Federal Prisons

Several high-ranking officials have jumped ship because of the federal investigations into the shooting death of prisoner Del Trey [spelling uncertain] in 2017. Also, concerning the lawsuit by the Advocacy Center many have taken non-security jobs around the prison, i.e. maintenance, classification, etc.

Most importantly, on 1 July 2019 the infamous, dirty, low down, corrupt, scumbag pig Colonel Nail was escorted from prison grounds and evicted from his house on state property and is facing criminal charges for tampering with an investigation, malfeasance in office, etc.

It is possible that all of this has something to do with the mail because all prisoners writing orgs,etc. especially the ACLU And Advocacy Center as well as those engaged in litigation against DOC and this prison have been experiencing problems. Also the high turnover of new guards passing mail to the wrong cells is a problem.

Guards are sadistic & disrespectful to you. They beat you up & write bogus cases on you like threatening staff & staff assault. They do not file paperwork & investigations accurately & truthfully. Food is cold & they serve you half scoops of main/sides & lots of times it's watery. No seasoning or salt/pepper. We are not given clean towels, boxers, socks everyday when we shower. Most cells do no have lights installed! Guards do not like to do their job & don't pass out enough cold water & there is excessive heat. We are not given cleaning supplies for our cells or indigent hygiene items.

Myself and many others here at Lancaster State Prison have suffered from the filing of fraudulent disciplinary reports in retaliation for filing 602 [grievance forms] for excessive force and denial of yard, which happens every other day when they choose. This supposed to be a medical facility but they show deliberate indifference to our medical need. They refuse to obey newly enacted laws, SB1437, SB620, Proposition 57. They make sure when [parole] board time comes all the fraudulent disciplinary write-ups gives the board opportunity to deny 7 years for write-ups.

This letter is to inform you of an urgent abusive matter happening to me here on Lane Murray Unit (a Texas Woman's Prison). I am being targeted and harassed by rank and C.O.s (mainly Sargent Transue) for exercising my vested right of using the Grievance System. The latest thing they are fraudulently charging me with is the allegation that I had in my possession "gambling paraphernalia", which was actually a stationary that my family & friends wrote me mail on. It is a "Loteria" stationary—and automatically it was assumed to be Mexican gambling paraphernalia. I asked Sargent Transue to take pictures of the writing of the letters/stationary and she refused, she only took pictures of what she claimed to be the "gambling paraphernalia"—very corrupt behavior on her part. There were two witnesses to this event, also C.O.s.

19 of my Prisoner Legal News and Criminal News were also taken from me in all that abusive search done against me.

The McConnell Unit on which I am located are treating their prisoners like animals. There are major injustices that are being perpetrated against us no a daily basis.

The water is not clean or clear, and no air circulation in these cells. Holes in the ceiling, walls, and floors. Prisoners are afraid to fight for what's right. They don't understand.

I am writing to request the Texas Pack. Thankyou for all you do for those of us behind the wire in Texas. At this unit, they took the grievance manual out of the law libraries, so every little bit helps. May God bless you for all you do.

Scott Daniel Warren faces 20 years in prison for his volunteer work distributing food and water to migrants in Arizona. Warren works with the group No More Deaths to aid migrants crossing the border in the Arizona desert. For this work, and for providing a place for two men to sleep, Warren was charged with two counts of felony harboring and one count of felony conspiracy. Eir trial ended on June 11 with a hung jury.

Warren was arrested in January 2018 along with other No More Deaths volunteers. The arrests came just hours after the group released video of border patrol agents destroying jugs of water left in the desert for migrants. This case isn't closed yet; federal prosecutors may choose to retry Warren.

The Arizona desert is one of the deadliest places for migrants to cross the border due to the extreme heat. But people are forced to this area by the 1994 Clinton era "Prevention Through Deterrence" policy aimed at making border crossings more deadly. The idea was to force crossings over more hostile terrain, putting more lives in danger, to discourage migrants from attempting the journey. Metrics of the plan's success included "deaths of aliens." By that measure, the plan has been a success. The total number of people attempting the crossing has dropped but the odds of dying have gone way up.(1)

Hundreds of migrants are found dead every year. Trump's border policies are just a continuation of the anti-immigrant policies of all Amerikan imperialist administrations, including Obama. Closed borders maintain a cheap source of labor and natural resources for the imperialists. This preserves wealth for those within at the expense of poverty for those on the outside. Migrant deaths are just one result of these borders. Fighting the Trump border wall is a distraction from the real problem. Fight borders not walls. Open the borders; return the stolen wealth to occupied nations at home and around the world.

Hello Sir! Do hope all is at its best for you in every way possible and gets even better for you.

I am a Texas prisoner who has had a handful of B.S. Being repeated[ly] sent to different units since my last permanent Hughes Unit in Gatesville. Now I am at the Michaels Unit in Tennessee Colony and got all or near all my property. Property officer took some property but also took family photos.

I was on your mailing list and do wish to be again. Please!! Also I've enclosed 10 forever stamps for the PD package [of rules for TDCJ staff].

Thank you and your staff for being there to help "us" out. Myself and others look forward to your help as well as your newsletters. Now hope to hear from you soon!!!

In the article "Pennsylvania Digitizing Prisoner Mail" in ULK 65(1) Soso points out that PA's new policy will restrict prisoners to purchasing books directly (after the publication is first approved by the DOC). By enforcing this policy the PA DOC is implementing a state-run monopoly on reading material within its prisons. The obvious reason for this imperialist act is to further censor prisoners' reading material.

Illinois comrades have heard our brothers' cries for help. This policy can be fought, but it will take time and dedication to prevail. Crofton v. Roe, 170 F. 3d 957, 961 (9th Cir. 1999) is a case finding that a regulation that only allowed a prisoner to receive publications he ordered and paid for directly bore no relationship to the interest of screening for contraband. You'll need to Shepardize this case to find cases from your Circuit that support this judgment.

What does this mean? It means that you can combat the current policy denying third parties to order you books. That might seem like a small victory compared to the digitization of your mail and pictures, but any victory against the state is a victory for the people. Unfortunately, due to the security concerns regarding drugs being smuggled into the prisons through the mail, it is unlikely that this policy will be overturned by any court. The only method left for this issue is direct action in protest of the policy which garnishes public attention and support (i.e. the mass hunger strikes in California in protest of the SHU which resulted in the abolishment of indefinite placement in the SHU). In Solidarity!

MIM(Prisons) responds: We hope that this PA mail policy will be challenged in the courts. Although MIM(Prisons) does not have the resources (or lawyers) to do this from the streets, we print this letter to support our jailhouse lawyers who are working on this battle. At the same time, this writer makes a good point that we are unlikely to win these legal battles entirely. We can sometimes gain some small victories, that allow us things like greater access to educational materials in prison. But we need to keep in mind that political power only comes to those who take it. The imperialists and their courts will not give up this power without a fight.

I'm trying not to file on the law library because they handle my indigent mail, but they are denying me access to courts because I've asked them to send me an additional 30 sheets of paper so I can write out a motion for Tort claim and make a carbon copy for my records and they've refused to send it. Also they hold folders we send indigent correspondence and get supplies in for 3-4 days and as a result they are denying us access to mail letters 3 times a week and get supplies on our days to get supplies. I'm sending the warden a I-60. I've already wrote Huntsville, TX, TDCJ Headquarters, to try to resolve it without putting my name in the mix but I've about had enough.

Do you have any small claim Tort motions for Texas? If so I need them. The one I got I'm not sure if it's correct. I'm filing this Tort because on August 17th and early morning hours of the 18th, 2018 I was raped by my cell mate. Since the cell was "claimed a crime scene," I was not able to get my property. The assailant was left in the cell for who knows how long. My JHL manual and the Texas supplement issue were stolen along with a few other items. I am indigent and the pen-pal that bought them for me no longer writes me. I need these books to advocate for myself and others. I wish I some other books named in that censorship packet.

Ok you with me? I was pulled out like 2 months ago they said the DNA came back and my DNA was found on me but not on him or the sheets. When I went to the medical dept. after reporting it I told them I'd wiped myself because I had grease on me and feces and I threw it at the head of my bed but none of it was gathered nor my wash cloth or anything just sheets on my bed where the assault happened.

Now check this out on March 21st, 2017 I was sexually assaulted in Michael Unit. That DNA still has not come back. Now tell me how this can happen?