Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Ombudsman Coordinator
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
PO Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099

April 3, 2012

RE: Censorship incident occurred at Clements Unit ? exclusion of publication sent to several prisoners from MIM Distributors


Dear Ombudsman Coordinator,

I am writing this letter about a censorship incident that recently occurred at Clements Unit in Amarillo, Texas.

MIM Distributors sent several prisoners in Clements Unit a newsletter titled Under Lock & Key No. 23 (November/December 2011). This newsletter was mailed via Standard Presorted Mail with the USPS on November 18, 2011.

We recently learned from several prisoners that they never received the publication listed above. Most of these prisoners appealed the exclusion of Under Lock & Key No 23, and sent MIM Distributors the Director's Review Committee decision to deny the publication. MIM Distributors never received any notice of censorship determination from your Department or the mailroom staff at Clements Unit.

The TDCJ Board Policy-03.91 (rev. 2) "Uniform Offender Correspondence Rules" states at Section IV E "If a publication is rejected, the offender and sender shall be provided a written notice of the disapproval and a statement of the reason for disapproval within 72 hours of receipt of the publication on a Publication Denial Form. Within the same time period, the offender and sender shall be notified of the procedure for appeal. The offender shall be given a sufficiently detailed description of the rejected publication to permit effective use of the appeal procedures. The offender or sender may appeal the rejection of the publication through procedures provided by these rules."

Additionally, both the sender and the prisoner have a right, under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard when prison administrators or staff prevent the sender?s expressive materials from reaching their intended recipients (Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S.396. 94 S.Ct 1800, as reaffirmed on the point by Turner V. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) and Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989) and Montcalm Publ'g Corp. v. Beck, 80 F.3d 105, 106 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 928 (1996)).

In refusing to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to the publisher (MIM Distributors) or prisoner, under local policies and/or practices, prison administrators and staff violated clearly established constitutional law and acted under color of state law for purposes of 42 U.S.C. ? 1983.

With the present letter, MIM Distributors requests:
1. to be offered a chance to appeal the exclusion of our materials;
2. and that all future decisions to censor material from MIM Distributors to anyone held in Clements Unit be accompanied by procedurally and legally required notification to the publisher and prisoner.

We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors


CC: Affected parties

John Adams, Senior Warden
Clements Unit
9601 Spur 591
Amarillo, TX 79107-9606

Jason Heaton, Region V Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Region V Director's Office
304 West 6th Street
Plainview, TX 79072

Ombudsman Coordinator
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
PO Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099

April 3, 2012

RE: Censorship incident occurred at Clements Unit ? exclusion of publication sent to several prisoners from MIM Distributors


Dear Ombudsman Coordinator,

I am writing this letter about a censorship incident that recently occurred at Clements Unit in Amarillo, Texas.

MIM Distributors sent several prisoners in Clements Unit a newsletter titled Under Lock & Key No. 23 (November/December 2011). This newsletter was mailed via Standard Presorted Mail with the USPS on November 18, 2011.

We recently learned from several prisoners that they never received the publication listed above. Most of these prisoners appealed the exclusion of Under Lock & Key No 23, and sent MIM Distributors the Director's Review Committee decision to deny the publication. MIM Distributors never received any notice of censorship determination from your Department or the mailroom staff at Clements Unit.

The TDCJ Board Policy-03.91 (rev. 2) "Uniform Offender Correspondence Rules" states at Section IV E "If a publication is rejected, the offender and sender shall be provided a written notice of the disapproval and a statement of the reason for disapproval within 72 hours of receipt of the publication on a Publication Denial Form. Within the same time period, the offender and sender shall be notified of the procedure for appeal. The offender shall be given a sufficiently detailed description of the rejected publication to permit effective use of the appeal procedures. The offender or sender may appeal the rejection of the publication through procedures provided by these rules."

Additionally, both the sender and the prisoner have a right, under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard when prison administrators or staff prevent the sender?s expressive materials from reaching their intended recipients (Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S.396. 94 S.Ct 1800, as reaffirmed on the point by Turner V. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) and Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989) and Montcalm Publ'g Corp. v. Beck, 80 F.3d 105, 106 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 928 (1996)).

In refusing to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to the publisher (MIM Distributors) or prisoner, under local policies and/or practices, prison administrators and staff violated clearly established constitutional law and acted under color of state law for purposes of 42 U.S.C. ? 1983.

With the present letter, MIM Distributors requests:
1. to be offered a chance to appeal the exclusion of our materials;
2. and that all future decisions to censor material from MIM Distributors to anyone held in Clements Unit be accompanied by procedurally and legally required notification to the publisher and prisoner.

