MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
2017 DECEMBER – My beloved comrades at ULK, please take whatever
steps necessary to convey this information to your readers, particularly
those on the Texas plantations. It is my hope this will move a few to
join in this all-out attack against mass incarceration, which those
brothers on the Eastham Plantation are being persecuted for.
First, we have launched an attack on the totality of the living
conditions on this plantation: double-celling, sleep deprivation,
extreme heat, contaminated water, no toilets in the day rooms and rec
yard, overcrowded showers. At present we have 5 lawsuits filed and
hoping to have 5 more by the first of the year. They are listed at the
end of this missive for those who might want to obtain copies and/or
file for intervention. I would urge each plantation to file because each
plantation has different violations, which in their totality are cruel
and unusual.
Next, we have launched an at attack on the
symbiotic-parasitic-relationship between Texas Department of Criminal
Justice (TDCJ) and the American Correctional Association (ACA). Last
year we sent numerous letters to the ACA headquarters in Virginia with
various complaints including the delayed posting of scheduled audits.
Apparently someone was moved to do the right thing. Then notices for the
January 2018 audit were posted here in October. As a result, we of the
Community Improvement Committee (CIC) here on the unit have sent
petitions with hundreds of names with numerous complaints of ACA
violations and requests for a Q&A in the gym or chapel. This is
being done with individual letters as well. Plus, we have sent the
actual notice to various reform organizations requesting them to visit
the unit during the audit and act as overseers pointing out particular
areas of violations such as the giant cockroach infestation beneath the
kitchen.
Next we have and intend to continue to urge the public to stay on top of
their legislators to change the law, making it mandatory that prisoners
be compensated for their labor.
Finally, we have filed an application for Writ of Habeas Corpus
requesting to be released immediately due to the fact that the time
sheet shows one has completed 100% of his sentence – that even without
the good time, the flat time and the work time equals the sentence
imposed by the court. In addition we are drafting something similar for
those sentenced under the one-third law. We are submitting to the court
that these prisoners have a short-way discharge date. The application
for Writ of Habeas Corpus was first filed in the state court in Travis
County and denied without a written order in the Texas court of criminal
Appeals (#WR-87,529-01 Tr.Ct. No. D-1-DC-02-301765A). We are now in the
U.S. District Court in the Eastern District Tyler Division (McGee v
Director, #6:17cv643). This info is supplied so that those with the
means may download the info and/or keep track of the case. The following
are the case numbers for the totality of living conditions complaint,
which is also in the U.S. District in Tyler:
Walker v. Davis, et al., #6:17cv166 Henderson v. Davis,
#6:17cv320 Douglas v. Davis, #6:17cv347 Burley v. Davis,
#6:17cv490
The Devil whispers: “You can’t withstand the storm” The Warrior
replied: “I am the storm.” - The Mateuszm
MIM(Prisons) responds: These comrades are pushing the struggles
to improve conditions inside Texas prisons along its natural course.
Countless prisoners have sent grievances, grievance petitions, letters
to the Ombudsman, letters to elected officials, and letters to various
TDCJ administrators on these same issues. We have seen some victories,
but mostly we’ve had barriers put in our way.
The next step laid out for us is to file lawsuits, which is another kind
of barrier. Lawsuits take years and sometimes decades to complete, and
innumerable hours of work. When we do win, we then have to go through
additional lawsuits to ensure enforcement. And on and on it goes…
If we expect the lawsuits to bring final remedy, we must be living in a
fantasy. A quintessential example of how the U.$. government behaves
regarding lawsuits can be seen in how it totally disrespects treaties
with First Nations. When the U.$. government, or its agencies, doesn’t
like something, they don’t really give a shit what the law says. This
has been true since the beginning of this government. We don’t see any
evidence that this will ever change.
Yet, lawsuits aren’t all bad. They can sometimes create a little more
breathing room within which revolutionaries can operate. Lawsuits can
also be used to publicize our struggles, and to show just how callous
the state is, if we lose.
Yet, most importantly, lawsuits keep comrades busy. Before any lawsuit,
there needs to be a solid analysis of winability, and the likelihood of
other options. While we are relatively weak as a movement, lawsuits are
a fine option, and building a movement around these lawsuits will give
them strength. But if your legal strategy doesn’t also include building
up collective power to eventually protect people without petitioning the
state to do it, then your legal strategy is as useless as a feather in a
tornado.
