Tracking Prison Censorship in the United States

Dawn Grounds, Warden
Hughes Unit
Rt 2 Box 4400
Gatesville, TX 76597-0001

July 27, 2009

Warden Grounds,

This letter is to inquire about a serious mistake that your mailroom has made at Hughes Unit in sorting mail. A newsletter titled Under Lock & Key issue #8 (May 2009) was mailed to Mr. XXX, from MIM Distributors.

This piece of mail was returned to MIM Distributors, unopened with "RTS - discharged" written on the envelope. However, according to the TDCJ website, Mr. XXX isn't even eligible for parole until 2030. We find it difficult to believe that he has been discharged, especially because the newsletter was mailed to Mr. XXX in May, and he wrote to us from Hughes in early July. Additionally, this is not the first time the Hughes mailroom has tampered with Mr. XXX's mail.

We insist that you stop harassing Mr. XXX, and comply with your legal obligation in delivering MIM Distributors' mail to its rightful recipient. Included with this letter is the envelope that was returned to us, so that you can see exactly what I'm referring to.

Sincerely,

MIM(Prisons)

CC: affected parties

Warden Anthony Hedgpeth
Salinas Valley State Prison
PO Box 1020
Soledad, CA 93960-1020

29 June 2009

Mr. Hedgpeth,

I appreciated your response from April 28, 2009 and was pleased that you acknowledged that publications from MIM Distributors were not banned in California prisons, after months of mail be returned to sender from your facility. We have yet to receive confirmation as to whether your statements in that letter prove to be true in practice.

However, we have received one letter returned with the usual stamp used by SVSP staff saying that MIM Distributors is not on the addressee?s ?approved mailing list.? Since you acknowledge that none of the publications distributed by MIM Distributors are on the banned publication list, what ?list? is being referred to here. Furthermore, the mail in question was not a publication, but material addressed to a particular person at SVSP. This person, Mr XXXXXX XXXXXX, seems to have had particular restrictions applied to his mail. Is it now policy for the CDCR to return unopened mail, rather than applying the California Codes to judge whether such mail is a threat to security?

Sir, this problem has been ongoing for many months, with no signs that you are following the department?s rules, nor legal precedent. I am requesting that immediate action be taken to remedy this problem.

Thank you again for your time in this important matter,

Menard Correctional Center
Attn: Publication Review Officer
711 Kaskaskia Street
PO Box 711
Menard, IL 62259

30 June 2009

Publication Review Officer,

This letter is to object to the notifications of denial to deliver mail from MIM Distributors to prisoners X, Y, Z, and P. The mail in question is MIM's newsletter Under Lock & Key issue 8 (May 2009), that was denied because it supposedly is "detrimental to security, good order, rehabilitation, or discipline," and a threat to the "good order of the institution."

We appreciate that you notified us of this censorship. However, we disagree that it is "reasonably related to legitimate penological interests," as required by U.S. law under Turner v. Safley. For example, in every issue of Under Lock & Key, violence and illegal activity are distinctly discouraged. You can see for yourself at the bottom of page 2 of issue 8, in the "What is MIM(Prisons)?" box, quoted here for your convenience:

"Our current battles in the United States are legal ones. We encourage prisoners to join these battles while explicitly discouraging them from engaging in any violence or illegal acts."

We don't only say this as a disclaimer on the second page, but uphold that perspective throughout all the articles in Under Lock & Key. We fail to see how a newsletter with a nonviolent perspective can "advocate or encourage violence," or how a newsletter that only advocates legal means of acquiring justice can "facilitate criminal activity," as the censorship notice from Menard Correctional Center states.

We appreciate you investigating further into this error and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

MIM(Prisons)