Federal Prisons

Mail the petition to your loved ones and comrades inside who are experiencing issues with the grievance procedure. Send them extra copies to share! For more info on this campaign, click here.

Prisoners should send a copy of the signed petition to each of the addresses below. Supporters should send letters on behalf of prisoners.

Commissioner, NJ Dept of Corrections, Whittlesey Road, PO Box 863, Trenton, NJ 08625-0863

Chief Ombudsman/woman, NJDOC, PO Box 855, Trenton, NJ 08625-0855

US Dept of Justice, Civil Rights Div, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, PHB, Washington, DC 20530

And send MIM(Prisons) copies of any responses you receive!

MIM(Prisons), USW
PO Box 40799
San Francisco, CA 94140

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufference of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present [government] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states." (1)

Underlying the Eighth Amendment is a fundamental premise that prisoners are not to be treated as less than human beings. (2) The amendment is phrased in general terms rather than specific ones so that while the underlying principle remains constant in its essentials, the precise standards by which courts measure compliance with it do not. (3) "It follows that when confronting the question whether penal confinement in all its dimensions is consistent with constitutional rule, the courts judgment must be informed by the current and enlightened scientific opinion as to the conditions necessary to insure good physical and mental health for prisoners." (4)

"The content of the Eighth Amendment is not static but must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society. The Eighth Amendment's ban on inflicting cruel and unusual punishments, made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, proscribe[s] more than physically barbarous punishments. It prohibits penalties that are grossly disproportionate to the offense, as well as those that transgress today's broad and idealistic concepts of dignity, civilized standards, humanity, and decency. (5)" Thus, conditions which may have been acceptable long ago may be considered unnecessarily cruel in light of our growing understanding of human needs and the changing norms of our society." (6) "The conditions of which prisoners are housed, like the poverty line, is a function of society's standard of living. As that standard rises, the standard of minimum decency of prison conditions, like the poverty line, rises too." (7)

The State of Georgia's Department of Corrections (GDC), a subdivision of the Georgia Government, has fairly recently implemented a statewide long-term segregation program officially labeled the Tier II Administrative Segregation Program (Tier II Program), initially devised and sanctioned by former GDC commissioner, Brian Owens, revised and further developed by the current GDC Commissioner, Homer Bryson, and codified under formal Departmental policy as Standard Operating Procedure II B09-0003 (Hereafter "Tier II Program Policy"). The totality of the practices characterizing confinement in the Tier II Program encroaches upon practically every civil right retained by prisoners by virtue of the state and federal constitutions, and amount to a collection of punitive procedures calculated to inflict severe physical and/or mental pain or suffering and constitutes TORTURE in violation of federal statutory law (8), as well as deliberate TORTURE perpetrated under color of official authority in violation of universally accepted norms of the international law of human rights, i.e., the law of nations.

The general restrictions of confinement conditions typifying a prisoner's confinement in the Tier II Program include mandated solitary confinement (9) for twenty-four hours a day; the utilization of isolation cells (akin to sensory deprivation (10) tanks) intentionally stripped of their furnishings (including even the wall-mounted mirrors so that the prisoner is deprived of the sight of his own reflection); the deprivation of virtually all human contact and environmental or sensory stimuli due to not only the prisoner's solitary confinement, but also the metal strips welded to the window on the doors of the cell in the Tier II Program housing units and metal coverings over the windows located at the back of those cells which are intended to prevent the prisoner from being able to see outside the cell itself, the limitations on phone calls and visitations (all visits for Tier II situated prisoners are non-contact), the denial of access to group religious worship services, the general and law libraries, educational and vocational programs, televisions, radios and other information dissemination medium, and the restrictions on any personal photos, books of any nature, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, religious literature, educational and legal materials, etc. Moreover, a prisoner, upon being assigned to the tier II program, is also denied all access to the prison commissary, including the ability to purchase hygiene related items, and is deprived of virtually all of his personal property. And Tier II situated prisoners are subjected to extreme, harrassive, if not absurd, security measures.

For example, prisoners in the Tier II Program are, with increasing frequencies, being made to strip completely naked whenever they're required to leave their cells for any reason, such as for a brief trip to the in-house medical unit, or to be escorted to the shower. Once naked, they are then instructed to turn their back to instructor, bend forward at the waist "at a ninety degree angle," reach backward—while still bent forward—and spread their buttocks apart so as to provide the instructor with a view of the inside of their rectum. Refusal usually results in a brutal assault involving various uses of force (e.g. physical, chemical agents, tasers/stun guns); it always results in the denial of some basic human necessity and right, such as showers or opportunities for out-of-cell exercise. And when such incidents occur, prisoners are afterwards denied the proper mediums through which the report these nature of abuses.

Now, to return from our digression, a prisoner's assignment to the Tier II Program—and, therefore, his subjection to the conditions and restrictions by which his confinement in Tier II Program housing units is characterized—is of indefinite duration. We deduce this not only from personal experience, but because the Tier II Program Policy has, throughout its existence, contained a clause limiting a prisoner's assignment to the Tier II Program to 24 months maximum. However, the latest revision—in fact, the third revision—of the Tier II Program Policy excludes this proviso. The nullification of this stipulation is, indeed, the only change in the latest "revision" of Tier II Program Policy; everything else remained the same verbatim from the second revised version.

Tier II Program Policy explicitly states that the Tier II Program "is not a punitive measure." (11) however, this same Tier II Program Policy squarely contradicts that statement revealing that prisoners are assigned to Tier II Program "for long-term disciplinary sanctions." (12) Therefore, although it is dubbed "administrative segregation"—which, in legal theory, isn't supposed to be punitive in nature (13)—the Tier II Program is actually punitive isolation, or, euphemistically, disciplinary segregation. We suppose it worth mentioning here that the restrictions and conditions characterizing confinement in the Tier II Program are significantly more severe in degree than those characterizing the punitive measures defined by the GDC as "disciplinary segregation" and "high max", and admittedly employed by it as a means to discipline or otherwise punish prisoners.

The Tier II Program is also, in word and practice, a compulsory behavior modification (14) program. (15) Upon placement of a prisoner in a Tier II Program housing unit, that prisoner is isolated, stripped all personal property, deprived of virtually all contact with other people and environmental or sensory stimuli, and not allowed any reading material, including religious materials. It is under these circumstances that positive and negative reinforcements are applied on the prisoner to recondition his "behavior" and "attitude" to be submissive and subservient towards his captors. This procedure goes on for as long as necessary until the prisoner "breaks". Of course, the prisoner is subject for reconditioning any time the prisoner authorities may feel they are losing cognitive influence over the brainwashed "inmate". And the language of the Tier II Program Policy clearly indicates that if a prisoner refuses to participate in this dehumanizing ordeal, he will never be considered by prison authorities for reassignment to the general prison population. (16) Additionally, in the Tier II Program, practically all privileges—most of which are available to prisoners in the general population as a matter of right—are allocated on the basis of their behavior.

With regard to the process by which prisoners are assigned to the Tier II Program, the Tier II Program Policy's own procedural safeguards, the observance of which is mandated by the policy before a prisoner can be assigned to the Tier II Program, are, in our experience, never followed. This means that prisoners' assignment to the Tier II Program are based on the arbitrary and capricious whim of prison officials to begin with, and are, consequently, violative of the "touchstone" of due process, which is protection of the individual against arbitrary action of government. (17) We do not hereby imply by pointing out this deficiency that, if procedural safeguards were being observed by prison officials, we would be of the opinion that the state of Georgia would then be authorized to subject its prisoners to type of treatment described herein—and indefinitely at that. It is well-settled by this country's highest legal institution—the Supreme Court of the United States—that certain forms of punishment are considered cruel and an unusual without regard to the conduct for which they are imposed. (18) Thus, "[i]t is not enough to cite a prisoner's history of misconduct and conclude that any measure of restraint is appropriate. Even recalcitrant prisoners are entitled to the minimal civilized measure of life's necessities. The question is whether even inspite of misconduct, the deprivation does so much harm to a prisoner that it is intolerable to the sensibilities of a civilized society no matter what the circumstances." (19)

