Federal Prisons

Today at SCI Rockview, a state prison in Pennsylvania, the pigs claim that there is a power outage that will last for days. Meanwhile, we have no water running in our sinks or toilets because the water in the cells runs on electricity. The housing unit I am in is a mental health block, and most of the prisoners in this unit are on psychiatric medications that for the most part demand a lot of water drinking to keep them hydrated. The electricity went out early this morning and has been out all day. Despite many prisoners pleading for water, other than at medication pass this morning, none has been offered or given.

Meanwhile, the phones are ringing and desk computers are working, which must mean the electricity is working. One poor prisoner was caught drinking from the toilet and, as a consequence, was ridiculed and mocked by several prisoners and our captors. This is slow and systematic torture at its finest. And it’s sad that the fascists that are responsible for this cruel and unusual punishment will most likely get away with it because no one wants to take a stand and protest. Does anyone have any idea how I can take action? I can’t sit here and do nothing. I welcome feedback from fellow comrades.

The abuse of the mentally ill in Pennsylvania has surely reached epidemic standards. Today (12-31-18) I witnessed brutality by pigs against a severely mentally ill prisoner and I cannot keep quiet about it. A pig on my housing unit here at SC2 Rockview slammed a man up against the wall, tackled him, and smashed his head against the floor for no reason other that the prisoner disagreed with him. Then he lied about it to his superiors saying the prisoner attempted to assault him.

I and several other concerned prisoners witnessed the entire incident, and we all agreed to report it to DOC headquarters, Pennsylvania Prison society and several other prisoner organizations. We are demanding the release of audio and video footage that recorded the incident to the proper authorities and to PA Prison Society and eventually to the public. We demand that the pigs involved lose their jobs and that criminal charges be filed. It’s a shame that someone has to get seriously hurt for any type of unity to be accomplished. It’s about time someone stands up for what’s truly right and just. I expect retaliation but I can’t sit back and let this go. My conscious refuses to allow it. Feedback and critique is welcome.

I often never receive my Popular Mechanics magainzes or my Bud K Knives catalogs I’ve subscribed to. I’m not denied them, they just don’t get here to me. I’ve written to both numerous times and never have heard back from them. They also often lay blame on the local post office for various reasons as well.

I am at a really bad unit named Ferguson Unit at midway Texas, about 20 miles from Huntsville, TX. At this unit I have shown the rules, policies, procedures, practices, of T.D.C.J. with other offenders saying, “Oh well, we have been punished for made up rules, given cases, violating our rights in every way. Grievances do no good even the bosses tell the others who, what, when, on them.” Yeah it causes many problems for me. The pigs get away with so much that the oh well offenders (OW) let them talk them up. At an inspection, a group asked if we seen any roaches, rats. We said no. But this one guy said there was. The inspector said “oh that’s why they only wanted to show this dorm.” The L.T. here stated “oh yeah tomorrow you’re on lock down.” We are. The food is all mush soups. Types of food portions so small that I see us that do not have commissary, are about sick. One hot dog, one sandwich, food unprepared or clean.

Here is a kicker. I came here to repair equipment because I am an equip mec for 30 years, professional. I seen a lot that this farm shop was selling parts to equip that it was not put on, or put in trash. I wrote the main O.I.G. (Offender Inspector General). It was all turned on being my fault, and to mind my business. Wow, I was talked to really bad still watching them break the laws.

I did everything I could to be sent to a different work camp. We are abused, fed mediocre food. They strip us out multiple times going out to work. Search us multiple times, the bad is other (oh wells) oh drown us. Us that would file grievances, or lawsuits they try to beat us up.

They see I don’t back down, I seem to not get it through their heads if the unit don’t get stopped from violating their rules, policies, the more they are restricted from little freedoms. They are blind.

I’ve spoke to many about this with same issue, no one wants to stand in unity. This is the worst unit I have been on.

Here’s the problem. The unit has all kids with few older guys. The kids are doing so much stealing from kitchen doing this and that! Going dorm to dorm. Really doing free will. Without realizing if it was not for someone like me they would not have any type of T.V., radio, so much as their house. What am I to do? No talking to them.

