Prisoners Report on Conditions in

Federal Prisons

Got legal skills? Help out with writing letters to appeal censorship of MIM Distributors by prison staff. help out

www.prisoncensorship.info is a media institution run by the Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons. Here we collect and publicize reports of conditions behind the bars in U.$. prisons. Information about these incidents rarely makes it out of the prison, and when it does it is extremely rare that the reports are taken seriously and published. This historical record is important for documenting patterns of abuse, and also for informing people on the streets about what goes on behind the bars.

We hope this information will inspire people to take action and join the fight against the criminal injustice system. While we may not be able to immediately impact this particular instance of abuse, we can work to fundamentally change the system that permits and perpetuates it. The criminal injustice system is intimately tied up with imperialism, and serves as a tool of social control on the homeland, particularly targeting oppressed nations.

Anchorage Correctional Complex (Anchorage)

Goose Creek Correctional Center (Wasilla)

Federal Correctional Institution Aliceville (Aliceville)

Holman Correctional Facility (Atmore)

Cummins Unit (Grady)

Delta Unit (Dermott)

East Arkansas Regional Unit (Marianna)

Grimes Unit (Newport)

North Central Unit (Calico Rock)

Tucker Max Unit (Tucker)

Varner Supermax (Grady)

Arizona State Prison Complex Central Unit (Florence)

Arizona State Prison Complex Eyman SMUI (Florence)

Arizona State Prison Complex Eyman SMUII (Florence)

Arizona State Prison Complex Florence Central (Florence)

Arizona State Prison Complex Lewis Morey (Buckeye)

Arizona State Prison Complex Perryville Lumley (Goodyear)

Federal Correctional Institution Tucson (Tucson)

Florence Correctional Center (Florence)

La Palma Correctional Center - Corrections Corporation of Americ (Eloy)

Saguaro Correctional Center - Corrections Corporation of America (Eloy)

Tucson United States Penitentiary (Tucson)

California Correctional Center (Susanville)

California Correctional Institution (Tehachapi)

California Health Care Facility (Stockton)

California Institution for Men (Chino)

California Institution for Women (Corona)

California Medical Facility (Vacaville)

California State Prison, Corcoran (Corcoran)

California State Prison, Los Angeles County (Lancaster)

California State Prison, Sacramento (Represa)

California State Prison, San Quentin (San Quentin)

California State Prison, Solano (Vacaville)

California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison (Corcoran)

Calipatria State Prison (Calipatria)

Centinela State Prison (Imperial)

Chuckawalla Valley State Prison (Blythe)

Coalinga State Hospital (COALINGA)

Deuel Vocational Institution (Tracy)

Federal Correctional Institution Dublin (Dublin)

Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc (Lompoc)

Federal Correctional Institution Victorville I (Adelanto)

Folsom State Prison (Represa)

Heman Stark YCF (Chino)

High Desert State Prison (Indian Springs)

Ironwood State Prison (Blythe)

Kern Valley State Prison (Delano)

Martinez Detention Facility - Contra Costa County Jail (Martinez)

Mule Creek State Prison (Ione)

North Kern State Prison (Delano)

Pelican Bay State Prison (Crescent City)

Pleasant Valley State Prison (Coalinga)

Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility at Rock Mountain (San Diego)

Salinas Valley State Prison (Soledad)

Santa Barbara County Jail (Santa Barbara)

Santa Clara County Main Jail North (San Jose)

Santa Rosa Main Adult Detention Facility (Santa Rosa)

Soledad State Prison (Soledad)

US Penitentiary Victorville (Adelanto)

Valley State Prison (Chowchilla)

Wasco State Prison (Wasco)

West Valley Detention Center (Rancho Cucamonga)

Bent County Correctional Facility (Las Animas)

Colorado State Penitentiary (Canon City)

Denver Women's Correctional Facility (Denver)

Fremont Correctional Facility (Canon City)

Hudson Correctional Facility (Hudson)

Limon Correctional Facility (Limon)

Sterling Correctional Facility (Sterling)

Trinidad Correctional Facility (Trinidad)

U.S. Penitentiary Florence (Florence)

US Penitentiary MAX (Florence)

Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center (Uncasville)

Federal Correctional Institution Danbury (Danbury)

MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution (Suffield)

Northern Correctional Institution (Somers)

Delaware Correctional Center (Smyrna)

Apalachee Correctional Institution (Sneads)

Charlotte Correctional Institution (Punta Gorda)

Columbia Correctional Institution (Portage)

Cross City Correctional Institution (Cross City)

Dade Correctional Institution (Florida City)

Desoto Correctional Institution (Arcadia)

Everglades Correctional Institution (Miami)

