Federal Prisons

How often do we analyze the connection of religion with terror and oppression? Likewise, how much do we seek to minimize the role of Christianity in the imperialist and sinful occupation of America?

They came troding on their horses like thieves in the night; holding a musket in one hand, and a Bible in the other. They were offered as presents to the peaceful, native inhabitants; yet, they had to choose - the Bible or the bullet? To live peacefully and share America with the native people wasn't enough for these new strangers, they wanted complete control over every facet of this land.

Native blood filled the trenches of European savagery, and tears of the children brimmed the gulch of mourn. The squalling of native women vibrated throughout Mother Earth as their thighs sanguine with virgin blood from rape. In plain daylight, they could see the Grim Reaper crouched over to catch his breath from the restless slaughter of natives. The only alternative to this hideous crime is acceptance of the Bible.

At the arrival of merchant ships were crowds of black faces with the obnoxious smell of slavery; millions of lives were expired on the Middle Passage, decorating it with the Holy Grail of Africans. Then, by force of the goad of death they were ushered into the fields of back-breaking labor. Their blood seeped into the cotton they picked, and tears fertilized the soil that grew the master's economy. The only alternative was acceptance of the Bible; given to pacify the hopeless slaves with a false sense of faith and spiritual dignity.

"Were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity that could befall me. For of all slaveholders with whom I've ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst..." (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of)

Today, the courts of law have strong links to the imperialist religion of Christianity and its Bible. In fact, it's the FOUNDATION of their laws, so they protect it. It is the peace-offering and balm for oppression, without it you'll receive the bullet. Since Christianity play an important role in carrying out the imperialistic agenda of capitalism, tantalizing the minds of the oppressed; then, America's laws are also rooted in such a design. One of their law books says: "It has been broadly stated that the common law draws its subsistence from Christianity, that Christianity is part and parcel of the common law, and that the Bible is the foundation of the common law. However, these statements have been held to have application in a qualified sense, in that Christianity's divine origin and truth are admitted, and the law will not permit Christianity to be reviled and ridiculed openly, and will punish such acts as tending to a breach of peace and jeopardy of the public welfare, as discussed in Blasphemy...1" (5A Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S))

The only reason this religion is so "legally protected" is because it is in fact the foundation of American life. The Bible's history is linked to and condones territorial expansion; so, its the best source of religious justification for imperialism. If one submit to the religious tenets of Christianity, oppression will go smoothly. The master gets to do what he pleases and the oppressed accepts it. However, opposition to this placebo religion will be met with the bullet! The Bible or the bullet, the American way of life.

You can not believe in Christianity and not capitalism; and you can not believe in capitalism and not believe in racism, they all go hand in hand! Hence, Christians may publicly deny Christianity's gruesome role in perpetuating tyranny, however; it just proves this enemy is a chameleon, and its conspiratorial design must remain masonic in nature. So, while protesting his system, we subliminally give him genuflection during sanctimonious services. Then, we pray to him in our legal papers with statements like:

WHEREFORE, Petitioner PRAYS that the Court grant Petitioner relief to which he may be entitled in this proceeding.

WHEREFORE, Petitioner PRAYS of this Court to appoint counsel to represent Petitioner.

One of the greatest curses from which American victims suffer is immunity of our perpetrators-government officials. They protect their employees of organized crime by granting them immunity from liability for their actions. In exchange for protecting capitalist interests of the government, he's protected. He's told to ignore his moral conscience in his despotic exercise of power. Official immunity is political bribery, as it encourage immoral acts by waiving accountability. He "can not be held liable for the neglect of the duty of that body...If there is a refusal, neglect, or failure, with respect to the exercise of power or discharge of duties of such body, IT IS THE DEFAULT OF THE BODY, AND NOT OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMPOSING IT..." 67 C.J.S. 206. The following is a statement made by Spec. Charles A. Graner, one of the U.S. soldiers allegedly involved in the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

"The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the Corrections Officer in me says I love to see a grown man piss himself..." (as quoted in The Washington Post, May 22, 2004).

It is men like him the doctrine of immunity protects. Now, if he can't be held responsible for his actions; that it is to the default of the body itself; then, how can you hold the body responsible for negligence of its duties to the public? You can not grab capitalism by the horn and drag it to an international court because it's an intangible structure! You can not charge capitalism itself for its exploitation and oppression of humanity, because it can only exist through its physical, human agents and abettors! And they can't be held liable for such an intangible "body," as it is the default of the body, and not of the individuals composing it - according to their own law books.

