Washington prisoner wins censorship settlement

Dear Comrades,

I hope this finds you well. As you may recall, I filed suit in
1997 challenging the WA DOC's ban on "MIM Notes." The pigs
recently settled the suit. Effective Jan 5, 2000, they are
supposed to stop censoring "MIM Notes." If they censor it we can
seek enforcement of the settlement in state or federal court. I am
having copies made of the settlement and I will send it to you as
soon as I get them. The pigs paid our lawyers about $53,000 in
attorney fees. One of my lawyers has already forwarded the 1997-98
MIM Notes to me. The other one will send me the stuff he has
shortly. In the event any copies of "MIM Notes" are censored in WA
prisons after next week, let me know ASAP and we will get on the
pigs over it. I will be writing an article on the lawsuit
settlement in prison legal news so WA prisoners will be aware of
it. -- a prisoner in WA

MIM responds:
We're thrilled to report this victory over the WA prison system
which has been censoring MIM Notes, other literature we send and
correspondence to prisoners for years. This prisoner waged a very
important legal battle and this victory demonstrates that such
protracted battles within the capitalist system are an important
part of our work in the current stage of the struggle.
Prisoners in many states are at different stages of fighting
similar legal battles. We ask that all comrades who have
successfully filed grievances, won lawsuits or settlements please
send summaries of your work. Through MIM Legal Notes and the
Prisoners' Legal Clinic we distribute relevant legal information
to other prisoners. Some prisoners involved in the anti-censorship
campaign have little legal experience and greatly benefit from the
MLN submissions outlining starting points.
If you are on the outside and do not have legal experience, you
can still contribute to the Serve the People Prisoners' Legal
Clinic. We need assistance for a variety of tasks: typing in legal
information written by prisoners, publishing the information on
the webpages, copying and distributing legal information,
organizing benefit concerts to cover costs, soliciting help from
lawyers, and doing basic legal research on case laws relevant to
prisoners' cases.





[Already recorded in file florida prisoner (not edited)]

A Florida prisoner writes:

The prison population in Florida has tripled since 1987, from
27,000 to well over 67,000 in 1998. 85% of the adult and 95%
of the juvenile prisoners are illiterate! ... Us prisoners in the Florida 
Department of Corrections 
and across the nation are just like the Hebrew slaves in Egypt! The
government has taken everything away from us, down to our fake
constitutional access to their criminal injustice system. And what
do we do? Cry like helpless babies! And as we cry, they stick a
pacifier into our mouths. What is this pacifier? A television, a
foot ball, a basketball, foolish games, and special privileges....

MIM, I don't know, but I think the black people here in America
back has been "broken". They have this great fear of the white
man. Most of them even see the white man as their God! I believe
they inherited this fear and the inability to unite in love, from
slavery. And it was handed down from generation to generation. You
know: the history reveals that a lot of the atrocities that was
done of their kids. This was the system the slave master use to
pass the fear on. ... Knowledge! Knowledge is the sole doctor with
the remedy for this huge epidemic disease! We the underprivileged,
are being destroyed for a "Lack of knowledge". ... Because we have
no knowledge, we failed to see the net set by the fisherman, the
government. All we see are the small pieces of baits materialism
which are the crumbs that fall from their table. Therefore, we end
up as food for their stomach! This being the case, we must get the
knowledge which will free us from the fisherman's net, before we
end up in his frying pan! then food for his belly! ... He enters
nation after nation, in the name of peace and stability. But when
he leaves, there is only poverty and destruction! We must learn to
identify this force, under the current disguise of "Peace and
stability!" It is truly imperialism. Imperialism is a vampire! And
who are they? To tell the truth in this world, is against the law!
We have to open our eyes and look?! The Babylonians had long ago
taken their imperialist game to another level.

a prisoner in Florida


In a few moments we will bring you a commentary by Mumia Abu 
Jamal. Mumia is a Black Nation revolutionary fighting for his life 
on Pennsylvania's death row. Mumia was framed for the murder of a police officer because 
he is an outspoken opponent of Amerikan imperialism.  This Mumia Abu Jamal commentary was recorded by Bruderhof Radio. Bruderhof Radio can be contacted at www.freespeech.org SLASH bruderhof, or via the phone numbers 1 800 778 8361 or area code 914 658-8351.


[All Things Censored, Track 15 Alice Walker. :26]

[Mob in Black and White Bruderhof CD made from www.radio4all.net, track 1, 2:25 to 5:01 (2:26 length)

The following are letters from prisoners in Texas and Tennessee.

I was Attacked by Pigs & Labeled the Aggressor

I salute you Brothers/Sisters around the world with a clenched
fist who have ever been the victim of police brutality, cruel and
unusual punishment, or unnecessary use of force. Because the time
has come to fight back.

