Hey MIM,

 ...I've been teaching X about MLM [Marxism- Leninism-Maoism] but my voice in here is minimal.  The tide is heavily against me. A lot of bourgeois  influence is expressed and a lot of prisoners my  age is lax when it comes to studying about the  science of revolution. They tend to think that the  revolution will come from some mystical savior.  They say that *when* the revolution comes they will  be there and get down but they fail to realize that  we are the makers of revolution. Sometimes I really  begin to think that all is doomed and our only true  hope lies in the Third World. But I can't neglect  those in Amerika who are truly interested in  revolution. I'm most sure our day will come....

--a New York Prisoner, Jan. 25, 1996
 
 

VIRGINIA DENIES PRISONERS ACCESS TO MIM

 MIM, Yesterday I received a letter from you folks  advising me that the latest issue of MIM Notes was  refused by the prison here and returned to you.  Certainly this is something which both concerns and  vexes me.

The prison administration here has adopted a policy  which seems clearly calculated to deprive prisoners  here of access to news and opinions outside the  mainstream...and even most of the mainstream media,  for that matter.

The current mission of the prison is to separately  warehouse death row, parole violators and long term  segregation...and no prison jobs whatsoever are  available to any of us here...so unless we have  source of revenue from the outside, we are  penurious [(poverty-stricken)].

...The administration has expressly prohibited both  donated or free publications and will not allow for  family or friends to order subscriptions for us  either...which means that we simply are not  permitted to subscribe to anything to anything to  read from the outside....Occasionally the mailroom  with slip up and something will get through, but  this happens less and less often and so far none of  your MIM Notes have escaped their scrutiny.

I have contemplated litigation regarding this broad  censorship and would welcome any suggestions you  folks might offer. It might also be helpful if I  could bring you in as a plaintiff, since your  rights to free speech are being infringed upon by  this policy. I would welcome hearing from you on  the subject.

...As far as why the administration thinks it is  "OK" to restrict prisoners' access to political  views (other than their own) an a multiplicity of  news sources here in a supposedly "free" america,  it is my opinion that they simply do not consider  prisoners to be people and that, as a class, we are  deemed undeserving of the rights ostensibly  bestowed by the Constitution and our sentence.

This opinion is bolstered by the draconian new  property policy that the administration here in  Virginia is implementing statewide...a policy the  likes of which I have never heard of being  implemented in any state of these United  States....My regards,

--a Virginia prisoner, Jan. 14, 1996
 
 

RCG1 responds:

We at MIM support all prisoners in their struggle  against the tools of oppression. If you wish to  pursue a legal battle, more power to you. MIM Notes  is tool which can be used to expose the atrocious  conditions in prisons and publicize the struggles  of the oppressed worldwide. In addition, MIM has  started compiling a legal resource list for  prisoners. Unfortunately, however, MIM cannot be  involved directly in litigation because we feel it  would pose a security threat to our organization.

We believe that prisons censor viewpoints other  than their own as means of social control and to  uphold mainstream society. Keep up the good work  exposing the pigs and the oppressive ways.
 
 

BANNED FROM PRISON LIBRARY, MUSLIMS CREATE THEIR  OWN
 
 

...The general population library here has been  restricted to inmates attending classes in the  Windham School System. However, we (Muslims) have  implemented a Community Awareness Program (CAP)  where knowledge of self, family, community and the  nation is taught in a political, social, economical  and moral format. Our service (CAP) is open to the  general population and visitors from the outside.

Also, we have a library of our own. We would be  very appreciative of any revolutionary literature.  All MIM Notes and other donated literature will be  donated to our library after being read by our  lecturing team who will teach the masses of the  general population who attend our services. There  are over 150 Muslims on this unit.

Since MIM Notes covers political and social  injustices on an international basis, including  institutional, we feel that it is potentially a  powerful tool for enlightening and unifying the  consciousness of the oppressed all over the world.

At present, we are informing people about the "New  World Order" that's being forced upon us by the  government and various devices used to keep us  divided as a nation for purposes of control and  manipulation. [We are also discussing] the remedies  and possible solutions for alleviating the causes  and effects of social, economic, political and  religious oppression. Thank you for your time and  may Allah guide and protect you!