We have so far labored to paint for you as objective a picture as we could concerning the general restrictions and confinement conditions to which the state of Georgia subjects, at any given time, a considerable portion of its prisoner population, and to which the remainder of that populace may, at any time, be subjected based, again, on the arbitrary and capricious whim of prison authorities, restrictions and confinement conditions that, when taken together, unquestionably constitute punishment beyond the original, ordinary, incarceration of prisoners in the Georgia Prison system. We've said nothing of the other many and diverse cruelties and inhumanities tacitly endorsed, sponsored, and perpetrated in Tier II housing units statewide by an acquiescent state of Georgia, such as the intentional denial of adequate portions of nutritional foods to Tier II situated prisoners as a punitive measure of attempting to modify their behavior through systematic starvation; the excessive vermin infestation in already decrepit Tier II housing units and shower areas; the punitive, retaliatory, and harrassive use of "stripped cell" (20); the inadequate provision of medical care; the general degrading, demeaning, and dehumanizing day to day treatment of prisoners by prison authorities; the punitive, retaliatory, malicious, sadistic, or otherwise unjustified various uses of force (several of which are noted above) being carried out, with impunity, by rogue correctional officers acting under the aegis of both supervisory and administrative prison officials—and we could go on. But our primary intent at this point in our discussion is to reveal that, in addition to the intrinsic egregiousness of the Tier II Program practices, these conditions starkly contrast with those experienced by prisoners in the general prisoner population.

Extolled by Commissioner Bryson as the Tier II Program's ultimate objective, the goal of "preparing [prisoners] for reentry into society." (21) To say that it should be difficult for any rational, civilized mind to conceive of how refusing to allow prisoners to possess photos of their loved ones—and, in the instance of some prisoners, indefinitely—relates in any way to this stated objective would be an understatement, especially when considering the reality that the bulk of prisoners do not even receive visitation due to the discouraging Tier II Program visitation policies. (22) And what can be said of a system that refuses to allow prisoners to possess religious literature?

Prisoners "rehabilitation" has been identified by the Supreme court as a "legitimate" function of a correctional system. (23) It is, in our collective opinion, clear that prisoners required to live under the circumstances expounded herein stand no chance of leaving a correctional institution (24) with a more positive and constructive attitude than the one they brought in. Since the advent of prisoner civil rights litigation, courts in general have repeatedly found that conditions much less severe than the totality of those described herein not only shocks the conscience of reasonably civilized people and offends in a fundamental way contemporary standards of decency, but create an environment that not only makes it impossible for prisoners to rehabilitate themselves but makes dehabilitation inevitable, as well as contributes to their mental and physical degeneration and decreases their chances of successful reintegration upon release. And because in the Tier II Program so many basic aspects of a prisoner's daily life are arbitrarily labeled "privileges," the Tier II Program actually breeds disrespect for authority and fosters a malicious compliance which undermines the relational skills needed for rehabilitation. "Not only is it cruel and unusual punishment to confine a person in an institution under circumstances which increase the likelihood of future confinement, but these same conditions defeat the goal of rehabilitation which officials have set for their institutions." (25)

In the light of the foregoing, what the Tier II Program irrefutably amounts to is a collection of procedures that effectively operate to create societal liabilities of men in a country that propagates to the rest of the world at large that its aggregate citizenry constitutes a "maturing society".

The several definitions of "tyranny" include "cruel and oppressive government or rule; a nation under such cruel and oppressive government; [and/or] cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control." (26) A "tyrant" can be defined as "a cruel and oppressive ruler, [or] a person exercising power or control in a cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary way." Some of the many definitions of "official" include "of or relating to an authority or public body and its duties, actions, and responsibilities; having the approval or authorization of such a body; [and/or] employed by such a body in a position of authority or trust." (26)

And one of the several definitions of "public" includes "of or provided by the government...." (26) And, according to the Declaration of Independence, the government of this country derives its power from the consent of the governed. (1) Because, as noted above, the judiciary of this country—including the highest judicial authority in the land—are more or less in unanimous agreement that the confinement conditions outlined in this dissertation—singly in some instances, collectively in others—constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the United States Constitution, this same judiciary has by virtue of its authoritative, decisive holdings condemned as tyrants those public officials employed by the GDC who are perpetrating these unconstitutional conditions as a matter of regulation and practice, and the Georgia government itself as one of Tyranny—the quintessential form of government that preceded the American Revolution and, consequently, the establishment of the United States of America, for that tyranny was intolerable to the founding fathers of this country.