I've been locked down for 13 years here in the state of Texas and
been the victim of more than one assault by the state's overseers. But yet the participants in both assaults
altered the use-of-force papers that have to be filled out to say
that I was the aggressor, to justify their attack. The first time
I was assaulted I was in handcuffs with my hands behind my back,
but yet these thugs have the green light to assault and even kill.
They made statements that I tried to kick them, justifying their
actions. I had three ribs broken and a tooth kicked out at the end
of their assault.

The second time I had refused to get out of the shower with soap
still on me. The officers that assaulted me then stated that I
came out of the shower to assault one of the three
thugs present. I was thrown to the floor and beaten for 3-5
minutes. I filed out a grievance and the plantation's head warden
denied my claim of cruel and unusual punishment.

The crimes that these thugs commit, assault and murder, are no
different from the crimes people commit to be in prison, so why
are they looked at differently? It's because you, the people of
society are accepting the killings the officers commit as being
nothing important until it happens to someone you love. It's time
to stop these thugs and their assaults and killings.

 -- A Texas Prisoner, 25 October 1999.




Pigs encouraged to sabotage evidence

The Tennessee supreme court has just ruled that evidence "lost" or
"inadvertently destroyed" by prosecution, pigs or their agents
(prison guards or jailers) is justification to deny prisoners or
defendants post conviction petition if the state claims it was
"not done in bad faith!" Comrades we all know what comes next with
this latest judicial "ruling".

The United Snakes Government (U$ Dept. of Justice, FBI, CIA, and
IRS) has decided it is at war with its own citizens and Waco was
only the tip of the iceberg as far as tyranny goes. Society
"decided" through its elected officials and they to political
appointees (Reno, et al) that "some rights must be sacrificed for
the government of the greater good!" that "greater good" is
subjective to the whim of self-serving politicians!

Many prisoners in Amerika today have given up on life, lost hope
of receiving deliverance from the "belly of the beast" or become
animals or as depraved as the government. The government pigs,
corrupt judges, amoral politicians and blood thirsty konservative
kitizens need prisoners to become "evil" in order to build more
and better koncentration kamps, "Boot kamps" and maximum security
high schools for minority children in the upcoming millennium. I
continue to fight, speak out and try to educate the young
brothers, but the system encourages and promotes the "thug/gang"
mentality because this "attitude" says "why read a book"?

 -- a Tennessee Prisoner, 4 October 1999.



Crackdown on Texas death row

Dear MIM Notes: Wanted to let you know the new treatment these pigs are
doing to me and my fellow death row prisoners in Texas, the Gulag state.

Since November 1998 and Martin Gurale's almost successful escape, Texas
officials have been making a point to punish the rest of Texas Death Row.
... Since November, 1998, we have had our property seized, destroyed and
lost; our work privileges (except a select 45 out of 360 prisoners)
terminated without notice and without reason; we were forced into single
cell status; recreation reduced from 15 hours, 7 days a week to 2 hours,
5 days a week. And food has been reduced. (Breakfast is 1 egg, 2
biscuits, and 2 oz gravy).

But on November 12, 1999 the guards decided to empty 2
wings containing 60 death row prisoners, and put 30 on various other
death row wings, and the other 30 of us in solitary confinement.

No one has committed any violations, and some have had clean disciplinary
records for over 10 years. And though Ellis I Unit has changed the name
of solitary to "F-Wing," there are no differences of the conditions of
the cells than before. ...

We have been reclassified, so we must be handcuffed and visit in "cages."
To add insult, we must get on our knees and lean back against the cell
door to have the cuffs put on our wrists in back. A procedure only done
for solitary confinement prisoners. Even death row segregation can stand
while being handcuffed.

Yet they say we are randomly selected and not as punishment! I can only
assume that if this is not their idea of punishment, then punishment must
begin when they start beating us. Can only presume that is next, since we
are already in solitary confinement.

-- A Texas Prisoner.


Tennessee punishes prisoners by taking their hats & gloves

The prisoncrats in Tennessee have devised another plot to make
prisoners suffer. New prisoners being assigned to maximum
security, or who are on maximum status and received a disciplinary
infraction now must forsake hats and gloves. In Eastern Tennessee,
December through February, temperatures are in the mid twenties or
teens. Also, inmates must forfeit their T.V.s and radios. What
possible reason could prisoncrats have for taking a man's hat and
gloves during winter months, other than to make a man suffer?

The taking of T.V.s and radios was not such a bad idea, maybe now
the captives will find their way into the real world, instead of
the delusional world of "Days of our Lives". Most captives can
tell you all the character's names, personal finances, the last
three or four year plot of numerous soap operas, yet cannot even
begin to explain prison policy and procedure.

This is just another step in control tactics. Prisoncrats "know"
the captives enjoy T.V. and radio, so they put conditions upon
your having those items. And it's been very effective so far.
Slowly but surely the captives are being stripped of their
manhood, and the sad part, they willingly submit to this unjust
subjugation for the price of a T.V. show! It truly sickens me.

In Struggle,

 -- a Tennessee Prisoner 20 December 1999.