Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Tim Virga, Warden
P.O. Box 290002
Represa, CA 95671-002

1 June 2010

Dear Warden Virga,

A publication titled Under Lock & Key issue 13 (March/April 2010) was sent to several prisoners held at your facility. It was sent from MIM Distributors in San Francisco, CA by standard mail on 30 March 2010. This publication was returned to MIM Distributors with no explanation and denied delivery to the following prisoners:

XXX

This letter is to inquire about why this publication was censored from CSP-Sac. The envelopes were stamped with "Return to Sender" and a list of options for the mailroom staff to check to explain the denial. However, none of the options were checked. I have included a copy of an envelope so you can see what I am describing.

As you know, there must be a legitimate penological interest in the censorship of incoming mail. In addition to the ambiguous stamp on the envelopes, they were all returned unopened. How could your mailroom staff determine that the publication Under Lock & Key issue 13 should be censored at CSP-Sac if they did not view it?

We are requesting (1) a detailed explanation of why this publication was denied delivery to the above mentioned prisoners, (2) an investigation into the validity of the claim that it should be denied, so that it may be overturned, (3) prompt delivery of the publication Under Lock & Key issue 13, and (4) an end to the interference to the communication between MIM Distributors and prisoners held at CSP-Sacramento. We look forward to your timely response concerning the overturn of this incorrect denial.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties

Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation
PO Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283

24 August 2010

Dear Director,

This letter is to inform you of the illegal censorship that MIM Distributors is experiencing at California State Prison - Sacramento and to ask for your assistance in resolving this issue. In February 2010, Warden Tim V. Virga began instituting a ban against all publications and letters going into California State Prison - Sarcamento sent from MIM Distributors.

In the most recent response we have received from Warden Virga, dated 22 June 2010, he refers to the outdated ban imposed by Undersecretary of Operations Scott Kernan to validate this practice. We are familiar with this 2006 ban. However, we are also familiar with the settlement between Prison Legal News and CDCR, with its accompanying list of banned publications and 21 October 2008 memo that reads, ?The centralized list of disapproved publications supersedes any prior departmental or facility memoranda regarding banned publications. Facilities must use only the most updated version of the centralized list to identify publications subject to a general ban.? As I tried explained to Warden Virga in my previous letter, MIM Distributors does not appear on this list.

If you have an updated list of banned publications that includes MIM Distributors, please send it to me at the address below. If not, then please advise Warden Virga of his illegal activity and see to its immediate reversal. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties

Tim Virga, Warden
P.O. Box 290002
Represa, CA 95671-002

28 June 2010

Dear Warden Virga,

This letter is much the same as the one sent to your office on 1 June 2010 regarding the censorship of a publication titled Under Lock & Key issue 13 (March/April 2010) was sent from MIM Distributors to several prisoners held at your facility. In our last letter we asked for an explanation as to why Under Lock & Key issue 13 was censored, and to inform you that your mailroom staff are censoring publications without viewing their contents.

Again, MIM Distributors sent in mail to several prisoners held at your facility. And again, they were returned to MIM Distributors in exactly the same manner as Under Lock & Key issue 13. The envelopes were stamped with "Return to Sender" and a list of options for the mailroom staff to check to explain the denial. However, none of the options were checked. Please refer to the envelope that I included in my last letter to you for a visual representation of what I am describing.

The contents of the letter most recently returned by CSP-Sac mailroom staff was copies of the 1 June letter I sent to you (with the names and CDCR #s of the prisoners removed) and a copy of our guide to fighting censorship, which describes that prisoners should file appeals and the necessary steps to filing a court case, if necessary.

As you know, there must be a legitimate penological interest in the censorship of incoming mail. In addition to the ambiguous stamp on the envelopes, they were all returned unopened. How could your mailroom staff determine that the publication Under Lock & Key issue 13 should be censored at CSP-Sac if they did not view it?

It is clear that your mailroom staff is enacting a blind ban of mail from MIM Distributors. According to Prison Legal News v. CDCR, each publication and letter must be reviewed on an individual basis, and it is illegal to ban a distributor who is not on the centralized list that is put out by CDCR annually. In 2008, MIM was not on the banned list, and we have reason to believe we are not on the 2010 list either, because no one has referred us to it. So we request that you stop this illegal ban on all publications coming from MIM Distributors, and start determining the allowance of publications on an individual basis.

Additionally, allow me to remind you that if you should determine a publication to be inadmissible at CSP-Sac, you are legally obligated to provide to the sender and the intended recipient the name or identification of the publication, and the specific reason why it is being censored. This reason must be legitimately related to penological interested as laid out in Turner v. Safely.

We are requesting (1) a detailed explanation of why this publication was denied delivery to the above mentioned prisoners, (2) an investigation into the validity of the claim that it should be denied, so that it may be overturned, (3) prompt delivery of the publications Under Lock & Key issue 13 and our Censorship Guide, and (4) an end to the blind ban of communications between MIM Distributors and prisoners held at CSP-Sacramento. We look forward to your timely response concerning the overturn of this incorrect denial.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties

Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation
PO Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283

21 August 2010

Dear Director,

This letter is to inform you of the illegal censorship that MIM Distributors is experiencing at California State Prison - Sacramento and to ask for your assistance in resolving this issue. In February 2010, Warden Tim V. Virga began instituting a ban against all publications and letters going into California State Prison - Sarcamento sent from MIM Distributors.

In the most recent response we have received from Warden Virga, dated 22 June 2010, he refers to the outdated ban imposed by Undersecretary of Operations Scott Kernan to validate this practice. We are familiar with this 2006 ban. However, we are also familiar with the settlement between Prison Legal News and CDCR, with its accompanying list of banned publications and 21 October 2008 memo that reads, ?The centralized list of disapproved publications supersedes any prior departmental or facility memoranda regarding banned publications. Facilities must use only the most updated version of the centralized list to identify publications subject to a general ban.? As I tried explained to Warden Virga in my previous letter, MIM Distributors does not appear on this list.

If you have an updated list of banned publications that includes MIM Distributors, please send it to me at the address below. If not, then please advise Warden Virga of his illegal activity and see to its immediate reversal. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties