Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

The Office of Publication Review has reviewed the above-mentioned individual publication and has determined that the individual publication will be [X] Excluded. Per DO 914.08 Inmate Mail - Unauthorized Publications and Material, it is determined that this individual publication is excluded. Policy #1.1.1 Riots/Work Stoppages/Resistance.

Along with this Cover Memo, you received a Notice of Result explaining the reason why your publication was excluded.

Per DO 914, your copy of the publication will be held for the following timeframes:
- 90 days after the exclusion date if no Second Review is requested
- 3 years after the exclusion date if a Second Review has been requested.

I received your inmate letter dated 6/1/2011, in which you are asking for a second review of your MIM letter - Revolutionary Greetings Comrades. This publication was sent at the same time as your other publication United Front - Study Course Response Part 3. This was also excluded on the same date as the other and a notice was sent to you by me on 2/7/2011. Again, this publication was returned from Central Office after 90 days for disposition and that is why you received a contraband notice. Therefore, it has been past the time frame guidelines for a second review.

Property seized for reason "Riots/Work Stoppages/Resistance"

On 6/9/2011 I received a notice of exclusion form, stating that "MIM-United Front Study Course-Part 3". I am requesting a second review and intend to exhaust all administrative remedies in the mentioned proceeding. This material was censored Dec 5 2010, yet reviewed 2/7/2011 and a notice of exclusion wasn't provided until the above date, per D.O. 914.08 Policy #1.1.1 "Riots/Work Stoppages/Resistance." The Notice of Result - Publication Review did not provide a specific page number on which riots/work stoppages/resistance are supposedly mentioned, nor now the mention of these things legitimately affects the penological interest at ASPC Central Unit. Could you please refer me to the page number where this information can be found so that I may investigate the issue further? If this claim cannot be substantiated, please deliver me the letter. Surely, there is not a practice of censoring all major newspapers at ASPC Central Unit, or perusing them each day for mentions of riots/work stoppages/resistance. I doubt that a mention of any of these things would be related to the legitimate penological interests of the institution such that the letter should be censored. In summary, the mailroom staff at ASPC Central Unit has been arbitrarily and illegally denying me mail that is sent from MIM Distributors for nearly (3) years. As an employee of the state of Arizona, you are obligated to respect both mines and MIM Distributor's 1st Amendment right to free speech. I have several requests that I hope can fulfill the remedy at issue: 1) the immediate end to interference of mail intended for myself from MIM's, 2) Explanation of why this letter, allegedly violates D.O. 914.08 Policy #1.1.1 Riots/Work Stoppages/Resistance and how this relates to the legitimate penological interests of the institution.

I received your inmate letter dated 6/9/2011, in which you are asking for a second review of your MIM-United Front Study Course Response Part 3. This publication was sent to Central Office on 12/8/2010, and was excluded on 2/7/2011. You were provided with a notice of exclusion on 2/7/2011, as I have a copy of the notice sent to you by myself. Once a publication is sent to Central Office for review and it is excluded, it remains there for 90 days. Once the 90 days is up, it comes back to be treated as contraband by the specific units. This is why you were notified again on 6/9/2011, because it just came back from Central Office. Therefore, since it has been well over 90 days, you are out of time frames for a second review.