Free Answering Brief in Opposition - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1 :04-cv-01378-GMS Document 41 -5 Filed 09/27/2005 Page 1 of 3
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
SAAD M. SOLIMAN, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action N0. 044378 (GMS)
)
STANLEY TAYLOR; PAUL HOWARD; )
THOMAS CARROLL; LAWRENCE ) JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
McGUIGAN; JAMES LUPINETTI; DAVID E. )
PIERCE, Jr.; JOSEPH BRICHARDSON; )
RONALD HOSTERMAN; CERTAIN )
UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES OF )
THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT )
OF CORRECTION; and STATE OF )
DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF )
CORRECTION, )
)
Defendants. )
AFFIDAVIT OF TIMOTHY J. WILSON
I, Timothy J. Wilson, being duly sworn according to law, hereby depose and say as
follows:
1. I am an attorney for the Plaintiff in the above-captioned matter.
2. On Monday, February 7, 2005, I met with Mr. Soliman and discussed matters that
are alleged in the Amended Complaint and the Statement of Facts contained in Mr. So1iman’s
Answering Brief.
3. Due to the logistics of working with an inmate incarcerated in the DCC, Mr.
Soliman’s Affidavit had to be drafted prior to my trip to DCC on February 7, 2005. As a result it
contained language that Mr. Soliman filed grievances while housed in “The Hole." Mr. Soliman
had very little time to review and sign the affidavit and therefore this inconsistency was not
discovered until after my meeting with Mr. Soliman and after I had time to review my notes and
reflect on his statements to me.
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Case 1:04-cv-01378—Gl\/IS Document 41-5 Filed 09/27/2005 Page 2 of 3
4. Mr. Soiiman stated to me, in unequivocal terms, that during the period of time that
Mr. Soliman was incarcerated in "The Hole", he was not permitted by DCC staff to tile any
grievances. He was instructed that. he would have to wait until he was released from "The Hole’”
and indeed, did have to wait until he was released from "The Hole" before he was given access to
a pen and any grievance forms.
5. Once released from "The Hole" Mr. Soliman was housed in the SHU, maximum
security. During this time, Mr. Soliman stated that he tiled numerous grievances. The only
responses that he received to these grievances were in response to one or two that raised the issue
of his not receiving his mail.
6. Mr. Soliman indicated that the grievance procedure for inmates who are housed in
the SHU, is flawed in that the inmates are not permitted to personally place their grievances in
the locked grievance boxes. As a result, the inmates must give their grievance forms to the
corrections officer on duty and trust that the corrections officer drops the grievance into the
secured grievance box. While housed in the SHU, Mr. Soliman tiled a grievance over this flaw
in the system, but received no response.
7. Mr. Soliman stated that there is no posted procedure anywhere in the prison that
instructs inmates on how to properly utilize DCC’s grievance process. Inmates are required to
learn how to utilize the process through explanations given by other inmates. Institutional rules
are to be posted in an area where every inmate is to have reasonable access.
8. Mr. Soliman stated that every grievance that he filed was carbon copied to his
attorneys. Mr. Soliman was surprised, as was I, that we have received no carbon copies of Mr.
Soliman’s grievances from DCC.
9. Mr. Soliman stated that, on February 3, 2005, nearly nine months after the
incident with the "Muslim Oil,” Mr. Soliman was re-charged with the crimes arising from that
incident. Mr. Soliman has already been absolved of those alleged crimes. Mr. Soliman asserts
that under institutional rules, charges need to be addressed within 90 days of the incident. The
following is Mr. Soliman’s account of events that took place that day.
I0. While Mr. Soliman was being processed, Defendant Joe Richardson instructed
Major Holman and Captain McCraver to take all photos, paperwork and materials out of Mr.
Soiiman’s cell. Included in the items removed were Mr. Soliman’s legal materials, including
correspondence to and from his attorneys, and his journal. Mr. Soliman’s journal included
entries that accounted for the grievances that he tiled while incarcerated in the SHU.
ll. During the course of the events that took place on February 3, 2005, Defendant
Richardson stated to Mr. Soliman, "pretty soon your little tirade for attention will be over too,
you’ll see then whose gonna help ya?
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Case 1:04-cv-01378—G|\/IS Document 41-5 Filed 09/27/2005 Page 3 of 3
1.2. Mr. Soliman believes, based upon the timing of this event as well as Defendant
Richardson’s statement to Mr. Soliman, that Detendant Richardson orchestrated the events of
February 3, 2005 and contiscated these materials in an effort to frustrate Mr. Soliman’s filing of
his Answering Brief
13. Lt. Steve Boone informed Corrections Officer Wells that his superior Captain
McCraver had been given orders by Defendant Richardson to confiscate and Write Mr. Soliman
up for having a religious necklace and a ring. Both of these items are permitted items at DCC.
14. Mr. Soliman believes that Defendant Richardson made this instruction to Captain
McCraver in order to justify placing Mr. Soliman back into maximum security, SHU.
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T _ '<%_1v_._a-V
T` ot ` on
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SWO]§qN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before
this Q day of Februaiy, 2005
ANtWo7i_ii¢T;T@`i`;§i§i}T\i"TT, M
NOTAHY FUBLIC
STATE OF DELAWARE
MY ‘°?;$_%ili8Y 30, 200;*
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