MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Deputy Director J. Jabe
Division of Operations
Virginia Department of Corrections
PO Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261-6963
15 December 2007
Dear Sir/Madam,
Shortly after my last letter I received further documentation of censorship of MIM?s mail at Red Onion State Prison from Mr. XXXXXX XXXXXX (XXXXXX). As of today, we have still not received a response to our appeal made in late November.
Two of the documents were regarding grievances filed by Mr. XXXXXX regarding the censorship of a number of publications including MIM Notes and MIM Theory. The final decision made by yourself upheld the censorship for Operating Procedure 803.2 #7, 13 and 14. In my previous letter I addressed these claims in relation to MIM literature. These new documents merely recite these rules, without providing any substantiating evidence. As Mr. XXXXXX points out, it is not legal to block our mail for reasons of political disagreements or discrimination against Black or other minority group organizations. Therefore, I am reiterating our request for specific citations of the material that is alleged to have violated these procedures.
The third document was in reference to the most recent incident of censorship of a letter sent from MIM to Mr. XXXXXX in October. The memo from Major K. Chris claims that MIM study group material violated 803.2 #7, 13, 14 and 15. The new procedure (15) refers to publications in a language other than English or written in code. The study group material was a set of questions on the topic of a philosophy text regarding materialism and idealism. This was also sent with a copy of the letter of inquiry I had sent to your office that I was carbon copying to Mr. XXXXXX. I am at a total loss as to which portions of these materials were deemed to violate any of the rules cited.
Please pass our mail along to Mr. XXXXXX or provide us with specific citations of how each item violates each operating procedure cited.
W.D. Jennings, Ph.D., Management Lead Analyst
Virginia Department of Corrections
PO Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261-6963
16 March 2008
Mr. Jennings,
In my February 10 letter to you I had inquired about an incident in which a letter to a prisoner at Red Onion State Prison from MIM Distributors was described as having ?No Approval.? I pointed out that Operating Procedure 803.2 only applies to publications, and as defined in the rule letters are not included.
In your February 27th letter to MIM Distributors regarding a different letter to a different prisoner, you describe the letter as a ?magazine,? despite the fact that the letter does not fit the description of a magazine or publication given in 803.2. In your attempt to inappropriately apply the rules you have exposed your own unwillingness to allow prisoners to participate in programs aimed at education and personal reform. Is inviting a prisoner to participate in a study group ?detrimental to security? and ?the rehabilitation of inmates??
We are officially requesting an independent review of this decision to censor our mail. Also, could you please let us know who is responsible for conducting the independent review? We are quite confident that an independent review of the decision would show that not only are the rules being applied incorrectly, but that the materials in question do not pose a threat to the rehabilitation of inmates, rather they represent an important program to promote rehabilitation. Since your letter was postmarked March 6, 2008, we should still be well within the 15 calendar day requirement for our request.
response to Jennings citing laws violated
Show Text
W.D. Jennings, Management Lead Analyst
Virginia Department of Corrections
PO Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261-6963
21 April 2008
Mr. Jennings,
In your letter dated April 8, replying to my March 16 request for an administrative review, you failed to address any of my concerns once again. Not only are you treating a document sent to a prisoner as a magazine, but you fail to provide any response regarding the substance of you claims that the material violates any rules or posses any threats. Your letter contains no content but a restating of the rules. As I established with you late last year, we are now fully briefed on the rules and regulations as spelled out in Operating Procedure #803.2. Yet the department has failed to demonstrate how any of the materials sent by MIM Distributors violate these rules.
The administrative review process was established in response to the standards of TURNER v. SAFLEY, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) which allow leeway to prison administrators so as to avoid court decisions for every instance of censorship. By failing to provide a means of dealing with these problems administratively you are preventing the decision from being effective in protecting the rights of the public to communicate with prisoners.
In the most recent censorship notice that MIM Distributors has received from Mr. Benjamin Wright (see enclosed), the VADOC decided to ban a publication for an article that is critical of the department itself. This conflict of interest is also a violation of federal law.
Finally, in violation of Sizemore v. Williford, 829 F.2d 608, 610 (7th Cir. 1999), the VADOC has systematically blocked and delayed mail to prisoners within Red Onion State Prison. One recent report from a prisoner documents letters that MIM Legal Department cc?ed him regarding my appeals to your office were delayed by 1 to 2 months.
We intend to pursue these matters until the department can reasonably claim to be following the law in relation to mail sent by MIM Distributors and the communications of prisoners with the outside world.
