Petition to Protect First and Fifth Amendments in Colorado

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Petition to Protect First and Fifth Amendments in Colorado

initiated in January 2012
updated on September 11, 2018

A comrade in Colorado was inspired by the California grievance petition campaign that has spread to several states across the country in making this petition for Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC). The petition focuses on the corrupt grievance system in CDOC, and the polygraph testing that is mandatory for some types of programming. This mandatory polygraph testing is leading to longer sentences and ineligibility for parole.

Our ability to fairly have our grievances handled is directly related to preventing arbitrary repression for people who stand up for their rights or attempt to do something positive. And if we are not able to make parole, then we will never be able to take our revolutionary organizing out from under the direct control and discretion of the state.

From a comrade in California, speaking about the initial petition that spread to Colorado:

“It is our intention to flood the Director’s office with these petitions in hopes that it will shed some light onto the illegal acts in which these pigs are willing participants. We are being forced to file these petitions due to the unfortunate fact that the vast majority of our 602s are not being filed or properly heard.

“The idea is to distribute this petition to all CDCR facilities and to have as many people sign and mail the petition to the Director’s office as possible. Once all parties receive their responses concerning the petition, all responses along with contradictory paperwork should be sent to MIM(Prisons), the Prison Law Office (which is specific to CA), the Office of Internal Affairs, etc. Our goal is to expose CDCR, its administration, and facilities as tools of repression and the lengths that they will go to to cover their crimes.”

Prisoners are being recruited to lead this campaign where they are being held. Supporters of prisoners can join this campaign by printing out the petition and sending it to their family members, loved ones, and comrades inside. They can also send letters on behalf of prisoners to the addresses listed.

Sending in one petition to the Inspector General won’t get results, but getting multiple people to send out the petition will not only amplify the opposition to the problem, it will also bring those prisoners together around a common goal. Use this campaign to build unity behind bars.

Spread This Campaign!

There is a generic country-wide petition that can be used by anyone in the United $tates. A step up from using the generic country-wide petition is to modify one of the state-specific petitions to work in the jurisdiction where you’re held. Using one of the state-specific petitions as a format, rewrite the quotations and citations included on it. If you do this research and send us what needs to be rewritten for your particular state, we will gladly send an edited, accurate copy to other USW and Legal Clinic folks in your state.

You will need to research who to CC: (carbon copy) the letter to for your particular state. The U.$. Department of Justice and Office of Inspector General are the same for all U.$. prisons, but your state’s ombudsman and internal affairs officers will be different. The Prison Law Office is a non-profit organization that provides legal support to prisoners facing civil rights abuses, but it is particular to California. If you know of an organization in your state that is similar to this, they should be included on your petition.

Updates/Reports from Inside

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