Dear MIM, I have gone through the proper channels  to have MIM Notes approved to be sent to me. Until  this point, about two MIM Notes newspapers have  been sent back. But please be enlightened to the  fact that they have now been approved.

 -- A Florida Prisoner, 24 Feb. 97

PELICAN BAY VICTORY STILL STANDS

Pelican Bay State Prison has censored MIM Notes  for the past several months. Through prisoners'  dedication and lawsuits Pelican Bay officials have  reversed their censorship policy. Many prisoners  from Pelican Bay have renewed contact with MIM  after being censored for so long. For more details  check out ULK in MIM Notes 133.

Esteemed comrades in Struggle, I am forwarding this  missive to inform you that MIM Notes has been  passing censorship and arriving as intended. ....  Remain resolute in your just endeavors and please  continue forwarding me the inspiration of  engagement as contained in MIM Notes.

 -- A California Prisoner, 12 Mar 97

NO LIBRARY IN THE GULAG

Dear MIM, ...There would be no possible way to get  the library here to purchases a subscription, as we  don't have one. Although this is a maximum security  institution, budget cuts took away our leisure  library. They are making an attempt to take away  the law library as well. I will share what copies  that I have....

 -- A Florida Prisoner, 11 Mar. 97

PACKIN' THE PRISONS

DOUBLE CELLING: TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

Dear Comrade, ...I just came from the card room,  and one of the card rooms was taken for double  bunking. We have two hundred and fifty prisoners  jammed into a unit that was built for one hundred  and eighty prisoners.

 -- A Michigan Prisoner, 7 Mar 97

SETTING UP TENTS IN KANSAS

Dear MIM, ...Your paper was received by other  brothers in the struggle for "justice", with praise  and enthusiasm. Here in El Dorado Supermax Facility  we are constantly being bombarded with new  regulations that eradicate us of what little  personal freedom we do have. It's bad enough that  we are locked down 24 hours a day without them  imposing excessive restrictive sanctions against  us.

By July of this year tents will be erected in an  endeavor to house the overflowing population until  the legislation acquires their approval of over 121  million dollars to build and expand new facilities.  These facilities will be built by prison laborers  receiving 60 cents a day. If the money isn't going  into the labor to build the facilities, then whose  pockets are being fattened?  -- Two Kansas Prisoners, 16 Mar. 97

PAYING FOR MEDICAL CARE

MICHIGAN MEDICAL COSTS

We printed a letter in MIM Notes 130 from a New  Jersey prisoner talking about how prisoners are  required to pay for medical care. As of early this  year, Michigan prisoners are required to pay for  all non-emergency medical and dental care. When  Public Act 234, which requires this payment, was  proposed as a bill, a fee of $3 or $4 per medical  visit was suggested. For prisoners working for 45  cents/day (which is the average at Ionia) that's  between 6 and 9 days' pay to get one  prescription.(Source for the bill: Battle Creek  Times 30 March, 1996. Source for the law is the  state government)

 ARIZONA MEDICAL PROBLEMS

...We do have an ongoing problem with being able to  obtain Medical care. We are being charged now $3.00  per visit and the care is on a constant decline.  You are charged more than one time for the same  problem, In order to get proper care you need to file an  action in the courts. Then and only then will they  deal with the problem....

 -- An Arizona Prisoner, 4 Dec. 97

 FEDS BREAK UP THE FAMILY

Dear Friends in the Struggle, ...I noticed that you  concentrate mainly on prisoners in state prisons.  I'm sure you're aware that prisoners are struggling  in federal prisons as well and if you are receiving  any letters from them I'd hope you'd print them.

I am a federal prisoner doing time at Federal  Correctional Institution (FCI) McKean. The Warden,  John Hahn, decided that is wasn't necessary to have  a children's play room inside the visiting room so  he locked it up. He said, "We are not babysitters  here." In essence what he is attempting to do is  break apart the family unit. You see, because if  the children can't sit still then the entire visit  shall be terminated!

