This letter, on behalf of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM), is to address the recent wave of censorship within Attica Correctional Facility. Across the board censorship of our organization began in Attica last August and has reached a point where we can no longer communicate with any prisoners in that facility. The most common reason for rejecting our mail has been that the materials are “Not Allowed.” Some instances referenced DOCS, however we freely communicate with prisoners in most other facilities in the state. This censorship has applied across the board to books, our newsletter and to personal communications sent to prisoners.

In response we have worked with prisoners to contact mailroom staff and question the policy behind this censorship. We have engaged in a public campaign in which we have gathered hundreds of signatures from people on the outside that object to this censorship. We have sent these postcards [see enclosed sample] to the mailroom at Attica in previous months. Yet the censorship continues with no explanation further than the notes such as “Not Allowed” written on returned mail.

We are bringing this matter to you in hopes of making some progress towards ending what we see as illegal censorship of our mail. As mentioned above, we know that this censorship is not the result of a policy within the NYS DOCS. Additionally, we know that according to federal law prisons cannot censor materials that are not "detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the institution or ... might facilitate criminal activity[see THORNBURGH VS. ABBOTT, 109 S.Ct. 1874 (1989)].” Any censorship outside of this stipulation is deemed illegal by the First Amendment of the Constitution protecting free speech. The practice of censoring anything sent by MIM is also illegal since any mail that is determined to be dangerous according to the guidelines of Thornburgh above, must be done so on a case by case basis. Simple letters being returned indicate that this is the current practice in Attica. In conclusion, we’ve determined that the policy is specific to Attica Correctional Facility and we question its legality in light of state and federal laws.

We appreciate any further explanation you can give for the censorship described above, and we hope that you will help put an end to illegal censorship at Attica Correctional Facility. Please send correspondence addressing these matters to our address below.