The question which must unavoidably be posed at this point is: Are we men, or are we property; are we men, or are we something less than animals? Even an animal, kept as a pet, must legally be afforded the "minimal civilized measure of life's necessities." If the owner of that animal neglects to do so, he or she stands in violation of the law of this country, and is subject to the penalties concomitant with being adjudicated a criminal, including up to imprisonment. Of how much more valuable—of how much more worth—is sentient, thinking man? And as for those who are not presently incarcerated—including those who never have been—keep in mind that, as inhabitants of this country, you all, too, by that very fact may, at any given time, potentially be susceptible to some form of the type of treatment described herein.

The supreme court said of Nineteenth Century solitary confinement that "[a] considerable number of prisoners fell, after even a short confinement, into a semi-fatuous condition, from which it was next to impossible to arouse them, and others became violently insane; others still, committed suicide; while those who stood the ordeal better were not generally reformed, and those in most cases did not recover sufficient mental activity to be of any subsequent service to the community." (27) The pertinent ruling went on to reveal that as far back as the 1850s the prison discipline of solitary confinement was "found to be too severe". (27) Even as far back as Great Britain's George II (1683-1760), solitary confinement was statutorily considered as an additional punishment of such a severe kind that it was spoken of as "a further terror and peculiar mark of infamy" to be added to the punishment of death. (28) In Great Britain, as in other countries, public sentiment revolted against this severity, and during the reign of William IV (1830-7) the additional punishment of solitary confinement was repealed. (28)

If, during the particular period in man's history when public lynchings were sanctioned by the state, the punishment of solitary confinement was considered intolerable to the sensibilities of the society of those days, how is it, then, we find ourselves well into the Twenty-First Century and solitary confinement is not only being rampantly promulgated across the nation as the ideal means of discipline within the correctional context, but those being thrown into these meticulously designed psychological torture chambers are being kept there indefinitely? Is it that the authoritative power of the supreme court's gavel is waning? Or is this cancerous spread of the use of solitary confinement—and the multifarious tortuous practices associated therewith—by prison authorities nationwide are simply the natural result of a contemporary American regime that displays, by the increasing audaciousness of its day to day activities, its insolent disregard for both civil and human rights of its nationwide citizenry?

Even if we were to presume, in yet another alternative, that the living conditions and the overall treatment to which the State of Georgia is currently subjecting its prisoners confined in Tier II Program housing units do parallel with the "evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society," such a view would, for reasons already explained above, be inherently contradictory, and, therefore, wholly untenable; for how can the contemporary society of this country on the one hand embrace forms of punishment that were publicly condemned by the society of this very country as early as approximately two centuries ago, and on the other hand still be afforded the high esteem of being considered a "maturing society" marked by "evolving standards of decency"?

Our intent, in composing this letter, is simply to appeal to humanity for both a definition and appraisal of itself. For, based on our collective perspective, far too much time has elapsed since the last time in this land that age-old nemesis of man—that leviathan known as Tyranny—was sternly confronted and called to account by the people for the myriad injustices with which it is infamously known to plague the various human societies, almost incessantly. (May the courageous souls of the patriarchs of this country forever rest in peace!) It has not been our intent to attempt to cast ourselves in the light of the blameless; for we are humans with just as many shortcomings as any other human. It is true we have been adjudicated "criminals" by the Georgia government—albeit the same of which itself has been shown herein to be tyrannical—but we are humans nonetheless.

The late Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, once opined: "When the prison gates slam behind [a prisoner], he does not lose his human quality; his mind does not become closed to ideas; his intellect does not cease to feed on a free and open interchange of opinions; his yearning for self-respect does not end; nor is his quest for self-realization concluded. If anything, the needs for identity and self-respect are more compelling in the dehumanizing prison environment." (29)

In conclusion, "[p]ersons convicted of crimes deserved to be punished, but this does not give the state license to make prisoners objects of unguided behavior control experiments." (30) This is because, as noted above at the onset of our discussion concerning Georgia's treatment of its prisoners, underlying the Eighth Amendment is a fundamental premise that prisoners are not to be treated as less than human beings. (2)

