MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
www.prisoncensorship.info is a media institution run by the Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons. Here we collect and publicize reports of conditions behind the bars in U.$. prisons. Information about these incidents rarely makes it out of the prison, and when it does it is extremely rare that the reports are taken seriously and published. This historical record is important for documenting patterns of abuse, and also for informing people on the streets about what goes on behind the bars.
I’m writing because I just got your mag, but the mailroom takes its time
in getting our mail around to us, especially to us in Ad-Seg. Or wait,
they changed the name. It’s called “Restricted Housing” (R.H.). Yet,
nothing’s changed, it’s still the same.
It used to be for all STG-gangs, but here in Texas they just put anyone
back here, so this place is now full of people that get into fights,
don’t want to work, or people who do minor stuff out there in G.P., and
once here they take years to let them back out.
So because of this, they have changed so much for people like me who has
been back here since 88, because I was a gang member (Mexican Mafia). So
every time I come back into the system I get put back here. But since 05
I left the gang and have been trying to get into a program called GRAD
(Gang Renunciation and Dissociation).
I want out of this “R.H.” because there’s nothing back here for me. I
want to get out to G.P. where I can do something instead of just sitting
here doing nothing. Hell, ever since this year started we haven’t been
given our recreation like we should get, in their Ad-Seg plan. Since the
start of this year we’ve gotten rec once or twice each month!
What sucks is we have no unity here to try and get this back to how it
should be, one line might bang and any other ways to get this rank to
come talk to us, but all they do is put us on a 24 hr lockdown type of
thing (since we’re already in lock up) and feed us Johnnies.
I tried going with the grievance, Steps One and Two, but was told we
were given the chance to go to rec, and if we don’t go that’s on us. But
how is that since they KNOW Ad-Seg guys can’t just walk out of our cells
like guys in G.P.?
La mentalidad gángster puede significar cosas diferentes para cada un@.
Una pandilla es un grupo de personas con un objetivo común. Quiero
enfatizar que todas las palabras y/o conceptos están sujetos a
connotaciones que no tienen porque tener buenas intenciones. De la misma
forma, pandillas/gángsters tienen tanto connotaciones negativas como
positivas, igual que otras palabras como socialismo, anarquismo,
comunismo, etc. El objetivo de MIM(Prisiones) ha sido educarnos respecto
a estas ideas a través del uso apropiado de la ciencia.
Si tengo en cuenta todo esto, me considero un gángster. Puesto que creo
en la idea de trabajar junto a otros para alcanzar un objetivo común,
para mí no se trata de “derrotar la mentalidad gángster”, sino de
abrazarla y redirigirla hacia el “Sendero Iluminado.” Tenemos un enemigo
común y resolver nuestras pequeñas contradicciones no significa
necesariamente que tengamos que vencer nuestra mentalidad gángster. Este
tipo de lenguaje es lo que, en muchos casos, causa el rechazo por parte
de las organizaciones lumpen (LO). Este es el lenguaje que utilizan las
organizaciones financiadas por el estado y los grupos/organizaciones
cristianos.
Entiendo que la dirección de MIM es diferente, pero aquell@s que tomen
la ULK y le echen un vistazo, puede que al ver este lenguaje, la
dejen. Mi enfoque ha sido, y seguirá siendo, uno que politiza la
mentalidad gángster. Aquí es donde se encuentran a l@s camarad@s más
dedicados y que, como son respetad@s, se encuentran en una posición
desde la que pueden hacer cambios reales que borren la división entre
las diferentes pandillas y promuevan nuestra lucha en la dirección
correcta. Se trata de aprender y enseñar cuáles son nuestras pequeñas
contradicciones y trabajar para superar estos pequeños obstáculos.
En ULK 67, USW 11 se escribió sobre cómo el estado de Washington
está haciendo todo lo posible para despolitizar a l@s prisioner@s y cómo
en aquellos lugares donde reina la mentalidad gángster es donde se
encuentra la mayor resistencia contra el estado.(1) Cuando los LOs
entienden el poder que tienen si trabajan en conjunto, las cosas
empiezan a cambiar y a coger formar. Al fin y al cabo, las pandillas
contrastan con la mentalidad individualista de Estados Unidos y son una
respuesta a las condiciones socioeconómicas que enfrentamos dentro y
fuera de la prisión. Es una forma de sobrevivir en un lugar donde el
sistema opresivo y capitalista enfatiza el individualismo.
