Under Lock & Key

Oregon budget cuts: prisoners beware

To Oregon USW Comrades:

As you may already know, the Oregon Department of Corrections recently released (Nov 16, 2001) a "Corrections Budget Reduction Plan" in response to statewide budget concerns. The ODOC was asked to trim $86 million. Now, this budget reduction includes a supposed closure of 6 minimum prisons along with the non-opening of a portion of the newly constructed coffee creek prison. These closures would be welcome and would be recognized as the first event in the failure of Oregon's current prison expansion program. Realistically and historically Oregon likes to "cry wolf" to the taxpayer in order to curry favor for monetary expenditures and increased revenues (taxes). It is unlikely that all of these minimum prisons, if any, will be closed. I want comrades to go on the alert for drastic deterioration in the quality of our food (not that it has been all that appealing anyway). The ODOC has stated that as a budget reduction tactic it will "spot buy" foods. "Spot buying" means ODOC will bid on truck loads of foods that retailers have refused, generally turning, rotten and putrid foods. This is true of both meat and vegetable products. Administrative action should be sought and encouraged immediately upon any noticeable food quality deterioration.

Remember that the power of the pencil resides in the ability to overload the system with realistic demands.

Prisoner X, December 2001

North Carolina prisons censor MIM Notes

Central Prison in Raleigh, NC and Warren Correctional Institute in Manson, NC confiscated the September 2001 issues of MIM Notes. Neither alerted MIM to the censorship nor explained why the MIM Notes were censored. One prisoner at Central Prison received a letter saying that Division of Prisons policy D.0103 is justification for the censorship, but the letter did not state what that policy is. Despite the legal requirement to send notification to sender (i.e. MIM) when material is censored with an explanation of why, we have not received such notification. Another letter sent to a prisoner states in part: "Your publication: MIM Notes, September 15, 2001; No. 242, has been received. I have reviewed this material and determined that it violates Division of Prisons policy at section D.0109. Therefore, I am disapproving possession of the material pending review of the Publications Review Committee."

The letter includes no explanation of what the D.0109 policy is. A Notice of Rejection of MIM Notes received by another North Carolina prisoner states "Publications/Magazines/Newspapers - Must be received directly from the publisher." This despite the fact that MIM Notes does come directly from the publisher. RAIL condemns this censorship by North Carolina prisons, and urges people to send additional protest letters to the following people. (Send a copy of the letter to MIM.) Warden Robey C. Lee, Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27606, (919) 733-0800 Superintendent J. Hayes, Warren Correctional Institute, PO Box 399, Manson, NC 27553 (252)456-3400 Boyd Bennett, Director of Prisons, PO Box 29540, Raleigh, NC 27626 Mailroom Office, Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27606, (919) 733-0800 x224

North Carolina prisoner files grievance

I just received a letter you sent me advising me that I had just subscribed to MIM Notes. Thank you very much for the subscription. Some bad news though, after receiving your letter advising me, three days later my first subscription of the MIM Notes came, but the prison system denied it to me due to censorship. All is well comrades. I am now waiting on my appeal and grievance to come back.

--A North Carolina prisoner

North Carolina prisoner appeals censorship

I'm writing this to let you know that I have received the Aug 1st & 15th MIM Notes, but on 10- 12-01 I received notice that Central Prison has made it a little difficult for me to get them now by disapproving the Sept 15, 01 Notes; they have not said anything about the Sept 1, 01 paper but I have not gotten that one as of yet. But here's a copy of the confiscation notice; this is my copy that I'm sending to you ; the other copy I have filled out the appeal part & I am waiting on it to come back. I've got 2 grievance forms ready to go out if the pigs come back with some bullshit. Please believe me when I tell you this; I'm a soldier & I am going to fight these pigs on this matter & any other matter that may come up. All I ask of you is to give me some more tips on ways to fight this matter. I know that you will take care of your end. I'm trying to get in contact with some real comrades on this unit & make sure they fight this bullshit too.

--A North Carolina prisoner

North Carolina fears MIM Notes spreading

The administration finally joined the bandwagon and censored MIM newspapers stating that it violates policy D.1003, which I filed a grievance asking what this code entails, because I don't have a policy manual. They have yet to respond. The entire time I have received the newspaper without any friction from the administration, (once the paper started circulating and unconscious prisoners headz started viewing them in great detail, and recognizing the diversity and views from the mainstream newspaper we receive everyday back here in Unit 1 Lockdown, they (the administration) quickly diminished MIM access to the [information about] the oppressive conditions within the walls. I would like to ask what steps I need to take to combat this censorship these prisoncrats are putting down?

