Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Superintendent Gerald L. Rozum
SCI-Somerset
1590 Walters Mill Road
Somerset, PA 15510-0001

5 January 2011

Dear Superintendent Rozum,

This letter is regarding the ongoing, illegal censorship of mail from MIM Distributors to prisoners held at SCI Somerset by SCI Somerset mailroom staff. Since his arrival at SCI Somerset in March 2009, MIM Distributors has mailed Mr. XXX several issues of the newsletter Under Lock & Key, listed below:

Under Lock & Key issue 9 (July 2009)
Under Lock & Key issue 10 (September 2009)
Under Lock & Key issue 14 (May 2010)
Under Lock & Key issue 15 (July 2010)
Under Lock & Key issue 16 (September 2010)

All of these publications were sent via standard/bulk mail and have disappeared without a trace. Mr. XXX has not received them, and neither Mr. XXX nor MIM Distributors were notified that they were censored or under investigation.

I would like to request (1) an investigation into this egregious obstruction of MIM Distributors's and Mr. XXX's First Amendment rights, (2) delivery of these publications to Mr. XXX if they have not already been destroyed by SCI Somerset employees, and (3) an immediate end to tampering with mail from MIM Distributors to prisoners held at SCI Somerset. If there is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections that we are in violation of, please advise.

I appreciate your effort in investigating this matter and your timely response.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors

CC: Affected parties