In November 2019, the U.S. District Court ruled that the Arizona
Department of Corrections (ADC) must “establish bright-line rules that
narrowly define prohibited content in a manner consistent with the First
Amendment.” These rules must be defined by mid-February. This ruling
comes after years of censorship of a variety of publications by the ADC,
often as a result of arbitrary decisions from mailroom staff.
In this case Prison Legal News (PLN) (a project of the Human
Rights Defense Center (HRDC)) filed a lawsuit in 2015 challenging the
censorship of its newsletter for “sexually explicit” content.
Ironically, the content that inspired this censorship was describing
non-consensual sexual contact between guards and prisoners. And as most
readers know, PLN is primarily a legal resource for prisoners
fighting injustices like this prison rape.
Arizona bans a variety of publications, including issues of National
Geographic, Men’s Health, and GQ.
Issues of
Under Lock & Key are also on this banned list, though not
for sexually explicit material. In the case of ULK, the most
recent ban (that we know about) is ULK 63 from July/August 2018,
which was banned for “Incite, Aide, Abet Riots, Work Stoppages, Means of
Resistance.” Many other issues of ULK sent to subscribers in
Arizona are returned or rejected without reasons given. Our attempt to
appeal this ban of ULK 63, requesting the ADC provide more
evidence than these vague claims resulted in the following response:
“The pages identified containing such content are throughout, including,
but not limited to, pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 17.”
In an example of their arbitrary decisions around censorship, a
MIM(Prisons) six-page guide to forming a prisoner-led study group was
censored in 2016 because it supposedly “Promotes superiority of one
group over another/promotes racism/degradation.” This is exactly what
MIM(Prisons) fights against: the superiority of one group of people over
another. And this is exactly what the criminal injustice system
promotes.
This court ruling requires the Arizona Department of Corrections to
change the mail policy from allowing DOC staff to use their discretion
when determining what’s banned and to establish consistency in excluding
sexually explicit material. This won’t help MIM(Prisons) as it is rare
that a prison claims ULK should be censored for sexually explicit
material. But any progress towards less censorship and more
narrowly-defined policies is a good thing.
On 22 October, in a different case, Prison Legal News was awarded
$1.2 million in attorney fees by a Federal district court in Florida
after a nine-year lawsuit over censorship of PLN publication
because of ads for phone services, pen-pals and stamps. This victory
came after the Supreme Court refused to take up the final appeal of this
PLN ban.(1) This resulted in the case remanding back to the
district court for a ruling on the attorneys’ fees. Basically this means
PLN won on their Due Process claims but lost on their First
Amendment claims. So the censorship is still legal, but the DOC failed
to follow proper censorship policy.
“Free speech isn’t free,” said Human Rights Defense Center executive
director Paul Wright. “In this case, censorship by the Florida
Department of Corrections cost state taxpayers almost $1.2 million –
because of the vicious efforts by the prison system to censor HRDC’s
publications. The Attorney General’s office spent over 3,000 hours in
attorney time fighting this case. The real tragedy is that Florida
prisoners remain unable to read PLN and other HRDC publications
that will educate and inform them of their rights.”(2)
PLN and the HRDC have done a lot to fight censorship in prisons over the
years. And their hard work on this front benefits everyone seeking to
help educate and organize prisoners. This censorship, and failures in
the courts prove a point we often make: there are no rights, only power
struggles.
Censorship is one of the biggest barriers to our work with prisoners.
And it’s an area where we always need more help, both from jailhouse
lawyers and from lawyers on the streets. If your mail is censored,
APPEAL IT, and get in touch with us and let us know. We will send you a
guide to fighting censorship and sometimes we can assist on our end with
an appeal to the prison. And lawyers on the streets get in touch and
help us with these battles!