--A North Carolina prisoner

New Policies Cut Off Legal Information, Step Up Surveillance

The Rhode Island Dept. of Corrections on its push towards implementing the fascist agenda on Amerikkka has taken away more rights from prisoners. Recently as of June 2001, prisoners no longer have law library rights. It is a privilege now subject to the discretion of the Department of Corrections and its employees. Previously the R.I. D.O.C.'s adult correctional facilities were governed under a consent decree under Defusco vs. Southworth in Federal District court of R.I. This consent decree worked as a binding contract between the D.O.C. and the prisoners. Under that consent decree prisoners had the right to inmate law clerks for assistance in legal research and preparing and filing legal actions in court. They also had rights to have law library access twice a week at the least and to have copies made free of charge. Now however that has changed, with assistance from the right wing conservative federal judges in federal district court. Judges in federal court are now saying prisoners shouldn't have rights. The law library issue revolves around a prisoner's 6th amendment right to the U.S. constitution to have access to the courts. A Supreme Court case Lewis vs. Casey has been used to justify taking law libraries out of prisons across the country. In a previous case [the prisoners' lawyer agreed] to modify a consent decree without prisoners' consent or knowledge, so the D.O.C. could open outgoing mail and read it and read incoming mail. Before only a warrant from a judge could have authorized [reading outgoing mail]. Now all prisoners in Security Risk Groups or otherwise have all their mail read and sometimes not delivered. Under the modification only if there was probable cause as to a specific crime or security threat could the mail be read. But now there is a list kept of inmate mail to monitor. Under the current treachery, in order for prisoners to get any legal research done or forms/motions for court, a prisoner must fill out a form giving the D.O.C specific information as to what the action is, if they are represented by counsel or not. If they have counsel they are not allowed to do legal research, unless they can prove to the D.O.C. law librarian that they have tried to contact the lawyer unsuccessfully. Also the law librarian decides if you have a valid claim to get the necessary paperwork to file a lawsuit. The federal court along with the D.O.C. have now effectively put up a blockade to prisoners having adequate access to the courts under the 6th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Fascist ideology at its finest, this is a process of a totalitarian lock down of Amerika. The courts have now given the prison officials the discretion of whether or not a prisoner could fight for his right to be heard in court. It is not in the best interest of the prison officials to allow prisoners to seek access to the courts in fighting convictions to be released. It is called job security, and this further exemplifies how these capitalists seek to blood suck the poor and capitalize off the prison industry, the fastest growing multibillion dollar industry. This is also in effect a sort of censorship, because not even conditions of confinement could be successfully brought to the courts, because the prison officials decide if they do. This brings another new policy of the R.I. D.O.C. to light, the new phone system in which all prisoners have their conversations recorded. In order to use the phone you must fill out a form giving consent to be wiretapped. You receive a pin number, but you can only put 13 names on the list of approved persons you may call. These are the only people you can call; changes are made every 90 days. Their first and last names must be provided plus relationship to the prisoner. There is an extra charge added to the phone bill's collect call to pay for this new system. Now being that there are about 3000 prisoners in the adult correctional institution we have at least 33,000 people who are supposed to be in free society being wiretapped. People who have never been convicted of a crime are now being monitored in their phone conversations, if they want to communicate with prisoners. The prisons are now being used as a conduit to implement the fascist agenda of Amerika. In the future many more policies will be put in place which will use the prison to justify their dirty actions. Fascism and capitalism go hand in hand to promote a totalitarian society, one in which the few the elitist have all the power, while the rest are their virtual slaves. The state controlled by the rich reigns supreme. All who oppose will be quickly kidnapped and convicted and convicted by agents of the state with the key thrown away.

Prisons = Big $$$$$$ for the government via state agencies all together. So it is in the court's best interest to be bedfellows with the prison officials, police, and politicians, most of whom are lawyers=liars. Wake up comrades, and all the sleeping people out there; only a revolution brought about by Maoist ideology will bring True Freedom & Justice to this country.

--a Rhode Island prisoner

A RAIL comrade adds: Thanks to this prisoner for writing up in detail some of the injustices perpetrated by the Rhode Island DOC. Prisoners are regularly denied access to information, whether that is information exposing national oppression and the criminal injustice system, or information that can help them be heard in court. As one can see from reading the pages of MIM Notes, the DOC in prisons across the country regularly censor MIM literature and letters. RAIL disagrees with a couple statements this prisoner makes. One, that the elitists in Amerika are few in number, and that the majority of Amerikans are virtual slaves.

