Prisoners Report on Conditions in

Federal Prisons

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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 (Folsom)

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 (Lowell)

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 (Pittsburgh)

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 (Oakwood)

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)

[Rhymes/Poetry]
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Knowledge is Power


I find it necessary to breath,
or collapse, as my strength fades away.
I find it necessary to read,
or collapse, as my intelligence fades away.
By hiding the books the master controls the ignorant men,
How can we be “equal” or “greater”? If we don’t even
know what those words mean
Who makes the money?
Those who know how to count.
Who makes the music?
Those who know how to play.
A map is worthless, unless you know the way…

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[Rhymes/Poetry] [ULK Issue 19]
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Tears of Blood


My heart cries the tears of blood
As it feels for my ancestors’ pain and anguish
Our culture and territory was compromised
By plague-infested, greed-inspired pigs
Oppressed by racism and a foreign religion
Our ancestors watched as our culture was burned
But the culture could never be burned from our blood
So while my heart cries tears of blood
It beats pride and honor inherited from my ancestors

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[Campaigns] [California]
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CDCR Tells Prisoner to Sue for Proper Handling of Grievances

12/01/2010

The above letter is a response from a Corrections Counselor II Specialist (CCII) of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to a prisoner in California who submitted to h the grievance for the proper handling of grievances. Even though a CCII is in a position to influence whether grievances are handled in a legal or illegal manner, at least within h institution, in this letter A. Redding advises the prisoner to file a lawsuit or contact the Inspector General on the matter.

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[Middle East] [ULK Issue 18]
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Imperialist Blockade of Palestine Serving Interests of Zionism

Five months after an emergency relief envoy destined for Palestine was attacked and diverted by I$raeli settler pigs, who killed international relief volunteers aboard a Turkish tanker in international waters, the Amerikan puppet zionist regime announced it had begun allowing international aid to reach the Palestinian people yet again.

Desperately needed human aid such as food, clothing, medicine and construction materials comprised of cement and steel were stopped by zionist occupation forces due to supposed safety and security concerns that armament and explosives were being smuggled among the aid into the oppressed nation of Palestine. These allegations were of course proven untrue, however, the settler state still imposed an illegal ban on international aid entering Palestine as well as an import/export economic blockade.

This “economic blockade” as the settlers and their imperialist masters call it (really just another genocidal weapon, i.e., “excellent weapon of extermination”) further destroyed the already pathetic economy which the Palestinian people have been forced to accept by the imperialists and their running dogs. Factories have been at a stand still since May forcing people out of work and most businesses have been shut down. Even agricultural plots which the Palestinians directly rely on to help feed their families have been denied to them. Jewish settlers steal produce from these plots and then destroy that which they cannot carry. The setters then contaminate the land with raw sewage.

So while the Palestinian economy has been destroyed and the international aid which the Palestinian people have been forced to turn towards is turned away, many might wonder exactly how is it that the Palestinians survive? A BBC reporter wondered too, so he took to the streets and found Palestinian markets selling Hebrew products and Hebrew products alone (Leave it to the invincible hand of free market capitalism to recognize where capital has fled and then magically re-organize). However, nowhere in sight was international aid or a re-surging Palestinian economy to be found. This is in direct contradiction to Zionist claims that the ban on aid and economic blockade had been lifted.

When I$raeli Foreign Minister Palmor was asked by the liberal bourgeois media why the supposed expired ban was still in effect despite claims that it’s been lifted he resorted to typical oppressor nation rhetoric. Palmor unabashedly stated that the Palestinian people only had themselves to blame for the situation they now found themselves in. Furthermore, this PIG had the nerve to go on and explain that it was the Palestinians own terroristic behavior that caused all this to begin with. As if the Palestinians were the ones to make war on the Jewish people, evict them from their lands and subject them to 62 years of oppression and genocide. Oh wait, those were all zionist acts against the Palestinian people. Of course anytime the oppressed stand up and fight for their rights the oppressors quickly label them “terrorists.” The real terrorists here are the backwards looking imperialists and their lackey supporters who refuse to acknowledge the rights of nations to self determination, while they love to talk about “equality” and “freedom.”

