Federal Prisons

The North Carolina United Front for Peace in Prisons (NCUFPP) is not a gang – it’s a variety of lumpen organizations united in peace in prisons. No one is over or under anyone in the NCUFPP and we respect and recognize everyone’s credentials/status.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Why do we oppress one another as we are being oppressed by the fox tactics of the divider and conqueror?

They’ve programmed many of our fore-fathers to accommodate in the destruction of our people (the oppressed nations). If we do not band together we will never win. The lone wolf may become timid, but together the pack has courage and we are strong.

Without the United Front the ocean will eventually swallow the land. Give the Man an inch and he’ll take a mile. First our recreation; then our picture-mail; batteries; and now tissues – what next? Everything else like visitation, rations, haircuts, supplies, and property – they take and give back when they feel like it.

When the “Man” (or should we say “children”) don’t get their way, they’ll throw a temper tantrum and turn to violence and criminal behavior. Well according to Huey P. Newton (and the U.$. constitution) we have the right to defend ourselves, don’t we?

We must never encourage their violence among any prisoner because it’ll encourage the man to continue their violent ways among other prisoners (comrades) and citizens of society in the outside world in our homes. If he’ll assault the other prisoner/prisoner group he’ll do it to you too. The man shouldn’t be consulted to; spoken to; nor indirectly lead to assume anything about another prisoner. And we all know that woofing in front of the police is dry-snitching.

We’ve noticed that these children are spraying/gassing comrades for knocking on the window for necessities such as tissues and then attack them and placing them on sanctions (taking their property). While there is no call buttons here for prisoners to use when they need necessities, this shit is out of order. But don’t let it get you down. Take a break; enjoy yourself; set back; and relax. Save your energy for Juneteenth. The last day of our oppression. Listen for the Juneteenth memo on the yard/seg!

As prisoners across Texas prepare to have their voices heard this Juneteenth, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice(TDCJ) has launched an onerous censorship campaign against some prisoners, including many held in the Allred Restricted Housing Unit(RHU). The RHU is a torture unit where people are held in isolation for years, even decades, at a time.

Recently a comrade in Allred reported not receiving the book Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán. Ey filed a grievance and the grievance just disappeared as if no book was ever sent or censored. MIM Distributors did not receive notification of this censorship either.

In an effort to establish what was going on, MIM Distributors sent a list of mail sent to this comrade on 10 February 2022. It took a month for the letter to arrive. The comrade mailed eir response on 9 March 2022. The letter was received in late May, stamped 23 May 2022! It took TDCJ 2.5 months to mail this comrade’s letter to us. And all it contained was a short note about what mail ey had received.

This is the type of behavior we are calling out in our campaign to stop censorship in Allred. In addition to the Chican@ Power book, we’ve posted reports on censorship of our Revolutionary 12 Steps pamphlet, and the TDCJ’s very own Grievance Operations Manual. We ask people on the outside to write or call to protest, you can use these examples to explain what is going on. If you really want to get involved, download our anti-censorship postcards and start collecting signatures in your area to protest this violation of basic rights.

To MIM(Prisons),

I would like to tell you a problem I am having with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) between Allred Unit and now at Clemens Unit. I’ll start in May of 2021, when I was talking to a Ms. Carter at Allred who was a mental health counselor. I’ve been a G-5 since August of 2020 and I wanted my G-2 so bad that I asked Ms. Carter about Program Pamio which is a 6 month program where once completed you will get your G-2 and skip the G-4.

When you get a G-5 you have to do a year, then you see UCC and you go to G-4. Well Ms. Carter told me about a program called CMI and she told me it was the same program as Pamio; but she couldn’t tell me nothing else about CMI. I told her I will come up for my G-2 in 6 months and I will be able to to go to the law library and move around. She straight up lied to me and told me yes. Then on 24 November 2021 I made my G-4 at Allred and I have my freedom to move around again after 15 months in solitary confinement. I seen Ms. Carter again in November after I made by G-4 and I told Ms. Carter that I didn’t want to go to CMI, and I wanted to sign a refusal note. Ms. Carter told me all I had to do was tell the guard when I’m called on chain to leave that I wanted to sign a refusal note.

So on 12 December 2021, I seen Ms. Carter again and told her again that I didn’t want to leave Allred and to let me sign a refusal note. She told me the same thing: just tell the guard.