The comrades fighting these battles inside Texas have done a great job
of spreading the word to outside organizations to garner support and
attention for their lawsuits. We support their efforts to make Texas
prisons more bearable for the imprisoned lumpen population, and we
support their efforts to link these lawsuits to the greater
anti-imperialist movement. And when they decide that lawsuits aren’t
enough to bring a real change in conditions, we’ll support that too.
The U.$. legal system’s role is to keep the United $tates government as
a dominant world power, no matter what. The extreme heat in Texas
prisons isn’t just an oversight by administrators. And it’s not even
just about racism of guards. It is directly connected to the United
$tate’s role in the oppression and repression of oppressed nations
across the world. If the legal system fails, don’t give up. Try
something else to bring it down. Lawsuits are not the only option.
This is my end-of-year report on our MIM Grievance Campaign. We did one
on the “unlocks” here, and we’re currently working on the issue of
showers. Due to the California drought they claim that we are still in a
drought and therefore can only shower on Tuesday and Thursday. Even then
there is no hot water so we are showering in ICE cold water. This is in
spite of the fact that we are in a medical facility and most of us are
older prisoners.
The temp has dropped to 34 degrees in the morning and we have been in
these conditions now for over a month. Enclosed please find the
grievances.
MIM(Prisons) adds: Comrades at Richard J. Donovan Correctional
Facility have been pursuing these issue through 602 appeals forms and
subsequent appeals. After receiving a response of “partially granted”
there was no actual change in conditions and they began utilizing the
grievance petition for California. They have done a good job documenting
the process, citing case law of Armstrong vs. Brown and the 8th
and 14th Amendment.
Comrades in California and other states can write in to get a copy of a
grievance petition to use as an organizing tool to bring people together
around conditions that are not being addressed at your prison.
Many prisoners have utilized the petition demanding their grievances be
heard. The Commissioner simply forwarded the grievances to the person in
charge of the grievance system, who wrote a letter to each prisoner that
filed a petition. The letter informed the prisoners that they should
file a grievance about the issue if they had a problem with the
grievance system. Absurd, but true.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We responded to this comrade asking what
they think should be done next to resolve this problem. Clearly, writing
grievances isn’t working. Writing to the Commissioner gets no results.
Lawsuits can give some relief, but often only temporarily. And of course
lawsuit victories come with the problem of enforcement.
Ultimately we believe we need to completely change our society in order
to fix this problem. We try to contribute to lawsuits, but even more
importantly we contribute to education and institution-building, so when
our lawsuits fail we can still make progress in our struggle to a more
just humynity.
My main issue right now is that I cannot get grievance forms to complain
and grieve my issues. The 30 days are over on some, and on others I’ll
still have a chance to grieve my issues “if” I get some grievances! The
counselor for my cell house, Ms. Hill, says to ask the gallery officer,
but when I do ask the gallery officer I’m told there is none and/or it’s
due to the no budget in the state! Grievances are like gold and inmates
hoard them and sell them 1 grievance for $1! What can I do, do you have
some guidance for me on this issue? I’m attaching the response from the
warden and I still haven’t heard back from the Acting Director for IDOC.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade created a grievance petition
for Illinois, which prisoners can use to demand grievances be addressed
in that state. So when ey asks “what can I do,” ey is already leading by
example, building a campaign to address this problem. We would suggest
that the Illinois petition should be updated to include this problem of
the prison not providing grievance forms. This is a most basic issue
that of course needs to be addressed before grievances can even be
answered.
And this is also a very good example of the completely unjust nature of
the criminal injustice system. Setting up rules that can’t be followed
(like submitting grievance forms that are impossible to obtain), so that
the prisons never have to abide by their own regulations. This is an
example of why we don’t expect to put an end to the injustice system by
working within the system. They will continue to make it impossible for
us to win using their process. But we can use the grievance petition to
expose these problems and build a united movement demanding our rights.
This movement will build the basis of the unity necessary to ultimately
overthrow this unjust system.