We spoke to a SGT Andrew Sey about why we’re on lock down and made to get up at 6AM on our day off to clean a dorm that has SSI. “Because if someone tells Huntsville inspectors B.S. on us, you can’t write grievances on us because we can lock the dorm down for not being clean.” Our Dorm is the cleanest I’ve seen. This unit that abuses us in ways that they believe we can’t do anything about. The kitchen C/O Stubble Field has these same guys feed us so they give 3/4 scoops of portions. Pans are not on a warmer, uncooked, nasty to eat.

The pigs use things like “this is a disciplinary unit”. I said what did I do to be put on disciplinary? I’ve seen nothing about some sidewalk rules in no T.D.C. It’s just this unit. How can I get help? I’ve written every rights group there is with no help or any reply.

I am forced to repair the equipment, threatened by them. They do it in ways that shoulder the policy. How can I fight this unit’s every grievance, every I60, they use other offenders against me for doing it.

I’m asking you for help! Any new forms I could use to guide me to file them, I can’t seem to word them well. The food, the abuse, at the end of everything I’ve done nothing works.

We are made to get up at 4AM lights on, say name, number and then at other counts the dorm C/O wakes you up. Then cross count also. These C/Os enforce rules that do not exist. The inmates follow them like dogs, they let them put things in their ear.

Do you in any way have forms for me to copy on my own as in about abuse, food, C/Os, I need help wording how to write it legal, I want to file a suit. Last year during shakedown they burnt us up in the sun naked out of spite for hours.

The year 2019 marks not only a new beginning, but a goal for unification for us all. As of January 2019, Governor Jerry Brown of California steps down, leaving $150 million of debt for the cost of death row, and more than 740 men and women seeking clemency. As well, the state of Georgia, which houses the largest prisoner population in segregation, looks to include another generation to their 5,000 offenders on lockdown.

In order to understand the problem of mass incarceration, and develop a solution, we first have to understand the facts from the myths. First, contrary to popular beliefs, the states actually lose money on the overall cost of prisons. States like Pennsylvania, for example, are undergoing critical budget crises in which it costs more to house you than it costs to send you to college. Almost $1 trillion annually is the cost of incarceration. So if it costs so much to house us, why not just let us go?

Second, releasing offenders from prison will not fix the debt of operating prisons, because prisons operate on a fixed scale, which doesn’t really change with the number of residents. It’s roughly $21,000 to house a prisoner, but the state doesn’t save that if you’re released.

Third, incarcerating individuals doesn’t reduce crime. Between 2010 and 2014 the total state prisoner population dropped 4%, with California contributing to 62% of the total for the country. This dropped overall crime rate by 1%. However, the now-increasing rate of incarceration has more than doubled the crime rate.

This being known, the United States still incarcerates more people per capita than any other country, at a cost of more than $50 billion. Yet there has been little decline in the total amount of people incarcerated or amount of prisons. If we hope to fix this problem, we must first create a solution. The solution is to stop the incentive of incarceration! Even though the states lose money with prisons, the employees enjoy the financial gain. Many lobbyists are proposing to close prisons, but are opening prisons? Since most debt is subsidized to the state, the prison’s main source of revenue is us! By funding the prisons we are keeping ourselves locked up. If we refuse to spend money in the prison, we can expect the prison to change.

This year marks the beginning of “Greatness Nation United” (GNU). We are the voice of the tired, the angry and defeated. I am inviting all youth to join the Greatness Movement, where we refuse to fund the prison’s commissary, prison packages, or any JPay service. If you can’t go completely without commissary, then once a month spending the lowest possible amount would impact as well. How is it possible we can sacrifice our freedom for imprisonment but won’t sacrifice “a few store goods” for your freedom? Change comes in numbers. I challenge all of you to being greater than your circumstances this year. Greater than your situation.

To everyone reading, we are greater than incarceration, only together can we achieve.

MIM(Prisons) responds: This writer sums up some important facts about the economics of incarceration. The facts about prison expenditures above can be found with background information in our article on the U.$ Prison Economy(1), published last year. And as this writer explains, releasing individual prisoners doesn’t have much of an impact on the overall cost of incarceration as long as the entire prison is being maintained. The main cost is the prison itself and the staff running it. And when prisoners are released the number of staff are not generally reduced unless the entire prison is shut down.

This comrade suggests a plan for action that will impact the prison financially. The idea of boycotting prison spending is one of the few areas where prisoners have some potential power. To spend or not to spend is discretionary. Of course the prisons can try to starve people to force them to buy supplemental food for survival. But it is still an area of power for the prisoner.