Well on 29 December 2021 I was called on chain to go to the CMI, so I told the guards and they wouldn’t do nothing about signing a refusal. So I sat down and Allred ran a team on me and made me get on that bus.

So let me tell you what I learn about CMI and Pamio program. Both programs are federally funded programs and the state get two checks for each prisoner in the program. Well I learn CMI stands for Chronic Mentally Ill treatment program. But let me tell you the criteria of the program: (A) Offender must be male (B) Custody classification of Restricted Housing (i.e. Administrative segregation, or G-5).

CMI’s purpose is to provide a structured, multidisciplinary treatment program specific for the offender in Restricted Housing (RH) and G-5 custody who require close monitoring due to their chronic mental illness.

You see, when an offender sign for the CMI program the offender is to be moved to the program within 1 month after he signs. So I signed in May of 2021 and in November of 2021 I made my G-4 and December 2021 I was called to the CMI – well that’s when I found out I wasn’t going to be admitted into CMI.

So I arrive at Clemens on 4 January 2022 and I learn CMI was a MH program, and that we’re to be locked in a cell 24/7. Look, if Ms. Carter would have not lied and told me that CMI was a MH program in Restricted Housing – I waited 15 months to get my G-4, do you think I would have signed it? All these rules about the CMI program is in A-08.8 CMI. Now remember what I told you about being a federally funded program: well Ms. Carter already got her bonus for me to sign and didn’t let me sign the refusal note. So on 6 January 2022 they run UCC classification and a Major Sutton, Lt. Garcia, and J. Bristow improperly classified me as CMI L-3/MH which they did just so Warden Gonzales could collect for TDCJ the federal money for me. But here’s the thing: on 7 January 2022, a Dr. Marchant came to my cell and told me I was not admitted into the CMI because I was a G-4, so if I wasn’t admitted how could they classify me as MH?

So anyways Clemens put me into the CMI pod called A-Pod and I was held with nothing but segregated prisoners who were insane and there was not one night I didn’t fear for my life.

Here’s another policy I read on AD-03.50: It is policy of the TDCJ to provide a non-punitive status involving the separation of an offender, which these people have me mixed in with all segregated/CMI prisoners. These prisoners have to complete this program to go back to general population. But I am general population and under safety policy of the AD-03.50 these officials have placed my safety at risk. There is no justification for Clemens to violate TDCJ-ID policy and procedures. It clearly says that Administrative Segregation was only designed for punitive status prisoners. But they only changed the name over to Restricted Housing, which is predominately the same name for segregation.

I have repeatedly requested to be moved to medium custody off this building but all official repeatedly ignore all of my request including this unit head warden and all assistant wardens.

Assistant warden’s name is Ms. Teresa S. Martinez. The Head Warden’s name is Adam R. Gonzales.

This information is also under the Texas penal code 39.04 the violation of the civil rights of a person in custody.

So months pass and I’m still in CMI pod and 30 April 2022 a special classification review comes from Huntsville and see over 200 prisoners that have been in the CMI, but discharged over 2 years and no less than a year. Well I’m discharged, and I go see SCC which is the committee that classifies prisoners. Well I was given my G-2 and told I was to be moved off Clemens the next week. Well between May 2nd through 7th, they moved over 200 prisoners and they were segregated and G-5 and G-4. But since I only had 5 months here they didn’t move me and left me in seg which is CMI. So on 31 May 2022 I go see UCC and they promoted me to line class 1, which is best and G-2 is best just above G-1.

In April, there was a group of us that were asking for grievances. There was this one prisoner, he asked for a grievance, I turned around to see who he was so that I could see who was on our side. So when I turned to look at the prisoner and the Correctional Officer: the CO was sitting behind the desk and the prisoner was on the opposite side of the desk.

The C.O.’s name is C.O. Conner. He yelled out: “What did you say?” to the prisoner and ran around the desk to grab the prisoner from the back. The prisoner still didn’t move. The C.O. grabbed the prisoner’s arm and began twisting the prisoner’s arm so bad causing the prisoner pain.

The prisoner screamed out “What did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything to you.” The C.O. then grabbed the prisoner’s body and picked him up and slammed the prisoner face first on the hard solid ground. The C.O. then started beating the prisoner with his elbow on the back of his head. This is the third time this C.O. is involved in something like this. I asked for help from other staff members but they all have different stories on what had happened and they all cover up the whole story blaming the prisoner claiming that it was his fault. It is on camera but when you file a grievance the staff that is responsible for the grievance always has some kind of excuse and make it seem like we have no case. Almost every staff member is crooked and they enforce this behavior.

I believe that the C.O.’s Sgt, Lt, etc… have it as an initiation to beat us and send us to the hole. Most of the staff members come from the military and police force and have a “I will fuck you up” attitude. We are in the R.T.U. and mostly every staff member that works here is not certified to work here and treat us like shit.

MIM(Prisons) adds: Many years ago MIM published a similar report of abuse from here from a C.O. they called grainy. Turned out to be Sgt. Grainer, who later became infamous for his torture photos with Afghan prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison. The C.O.-military connection seems to live on in Pennsylvania.

I just received ULK Spring 2022, No. 77 and how ironic is the material discussed. A source I regularly use is called Community Legal Information Center and they are stationed in Chico, CA. I have recently requested the TDCJ Grievance Operation Manual and it was denied by the mail room. I put in a well-worded I-60 today asking the mailroom to explain themselves. The PLRA makes our grievances legal proceedings (Access to Courts) and Texas Law and TDCJ Policy both state that TDCJ officials cannot impede or intervene in an inmates legal proceedings. And of course this manual is a public record and government entities cannot operate in secrecy. All government is required to operate with full transparency because We the people create and elect government. Texas Government Code 552.001

MIM(Prisons) adds: This is a followup to our report that the oppressor censored the TDCJ’s Grievance Operations Manual in January at McConnell Unit. We pointed out the long history of suppression of that document in Texas in that article. Now, this report from Gib Lewis demonstrates that this continues to be department-wide practice and unofficial policy. Just as they don’t want prisoners to figure out how to stop using addictive substances, they don’t want prisoners to know how to file effective grievances against their abuse.

In our current situation it is important to exhaust our appeals and legal routes to justice as the comrade above is doing. Yet this whole situation demonstrates that the imperialist legal system is not meant to work for the oppressed. So we cannot rely on the courts to solve our problems.

As soon as the first printing of our new Revolutionary 12 Step Program pamphlet landed in prisons across the United $tates, it has been targeted for censorship in both Florida and Texas.

The Florida mailroom staff who seized the pamphlet checked two reasons for impounding it:

“(15)(i)is dangerously inflammatory in that it advocates or encourages riot, insurrection, rebellion, organized prison protest, disruption of the institution, or the violation of the federal law, state law or Department Rules”

and

“(15)(p)otherwise presents a threat to the security, order, or rehabilitative objectives of the correctional system or the safety of any person.”

Since the pamphlet is actively preventing harm to the safety of any person and actively training people to stop breaking the law or engaging in destructive behavior, we must wonder what are the “rehabilitative objectives” of the Florida Department of Corrections.

MIM(Prisons) appealed this.

Texas on the other hand did not give MIM(Prisons) the opportunity to appeal, as required by Federal law, and only notified us of the censorship after the review committee’s final decision, which, like Florida, cited the “Entire publication contain security concerns.”

The reason they cited:

“Publication contains material that a reasonable person would construe as written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve a breakdown of prisons through offender disruption such as strikes, riots or security threat group activity.”

Literally no reasonable person would think this.

But as we’ve been reporting on, the TDCJ is openly trafficking drugs to sell to the people they imprison. So it is not surprising that they find our efforts to combat addiction to be a disruption to their operations.

It’s also no secret that the oppressor prefers us to be drunk and high, rather than thinking clearly and doing good for ourselves and our people.

Prisoners can help by getting our Censorship Guide and appealing any censorship as the comrade in Texas did. People on the outside can help by volunteering to help us appeal and hold these state agencies accountable. Legal expertise with these issues is also something you can contribute.

BP-03.91 is being misused by unit officials.

ATC-020(Rev.4) Dated: May 26 2022

“To be scheduled or request material for/from law library access/in-direct access, each inmate will be required to provide their name, TDCJ number, housing assignment,”work assignment and work hours." (highlighted in yellow marker) An inmate is prohibited from requesting law library access/in-direct access or law library materials for another inmate."

So, whoever prepared this notice is forgetting that I am in Ad-Seg/RHU. Or they are just flatly depriving me access to law, legal case citings or material. Please se:: Tex Gov’t Code ANN, Section 552.001-552.029. (Information available under the TPIA)

As of right now here at Federal Correctional Institution Waseca, we are flooded with Suboxone, so those articles in ULK 77 really hit home. It is the K2 more that keeps this compound going. We do have 1% of our population on the “MAT” program, where a few of the females here go and get their monthly fix of Suboxone and continue their stint, nodding off at random places.

Another major issue here is that our grievance process here is a joke. Everything gets denied and in D-Unit, the programming unit, the ladies have constantly got cursed at when requesting the first step or any of our administrative remedies.

I have spent over 10 years in Texas prisons (TDCJ). The way the BOP is falling apart, except that Texas doesn’t pay their prisoners, it would probably be better down there than here. We have no mental health services, women report suicide ideations and nothing gets done, stating a shortage of staff. The Unicor sweatshop is mandating overtime for 7AM-8PM and most Saturdays.

Hello, there is a notification for the Prison Rape Elimination Act(P.R.E.A.) auditor which states that we may mail them P.R.E.A.-related letters free of charge and to request our Jail Administration for a private conversation. This caught my attention because there’s been incidents that are relevant that I’ve been trying to talk about with someone for 3 years now. It’s such a hard thing to do when attempts to do so are so frequently thwarted.

I have had my P.R.E.A.-related mail returned to me and was denied (at first) an audience with the P.R.E.A. facility auditor when she visits in June. I honestly figured this would happen to me (again), so I kept very accurate records of everything. Even one of my P.R.E.A.-related grievances was denied. So much for Zero Tolerance, right?

This is the beginning of my writings. I also want to reach out to the A.C.L.U. I’m waiting for my lawyer to come on Thursday as well as the facility auditor in June.

With just a month remaining before the first series of actions around the Juneteenth Freedom Initiative, we have received reports of repression of activists by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice(TDCJ).

One of the hearts of this campaign comes out of the brutal Allred Restrictive Housing Unit(RHU) where people have spent decades in isolation. We’ve recently learned that one organizer at Allred hasn’t received half a dozen letters we’ve sent em over the last few months. Eir outgoing mail is also delayed or gone missing. This mail tampering is illegal. We wrote the warden of Allred to stop this censorship.. If he doesn’t stop it, we know this political repression is intentional from the top of the TDCJ to suppress our boycotting of Juneteenth.

We are asking others to join our letter writing and postcard campaign in support of the rights of MIM Distributors and these activists in Allred to freely communicate. The pdf below can be downloaded, printed on card stock and cut into four postcards. Then you can ask people to sign them, put a postcard stamp ($0.40) on them, and drop them in a mail box. Over the next couple months we want to show TDCJ that people outside are paying attention and supporting the Juneteenth Freedom Initiative. This is one way to do that. You can also call Warden Jimmy Smith @ (940) 855-7477 (**069).

Stevenson Unit in Texas has also stepped up censorship related to materials about the Juneteenth boycott. The TX Team One Primer was censored for the reason:

“Page(s) 4 contains information advocating prison disruption.”

Prisoners are very limited in what they can do when their grievances are ignored. Most actions will lead to repression. A boycott is the most passive action. There are no calls to violence nor do the plans threaten security in any way. Just a peaceful demonstration of solidarity, demanding some basic humyn rights be applied in Texas prisons. Yet this is being outlawed by the state.

Even worse, in eir most recent update, one comrade in Stevenson reported that:

“last night I was placed in handcuffs and marched off to solitary confinement, the place from where I currently write. I woke this morning to find I’m being charged with 2 new rules violations: 1) Attempt/threat to assault a correctional officer and 2) Assault of a correctional officer.”

There was no assault. In fact this comrade is not even supposed to be housed on the second floor because of eir health conditions. Ey believes this is retaliation for the appeals ey filed against the censorship of literature sent by MIM Distributors. Meanwhile, MIM Distributors was not given the opportunity to appeal, and only received the final decision from TDCJ.

As our comrade in Stevenson Unit so eloquently concluded,

“They will never succeed in snuffing out my flame and their attempts to silence the truth only causes it to roar even louder! They cloak themselves in legitimacy and the trappings of power because deep down they know they are weak and the system is crumbling – to be swept aside along with all the silly liberal reformers and we build a better world over their ruins, a new society based on equality and respect and compassion and truth and justice and”love" – a human society fit for fully involved and determined human beings at peace with themselves, each other, and the world around us."