CENSORSHIP in AMERIKKKA

Stop censorship at Tamms, Illinois prisons!

MIM calls out the Tamms C-Max (Control-Maximum Security) prison in
Illinois for continuing censorship of the newspaper MIM Notes, books sent
in as part of MIM's Free Books for Prisoners program, and correspondence
between MIM and individual prisoners. The prison has generally not
disclosed why it stopped certain materials. Below we print several
prisoners' updates on the censorship and their efforts to stop it.

MIM fears that the mailroom staff is capriciously discarding mail,
especially mail to and from MIM and Men Against Control Segregation
(MACS). MACS organizes against the abuses of control-unit
facilities. Other political leaders are also particular targets of this
interference.

Control units like Tamms are prisons under permanent lock down. Prisoners
typically spend 23 hours of every day alone in a 6' by 8' cell. Beatings
by guards are common. Control units are designed to isolate prisoners --
stopping contact with the outside in one way this happens.

As one prisoner writes below, Tamms in particular has labeled many
politically active prisoners as members of Security Threat Groups
(STGs) -- the prisons' term for gangs. In many cases this is only a whip
the prison uses, to try to force prisoners either to abandon their
activism or to label other activists as "gang" members.

Because our correspondence is so heavily and unaccountably censored, it is
especially important that readers in the Illinois prisons make yourselves
aware of your options for fighting censorship and keep up the fight even
if you are unable to receive our mail. In several cases the prisoncrats
have tried to use their petty tricks to isolate prisoner organizers from
MIM. MIM is calling on all readers to protest the censorship by Tamms
officials and throughout the IDOC. You can address complaints to: 

*Warden George C. Welborn, 200 East Supermax Road, P.O. Box 400, Tamms, IL
62988

*Director Donald Snyder, Jr., Illinois Department of Corrections, 1301
Concordia Court Springfield, IL 62794

*Governor George Ryan, Office of the Governor, 207 Statehouse,
Springfield, IL 62706

***

Please take note that the prisoncrats here at Tamms have stopped the April
1 issue of MIM Notes.  Concerning the February issues, they finally
[allowed] Feb. 15 issue yet claim Feb. 1 issue poses a clear and present
danger to the facility.

They have not responded to my requests about which articles are at
issue. I have notified an attorney who is representing Illinois prisoners
in our struggle against censorship. I will keep you posted on the
development of the grievances.

-- an Illinois prisoner, 13 May 2001.

I have just received your [article on censorship at Tamms C-Max and in the
Illinois prisons]. The article was torn in half. I understand about how
this system plays games with our mail, incoming an outgoing. Especially
when it comes to anything that is in the inmates' interest. It is IDOC's
job to keep us as dumb as possible to any form of positive
education. Therefore we must educate ourselves in whatever field we are
searching knowledge in. We have very little support from outside
organizations.

...

Myself and others find MIM Notes to be very informative and not afraid to
take on the system. I will do all I can to get more real convicts to be a
part of this paper. They have denied all my diet requests concerning my
Rastafarian religion, but I won't let that stop me.

The struggle continues,
-- an Illinois prisoner, 18 May 2001.

The reason for this brief correspondence is that I received your [article
on censorship at Tamms C-Max and in the Illinois prisons], 20 days after
the postmarked date! As of today they also confiscated May 1 & 15 MIM
Notes. Well I am encouraged by your positive correspondence! But I must
inform you that the devils are still at their illegal tactics and have not
changed their behavior one bit. I am still not getting my MIM Notes and to
be quite frank I am surprised to receive your correspondence, admonishing
Tamms and the Illinois Department of Corrections.

I am enclosing two b.s. letters from the institution's Publication Review
Committee showing they confiscated my February and April 1, 2001 MIM
Notes. I haven't even seen a March issue! So in other words they are
telling you they are in compliance but the reality is attached to this
letter.  I am a very active litigator and grievance-writer and retaliation
by the IDOC is a simple way of life for me. That is their reason for
housing me in the belly of the beast at Tamms Supermax.

These people have laid down all these extravagant rules, policies and
regulations but I have yet to see them comply with a single one in
accordance with 20 Illinois Administrative Code as well as institutional
or administrative directives. In other words, ignorance, racism, stupidity
and retaliation are consistent, not rules and regulations.

I am desperate to see specifically MIM Notes No. 231 because STGs
[Security Threat Groups] are a great big issue here, even though I don't
belong to an STG the IDOC says that I do. That's their retaliation.

Respectfully yours,
-- an Illinois prisoner, 22 May 2001.


Just a few lines to keep you updated as to the outcome concerning the
censorship of MIM Notes. Nothing has changed except that in order to
receive our periodicals we must sign to have sections of them blacked out
before we can get them. Once they've been reviewed by the institutional
PRC they are sent to Springfield for their committee to review and months
pass. [My grievance] is still in Springfield and I have no doubt [it] will
be shot down, as all our other grievances are shot down (denied) here and
in Springfield. Many of us have been signing to have the certain sections
blacked out that they claim are [Security Threat Group-related]. [Our
alternatives are] to return [the papers] at our expense, send them to a
different address at our expense, or have them destroyed.

To be truthful we're waiting to see what action is being taken by MIM and
others to attempt to bring this censorship to an end. At the moment all we
can do is attempt to exhaust our departmental remedies before attempting
any court action. That will also be months away due to the intentional
holdup of our grievances. Still and all keep me on your mailing list.

I continue to go through changes due to these prisonkrats with their
neocolonialist mentality. I continue to stand strong in the struggle. They
may have my body incarcerated, but I will never be a puppet of imperialism
who is mentally controlled.

Clench fist salute to you and all in the struggle. Freedom!

-- an Illinois prisoner, July 2001.

********

Oregon censorship continues:
Targeting non-profit organizations

Dear MIM:  Thank you for providing a photo copy of the envelope which
contained the letter that was censored. I will include it in my file. As I
said in my last letter, I was going to send in a request for an
administrative appeal [of the censorship]. I sent in this request on
6-11-01. I have yet to receive an answer back from the superintendent,
Stan W. Czerniak. I intend to send another request tonight, but am not
sure what good it will do as most requests for appeal are not answered.

Enclosed is part of an institution paper called the "walled street
bulletin" with a new administrative rule pertaining to "non-profit
organizations" and publications from the non-profit organizations. It's
just another way for these capitalist pigs to censor our mail and keep us
oppressed even more. Not long after your letter to the superintendent June
1, 2001, these rules were adopted and are not being put into effect. I
believe it's partly because people are challenging their (these capitalist
imperialist cowards) rules and regulations and now they are trying to
punish us and make it harder to obtain material from certain
organizations, which includes MIM due to the fact that you send in
different subscriptions to prisoners, such as MIM Notes, MIM Theory,
etc...

Before I was introduced to MIM and the communist beliefs (what little I
know), all I wanted was to leave this fucked up country or help to
overthrow this government by whatever means possible. Now that I have read
and heard how communism is, I now believe it takes more than just the
armed movement and violence to overthrow this capitalist imperialist
country, it takes education and knowing what you want. People need to be
educated and organized to be able to stop the oppression over the
people. Education and organization is everything.

-- a prisoner in Oregon, July 2001.

MIM adds: Oregon has implemented a new process for sending non-profit
(Standard A mail) subscriptions which requires both the prisoner and the
organization to jump through many hoops, providing proof of request for
subscription, proof of subscription, receipt for purchase and other
documentation. If the regulations are not followed the subscription will
be returned and no administrative review will be allowed to appeal the
rejected mail. As this prisoner explained, these restrictions are designed
to deny prisoners access to mail, particularly political and educational
mail as this is most often sent by non-profit organizations.

MIM does not currently use non-profit bulk (Standard A) mail so this
regulation may not have an immediate impact on subscriptions to our
comrades behind bars in Oregon. But we encourage all our readers in Oregon
prisons to get copies of the relevant Request for Subscription Non-Profit
Organization Mail forms and be prepared for the application of this rule
to MIM Notes and other subscriptions.

*******

Censorship at WRC in Wisconsin

Dear MIM,  I'm without funds, but I'm not without a voice. The First
Amendment is supposed to guarantee the freedoms of speech, religion,
press, assembly and petition. It is my understanding that the court held
that prison authorities may screen mail, but it may not censor it
unless: (1) an important government interest unrelated to the suppression
of expression is furthered, also that the intrusion is not greater than
necessary, and in addition, the court held that due process requires that
a decision to censor or withhold mail must be accompanied by notice to the
inmate affected, opportunity for the author of the letter of protest, and
a hearing. And aren't we entitled to our own political beliefs? Columbia
Institution as well as WRC seem to go on a day to day basis of shoe string
rules. I was just denied some religious literature at this place [WRC
prison] but yet it was ok in Supermax, Columbia max, Green bay max and
some mediums I know it's allowed. [MIM experiences censorship at these
other facilities as well.--editor]

I was given this paper stating this new Lutheran chaplain put a hold on it
"for further research" that it may or might violate state law or
institution policy, so I wrote a I.C.I., spoke with the chaplain, he said
he was waiting on Madison's approval, I spoke to I.C.I. guy "steve" told
him its in violation of my First Amendment Rights and that I had wrote
some places. Then I saw the chaplain again and he claimed he was waiting
on the Warden's decision now. This all took 3 weeks. 

A guy just got here from Racine Correctional Institution, the medium
prison. He said the security director there had all religions removed from
there, only catholic and protestant is allowed and that sweat lodge, pipe
drum, medium pipe, and Muslim prayer rugs, hats and all this stuff had to
be sent out by a certain date or would be considered contraband. 

-- a prisoner in Wisconsin, July 2001

MIM adds:  We got this letter in the same week that we received a
rejection notice from WRC letting us know that MIM Notes sent to another
prisoner at that institution was censored. The notice stated that MIM
Notes (June 1, 2001, issue #235) was rejected because the "Item concerns
an activity which, if completed, would violate the laws of Wisconsin, the
United States or the Administrative Rules of the Department of
Corrections." Further there was a handwritten note saying "Reviewed by PCS
Boevers and Security directory Mario Canziani 309.05(2) and 309.06
(1) page 165 defies authority, present a clear and present danger to
institutional security and order." 

As MIM has stated repeatedly in MIM Notes, in letters to administrators
and in documents supporting lawsuits filed by our prison comrades, there
is no legal justification for censoring MIM Notes as a threat to
institutional security and order. Our material helps prisoners to educate
themselves and prepare for a productive return to general society. We
repeatedly received feedback from prisoners stating that we help them to
learn to stop fighting one another and instead to help educate one
another. MIM does not advocate the violation of any Federal or State laws
and does not advocate the violation of the rules of any correctional
institution. In fact, MIM Notes explicitly encourages prisoners to follow
rules, to avoid fights and confrontations with other inmates and/or
staff. Additionally, prisoners reading MIM Notes and other material sent
from MIM Distributors typically work harder than other prisoners to stay
out of situations where altercations might occur because MIM Distributors
works with prisoners to become productive and educated individuals.

Readers can send letters to protest the censorship of MIM Notes and
religious material to the security director at the address below. Send a
copy of your letters to MIM as well.

Mario Canziani WRC Box 220 Winnebago, WI 54929