Federal Correctional Complex Coleman USP II (Coleman)

Florida State Prison (Raiford)

GEO Bay Correctional Facility (Panama City)

Graceville Correctional Facility (Graceville)

Gulf Correctional Institution Annex (Wewahitchka)

Hamilton Correctional Institution (Jasper)

Jefferson Correctional Institution (Monticello)

Lowell Correctional Institution (Ocala)

Lowell Reception Center (Ocala)

Marion County Jail (Ocala)

Martin Correctional Institution (Indiantown)

Miami (Miami)

Moore Haven Correctional Institution (Moore Haven)

Northwest Florida Reception Center (Chipley)

Okaloosa Correctional Institution (Crestview)

Okeechobee Correctional Institution (Okeechobee)

Orange County Correctons/Jail Facilities (Orlando)

Santa Rosa Correctional Institution (Milton)

South Florida Reception Center (Doral)

Suwanee Correctional Institution (Live Oak)

Union Correctional Institution (Raiford)

Wakulla Correctional Institution (Crawfordville)

Autry State Prison (Pelham)

Baldwin SP Bootcamp (Hardwick)

Banks County Detention Facility (Homer)

Bulloch County Correctional Institution (Statesboro)

Calhoun State Prison (Morgan)

Cobb County Detention Center (Marietta)

Coffee Correctional Facility (Nicholls)

Dooly State Prison (Unadilla)

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (Jackson)

Georgia State Prison (Reidsville)

Gwinnett County Detention Center (Lawrenceville)

Hancock State Prison (Sparta)

Hays State Prison (Trion)

Jenkins Correctional Center (Millen)

Johnson State Prison (Wrightsville)

Macon State Prison (Oglethorpe)

Riverbend Correctional Facility (Milledgeville)

Smith State Prison (Glennville)

Telfair State Prison (Helena)

US Penitentiary Atlanta (Atlanta)

Valdosta Correctional Institution (Valdosta)

Ware Correctional Institution (Waycross)

Wheeler Correctional Facility (Alamo)

Saguaro Correctional Center (Hilo)

Iowa State Penitentiary - 1110 (Fort Madison)

Mt Pleasant Correctional Facility - 1113 (Mt Pleasant)

Idaho Maximum Security Institution (Boise)

Dixon Correctional Center (Dixon)

Federal Correctional Institution Pekin (Pekin)

Lawrence Correctional Center (Sumner)

Menard Correctional Center (Menard)

Pontiac Correctional Center (PONTIAC)

Stateville Correctional Center (Joliet)

Tamms Supermax (Tamms)

US Penitentiary Marion (Marion)

Western IL Correctional Center (Mt Sterling)

Will County Adult Detention Facility (Joilet)

Indiana State Prison (Michigan City)

Pendleton Correctional Facility (Pendleton)

Putnamville Correctional Facility (Greencastle)

US Penitentiary Terra Haute (Terre Haute)

Wabash Valley Correctional Facility (Carlisle)

Westville Correctional Facility (Westville)

Atchison County Jail (Atchison)

El Dorado Correctional Facility (El Dorado)

Hutchinson Correctional Facility (Hutchinson)

Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility (Larned)

Leavenworth Detention Center (Leavenworth)

Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (West Liberty)

Federal Correctional Institution Ashland (Ashland)

Federal Correctional Institution Manchester (Manchester)

Kentucky State Reformatory (LaGrange)

US Penitentiary Big Sandy (Inez)

David Wade Correctional Center (Homer)

LA State Penitentiary (Angola)

Riverbend Detention Center (Lake Providence)

US Penitentiary - Pollock (Pollock)

Winn Correctional Center (Winfield)

Bristol County Sheriff's Office (North Dartmouth)

Massachussetts Correctional Institution Cedar Junction (South Walpole)

Massachussetts Correctional Institution Shirley (Shirley)

North Central Correctional Institution (Gardner)

Eastern Correctional Institution (Westover)

Jessup Correctional Institution (Jessup)

MD Reception, Diagnostic & Classification Center (Baltimore)

North Branch Correctional Institution (Cumberland)

Roxburry Correctional Institution (Hagerstown)

Western Correctional Institution (Cumberland)

Baraga Max Correctional Facility (Baraga)

Chippewa Correctional Facility (Kincheloe)

Ionia Maximum Facility (Ionia)

Kinross Correctional Facility (Kincheloe)

Macomb Correctional Facility (New Haven)

Marquette Branch Prison (Marquette)

Pine River Correctional Facility (St Louis)

Richard A Handlon Correctional Facility (Ionia)

Thumb Correctional Facility (Lapeer)

Federal Correctional Institution (Sandstone)

