MIM Notes 228                   February 15, 2001

SCI-Greene prisoner hunger strike

On August 30, 2000 forty-eight Death-Row prisoners at SCI-Greene 
in Pennsylvania have been participating in a hunger strike. Our 
goal is to obtain a policy that will grant capital cases the same 
privileges as those given to the general population except the 
freedom to move about the institution. Currently we are subjected 
to extreme restrictions, limited visits, lack of educational 
programs, poor medical treatment, and a denial of other basic 
needs. Because power never concedes anything without a demand, we 
must demand by sacrifice.

--a Pennsylvania prisoner, 4 September 2000.

Segregation in prisons helps expansion policy 

by the Segregated inmates at a Kansas facility

As inmates here in segregation, we sit down here and continuously 
watch the Parole Board pass inmates for a year and they recommend 
work release, or a treatment program which is not available in 
segregation.

We've seen that years go by and those inmates are still being held 
in segregation, and the Parole Board passes them once again 
without even asking the Department of Corrections in Kansas why 
they did not act on the Parole Board's recommendations regarding 
that inmates' treatment needs.

The fact of the matter is that segregated inmates have become 
pawns in a sinister political game that Correctional Officials are 
playing with the State Legislature. Lamentably, the Parole Board 
has been duped (if not willingly) into a perfunctory party to this 
machination.

Medium and Minimum custody inmates are being kept in these maximum 
security bed spaces at the Correctional Facilities solely ITAL to 
keep the appearance of always being full to capacity END so 
correctional officials can keep going to the legislature every 
year to ask for more money to keep building onto these 
correctional facility compounds.

Without someway to maintain this appearance of being full capacity 
ITAL every legislative session END, there is no compelling reason 
for the legislature to keep granting correctional officials 
requests for more funds.

Governor Graves said in his state of the State address that 
building prison space is a priority for his administration. His 
spokesperson, Don Brown, put it this way, "What we want more than 
anything is some way to address the prison crowding problem. The 
Governor's preferred alternative is to meet the prison space needs 
head-on by expanding in Maximum Custody bed spaces." (Topeka 
Capitol-Journal, 14 April 2000) Correctional Officials have made a 
calculated decision to use segregation or segregated inmates to 
assure this achievement of the Governor's policy objective i.e. 
more units at these Correctional Facilities. 

If a study were commissioned by the Legislature and done by an 
independent organization (like the Rand Corporation) it would 
reveal that more than half of the inmates being continuously 
housed in segregation not only do not need to be segregated, but 
also that they do not even need to be in a maximum security 
facility at all (which is easily proven by the fact that most that 
are housed in Max have Medium and Minimum security points in their 
files.)

Keeping all these minimum and medium security inmates in these 
maximum security bed spaces has become an efficient political 
economy or currency for these clever ass prison-crats who are now 
running and controlling the Kansas Department of Corrections.

MIM adds: These comrades do a good job exposing one of the reasons 
for housing prisoners in segregation or maximum security - to 
bolster support for additional prisons. Another reason is to 
segregate prisoners who can educate and organize other prisoners. 
Prisoners who are politically active leaders, write us frequently 
to explain how they have been targeted for unjustified segregation 
- even by the rules of the white settler nation controlled 
prisons.

The various players, from the Governor, to the legislature, to the 
parole board and prisoncrats all represent the interests of the 
white settler nation. Their purpose is to use Amerikan prisons as 
a tool of social control and national oppression. MIM does not 
believe that any group of these players is "duped", but rather, 
they are serving their class and national interests in 
proliferating Amerika's prisons.

The comrades suggest that the Rand Corporation would be able to do 
an unbiased study of prisoners incorrectly housed in segregation. 
The Rand Corporation is not an independent agency, it serves the 
interests of the bourgeoisie, just as the New York Times and other 
bourgeois 'journalist' sources. When we talk about independent 
institutions and independent research, we are talking about 
proletarian institutions and research. The national, class and 
gender interests behind reports molds the outcome. A better 
solution would be for these prisoners (and others in other 
institutions) to use this example of Amerikan Injustice as a means 
to build support for proletarian struggles. Specifically, do your 
own research, to the extent possible. Use the information to 
expose this specific aspect of the Amerikan prison system's 
corruption and injustice.

Georgia Inmate Wins Fight Against Censorship

Greetings, I recently had the pleasure to read one of your papers, 
and surprisingly it was withheld because the administration wishes 
for politically conscious inmates such as myself to be censored 
and suppressed. Just recently did I obtain this paper after about 
30 days of them having it so-called reviewed, because officers 
were considered pigs and it allegedly promoted riots. However, I 
won the battle by filing a grievance alleging discrimination and 
harassment in their trying to control my political beliefs in 
attempting to suppress this publication when books in the library 
are 10 times as outspoken.

-- a Georgia prisoner.

MIM adds: MIM encourages prisoners to struggle against censorship 
at their institutions and by assisting other prisoners in anti-
censorship research. It is important that prisoners who fight 
censorship document their struggle and send us the information. 
Detailing the steps taken to win censorship battles will help 
other prisoners.

This letter suggests that part of the argument was that MIM Notes 
should not be censored because other information available to 
prisoners is more "outspoken". We disagree that this is a good 
approach to use. Though we want to work with prisoners to end the 
censorship of MIM Notes, we do not want to include in that 
struggle an opening for prisoncrats to start to censor other 
revolutionary material that we send - or that is otherwise 
available.

MIM provides prisoners with a summary of steps to fight 
censorship. We also target facilities with letter and protest 
campaigns to increase public pressure against censorship. We have 
also sought and gained assistance from a few legal allies who are 
fighting censorship in Amerikkka's kangaroo courts. We must keep 
in mind the long-term possibilities of each outcome. For example, 
if you fight censorship in the courts without adequate 
preparation, you may set a negative precedent.

MIM's Serve the People Prisoners Legal Clinic (PLC) needs your 
help in summing up the details of censorship cases. Through the 
PLC, we can prepare ourselves for battles in the bourgeois courts 
at the same time that we build support for proletarian justice.

Organizing in Pennsylvania

I have been organizing the brothers in prison as well as on the 
outside and I am sure I will do much better once I'm outside. 
Here, one fifteen minute phone call costs between $13.00 and 
$15.00 and a visit to the infirmary is $2.00 plus another $2.00 
for medication. About building education for the prisoners, most 
of the education programs have been cut and we can only have 10 
books at a time.

-- a Pennsylvania prisoner.

Freedom is a constant struggle by a New York prisoner

How can I, an oppressed man, love the man who raped my mother, 
killed my father, sold my brothers and sisters, enslaved my 
ancestors, dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese, Napalmed the 
Vietnamese, killed off the Indians and keeps (me) locked-up in 
prisons and slums? I'd rather be in a coffin 6 feet deep first.

The greatest progress of the American Black Man in the future will 
not be made in Congress or in the Supreme Court, it will come in 
the American prison.

They say that Freedom is a constant struggle They say that Freedom 
is a constant struggle They say that Freedom is a constant 
struggle Oh, comrade, we've struggled so long We must be free, we 
must be free

Target the oppressor, not the oppressed

I'm hoping you'll print this letter to show other inmates that we 
must redirect our criminal thinking and now use it to process with 
a revolution and change our environments.

Mao Zedong says, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a 
gun," but I say before a call to arms you must educate and allow 
people's eyes to become open.

I recently received a letter from a dear friend who was telling me 
how wonderful life was on the outside. He described our teenage 
years as a game and went on to say that we had lost. My friend had 
decided that the only way to obtain victory is to give in and no 
longer commit crimes.

As for me, I've been living in the belly of the beast for about 2 
1/2 years and my short sentence is coming to a close. I believe my 
friend is half right. Crimes against our peers are no longer 
justified, but as far as giving in, I say hell no! Now is the time 
to resist! We must stop taking the bullshit from the government 
and start taking our rights as human beings back!

The U$ government has billions to spend on war but "can't" or 
refuses to feed the starving on the streets of every major city in 
the U$.

Maybe we should take the power back from the judges and DA's who 
continue to incarcerate every man, woman, or child who resists the 
authority of the rich, white politicians who reside on capital 
hill with their limos and thousand dollar suits.

Or maybe we should take from the department of corrections who can 
spend billions to build "state of the art" human warehouses but 
can't afford to put computers in the inner city schools.

In closing I want to say my friend was right in a sense: we should 
stop taking from the proletariat and start taking from those who 
have been taking from us for years, like the rich white 
politician!

Continue the struggle! Until the prison walls crumble, I struggle,

--a Pennsylvania prisoner, 18 September 2000.

MIM adds: MIM agrees that prisoners and others should not be 
stealing from or otherwise be harming the oppressed. This is not 
only "no longer" justified, but it is never justifiable. The 
connection inherent, but not stated, in this letter is the fact 
that the criminals most responsible for stealing from and 
murdering the oppressed are in fact those in power. Prisoners are 
generally not a part of the system that causes the deaths of 
countless children and genocide against nations. These are the 
crimes MIM most targets to end.

However, as stated in the beginning of the essay, now is the time 
to build education and support for revolution. It is not correct 
to commit random acts of retribution against the oppressor. MIM 
believes that World War III is currently being waged against the 
oppressed nations of the world. We must prepare to fight this war 
thoroughly. And to do so, we must gather supporters, not loose 
them to individualized acts that make little or no dent in the 
struggle against imperialism. Our struggle must be coordinated and 
must rely on a well-educated and well-organized mass base.

We do not want more soldiers in prison. We want more soldiers on 
the outside building support for revolution and proletarian 
institutions.

Religion, organization suppressed

There were quite a few articles that caught my eye especially the 
one in "MIM Notes #202" "Religious organization banned as a gang." 
I've been through this situation a few times in FDOC and since I'm 
latin, they say to break it up even though we all had bibles in 
our hands. It was a mixed group of Blacks and hispanics and they 
broke it up quickly. We filed on it and before you know it we were 
all shipped to different prison camps. It is a rigor of 
insincerity, and a rigor of progress we have to build with one 
another. As we all know that the media is run by the government, 
and they put out what they want. What I'm stating is that not too 
long ago in LA they were trying to cause conflict between the 
Latinos and the Blacks, since that is mostly populated by Latinos 
and Blacks. I try to educate myself, to be able to succeed one day 
in Peace, and Unity with one another. I've made progress, or 
rather yet gave out feelers to Latin Kings, and to others, and 
they have felt the struggle we must fight to become one as we once 
were. -- a prisoner in Florida.

MIM responds: While MIM advocates atheism, we condemn the 
prisoncrats for their persecution of prisoners who want to talk 
about religion. In prisons and in society, groups (3 or more) of 
oppressed nation men are often labeled as "gangs" simply because 
they are Black or Latino. It's clear that organizing groups of 
oppressed people, especially prisoners, is a threat to the pigs. 
While religious ideologies serve as a form of pacification, MIM 
allies with many religious people who are radical or progressive. 
MIM also has unity with some religious groups who work for 
equality and an end to oppression. MIM differs from religious 
organizations, however, in our general analysis, starting from the 
point of scientific analysis and not mysticism.

Prisoner fights denial of medication in Illinois

I've been taking medications for hypertension and cardiac problems 
for 25 years. I was prescribed [two medications] by my family 
doctor and have taken them since. When I arrived at the Menard 
Correctional Center in downstate Illinois the health care medical 
director Dr. Frinerman told me their pharmacy services did not 
carry the two drugs that were prescribed so therefore we were 
going to have to experiment with what was available until we found 
something that worked to control my problems. I refused and made 
him aware that my medical file clearly reflects that [the two 
medications] were controlling my condition just fine and I was not 
a guinea pig to experiment on. They wrote it up as I refused my 
medication and allowed 12 days to elapse without supplying me with 
either my hypertension or cardiac medication. I had submitted a 
sick call request slip that went unanswered, had written an 
emergency grievance to the warden (no response). And I addressed 
the health care unit administrator after the 12 days without 
medication. The administrator forwarded me this memorandum:

"Subject: Medical concerns -- blood pressure medications

"In response to your recent request, I am offering the following. 
Upon investigation and a discussion with the director of nurses, 
it is revealed that you have been compliant with your medications 
and that you did not refuse to accept your medication as reported. 
This has been a breakdown in the medication distribution system. I 
appreciate you reporting this incident and a complete 
investigation will be conducted into this matter by the director 
of nurses with corrective action taken."

I addressed the director of nurses in regards to what correcting 
action did her office take pertaining to this issue and never 
received a reply. Talking with a dozen or more prisoners with 
long-standing chronic problems it was revealed that after Dr. 
Frinerman became the medical director he systematically started to 
change medications of people who had taken them for years with 
some adverse reactions. A lot of grievances were filed and a 
couple of prisoners filed mandamus action in state court. My 
refusal to comply with experimentation forced staff to replenish 
my former medications.

-- an Illinois prisoner, 23 September 2000.

Life in the SHU

I've been here on the SHU maximum security control [for more than 
a year] and I've heard and seen all kinds of crazy unnecessary 
shit go on in here on this unit. I know for a fact that since this 
place has been opened up there has been at least 14 inmates died 
here on the SHU due to lack of medical care and psychiatric 
treatment. The commissioner is illegally using this SHU to 
warehouse inmates who have severe mental illnesses. In this unit 
we have very sick people that will stick pens up the head of their 
penis, take pork chop, chicken bones, stick them in their heads, 
throats and stomachs. I remember this one time I watched an 
offender literally peel a large chunk of skin from his arm and 
take an overdose on medication prescribed to him by the 
psychiatrist.

Offenders that have suicidal tendencies or any kind of behavioral 
problems their psychotropic medications are supposed to be 
administered periodically and make sure they are taking it as 
given by the nurse but that is not being done. Some people come on 
the SHU in their right minds but their may leave here as very 
disturbed individuals. This SHU has some type of effect on 
everyone that is warehoused in it because of the isolation, the 
lack of fresh air, sunlight, food. The visits are non-contact 
visits. You have to visit with your family behind a thick glass 
window and talk to them through an intercom mounted on the wall 
and the staff leave the leg shackles on your legs.

Most of the C.O.s here come by your cell and call you racial names 
and harass you and take your personal property. For instance while 
I was in the shower I had a C.O. come in my cell and take my MIM 
Notes and some other political reading material, throw it in the 
trash for absolutely no reason, and I got put on strip cell. When 
I got my property back I had some reading books stolen out of my 
property along with other paper work. We have C.O.s here that will 
not hesitate one minute from beating up on an offender, and they 
will spit in your food or take stuff from your food or spray 
pepper spray in your food, urinate in your coffee, etc. 

-- an Illinois prisoner, 25 September, 2000.