The fact that they are granted immunity proves they know the system is an unjust and immoral one. Why else would there be a strong need to protect them from punishment? As in slavery, slave-masters felt immune from moral accountability for the institution of slavery, because it was "ordained" by God when He "cursed Ham"; and they were only carrying out the duties imposed on them by God, who is also an intangible entity, for the institution of slavery! And to this day they have not shown public remorse for such a heinous crime. So here they are telling us to blame God Himself for the crimes committed against humanity, not them. Just as they are telling us to blame the governmental "body" and not the individuals composing it. Hence, perpetrators dexteriously evade punishment by placing the blame on intangible entities; and those whites who don't support this system are called traitors. Religiously and politically they escape punishment by using this tactic; religiously and politically they force whites to follow them for fear of being a traitor.

In America places like homeless shelters, ghettos, and prisons are cesspools of capitalism, the cellar of America's social structure. It is this element against which Congress pass laws, and against whom the courts enforce those laws and pass down punishment - not to corporate or government officials. Remember, the laws of America has capitalist roots; so it will protect and support any that help strengthen its imperialist design, it's the bullet!

Since capitalism can't escape its own nature, it find a way to capitalize on those below poverty level. It does this by making crime itself an economic market and scheme to create jobs for those willing to protect its interests. So you see the police patrolling the ghettos and harassing the poor. They're not there to prevent crime but to preserve it, to do so is to protect their asset-crime! Why else would police officers, prosecutors, judges, parole officers, etc. pursue these occupations as CAREERS when they publicly condemn crime? Some would say "to fight crime"; yet, these hypocrites must rely on crime for their livelihood for without it they wouldn't have a job! So in essence they actually support the very thing they claim to despise.

The support it to the point they provoke and partake in crimes against citizens, remember Rodney King, Amadou Diallo? They do it with faith their superiors will be loyal to them for their service in supporting the system. Unfortunately they're right most of the time by the fact countless brutalities and "justifiable homicides" go unpunished. The victims must watch the guilty go free; and justice, the ligament to peace, is broken asunder. Then there's civil unrest; a national outcry. Some go out in rage seeking to avenge the murder of the spirit of justice, and like the Rodney King riot, crimes are committed. So in the end they still profit.

Many American citizens are ignorant of how this structure operates because they have conformed to the Bible; and, censorship raised its ugly head in every institution in America to minimize detection of the bullet. It's the venom of falsehood they spit in our children's eyes, and make them blind of the truth about this nation's corruptions. They engender in our children a sense of patriotism America doesn't deserve. It's a process started early in schools with patriotic songs like:

"This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to New York Island..."

They raise our children with the false impression that America rose from a beautiful an humble beginning; implying the native inhabitants willfully shared this land with European immigrants, and everyone lived happily ever after. It's a cynical falsehood and denial of the bloody history of America. It is to deny the countless lives of Native Americans by greedy and desperate nomads in territorial expansion. Murder and imperialism spread like an epidemic across American soil, and attached itself as parasites to its native hosts.

The strong campaign of historical censorship by schools and media is responsible for victimizing our children. They victimize our children by instilling in them a sense of patriotism they may not have were education and media more honest. Yet, they grow up with this sense of patriotism, stolen from them through deceit, and join the military forces. In such forces they become the human agents of America's greatest source of international fascism and imperialism. As soldiers pumped with the embalming fluid of national pride, they go out and oppress the people of color around the world. When they arrive by water, air, and land; there's only one question to be asked - the Bible or the bullet?

All of my life I have felt like this and couldn't explain this to others and when I did try to, people looked at me, even to this day, as if I'm from outer space. They failed to understand what I was talking about as a Black male. Or they just simply didn't care. My mother and father died from alcohol abuse, and they suffered from poverty in the low-class. But they still held on to the mirage of the American pie. Not knowing that this was something that was incapable of having until change was brought about. I am now 36 years old in prison and this is not my first time. Coming to prison out of frustration. Dealing with poverty and class labor. It feels very good to know that there are others who share the same views I do and I would love to be a part of this great movement.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We are very glad you have found us as well. It does make our struggle difficult in this country that most of the people have achieved the amerikan dream, while most of the rest still aspire to it. It is true that it is not achievable by the majority of the people of the world, and even a minority of the people in this country. It is this minority that we seek to unite and organize to join with the world majority to build a system where people do not die and suffer unnecessarily as your family did. We are sending you copies of our newsletter Under Lock & Key. If you are interested in studying Marxism-Leninism-Maoism in more depth you should think about joining one of our study groups or doing work such as contributing some of your political poems for print in our newsletter in exchange for literature.