If you want to work on this campaign in Illinois, send us a stamped
envelope for a copy of the Illinois grievance petition.
[These guidelines were compiled by the USW Coordinator of MIM(Prisons)
incorporating points made by members of the Countrywide Council of USW.]
The Countrywide Council of USW, or Double C, has been working on a
concerted effort to reach out to other organizations as a way to expand
organizing with people on the outside, and to build a united front in
general. The Double C decided to publish their letter to CURE in
ULK as an example of these efforts, and to provide a guide to
others. We invite all USW comrades to participate in this outreach
campaign, and this article is to provide some guidelines in doing so.
First, many readers may ask, am I a member of United Struggle from
Within (USW)? Can I write to other organizations as a member of USW?
Good question. Anyone could send out a letter and sign it “USW”, we have
no control over that. But we certainly hope you would not do that unless
you are pushing USW campaigns and politics accurately. USW has two
levels of membership: supporter and leader. Supporters are defined as:
“A USW supporter helps build USW in eir prison/area. This persyn might
not initiate projects by eirself, but will readily implement requests
from USW leaders and MIM(Prisons). Supporters may contribute in many
different areas of work including: writing articles for ULK, producing
revolutionary art, translating, sending in donations, running a study
group or otherwise educating people and building reading skills, working
on a campaign such as the grievance petition, referring new subscribers
to ULK, and conducting MIM(Prisons)-directed surveys. This persyn writes
to MIM(Prisons) less regularly [than a USW leader] but is responsive to
letters and completes work assigned within a reasonable timeframe.”
A leader is someone who launches campaigns and efforts to expand USW
independent of MIM(Prisons), and/or organizes others under that
leadership. Once you’ve developed a practice of leadership that we can
verify over a period of time, you are considered a leader and you become
eligible to join the Countrywide Council of USW.
As a mass organization, USW does allow for its members to also be
members in other local, lumpen or nation-specific organizations at the
same time. Comrades in the Double C should not identify themselves as
such. Statements representing the Double C, and USW as a whole, must go
through the Double C for approval first. Therefore publicly identifying
oneself as a Double C representative gives a false sense of authority,
while risking the security of the individual member.
The Double C is currently developing its protocol for conducting
official correspondence with other organizations. If you feel
comfortable representing USW work and positions, then you can write a
letter from “[Your Name], a member of United Struggle from Within.”
However, since you might not accurately represent certain aspects of
USW’s positions because you are new, the Double C will serve to provide
official responses from USW to other organizations. You can even mention
this in your own letters.
With this guideline, you do not need to be a USW leader to write other
organizations about USW campaigns. In fact, if you’ve been reading
ULK for a while, perhaps writing such a letter could be your
first action taken as a USW supporter. But before you do so, you might
ask: What should I write to these organizations about?
The focus should be on USW campaigns, projects and positions, and how
they might overlap (and differ) from those of the other organization. A
good way to structure your letter is “unity-struggle-unity.” Start off
talking about some aspect of USW work and how it connects to the work of
that organization. If you can identify disagreements with this
organization then you might bring those up as a form of struggle next.
Or the struggle may just be something like, “hey, I haven’t seen you
working on this issue, you should do more on it.” Then close with more
forward looking unity – try to lay out some practical steps for how they
might work together with USW.
You may also write to other publications in response to a specific
article or topic to point out a disagreement, or something that they
missed. We often print such struggles with readers in ULK. Again,
“unity-struggle-unity” is a good approach, and circling back to USW’s
practical work and analysis is helpful.
Regarding the letter to CURE from the Double C below, we should point
out that CURE is a very different organization from ours. CURE believes
imperialism can be reformed and it does not stand for the liberation of
oppressed nations in this country. But the letter focuses on where we
have unity and where we can work together, while pushing CURE to work
with us in those areas. That is a good example of building toward a
united front, where organizations with different beliefs and missions
can find commonality.
We encourage comrades to reach out to other organizations as a USW
representative on your own, and in many cases we will have multiple USW
members writing the same organization. This will build up USW’s
reputation among other organizations, and allow our membership to grow
by engaging in these dialogues.