We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,


MIM Distributors


CC: Affected parties

John Adams, Senior Warden
Clements Unit
9601 Spur 591
Amarillo, TX 79107-9606

Jason Heaton, Region V Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Region V Director's Office
304 West 6th Street
Plainview, TX 79072

Ombudsman Coordinator
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
PO Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099

April 3, 2012

RE: Censorship incident occurred at Clements Unit ? exclusion of publication sent to several prisoners from MIM Distributors


Dear Ombudsman Coordinator,

I am writing this letter about a censorship incident that recently occurred at Clements Unit in Amarillo, Texas.

MIM Distributors sent several prisoners in Clements Unit a newsletter titled Under Lock & Key No. 23 (November/December 2011). This newsletter was mailed via Standard Presorted Mail with the USPS on November 18, 2011.

We recently learned from several prisoners that they never received the publication listed above. Most of these prisoners appealed the exclusion of Under Lock & Key No 23, and sent MIM Distributors the Director's Review Committee decision to deny the publication. MIM Distributors never received any notice of censorship determination from your Department or the mailroom staff at Clements Unit.

The TDCJ Board Policy-03.91 (rev. 2) "Uniform Offender Correspondence Rules" states at Section IV E "If a publication is rejected, the offender and sender shall be provided a written notice of the disapproval and a statement of the reason for disapproval within 72 hours of receipt of the publication on a Publication Denial Form. Within the same time period, the offender and sender shall be notified of the procedure for appeal. The offender shall be given a sufficiently detailed description of the rejected publication to permit effective use of the appeal procedures. The offender or sender may appeal the rejection of the publication through procedures provided by these rules."

Additionally, both the sender and the prisoner have a right, under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard when prison administrators or staff prevent the sender?s expressive materials from reaching their intended recipients (Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S.396. 94 S.Ct 1800, as reaffirmed on the point by Turner V. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) and Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989) and Montcalm Publ'g Corp. v. Beck, 80 F.3d 105, 106 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 928 (1996)).

In refusing to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to the publisher (MIM Distributors) or prisoner, under local policies and/or practices, prison administrators and staff violated clearly established constitutional law and acted under color of state law for purposes of 42 U.S.C. ? 1983.

With the present letter, MIM Distributors requests:
1. to be offered a chance to appeal the exclusion of our materials;
2. and that all future decisions to censor material from MIM Distributors to anyone held in Clements Unit be accompanied by procedurally and legally required notification to the publisher and prisoner.

We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,


MIM Distributors


CC: Affected parties

John Adams, Senior Warden
Clements Unit
9601 Spur 591
Amarillo, TX 79107-9606

Jason Heaton, Region V Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Region V Director's Office
304 West 6th Street
Plainview, TX 79072

Ombudsman Coordinator
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
PO Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099

April 3, 2012

RE: Censorship incident occurred at Clements Unit ? exclusion of publication sent to several prisoners from MIM Distributors


Dear Ombudsman Coordinator,

I am writing this letter about a censorship incident that recently occurred at Clements Unit in Amarillo, Texas.

MIM Distributors sent several prisoners in Clements Unit a newsletter titled Under Lock & Key No. 23 (November/December 2011). This newsletter was mailed via Standard Presorted Mail with the USPS on November 18, 2011.

We recently learned from several prisoners that they never received the publication listed above. Most of these prisoners appealed the exclusion of Under Lock & Key No 23, and sent MIM Distributors the Director's Review Committee decision to deny the publication. MIM Distributors never received any notice of censorship determination from your Department or the mailroom staff at Clements Unit.

The TDCJ Board Policy-03.91 (rev. 2) "Uniform Offender Correspondence Rules" states at Section IV E "If a publication is rejected, the offender and sender shall be provided a written notice of the disapproval and a statement of the reason for disapproval within 72 hours of receipt of the publication on a Publication Denial Form. Within the same time period, the offender and sender shall be notified of the procedure for appeal. The offender shall be given a sufficiently detailed description of the rejected publication to permit effective use of the appeal procedures. The offender or sender may appeal the rejection of the publication through procedures provided by these rules."

Additionally, both the sender and the prisoner have a right, under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard when prison administrators or staff prevent the sender?s expressive materials from reaching their intended recipients (Procunier v. XXXXXX, 416 U.S.396. 94 S.Ct 1800, as reaffirmed on the point by Turner V. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) and Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989) and Montcalm Publ'g Corp. v. Beck, 80 F.3d 105, 106 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 928 (1996)).

In refusing to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to the publisher (MIM Distributors) or prisoner, under local policies and/or practices, prison administrators and staff violated clearly established constitutional law and acted under color of state law for purposes of 42 U.S.C. ? 1983.