--a Texas prisoner, Dec. 18, 1995
 
 

TEXAS LOCKDOWN
 
 

To my brothers and sisters at MIM Notes,

I am deeply sorry for not returning a letter to you  in so long. Please try and understand that I am  under the cruel circumstances of the  administration. Here on Terrell Unit, it is so  unpredictable. There's no telling what's to come at  times. Just to let you know the absence of my  monthly letter to you was not intentional.

Me and a cellmate of mine ran out on a five man  team of officers, while on lockdown. We have been  on [lockdown] for no reason and for seven months  now. During which they refused to feed us about  three times and refused to let us shower about two.  I couldn't take it no more, bad as it is. They  tamper with our mail from time to time, so I don't  know if you'll receive this one.

...They have the whole unit on lockdown and yet  they haven't told us the reason for it. So when, if  by chance, I do find out, I'll be sure to tell  you...

--a Texas prisoner, Jan. 23, 1996
 
 

SOUTH DAKOTA: PASSING SNACKS EQUALS TWO YEARS AD- SEG TIME
 
 

Being a convicted felon, I have seen a lot of rude  and downright despicable acts inflicted upon my  fellow comrades and brothers in arms.

Here in South Dakota, the pigs are just as rude and  spiteful as any other prison in the injustice  system. I have a dear friend in administrative  segregation doing two years for loaning a bag of  barbecue chips to another inmate. Of course I must  note that my friend is a rather large man who  intimidates the small runts of oppression and my  friend will file a lawsuit trying to improve all  fellow inmate situations.

Something as petty as a bag of chips has just  caused him two years worth of isolation.

"It's not the chips, it's the dips that run this  place," he said to me. "The ironic thing they will  never see, until it's too late, is that I will only  grow more resistant and have plenty of time to plan  new ways of resistance."

I could not have said it better. Oppression breeds  resistance. Resistance incubates revolution....

--A South Dakota, Jan. 12, 1996
 
 

IN PENNSYLVANIA IT'S LEGAL TO LISTEN IN
 
 

The following is a letter from the Pennsylvania  Department of Corrections.
 
 

Subject: Act 20 of 1995 (Formerly HB127):  Intercepting, recording, monitoring or divulging  telephone calls

To: All Inmates

From: Martin F. Horn, Commissioner
 
 

Act 20 of 1995 amended Section 5704 of Title 18 by  adding a paragraph to permit employees of the  Department of Corrections to intercept, record,  monitor, or divulge any telephone call from or to  an inmate in a facility.

This act was signed by the Governor on September  26, 1995. It became effective in 60 days or on  November 25, 1995.

This memo is intended to provide notice to you that  any telephone call which you make or received in  any state correctional facility may be intercepted,  recorded, monitored, or divulged. The only  exception is properly placed telephone calls to or  from your attorney. The monitoring of telephone  calls is being done to preserve the security and  orderly management of the institutions and to  protect the public.

The Department of Corrections provides several  methods to maintain confidential contact with your  attorney. For example, inmate-attorney  correspondence is covered under privileged mail  provisions and private inmate-attorney visits are  provided.

In addition, the inmate may request to place an  occasional unmonitored call to his or her attorney.  In order to do so you need to contact your  counselor who will arrange this call on either a  collect, or time and charge basis. The counselor  must place such calls and ensure that any  unmonitored call they place on behalf of an inmate  is to an attorney's office.

Frequent unmonitored inmate-attorney calls will  only be allowed when an inmate demonstrates that  communications with his or her attorney by other  means would not be adequate or the inmate's  attorney can demonstrate an imminent court  deadline.

--Martin F. Horn, Commissioner, DOC, Pennsylvania,  Nov. 30, 1995
 
 

HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO BREAK A MAN'S BODY  BEFORE YOU BREAK HIS SOUL?
 
 

Shaka Shakur is back in a lockdown situation. He  was recently put into the Hospital Restraint Unit  (HRU) of the Indiana Reformatory until he learns to  walk without crutches again.

After much pressure was put on to get him taken to  an outside doctor, Shaka was finally sent to a  hospital and diagnosed with a herniated disc in his  back. He has been on medication for the pain for a  year and has been on crutches since June. Recently  his crutches were taken away from him arbitrarily.

He was scheduled for surgery under the  recommendation of Dr. Kevin Kaufman at Wishard  Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Shaka has not  been allowed this surgery and has been further  isolated by being put into the HRU. Indiana  Reformatory "doctor" Dr. Chavez has further  escalated the situation by harassing Shaka, calling  him a "fucking shithead" and accusing him of faking  his injury.

The HRU is in total isolation from the rest of the  prison. According to Shaka it is much like the  Maximum Control Complex prison in Westville,  Indiana with boxcar doors, forced air and no  contact with anyone. The one other prisoner in the  HRU is being "treated" (read: experimented upon)  with psychotropic drugs.

Please write letters and send faxes to:

Ed Cohn, Indiana Department of Corrections, Indiana  Government Center South, 302 W. Washington Street,  Indianapolis, IN 46204, FAX: 317-232-6798

Demand that Shaka Shakur 28443: 1. be removed from  the HRU and taken back to the AS unit where he was  2. that he be sent to Wishard Hospital for the  Surgery recommended by Dr. Kaufman, and 3. that he  be given back his crutches.

Write letters of support to:

BCAC, P.O. Box 93312, Milwaukee, WI 53203

-- BCAC, Oct. 7, 1995
 
 

TWO POLITICALLY ACTIVE NEW AFRIKAN STUDENTS ARE  DESPERATELY SEEKING EDUCATIONAL SPONSORSHIP
 
 

We are two Afrikan prisoners who are also  independent students. We have been actively engaged  in self-education and the political and academic  education of other young Afrikan prisoners in the  Indiana prison system for a number of years. Also,  we have been politically active outside prison  walls for the premises of both interpersonal  relations and organizationally.

Because of the intense repression that politically  active Afrikan prisoners are subjected to by prison  officials, it is very hard for us to take advantage  of any prison based educational programs or any  other programs offered by the state. Despite this  we have been able to reach higher educational  levels on our own.

Both of us have, to our credits, published writings  which are of political and educational value to the  mis-educated oppressed.

Like many others, because of our political  commitments and activities, we have been targeted  by prison officials and repressed, abused and  denied any opportunities to advance ourselves  through any prison-based educational programs.

Due to a bill which was initiated and fought into  existence by Indiana State Representative Dr.  Vernon G. Smith, D-Gary (who has interviewed both  of us and has expressed pride in our development)  where a prisoner receives time off of their  sentences for educational achievements, namely high  school diplomas and college degrees, repressive  measures have been intensified by the state to keep  politically active prisoners from having any access  to any type of developmental prison program  activities. It is to no avail to continue to battle  with the prison officials for any type of justice  because they have made it perfectly clear, conform  and surrender everything that we are as men to the  genocidal demands of the state or suffer. We refuse  to debrief.

This clearly means that we must develop different  methods to get around the state altogether. One way  is through the means of non-traditional education.

Many universities and colleges offer correspondence  programs for non-traditional studentship. Some  offer end-of-course exams which allow for a non- traditional student to take final exams for credit.  Also some schools have particular standards for  what is referred to as Life Experience Learning  which allows for a non-traditional student to  submit what is called a "Life Experience  Portfolio." This document is good for higher  learning credits based off the educational  knowledge that one has acquired through experience,  on the job, or by any means that has provided one  with the skills learned through experience.

We are seeking educational sponsorship so that we  may approach these non-traditional methods to  education. There is also a system called a contract  by learning between a student and school and/or  educator which is worth credits, perhaps worth  certain types of degrees -- equivalency exam  programs, etc.

What we need are sponsors to help us set up a  standard that politically active (repressed)  prisons nationwide can employ as a means to obtain  educational degrees, in spite of prison officials'  attempts to hinder our educational advancement. It  is our desire to develop an association through  sponsorship that will lend to this cause  nationwide.

Whereas exam packages for the purpose of us  furthering our education through non-traditional  means can be established especially for politically  active repressed prisoners at the lowest possible  cost to the association. There would have to be to  this development some type of national fund that  would give financial aid to those who qualify.

Please, anyone who is interested in this idea  should contact us immediately [by writing to MIM].  Any type of assistance that anyone can offer in any  way is needed. We need ideas and talent as bad as  we need other backing to realize this objective.  Something as simple as sending stamps and  reproducing this flier to help us get the word out  would be a great contribution to this cause. We  thank you to the utmost for any assistance  rendered.

--two Indiana prisoners, 11/9/95
 
 

MASSACHUSETTS PRISONER CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF  LOCKDOWN
 
 

Dear MIM and RAIL:

Thank you so much for being concerned about the on- going unlawfulness that continues to go on behind  these prison walls....

Let me begin by stating that here at Walpole prison  things are very much violative in many aspects. As  MIM is very aware, we are seriously segregated in  this prison.

1.) At the present, nine blocks in the general  population are only out for no longer than one 1/2  hour per day and we're only allowed to go outside  for some fresh air every other 4 days. All of which  takes place in a small fenced-in barbed wire cage  (that hold approximately a very small amount of  people if one needs to exercise let's say 20  individuals....)

2.) There are only three Blocks which are allowed  out of cell recreation for almost all of the day in  the prison. They are called Bristol Block 2, Essex  Block 2, and Suffolks Block 2. It is also known as  the minimum end, and you are allowed to work, to go  down to the gymnasium, to the prison's chow hall,  you can go to the prisons' big outside main yard.  None of which the other nine population blocks are  allowed to do so, but yet they are still telling us  that we are all in the general population.

How can this be, when others are receiving way more  privileges than the other members of this so called  Equal General Population... [Walpole recently  "ended" it's lockdown. For most of the prisoners,  this is only semantic. --MIM] I'll tell you: it's  because these administration officials are running  this prison on a very much unequal treatment  mode....The truth is this so-called general  population is really segregation and very much a  violation of equal fair treatment.

3.) Our meals are served to us in styrofoam  containers or trays and are most of the time very  cold or very mildly warm. We complain but it goes  ignored like so many other issues which we do bring  up to the superintendent Ronald T. Duval and his  designees. The officers handle the servings of the  food to the inmates. Most often they never put on  gloves and they put their fingers on the ring of  the Dixie Cups which the Kool-aid is served in, and  at times their fingers penetrate into the drink.

4.) Since my arrival to this prison in 1992 all the  way up to this period so many privileges and rights  have been taken from us like: education, programs  of all kinds, religious services in the chapels to  most of the prison population, appliances, hot- pots, personal good radios, TVs, sweatsuits,...They  took away all inmates' Christmas packages our  families send us. We do not receive any Christmas  funds of around $10 to $20 anymore for those  inmates who don't have no one sending them nothing.

5.) We are only allowed to receive one roll of  toilet paper per week and one bar of state soap  every other week and there is no exception. As far  as toothpaste, deodorant and any other hygiene  product is concerned, they don't provide us any. We  must buy it ourselves from the Canteen Store or go  without.
 
 

MIM and RAIL, I am here to vouch for what has been  taking place here in this Walpole prison. There are  a good amount of issues that I truly feel should be  brought forward along with the fact that numerous  racist officers work in the 9 and 10 Block  Segregation Unit along with the DDU which beat down  inmates when they are taken to these sections while  they are handcuffed and shackled.

No one is looking in on these prison officials and  they feel like they are gods at times because they  keep on getting away with these unlawful and very  much volatile acts.

Dear MIM and RAIL, if we had an independent agency looking in on these correctional officials and  their running of these institutions and others like  these we wouldn't have these sorts of unlawful  occurrences happening....

Dear MIM and RAIL, I am certainly glad that you  send me this letter of yours in regards to both  your organizations being very much caring and  concerning to this serious matter which pains all  good citizens of this true world of ours.

I greatly thank you for being there for us in our  struggles my dear comrades!

Sincerely, --A Massachusetts prisoner, Nov. 8, 1995
 
 

PRISONERS START UNITED NATIONS MOTION TO ADDRESS  HUMAN RIGHTS IN U.S. CONTROL UNITS
 
 

We are in process of filing a motion to the United  Nations, to address Human Rights with any and all  control units. We may need some help in organizing  such a writ.

From what I've read, we as confined prisoners are  constantly subject to poisoned drinking water.  There is no means to survive without water. Those  who put us here knew prisoners would file  complaints about the conditions as well the  confinement.

We may need other groups who have filed such a writ  to supply any and all information they have to  help. This is our first [attempt], when complete,  we will [send] a copy. Staying strong.

--a Indiana prisoner, Jan. 26, 1996
 
 

MC49 responds:

The United Nations has proven itself to be an enemy  of human rights by among other things serving as a  cover for Amerika's war on the Iraqi people.  Strategically, we prefer building independent  proletarian institutions to appealing to enemy  institutions. But while it is important not to hold  any illusions in bourgeois institutions like the  U.N., your approach may succeed in winning some  tactical gains for the people. We wish you success  in your endeavors.