MMIW Cases
| Submitted | Sept. 19, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Sovereign Bodies Institute
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Wyoming Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Data on all cases of deaths in custody involving an Alaska Native/American Indian woman or girl victim within your jurisdiction(s). For the purposes of this request, "Alaska Native/American Indian" is defined as any individual who was identified as a member of an Alaska Native or American Indian community or as having Alaska Native/American Indian heritage. "Woman or girl" includes all victims identified as females, as well as transgender women. We are requesting cases dating from 1900 to the present.
This request is for basic information on cases as classified above. Such information may include but is not limited to victim name, location and date of disappearance/death, age of victim, status of case (solved or unsolved).
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 7 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Annita Lucchesi
From: Department of Corrections
This is an initial response to your public records request which we
received on Sept 19.
You are asking for "Data on all cases of deaths in custody involving an
Alaska Native/American Indian woman or girl victim within your
jurisdiction(s)".
Does this mean female inmates who died in prison who were of Native
American/Alaska Native descent? Or are you looking for information on
female victims who had crimes perpetrated against them by inmates who died
in our custody? In other words, who are the "victims" you're referring
to...deceased inmates, or the victims of deceased inmates?
If it's the former, we can run a query going back approximately 20 years to
identify if we've had any female Native American/Alaska native inmates die
while in our custody. I'm guessing it will be very few, if any. If
however you're looking for information on those inmates actual victims, the
Wyoming Department of Corrections does not maintain that type of
information.
Please clarify your request.
Thank you,
Mark
--
Mark Horan
Public Information Officer
Wyoming Department of Corrections
1934 Wyott Dr. Ste 100
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
(307) 777-5889
mark.horan@wyo.gov
--
E-Mail to and from me, in connection with the transaction
of public
business, is subject to the Wyoming Public Records
Act and may be
disclosed to third parties.
From: Sovereign Bodies Institute
Hi Mark,
Yes, I am requesting records on Native female inmates that have died in custody (not their victims).
Thanks,
Annita
From: Department of Corrections
This email is in regard to your public records request. We were only able
to find one record of a Native American/Alaska Native female inmate who
died while incarcerated under the jurisdiction of the Wyoming Department of
Corrections:
Brandy Fay Pendleton.
DOB 8/16/1956.
Born in Paducah, Kentucky.
Ms. Pendleton was sentenced on 3/27/2006 out of Uinta County, Wyoming
(Docket #CR-05-30) to concurrent life sentences for 1st Degree Murder
(Conspiracy) and 1st Degree Murder (Accessory Before the Fact).
She died at the Banner Health Community Hospital in Torrington, Wyoming on
1/15/2017 from a long-term illness (which was a pre-existing medical
condition). Prior to her hospital transfer she was incarcerated at the
Wyoming Women's Center in Lusk, Wyoming.
As I mentioned in a previous email, our electronic database only goes back
about 20 years, so this is the only record we were able to identify.
We are considering this request closed, although you may contact me if you
have additional questions.
Regards,
Mark
--
Mark Horan
Public Information Officer
Wyoming Department of Corrections
1934 Wyott Dr. Ste 100
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
(307) 777-5889
mark.horan@wyo.gov
--
E-Mail to and from me, in connection with the transaction
of public
business, is subject to the Wyoming Public Records
Act and may be
disclosed to third parties.
Files
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