Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Inspector General
New York State Department of Correctional Services
Bldg. 2, Rm 112
State Office Campus
1220 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12226

19 July 2008

Dear Sir/Madam,

On March 16 I had written to you regarding a complaint against Southport Correctional Facility?s failure to notify MIM Distributors of the censorship of their mail as guaranteed by New York Code Title 7 section 720.4(G)(1)(2). Just today I was given a letter from Mr. XXXXXX XXXXXX (93A3756) reporting that a copy of MIM?s publication Under Lock & Key Issue 3 was censored at Five Points Correctional Facility. Once again, MIM was not notified of this censorship. Therefore, I am requesting that you ensure that this regulation is enforced, as it would be very helpful to us in dealing with these problems in a timely manner.

I have cc?ed the Central Media Review office as I am also requesting a review of the above mentioned censorship, which Mr. XXXXXX reports was justified with: ?Publication advocates and presents a clear and immediate risk of lawlessness, violence, anarchy, or rebellion against governmental authority.? As the Central Office is aware of, MIM has been sending literature to and corresponding with prisoners in the NYS DOCS for over a decade, and in that time MIM has never advocated that prisoners break the law nor has MIM ever encouraged an act of violence by any U.S. citizen against their government, on the contrary they explicitly discourage both. Upon review of ULK issue 3, I am certain you will find this to be true. So, I hope that you will grant Mr. XXXXXX his appeal, which I believe he has already sent to you.

One final issue that Mr. XXXXXX has brought to our attention is that the mail room is forcing him to leave his correspondence with MIM(Prisons) open so that they can read his mail under the reasoning that it is ?business mail.? Can you please clarify for me what the definition of ?business mail? and ?business? is as discussed under Directive 4422 (III.E.)? As you are probably aware, Under Lock & Key serves as a media outlet for prisoners to report what is going on inside prison, and it seems that correspondence with MIM(Prisons) would fall under the correspondence with a member of the Media and could therefore be sealed. Please advise.

I have received a response to my appeal of a decision rendered by the Facility Media Review Committee of Five Points CF, regarding censorship of the "Under Lock & Key June 2008 #3" issue you sent me a couple of months ago. The decision was appealed to the Central Office Media Review Committee of NYSDOCS in Albany, And the response of the COMRC is as follows:

"The decision of the Five Points Facility Media Review Committee denying you the right to receive the publication Under Lock & Key, June 2008 #3, has been affirmed by the Central Office Media Review Committee for the following reason: This publication violates Guideline E of Directive #4572 on pages 3, 5, 6, 7 and 10 by providing information in pending litigation against NYSDOCS, equalin [sic] inmate labor to slave labor, and alledging physical mistreatment of an inmate at a specific NYS facility. In the opinion of the COMRC, this material could incite disobedience towards prison personnel." (date of 8/29/96 for Directive #4572 text relied upon for decision)

My next step is to file an "Article 78" action, to be litigated in New York State Court.