Given the $1 trillion in overall burden of prison costs, or just the $261 billion in direct criminal injustice system expenses, how much impact can prisoners have with a boycott? Have others found this effective at forcing change in the past? When we organize actions against the criminal injustice system, but it’s always good to think critically about our potential impact as we build new and better tactics in this battle.

Revolutionary Greetings!

Just writing in to say great job to everyone who participated with the latest ULK [ULK 64]. That said, I also want to give my input on various articles that sparked my interest:

1. In the second paragraph of this article, the author states that Sex Offenders(S.O.s) constitute a more dangerous element than murderers “because S.O.s often have more victims, and many of those victims become sexual predators, creating one long line of victimization.”

2. In the second paragraph the author states: “Contrarily, sexual predators affect the entire societal composition. They perpetuate crimes against the males and females, provoking deep burrowing psychological problems and turn many victims into victimizers…The difference is not in the severity of the anti-proletariat crime, but in the after effects.”

That said, there is one huge difference when it comes to murder, sexual abuse, and their after effects. Whenever there is sexual abuse and violence victims are able to move forward and heal from their physical, emotional and psychological wounds if they receive the proper care and attention. When someone is killed, however, there is no rectifying the act. There is no coming back.

3. In the fifth paragraph you state: “…murder is more of a one-two punch knock out, where sexual deprivation is twelve rounds of abuse…Most murderers are not serial killers…”

4. In the eighth paragraph, you state that: “…rehabilitating sexual predators can be made on an individual basis by revolutionaries who are able to see past the label prejudice though their efforts, if conducted scientifically, a systematic method can emerge for once the revolutionary is successful…sex crimes will be a problem for capitalism, socialism, or communism. Revolutionaries will have to address the problem sooner or later.”

I only wanted to comment that the ghettos and barrios are not only being dispensed but shifted. The Antelope Valley, High Dessert and other under-developed regions in Southern California are good examples of this trend. Over the past 10-15 years, there has been a slow but steady trickling out of Chican@s and New Afrikans from the wider Los Angeles area and into places like Lancaster, Palmdale, Mojave, California City due to gentrification.

Also, in relation to your article on Sakai’s book, what’s the status of the MIM(Prisons) Lumpen Handbook?

MIM(Prisons) responds: We published what was intended to be one chapter of a book on the First World lumpen as Who is the Lumpen in the United $tates. Prior to that we put efforts into the book Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán. Current research efforts are aimed at summing up the final results of our updated survey on prison labor in the United $tates. We will be publishing this final report along with a larger collection of writings on the economics of prisons in the United $tates. So that’s something to look out for in 2019.

The Lumpen Handbook was envisioned to address more topics related to organizing the lumpen class in a revolutionary way in the United $tates today. We have not had the capacity to carry out that project to the scope originally envisioned, but this issue of ULK (68) is an example of our efforts to continue to tackle that topic.

We also have notes to develop into a Selected Works of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (1983-2008) book; another project we would like to see to fruition if we can garner more support for our existing work in the coming years.

“Sakai on Lumpen in Revolution” was my favorite piece in ULK 64. I would have liked to see a more in-depth analysis of the subject of the role of lumpen following the review of Sakai’s book. I believe the lumpen will play a principal role in revolution here in imperialist United States.

We live in a time very different from Marx’s, when the battle was to be waged between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx wrote of the growing contradictions between bourgeoisie and proletariat, following from these contradictions, the proletariat revolution abolishing capitalism. This was apparently true then, but the terrain is very different now. After the imperialist wars I and II led to imperialist expansion and consolidation of global capitalism and the global market, new classes with their own contradictions (and inner-contradictions) have been created. And with the transformation of colonialism proper into neocolonialism, the roles of the different classes and the contradictions even among the oppressed classes themselves, has created many non-principal contradictions, clouding the principal ones.

In the imperialist countries, and especially here in the imperialist capital of the world, the U.S., imperialism and neo-colonialism is beneficial to the “proletariat.” The working class population is effectively bought off with a better standard of living thanks to global value transfer from Third World nations. This “sharing of the (stolen) pie” gives the appearance that the proletariat and the bourgeoisie share a common interest in imperialism. Of course, the contradiction between the two classes continues to exist, but giving the proletariat some crumbs off of the table of the “all you can eat global buffet” alleviates the contradictions and pacifies revolutionary potential and the raising of working class consciousness.