Federal Correctional Institution Waseca (Waseca)

Minnesota Corrections Facility Oak Park Heights (Stillwater)

Minnesota Corrections Facility Stillwater (Bayport)

Chillicothe Correctional Center (Chillicothe)

Crossroads Correctional Center (Cameron)

Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (Bonne Terre)

Jefferson City Correctional Center (Jefferson City)

Northeastern Correctional Center (Bowling Green)

Potosi Correctional Center (Mineral Point)

South Central Correctional Center (Licking)

Southeast Correctional Center (Charleston)

Adams County Correctional Center (NATCHEZ)

Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility (Houston)

George-Greene Regional Correctional Facility (Lucedale)

Wilkinson County Correctional Facility (Woodville)

Montana State Prison (Deer Lodge)

Albemarle Correctional Center (Badin)

Alexander Correctional Institution (Taylorsville)

Avery/Mitchell Correctional Center (Spruce Pine)

Central Prison (Raleigh)

Cherokee County Detention Center (Murphy)

Craggy Correctional Center (Asheville)

Federal Correctional Institution Butner Medium II (Butner)

Foothills Correctional Institution (Morganton)

Granville Correctional Institution (Butner)

Greene Correctional Institution (Maury)

Harnett Correctional Institution (Lillington)

Hoke Correctional Institution (Raeford)

Lanesboro Correctional Institution (Polkton)

Lumberton Correctional Institution (Lumberton)

Marion Correctional Institution (Marion)

Mountain View Correctional Institution (Spruce Pine)

NC Correctional Institution for Women (Raleigh)

Neuse Correctional Institution (Goldsboro)

Pamlico Correctional Institution (Bayboro)

Pasquotank Correctional Institution (Elizabeth City)

Pender Correctional Institution (Burgaw)

Raleigh prison (Raleigh)

Rivers Correctional Institution (Winton)

Scotland Correctional Institution (Laurinburg)

Tabor Correctional Institution (Tabor City)

Warren Correctional Institution (Lebanon)

Wayne Correctional Center (Goldsboro)

Nebraska State Penitentiary (Lincoln)

Tecumseh State Correctional Institution (Tecumseh)

East Jersey State Prison (Rahway)

New Jersey State Prison (Trenton)

Northern State Prison (Newark)

South Woods State Prison (Bridgeton)

Lea County Detention Center (Lovington)

Ely State Prison (Ely)

Lovelock Correctional Center (Lovelock)

Northern Nevada Correctional Center (Carson City)

Adirondack Correctional Facility (Ray Brook)

Attica Correctional Facility (Attica)

Auburn Correctional Facility (Auburn)

Clinton Correctional Facility (Dannemora)

Downstate Correctional Facility (Fishkill)

Eastern NY Correctional Facility (Napanoch)

Five Points Correctional Facility (Romulus)

Franklin Correctional Facility (Malone)

Great Meadow Correctional Facility (Comstock)

Metropolitan Detention Center (Brooklyn)

Sing Sing Correctional Facility (Ossining)

Southport Correctional Facility (Pine City)

Sullivan Correctional Facility (Fallsburg)

Upstate Correctional Facility (Malone)

Chillicothe Correctional Institution (Chillicothe)

Ohio State Penitentiary (Youngstown)

Ross Correctional Institution (Chillicothe)

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (Lucasville)

Cimarron Correctional Facility (Cushing)

Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution (Pendleton)

MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility (Woodburn)

Oregon State Penitentiary (Salem)

Snake River Correctional Institution (Ontario)

Two Rivers Correctional Institution (Umatilla)

Cambria County Prison (Ebensburg)

Chester County Prison (Westchester)

Federal Correctional Institution McKean (Bradford)

State Correctional Institution Albion (Albion)

State Correctional Institution Benner (Bellefonte)

State Correctional Institution Camp Hill (Camp Hill)

State Correctional Institution Chester (Chester)

State Correctional Institution Cresson (Cresson)

State Correctional Institution Dallas (Dallas)

State Correctional Institution Fayette (LaBelle)

State Correctional Institution Forest (Marienville)

State Correctional Institution Frackville (Frackville)

State Correctional Institution Graterford (Graterford)

State Correctional Institution Greene (Waynesburg)

State Correctional Institution Houtzdale (Houtzdale)

State Correctional Institution Huntingdon (Huntingdon)

State Correctional Institution Mahanoy (Frackville)

State Correctional Institution Muncy (Muncy)

State Correctional Institution Phoenix (Collegeville)

State Correctional Institution Pine Grove (Indiana)

State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh (Pittsburg)

State Correctional Institution Rockview (Bellefonte)

State Correctional Institution Somerset (Somerset)