Here is a copy of the complaint [against Scott Kelnan and CDCR for censorship]. Now I wait for the judge magistrate to review my complaint. Everything is in order there, but who knows how long it'll take for the court clerk to respond with further instructions. I'm also preparing to file a preliminary injunction or a request for one anyway, so that you can resume sending MIM Notes and other materials or whatever until the judge decides to hear us. However, once again many people seem to think its a long shot. I'll try anyway. I did find a similar case however where the federal judge did grant the injunction, so it might not be such a long shot after all.

All of these cases below are good law for reference in the fight against censorship:

Clement v California Dept of Corrections, 364, F3d, 1148
Prison Legal News v Cook, F3d 1145
Martin v Kelly F2d 236
Rios v Cane, F2d 1032
Hall v Cullan, 818, F2d, 1040
Abdul Wali v Coughlin, 754 F2d, 1015
Ashker v California Dept of Corrections 350, F3d, 917
Shakur v Selsky, 391, F3d, 106

Sometimes I feel as if I'm in over my head with all this, but the longer this goes on, the more confident I become.

I may have inadvertently found a few more cases to back us up while I was looking for cases to cite on the request for the preliminary injunction. I won't know for sure until I go back to the law library, and I'm not sure when that might be since there was an incident today and we might be on lockdown.

I asked the library if I could be eligible for PLU status, so as to get to the library more often and do research, being that I've filed with the district court already. She showed me a copy of this facility's "Operational Manual" that states that civil actions are not granted PLU status. So that's a roadblock right there as if there weren't enough already. I'll see if I can do anything about it, but I doubt it.

Once again I'm back in ad-seg, this time my lock up order reads: "for allegations of staff misconduct." The smoke screen justification for locking me up they say is "to protect the integrity of the investigation." But it's clear that my current isolation is just retaliation for my jailhouse lawyer activities. Just recently in December the U.$. marshals were up here issuing service of a summons order for several high ranking Salinas Valley State Prison officials and some of the low level guns, to appear and answer the civil rights complaint I filed against them. They violated their own United Snakes constitution, in 14 different ways, against several of us beginning in 2005 all the way until 2007.

The complaint just passed district screening in November, therefore that initial battle was won. The officials violated the 1st Amendment, in regards to our freedom of speech, by requiring prisoners up here to participate in the threat assessment interviews, after any rumor of a threat on staff, or any other incident that was transpiring on the yard or at this prison. When some of us refused to answer any of their questions or sign any documents (they had put together a promise to behave chrono) we were removed from general population and isolated in the institution's Behavior Modification Unit (BMU) and stripped of all our so-called privileges such as canteen, packages, phone calls, contact visits and yard - indefinitely. Of course there was no rule or regulation in the Title 15 to support the administration's arbitrary actions. So they made one up and deemed it confidential, D.O.M. #55015, unlock protocol. Cold thing is the office of administrative law never heard of this regulation, but that wasn't a surprise to us because the officials kept switching up their methods of repression.

After they saw nothing was working to break our resolve (about 10 of us on the yard who took part in the resistance), the administration began libeling us. They issued out 128s indicating, by our refusal to assist staff in their investigation, that we were actively promoting "organized criminal/gang/disruptive group activity." These assertions were ludicrous as all of the individuals involved were from different geographical locations and there were both Blacks and Latinos who choose, as a matter of principal, that they weren't going to assist the pigs. This is a political belief - that's one of the 1st Amendment claims I presented, but on that one there's still research that needs to be done to see the extent to which our political rights apply in the prison settings.

I believe when it's all said and done they will definitely have to be held accountable for the 8th Amendment violation in denying us yard - fresh air and exercise opportunities for long periods of time. One brotha - struggling with us was denied for 2 years from 2005 to 2007. My celly was denied for 18 months. Me myself I was denied for the shortest period of time which was just a little over 6 months. Still and yet the Supreme Court deemed denial for even 6 weeks cruel and unusual punishment years ago.

As a prisoner in the 21st century there's a clear and present danger of losing everything that was previous gained through struggle in the prison movements of the past. If we would have the support of the majority or even 2/3rds, I don't believe the administration would have even attempted to push a line on us like that.