The latest installment in the Terminator movies takes up where
Terminator II left off. In this timeline the A.I. called Legion has
achieved consciousness and seeks to wipe humynity from the earth. The
plot continues the theme of humyns fighting the machines after a nuclear
holocaust, with the future pivoting on the life of one persyn.
This movie features more gender and nation diversity than the previous
Terminators. All the humyn heroes are female. And it moves beyond the
U.$. borders to Mexico where the new target of the Terminator lives. In
Dark Fate the Terminator was sent back in time to kill Dani
Ramos. A cybernetically-enhanced soldier, Grace, was also sent back in
time, to protect Dani. And Sarah Connor, target from the previous
Terminator movies, shows up to help with Dani’s protection.
There are a few interesting themes to the Terminator movies that
continue in Dark Fate. First there is the nuclear destruction of
humynity. The earth and most of life on it has been wiped out. People
need to take seriously the dark possibility that humynity is driving
towards this destruction. It may not include a conscious A.I. wiping out
the few humyns who survive. But capitalism is on a firm march towards
annihilation of the current balance of life on Earth that humyns depend
on. It is not sustainable. And so movies that pose this possible future,
brought about by the actions of humyns, are good for the ideas they can
provoke.
Another general theme of the Terminator movies is that one persyn is
pivotal to the entirety of humyn existence. In previous movies that
persyn was John Connor, the unborn child of Sarah Connor. And so the
Terminators went back in time to try to kill Sarah to prevent the birth
of John to stop em from leading the resistance that could defeat the
Terminators. In Dark Fate the one persyn is Dani Ramos. In this
case it’s not Dani’s womb that needs protection/destruction, it’s Dani
eirself, who will lead the resistance.
We might read into Dark Fate that it’s not actually about
individuals. After all, John Connor died but now we have Dani. Humynity
and its conditions creates these leaders. But for the most part the
movie is pushing a message that history is created by one individual who
must be protected or destroyed at all cost. Humyns would not have united
against the Legion without Dani. So the Legion must send a Terminator
back in time to destroy Dani, and the resistance must send a soldier
back to protect Dani. That’s a lot of resources and energy spent on one
persyn.
Dark Fate is consistent with the bourgeois theory of history, a
spin on history that focuses on the accomplishments of individuals,
removing them from the political context of their time. Communists, on
the other hand, don’t see Dani, or John, or the other humyn resistance
leaders as uniquely qualified for their roles. Instead we see them as a
product of the political conditions. They did what was necessary to
fight for the survival of humynity. And in their absence others would
have done the same.
The idea that only certain special individuals are able to take
leadership roles fits in with a religious/capitalist way of thinking.
Humynity may be moving towards destruction, but there’s nothing average
folks can do about it. Only special heroes can make a difference. This
way of thinking discourages people from taking up the fight for a better
future. And instead suggests it’s best to just believe in a leader
without question.
Maoists, on the other hand, see no individuals as infallible. In fact, a
fundamental tenant of Maoism is the need for continuous cultural
revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat, in which the
people are actively critical of and struggling with socialist leaders
and one another. This includes removing from positions of power those
who have strayed off the revolutionary path. The future lies in the
hands of the people, and so the people must learn through struggle in
order for us to discover the correct way forward.
The earlier Terminator movies had a good slogan from Sarah and John
Connor: “No Fate But What We Make.” This was a mantra that John repeated
to himself and others to remember that the future can be changed. This
is a good counter to the idea that humynity is fated to nuclear
destruction and the rise of conscious anti-humyn A.I.s. And that only
John, or only Dani, can lead a successful resistance. Perhaps the A.I.s,
in their limited world view, believe this to be true. But humyns should
be focused on stopping the nuclear destruction and A.I. consciousness
event before it happens. It is unfortunate that Dark Fate takes
into its title the antithesis of this anti-fate slogan, and perpetuates
that message in the plot.
