Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Warden Leroy Cartledge
McCormick Correctional Institution
386 Redemption Way
McCormick, SC 29899

19 October 2011

Warden Cartledge:

This letter is regarding the ongoing censorship of reading material from MIM Distributors to Mr. XXX, a prisoner held at McCormick Correctional Institution.

Recently MIM Distributors sent Mr. XXX an envelope which contained information about MIM(Prisons), a prisoner support organization; a list of mail that has recently been sent from MIM Distributors to Mr. XXX; a brief missive from MIM(Prisons) informing Mr. XXX of his study group status; and some information on how Mr. XXX can write articles for MIM Distributor's newsletter Under Lock & Key.

It is my understanding that most mail from MIM Distributors to Mr. XXX is censored because of the SDOC policy that prisoners in isolation are not permitted to receive newspapers. I have written to the Director Boyd regarding the Constitutionality of these practices, so I will not get into that issue here. What I would like to protest is the censorship of the letter outlined above. What is the reason for this censorship? It is even more obviously illegal than the censorship of Under Lock & Key. It must be addressed.

Therefore, we are asking for your assistance in resolving censorship of mail from MIM Distributors to Mr. XXX. First, if the CRC believes that mail from MIM Distributors is unfit for delivery to prisoners at McCormick CI, they must notify the prisoners subject to this censorship and give them an opportunity to appeal the decision (Procunier v. Martinez 416 U.S. 396), and they must explain why (Procunier v. Martinez 416 U.S. 396).

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

Sincerely,

Bailey Clarke, Legal Assistant
MIM Distributors
PO Box 40799
San Francisco, CA 94140

CC: Affected parties