Family members and advocates respond to death at the ACI Intake Service Center; demand safety and dignity

“They are treating our loved ones poorly and making rules up as they go along," said Melonie Perez. "They need to stop doing this..."

Over the weekend, a person incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) Intake Service Center died while in custody. This marks the first reported death at the ACI this year. While details remain limited, Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) extends our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the individual. We stand with all those impacted by the ACI’s ongoing neglect and harmful conditions, which continue to jeopardize the lives and dignity of people behind the walls.

DARE’s Behind the Walls Committee continues to organize and advocate for incarcerated people and their families, offering court support, re-entry assistance, and urgent aid in times of crisis.

“For decades, we have heard from families whose loved ones suffered under the ACI’s care. The pain is real, the neglect is ongoing, and the cost is human lives,” said Behind the Wall’s Melonie Perez. “We are here to support families with warmth, care, and resources — and to demand accountability.”

Here’s the video:

Standing outside the offices of Wayne Salisbury, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC), Perez used a megaphone to make her plea, as co-director of DARE, and as a mother to a man serving time in maximum security.

“We’re calling on you, Assistant Director Rui Diniz. We need you to help our loved ones stay alive in the Department of Corrections,” said Perez. “We need your help so there will no longer be violent retaliation from the correctional officers. They are under your watch, they’re hurting our loved ones, and we won’t stand for it!”

Perez continued:

“This is a mother’s cry to help our loved ones. We’re telling you that you’re not following your own policies. Why are they not given all their privileges when there’s no loss of all privileges in your policy? You need to specify what privileges they lose according to the bookings you give them. Wayne Salisbury! We’re calling on you to help our loved ones. We do not want violent retaliation, and we need your help to ensure that RIBCO and all the Correctional Officers do not hurt our loved ones. What are they doing to them? We need human treatment.

“We need you to check into what happened on June 6th. Thank you for doing some investigations, but you need to oversee these investigations because they’ll cover up what they did. They’ll cover it up. You need to check on them. You need to be going to maximum security, to their segregation units, and hear the pleas and the cries of those who you’re entrusted with. You need to go in and talk to them. All these grievances? They’re not getting heard. Grievances are being thrown away. How is that part of policy? How is this legal?

“You should not be able to sit there in your office while we’re out here crying and thinking about our loved ones. It’s not fair. You need to go into the intake center segregation unit. You need to go into the maximum security segregation unit. Talk to those who are entrusted to your care. See what the problem is. Do not send other people to go and check, because guess what? They’re going to cover it up. You’ve got to go in yourself and check. We must ensure that the power you’re giving people is used correctly. You can’t just sit in your office and not care about what’s happening to the people inside.”

Brandon Robinson leads the Stop Torture RI Coalition and is a member of the Direct Action for Rights and Equality.

“We’re here with our allies, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and other folks, to speak for the voiceless, the people behind the walls who can’t speak up for themselves, to shed light on the injustices that are happening inside, the ACI, behind prison walls,” said Robinson. “Now, there were some policies for solitary reform passed in 2023, after several individuals passed away due to sensory deprivation, which happens after a long time in isolation. Due to those deaths, some changes needed to be made, and promises were made that individuals would be treated more fairly, being put in solitary confinement for a maximum of 30 days, no more, no less. This is not being upheld.”

Robinson continued:

“A federal judge said no policies should be changed without his permission, but the Brotherhood of Correctional Officers union keeps taking it upon itself to change these policies. They take it upon themselves to use cruel and unusual punishment on individuals who are already paying the price for their crime.

“We understand people need to be held accountable, but when being held accountable, they don’t need to be tortured, and that’s exactly what’s happening, right now. So much so that there’s a hunger strike happening right now in the maximum solitary confinement where individuals have gone without food or water for days to spread their message, that enough is enough and we’re tired of it.

“We need codification [of these policies] now, and we need transparency and accountability for the bad actors behind these walls in their gray uniforms, taking matters into their own hands to change the rules and make it unconstitutional.

“Support the passage of Reform Solitary Act in the 2026 legislative session because we need to stop this from happening. If we don’t pass this law, if we don’t codify it, guess what? If you think this is bad, when they get rid of Director Wayne Salisbury, it’s going to get worse.

“We also want to pass the body camera bill, the Willie Washington Jr. Act, because the families of our loved ones behind these walls deserve transparency, and we deserve to be able to hold bad actors accountable.”