At this moment one of my fellow inmates has filed  action in US District Court in attempts to stop the  Warden from being permitted to keep the children's  room closed permanently. I will keep you informed  of the outcome of our misfortunate situation at  hand.

My heart goes out to all my fellow inmates in look- down who are fighting for our rights.

In Struggle,
-- An FCI McKean Inmate, 11 Mar 97

MIM RESPONDS: Thank you for the information and  your insight about lack of child care at FCI  McKean. Please keep us apprised of the situation..

In answer to your comment about MIM's focus on  state prisoners, there are a few reasons why one  might think Under Lock & Key focuses on state  prisoners more than federal prisoners. One reason  is that often prisoners from Federal Prisons don't  mention it in the letter, and (as a rule) MIM only  identifies prisoners by state, for security  purposes. Thus a person identified as a Ohio  prisoner, may actually be a federal prisoner in  Ohio. So ULK may be representing more federal  prisoners than you think.

Since there are less federal prisons than state  prisons in the U$A, numbers alone would provide  more letters by state prisoners. Another factor  involved is that many Federal Prisons have been  blanket censoring MIM Notes. Unfortunately this  means that MIM Notes is not reaching many federal  prisoners and thus less are writing to Under Lock  and Key.

For MIM, all prisoners are political prisoners,  whether state or federal prisoners. It is our aim  that Under Lock and Key represent all those behind  bars in the United Snakes and to work for the end  of their oppression.

 SOUTH CAROLINA'S OPPRESSION OF FIVE PERCENTERS

Peace Brothers and Sisters, ...I would like to use  my time to speak on a situation that's been going  on since April 95. At one institution in South  Carolina was a riot because of a new "grooming  policy", in which the inmate had to cut their  beards, goatees, dreadlocks, afros , box style  haircuts. This policy is statewide but at this one  institution several inmates took hostages. Later  they found out that these inmates were Five  Percenters (Considered an off-branch from the  Nation of Islam).

The director of South Carolina Department of  Corruptions (SCDC), Michael Moore, has it now,  whereas anyone associated with or has any Five  Percent literature is to be placed on  administrative segregation until they denounce  their association with the Five Percent.

He is also trying to get the Five Percenters  categorized as a "security threat group" just like  these Latino brothers at Walpole in Massachusetts.  There are still some brothers on the yard who have  yet to be identified, but the clock is ticking.

Legal action is in the process. The ACLU of  Atlanta, Georgia is helping out. Several of the  inmates got there families to get lawyers to help.  Even still, we need as much help as we can get.  Power comes in numbers, right?...

Peace and Blessings!
-- A South Carolina Prisoner, 18 Dec. 96

Peace MIM, ...Governor David Beasley has hired a  racist pig by the name of Michael Moore, who is  from Texas to run SCDC (South Carolina Department  of Corrections). Director Moore, on April 28, 1995  ordered an attack on the Nation of Gods & Earths  known as the 5% Nation of Islam. He placed 301  inmates on lock-down, he ordered all 5% literature  to be taken and classified it as contraband. He has  banned any 5% literature that is sent through the  mail. He has also banned some religious and  political books.

Mr. Moore has told the public through the newspaper  and the TV news, that we are a gang who has  attacked staff and who mobs white inmates, but yet  he has not proven this or has any of us been  charged or brought in front of a judge. He has  labeled us a security threat group and placed us on  (ML5) which is a custody that keeps us on lock-down  for security reasons.

He has forced 254 inmates to sign papers denouncing  any affiliation with the 5%ers. If you refuse to  sign those papers you'll remain on lock-down  indefinitely. 47 of us have filed a lawsuit with  the Southern Center for Human Rights. Our attorney  is Robert Bensing. The state SCDC has failed to  show any burden of proof that we committed any  crime, but yet the judge is dragging his feet,  prolonging the due process of the law. While we  remain on lock-down.

Each time we go to classification we are turned  down and kept in ML5. Some of us are not even being  called for reclassification. Some of us have been  shipped from Institution to Institution every other  six or seven months. Some of our visitors have been  turned away. Some of our phone calls are being cut  off. Who knows, they might even be reading our  personal mail. At this plantation they are trying  so hard to keep us form the outside world and our  families that we are not allowed to receive  pictures of our families or anybody.

Political prisoners in the struggle,
-- Another South Carolina Prisoner, 8 Jan. 97

ANTI-PRISONER LEGISLATION IN MICHIGAN

...The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC)  and state policy makers coming out with a plan to  have prisoners pay for electricity if they own any  type of electrical appliance.

According to the Chronicle Lansing Bureau by Sara  Scott, Saturday, December 7, 1996, "lawmakers  believe Michigan will save millions of dollars by  curbing inmates' rights."

There is a package of oppressive... bills being  presented and (possibly) implemented to cause  prisoners in the death kkkamps of michigan, more  harm and stress. One of the package issues on the  agenda is to stop prisoners form receiving sexually  orientated magazines and such materials and legal  fees.

According to Senator Phillip Hoffman, R-Horton,  this is a good thing. This racist pig says, "For so  long, liberal judges have been giving prisoners  more and more. But when is enough, enough?" Pig  Hoffman's co-partner in oppression, Senator William  Van Regenorter agrees and has endorsed that  prisoners pay for their legal fees in order to file  into the courts. He claims that prisoners file too  many frivolous lawsuits, but he doesn't mention  that prisoners file suits because they can find no  other recourse for the injustices prisoncrats place  upon them. [He also excludes] that the mdoc's  grievance procedure is not worth wiping your ass  with. And if one looks at all the suits filed by  prisoners one would see that the complaints are  legitimate. Because the courts are anti-prisoner,  they routinely side with the prisoncrats.

In the Muskegon Chronicle it is reported that  governor (shit-head) engler has endorsed the  building (of what he terms) a "punk prison" to  incarcerate youthful offenders. Plans are in the  making to build a 480 bed maximum security facility  near Baldwin, Michigan....

Michigan lawbreakers have voted earlier this year  (1996) to have a private company build and operate  the prison. Then, accordingly, the date would lease  beds back from that company. (An obscene waste of  taxpayers money.) The Michigan Correction Officers  (MCO) union president, Fred (greedy-ass) Parks,  says he will try to recruit private employees.  Naturally he wants to do this because it brings  more money into their coffers and makes him even  more powerful in the process of dictating what  oppressive tactics will be used on prisoners.

Also in the makings was a memo that come out  directing all state Corrections Department  officials (from the director of the mdoc, Kenneth  McGinnis) not to speak to any lawbreakers in the  Legislature agency. This memo dated December 3,  obtained by the Associated Press tells managers in  the department's field operations division to make  sure that neither they nor their staff give any  have any direct contact with lawbreakers,  legislative staff or analysis at the House and  Senate Fiscal Agencies "Without specific  authorization from the director, (department  legislative liaison) Dick McKeon or myself."

All of the above shows the growing need for the  people to take serious notice and get involved in  ensuring prisoners are not being dogged out. It is  a fact that many of the incarcerated will be coming  back into society one day and if they have been  dogged-out by prisoncrats and lawbreaker policies  for a number of years it will only be a matter of  time before that ex-prisoner explodes his/her rage  on someone not deserving of it.

PPWVC [Political Prisoners Of War Vanguard  Coalition] is committed to exposing the actions and  secret plans of prisoncrats and lawbreaker  oppression. But we can not do it alone. We need the  support and voices of the people in order to insure  justice. We need to make all of our voices heard  and come together with a viable plan to defeat all  the schemes aimed at oppressive actions lodged  against those of us who are defenseless and without  power....

In the trenches,
-- A PPWVC, Michigan Prisoner,  20 Dec 97