MIM Notes 194 September 15, 1999 Texas prisons withdraw prisoner speech rules by MIM The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDJC) recently proposed changes in its rules regarding death row visitation which would further restrict prisoners' access to media and squelch criticism. In particular, the new code would define "news media" to exclude "television stations or networks devoted primarily to advocacy purposes or to a particular point of view" and newspapers with limited resources and a specific viewpoint, such as MIM Notes. TDJC prisoncrats withdrew their proposals in July, largely due to protests from prisoners, their families, media professionals, and individuals from as far away as Italy and France. The TDJC vowed to pursue their attempts to censor prisoners and those who expose the crimes of the TDJC. "We are going back to the drawing board," said the general counsel for the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, "We need to do a better job of drafting, better spelling out what we want to do." If the TDJC had its way, even the narrowly-defined news media could interview death-row prisoners only "to the extent that such access does not disrupt the safe and secure operation of the unit or detract from the deterrence of crime." This clause typically gives prisoncrats the ability to fabricate explanations and deny prisoners priviledges. In the case of the proposed changes, prisoncrats could claim an alleged security threat or detraction "from the deterrence of crime" when articulate, politically aware death row prisoners speak directly to the public. Under such a policy change, the Executive Director of Texas prisons could suspend "all [!!!] death row visitation for security reasons for a period of up to 70 days." Several mainstream television programs burned the TDJC recently by documenting conditions in Texas' control units and by giving prisoners a chance to speak for themselves. These reports followed the exposure and educational work which MIM and other anti-prisons activists have been doing for years. Evidently the TDJC has had enough and wants to fight back. Texas is not alone in trying to restrict prisoners free speech, nor is it even in the lead. Pennsylvania changed its rules specifically to prevent the eloquent Mumia Abu-Jamal from publishing his critiques of Amerikan prisons. These attempts to isolate prisoners from the public, in order slander them and justify the barbarity of Amerikan prisons, further prove that Amerikan prisons are a form of class rule and a tool for the preservation of national oppression. In a truly rehabilitative prison system, prisoners would have the same rights as the general public to receive media and speak their minds in the press. Only socialism, the dictatorship of the proletariat, can ensure such rights. Our thanks to the Texas prisoner who sent us a copy of the proposed changes and let us know about their temporary withdrawal.