What do I do when they respond to my letter? Once that dialogue
reaches a point where you are not sure how to respond or proceed, you
will want to hand it over to the Countrywide Council of USW or even to
MIM(Prisons), depending on the topic of discussion. We will keep you in
the loop on the ongoing discussion.
What is the goal of this campaign? There are multiple goals.
First, we hope to popularize the work of USW with those on the outside,
demonstrating our scientific work on the ground. This will increase the
chances of building support for that work in the future. Second, we hope
to build working relationships on campaigns and projects with other
organizations. We hope to expand the view of these organizations and
publications beyond select popular prisoners to the prison masses as a
whole. Third, we hope to increase political unity within the prison
movement. And where we can’t establish unity, we hope to clarify our
differences. This will help everyone in the movement better grasp the
issues and the different positions that organizations take.
If you think USW is focused on the right campaigns and issues, and you
think others should get on board, then this might be a good project for
you to get involved in. Let us know who you’re struggling with and over
what. Or, if it’s not too much trouble, even send us a copy of your
letters. We can work with you if you want feedback before you send your
first letter.
An Open letter to CURE National
from the Countrywide Council of United Struggle from Within
CURE National PO Box 2310 Washington DC 20013
5 September 2017
First and foremost, we would like to give you thanks for the service
that you offer to prisoners and the families of prisoners. In these days
prisoners find it hard to locate individuals and organizations worthy of
praise beyond the worth that most newsletters and papers are printed on.
Members of the Countrywide Council of United Struggle from Within have
read the latest few issues of CURE National’s Newsletter back to front
and front to back. We must say, it checks out, so thank you.
One of the first CURE National Newsletters that we received included a
listing of state chapters alongside the new requirements for state and
issue chapters, namely that chapters have to meet, maintain a
newsletter, and report the names of their members to their office in
Washington. Now, we reviewed the list and see California is listed, but
has nothing more than: [an individual’s name, email and phone number].
One of our Council representatives wrote Colorado-CURE, Iowa-CURE,
Nevada-CURE, New Mexico-CURE and Oregon-CURE of the western branches.
Two replied in favor to our inquiry to be involved in local struggles,
on account that California has no official branch of its own. Dianne
Tramutola-Lawson, Chair at Colorado-CURE, suggested our Council
representative write to the national office with comments.
The Countrywide Council is a leading body of a prisoner mass
organization under the name United Struggle from Within (USW). USW is
the brainchild of members and their students within an organization by
the name Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons, or MIM(Prisons).
Though it is an organization that is political from the vantage point of
anti-imperialism and thus is anti-prisons, USW works for any reforms
that are scientifically sane with the potential to [contribute to]
end[ing] prisons as they stand.
USW has a leadership in prisons across the United $tates and can attest
to a strong following in the pages of our bi-monthly newsletter (free to
prisoners), published by our mother group, under the title Under Lock
& Key. In the state with our strongest source of political
activity, California, there isn’t even a CURE branch?! We believe CURE
is missing out on the greatest opportunity it could have, and this is
why the Council is committed to help CURE remedy this.
It is the job of our members to find ways to keep our movement working
on issues that have the greatest potential of reducing prison
populations and partnering with groups and organizations who share our
vision of a world with less to no prisons. We believe that working with
CURE National to develop a CURE California, the California Statewide
Council of USW can put to use much more of the information and resources
available, but only in a more direct way.
Take CURE National’s policy initiative for 2016. USW missed the
opportunity to involve itself with the CURE policy initiative for 2016
due to unfamiliarity with CURE and the lack of any direct line of
communication with its leadership, which would be needed before we moved
for the Council to follow. We commend the democratic process of decision
making in regards to what struggles CURE concentrates its resources and
power. Particularly, CURE National Policy 924 – prisons. As USW is a
group heavily engaged in struggles with nearly every state in the United
$tates – addressing “The failure of prison grievance systems”, we are
sure that we, and our memberships may unite in forces to bring about a
uniform grievance system in prisons across the board.
USW, and its supporters, has been working on a national prisoners
campaign demanding prison officials address, honor and upkeep prisoners’
grievances. Petitions have been developed at prisons in all of the
following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida,
Georgia, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon,
South Carolina, and Texas. Each state has a petition drawn particularly
for its local conditions and regulations. [There is also a more generic
petition written for use by prisoners held outside these states.]
