Protest SCI-Greene's censorship of MIM Notes!

ITAL For at least the last three months, the 
administration at SCI-Greene prison in 
Pennsylvania has MIM Notes from prisoners there. 
MIM sent the following letter protesting this 
censorship to the administration. SCI-Greene holds 
journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal and is infamous for 
restricting media access to prisoners. This is a 
clear attack on the ability of prisoners like 
Mumia and non-prisoners like those published in 
MIM Notes to criticize the Amerikan prison system 
and express wider political views. We are asking 
that readers send in cards or letters to protest 
this censorship (example and addresses below). --
MIM, August 2001 END 

MIM Distributors has learned that MIM Notes is 
being rejected by your prison. Prisoners X, Y, and 
Z have all informed us that you kept MIM Notes 
from them. We are writing to object to the 
censorship of MIM Notes and urge you to 
reconsider. As this letter outlines, you do not 
have any legal justification for censoring MIM 
Notes. MIM takes this censorship very seriously 
and we believe that people on the outside need to 
know what is going on in u.s. prisons. MIM's Free 
Books for Prisoners Program sends books, 
newspapers, dictionaries and other educational 
material to prisoners. Since we would assume that 
the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections does 
not oppose the self-education of prisoners we 
would like to know the specific reason that this 
newspaper has been censored. One prisoner was 
notified that MIM Notes was withheld pursuant to 
regulation DC-ADM 803 VI.F. 4a(3), which covers 
"writings which advocate violence, insurrection or 
guerrilla warfare against the government or any of 
its institutions or which create a clear and 
present danger within the context of the 
correctional institution." According to Procunier 
v. Martinez, the Supreme Court upholds the right 
of prisoners to receive mail, regardless of the 
prison official's opinion of the mail content, as 
long as there are no legitimate restrictions from 
the prison related to correctional purposes. MIM 
Notes does not advocate the violation of any 
Federal or State laws. We repeatedly receive 
feedback from prisoners stating that we help them 
to learn to stop fighting one another and instead 
to help educate one another. MIM Notes helps 
prisoners to educate themselves and prepare for a 
productive return to general society. It does not 
pose a "clear and present danger." As for the 
statement on page two of every MIM Notes -- "MIM 
knows [revolution] is only possible by building 
public opinion to seize power through armed 
struggle." -- similar statements of political 
principle can be found in the Declaration of 
Independence and the speeches of Abraham Lincoln. 
Would the Pennsylvania department of corrections 
censor these? We are pursuing this matter because 
we believe that prisoners should be allowed to 
receive and learn from educational material. We 
realize you may not agree with the content of the 
newspaper's analysis, but that is not a legal 
justification for censoring this newspaper.

ITAL We ask readers of MIM Notes to send protest 
letters, phone calls to Connor Blaine, 
Superintendent of SCI-Greene. Also send a copy of 
your protest letters to MIM Notes. END

Conner Blaine, Jr., Superintendent 169 Progress 
Drive Waynesburg, PA 15370 (724) 852-2902