We, the undersigned, are currently contesting our confinement conditions by means of the Federal Judiciary in the cases of Nolley v. Nelson, no. 5:15-CV-75-CAR(M.D.GA, Reid v. Bryson, no. 6:16-CV-116-JRH(S.D.GA), Grazeta v. Bryson, no. 6:16-CV-141-JRH(S.D.GA), and Quintanilla v. Bryson, no. 6:17-CV-4-JRH(S.D.GA), respectively. With the exception of Mr. Reid, we are all currently confined in the Tier II Program housing unit of Smith State Prison in Glennville, Georgia. (31)

I would like to update you on my lawsuit I was preparing against Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) due to one egotistical officer in recreation: Lieutenant Ross.

I think MIM(Prisons) printed my story, but due to Denver Women's Correctional Facility (DWCF) not allowing us ULK anymore I can't be sure, but I did get feedback from several readers.(1) And now DWCF allows us to go outside and walk during any weather like the men do.

So thank you for printing my fight and thank your readers for writing and supporting me. I have not had to put forward the lawsuit, but I am thankful for the MIM(Prisons) grievance petition. I sent it to the Executive Director. So thank you for the form, it really helps putting the fight against CDOC in better written terms than I would have been able to do on my own.

MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade provides an excellent example to others. From eir work fighting injustice and consistency in providing updates about the progress in this battle, to staying in touch in spite of the censorship of ULK going on at DWCF. While a victory to get all-season and all-gender access to rec is just a small battle in the overall fight against imperialism, it will allow activists in DWCF more opportunity to talk and study with others and to stay healthy. We hope everyone there will take advantage of this opportunity to build for the next battle, which may need to be a fight against censorship so we can get revolutionary materials in to our comrades at this institution.

I've passed out my copies of ULK, I attempt to raise the consciousness of the women around me any time I get a chance to do so whether it be about eating habits, working out, unity, learning the rules and regulations that govern them or how to fight the pigs without being loud or a stereotype. Because of my efforts I've been harassed by the pigs I've been written up for "unauthorized gathering" when it was only 3 of us but if I was playing cards that would've been okay. I've been written up for "inciting a riot." I'm now currently being housed in lock for "battery" although I never even touched anyone, didn't have an argument, nothing. I was also written up for "violating a facility rules" because I was doing sit ups on my bunk. These bastards are doing anything to break me and intimidating me.

Even now it took them 6 days to "locate" my state-issued envelopes, so I could send out mail. Funny how they found em 2 days after me writing different administrative staff about this violation of my rights. This is my 7th day in solitary and I haven't even been formally presented with my charges. The fact they are trying so hard to break me only motivates me. I am the woman they fear will infect those around me, I write grievances and appeals, I work out, I don't read mood books, I don't argue with the pigs or kiss ass, I will never snitch, I don't fear them and I would rather drink rat piss before I ever flirt with one of the red-faced weakass pigs!

I throught it was bad where I was at on the expansion cell block Gib Lewis Unit. I am on a different unit (Michael) where they have 12 buildings that they use to single-house "offenders" that they segregate. I am here to partake in the new program for mental health that's suppose to transition us from seg back to general population. But I'm STG (security threat group) and will still have to go to another program (GRAD) in order to get out of seg. What I'm saying is this: The way building 12 is set up, if you're not a psych patient when you get here, it'll sure test your mental stability.

For one the way it's set up (built/designed) the pods, in order to get a pig's attention you have to bang on the door and yell. It's not me to do that. People do it but others just start fires or flood because these pigs are so lazy that even when you tell them something they just walk off and don't do nothing. So it'll really push your mentality. So many have already broken and I have to deal with it all! But I stay occupied by being practive and fighting back the right way. They have my body locked up. But they will never have my mind!!!

I would like to request a grievance petition for Texas. My experience with the grievance process, for the past 22 ½ years, is getting worse & more fraudulent in nature with systemic cover-ups of correction officer's wrong doings. Especially when it comes to offenders personal property issues for theft claims. This units Polunsky Unit, which houses Death Row, is notorious for confiscating, destroy or stealing offenders property without just-cause or going through the proper administrative procedures.