The movie misses a great opportunity to avoid this idea of fate at the
end, when discussing the future of one young character. The goal that
this character not die in battle later in life is a good one, and a sign
that potentially fate can be changed. But the assumption that the way to
do this is to start military training for the post-apocalyptic battle
now, rather than fight to keep humynity from destroying itself, is an
unfortunate ending.
Scott Daniel Warren se enfrenta a 20 años de prisión por su trabajo
voluntario distribuyendo comida y agua a migrantes en Arizona. Warren
colabora con el grupo No Más Muertes que ayudan a l@s migrantes que
cruzan la frontera en el desierto de Arizona. Por realizar este trabajo
y por ofrecer a dos hombres un lugar para dormir, Warren fue acusad@ de
dos cargos de felonía por prestar asilo y otro cargo de felonía por
conspiración. Su juicio concluyó el 11 de junio con un jurado en
desacuerdo.
Warren fue arrestad@ en enero de 2018 junto con otr@s voluntari@s de No
Más Muertes. Los arrestos se produjeron horas después de que el grupo
lanzara un video donde se veía a agentes de la patrulla fronteriza
destruyendo jarras de agua que se habían dejado en el desierto para los
migrantes. El caso todavía no está cerrado; los fiscales federales
podrían optar por re-internar a Warren.
El desierto de Arizona es una de las fronteras más mortales para los
migrantes debido al calor extremo. Pero las personas se ven obligadas
atravesar por esta área debido a la política de “Prevención por
disuasión” de 1994 que surgió en la era Clinton con el objetivo de hacer
más mortal el cruce de fronteras. La idea era forzar a que el cruce de
fronteras tuviera lugar sobre terrenos más hostiles, poniendo más vidas
en peligro, y así desalentar a los migrantes a que intentaran el viaje.
Los cálculos del plan tuvieron éxito, incluyendo las “muertes de
extranjeros.” Llevando a cabo esta medida, el plan funcionó. Se
redujeron el número total de personas que intentaban cruzar, sin
embargo, las probabilidades de morir incrementaron considerablemente.(1)
Cientos de migrantes son encontrad@s muertos cada año. Las políticas
fronterizas de Trump son solo una continuación de las políticas
antiinmigrantes de todas las administraciones imperialistas
estadounidenses, incluyendo la de Obama. Mantener las fronteras cerradas
es una fuente barata de mano de obra y recursos naturales para los
imperialistas. De esta forma, se preserva la riqueza para aquellos que
están a expensas de la pobreza de los que se encuentran en el exterior.
Las muertes de migrantes son solo uno de los resultados de estas
fronteras. Combatir el muro fronterizo de Trump es una distracción del
problema real. Luchemos en contra de las fronteras, no de los muros.
Abrir las fronteras; devolver la riqueza robada a las naciones ocupadas,
en casa y en todo el mundo.
Más de 200 detenid@s iniciaron una huelga de hambre el 18 de octubre en
el Centro de Detención Nordeste de ICE (ICE Northwest Detention Center,
NWDC) en Tacoma, Washington. El NWDC es una prisión privada dirigida por
el Grupo Geo. Esta instalación puede albergar a más de 1500 personas y
en ella se encuentran l@s detenid@s de redadas de inmigración
transferid@s desde la frontera de México con Estados Unidos y otros
migrantes atrapad@s en el sistema Amerikkano. Esta es una de las mayores
cárceles de inmigración del país.
Desde 2014, los detenid@s han iniciado 19 huelgas de hambre para
protestar por su detención y sus condiciones tras las rejas. Esta última
protesta exige una comida comestible, un tratamiento humano y much@s
también exigen el cierre total del NWDC. L@s prisioner@s se encuentran
gusanos, sangre, cabellos y otras cosas en la comida. L@s trabajadoræs
de la cocina informan que las ratas corren alrededor del área de
preparación de alimentos. L@s guardi@s abusan de los prisioneros. Y el
Grupo Geo ignora estas quejas.(1)
El Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los Estados Unidos
(ICE) refleja las condiciones que hay en otras cárceles del país. De
hecho, l@s prisioner@s del Centro Correccional de Clallam Bay en
Washington también iniciaron una huelga de hambre y de trabajo a
principios de octubre para exigir mejores condiciones, sobre todo,
respecto a la calidad de los alimentos.
L@s funcionari@s de ICE emitieron una declaración negando la existencia
de dicha huelga: “El hecho de que no se coma la comida que se ofrece en
el centro no es un factor determinante por que se pueda declarar la
presunta o proclamada huelga de detenid@s. Los artículos alimenticios
del economato permanecen disponibles para la compra para los detenid@s”.
Después de esta declaración, realizaron un recorrido para la prensa por
el NWDC, en el que se presentaron condiciones impecables, una sala de
atención de urgencias bien abastecida y una biblioteca agradable. Al
parecer, ningún prisioner@ fue entrevistad@, ni siquiera fue filmad@ de
cerca durante la visita. (2)
La mayoría de l@s 54,000 detenid@s de ICE en EE UU se encuentran en
prisiones privadas. Y la detención de migrantes constituye la mayor
parte de la población carcelaria privada del país. Pero esto no se trata
de la diferencia de condiciones entre las prisiones privadas y las
estatales o las administradas por el gobierno federal. Las condiciones
en todo el sistema de injusticia criminal son abusivas, peligrosas e
inhumanas. No estamos luchando por una cara diferente del abuso. (3)
Es cierto que los arrestos federales en general han aumentado en los
últimos 20 años, sin embargo, entre 1998 y 2018 los arrestos federales
se incrementaron en un 10% entre l@s ciudadan@s norteamerican@s y en
cambio, el aumento entre l@s no ciudadano@s fue de un 234%. El aumento
más dramático fue entre 2017 y 2018, que creció un 71% el número de
arrestos de los no ciudadan@s. En 1998 el 63% del total de arrestos
federales fueron ciudadan@s estadounidonses, mientras que en 2018 este
número cambió y el 64% de todos los arrestos federales fueron de no
ciudadan@s. La porción de arrestos federales se ha ido centrando, cada
vez más, en la frontera entre México y EE. UU., con un aumento del 33%
en 1998 al 65% en 2018. El 95% de este aumento es a causa de detenciones
de inmigración.(4)
Los centros de detención de ICE dejan claro el propósito de las cárceles
en Estados Unidos. Esta es una opresión nacional. La mayoría de est@s
detenid@s que no son ciudadan@s estadounidenses están siendo procesad@s
por el “crimen” de estar en Estados Unidos sin el permiso de los
imperialistas. Este “crimen” representa el 78% de los casos. (4) Unas
fronteras cerradas es un requisito del imperialismo. La riqueza se
mantiene dentro de estas fronteras para l@s poc@s afortunad@s que nacen
bajo este privilegio. La riqueza es robada fuera de las fronteras; la
explotación de la mano de obra y el robo de recursos naturales aportan
grandes ganancias a los imperialistas. Y l@s imperialistas comparten
esas ganancias con l@s ciudadan@s de sus países para mantenerl@s pasiv@s
y cooperativ@s. Esta diferencia de riqueza es obvia; es latente incluso
entre l@s más pobres dentro de las fronteras estadounidenses y la
población media que viven en el tercer mundo. Quienes viven fuera de
estas fronteras están desesperad@s por acceder a esta riqueza robada de
su tierra natal. El papel del ICE y del Departamento de Seguridad
Nacional está claro: mantener esta riqueza dentro de las fronteras
estadounidenses en exclusiva para l@s ciudadan@s norteamerican@s.
Apoyamos las demandas justas de l@s prisioner@s en NWDC y de todo el
sistema de injusticia criminal. Este sistema ha decaído tanto que las
personas se ven obligad@s a morirse de hambre para luchar contra las
condiciones peligrosas e inhumanas. La solución no es mejorar las
condiciones en una prisión, ni siquiera cerrar una instalación. Pero
estas demandas encajan con la lucha antiimperialista mientras luchamos
por unas fronteras abiertas y el fin de un sistema en el que una nación
tiene el poder de encerrar a otr@s solo por el crimen de haber cruzado
una línea invisible.
How can I be true to self, when I don’t even
know myself?