Alvin S Glenn Detention Center (Columbia)

Broad River Correctional Institution (Columbia)

Evans Correctional Institution (Bennettsville)

Kershaw Correctional Institution (Kershaw)

Lee Correctional Institution (Bishopville)

Lieber Correctional Institution (Ridgeville)

McCormick Correctional Institution (McCormick)

Perry Correctional Institution (Pelzer)

Ridgeland Correctional Institution (Ridgeland)

DeBerry Special Needs Facility (Nashville)

Federal Correctional Institution Memphis (Memphis)

Hardeman County Correctional Center (Whiteville)

MORGAN COUNTY CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX (Wartburg)

Nashville (Nashville)

Northeast Correctional Complex (Mountain City)

Northwest Correctional Complex (Tiptonville)

Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (Nashville)

Trousdale Turner Correctional Center (Hartsville)

Turney Center Industrial Prison (Only)

West Tennessee State Penitentiary (Henning)

Allred Unit (Iowa Park)

Beto I Unit (Tennessee Colony)

Bexar County Jail (San Antonio)

Bill Clements Unit (Amarillo)

Billy Moore Correctional Center (Overton)

Bowie County Correctional Center (Texarkana)

Boyd Unit (Teague)

Bridgeport Unit (Bridgeport)

Cameron County Detention Center (Olmito)

Choice Moore Unit (Bonham)

Clemens Unit (Brazoria)

Coffield Unit (Tennessee Colony)

Connally Unit (Kenedy)

Cotulla Unit (Cotulla)

Dalhart Unit (Dalhart)

Daniel Unit (Snyder)

Dominguez State Jail (San Antonio)

Eastham Unit (Lovelady)

Ellis Unit (Huntsville)

Estelle 2 (Huntsville)

Estelle High Security Unit (Huntsville)

Ferguson Unit (Midway)

Formby Unit (Plainview)

Garza East Unit (Beeville)

Gib Lewis Unit (Woodville)

Hamilton Unit (Bryan)

Harris County Jail Facility (HOUSTON)

Hightower Unit (Dayton)

Hobby Unit (Marlin)

Hughes Unit (Gatesville)

Huntsville (Huntsville)

Jester III Unit (Richmond)

John R Lindsey State Jail (Jacksboro)

Jordan Unit (Pampa)

Lane Murray Unit (Gatesville)

Larry Gist State Jail (Beaumont)

LeBlanc Unit (Beaumont)

Lopez State Jail (Edinburg)

Luther Unit (Navasota)

Lychner Unit (Humble)

Lynaugh Unit (Ft Stockton)

McConnell Unit (Beeville)

Memorial Unit (Rosharon)

Michael Unit (Tennessee Colony)

Middleton Unit (Abilene)

Montford Unit (Lubbock)

Mountain View Unit (Gatesville)

Neal Unit (Amarillo)

Pack Unit (Novasota)

Polunsky Unit (Livingston)

Powledge Unit (Palestine)

Ramsey 1 Unit Trusty Camp (Rosharon)

Ramsey III Unit (Rosharon)

Robertson Unit (Abilene)

Rufus Duncan TF (Diboll)

Sanders Estes CCA (Venus)

Smith County Jail (Tyler)

Smith Unit (Lamesa)

Stevenson Unit (Cuero)

Stiles Unit (Beaumont)

Stringfellow Unit (Rosharon)

Telford Unit (New Boston)

Terrell Unit (Rosharon)

Torres Unit (Hondo)

Travis State Jail (Austin)

Vance Unit (Richmond)

Victoria County Jail (Victoria)

Wallace Unit (Colorado City)

Wayne Scott Unit (Angleton)

Willacy Unit (Raymondville)

Wynne Unit (Huntsville)

Young Medical Facility Complex (Dickinson)

Iron County Jail (CEDAR CITY)

Utah State Prison (Draper)

Augusta Correctional Center (Craigsville)

Buckingham Correctional Center (Dillwyn)

Dillwyn Correctional Center (Dillwyn)

Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg (Petersburg)

Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg Medium (Petersburg)

Keen Mountain Correctional Center (Keen Mountain)

Nottoway Correctional Center (Burkeville)

Pocahontas State Correctional Center (Pocahontas)

Red Onion State Prison (Pound)

River North Correctional Center (Independence)

Sussex I State Prison (Waverly)

Sussex II State Prison (Waverly)

VA Beach (Virginia Beach)

Clallam Bay Correctional Facility (Clallam Bay)

Coyote Ridge Corrections Center (Connell)

Olympic Corrections Center (Forks)

Stafford Creek Corrections Center (Aberdeen)

Washington State Penitentiary (Walla Walla)