USW’s most difficult task is finding public support to move forward our
campaigns in a peaceful and legal way. CURE National’s policy
initiatives 2015 1185 hinted at what it thinks is the root of prisoners’
problems: “Introducing a Constitutional Amendment into Congress that
would repeal the exception clause in the 13th Amendment. This clause
provides that slavery is not abolished for those incarcerated. Prisoners
are exploited, and for many groups the exploitation raises to the level
of slavery.” For the purpose of saving time and space, we will not share
our science on the subject, but instead guide supporters of the
amerikkkan Constitution to the very First Amendment and protecting it.
The salvation of the entire Constitution relies on the sound voice of
the civilized people. If it is believed that prisoners are slaves and
not citizens then it should be understood slaves are property, not human
beings. Slaves are objects of labor, tasked as tools and instruments to
build or destroy an ideal society. Slaves have no voice to speak of
injustice, but instead masters and lords who represent them as Power of
Attorney.
Prisoners have not signed off of the grid (U.$. citizenship). So it is
extreme to take up struggles to have the state abolish prison slavery,
however it would be totally reasonable to educate the public about the
need for public oversight and community advocacy for the First Amendment
rights of prisoners to be protected. It is with greater grievance power
that prisoners and their supporters may address the injustices of
prisons.
Prisoners, their organizations and the support groups behind grassroots
crews lead in civil rights battles with the state. The problem is that
the massive so-called grassroots base is alienated when it comes to
discussions regarding the general body of the massive population (or
masses). We believe this comes at the expense of a care-free public.
People aren’t interested enough in the affairs of prisoners or their
families. The general consensus is that prisoners did the crime and must
face the time.
Organizations like CURE National are in a position to change the public
opinion. Its members, who are of the public, may interact with
communities in ways that prisoners cannot; whether it be due to high
levels of censorship applied by prison guards disrupting our lines of
communication, or interference from a higher power (the U.$.
intelligence agencies). Prisoner leadership behind these walls requires
greater socialization opportunities if the Prison Movement is to impact
upon our state of existence the change that rehabilitates. So here you
have it, an open letter calling on you to serve.
In Struggle,
Countrywide Council of United Struggle
from Within PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140
High Desert State Prison (HDSP), the largest prison in Nevada, housing
some 3,500 inmates, has been on total lockdown for 4 days, and will
remain so for at least two more weeks. This means that we will receive
no yard, tier, phone, canteen, or access to any reading material.
Why is HDSP on lockdown? Because in a single week there was two “staff”
assaults, and at least 8 fights.
But the pigs are doing nothing to investigate the cause of the violence.
For example, that the temperature of the cells was reaching at least 90
degrees. While we have no cold water to drink, and are forced to be
housed with individuals we do not get along with for up to 21 hours a
day. And there is nothing for us to do: no programs, work, games, etc.
We are literally trapped in cages like animals.
So how does HDSP deal with the violence? They enhance the inhumane and
deplorable conditions by locking us down. Most of us do not have
televisions, and with no access to any library we sit in a cell and
twiddle our thumbs.
Violence and anger can only be expected as a result of such conditions.
However, comrades, we must recognize that we do not win when we direct
this anger and frustration towards each other.
Our focus must be on targeting the administrative policies which are
responsible for our current state of existence. There is already a
grievance campaign underway challenging OP516, the level system. And
comrades from the United Struggle from Within in Nevada just started a
new grievance campaign in regards to AR801.
AR801 is a programs AR that states that Ad-Seg is to receive a minimum
of 3 hours out of their cell, and closed custody inmates are to get a
minimum of 5 hours out of their cells per day. This same AR lists a ton
of programs which are approved by the Nevada Department of Corrections
(NDOC).
The bottom line comrades, HDSP under Warden Williams has failed to
implement any rehabilitative programs. The violence, anger and
frustration is his and his administration’s fault.
We must heed the USW call for peace and unity and challenge the
administration’s policies. We need all of you to file grievances
challenging these policies. But even more important, we need you to have
your family and friends to call the office of the director and ask why
HDSP prisoners are being denied all access to rehabilitative programs,
school, and work. Have them call 702-486-9938 and complain.
