Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Warden Greg Lewis
Pelican Bay State Prison
5905 Lake Earl Drive

Crescent City, CA 95531

October 21, 2012

RE: Censorship incident occurred at Pelican Bay State Prison -- Under Lock & Key No. 26 (May/June 2012) denied delivery to Mr. XXX

Dear Warden Lewis,

Mr. XXX has recently informed MIM Distributors of the Second Level Review you wrote responding to his appeal of the censorship of Under Lock & Key No. 26 (May/June 2012). I have an enclosed a copy of this Second Level Review for your reference. This letter is written in support of Mr. XXX's complaint. We believe the publication is not a threat to the safety or security of the institution, and we believe it should be permitted for receipt by Mr. XXX.

One article you cite in your Second Level Review as a reason to censor this newsletter is the article titled "Retaliation for Hunger Strike and New Protest Ideas" on page 9 of ULK 26. You cite this article under FINDINGS I, and page 9 is cited on the original Notification of Disapproval. This article is a report from a Corcoran prisoner outlining the retaliation he and his fellow prisoners are facing, even ones who did not participate in the state-wide hunger strikes in 2011.

Unfortunately, like many prisoners across the state, the author has discovered that filing grievances does not lead to resolution of the problems and abuses. In this article, the author offers a suggestion for a method of peaceful and legal protest to draw attention from prison administrators, such as yourself. Under Lock & Key is a peaceful newsletter which discourages all prisoners from initiating any violence, against guards or fellow prisoners. But if prisoners are being forced to live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and are underfed, erroneously censored, and brutalized, and are still not able to resolve these illegal human rights violations by the "proper channels," what then do you suggest they should do?

Since the editors, contributors, and subscribers of Under Lock & Key do not advocate violence, we instead offer ideas and discussion for other ways to resolve these horrible conditions. If people do not learn of these nonviolent methods of protest, they will instead lash out in violent ways out of frustration. Violence is a safety hazard for prison employees and prisoners alike.

Regarding FINDING II, in which you state Under Lock & Key is "inmate-to-inmate correspondence," I ask what other prisoner newsletters you censor for this reason? There are dozens of newsletters written by and for prisoners on a very wide range of topics, and I would be surprised if prisoners at PBSP were not also subscribed to newsletters your department finds more agreeable than ours. But regardless of the content, this reason for censorship should also apply to those other newsletters; otherwise it is clear you are using this as a smoke screen for your political agenda against anti-imperialism, which is of course illegal. Therefore I would like to request a list of materials which have been censored at Pelican Bay State Prison from June 2012 to present.

Also in FINDING II, you assert that "many prison inmates are committed to and promote activities of inmate terrorist groups..." and make a leap of faith that the prisoners who contribute to Under Lock & Key fall into this category. You go on describe an alleged conspiracy being waged by these "inmate terrorist groups" to "cause other mass disruptions of prison programs." First, prison programs are disrupted already because there is no positive programming to speak of. That anyone could disrupt prison programs is a joke. (Unless you are referring to psychological torment, contaminating food, and cell extractions as "programming.") Second, Under Lock & Key is not part of any conspiracy (defined as "a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful"). Everything Under Lock & Key stands for is printed right in the newsletter, none of it is illegal, and all we are trying to do is help people, not harm them (even the guards):

"ULK serves as a forum to develop and promote agitational campaigns led by MIM(Prisons) and USW. Our current battles in the United States are legally permitted. We encourage prisoners to join these battles while explicitly discouraging them from engaging in any violence or illegal acts. MIM(Prisons) and its publications explicitly oppose the use of armed struggles at this time in the imperialist countries (including the United States)." from page 2 of Under Lock & Key No. 26

Therefore, with the present letter, MIM Distributors requests
a Director's Level Review be conducted on the publication Under Lock & Key No. 26 (May/June 2012) in favor of delivery to Mr. XXX;
the determination of this Director's Level Review be sent to Mr. XXX and MIM Distributors;
the publication be delivered to Mr. XXX;
and a list of the materials censored by PBSP mailroom staff from June 2012 to present.

We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,


MIM Distributors



CC: Affected parties
Secretary Matthew Cate