With the present letter, MIM Distributors requests:
1. to be offered a chance to appeal the exclusion of our materials;
2. and that all future decisions to censor material from MIM Distributors to anyone held in Clements Unit be accompanied by procedurally and legally required notification to the publisher and prisoner.

We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors


CC: Affected parties

John Adams, Senior Warden
Clements Unit
9601 Spur 591
Amarillo, TX 79107-9606

Jason Heaton, Region V Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Region V Director's Office
304 West 6th Street
Plainview, TX 79072

Jason Heaton, Regional Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Region V Director's Office
304 West 6th Street
Plainview, Texas 79072

29 June 2011

Dear Director Heaton,

Recently a publication titled Under Lock & Key issue 18 (January/February 2011) was denied to prisoners held at Clements Unit. The mailroom staff at Clements Unit say that this publication was denied based on criteria (c) because "page 10 contains material of a racial nature." I have included a copy of page 10 for your reference. I am aware that on 22 March 2011 the DRC upheld the MSCP decision to deny this publication. We are writing this letter to appeal your office's decision to uphold the denial of Under Lock & Key issue 18.

Interestingly, we have received confirmation that prisoners held at Allred Unit, Montford Unit, and Smith Unit (not to mention prisons outside of Region V) were all permitted to receive this issue of Under Lock & Key. These three prisons are part of Region V. Why is it that mailroom staff at three different facilities did not also censor Under Lock & Key issue 18, even when they are following the same policies and procedures as the mailroom staff at Clements Unit? We believe that this is an indication that mailroom staff at Clements Unit are in error in identifying the material on page 10 to be a violation of criteria (c).

Therefore, we are asking that Under Lock & Key issue 18 be allowed to prisoners held at Clements Unit. If you continue to uphold this censorship, it would be extremely helpful if you could tell us specifically what about page 10 your office believes to be "written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruption such as strikes, riots or security threat group activity," as it would help us to prevent censorship of future publications. We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties

Jason Heaton, Regional Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Region V Director's Office
304 West 6th Street
Plainview, Texas 79072

29 June 2011

Dear Director Heaton,

Recently a publication titled Under Lock & Key issue 18 (January/February 2011) was denied to prisoners held at Clements Unit. The mailroom staff at Clements Unit say that this publication was denied based on criteria (c) because "page 10 contains material of a racial nature." I have included a copy of page 10 for your reference. I am aware that on 22 March 2011 the DRC upheld the MSCP decision to deny this publication. We are writing this letter to appeal your office's decision to uphold the denial of Under Lock & Key issue 18.

Interestingly, we have received confirmation that prisoners held at Allred Unit, Montford Unit, and Smith Unit (not to mention prisons outside of Region V) were all permitted to receive this issue of Under Lock & Key. These three prisons are part of Region V. Why is it that mailroom staff at three different facilities did not also censor Under Lock & Key issue 18, even when they are following the same policies and procedures as the mailroom staff at Clements Unit? We believe that this is an indication that mailroom staff at Clements Unit are in error in identifying the material on page 10 to be a violation of criteria (c).

Therefore, we are asking that Under Lock & Key issue 18 be allowed to prisoners held at Clements Unit. If you continue to uphold this censorship, it would be extremely helpful if you could tell us specifically what about page 10 your office believes to be "written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruption such as strikes, riots or security threat group activity," as it would help us to prevent censorship of future publications. We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties

Jason Heaton, Regional Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Region V Director's Office
304 West 6th Street
Plainview, Texas 79072

29 June 2011

Dear Director Heaton,

Recently a publication titled Under Lock & Key issue 18 (January/February 2011) was denied to prisoners held at Clements Unit. The mailroom staff at Clements Unit say that this publication was denied based on criteria (c) because "page 10 contains material of a racial nature." I have included a copy of page 10 for your reference. I am aware that on 22 March 2011 the DRC upheld the MSCP decision to deny this publication. We are writing this letter to appeal your office's decision to uphold the denial of Under Lock & Key issue 18.

Interestingly, we have received confirmation that prisoners held at Allred Unit, Montford Unit, and Smith Unit (not to mention prisons outside of Region V) were all permitted to receive this issue of Under Lock & Key. These three prisons are part of Region V. Why is it that mailroom staff at three different facilities did not also censor Under Lock & Key issue 18, even when they are following the same policies and procedures as the mailroom staff at Clements Unit? We believe that this is an indication that mailroom staff at Clements Unit are in error in identifying the material on page 10 to be a violation of criteria (c).

Therefore, we are asking that Under Lock & Key issue 18 be allowed to prisoners held at Clements Unit. If you continue to uphold this censorship, it would be extremely helpful if you could tell us specifically what about page 10 your office believes to be "written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruption such as strikes, riots or security threat group activity," as it would help us to prevent censorship of future publications. We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties