MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
I am writing to ULK to keep readers informed about what is
going on inside the federal prison system. After receiving the last
issue, I was enlightened to the status of a movement that is going on in
South
Carolina state prison system. I have spent a long time in the lock
units of the SC state prisons and know them very well.
I have firsthand knowledge about the very beginning of the
United
Gangster movement that is growing in the prison system of that
state. I am glad to hear that it’s becoming more organized because I
didn’t have good expectations that it would make it this far.
I know how fearful the administration was about a movement taking place
inside the prison, and how the SHU was used to stop prisoners who were
supposed to be involved in this movement. I will continue to fight
censorship of everything associated with anti-imperialism and the prison
industry.
MIM(Prisons) responds: There are many lumpen organizations with
origins in the streets and prisons focused on getting what they can for
their members, often at the expense of the people. But these
organizations can refocus and develop correct political leadership. We
look to unite with all LOs who can get behind
the
five points of the United Front for Peace in Prisons. This does not
require organizations to take up Maoism, but the points are a minimum
basis for anti-imperialist unity in our prisons organizing.
Recently there was a victory for Oklahoma’s prisoner population, with
respect to the difficulty of having grievances heard and adequately
addressed. On February 29 2012, a magistrate judge held that Director
Justin Jones “wrongfully established, maintained and enforced the
grievance policy and authorized punishment for inmates who show
disrespect to staff.” The magistrate further held that Director Justin
Jones had: “failed to establish an available administrative remedy on
the claim involving the policy on grievance restrictions and disregarded
the claim against Mr. Jones for the disciplinary policy involving
disrespect to staff.”
On February 2 2011, the Plaintiff in this case filed a grievance
challenging his placement on a grievance restriction. Five days later,
the grievance coordinator returned the grievance and checked the box for
“Not an issue grievable to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections
(Private Prisons property, misconduct, see OP-090124, Section 11.B.1.),
litigation pending, not within/under.”
In response to a complaint made by the Plaintiff, Director Jones argued
that the he had “failed to exhaust his administrative remedies.”
Director Jones’s argument consisted of the following sentence: “Here the
prison’s administrative records demonstrate that Plaintiff has not filed
any grievance/grievance appeal regarding his being placed on ‘Grievance
Restriction.’”
Director Jones relied on an affidavit by Debbie Morton, which stated
that the Plaintiff had not appealed the February 7 grievance decision to
her office. Presumably, the Plaintiff did not appeal the decision
because the grievance coordinator has told him that the complaint was
not grievable.(1) Even at the time of the magistrate’s report and
recommendation, Director Jones still did not submit any evidence to
suggest that the complaint would have been grievable.
“The plain language of the [Prison Litigation Reform Act] requires that
prisoners exhaust only available remedies.” Tuckel v. Grover,
660 F. 3d 1249, 1252 (10th Cir. 2011) (quoting 42 U.S.C. 1997e(a)). The
Oklahoma Department of Corrections’s (ODOC’s) special report includes
excerpts from the grievance policy, but those portions do not identify
the matters that are grievable. The magistrate held “thus, Mr. Jones has
failed to satisfy his burden of demonstrating an available
administrative remedy to contest imposition of a grievance restriction
or punishment for disrespect to staff.”
In his conclusion, the magistrate stated as follows: “When the
Defendant’s evidence is reviewed favorably to [the Plaintiff] as
required, one can reasonably infer that there was no available
administrative remedy to contest his placement on a grievance
restriction or the punishment for disrespect to staff. As a result, the
court should reject Mr. Jones’ argument for dismissal or summary
judgement on the basis of exhaustion.”
As stated and shown above, my fellow comrades in Oklahoma prisons have
no available administrative remedy to contest a grievance restriction or
punishment for “disrespect to staff,” due to an erroneous establishment
of a grievance policy or disciplinary policy. The above outlined lawsuit
was filed on March 17 2011 against the Directory of the Oklahoma
Department of Corrections. If comrades in Oklahoma have been placed on
grievance restriction, follow the policy while on that restriction and
see to it that the oppressor is dealt with justly.
Further, if comrades are housed at private prisons, know that the ODOC
and private companies are in cahoots with each other in an effort to
deny you a Constitutional right permitting you to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.
Corcoran prison officials have been retaliating and harassing the
prisoners. They started feeding us on small paper trays, leaving us in
our cells for days without exercise yard, and openly telling us it’s
because of people going on hunger strike.
Institution Gang Investigations (IGI) has been harassing everybody, even
me. They came and took everything out of my living cell claiming that I
am a suspected BGF member. That’s crazy! I’m not from any gang at all.
Corcoran prison officials got me going back to court facing 10 years to
life. They wrote up several false reports on me stating I assaulted
staff and the Hanford County DA picked up all the cases.
They are retaliating and punishing everybody. And get this: the
prisoners are running scared. They stopped filing complaints against the
police, saying: “I don’t want IGI fucking with me.” Man! It hurts bad to
see my own comrades laying down and giving up.
I have been really pushing hard to shut down the Security Housing Units.
I have been telling everybody to stop taking a cellmate. Can you imagine
the panic that will come over head officials if everybody with a
cellmate said no, I’m not taking a cellie. Imagine that. Then ask
yourselves should we push for another hunger strike and hurt our health
and become too weak to fight these pigs? Or should we push for a big
movement to stop all comrades from taking a cellmate? I’ll give these
pigs 30 days and they will shit on themselves and give up whatever we
demand.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We know that the California prisons have
been retaliating against prisoners who participated in the recent hunger
strikes, and this comrade raises a good point in pushing forward the
discussion about best tactics for next steps.
I recently returned from a trip to federal court in Harrisburg
Pennsylvania. As I re-entered these battered walls of this prison I
cringed and rejoiced because the conditions of the temp prison I was at
are far worse than Huntingdon. SCI Camp Hill “AKA White Hill” is known
for beating, starving, humiliating, and much more. I was housed in the
SMU portion of the jail. It’s a long-term disciplinary unit. I was
banged off every door from booking to the unit, which was no surprise.
There we got three cold meals a day, no yard, no shower. That place is
crazy. I passed your address along and let the brothers know that there
are people who care about these conditions of the PA prison system.
These pigs, all ex-military, are overweight, out of shape, and
relentless.
As I entered back to the RHU part of Huntingdon I was greeted with
“there he is!” “That’s the Rat!” I was puzzled, I’ve never told on
anyone in my life. I did a little research and learned that while I was
away a couple pigs were telling other prisoners I was ratting on them
for passing stuff. We came to the conclusion that my letter to the
Department of Justice made these pigs mad. I wrote a letter to the
Department of Justice in Washington naming several COs chewing snuff and
spitting it in our food, the mice that run this place, the lack of heat,
and the neglect of a young Spanish boy who hung himself. The boy
survived only because we were kicking our doors and yelling for help. He
was in a camera cell with 24 hours live feed to a screen in the RHU
bubble, but the pigs were watching TV and playing on the computer while
this young man was trying to end his life. So I’m a rat for helping my
fellow man. We straightened that all out, and now the pigs are our
target once again.
I try to stress to these young brothers, we can’t oppress each other. We
are already being oppressed by the PA DOC. I tell them if you feel like
oppressing another prisoner, take it out on the pigs. I’m spreading
copies of all you send me, I’d like to know about how to start a study
group here. I want to push your theory it seems to be positive growth
material.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We commend this comrade for taking on the
“Rat” label head on and clearing his name with his fellow prisoners so
that he could continue his organizing work. As
point
2 of the United Front principles states, “To maintain unity we have
to keep an open line of networking and communication, and ensure we
address any situation with true facts.” To help prisoners like this one,
we run a study group through the mail that provides basic political
education, and we also have a guide to forming study groups in prison,
so that people can take what they learn and share it with others and
have discussions in the yard or wherever else it is possible to gather
and talk. Write to us for more information.
The conditions under which we prisoners suffer must not go unchallenged
by the public. I am targeted by prison staff with cold food, half
portions of food, many times 1/4 portions of food, false incident
reports written against me, and kept bound under the strict and harsh
maximum security classification. I am a revolutionary, I study different
methods and test theory from different schools of thought.
I was an activist in society (revolutionary) and I’ve helped to organize
many communities. I now teach and organize the prisoners here, those who
have a will to struggle against our current conditions. The organizing I
teach is to serve our daily needs/human rights. The air conditioner is
blowing full force half the winter, keeping it a cold and icy season. I
openly work with all prisoners around our daily needs including
protection from beatings by prison officials.
I use mostly methods from revolutionary books by mostly the
Black
Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, Angela Davis, Assata
Shakur, Elaine Brown, David Hillard, Bobby Seale. These people gave
their lives for the struggle. The text from this material has the power
to transform minds. Education is a must.
Prison high ranking officials force prisoners to have sex in exchange
for fair/humane treatment. I challenge all my fellow prisoners to stand
against this oppression to join me in legally fighting it. Once again
the prison officials increase the level of abuse, retaliation and
torture against me to isolate and discourage others.
MIM(Prisons) replies: Retaliation against prisoners organizing
for their rights is a common practice in the criminal injustice system.
The best way to fight this is by building our movement. This comrade is
right that we must educate and organize because the larger our forces
the more difficult it will be to single out organizers for retaliation.
The
Black
Panther Party literature provides important historical material that
has relevance today. We encourage our comrades behind bars to also use
MIM(Prisons) literature as an organizing tool.
Under Lock &
Key contains news and analysis to help educate and inspire prisoner
organizing. Form study groups with others, share the newsletter, and
contribute articles to help build this important resource.
The date of the MOVE massacre was May 13, 1985. The original article
(Assassination
Nation) printed the date of the massacre to be May 17, 1985. The
author and MIM(Prisons) apologize for this oversight.
Imagine being in the body of an animal who lives the zoo-life everyday
for long periods of time. Waking up in the wee hours of the morning I
see the same wall, same toilet and sink 8 feet from me; I feel the same
back ache from last week after another night of “sleep” on a metal bunk
with a 2 inch thick pissy mat. The food trap has been popped open with a
loud thud - time for breakfast. As I arise from that bunk, I notice the
darkness through the mesh metal covering my small window. As I stretch I
jam yet another finger because I can’t stretch my arms fully out.
Breakfast meals become predictable: eggs, bread and a 7 oz cup of
cereal. After eating my meal I go to brush my teeth and wash my face and
notice the 15 to 20 year old dirt ring around the sink and toilet. So
much for effective cleaning supplies. Here at Mountain View Correctional
Institution in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, we never get a fresh change
of clothes. Just a wash twice a week with no detergent, soap, or
anything of that matter. My white shirt matches the color of my brown
pants. They issue s state-ordered Black slip-on shoes despite the fact I
have my own shoes, which I’m not allowed to have in isolation. My 1 hour
recreation time only 5 times a week is hardly recreation in a 15x15
steel cage with no workout equipment.
The only thing to look forward to is mail (if you’re lucky enough to get
it) and showers (which are only 10 minutes), and food trays. Don’t
forget looking forward to the hundreds of ants and rodents you will have
to kill during the day that are living in your trash bag. As I talk to a
friend, I get told by authorities to keep the noise level down. My
friend is 5 doors down and everyone’s talking at the same time, which
will make this impossible. He closes a steel slider which has been
placed over my door window - which they say is for “noise control.”
Everyone is still talking at the same time so, again, quieting down is
impossible.
Finally mail call comes. They arrive at my door with a notice of
publication disapproval, yet again. This is the only mail I have coming
in, yet they deny this to me, always for the same reason - “may cause
violence or disorder or insurrection which is a threat to institutional
security.” Moreover, the department and constitutional rights and policy
violations are rampant. I sign away the only thing I depend on for
outside contact with the world, being that visitation and telephone
privileges have been restricted.
What am I to do? How about reading a book? The two I’m allowed have been
read several times. After studying some material for the 5th time today,
I sit and stare at the same white wall I wake up to every morning. I
look down at the rib cage bones that are showing now due to the
excessive weight loss from lack of adequate food. As my day winds down,
I go to brush my teeth in the same dirty sink and notice against that I
am forced to use state-issued hygiene when I have a tin of my own
hygiene I have ordered from canteen. State-issued toothpaste, soap,
deodorant that breaks my arm pits out. I see why they say the state is
going broke. Even the state-issued paper I write on is a puzzling thing
because I have two full 80 sheet notepads that they have denied me from
having.
I lay down without brushing my hair nor combing it because I’m denied
those things as well. I can expect a ton of lint to be in my head due to
me being denied a wave cap to cover my head. I lay! I think! Lay on the
same sheets I’ve had for months. The same blanket I’ve had for months. I
think of what the morning holds. I can expect the captain to come
attempt to pacify me for the grievance I just wrote on foul conditions.
On the notification the secretary of divisions of prisons received about
these foul conditions. What will be brought up is the numerous food
strikes that have occurred. The numerous occasions where the facility’s
“swat” team was brought in to “Rodney King” me. The property
confiscation, mail stoppage. It’s always been a “reminder.”
I could very well expect to be told to pack my things to be moved to
another facility after just being moved from unit to unit to unit. Could
it be better anywhere else? Will things change? I guess I’ll see in the
morning in this cage. You have no “freedom.” You have no “rights.” There
is no “rehabilitation.” No “correction” by the Department of
Corrections. Only control, repression, depression, suicide, violence,
problems. You do what they tell you to do or resist and face crucial and
sometimes deadly consequences. Welcome to the zoo-life - and this is
just the isolation unit of more vulnerable zoo-life. Where the morning
is unwanted and the night is hell. But when the morning comes, we’ll do
it all again.
MIM(Prisons) adds: These conditions, and the punishment prisoners
face when fighting for their rights, are pushing forward the campaign to
demand our
grievances be addressed. In reality much of the horrible conditions
faced daily by prisoners is considered legal and so can’t be fought
through the grievance system. No surprise in a country where we let mass
murderers run the government while locking up Blacks and Latinos at
astronomical rates. This is why the grievance battle is part of a larger
struggle against imperialism. We won’t be able to reform away this
injustice, in the end only revolution will allow us to make real and
lasting change in the interests of the people.
I’m writing to you in hopes of receiving relief or at least a thorough
investigation into the matter of a grievance I filed. It’s an appeal to
a disciplinary case I received on November 2, 2011, for allegedly
“Threatening an Officer,” which was completely false and untruthful.
At approximately 3:00AM on November 2, Officer Nwanko let inmates out
for breakfast. Because he didn’t give prior notice, as standard
procedures, a lot of inmates were caught unaware. Officer Nwanko was
closing prisoners in their cells for not being ready. A college class I
was taking started at 5:00AM I explained this to the officer but was
ignored. It was during this time that other prisoners who were stuck in
their cells were hollering to get out for chow and AM lay-ins, and were
cursing the officer. Officer Nwanko proceeded to let out 3rd row, then
left. On his way out the door, another prisoner made a comment for which
I was written up.
After he finished letting all the inmates on the pod out, he went to the
front desk and called for rank. Officer Nwanko explained that someone
made the threat, but had no knowledge who the offender was that made the
threat. He stated “When I was leaving, 35-cell (my assigned cell), was
trying to get back in to get a school pass, ask him.” Because of this
statement, I was called to the front desk where I was then confronted by
Lt. Davis and Cat. Graham, who both ask me about the threat made to the
officer. Lt. Davis wanted to know who made the threat against the
officer. When I had no knowledge, Lt. Davis made it quite clear that
unless I told them what they wanted to know, that I would be locked up,
and charged with threatening an officer. The officer was instructed to
write the case, knowing this to be false and untruthful.
During my disciplinary hearing, the charging officer didn’t have his
story straight. The security tape will refute his testimony which the
hearing officer relied on in finding me guilty of the charged offense.
He stated that as he came down from third row, I intercepted him and
proceeded to follow him. I requested that the security tape be made
available for review, for that day and time that this alleged threat was
made against this officer by me. The footage will refute the charge and
discredit the charging officer’s false testimony. The hearing officer
refused my request for this security tape to be presented in my defense.
I never threatened this officer, nor approached this officer at any
time, as the tape will substantiate. Despite the credible defense
evidence of the existing tape, I was found guilty by the officer. The
appeal process was equally unsuccessful. This greatly affected my
chances for parole consideration, as the board relies heavily on what
the “papers” say not on truth/or ones claim of innocence. Any input by
you will be appreciated.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade sent a copy of his grievance
petition looking for our assistance. Unfortunately MIM(Prisons) doesn’t
have the resources to help with each individual battle against injustice
like this one as there are so many going on in the Amerikan prison
system. But we encourage everyone to participate in the campaign
demanding
our grievances be addressed as a systematic way to deal with this
problem. Of course addressing grievances still won’t put an end to the
injustice in the criminal injustice system. But it will help prisoners
like this one shorten their time behind bars and create more organizing
space for anti-imperialists building the movement behind bars.
Seeing as I am SNY [Special Needs Yard], I’m compelled to put forth a
few words on this matter. I’ve met many folks who neither “debriefed”
nor snitched on anyone. After so much time on these lines, just how much
b.s. can one person take? Unnecessary politics and needless racial
tensions get old. That opinion is being held on the line. When young
people get to prison and hear this type of talk, of course they will go
SNY when confronted with an issue that will jeopardize their freedom or
personal health and well being. Why fight a battle that the leaders are
clearly undecided about?
To blame this or that generation is neither manly nor responsible, it’s
downright cowardly. Everyone is to blame and once an individual
recognizes that there are responsibilities and duties to be upheld, that
whether SNY or not, let him be a man and uphold those responsibilities
and duties. Stay in your own land and quit trying to tell the next man
what you think he should be doing. There are recriminations coming from
this side (SNY) that there is more telling on the line than anyone will
ever let on. The point is: get the beam out your own eye before you can
get the speck out mine.
MIM(Prisons) responds: There has been a lot written about the SNY
in the pages of Under Lock & Key as prisoners line up firmly on one
side or the other of the debate over whether SNY prisoners can be
revolutionary comrades.
Our
position falls in line with what this prisoner writes: we want
people to demonstrate their commitments to the struggle through action.
There are many reasons why people go to SNY, and not all of them snitch
or debrief. Similarly, there are many mainline prisoners who snitch or
work with the guards in other ways. So we must judge each person, SNY or
not, by their actions.
In the vision of our great leader, growth starts on an individual level;
to reach the great discovery you got to have self-growth. Once you reach
that then as a nation, as a movement, we can develop. That’s where the
three Ds come in - Dedication, Determination & Discipline. The three
Ds in self are three keys to reaching development. Our great leader
tells us to let these concepts reside in our hearts & be guiding
light for us. Everyone wants to change the world but our honorable
chairman tells us revolution starts with self: educate yourself, be
dedicated, determined & disciplined, grow as individuals then we can
develop as a nation. That’s the “Blueprint” and the 21st Century
concepts for GD are all based on this.
I wouldn’t say we are a revolutionary organization but fo’sho’ we are
political and struggle and strive for success in everything we do. To
the
Revolutionary
Gangstas, I preach that to you brothers, regardless of all else,
always strive & struggle for success. Educate yourself on the new
concepts of GD. As for Ras Uhuru, the Growth & Development movement
is obviously something you don’t have a full understanding of either
because the four stages of GD start at Gangster Disciple and end in a
Great Discovery. Maybe these brothers in South Carolina have not reached
past the first stage of GD. But to be aware is to be alive and so I
strongly advocate that all of these brothers from Mr. Uhuru on down to
the Revolutionary Gangstas educate themselves about a movement before
speaking up on it.
The Growth & Development is FOC - For Our Children, For Our
Community, For Our Cause. The new struggle is for education, politics,
economics, unity, organization & social development. Get on point
brothers and keep ya shields up and your swords sharp, and always seek
and share in the vision of our great leader - Free King Larry Hoover!
MIM(Prisons) responds: First, we hope everyone can agree that
Under Lock & Key is not the place to have internal debates
within other organizations. If there are disagreements within a group
about what the group should stand for, those debates should happen
within those organizations’ own independent means of communication. At
the same time, we print statements from other organizations to establish
where MIM(Prisons) has unity with them, and to struggle where we
disagree. This is a key principle to ideological development for all of
us.
We printed the article by Ras Uhuru in particular because we thought it
brought up an important concern, which is that we should promote unity
whenever it exists. Ras Uhuru’s criticism of the Revolutionary Gangstas
statement was that it could be read as an implied criticism of Growth
& Development, but without any substance. We agreed with Ras Uhuru
on this and printed h article in response. Ras Uhuru also felt that the
Revolutionary Gangstas should be working for better understanding and
unity within their organization as opposed to forming a new
organization. This may or may not have been good advice, as this would
depend on the conditions these comrades faced on the ground.
As for the position of the responder above, we agree that one must
educate oneself first, and that struggling within allows for greater
unity with others. This is also true for organizations, which must
develop greater internal understanding and unity before they can ever
unite with others (see
Ras
Uhuru’s article on United Front). While pushing many positive
principles that align with the United Front, the author above states
clearly that s/he does not see hself as part of a revolutionary
organization. This is a good example of what a United Front looks like.
There are clear differences between MIM(Prisons) and GD (even if this
author’s vision is disputed by others). And yet we can agree on the
certain key principles that we both think will further the goals of our
respective organizations.
It just so happens that “Growth,” the third
principle
of the United Front addresses this point. The United Front principle
of “Growth” states in part, “We support members within our organization
who leave and embrace other political organizations and concepts that
are within the anti-imperialist struggle.” So we are not idealistic in
promoting unity; we know that sometimes groups will not want to unite
with us even if some of their membership does. We know individuals will
leave organizations, and sometimes whole organizations will split. But
this should be done in a principled way, with clear political
explanations and an attempt to maintain good relations as long as we are
all still moving in the same general direction as a United Front.