In the article
“Pennsylvania
Digitizing Prisoner Mail” in ULK 65(1) Soso points out that
PA’s new policy will restrict prisoners to purchasing books directly
(after the publication is first approved by the DOC). By enforcing this
policy the PA DOC is implementing a state-run monopoly on reading
material within its prisons. The obvious reason for this imperialist act
is to further censor prisoners’ reading material.
Illinois comrades have heard our brothers’ cries for help. This policy
can be fought, but it will take time and dedication to prevail.
Crofton v. Roe, 170 F. 3d 957, 961 (9th Cir. 1999) is a case
finding that a regulation that only allowed a prisoner to receive
publications he ordered and paid for directly bore no relationship to
the interest of screening for contraband. You’ll need to Shepardize this
case to find cases from your Circuit that support this judgment.
What does this mean? It means that you can combat the current policy
denying third parties to order you books. That might seem like a small
victory compared to the digitization of your mail and pictures, but any
victory against the state is a victory for the people. Unfortunately,
due to the security concerns regarding drugs being smuggled into the
prisons through the mail, it is unlikely that this policy will be
overturned by any court. The only method left for this issue is direct
action in protest of the policy which garnishes public attention and
support (i.e. the mass hunger strikes in California in protest of the
SHU which resulted in the abolishment of indefinite placement in the
SHU). In Solidarity!
MIM(Prisons) responds: We hope that this PA mail policy will be
challenged in the courts. Although MIM(Prisons) does not have the
resources (or lawyers) to do this from the streets, we print this letter
to support our jailhouse lawyers who are working on this battle. At the
same time, this writer makes a good point that we are unlikely to win
these legal battles entirely. We can sometimes gain some small
victories, that allow us things like greater access to educational
materials in prison. But we need to keep in mind that political power
only comes to those who take it. The imperialists and their courts will
not give up this power without a fight.