Well, we in the USW say fuck your equalities and fuck your freedoms! The only freedom and equality we recognize is that of the oppressed.

Palestine and it’s people must be defended!

Notes: BBC World News 11/11/10 and 11/12/10

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[Rhymes/Poetry]
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Confess Guilty as a White Man

This is my application of resignation.

work is pointless. Hours long, and bad. I sleep like I do
some dirty agenda. And, And after, I tried hard as I could.
Characteristics all shot to Hells. The blood tracked in on my
boots inside this apartment, on my Algerian rug. The after-
work showers I take every night is stung is coated with the
blood-red asphalt. I have to hack away the dried blood-red
crayon plaster out of my fingers nails, toilet.

I would like very much wholeheartedly to be kicked out of the White Race.
A promotion rather, to unbear a historic bloody burden,
I could; after, be in my own mind then.

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[Political Repression] [National Oppression]
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Peltier Case Part of Long History of Amerikkkan Tricks and Oppression

Indians were here first in this illegitimate country occupied by all of us that aren’t Indians. I am an Afrikkan man in this land of thieves. The article that was given to me by a comrade was ULK number 11. The article Thangs Taken got my attention the most because these caucasians have taken everything since the Afrikkans were taken from the mother land, Africa.

First off, let me set the record straight for all who are the “otherwise, and not the wise.” Nah, Old KKKolombus isn’t the founder of anything except how to deceive, divide, and conquer. The long white con used tricknology to trick and treat the Black man, the red man, and the brown man. This is the true meaning behind halloween and thanksgiving. To those of you who are pre-conditioned with the “otherwise-syndrome,” I pose the question to you: “how is it possible to say you’re the first to discover anything, if someone else is already there, or have ownership of whatever it may be?” Now, let me answer the question for those of you who don’t quite get my drift. The only way possible is by using deception, division, and conquering the minds of those who were trick and treated with gifts and trade of commerce.

I take some time to address the issue of Leonard Peltier, whose been in prison since 1977. For those of you who aren’t familiar with who Mr. Leonard Peltier is, and what his family needs us to do, let me do my best to enlighten you. Leonard Peltier, denied parole again, must wait until 2024 for his next hearing. “Despite the years of protest against Leonard Peltier’s wrongful imprisonment, despite government officials admissions over the years that they have no idea who killed FBI agents [Ronald A.] Williams and [Jack R.] Coler; despite the overwhelming evidence of egregious FBI malfeasance including civil and human rights violations; and despite the literally millions of signatures calling for the release of Peltier, he remains in prison to this day.”

On August 21, 2009 the U.S. Parole Commission for the second time denied parole to Leonard Peltier, who had appeared on July 28, 2009 before the parole board at Lewisburg Penitentiary, in Pennsylvania. This was his second full parole hearing since his incarceration in 1977, the first was in 1993. U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley made the announcement that Mr. Peltier’s release on parole “would depreciate the seriousness of his offenses” and “would promote disrespect for the law.” And that the next scheduled hearing would be in 2024, when Mr. Peltier would be 79 years old. The popular First Nation advocate for human rights was sentenced in a Fargo, North Dakota court to two life sentences for the killing of two FBI agents during a standoff on the South Dakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Mr. Peltier has always declared his innocence, saying the FBI framed him. Mr. Peltier’s Honolulu-based attorney, Eric Seitz placed his reaction to the parole decision on his Facebook page: “This is an extreme action by the same law enforcement community that brought us the deliberate imprisonment of suspected teenage terrorists, tortures, and killings in CIA prisons around the world; and promoted widespread disrespect for the democratic concepts of justice upon which this nation supposedly was founded on.”

Attorney Seitz is known for calling for trying former president George W. Bush, his Vice President, Dick Cheney and the First Secretary of Defense in his administration, Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes for launching the war in Iraq: “We will continue to seek parole and clemency for Mr. Peltier, and to eventually bring this prolonged injustice to a prompt and fair resolution,” he said.