Green Bay Correctional Institution (Green Bay)

Jackson Correctional Institution (Black River Falls)

Jackson County Jail (BLACK RIVER FALLS)

Racine Correctional Institution (Sturtevant)

Waupun Correctional Institution (Waupun)

Wisconsin Secure Program Facility (Boscobel)

Mt Olive Correctional Complex (Mount Olive)

US Penitentiary Hazelton (Bruceton Mills)

[Campaigns] [Control Units] [Pelican Bay State Prison] [California] [ULK Issue 21]
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Thousands of California Prisoners & Supporters Rally for Weeks

The campaign initiated July 1st by prisoners in Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) against the torturous conditions of long-term isolation has received broad support going on for weeks now. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation [sic] (CDCR) has admitted that 6600 prisoners refused food trays last weekend across 13 of their 33 prisons.(1) Meanwhile, numerous organizations have organized demonstrations and mobilized support across the United $tates and Kanada leading up to and following the start of the hunger strike. Over five thousand people have signed an online petition pledging their support. Volunteers with MIM(Prisons) have interacted with thousands of people on the streets inside and outside of California with info on the hunger strike, gathering dozens of signed letters and a handful of donations.

According to CDCR 1,600 prisoners remain on food strike one week after the start.(2) The media is reporting a sharp drop in the number of prisoners refusing food in a tone that implies the strike is losing steam. But this is hardly the case. Many prisoners we’ve heard from outside of Pelican Bay only pledged to strike one or two days in solidarity. One reason for this is because it is hard for them to know when the strike ends or what is happening despite the efforts of outside supporters to send updates. Even in Pelican Bay many of those protesting specified the number of days they would fast beforehand. Only a minority of participants have pledged an indefinite strike until the demands are met. The rest of us work in solidarity with them until the end.

Despite all the noise being made, word from those organizing to mediate negotiations is that the CDCR is refusing to negotiate with strikers or mediators.(3) We know the CDCR has been talking to hunger strike organizers, but it seems that no resolution is in the works as of July 8.

We’ve seen the ripples of this campaign in our own work as we connect with many new people in California and reconnect with people who we have been cut off from by the state. We’ve also seen record traffic on our website with the hunger strike campaign page and the article featuring the prisoners’ demands bringing in a lot of hits. This increase in readership is a direct result of the organizing of prisoners in California. However we must admit that a good chunk of the traffic is coming from state officials trying to gather intelligence from our reporting.

Donations we’ve collected so far are less than a tenth of the printing and postage expenses for outreach, mailing protest letters and sending communications to prisoners in California. As always, we can use donations of money and labor to keep up with this important work.

Building Support

The hunger strike comes almost a year and a half after a formal complaint was filed with the governor of California regarding the torture and violation of Constitutional rights that prisoners face in Pelican Bay. After being ignored by official channels, they turned to outside supporters who came together and organized a press campaign and negotiation support. There was enough lead time that MIM(Prisons) was able to send campaign info to all of our California subscribers prior to the strike. We also hit the streets to gather signed letters of support and explain to people the importance of this struggle leading up to the strike.

pelican bay rally
Demonstrators support the demands of Pelican Bay prisoners at a march to reduce incarceration in California marking 40 years of the U.$. war on the oppressed called the “War on Drugs.”

A rally in San Francisco in June against the drug war featured the Pelican Bay prisoners’ demands prominently. A comrade representing MIM(Prisons) spoke on the upcoming hunger strike, stressing that Pelican Bay was developed as a tool to repress political organizing in the California prison system and that those being targeted with indefinite SHU terms are largely leaders and influential people among the imprisoned oppressed nations. A former California prisoner also spoke about the torturous conditions in Pelican Bay, urging people to support the hunger strike.

During the march, supporters of the “Revolutionary Communist Party - USA” (rcp=u$a) were chanting, “Once we have the revolution, there’ll be no mass incarceration!” Which revolution are they talking about? Even on a simple issue like opposing torture in prisons, rcp=u$a’s idealist/chauvinist colors showed through. As we point out in every issue of Under Lock & Key, all Amerikans should be viewed as criminals who need to reform under the dictatorship of the proletariat. When the revolution finally hits U.$. soil there will likely be an increase in incarceration of U.$. citizens, as the majority of the world experiences freedom they have not seen for centuries. The difference is that proletarian prisons focus on reform and reintegration into society not torture and isolation as the imperialist system does.

tabling pelican bay strike
Comrades spread word of the upcoming strike at a Juneteenth festival celebrating the struggle of the Black nation for freedom in Amerika.