Until then, comrades, do not allow your anger and frustrations with the
pigs to be misdirected toward one another.
MIM(Prisons) responds: The United Struggle from Within comrades
in Nevada are doing solid work organizing and educating folks in that
state. They have set a good example of initiating targeted campaigns
that could improve the lives of many prisoners. This is a good way to
get folks participating in the struggle in a concrete way. But we must
remember to tie these battles to the broader struggle against the
criminal injustice system, and imperialism.
If we don’t make these connections, we are misleading people, letting
them think that these campaigns alone are all that is needed to change
the system. And we know that’s not true! We know the injustice system
won’t be reformed into a system of justice. It is rotten to the core
because it is serving imperialism, which exists off the oppression and
exploitation of entire nations of people. The wealth and power of the
imperialists and even the “middle classes” is not something those folks
will give up without a fight.
Let’s follow the example of the Nevada USW comrades, and build important
campaigns relevant to each prison and state. And always keep our work in
the context of the anti-imperialist struggle.
I’m writing this letter to update you on my efforts and the outcome of
the grievance petition. I filed my petition with the Department of
Corrections Commissioner, the Alaska Lt. Governor and to the Department
of Justice (DOJ). A few days later another captive and I were
transferred to administrative segregation at Anchorage Correctional
Complex – East, to the same module where captives who have violated DOC
rules are housed. We have been told we are not being punished, however
we live under the same punitive conditions.
A few days after our transfer I received a notice from the warden (she
calls herself a “superintendent” but she is a warden) telling me that
the petition I sent to the Lt. Gov. was forwarded to her to address. She
denies all of my claims and tells me that if I still have issues that
“the grievance procedure has a specific process to follow, including an
appeal process, and the right to seek redress in superior court if the
department does not rule in your favor.” She then states that the
Standards Sgt. is backlogged with grievances and asks for my patience.
This letter was coincidentally dated the day before our transfer.
During our transfer our property was seized, was deemed excess and was
denied issuance of even the most essential hygiene items. I have filed
multiple grievances about this, but the tactic now seems to be to ignore
all of my grievances. I have unacknowledged grievances that are over 3
months since filed. The DOC policy states it has 15 working days to
investigate and respond.
Now they are retaliating even more by seizing my legal mail, reading and
mutilating it. They use excessive force when outside cell by
over-ratcheting handcuffs and ensuring we are cuffed whenever outside
our cells. If our cell is not shaken down daily, it is every other day.
We have been strip searched (unwarranted) at least 3 times. When we are
given new clothing to change out, a gay guard glowers at our nakedness.
Books that have been sent to me by books to prisoners orgs have been
denied for absurd reasons like “contains book” or “unknown substance on
book.” More retaliatory measures than these have been imposed on me,
however it has not stopped me. I still write letters to the Commissioner
(who forwards them to the warden I am complaining about), the Lt.
Governor, the Governor and any other state official that may listen.
Including the ACLU. The ACLU has never responded to any of my letters.
Since being transferred to segregation it is difficult to disperse the
grievance petition which I am sure was the reason for my transfer. I did
however get it out to close to 60 or 70 people and I believe they will
pass it on as well. I have also mailed a few copies to people I know in
other institutions. These at first were censored. The reason given:
“typed.” I eventually had an officer mail them out (after several
attempts).
I am not sure what else they can to do me at this point but I am not
going to stop fighting.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade’s story is a good example of
why the grievance campaign was initiated. Prisoners across the country
face this same problem with the grievance system of getting no response,
or bullshit responses, and never getting grievances seriously addressed.
The petition, which now exists for many states, is a simple demand that
our grievances be addressed.
Of course we don’t actually expect this petition will lead to victory
over a grievance system that is purposefully set up to deny prisoners’
attempts to demand their rights. But people like this writer are using
the petition as an organizing tool; getting others involved in the fight
and waking them up to their oppression and the importance of their role
in fighting back. We have to combine this work with education about the
criminal injustice system as a tool of social control under imperialism
so that we don’t mislead people into thinking petitioning will fix the
entire system. In this way we can take on these smaller battles in the
context of the larger struggle to build unity against imperialism.