The organizations fighting for Mr. Peltier’s release say they will now push for executive clemency, which means the commuting of his sentence - not a pardon, according to the Leonard Peltier Defense/Offense Committee(LPDOC) and the Friends of Leonard Peltier. “The President can decrease the amount of time served or grant an immediate release for time served,” states the LPDOC on its website. The friends of LP said they would urge congress to hold full and open hearings on the long term effect of COINTELPRO on the American Indian Movement and other activist organizations. The organization also wants congress to investigate who they call “the Reign of Terror” against the Pine Ridge Reservation from 1973 to 1976.

The FBI has been exerting massive pressure to continue Mr. Peltier’s incarceration, claim his supporters. The No Parole Peltier Association, which is run by a former FBI agents has posted on their web site that they “are strongly opposed to parole,” and on March 19 the organization, in a letter to President Barack Obama, urged him not to “give consideration to his [Peltier’s] Petition for executive clemency.”

Organizations that support Mr. Peltier’s release such as Amnesty International(AI) said they “regret” the parole commission’s decision.” “The interest of justice would be best served by granting Leonard Peltier Parole” Angela Wright, a U.S. researcher for AI said in a press release. “We urge the U.S. parole commission to reconsider its decision.” For those of you that want to help support Mr. Peltier his family and friends ask you to write to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20530 and ask him to conduct an executive review in the case of Leonard Peltier.


MIM(Prisons) responds:
The case of Leonard Peltier starkly illustrates the history of the COINTELPRO war against oppressed nation activists in the 1960s and 1970s and the consequential dramatic rise in the prison population in Amerika. Peltier is just one of many such people, locked up for fabricated crimes because they were part of a movement opposing Amerikan imperialism. This imprisonment expanded to oppressed nation youth who might join such anti-imperialist and revolutionary movements, and led Amerika to have the highest per capita imprisonment rate in the world.

The release of Leonard Peltier would be objective progress because as a vocal activist this would put Peltier in a better position to educate the youth of today about the history and current news in the criminal injustice system. However, he is just one of many men and women who should not be in Amerikkkan prisons. And rather than focus on individual cases, even very public and sensational cases like Peltier’s, MIM(Prisons) puts our efforts towards building a movement against the criminal injustice system as a whole, as a part of the fight against imperialism. Along the way we certainly ally with those focusing on individual cases like Peltier’s.


Related Articles:
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[Organizing]
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On Being a Revolutionary

Being a revolutionary means having a political commitment and taking responsibility for that commitment. It means that we should be always working to realize our political aims, goals and objectives.

Even when a revolutionary comrade has not developed a high degree/level of revolutionary knowledge/science, his/her actions should reflect someone who is striving to implement a policy of self-respect, self-determination and self-defense. Your knowledge will grow and develop as you put theory into action. What is correct and incorrect will be revealed - through study and practice.

Here some things we should bear in mind:

  1. Nobody was born a revolutionary. Revolutionaries are made.
  2. Correct ideas grow and develop in unity and struggle with incorrect ones.
  3. A revolutionary should be taken seriously by those they come in contact with.
  4. A revolutionary should be patient and understanding with those who are new to revolutionary ideas, literature, struggle, etc.
  5. A revolutionary should study revolutionary materials on a daily basis.
  6. A revolutionary should do revolutionary work first and play games later.
  7. A revolutionary puts the revolutionary movement as her/his priority over other things.
  8. A revolutionary should do whatever they can to prolong their life of revolutionary struggle.
  9. A revolutionary engages in principled debate on any issue, using science over idealism and emotions.
  10. A revolutionary is not one who floods cells, burns mattresses or talks shit to pigs, these are reactionary actions.

    Revolutionary activity is potential “illegal” activity. Let’s get serious about building a movement to seize state power… or find something else to do…

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[Censorship] [Campaigns] [California]
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DOJ Likes to Pick Bad Apples

California Petition
Dept. of Justice response to grievance petition

In this response to a grievance petition from California sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ), they minimize the widespread scale of corruption of the grievance system in the California state prison system. Instead they are asking for facts and dates related to single incidents or perpetrators.

In “Bad Apples” in the Pig Pen we explained why a focus on targeting individual pigs is incorrect in most cases in our struggle because the problems we address are societal. Although societal problems manifest in individual pigs, focusing all of our energy trying to get one or two pigs fired from our facility doesn’t significantly impact society as a whole.