It's unfortunate, but many prisoners here are unaware of the oppressor's true reason for forcing the interviews and forcing us to sign the document. The interview in and of itself is a guise, to create suspicion and engender more disunity than there already is amongst the general population. The officials created a rule requiring everybody to come out of their cells one by one and enter the guards office - a dark room - and answer questions concerning any rumors or racial and gang conflicts, so on and so forth. This disguises and provides comfort for their informants.

By 95% of the population participating in this, it's clear that we're in a state of emergency as a people and that's just from a conscience perspective. From a legal perspective, when individuals sign that chrono, it's a waiver of rights and it absolves the administration of liability. It serves another purpose, for it's also a contract promising to behave. With your signatures it justifies them hitting us with indeterminate SHU based on a violation of that contract. The people who have us enslaved like this are wickedly wise and constantly look for new and improved ways to play us against ourselves. The people tend to lose sight of that and it pains me deeply to see the extent to which we are allowing ourselves to be manipulated. This is my reason for fighting through. I don't so much mind the repression, now based on what I know and now understand that the cause is in righteousness. With that said I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of it.

Call it senseless, call it tragic, call it what you will, it's death suffered again at the hands of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), in Huntsville, Texas.

You would probably think that I was referring to an execution, considering the infamous Execution Chambers TDCJ operates in Huntsville that has contributed to the death of over 400 humans in the last 30 years. However, this death took place at an area located outside another TDCJ prison called the Wynne Unit, that's located about 10 minutes from the Death Chambers which are at the Walls Unit.

On September 24, 2007, inmates John Ray Falk and Jerry Martin, were escorted out the back gate of the Wynne unit to perform their job assignments as members of the "Hoe Squad." this particular Squad received its name from the gardening tool that's assigned to each inmate as they exit the back gate; it is commonly called a "Hoe". Duties of the Hoe Squad are best described as what most people would probably call a "Chain Gang," except in Texas there's no chains. Each inmate is assigned a garden tool and ushered to an isolated field that typically is located not too far from the prison grounds. Once everyone arrives at the field, the inmates are lined up in several rows and forced to chop grass or turn dirt at the pace of a numbered-paced song, that's normally chanted by a few designated inmates.

Depending on the size of the Hoe Squad you will have 6-10 armed officers mounted on horseback to supervise the working inmates. These officers are known for their Ten-Gallon hats that are exclusively made as part of their TDCJ-issued uniform. No other officers in TDCJ are permitted to wear such a Cowboy hat; only the Field Officers. This is one of the many things that separate the officers assigned to work inside the prison and those who work out in what is called the "fields" with the Hoe Squad. Susan Canfield, age 59, was one of the Field Officers on the Wynne Unit, and was assigned to supervise the Hoe Squad that Falk and Martin were assigned to.

Falk was serving a Life Sentence for a 1986 murder conviction. Martin had just completed his 10th year of a 50-year sentence for two counts of attempted Capital Murder. At 10:10am they decided to overpower Officer Canfield and another officer, and took their weapons. After a brief shootout with some other officers, Martin and Falk fled to a nearby parking lot and stole a Huntsville city truck and ran over Officer Canfield who was trying to stop them while they were making their escape. Shortly afterwards Officer Canfield died.

Death is what the TDC has been known for, mainly because of their brutal and extremely active Execution Chamber. However, many people who have had direct experience with TDCJ know that TDCJ has long maintained a culture of death. The inhumane and barbaric conditions TDCJ prides itself on have contributed to the death of many staff people who have worked for TDCJ as well as people who have been held as prisoners within its system. The TDCJ allows their punitive laws and policies to take precedence over rehabilitation for prisoners and safety for everyone, including their officers.

TDCJ directors have no qualms or reservations about placing their officers in high risk situations in order to obtain their goals of dehumanizing, harassing, and severely punishing all prisoners within their system on a daily basis. They feel as if it is their moral obligation to ensure that every day is a living hell for those who have been found guilty of committing a crime in free society, even at the cost of the safety of their own officers.

This is why Falk and Martin were assigned to work in the Hoe Squad despite their lengthy sentences, and Officer Canfield placed in a very risky position that would ultimately cost her the loss of her life. TDCJ spokeswoman Michelle Lyons has made many reports to the media outlets that alludes to the decision that was made, that permitted Falk and Martin to work outside the prison gates in the fields under supervision, was related to Falk and Martin's clean disciplinary records, and their minimum security classification levels. It is Ms. Lyon's intent to give the general public the impression that being assigned to work outside the prison grounds in the Hoe Squad, is some prestigious award allotted to inmates for good behavior, which is absolutely false and extremely misleading.