The Campaign Continues

Once the strike began, MIM(Prisons) stepped up efforts to reach the public about the sacrifices and struggles of our comrades in prison. While comrades were able to reach visitors coming to CDCR prisons with fliers and letters of support, repression was reported from a few public spaces inside and outside California. In one case police forced comrades to leave for accepting donations without registering with the state, in others merely handing out fliers on public property got shut down. One police officer claimed that activists could not set up a table on a public sidewalk to solicit support for the strike, contradicting California laws and illegally shutting down our free speech. There are contradictions in a country that locks 100,000 of its citizens in isolation cells and prevents people from distributing leaflets in public space to support their struggle against torture. Their repression only strengthens resistance, and this campaign is a prime example of that. It is ludicrous to consider the label “free country” for a country that does not even provide equal access to political dialogue to all people.

In addition to talking to people on the street, comrades made efforts to reach people through independent media and art. MIM(Prisons) hosted a video clip on its website from the documentary Unlock the Box explaining the history of control units and how they were developed to repress those whose politics were in opposition to the state. Comrades also did outreach at hip hop shows and talked to a revolutionary Chicano group called BRWN BFLO who pledged active support to spreading the word about the hunger strike. Allies in the United $tates and Kanada hosted screenings of Unlock the Box as part of the campaign. Other organizations did interviews and programs on various radio shows.

Those doing outreach reported many interactions with people who had been in Pelican Bay State Prison, in some cases multiple people in the span of a couple hours. All strongly agreed with our criticisms of the conditions there. However, some people concluded that there was nothing that could be done, and that oppressed nations will always be treated this way.

There is a common attitude among current prisoners as well that struggling is useless. The SHU was invented to reinforce that idea. The best way to change those people’s minds is by showing them the possibilities. We do that by fighting smartly, as these comrades in Pelican Bay have done resulting in people all over the world knowing about their fight. Serious, diligent organizing work is needed in our struggles for liberation, and basic rights such as the right of association, communication with the outside world and access to educational materials and programs. There are no quick fixes.

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[Rhymes/Poetry] [United Front] [ULK Issue 21]
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United Front for Peace


Fuck the hatred
It’s time for changes
To free this world from the oppressor
It’s time for us to make some better arrangements
In order to make our lives better
Revolution’s the lesson
Not oppression as a profession
Anti-imperialist
Being groomed for a new session
Educate each other
As we’re one within this struggle
United in this Front for Peace
Because Revolution is on the bubble

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[National Oppression] [California Correctional Institution] [California] [ULK Issue 22]
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Gang Validation for Doing Aztec Art

I am doing an indeterminate SHU program for being validated in the last place I was at. And the reason they validated me is because I was doing a lot of Aztec art as well as Aztec tats, which they didn’t agree with because they considered it to be associated with the “big boys.” So they locked me down. But what they fail to realize is it’s all part of our culture. Yet to them it’s based on association, so they see a direct link to prison politics. So here I sit on the shelf locked down in this crazy and very sad place where it’s all about no movement whatsoever.

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[Spanish] [ULK Issue 31]
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La Falta de Educación está limitando la Vanguardia

por un preso de Tejas, Mayo 2011


¡Saludos y respetos!

He Recibido su propuesta para promover la paz entre las masas inferiores. Está en circulación.

Mi crítica es que, al menos aquí en Tejas, hay muchos chavalones que no tienen conocimiento alguno de cómo manejar relaciones sociales. El nivel de comprensión de estos jóvenes es muy bajo. El apoyo y respaldo [de ULK] ha amparado nuestra lucha, pero aún el problema persiste en que el promedio de los presos en mi bloque tienen 20 años de edad. Debido a recortes presupuestarios, nuestras oportunidades de educación son cada día menos. Todas nuestras solicitudes para programación educativa en el bloque han sido negadas. Y aún dicen que no calificamos para ningún tipo de programa educativo, debido a nuestro estatus civil y contradicciones en la política administrativa.

Estos chavalones no pueden ni leer ni escribir ni hacer simple matemáticas. ¿Cómo es que van a entender las obras de Marx, de Mao y del Che? Estoy pidiendo su apoyo para realizar un curso básico que le ayudaría a nuestros jóvenes desarrollar su conciencia social.

Yo soporto y respaldo completamente sus propuestas de paz. Pero, el plan de Tookie es demasiado básico. ¿Cuáles la esencia de este plan? Estos mensos necesitan aprender a leer y a escribir y a desarrollar su capacidad para resolver problemas antes de entrar a la arena política.


