Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Office of Policy, Grants and Legislative Affairs
1920 Technology Parkway
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050

Re: Appeal of Censorship of Publication
Under Lock & Key Issue Winter 2021 Issue 75
SCI Rockview

To Whom It May Concern:

We are in receipt of your December 1, 2021 notification of censorship (hereinafter, “Notice”) related to the above referenced issue of Under Lock & Key (hereinafter, “ULK”) mailed to Mr. XXXXXX XXXXXX (#XXXXXX) while at SCI Rockview.

Your letter states the objectionable content relates to “Information contained on Page 10 encourages striking for Juneteenth 2022.” The Notice cites “(d) advocate, assist, or are evidence of criminal activity of facility misconduct.”

We do not believe there is a criminal code that outlaws the boycotting of a federal holiday. The boycott is political in nature in protesting mass incarceration and solitary confinement and should be protected speech under the First Amendment that poses no security risk to the facility. Content which is unpopular or objectionable by staff does not allow for censorship (see Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401, 404-05, 414-19 (1989)).

As such we are asking that Mr. XXXXXX be allowed to receive ULK 75.


Sincerely,

This is to notify you that the publication in issue incites violence or encourages a protest on Juneteenth 2022. As such, it violates Department policy for the reason previously stated and shall be DENIED to inmates in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

Policy Office

PA Department of Corrections

The prisoner appealed the decision to censor, which the Director's Review Committee upheld in a 1/12/2022 memo.

This Grievance Operation Manual is a publication of the TDCJ on the rules guiding the grievance system for prisoners. Because the state will not provide copies to prisons, MIM Distributors prints and mails copies to them so they can better address the abuse they face in these prisons. This is one of the most blatant efforts by the state to obscure the grievance process and prevent prisoners from holding staff accountable for abuse.