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DECLARATION
OF MARCY SIZEMORE
I,
Marcy Sizemore hereby state as
follows:
1. I am a 17 year old resident
of the State of Virginia,
residing in Chantilly,
Virginia.. I presently attend
Fairfax Baptist Temple Academy.
2. From December 27, 1980 until
March 1982, I was enrolled in
the Straight Inc. drug
rehabilitation program in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
3. I traveled to St. Petersburg
Florida with my mother to enroll
in the program. When I arrived
at the Straight, Inc.
headquarters in St. Petersburg,
I was taken into a room by two
other teenagers for intake. I
was kept in the room for
approximately five hours, and
couldn’t eat or use the
bathroom during those five
hours. Two girls sat in front of
the exit door to the room . I
couldn’t leave, and I was told
that it I didn’t enroll in the
program that they would put me
in a mental institution. They
also told me that if I didn’t
sign myself into the program
that I would be put into the
program by court order for a
period of two years. I
eventually signed myself into
the program, was strip searched,
and then entered into the
Straight program.
4. During my 14 months in the
program. I witnessed the types
of abuses as set forth in the
complaint in Collins v.
Straight, Inc. Enrollees on
first phase were not allowed to
make any movement or to even use
the bathroom without someone
holding on to them, and they
were kept under guard 24 hours a
day. Individuals who did not
cooperate were placed on
prolonged diets of peanut butter
sandwiches and water
"choker sandwiches"
and were placed in punitive
isolation for weeks and months
at a time. This was known as the
time out room. The
treatment consisted of 12 hours
a day of sitting in straightback
chairs, participating in rap
sessions, which amounted
basically to being confronted by
other teenagers concerning
drug and alcohol use. When I was
in the program, the only
exercise we got was once a week,
which consisted of forced
exercises, usually consisting of
100 pushups and other strenuous
exercises.
5. The standard practice of
Straight, Inc. is to prevent any
individual who misbehaves in any
way from progressing in the
program. During my 14 months in
the program, I was put back to
the beginning of the program at
least four times. Each time I
was put back to the beginning of
the program I was put on
"first phase, newcomer
status" which meant that I
was under guard 24 hours a day,
and was in physical contact at
all times with another enrollee.
6.
Another standard practice of
Straight, Inc. to punish those
participants who
"misbehave", was to
subject the enrollee to a
"marathon". In
December of 1981, I had been
placed on "no phase",
which was meant I was frozen in
the program and could not make
any progress. I was accused of
"misbehaving", because
I simply sat in the rap session
and did not participate. As
punishment for this
nonparticipation, I was taken
into a bathroom by six or seven
other girls, and I was kept in
the bathroom from 12 noon until
9:30 that night. In the
bathroom, the girls beat me,
punched me, placed their fingers
under my collar bone and twisted
the bone, and verbally abused me
for 9 1/2 hours. The girls would
hold my arms out at the sides,
while another girl would run
across the room and ram her head
into my stomach, and this was
done continuously. I was thrown
up against the wall, pushed back
and forth, and was made to stand
on my feet the entire 9 1/2
hours. I was told that I was
crazy, that I would be put into
a mental institution, and that
if I did not participate I would
be taken to a program where
lesbians would get me and I
would have to work in the
fields.
7. During this marathon, I was
so physically exhausted that I
passed out twice. Whenever I
passed out, the girls kicked me,
pulled at me and made me get to
my feet and again continued to
subject me to the beating. When
I asked for water, I was told I
could have water, and then they
poured it on my head. The girls
worked in shifts, and always
kept at least six to eight girls
in the room with me at all
times. After 9 1/2 hours, the
marathon stopped, and I was
taken to my "foster
home". At that point, my
entire body was covered with
bruises.
8. This type of marathon is done
regularly on the Straight, Inc.
enrollees if they
"misbehave." The other
teenagers who carry out the
punishment are "staff"
or "trainees", who are
former participants in the
program.
9. Another type of punishment
imposed on Straight, Inc.
enrollees if they
"misbehave" or
do not do what they are told is
to sleep-deprive the enrollees.
We would be made to stay up
until 3 a.m. on Friday night,
participating in open session,
stay awake all day Saturday, all
day Saturday night and all of
Sunday night. I once observed
one enrollee who was subjected
to this type of sleep
deprivation, and on Sunday night
she fell on the floor and went
into convulsions. Other
enrollees were used to curse us
and prod us to keep us awake so
that we were unable to sleep
during periods of 48 hours or
more.
10. During my 14 months in
Straight, I also suffered from
specific medical problems. At
that time I suffered from
allergies, and I needed shots
every two weeks in order to
treat the allergies. The
Straight, Inc. people denied me
access to these shots, and I
received them only occasionally
while I was in the program. In
fact, I only saw a doctor once
in the entire 14 months I was in
the program.
11. While in the program, I also
had a serious I fungus problem
with my feet. The fungus was so
bad that my feet were swollen to
the point where I couldn’t
walk and they also smelled very
bad. I told my "foster
mother" that I needed
medical attention, but I
received none. I was unable to
wear my shoes, and I received no
medical care until my mother
took me to a doctor.
12. By the time I got out of the
program in March of 1982, my
physical condition had
completely deteriorated. I
had developed open sores all
over my back and arms, and I am
informed by my pediatrician that
this condition is caused by the
mental and physical debilitation
I suffered while in the
Straight, Inc. program.
I hereby affirm under penalty of
perjury that the above statement
is true and accurate.
Date:
12/5/82
Marcie Sizemore |
