MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
I am writing with an update on the January/February 2016 issue of Under Lock & Key here on the Alfred D. Hughes Plantation. The mailroom has been holding it WITHOUT notice to recipients since you sent it out. I have been writing I-60 after I-60 (official request) to Ms. Doalston the Hughes Mailroom Supervisor. All she will say is it is still "under review." It has been 2 months [actually only over 1 month - MIM(Prisons)] so it either is a scam by TDC officials here in Texa$ OR some comrades statewide appeal a facility's blanket banned material.
I have learned since July 2015 ANY mention by other comrades of the Kalifornia - Pelican Bay State Prison hunger strike of 2012 gets these folks all excited and seething with fear in these units that house the nation's largest slave system.
04/20/2016
MIM Dist protests censorship of ULKs 47 and 48 without any notification
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Correctional Institutions Division
Director's Review Committee
PO Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099
25 February 2016
April 20, 2016
RE: Illegal censorship of Under Lock & Key Nos. 47 and 48
Dear Director's Review Committee,
This letter is regarding two publications which have been censored in Texas prisons, without notification sent to the publisher and sender, MIM Distributors. The two publications were sent via USPS Standard Mail.
Under Lock & Key No. 47 (November/December 2015) was mailed out on 12/11/2015. Prisoners in various facilities, from Hughes, to Lynaugh, to Gib Lewis, to Coffield, to Ellis, to Jester IV, and Wynne, have all reported that they did not receive ULK 47 and were not informed their mail was being held. MIM Distributors was also not notified of this censorship at any time by any facility.
Additionally, Under Lock & Key No. 48 (January/February 2016) was mailed out on 2/5/2016. This publication met a similar fate as its predecessor. Several issues were returned to sender marked “RTS” and “UTF” from Telford Unit, but no other information was provided. Prisoners in Hughes and Eastham also informed us that they never received this publication and never received notification that it was being held or censored.
Neither MIM Distributors nor the prisoners in the facilities listed above were sent a Publication Receipt and Course of Action Form DOC0211 regarding these incidents.
Per Texas DOC policy (BP-03.91 (rev.3)): "V. B. Any offender, other correspondent, or sender of a publication may appeal the rejection of any correspondence or publication. They may submit written evidence or arguments in support of their appeal. An offender or a correspondent may appeal the placement of the correspondent on the offender?s negative mailing list. An offender or a correspondent may appeal to the DRC for reconsideration of the negative mailing list placement after six months." Based on this we formally request an appeal of this censorship.
In your review of this censorship, please note that your own policy (BP-03.91 (rev.3)) states: "Publications shall not be rejected solely because the publication advocates the legitimate use of offender grievance procedures, urges offenders to contact public representatives about prison conditions, or contains criticism of prison authorities." In order to reject these publications for content, per your policy, you must demonstrate that the publication "contains material that a reasonable person would construe as written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruption such as strikes, riots, or STG activity".
As you are certainly aware, the U.S. Supreme Court has clearly stated that both the sender and the prisoner have a right, under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard when prison administrators or staff prevent the sender’s expressive materials from reaching their intended recipients (Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S.396. 94 S.Ct 1800, as reaffirmed on the point by Turner V. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) and Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989) and Montcalm Publ'g Corp. v. Beck, 80 F.3d 105, 106 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 928 (1996)). In plain and striking contradiction with these principles, neither the prisoners, nor MIM Distributors were notified of the censorship decision or actually of any decisions that the Mailroom staff has made with regard to the publications listed above.
In refusing to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to both the prisoners and the publisher (MIM Distributors), under local policies and/or practices, prison administrators and staff violated clearly established constitutional law and acted under color of state law for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
In addition, the practice of holding publications and/or letters for an indefinite time without providing notice of any determination is certainly unconstitutional, as it does not satisfy the obligation that the prison administration has to provide both the sender and the recipient with a decision in a reasonable time and ultimately frustrates the right that both the sender and the prisoner have to appeal a negative determination.
Sincerely,
MIM Distributors
PO Box 40799
San Francisco, CA 94140
Form Filed: Correspondence/Contraband Denial Form (from facility to MIM Dist)
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Denied: 1 photocopied page of denied book (Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlan)
Received: 7 pgs letter
Does offender wish to appeal the decision? Yes
03/29/2016
Form Filed: DRC Decision Form
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The DRC has rendered a decision regarding your appeal of the Unit rejection of 1 photocopied page of a denied publication received in contradiction with BP-03.91, Uniform Offender Correspondence Rules.