As a person who has spent the last decade in the TDCJ, and has been assigned to the Hoe Squad, I can positively assure you that the Hoe Squad is the most dreadful and despised job assignment in TDCJ. Upon entering TDCJ I was assigned to work in the Hoe Squad by the TDCJ Classification Committee. I was told by this committee that it's TDCJ's practice to make all incoming inmates start at the bottom (Hoe Squad) and work their way up to a job in food service or a job as a porter. However, the moment that you received a disciplinary case or rub someone the wrong way after working your way up, you will be instantly sent back to the Hoe Squad. The Hoe Squad is one of the many vehicles TDCJ utilizes as a form of punishment for delinquents and to ensure none of their rules are violated.

No one volunteers to work in the Hoe Squad, it's the most brutal job ever! Mr. Falk, who had been in prison for 21 years, and Mr. Martin, who had been in prison over ten years, were not assigned to the Hoe Squad for being model prisoners, they were assigned to the Hoe Squad as a form of punishment, despite what Ms. Lyons would like the public to believe. As a result, Office Canfield was placed in an unsafe environment that allowed these idiots to kill her.

This is a tragic and senseless death at the hands of the TDCJ. This is their culture. The usage of Hoe Squads has long been suspended in every prison system in the United States, except Texas. What did the TDC official expect out of Falk and Martin? TDCJ is just as much responsible for Officer Canfield's death as Falk and Martin.

The Under Lock and Key (Nov 2007, No 1), MIM Theory 10, and Aug 2006 MIM Notes couldn’t have come at a better time, for at that very moment I was in extreme need to hear from others who agree that merikkka’s system of injustice – when it comes to the universally poor and oppressed – is not only justifiably contemptible, but is yearning for a well placed, organized and strategic foot in their ass.

I read of the fantastic and revolutionary things MIM does in California – especially at the Bryant Street Jail, and High Desert State Pimping where D-facility got together in protest.

I’m definitely for ending the oppression of “all groups over groups” and do not claim to have all the solutions; therefore do not mind being a soldier. Neither do I really care about the method of ending oppression of all groups over groups; only the progressive results. I’m trying to cook up a recipe for change in Pennsylvania, but we need like-minded outside support to help us stir up the pot.

When I received all three above I was at SCI Cresson. I’m now at a security level 5 unit at SCI Houtzdale where in 15 months of disciplinary time I’ll be sent to the super maximum unit at SCI Green County where free-thinking political prisoners – such as myself – have been boldly killed. Green County is Pennsylvania’s Pelican Bay.

On February 1, 2008, while out in the so-called general population I was accosted by twenty white racist in black riot gear after respectfully trying to report to a lie-utenent that one of his officer’s discriminated against my disability, called me a nigger, and made comments with homo-sexual innuendos that I did not approve of. In the process of the riot team trying to extract me from my block so that I could be isolated for further abuse, one claimed that I stabbed him twice, while another claimed I hit him with a blunt object. I’m winning in the courts, about to take down a prominent judge, I never had a misconduct before this incident, I’m very studious and charismatic. Not only do I find their timing odd, but it is no coincidence that they charged me with just enough to qualify me for a life sentence under the unjust three strikes law.

If this isn’t enough to point out that we need a revolution in Pennsylvania, SCI Cresson can only flush their toilets twice.

Kern Valley State Prison is a new prison that hasn't been open even ten years yet and it is already dragging its prison population through the dirt. The Blacks have been on lockdown since October 2007 and I was just recently told (word of mouth) that the lockdown will be extended for four more months. Now understand, I said word of mouth vs. an official departmental memo (as CDC policy regulates).

As of now we basically have no movement at all, besides escorted movement to medical or court. We have no yard, no religious services, no reading material, no visits or nothing, and as I become more educated with litigation and the U.S. constitution I understand that they are in clear violation and someone has to hold them accountable for the things they are doing wrong.

I would like to give a salute to thank you MIM for the MT and its many issues. Due to it and it's very meaning, I was brought back to the experienced life I was given, or forced to live (better said). I want to express myself on this issue.

My struggle, as I came to live it, was through many twists and turns in life. I was born in 1979 in Wichita, Kansas to poorly educated migrant working parents. My father was born and raised in Puerto Rico and migrated to the U$ in the 60s to find a better life and hoping one day to build a family. The poverty-stricken conditions on the island forced him to the U$A. My mother was born in Texas in one of the country's poverty stricken regions in the Rio Grand Valley. Her parents migrated to the U$ from Mexico to find the so-called "American Dream".