With the proletariat in the imperialist countries there also exists blind patriotism and national chauvinism, and this is a major hindrance to uniting the proletariat in any truly revolutionary way. Much of the working class has been brainwashed with national pride without any good reason. Participating in bourgeois political games, buying into their effectiveness. Supporting various U.S. aggression toward Third World countries, and the so-called “war on terror.”

These are just a few of the reasons why we should consider the possibility of the lumpen playing a principal role in revolution. Lumpen’s very existence is much more precarious and unpredictable. They comprise millions of the U.S. population. They are the most cast-off population. People are accepting gays, lesbians, transgenders, etc. The women’s movement is again taking off and enjoying widespread support. Racism continues to be addressed and shunned, as well as religious intolerance. But the lumpen population continues to be cast off, ignored, discriminated against for life, killed, and legally enslaved (see the 13th amendment of the U.S. Constitution).

Proletariats, with the sheer numbers, and the fact that they are the very foundation, the absolute precondition for the existence of capitalism, they hold the potential to abolish oppression. But for that to happen, the proletariat here would have to settle accounts with imperialism, and this may prove more difficult than transforming the lumpen mentality to a revolutionary mentality.

Lumpen have been in rebellion their entire lives against the exploitive system, even if unconsciously. The prestige of U.S. righteousness, justice, and equality, if it ever existed for the lumpen, is constantly being deconstructed. And the lumpen, with their lumpen organizations, are these not already guerrilla armies? Doing guerrilla warfare every day? We need only work to introduce revolutionary principles and raise their consciousness. Their material conditions of existence are more primed for revolutionary action than the proletariat in the U.S. today.

I would really like to see more dialogue on this subject. I hope that I have made some kind of valid point. I am no authority on revolutionary theory. I am only 24 and very new.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We have much unity with this analysis of classes in the United $tates. But where it is limited to an analysis of classes within U.$. borders, we think it’s crucial to think more broadly about classes globally in this era of imperialism. As this comrade notes, the workers in the United $tates have been bought off with the spoils of imperialism. But this doesn’t mean the proletariat on a global scale is bought off. We do look to the proletariat as the foundational class for revolution, but we don’t find that proletariat within U.$. borders. Instead we find it in the Third World, where it is actively engaged in a battle for life and death with imperialism. There it is not a big leap for the proletariat to take up revolutionary struggle.

In First World countries like the United $tates, on the other hand, we see the lumpen playing a leading role in the revolutionary movement. This is in large part because the national contradiction is the principal contradiction within U.$. borders. And as this writer points out, the oppressed nation lumpen continue to receive the brunt of this oppression even while living in a country of great wealth and prosperity. The potential for lumpen organizations to become revolutionary organizations is of great interest to us as well. We work with many of these organizations to build peace and unity. But these organizations are generally structured to meet capitalist goals. In the book reviewed, Sakai, addresses the challenges faced in joining forces militarily with such organizations in other times and places. But in those contexts we are talking about a lumpen-proletariat, in proletarian populations. We talk about the First World lumpen, within the exploiter countries, and see even more barriers in wholesale moves to the revolutionary road.

With such a relatively small potentially revolutionary population in the imperialist countries, we don’t expect to see revolution start from within the United $tates. At least not without a significant change in conditions. The most likely avenue for revolution comes from the Third World. This doesn’t absolve us of responsibility within imperialist countries. We must organize the resistance, support revolutionary movements in the Third World, and build a movement capable of seizing the moment when it arrives.

I got jumped in some seg office. Yeah man, they fucked me up pretty bad. Shit, I woke up in the ER down in Huntsville. They beat the brakes off me while I was in handcuffs. There were five or six of em. All white! One of them fools was sitting on my back pony-style punching away at my head and face. The shit was so bad (I heard) that some sistas who saw that shit were crying rivers of tears. Many these people just grabbed me out of the hallway took me to an empty seg fofice and called me a nigger about a thousand times. After they did me bad, this one racist ass mutherfuckah came back over to me while I was laying there in handcuffs and put his knee on the side of my head and started crushing away. The whole time he was on my head with all of his weight, rocking back and forth like he was on some “Immah finish me a nigger off type shit.”

Like I said, I blacked out wit this fool on top of my head. The crazy part is that I have witnesses that saw this fool beat for me right out of the hallway. But anyway, they did the old assault on an officer case to try to cover for what they did. Man I aint’ never had no assault on an officer case. And I been coming to this place since 1985.

