Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

see 5/22/13 doc

Cynthia Bostic, Assistant Director
Support Services
4260 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4260

28 May 2013

To Ms. Bostic,

This letter is to request a review of the decision to censor the March/April issue of Under Lock & Key, No. 31. The notification sent from Fay Lassiter justified this censorship with the reason ?A Code.? It seems she is claiming that the newsletter promotes criminal activity or breaking the law. Every issue of Under Lock & Key states on page 2, ?We encourage prisoners to join these battles while explicitly discouraging them from engaging in any violence or illegal acts.? Unless you can find content contradicting this statement, I would argue that there is no justification for censoring this issue of Under Lock & Key.

We recently issued a records request from your office to demonstrate whether there is an independent review process and to justify the consistent decisions to uphold the censorship of our mail. We are still awaiting your response to this request issued over 2 months ago.


Thank you,

Eddie L. Pearson, Warden
Sussex I State Prison
24414 Musselwhite Dr.
Waverly, VA 23891
May 9, 2013

RE: Censorship of book mailed to Mr. XXX

Dear Warden Pearson,

Recently MIM Distributors was notified by the Mailroom Supervisor at Sussex I State Prison that the book titled A Curtain of Ignorance by Felix Greene was denied delivery to the above-named prisoner, who is held in your custody. This book was returned to MIM Distributors with a "Notice of Unauthorized Correspondence." There was no reason checked on this Notice to indicate what justified this censorship. Even though it was not checked, there was text written in the "Other" section, "material enclosed unauthorized." That is the only clue offered as to why this book was returned.

What is even more confusing is that Mr. xxx even had a Property Request Form approved by Ms. Bellamy PP for receipt of this book. The Personal Property Request Form containing Ms. Bellamy's signature was enclosed with an invoice when the book was mailed to Mr. XXX. I understand that all incoming mail is subject to inspection and approval per various DOC Operating Procedures, but it is still surprising that a book would be approved for Mr. xxx's property, but then rejected without cause.

Ultimately, I am writing this letter to:
1) Inquire as to why this book was denied delivery to Mr. XXXXXX, and
2) appeal this censorship in an effort to have this book approved for delivery to Mr. XXXXXX.

I appreciate your consideration, and anticipate your response.

Sincerely,


MIM Distributors
PO Box 40799
San Francisco, CA 94140

CC: Affected parties