To these two courageous parents, four boys and two girls were born into the struggle in different parts of the U$, some in Michigan, some in Florida, and me, Kansas. I was born into the revolution, my physical presence as a kid in the field under the hot and endless days brought rebellion into me. Throughout the eighties and early nineties I experienced pain, hate, anger, racism, confusion, puzzlement, stress, oppression, etc.

This rebellion grew in me due to my surroundings and seeing my people oppressed and stigmatized. For me to see how my parents, who I love, would suffer due to the cruel and unequal government and its corporate allies. I remember waking up at 5 or 6am to go to work at the age of 9 or 10 years old until the sun seemed to sit behind the dark blue sky with its shadowy background. This would happen during the summertime when school was out and it was not cold. When it did get cold in the winter we would travel from Michigan to Florida and start all over again. This would keep me from advancing in school and so everyone else seemed to be getting a good and healthy education.

The moral of my life story goes that the economy and the government does not give a damn who it hurts. I came to Texas when I was in second grade and to my surprise I was brought back to first grade because the Michigan educational system was not meeting the Texas educational standard. I was 10 years old and in first grade. Crazy right?!

Did I choose this life? No! This life chose me and I became a revolutionary from birth. I was born in the fields, I was born to know no other life but blood, sweat and tears. I have the understanding now of who I am. I became a part of a movement that stresses the importance of unity and communication to build and sustain a strong front: internationalism and to becoming the vanguard. To help teach our people to become leaders and not followers, in all that we do we represent one another. We must educate and prepare ourselves, for that day is near.

I am presently witnessing my parents suffering from their labor and the pesticide that was routine and sprayed on those fields. Since their births over 60 years ago they were migrant working people and contributed their energy to provide food for those upper class and rich bourgeoisie. My mother suffers from numbness over her body and this I think is due to the chemicals that were sprayed over those fields. My parents receive a monthly so-called support check. Between both of them they receive $600 dollars a month. Honestly, this is not much because the gas has gone up, and property taxes are not far behind. My parents barely can come to see and visit with me and my younger brother who is doing two life sentences. Texas is a big state and we both are up by Dallas while our parents are at the border between Mexico and Texas.

This is my struggle and my way of learning who I am and why I am and why I became who I am.

I want to let you know the latest info on censorship and the latest prison crimes against us comrades behind bars.

Censorship: I've written the Attorney General's office and there was a memo that was written on 8/16/2007 that stated that political prisoners who want to receive books on political issues need to write to our counselors. The counselor will say yes or now and then we write to the company and order the book. Tell all comrades who study the ways of Mao or any communism group to go to the library/law library and ask for the memo on political books issues. It helps us out a lot. One problem, they don't give prisoners a copy of the memo because the prisoner who works the law library said that the head people in Sacramento said not to copy the memo. So I will put a 602 appeal in and try to get a copy of the memo for our comrades. Also be advised, it may take a while because the 602 process is very slow and I might have to take it to the director's of appeals in Sacramento.

Prison issues: On February 26 the C/Os and a sergeant brought out a prisoner and gave him an injection in the arm. This happened in the mental health crisis bed. The C/Os and Sergeant slammed the prisoner and punched him two times in the nose, breaking it. The C/Os and the Sergeant then said the prisoner assaulted them first, which is a big lie. I saw all of it. The Sergeant and a C/O pulled me out and put the baton around my neck and started strangling me and told me to remain silent. But now I've not only 602ed it, I've filed a civil complaint.

First and foremost I sent my utmost respect. I have read the letters you sent me and I really like this fine organization you have.

I have been oppressed here in the penal code system. On December 21, 2007 I was escorted to the hospital here in Pelican Bay State Prison and a C/O put the leg shackles on me too tight. I told him the shackles were too tight but he did not loosen them. Upon my arrival in CTC (the hospital), I was put in a holding cell. Fifteen minutes later I had to use the restroom but the C/Os would not let me go. At this particular time I was rubbing my ankles where the shackles were and I pulled up my jumpsuit because my ankles hurt. I had blood on both sides of my ankles, so I pulled down my socks to get a visual on my ankles. They were cut pretty deep on both sides. I have scars on both sides now. I filed a 602 (appeal), so I just have to exhaust my remedies and take it to court.