence no matter how long it may take.

When inmates discuss the conditions of their confinement, it always appears they are simply complaining. Some people would tell them “not to come to prison, and they would not have anything to complain about”. Truth is, they have more to complain about than they should. The quality and content of the food, health care, recreation and library being closed far too often, the way big business exploits inmates and their families, and the way most staff treat us as throw away humans. I am sure there are many other issues I could list here, but that is not the purpose of this post. In fact, I do not want to sound like I am complaining about anything. Rather, I want to talk about some of the positive things that happen in prison. More to the point, I want to express my gratitude toward the individuals who have helped me over the years.

The first people I want to recognize are the members of my family who have stuck by me over the years. To give some perspective, my mother had once said that if she believed I had committed the crimes for which I am incarcerated, I would have had to deal with this on my own. Having them believe in me means a great deal to me. My mother, sister, several of my aunts, and cousins have all expressed their belief in my innocence. Not because they know and love me, but because of what the evidence says.

There are some staff, although few and far between, that go out of their way to help inmates. They seem to realize that normalcy in our daily lives prepares us for life outside of prison. These staff should be commended and recognized. These individuals try to help inmates with their education, religious practices, and other programs that inmates would use when they return home. Such staff should be promoted among the ranks, but they are often treated as outcasts.

I have also had the pleasure of getting to know some great prisoner advocates. The one who has helped me the longest lives in Germany and his name is Franz Kurz. Sadly, there is only so much he can do from across the pond. He has helped me find other resources and advocates and has given me some good contacts. These resources led me to an organization the National Center for Reason and Justice, which many of you already know was created and directed by Bob Chatelle. [Note: While Bob was one of the founders, and serves as Executive Director, he is neither an officer nor member of the governing board.] He is among the few who believed in my innocence after hearing my story, and he began to help me in a lot of ways. Franz also got me my first blog talk radio interview with the New Vision Organization founded by Leonna Brandao. The first time I was ever able to tell my story to the public.

Bob created another website for me, and then had some of his advocate friends look at it. A few donated funds to my legal defense and began to contact me through JPay. One such person is a former attorney living in Canada by the name Louis Piccone. He wrote an opinion on my case that for the first time in 23 years showed an attorney who understood everything I had been saying all that time.

I was put in contact with a group here in Ohio called Ensuring Parole for Incarcerated Citizens (EPIC). I began conversing with one of their board members, and it was apparent she believed in my innocence as well.

Each of these people have helped me in ways I am still not fully aware of. I want to thank each of them, and to let them know how valuable their work is to someone like me. It provides a degree of hope my family and I have not had in many years. Personally, having a stranger read your story and express belief in your innocence is something that I cannot describe. Thank every one of you!