The Grievance Coordinators: Linda S. Martin, Investigator III & Ashley L. Crawford, Investigator II routinely destroy filed grievances. Every grievance I've filed in the last 22 1/2 years, never have I been interviewed by a grievance investigator. Therefore concluding that no matter the allegation presented by an offender, their co-workers, the correctional officer, wrong doing will always go "unfounded".

We have received many letters lately exploring the future of our struggle under a Trump administration. Below we print excerpts from two of those letters and our response on the topic.

From a comrade in Colorado:

"The presidential election has been most interesting. The election of King Trump may be the last chance for the folks that brought us the Cold War, Vietnam, and much of the current world instability, to try to hold on to power (or make a show of power). The racial minorities and poor people in the United $tates are actually in the majority, but they apparently did not get out and vote, so now we get Trump.

"On the possible good side, perhaps the explosion of right wing, world domination capitalism that Trump will be pushing will finally provoke the masses (the proletariat) once they really get screwed by Trump policies, to look for a real solution to improving their status. (I do not mean the U.$. labor aristocracy who are doing very well — lots of toys to keep them occupied. They will get even more under Trump's policies.) By that I mean looking to the philosophy, the understanding of socialism, as the the only viable means to their liberation from the shackles of capitalism."

From a comrade in a Federal facility:

"The election of Donald Trump is a cause to celebrate for revolutionaries. These are revolutionary times. The times where movements are built. Communists are in a position over the next 4 years to put in place a revolutionary front that can be sustained beyond the next election if it should be lost to a so-called democratic contender. No time will be lost to make revolution with these revolutionary times at hand.

"The fact that a so-called 'social democrat' - read 'socialist' - like Bernie Sanders had a chance in an Amerikan election to become president is a sign of the times that 'socialization' of European Amerikans is at a point of maturity in its epoch of imperialism. It is ready for socialism but lacks the world-historical material condition to make it possible. Thus this contradiction (condition) manifests as a 'national socialism' that is the opposite of international socialism and is nationalist or 'nationality exclusive.' That is why white Amerika elected Trump, to make Amerika white ('great') again."

MIM(Prisons) responds: The writers here make interesting points about the election of Trump as an opportunity for revolutionaries. Certainly there are some good reasons to agree with this. Trump's extremely reactionary cabinet appointments seem to be inspiring many Amerikkkans to political activism who previously were content to sit and watch the politics of this country from the sidelines, perhaps going to the polls once every 2 or 4 years. Revolutionaries should seize their initiative and make sure that people have access to information about why electoral politics aren't the answer, if they really are seeking change for the better of the majority of the world's people.

Of the large portion of people who are eligible to vote but don't vote in presidential elections we see a few major groups:

1. People who don't care who wins because they know the government is serving their interests generally by continuing on with imperialist plunder to keep people in the United $tates rich. For the most part this is the labor aristocracy and is the vast majority of U.$. citizens. Where our comrade in Colorado says poor people are a majority in the United $tates, instead our class analysis says the labor aristocracy is the majority, and if they didn't vote it's because they knew either Clinton, Sanders, or Trump would all be fine to serve their interests.
   
2. People who don't care who wins because they know that both candidates support national oppression and will work counter to their interests. This is the oppressed nation lumpen and oppressed nations generally; the "racial minorities" referred to by our Colorado comrade.
   
3. People who genuinely oppose imperialism and so can't in good conscience vote for a candidate who will run the imperialist state. This is a small number of revolutionary activists within U.$. borders.

As our comrade in Colorado points out, the U.$. labor aristocracy is comfortable and may even get more comfortable under a Trump administration. As much as the bourgeois liberals are crying about Trump's election, the potential for socialist revolution to be initiated within the United $tates is slim to none. They are upset about LGBTQ rights and Trump's overt racism and sexism and anti-environmentalism, but on the whole don't mind extracting wealth from Third World peoples for their own benefit. The best we can expect from the Amerikan masses' own volition is a push toward social imperialism, which still leaves the Third World out.

Even supporters of Bernie Sanders are not socialist, as much as Sanders tries to claim that's what eir politics are about. Sanders was a candidate with a clear imperialist line on international issues. While ey might have planned to spread around the wealth a bit more to U.$. citizens, ey still falls firmly in the imperialist camp, supporting wars of aggression, and financing terrorist governments like I$rael. In this regard, Trump, Obama and Sanders are more similar than they are different. Our Colorado comrade says Trump will push world domination capitalism, but we've been seeing this for decades and it didn't slow down for a second under Obama. There is no way to reconcile Amerikan imperialism with socialism. No elected candidate will make this change. Only by forcibly overthrowing the government will we be able to implement socialism.

