Isolated prisoners turned on to revolutionary politics by this program

Prisoners report on Crackdown on Texas death row

and more prisoner letters

[already recorded, in file nj ltr first one] 1min

I would like to inquire about receiving more 
information on the subject of prison treatment 
towards prisoners. Presently I am locked up in a 
County Jail and I do experience some injustices 
in here daily towards myself and I also see it 
being done to other inmates. There are people 
here whom are in dire need of medical attention, 
yet they are being denied that right. I would 
like to learn as I may enlighten others about 
these gross miscarriages of justice that are 
being perpetrated on us the minority. I would be 
greatly appreciative if I can be sent more info 
on this subject. Thank you kindly.

By the way I've listened to the program "Under 
Lock and Key" and I would like to know the 
schedule of that show for my area. Once again, 
thank you greatly.

--A county jail prisoners in New Jersey
April 27, 1999

[already recorded, in file nj pris on radio show/etc] 3:30

To all strong brothers:

I am a new comer to this movement and I would like to say that I 
am very impressed with the speed with which you responded back to 
my request. Presently I am incarcerated in a county facility in 
New Jersey and there isn't a day that goes by that we donÍt get 
the 'special ' treatment from the pig administration. Being a 
Latino doesn't help the situation either. 

I belong to a strong, predominantly Puerto Rican cultural movement 
that basically struggles for the same causes as RAIL and MIM but 
we tend to always fight against each other. The prisoners here 
have no idea what a real struggle is. Basically the gangs fight 
and hurt each other instead of uniting with each other and 
fighting against the system. The system it smart. It uses 
psychology and reverse psychology to pin us against ourselves. For 
instance they give us one television for ninety-six prisoners on a 
tier, only seventeen chairsƒ 

It's incredible. And no one seems to notice their strategy. My 
studies and lessons have opened my eyes and have enabled me to see 
the truth and reality of the systems real goal. And that is why I 
have come to RAIL and MIM for further enlightenment. 

I heard for the first time ever the show on WBAI (99.5FM in 
New York City). It was about three o'clock and five o'clock in the 
morning. As soon as I heard the beginning I was automatically hooked. 
I can relate to so much of the issues that were being talked about. I am 
relieved to know that there are more brothers out there besides 
myself that have and share same views about the treatment of any 
and all prisoners around the United "Snakes". I only wish that 
prisoners should all come together as one force against our 
oppressors irregardless of race, creed and religion. 

I will tell you that I have spread the word about our movement 
amongst my fellow prisoners here in this facility. Everyone I have 
spoken to and showed your literature has been very interested so 
be on the look out for many more prisoners from this county 
facility to contact your movement.  

I am a person who likes to teach and enlighten my fellow man. I 
don't discriminate against no one who is in the same position or 
worse than I am. My job is to teach and reach my fellow man's 
conscious so that he may be aware of his present surroundings. I 
am glad to have contacted you guys. Your literature and friendship 
will be a much needed tool against our current situations and 
circumstances. I would like to thank you sincerely for taking the 
courage and having the gall to stand up to our oppressors and 
defend the rights and well-being of all those in our present 
struggles. May the God of our understanding guide us through our 
journey through the belly of the beast and lead us to victory in 
our struggles. One love to all our brothers locked down through-
out the $tates.

And as soon as I get financially stable here, I will send some 
stamps and try to partake in this movements as much as I possibly 
can.

Unity, freedom, justice,

A county jail prisoner in New Jersey.
May 11, 1999




START RECORD

I 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.


VOICE




Gang units repress political education

I just finished reading MIM Notes for June and July and i see
where someone had written in about the STG unit in Northern State
Prison in New Jersey. I was one of the first prisoners grabbed off
the yard in January 1990 to be held until March of 1998 when the
unit opened up. On March 4, 1998 we were shipped here from all
over the state. Most of us did nothing except belong to what they
call a gang but to us it's political education to fight the abuse
these pigs use on us!

They hold our mail for two to three weeks before giving it to us,
and when i was expedited to South Carolina in July of 1998 for a
parole hearing they took a large amount of money out of my
account, and stole my radio. This is one form of their abuse on us
by these pigs.

Cold showers and cold food are another. They try to make us give
in but i for one am stronger for my eyes are open to the abuse
they puton us. I will continue to fight for prisoner's rights even
if i have to spill every bit of my blood! I'd like to say
Decorazon to all my brothers!

-- a New Jersey Prisoner, 27 July 1999.

VOICE

END RECORD


[already recorded in file clenched fist texas 5 min 30]

A clenched fist salute to all my brothers who dare to fight in 
this war that is being fought to smash the color lines, end 
oppression, and give equal housing, medical care and education to 
all who desire. Once again, I have found a way to reach up out of 
the depths of that dungeon, my strength that breeds hope that I 
may get word back to my fellow comrades who know not of the danger 
they face down, down deep here in tha dungeon of the Ferguson Unit 
we all call "Administrative segregation."

Here in this pit called Ferguson, that is located in a small town 
called Midway, Texas, any officer wearing a gray and blue uniform 
is/are free to exercise any fantasy that their crooked minds and 
hearts can conjure up and fulfill them free from prosecution, or 
persecution. Inmates both here in seg. and in general population 
are assaulted here as regular as it takes the milk truck to arrive 
every other morning, bringing dairy products.

I myself am a seg. inmate and have been this way for almost 3 
years now. So I can't really speak of the horrors that go on in 
general population since I left in '96 (although I am still aware 
of them also) but I damn sure can tell you what's going on down 
here in tha dungeon.

Here in dungeon there is little or no hope of pursuing any further 
form of education, because TDCJ offers no in-cell school programs 
for us seg. inmates because they know that knowledge is power, and 
any man who has the power to utilize his or her thinking is a 
threat to tha corrupt system.

Some of these locked down soldiers who are confirmed gang members 
of various races and organizations will never have a chance to 
return to general population to obtain even a GED before they are 
released to the free world, if they are released. So what type of 
job is good for a man with no skills to hold it down? Some of 
these dudes been here seven and eight years behind these ad seg. 
doors obvious to tha fact that they will be here in this unchanged 
state until they discharge their sentences or alter their 
positions legally. So they have lost hope and all heart. They have 
allowed themselves to be defeated mentally and physically by these 
tactics they use to control us.

Leaving my brothers caught up in angry, hurt, and hopeless web of 
misdirection... they stay doped up on these psychological drugs 
these doctors prescribe them, they are so far gone from the 
affects of the drugs that they sleep for two and three days at a 
time, or use the restroom and then they are back to the sound 
escape of sleep. And these cops don't seem to have any compassion 
for these lost individuals. These hoes leave these mentally 
disturbed inmates over here when they know they need more help 
then they can give them here, yet they refuse to transfer these 
inmates to the units that are specially made for their special 
care.

These inmates cut themselves, lose control over their body fluids 
and waste and are greatly mistreated. They are left in their cells 
for weeks without showers or clean sheets or clothes. We are 
beaten because we want to go to recreation or showers, if we make 
these hoes work we are threatened that once we are handcuffed and 
taken out of our cells we will get this ruff treatment.

Rank has blind eyes and deaf ears to our pleas of help and 
outcries. The grievance procedure here which all inmates hope to 
find some type of justice in our complaints against these "peace 
officers" is a joke. Everybody I've seen or heard of (myself 
included) write a step one or two grievance, it is returned 
stating insufficient evidence was found to sustain our claim, so 
the grievances are always denied without any investigation- having 
never been conducted.

The cops are assaulting inmates over here and giving out more time 
to the ones they beat up, even though most of the time the inmates 
don't even get a chance to fight back. These hoes are getting away 
with it too. I've been on this unit since '95 and I can count on 
my hand how many times I've seen a warden. So his punk ass don't 
give a fuck.

These cops write bogus cases and put us on some shit even a hungry 
dog won't eat called "food loaf" and they take pleasure in knowing 
they can always give you that shit when you put them in check 
verbally for fuckin over somebody. They keep us under tha finger 
with this food loaf and level system. So it seems hopeless on 
trying to organize the masses because no one is willing to make 
any sacrifices for a whole, let alone a personal one. But I must 
admit there are some, but not nearly enough.

I received you papers still and I pass the words of hope on down 
the lines to the ones who are willing to learn and make a 
difference. Last but not least a call out to all you soldiers in 
tha struggle fallen and standing, keep tha dream and hope alive.

In tha Struggle,

-- A prisoner in Texas, 29 December 1998.


[these 2 ltrs already recorded in file nj/sc ltr 3min30sec]

Another New jersey prisoners writes:

I feel all the pain of the other brothers in the belly of 
the beast who struggled time and time again and wasted his 
body in a worthy cause but came up short because of lack of 
unity in the inmates who hold fear of these pigs. My 
brothers and I are in a fight against the system everyday 
there seems to be something new that the pigs do to us the 
inmates. In the last couple of weeks alone we have 
experience some foul play. The phones have been down for 
sometime, we deal without hot water from day to day. The air 
circulation has been cut off. In my mind, this has been done 
so we would have to buy the fans in the canteen.

There has been a shortage on tissue paper and soap. If you 
want these state items that we are supposed to get for free, 
we have to hit off a pig with a candy bar. There are many 
things I would like to run down to the MIM, but at the 
moment I'm in lock-up with one sheet of paper and don't have 
access to other paper. So I must depart this letter by 
saying to those who realize what the struggle is about to 
keep the fight up and one day we will prevail but we must 
remain strong at all times. I also send love to all my true 
Black and Gold brothers.

A New Jersey Prisoner, 6 May, 1999



A prisoner in South Carolina writes:

I've been housed in a torture chamber (segregated management 
unit) in South Carolina for the past 6 months. I recently 
came up for my review, supposedly conducted by professional 
case or social workers. I have no other disciplinary 
charges, you could say I've been a model prisoner.

The gestapo gave me 6 more months in isolation. I told them 
I should kill myself, I would be better off! They quickly 
put me in the suicide cell! Nothing but boxers, no blanket, 
mattress, clothes, writing material, nothing.

Next I'm given some pills to take, I'm not told what they 
are. Being curious I took them, next thing I remember is 
waking up the next day. This is how the gestapo treat you. 
They fail to realize the only treatment is to release me 
from the psychological torture they imposed on me. They fail 
to realize that my condition will only worsen in isolation.

I really didn't want to commit suicide, I just wanted to see 
what the gestapo would do. I know who needs to be in 
segregation, the so-called case workers and staff who 
subject other human-beings to the psychological torture. 
Maybe if these intellectuals spend some time in a MSU, SHU, 
SMU, whatever it's called in various states, this heinous, 
barbarous practice will stop!

We are already in prison, we are away from our families, we 
are not free. The oppressors take what little privileges 
they give us away if we commit disciplinary infractions, 
they take our good time, isn't that enough! The pigs don't 
seem to understand someday most of us that endured this 
torture will be on the street. Look over your shoulders, 
because all the hate and anger you instilled in me just 
might find you! I might even be your neighbor, pigs, so 
watch yourselves. Keep up your torture, so more of us can 
find you!

--South Carolina Prisoner, November 1998