I have all this knowledge, but it’s collecting dust on the shelf.
Man, I need some help,
But what’s the point when I have a teacher and I don’t value his
wealth?
Am I conscience that I am in the belly of the beast?
Or did the imperialist induce me dumb and asleep?
Am I so far gone that I cannot be reached?
Is my third eye too calcified that I can not seek?
That New Afrikans can have better opportunities to increase?
And free all political prisoners plus the great sheiks?
Even if it cost me, my family to not deal with me when I am
released?
These are the questions I ask myself to see if I’m still mentally
deceased, and if I am; may the Allah in me drown me in the knowledge of
self so I can be a valuable piece.
To aid & assist all my brothers and sisters in this beautiful
struggle for New Afrikan peace.
I am going through a lot, I been placed in segregation for no reason.
They are extending my stay under false policies. I did no wrong. I look
forward to Under Lock and Key, I have received all issues.
A kid killed himself here so we are on lockdown. What these wards are
doing is wrong. I have done no wrong. We live in fear here. They use the
rules as loop holes to harm us. Falsely file forms to hide their
actions. I fear to say too much. I am trying for transfer then you will
get the full story.
I am a 32 year old, white male doing a 4 year sentence in the federal
bureau of prisons for illegal possession of a firearm. Since I have been
in, for the 29 months, I have been severely medically neglected. At FMC
Lexington KY low prison, I once had a abscess in my arm that went
untreated for over 4 days. I had to break my hand against a door in
front of a CO in order to get to a hospital. While there the doctors
told me that the abscess had become so bad, that if it went on for 2-3
more days, that they would have had to amputate my left arm, and if it
went on for 7-10 more days untreated it would have spread to my heart
and sorely killed me.
On another instance in FMC Lexington KY low prison, I had an allergic
reaction to a medication called anproxon that inmates can buy on
commissary, the reaction was severe! The allergic reaction started on
December 27, 2018. I was not taken to the hospital until December 31,
2018, 4 days later. By that time, the allergic reaction had taken its
toll causing “Stevens Johnson Syndrom” to set in, causing my skin to rot
away. My skin had turned black. I was wheezing for air, as my throat had
become swollen making it hard to breath. My skin was rotting away, black
and bleeding. The doctors at the hospital told me that cellulitis had
set in due to non-treatment and it was possible it might turn into
gangrene and kill me. I was in the hospital for 8 days.
I want inmates to be aware of what is going on in our prisons we’re in.
Stand up and demand fair and equal medical treatment that we deserve.
Not doing it may cost you your life.
Representative(s) of ACLU of Georgia Inmates at Georgia Diagnostic &
Classification Prison Special Management Unit (SMU) Tier 3 High Max are
being subjected to egregious and scandalous conditions which deprive us
of rights and, but not limited to, privileges secured and protected by
the Constitution and other laws of the United $tates which has caused or
could cause suffering and grave harm. We are being exposed to unsanitary
conditions such as not having showers cleaned for weeks and being denied
and opportunity to clean our own cells out for months at a time.
Dormitory floors and sitting areas have dried food, milk and feces that
are never properly cleaned. Breakfast meats and dinner patty(s) are very
pink or red on the inside.
There are major life threatening security problems such as inmates
having seizures in their cells and not being found until trays are
served which could be as much as 6 hours later. Officers make no
security rounds after they remove the 30 minute check-sheet when they
start their 12 hour shift; then they are not seen again. Inmates are
being pepper sprayed and at times tazed then left in their cell without
medical attention.
We are being denied grievance and when we do get one the Counselor
neglects to come back into the dormitory for weeks at a time.
Law Library is only open on Friday and offers no actual access to files
which makes it impossible to look up cases and file motions in a timely
manner. Getting legal motions and other documentation like a Notary
Public Stamp can take up to 20 days. The Law Library limitation and the
long time frame on the Notary Public Stamp themselves are violations of
Due Process.
I come to you this day asking for your voice to speak out. Your actions
can help not only me but the entire collective that is confined to the
SMU Tier 3 High Max Program. What steps should we take, and in what
order for Correction?