Our comrade in a Federal prison brings up the question of the need for world-historical material conditions to be in place to bring the Euro-Amerikan nation toward socialism. This comrade's claim that Euro-Amerikans are well on their way to supporting a socialist shift is likely overstated. But if the oppressed internal semi-colonies and oppressed Third World nations are enraged by Trump's rhetoric and policies, then we can expect revolutionaries in Amerikkka to grow in strength and number as well. The oppressed nations' response, internally and abroad, to a Trump's presidency is where we see real revolutionary potential.

This writer is correct that socialism (in the short term, and communism in the long term) is the only way to liberate the oppressed from capitalism. But when we recognize that the majority of people in the United $tates are benefiting from capitalism, we can see that most people in this country, voters and non-voters alike, aren't being fooled by mis-information. Rather they correctly understand that if we were to give back all the wealth stolen from Third World countries and stop the plunder of imperialism tomorrow, standards of living in this country would go down dramatically.

Still, there are very good reasons why Amerikans should oppose capitalism, including the destruction of the environment, the deadly culture of patriarchy and violence, and basic humynity towards other human beings around the world. And so we conclude that if Trump's presidency leads some Amerikans to greater global awareness and inspires them to oppose capitalism, it is our job to provide a correct analysis of the system and opportunities for action against the system.

I am seeking first the grievance petition for the state of Texas. Why? Well here in Texas it seems that every complaint on the unit goes to the Warden, at which time he will make sure that every one of them is denied. Even when you have proof of the events.

Here we have two main problems I would like to run by you to see if you can point in the right direction. One is that the mail room here holds mail for two working days, before it is mailed out. At times this will cause a delay in legal stuff going out. Or if you get mail on Monday and you mail out on Tuesday, it will not go out until Thursday. I have proof of this in writing and thru phone calls from my wife and daughter.

Next if we file on any of this we get a denial on the step one. When we file the step two it will sometimes get delayed so that the time has ran out. Next the officers who you wrote the step one on will be able to read it. And then come to work and do the following. Shake down your cell, trash your living space. This is all on video.

Also our mail will be left inside the staff bathroom for days at a time without being turned back in. At times it will get trashed, and when a complaint is made it is denied by the warden here. Even with proof that it is going on. We need some help here in more than one way. I have a step one where an officer lost my photos of family, then come to find out they where given to another offender. At which time it was on video and a statement was written. This was denied as well.

I was given a 10 month SHU (Security Housing Unit/Solitary Confinement) term for distribution of narcotics within a state facility. I was also given an extra 6 months, no visits for 3 years, loss of other privileges such as no canteen or yard. I was also arrested and my case was referred to the District Attorney for prosecution. I was found with NOTHING! No evidence at all to support these false allegations. They found me guilty with statements of confidential informants that I am not allowed to question. I have to take their word for it. There are multiple people in the hole here with my same story from CRC.

Long story short, while housed at California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Norco, CA: In April, a correctional officer by the name of C/O Navarrette searched my bunk area and confiscated all of my personal property. (Radio, T.V. Et cetera...) $800+ worth. When I went to the office with my receipts demanding my property back, C/O Navarrette gave me the ultimatum to "snitch" on people or he would give my property to someone who would (common practice for C/O Navarrette). My mom raised me with better morals than that so when I refused his extortion attempts, he told me that he would plant a phone on me and he also told me that I will be leaving CRC with a new case (2 threats he later made good on). I filed a complaint, my lawyer was immediately in touch with the litigation department at CRC through fax. Luckily I have 2 separate correctional officer witness testimonies that corroborated that he tried to extort me and that he planted a phone on me (see staff complaint TLF#1600627). Since then, he has filed multiple confidential entries into my file claiming inmates tell him I sell drugs and that I want to assault staff. Other prisoners have filed complaints on this corrupt officer because he tried to recruit them as well.