On an international scale, the entire Amerikan nation is an elite, and its members benefit from and support Amerikan imperialism, which oppresses and murders people around the globe in order to maintain economic hegemony. Most Amerikans are living decadent lives at the expense of the majority of the world's people. They are not interested in revolution because they are happy with the fat-paycheck status quo. Also, RAIL disagrees with this prisoners' statement that "lawyers=liars." While this may be true in many cases, it is important to recognize that individual lawyers can be allies in the fight for prisoners' rights. Lawyers who want to win basic rights for prisoners, stop guard abuse, end inhumane conditions, fight against censorship, and so on are allies because, at this time, they fall on the right side of the principal contradiction in practice by fighting the policies of one of imperialism's main oppressive institutions within U.$. borders: the criminal injustice system.

How can we fight inside?

Many times I have heard, seen and dreaded how brothers and sisters have been physically and verbally abused through police brutality, cruel punishment (sanctions), poor environment (housing units, ad seg units, medical units, and detention units) and medical malpractice. The Departments of Correction (DOC) and medical departments (CMS) had and have been getting away with the above for many years. With the help of legislators, new laws are passed to protect their slave plantations and thugs, but most of all to increase the population in these plantations. The legislators had and are creating laws to attack oppressed nations, but failed to realize these same laws could benefit us on the inside. How? We have to use the legal system against them. Many brothers and sisters in the past have filed civil complaints, court claims or criminal complaints. But many times we failed in our battles in court. Why? One, we can't prove our complaints or claims because of lack of paperwork that is needed.

Two, paperwork that is used to attack our credibility (our institutional records or criminal jacket which helps to destroy our credibility in our complaints). What must we do? We must come together to attack the credibility of the DOC and CMS by combining our paperwork to show a pattern of their history. We also must continue to file paperwork in and out of these plantations. And whether or not it is resolved (settled, plea out or taken care of ) keep copies of each of these papers. Let us use the mighty pen and put our heads together because right now we will not accomplish anything through violence.

-- a prisoner in New Jersey, November, 2001.

Uncle Sam extends hand, strong-arm tactics

The following political mock letter was written by a Mississippi prisoner.

Dear young middle eastern man in the Detroit area:

Greetings from the government of the United $tates of Amerika. We hope that you and your family are well, enjoying the many privileges and freedoms for which our country is famous. We are sure you would agree that you could not have a better life anywhere else on the planet. We are likewise confidant that you are eager to show you appreciation and respect for the U.$.A. by helping our government stamp out a terrible problem with which we are all so painfully familiar: Terrorism. What we would like for you to do is to give us a call and set up an appointment with the U.$. attorney in Detroit--or, heck, just drop by during normal business hours so that our government lawyers may ask you a few questions. For instance, we would like to when you came to Amerika, why you came, and how you came. Also, we would like to know who you came with, who you live with and who you knew when you got here. Furthermore, we are interested in knowing who you have met since you have been here, where and how you met them and what you talk about or do together. Plus, we want you to tell us everything you know, think and feel about various countries, governments and factions in the Middle East, as well as what you know, think and feel about the U.$.A. Similarly, we must ascertain whether the events of Sept. 11 made you happy, sad, scared, proud, or angry, and who you know that was happy, scared, proud, or angry.

Also, you will be asked to explain all that you know, think and feel about Osama bin Laden, Al- Quaeda, the Taliban, terrorism generally, Islamic extremism particularly, and Amerika's response to the events of Sept. 11. These would not be the only questions we have, but we wanted to give you an inkling of the questions so that you may feel comfortable with the nature of our inquiry. Please rest assured that you are presumed guiltless and that we are only asking for you cooperation because you look like the Sept. 11 terrorists and, theoretically, may share their passions. We trust that you are not offended, as there is no one to blame but Mother Nature. (Ha, ha. ha.) There will be many men and women professionals in the room with you, so you should not by any means feel alone. We are simply asking our good citizens, residents and visitors to assist us in this urgent and worthy cause. Shall we expect to see you soon? We certainly hope so. Otherwise, we may be forced to come and get you and lock you up for an indefinite amount of time. As you know, we have had to resort to this with many Middle Eastern descendants who did not grasp their obligation to this great country, as we are confident you do. Indeed, some of them are so anti-Amerikan that, rather than confess to duplicity, they have engaged lawyers to represent them. As one of the good ones, you will be happy to know that we are arranging to intercept their calls with lawyers so that we can stay abreast of developments. Perhaps you should teach them how patriotism and gratitude are supposed to work. Meanwhile, we look forward to meeting you soon. Again, all you need to do is to make an appearance. We will provide refreshments.

Sincerely,
The Government