MIM(Prisiones) responde: ¿Qué clase de sistema opresivo le quita la oportunidad de educación a aquellos en los rangos menores? El sistema está creado con el propósito de perpetuar el estado inferior de las clases marginales en la nación. Esto demuestra la importancia de MIM(Prisiones) en la lucha por programas educativos para nuestro pueblo. Necesitamos donaciones, mecanógrafos y otros recursos para seguir ampliando este importante labor.

Como se destaca en esta edición de ULK hemos ampliado nuestros cursos de estudios preliminares y actualmente estamos desarrollando un glosario revolucionario, ambos con el fin de educar a los ignorantes. Sin embargo, todavía necesitamos más clases de recuperación. Estamos investigando esta cuestión y le agradeceríamos sus opiniones para corroborar este tipo de trabajo. Estamos de acuerdo que uno solo no se puede enseñar a leer y a escribir a través del correo. Es por eso que nuestra vanguardia debe luchar para realizar este tipo de programación educativa desde adentro. La educación es un requisito importante para la creación de una Frente Único hacia la paz.

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[Abuse] [Kentucky State Reformatory] [Kentucky] [ULK Issue 22]
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Beating as Retaliation for Filing Grievances

I was brutally beaten by seven correctional officers (COs) in December and was transported to the hospital as a result. They almost killed me. My hands were restrained the whole time while they maced and punched me in the face continually. I was kicked in the stomach and elsewhere.

This is the second time that I have been sent to the hospital for officer brutality. The first time was when CO Goins cut my hand wide open and I had to get stitches. I have been forced to endure constant harassment, degradation, malicious behavior, discrimination, etc. All of this has happened to me as a result of “retaliation” for the many grievances that I’ve submitted for CO Goins stealing my jewelry out of my property bag. When I started grieving this and other matters, other officers joined him in retaliation against me.

There’s a lot more to this matter but this letter is just to reveal some of what I’ve gone through and am experiencing. This beating took place six months ago, but the campaign of harassment has been going on longer.


MIM(Prisons) responds: Unfortunately brutality is not an uncommon response by prison guards against prisoners who try to fight injustice and illegal guard abuse through the grievance system. This is why United Struggle from Within initiated a campaign to demand our grievances be addressed. There are currently petitions for California, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri, and we need help to create petitions for other states. Write to us to get involved.

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[Campaigns] [Pelican Bay State Prison] [California] [ULK Issue 21]
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Support Freedom of Association in Prisons!

Unkle Sam

On this fourth day of July, Amerikans all across the country are celebrating their freedoms with beer and bangs. Yet in the same country there are more people locked in tiny cages for 22 to 24 hours per day, with little or no access to the outside world, than in any other country in the world. In Pelican Bay State Prison in California many are in such “control units” because of who they associate with, and they were put there based on secret evidence. For any student of the U.$. Constitution or the Bill of Rights it is obvious that the promised freedoms of Amerikkka are not granted to its internal semi-colonies.

Today we are sending dozens of signed letters from residents of California who share our concerns for prisoners forced to live in these torturous conditions and who support those in Pelican Bay engaging in a peaceful hunger strike.

Warden Greg Lewis
Pelican Bay State Prison
P.O. Box 7000
Crescent City, CA 95531-7000

5 July 2011

Dear Warden Lewis,

Included with this letter are dozens of letters from residents of California who are concerned for the welfare of the prisoners in Pelican bay State Prison. We are sending these letters to you in support of the prisoners on hunger strike. The letters are asking you to do all that is within your power to do to change the conditions in PBSP to meet the strikers’ demands.

We have also forwarded copies of these letters to CDCR Internal Affairs and CDCR Office of the Ombudsman.

Sincerely,

MIM Distributors
P.O. Box 40799
San Francisco, CA 94140

To view a copy of the general letter that people signed, click here.

Please stop any abuses that are going on inside the prison complex.
- Oakland, CA

Stop locking up prisoners who need other kinds of help (drug, etc.) P.S. Wasting my tax dollars 4 real!
- Berkeley, CA

P.S. U.S. signed the Convention Against Torture. It has been ratified. It is the law of the land. Please do not violate our laws! Thanks.
- Richmond, CA

Please attend to this!!! NOW!
- Oakland, CA

I just don’t understand how people in this day & time are still so devilish, when they got power & it’s a very fucked up feeling because we are human beings & you all treat us like shit!
-Oakland, CA

Dehumanizing prisoners is sickness; you are helping commit crimes against humanity by abuses and deprivation of basic rights and needs of prisoners.
-Eureka, CA

In the letters to Warden Lewis, the California cities of Hercules, San Francisco, San Pablo, El Sobrante, Stockton, Napa, Chula Vista and Vacaville were also represented and supporters have forwarded letters they wrote from as far as BC, Canada.