Send us a self-addressed stamped envelope for a copy of the grievance
petition for your state, or a generic petition you can customize if one
doesn’t already exist.
I’m writing from Arizona solitary confinement, aka SMU2, to let others
know what is going on with the corrupt medical grievance process.
Recently a memo was passed out that all medical grievances are now to be
treated differently and go through Corizon staff, which is the
contracted company that provides health treatment to Arizona Department
of Corrections (ADC). This process consists of only 2 steps, which are
an “informal resolution complaint” and then the “grievance.” Both are to
go through the Facility Health Administrator (FHA), which allows for no
transparency nor checks and balances. Since this change in the grievance
procedure, not one “informal resolution complaint” form has been replied
to in accordance to ADC’s Department Order #802 “Inmate Grievance
System”, that is set up to oversee this process.
So after the FHA does not respond, one has to move on to the grievance
per this policy. The grievances are not delivered back for 1 to 2
months, and this only due to me writing to a CCO3 (counselor) to inquire
about replies. The replies are pretty generic and consist of responses
like “your complaint has been forwarded to…” “your complaint is
substantiated…” etc. and that the grievance is resolved. Yet nothing is
done and there is no type of appeal to this, so no other remedy can be
sought as the process is exhausted here.
Before, the process wasn’t much better but it would go through 4 steps
as a way to oversee this process. I have sought remedy through this
process on many occasions, so many as a matter of fact that I have
actually had 2 meetings with the FHA. At the latest one, she personally
resolved a grievance by renewing one of my prescriptions. Yet these
prescriptions were not renewed and instead were allowed to expire
without any type of tapering or alternative treatment in place. So I am
at a loss as to what my next step is, as even when a grievance is
granted it is not followed through on.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a couple of other law
firms actually have a lawsuit on behalf of ADC prisoners named
Parsons v. Ryan which is not even being adhered to, as the ACLU
recently filed a motion showing that ADC was not in compliance with this
lawsuit. Being that the suit is not for monetary compensation to the
actual plaintiffs, being us, the ACLU gets their so-called expenses paid
as well as the fine, which in this last case was a cool $2 million.
ADC would rather pay the fine than provide adequate health care as it is
much cheaper to do so, and they will continue to do so because it will
save them a ton of money! I have written the ACLU in Washington and the
Arizona ACLU, as well as the Prison Law Office out of San Quentin who
are the attorneys in charge of the lawsuit and all that they do is
forward my informal grievances and HNRs to each other as well as shoot
me one another’s addresses for me to contact them. The replies are to
grieve it, which I have, and the grievances were substantiated and
granted yet I am here in my little cell without treatment as I write
these very words.
Any ideas of what to do next would be greatly appreciated! I let the FHA
know that this type of deliberate indifference and derelict of duty
would not be allowed in any other type of medical treatment setting.
Therefore why is it allowed here in SMU2? If anyone has suggestions on
how to proceed please contact MIM(Prisons) for me, thank you.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This writer provides yet another good
example of the failure of prison grievance systems as well as the
courts. In this case Arizona has set up a system that just wastes
prisoners’ time while offering no accountability, even when grievances
and Court Orders are granted.
It is for situations like this that the campaign to demand our
grievances be addressed was initiated. We have a petition pertaining to
Arizona State Prison that could be modified for this battle in solitary
confinement. While these petitions don’t often win the battles for us
immediately, they help us build support by spreading the campaign to
others and giving them specific actions they can take. At the same time
we’re all too well aware that prisons don’t have an interest in
addressing grievances. Anything that costs more money or requires more
services, or that forces COs to treat prisoners with respect and
dignity, is going to be a hard battle. The criminal injustice system is
set up to do the opposite, and so we will have to fight for each right.
Write to us to get a copy of the Arizona petition to modify for this
battle.
While grievances and courts fail, we learn the same lesson over and over
again – that legal battles will not get us where we need to be, to a
world without oppression. Court cases and grievance campaigns sometimes
win some victories, that is true. But for long-lasting change we really
need to organize with each other, build unity, educate and struggle
together to force change. We hope this correspondent will take this
failure of the courts as inspiration to try a different method of
resolution.
