Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

They can't find record of any mail that was withheld from him still in mailroom

List item(s) which meet disapproval criteria:
Correspondence concerning the disruption of daily operations of the prison. Disapproved per Title 15 and Dom Supp 54010.9.

Authority to disallow
Printed name of Warden's designee:
M. Denning

Aref Fakhoury, Warden
California Institution for Men
P.O. Box 128
Chino, CA 91708

21 February 2010

Dear Warden Fakhoury,

This letter is regarding the censorship of a newsletter titled Under Lock & Key issue 12 (Jan/Feb 2010) from MIM Distributors to XXX at California Institution for Men. The newsletter was returned to MIM Distributors with a stamp that said "against regulations."

This letter is to appeal that decision made by mailroom staff. We do not think that there are valid grounds on which to make the claim that Under Lock & Key issue 12 is "against regulations." The newsletter was received by many prisoners across the state of California, and the country. Apparently it was not "against regulations" at those hundreds of other facilities.

We request (1) an independent review the decision made by California Institution for Men mailroom staff to mark this newsletter as "against regulations." We also ask for (2) a thorough explanation as to why this newsletter was censored, with specific citations. Lastly, we ask that (3) Under Lock & Key issue 12 be deliverable to XXX, and any other prisoner at CIM who wishes to correspond with MIM Distributors.

We appreciate your assistance and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties

Warden Aref Fakhoury
California Institution for Men
P.O. Box 128
Chino, CA 91710

2 April 2010

Dear Warden Fakhoury,

Thank you for your timely response to my inquiry regarding the censorship of mail from MIM Distributors to QQQ at CIM. In your response you referred to an August 25, 2007 ban on all MIM mail.

Following Prison Legal News v. CDCR your department was to create a centralized list of any banned publications. The first iteration of this list was released on October 21, 2008. However, the newsletter that was censored, Under Lock & Key, was not on the list. The list is to be updated May 1 of each year. So why is it that in January 2010, Under Lock & Key is still being banned based on the outdated memo you referred to?

Please clarify this matter so that we can know the current status of our ability to communicate with QQQ and other who wish to communicate with MIM Distributors held at CIM.

We appreciate your assistance and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties