MIM Notes censored at Corcoran State Prison

The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) is batting censorship of MIM Notes at Corcoran State Prison in California. MIM Notes is a newspaper reporting on events around the world from an anti-imperialist perspective. It includes two pages written by prisoners across the U.$. reporting on conditions behind the bars. MIM faces censorship in many prisons across the country including of our newspaper, our theory journal (MIM Theory) and of political books that we send to prisoners.

In this case at Corcoran the reasons given for the censorship have changed over time and include: that MIM advocates violence and can disrupt prison programs and that the paper has letters from prisoners and thus establishes unauthorized communication between prisoners. Both of these justifications are just a cover for the prison's fear that MIM Notes is providing revolutionary education and organizing prisoners to fight for their legal rights. In this country that claims to have free speech, MIM's so-called rights are being denied by the Criminal Injustice System to suppress anti-imperialist views.

One prisoner at Corcoran is leading the fight against this censorship. He updated us in June: "Just to let you know the latest on my prison appeal, regarding censorship of MIM Notes in Corcoran, I have 2 appeals out. In one, the prison states that MIM advocates violence and can disrupt prison programs. The other states that the paper has letters from prisoners and thus establishes unauthorized communication between prisoners. In neither case did they contend or cite a rule violation as the cause of censoring. I will take the appeals to the director in Sacramento. They are using flimsy reasoning to deny us the paper and I anticipate winning the case. Many other leftist pro-revolution materials are being received and no objections are made."

In February MIM sent a letter to the Director of Corrections, as well as Warden Adams at Corcoran responding a letter we received from the Warden justifying the censorship of MIM Notes. We wrote:

"[W]e believe this censorship is a result of inappropriate bias against MIM's ideological beliefs. ... On December 8, 2003, we were notified by Warden Derral G. Adams that material, specifically the publication MIM Notes, would not be allowed to its intended recipient because federal case law says that institutions can censor such publications like ours if they are a risk to institutional security.

"Warden Adams' ... appears to disagree with MIM's characterization of prison conditions as 'unjust and brutal to prison inmates.' The California Code Of Regulations (CCR) Title 15, sec: 3135(b) states: 'Disagreement with the senders or receivers apparent moral values, attitudes veracity, or choice of words will not be used by correctional staff as a reason for disallowing or delaying mail. Correctional staff shall not challenge or confront the sender or receiver with such value judgments, nor shall such value judgments be considered in any action affecting the correspondents.'...

"Warden Adams cites the regulations correctly, but does not state how MIM Notes 'incites violence' or is 'otherwise 'reasonably deemed to be a threat to legitimate penoligical [sic] interests.'' The Supreme Court [has] insisted that an individualized determination be made that a publication violates the rules."

MIM Notes is being targeted for censorship as a publication advocating liberation for the world's oppressed. The prisons in Amerika are a key tool of social control, particularly targeted at oppressed nations within U.$. borders. The vast majority of the population in long term solitary confinement cells like those at Corcoran are Mexican. Blacks are also disproportionately represented throughout the prison system. The prisons offer virtually no educational programs but put staff time and money into censorship of literature sent free to prisoners from organizations like MIM. We can not stand by and allow this to happen. Please send protest letters to Warden Adams at the address below, and send MIM a copy of your letter:

Warden Adams PO Box 5248 Corcoran, CA 93212

-- A California Prisoner, May 2004