I been having real problems with headaches, nose bleeds, forgetting stuff and a lot more. They shipped me to this unit after they ran me through the ringger (court). I been dropping sick call request forms for three months now and they still ain’t seen me for injuries. Th handcuffs that they were dragging me around by, done fuck up the nerves in my wrist and hands. I cannot even sleep at night cause the pain is unbearable at times. I be thinking about moving on with my life but my shit ain’t right. So I got to file suit on they ass. Them fools almost killed me.

Comrade, man, I am 51 years old. And I was 50 when they done that stupid shit. I got a little over three years left on my ten year sentence. I had a few talks with some old heads that’s been on that unit Eastham and they all said the same thing, it’s a racist ass unit. And they just assault blacks just for the thrill of it.

I am writing y’all with an emergency stamp cause these folks be blocking my use of the indigent mail system for three months now. Making all types of bogus claims. I done filed three different grievances. It’s been a real struggle. But anyway imma get back with y’all on this stupid ass not cause this ain’t attorney client privileged. Whenever I do get indigent supplies I’ll hit you up with a real letter. They got me in Seg G5 status. This some crazy shit. For beating me the fuck up!

Let me begin by writing how it makes me very uncomfortable placing myself into the role of victim here. But what causes me much more discomfort is entertaining any idea of expressing apathy towards this situation of obvious sociopaths given free rein to live out all of their sickening fantasies inside of prison walls. Which is in turn worsening the lives of all outside of them! September 1st, 2017, I was injected against my will with methamphetamine by other prisoners with the intent to kill me. My claim and condition were ignored by G.D.C. staff and I spent the following 3 months mocked, tortured, and abused before placed on the mental heath caseload, then transferred to another prison. Even though I’d been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder a month prior to my arrest.

I don’t believe it a coincidence how I was placed into the veterans dorm along with the head of the Aryan Brotherhood, who transferred there two days before me, being how I was labeled as an anarchist, anti-fascist, when passing through the diagnostic prison. I spent the next couple of months on alert and paranoid (or aware) before sent to segregation as punishment for having the audacity to exercise my First Amendment Right and criticize the judge who sentenced me to 5 years 11 months 20 days for my first ever shoplifting. The letter contained no threats or even profanity, however, an FBI investigation was launched and my mail confiscated and never returned.

A few months later, I expressed to a psychiatrist my fear I’m becoming homicidal due to placement into a kill or be killed environment and sent back into segregation. While awaiting a cell, I was put into a small and filthy shower stall and left for hours. Frustrated, I kicked open a stall door in view of the yearly audit inspectors who were present costing the prison a large sum of cash in safety fines. For this I was taken outside and left without food and water until escorted to medical after self-mutilating, and treated for dehydration, or “extreme thirst” as it is documented!

The following month I was transferred to my current location, a horrific and corrupt prison. Since arriving, I’ve been put into the position of having to choose between death or participation in a federal crime, something this facility is aware of and involved in. I had all of my personal belongings destroyed more than once. And on the one year anniversary of the failed murder attempt, prisoners were permitted to break free from the segregational cells and cover me with urine and feces several times. The cell only contained a non-functioning sink, so I again had to self-mutilate to shower. When word of this reached a psychologist, the prison went into an immediate institutional lockdown and inspectors arrived to begin writing fines. Afterwards, I was left without clothing, blankets or bed linens, hygiene care products, access to email or phones.

On November 8th, my mood stabilizer medication was discontinued without warning and the following day malicious and sadistic use of a chemical agent was used on me, resulting in a severe injury to my back, which was diagnosed with chronic pain a month prior to my arrest. December 12th I awoke to the overhead sprinklers covering me with black mold tainted water for no other purpose but to again destroy whatever personal property I’ve managed to re-accumulate. December 23rd I watched the prisoner who was housed in the neighboring cell be stabbed outside of my cell repeatedly. After which his condition was ignored by G.D.C. staff until he broke out of his cell once more to climb atop the “sally port” and attempt suicide by hanging himself. Only then was he transported to a hospital and given stitches and paperwork written concerning the stabbing.

In conclusion, this pattern of abuses I’ve suffered continues and seems to have come full circle involving another prisoner, and who knows how many others? I’ve documented each of these abuses through the Grievance Procedure Process, which has so far proved to be ineffective and fail to profile corrective action.