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[Organizing] [High Desert State Prison] [California] [ULK Issue 22]
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HDSP USW report: Pigs Bribe Prisoners Not to Strike

Here’s an update on what’s going on at High Desert State Prison: A second Correctional Officer was busted for bringing in drugs and phones. Boby Joe Corby was arrested for accepting $10,000 for that. And we just had an Afrikan national overdose on heroin 3 days ago.

The pigs here were feeding us double the amount of food to prevent us from going on the hunger strike - it only lasted a couple of days (July 1 - 3).

I have been doing a lot of organizing to unite the nations captive in these U.$. warehouses. A lot of my homies tell me I am crazy because I want to revolutionize my mentality, as well as my fellow brothaz, from criminal to revolutionary, to stand up and fight for true freedom.

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[Organizing] [Pelican Bay State Prison] [California]
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Ad-Seg Joins Pelican Bay Hunger Strike July 8

hunger strike outreach san quentin
Hunger strike supporters outreach to visiting friends and family as hunger strike begins.
We in facility “A” Ad-Seg Unit A1 will be following suit with a hunger strike July 8 2011, one week after the Secure Housing Unit (SHU) strike begins here at Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP). Your support would be highly appreciated.

I am requesting to be provided the PBSP SHU strike campaign update with flier. Any information that you could assist in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.

Letters or phone calls made in support of the abolishment of these foul, inhumane and unsanitary living conditions would be highly appreciated.

Thank you. Could you please forward most recent Under Lock & Key.

Thank you.


MIM(Prisons) adds: We have received news from other A units in Pelican Bay that they are going to be participating in the hunger strike as well. Isolation is so severe in Pelican Bay that many had not heard of the strike until receiving our notice, but word is spreading through many avenues and supporters on the outside and support is strong and growing.

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[Abuse] [California Correctional Institution] [California]
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Conditions in California are Problems in Prisons Everywhere in Amerika

I am new to the cause, but not new to the system. I am currently in reception here in California waiting to go to mainline. I am writing to let you know I have received the newsletter and the letter from the comrades in Pelican Bay and their serious issues [concerning their hunger strike], but I am also writing to let you know about some issues we are having with health violations and degrading of prisoners by the pigs.

First, we are being housed in gyms and they are in real nasty condition, black mold in the restrooms, no air to keep us cool, with temperatures that reach over 100 degrees this next month. We have no fire sprinklers and there is an infestation of birds and bird lice that is giving prisoners rashes and bite marks. People are passing staph infection around, and they make us go without soap and other supplies for weeks at a time.


MIM(Prisons) adds: It is conditions like these in prisons across the country that led to prisoners all over California acting in solidarity with the hunger strike initiated in Pelican Bay this July. And these common interests compelled the organization of the United Front for Peace in Prisons as a vehicle to unite the lumpen so that we can organize effectively against the criminal injustice system.

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[Abuse] [Campaigns] [Pelican Bay State Prison] [California] [ULK Issue 21]
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Pelican Bay Prisoner Joins Hunger Strike to Protest Sensory Deprivation

On June 21 I received the [Hunger Strike] campaign update and I do truly admire your organization attempting to liberate not only confined prisoners but all oppressed people within the nation. Thank you!

Tomorrow, on July 1, I will most definitely be participating in the mass hunger strike here in Pelican Bay State Prison. I’m under lock and key isolated in administrative segregation awaiting transfer to Corcoran SHU for over 17 months now, and this inhumane, dehumanizing and repressive treatment of these control unit prisoners must come to an end. I am tired of being targeted and psychologically tortured in solitary confinement, which causes severe mental harm to the point of having conversations with myself. This is a form of sensory deprivation and must stop immediately.

Another reason why I will be protesting along with the SHU prisoners is because here in CDCR there are no simple programs such as tattoo removal programs. Some prisoners like myself were incarcerated as juveniles and tried as adults, and we made mistakes by putting tattoos on our bodies. So by attempting to truly rehabilitate myself I want all my tattoos removed. As a prisoner I should have access to programs like this. It makes me question, does California Department of Corrections deserve the title of “rehabilitation?”


MIM(Prisons) responds: There’s no question about it, they do not deserve the title “Rehabilitation” which was added years ago without any change in their practice or policies to justify the term. Former prisoners who spent years in these isolation cells can attest to that. The lucky ones have family or find organizations with the resources to support them. But too many are stuck in destructive cycles. Meanwhile, there is a criminal mentality that penetrates the whole populace in the United $tates based in capitalist individualism. It is up to revolutionaries to develop independent institutions that can truly address the rehabilitation needs of the oppressed lumpen who have more interest in revolutionary change than most Amerikans who sit idly by while hundreds of thousands of people are tortured in their country.

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