..
It is the decision of the DRC to uphold the Unit rejection of the above mentioned item(s)...
04/08/2016
Prisoner reports small victory, book still denied
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I am happy to report that the Step 2 grievance I filed against the mailroom for destroying the book "Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlan" was a small victory for me. I was awarded a mere ten dollar ($10.00) property settlement.
Because I am currently under parole review, I assume if I were to file a Section 1983 Civil Suit against TDCJ there would probably be some sort of "backlash" against me (at this time). However I can honestly suggest that your ministry would prevail against them.
MIM protests censorship without notification
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Rick Thaler, Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Correctional Institutions Division
P.O. Box 99
Huntsville, Texas 77342
November 14, 2015
RE: Illegal censorship of book to Mr.xxx
Dear Director Thaler,
On September 28, 2015 MIM Distributors mailed a book titled Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlan to the above named prisoner held at Hughes Unit in Gatesville, TX. This book was not returned to MIM Distributors, and it was not received by Mr. xxx. MIM Distributors was not sent any notification for this censorship, and we would not have known the book was censored except that Mr. xxx informed us himself. MIM Distributors was not sent a Publication Receipt and Course of Action Form DOC0211 regarding this incident.
Per Texas DOC policy (BP-03.91 (rev.3)): "V. B. Any offender, other correspondent, or sender of a publication may appeal the rejection of any correspondence or publication. They may submit written evidence or arguments in support of their appeal. An offender or a correspondent may appeal the placement of the correspondent on the offender?s negative mailing list. An offender or a correspondent may appeal to the DRC for reconsideration of the negative mailing list placement after six months." Based on this we formally request an appeal of this censorship.
In your review of this censorship, please note that your own policy (BP-03.91 (rev.3)) states: "Publications shall not be rejected solely because the publication advocates the legitimate use of offender grievance procedures, urges offenders to contact public representatives about prison conditions, or contains criticism of prison authorities." In order to reject these publications for content, per your policy, you must demonstrate that the publication "contains material that a reasonable person would construe as written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruption such as strikes, riots, or STG activity".
As you are certainly aware, the U.S. Supreme Court has clearly stated that both the sender and the prisoner have a right, under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard when prison administrators or staff prevent the sender’s expressive materials from reaching their intended recipients (Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S.396. 94 S.Ct 1800, as reaffirmed on the point by Turner V. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) and Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989) and Montcalm Publ'g Corp. v. Beck, 80 F.3d 105, 106 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 928 (1996)). In plain and striking contradiction with these principles, neither the prisoners, nor MIM Distributors were notified of the censorship decision or actually of any decisions that the Mailroom staff has made with regard to the publications listed above.
In refusing to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to both the prisoners and the publisher (MIM Distributors), under local policies and/or practices, prison administrators and staff violated clearly established constitutional law and acted under color of state law for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
In addition, the practice of holding publications and/or letters for an indefinite time without providing notice of any determination is certainly unconstitutional, as it does not satisfy the obligation that the prison administration has to provide both the sender and the recipient with a decision in a reasonable time and ultimately frustrates the right that both the sender and the prisoner have to appeal a negative determination.
Sincerely,
CC: Affected parties
11/19/2015
Prisoner filed Step 1 grievance
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I filed a Step 1 Grievance pertaining to the denial of the publication "Chicano Power and the Struggle for Aztlan" on the ground that I was not given an official "Decision Form" from the Director's Review Committee pending a decision regarding my appeal of this unit's rejection of said publication. I will prepare myself for Step 2 if necessary.
01/13/2016
DRC upheld censorship of book
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Letter from prisoner: The book titled "Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlan" appeared on the Director's Review Committee denial list for December 2015. Now the mailroom is saying they don't have the book anymore, as I still had 2 weeks to send it back out, either home or to you. So I've filed another grievance because of that.
Prisoner updates MIM Distributors about censorship
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I am writing you just to inform you about the last newsletter or document you send to me in September, which I was notified by prison officials, especially mailroom, that I cannot have such paper.
It was confiscated on grounds that it contained material that a reasonable person would construe as written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruptions such as strikes, riots or security threat group activity.
for this reason I was not allowed to have it and it was destroyed. i didn't even have a chance to see its contents. It was on September 11 when that happened.