C/O Navarrette is untouchable. There is a serious flaw at the institutional head policy level with systemic abuse when any correctional officer, including a rogue C/O such as C/O Navarrette who has an open prisoner rights lawsuit filed on him (see Oscar Machado vs. Soto et al 2014) can write confidential information into prisoners' files who write staff complaints on them. I really have a grievance with this when this same confidential information is being used to deny people parole. This confidential info is being used to give prisoners write-ups, SHU terms, and D.A. Referrals with no evidence what-so-ever and the prisoner cannot question or challenge any evidence/confidential info.

On 15 December 2016, the United States Justice Department launched an investigation into Orange County Sheriff Department for their use of jailhouse snitches. Like the O.C. TRED system, CRC is actively running a snitch breeding program from the top down where they have signs posted in every housing unit to recruit informants with a phone number directly to a supervisor at least at the lieutenant level. This program is a failure of leadership that shows management incompetence. When CRC disregards the dangers of relying solely on jailhouse snitches and arrests accused prisoners with no other evidence, the prisoner is being sand-bagged because the prisoner is not being told how the snitch was used, what additional information the snitch has given because it may be exculpatory to his defense and what arrangement or favors the snitch may have received. Was the snitch negotiations made while he was on drugs/meds, beat up, or while in good health? What is the background of the snitch? Who is the snitch? The accused is not told nothing, only that someone said you..... so we are arresting you.

In my case, the institution was made aware that I had an attorney on retainer as far back as March 2016 and any information discussed by myself and any prisoner acting as an agent for the department should be deemed illegal and any record should be removed from my file. C/O Navarrette actively, aggressively, and retaliatorily (after my staff complaint) recruited jailhouse snitches that he can coerce to make false statements on me in exchange for tobacco and "anything to make your stay easier."

I have documentation of all my allegations and I look forward to sending them to you or passing them on during our interview of my more detailed account. Thank you for your time, with your help we can expose/fix this.

I got a chance to read ULK 53 and I remember an article on leadership and how a brother wrote in from a prison in Maryland admitting his part in being part of the problem by dealing drugs in the institution he's in. I'm held hostage in a similar institution that is a complete waste of money. I know that this injustice has to crumble, but it takes education and an awareness to speed this process. Unfortunately, the facility I'm held in is overrun with sk8 (ice) and 2evce (K2) and so the main objective of most of my fellow prisoners here is to maintain their drug habit daily or capitalize off of this impairment to our struggle.

I've been on both sides of that fence so I understand how hard it is to be woken up to the reality. Here at East Arkansas Regional Unit, $100 of ice can go as far as getting someone fucked off and stabbed up real good. But to tell someone that by doing that they're falling into the trap the pigs have set for us, then you become the enemy and the target of violence yourself. I know there are more like-minded men incarcerated in Arkansas Department of Corruption but we're so few and far between that I know any steps taken to further revolution in my state will have to be taken on my part.

I am more than willing to take a stand against the injustices and the power behind it. I ask United Struggle from Within for your help. I read that you have study packs on leadership and a number of different courses. I would greatly appreciate your help in my education and I will speak out and share with anyone around me here that is within earshot.

MIM(Prisons) responds: Drugs as a tool of complacency and distraction is all too common inside and outside prisons. This is an issue we want to investigate more deeply as part of our study of the imprisoned lumpen class. We have since enrolled this comrade in our intro study course to get started on the path towards stronger leadership.

We will be doing a report on our research on the drug economy in prisons in the last issue of Under Lock & Key this year. To help us, we ask that all of our readers complete the survey below to the best of your ability:

• What items (including drugs) are the most in demand on the black market in your prison?
• What kinds of drugs are most popular (including alcohol)?
• What kinds of drugs are easiest to obtain and why?
• How much do drugs cost?
• How do drugs make it into prison and into the hands of the sellers?
• How do prisoners pay for drugs?
• What are the health impacts of these drugs on the population?
• What are the social impacts of these drugs on the population? (ie. more fighting, more passivity, more/less socializing, more/less community, what activities would people likely be doing if it weren't for drugs)
• Are there certain groups of people who seem to use drugs more than others?
• Who benefits from drug dealing at your facility?
• Have you seen effective efforts by prisoners to organize against drug use and its effects? If so, please describe them.