“We have gathered here today to discuss the hunger strike inside RIDOT’s maximum security,” said Tunji, a member of DARE, Black and Pink Providence, the Enslaved Initiative, and No More Handcuffs. “This hunger strike has commenced to protest the inhumane conditions and violations of policy they are being forced to endure. This action is not about small grievances. It is about dignity, fairness, and basic human rights.”

Tunji continued:

“A few months ago, people inside were allowed limited tablet access. They had the ability to message, listen to music, use the radio, play games, and access limited internet. These privileges were left in place for balanced mental health. Slowly, those lifelines were stripped away. They are demanding that these basic privileges be restored, not to create a pastime, but for the safeguarding of their mental health.

“They demand that their grievances be heard and addressed instead of ignored. They are also demanding fairness. The department has inflated disciplinary violations, called bookings, so that people can be punished more harshly. This practice leads to longer and harsher periods of loss of privileges (LOP). Finally, they are demanding something as basic as adequate food. The portions being served are too small for human consumption. This fundamental human need is being denied. Why?

“We know what happens when peaceful protest is met with retaliation. On June 6th, we saw correctional officers respond violently to a protest in the intake service center. We are deeply concerned that the same could happen here. People who are already suffering will be further targeted, just for speaking out.

“We are calling on the director of the Department of Corrections, and every elected leader in the State of Rhode Island, to act now, investigate these abuses, restore the privileges on those tablets, top the inflammatory disciplinary charges, and ensure that every grievance is taken seriously. These men could be your father, your husband, or your son. They deserve dignity, fairness, and above all, safety.”

Melonie Perez also spoke to the press:

“I’m here as a mother of somebody in maximum security right now. My son was just in the maximum security segregation unit and part of the hunger strike. This hunger strike is needed because they’re not paying attention to any grievances they’re trying to put in. Why have they taken away the little bit they have given them? Months ago, they could use their tablets, in segregation, to message their loved ones. They could use the tablets to play games, go on limited internet, and listen to music. This last week, they’ve taken all of that away. Why? They’re already being punished. They do not need to be punished again. We’re calling on Director Wayne Salisbury and Assistant Director Rui Diniz to investigate your correctional officers’ actions.

“They are treating our loved ones poorly and making rules up as they go along. They need to stop doing this. Policies are put in place so that you can follow them and not make up the rules as you go along. We’re asking the director, elected officials, senators, and representatives to please look into what’s happening at the DOC. It’s unfair that these correctional officers, captains, and lieutenants get to do what they did on June 6th.

“On June 6th, the people in the intake segregation unit were peacefully protesting, withholding their breakfast trays. Guess what happened? They didn’t feed them lunch. Then guess what happened? Three hours later, after everything had calmed down, the correctional officers went inside and threw pepper spray into their cells, and then went in and beat them up so much so that someone had to go to the hospital. How is this taking care of our loved ones? They’re already being punished, and we do not need to have them be more cruelly and unusually punished because this is what’s happening, and we need to shed light on the situation. We need the Attorney General to pay attention. We need the governor to pay attention. This is not normal. We don’t want what happened in New York to happen here in Rhode Island. In New York, correctional officers are being charged for brutally beating someone up so badly that he died. Do we want our loved ones to die at the hands of correctional officers? No, we don’t.

“This is why we fight. This is why we stand here, because my son’s life is in danger if this keeps happening. We need the director to hear our cries. We need the assistant director, Rui Diniz, to hear our cries. That’s why we’re here, outside Director Salisbury’s office, because we need help. We need help from the people who can do something.

“Please call the Attorney General [(401) 274-4400] and the Director and Assistant Director of the DOC [401-462-3900]. Call the governor [(401) 222-2080], and let them know that we have loved ones inside that are peacefully protesting against unsafe and inhumane treatment, and being met with violent retaliation. We fear for our loved ones’ safety, and we need your help to bring awareness to this and all these injustices happening.”

“In short,” said Brandon Robinson, “the buck stops here. Nothing will change if we don’t speak up and you don’t help out. We’re going to have the same old same old. Just as they have individuals dying at the hands of correctional officers in New York, how do we know it’s not happening here in Rhode Island? We have no way of proving this stuff.

“This is why we need transparency, because we have loved ones in there, just as Melanie said, and y’all have loved ones in there, and we want them to come out after doing their time that they agreed to do because Rhode Island does not have the death penalty, so why are people dying inside the ACI?

“Mic drop.”

[Note: In a previous version, I mistakenly called Melanie Perez the co-director of DARE. DARE has one executive director, the excellent Marcus Mitchell. My bad.]

Melonie Perez