One may argue that the DOJ just needs a place to begin their investigation. However, the petition makes it clear that this problem is widespread throughout the system. Realistically they could interview prisoners at random for details and receive enough information to begin an investigation. Their narrow and sterile approach to “justice” is just a cover for their interests in maintaining the status quo.

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[Economics]
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Good Enough for the Lumpen, not Good Enough for CA C.O.s

Recently the Governor of California lowered the excessive and unnecessary amount of money that federal capitalist workers received. I don’t know the intimate details, I just know that instead of being payed $20 and $35 an hour, they were paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Outrage and hiss fits all around. You can’t do that Governador, how will we overeat, overspend and hoard. Now there’s a problem.

I remember a few years back an uneducated, because I’m a guard and you’re a prisoner, bourgeois pig was debating me over how he should treat prisoners. His main argument is what they all believe, “you did what you did to get yourself in prison.” I wouldn’t be in prison if I and people similarly situated like me had opportunities to strive to be my best, instead of being oppressed and repressed and suppressed at every turn and door I (we) enter. The so-called crime or activity which got me in prison, would not be a crime in a socialist society because I would not have to seek other alternatives of financial gain to survive. That would be my counterargument.

Then this defender of capitalist mentality, “dog eat dog,” comes with “you should get a job, even if it’s at a fast food restaurant.” They only pay minimum wage. That’s not enough to survive on, to educate myself, to save for my future children’s survival. I’m only working to get up to work all over, with nothing to show for what I’ve done. It’s like an artist selling his paintings, her art, her time, skill and energy, his life sweat and blood, just to be able to pay for the supplies that was used to produce the painting, the art. “Working for minimum wage is better than nothing” was his curtain call.

Now a few years later when the shoe is on the other foot, now minimum wage is not better than nothing. Now it’s a slap in their face. It’s alright for the lower working class, it’s enough for the proletariat to be paid and have to survive off of minimum wage, but not the middle class. It’s too small, not enough for the bourgeois. That’s one of the many faces of capitalism. Rise, rebel, revolt, revolution. All power to the people.


MIM(Prisons) responds:
This article correctly points out the dual standards of the petty-bourgeoisie but we do not agree with the author that workers earning minimum wage in Amerika are part of the proletariat. Even minimum wage is more than the value of the labor Amerikan workers expend. We will not deny that jobs like those in fast food restaurants are alienating and they do not provide opportunities to advance. And in a consumerist economy where what you own is who you are, they also make it very hard for Amerikans to compete with the wealthier petty bourgeoisie.

The proposal by Schwarzenegger (which surprise, surprise, never happened) would have taken the average California state worker from the top 0.88% richest people in the world to the top 12.23% richest (ignoring that they would actually be reimbursed the difference later under the proposal). As MIM demonstrated with extensive research and publications like MIM Theory 1 and 10, Amerikan citizens are part of the global petty bourgeoisie and so do not have an economic interest in ending imperialism. Even those working minimum wage jobs might protest and demand more money, but that’s because they see that they can expect more because most of their peers in Amerika are getting it.

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[Political Repression] [South Central Correctional Center] [Missouri] [ULK Issue 18]
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Punished for Observing Black August

In [uel=https://www.prisoncensorship.info/ulk/15]ULK 15 is an article on Black August, it was suggested that we eat only one meal a day throughout the month of August and fast completely August 7 in honor of Jonathan Jackson, on August 21 in honor of George Jackson, and on August 31 in honor of Hasan Shakur.

I was in AdSeg and I was doing 5 days for creating a disturbance rule 19.1. I decided to fast on August 21 and I decided to refuse my tray in honor of Black August. Well I was written up, and given a year more to do in AdSeg. The violation report read like this: “[X] refused his tray and declared a hunger strike along with 16 other offenders.” And so from my understanding we all were given a conduct violation and now we fight the IRR system we were denied. I explained that I was practicing my faith and now it’s in the hands of the corrupt grievance procedure. We were all written up for “organized disobedience.”

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