The Nevada Council for the United Struggle from Within (USW) is putting
the call out for prisoners at High Desert State Prison (HDSP) to end all
the hostilities, and to join together in the ongoing grievance campaign
and ultimately the mass 1983 civil complaint campaign, that is now
underway at HDSP.
The conditions of confinement at HDSP must be challenged. Over the
years, our constant infighting has distracted us while our conditions of
confinement have gotten progressively worse. We are now faced with a
situation where we remain confined to our cells up to 22-24 hours a day,
are not given proper cleaning supplies, are denied the use of our
toilets, are housed with those who should be being treated for their
mental illnesses rather than being overly medicated, etc.
This campaign has already begun, with many individuals having filed
grievances, while the final stage of filing a civil complaint is already
under way. Our main focus is and must be the lack of programs,
education, and work abilities which deny prisoners housed at HDSP the
credits which shorten their sentences.
We are in the position that we are in because our national groups have
failed to be properly mobilized around an internationalist class
consciousness. We have focused on individualistic issues. We as
prisoners have allowed this to happen to ourselves. With each new
restriction imposed, no action or protest was organized. We are as much
to blame as anyone else. Without organized opposition, the
administrators have reached new heights of repression and disregard of
our needs.
But the United Struggle from Within Nevada Council has taken steps to
organize this grievance campaign. We are calling on all nations within
the walls of HDSP; PC, GP or otherwise, put aside your differences and
conflicts. We are not enemies. We are allies, and share a common
interest in fighting back against what we are faced with every day.
So, we are putting out the call. Let’s stop all hostilities and join
together in raising our voices as one and demanding that we be treated
as humans.
Comrades within the USW in Nevada have already united with a few nations
in this struggle. There are already over 30 grievances filed! Change
will occur, but only if each of us do our part to fight back.
To aid you in this struggle, we have compiled examples of the grievances
that have been filed. The examples cover all three grievance levels. We
are also writing up an example civil complaint, which can be utilized to
challenge the NDOC in court.
If you want change, fight for it. Join our campaign. Stop all
hostilities, and pick up the pen!
MIM(Prisons) adds: Nevada was where the first September 9 Day of
Peace and Solidarity originated in 2012. It’s good to see comrades in
Nevada keeping it moving. Any prisoners of the state of Nevada can write
us for a copy of the example grievances.
I was transferred to California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and
State Prison (CSATF). Me and a companion from the former prison we
arrived from knew that we had arrived at a concentration camp that was
as shitty of a place as we could have ended up in. One can always tell
the make-up of a prison by the writings on the walls of its R&R. If
its toilets look like something that one could catch a disease from just
staring at, and the pigs search out the property seizing every single
object that the average person would assume allowable; face it, you’re
in hell.
Time has found me here, but since the 30th of March, and there have
already been several incidents forced before me, one of which surprised
the living world out of me. And this isn’t something I say lightly. I am
a person with pretty thick skin who would like to believe can handle
just about anything. But on 6 May 2017, I was revealed a sign that
showed me maybe I am not quite ready to handle it all.
I was solicited for murder of an inmate by a California correctional
officer.
On the date of 6 May 2017, at CSATF, approx. 12:05 p.m. after
returning from rec. yard to the assigned living quarters D2-211 to be
informed by the cell-mate occupying the quarters with me that the
facility unit officer Pano had conducted a punitive cell search of the
quarters in response to the cell-mate’s failure to return to the living
quarters in a timely matter, having my cooling fan confiscated.
The cell-mate mentioned is an XXX YYY ZZZZ, 28-years-old.
I reported to the officer in question C/O Pano, who was covered by
colleague C/O Barajas – female floor officer – and C/O Martines – male
tower officer – where I opened a dialogue with Pano in regards to an
explanation for the confiscation/seizure of my cooling fan; at a time
when the temperatures of the living quarters are rising to high
levels.
C/O Pano replied that the objective of the search was to “give him
the attention that he was looking for” referring to XXX YYY ZZZZ.
I notified C/O Pano that I had nothing to do with him and XXX YYY
ZZZZ problem, and it was unfair that I’d had my personal property
confiscated as a result of another person’s actions. I informed this
officer that I would not be held accountable for another prisoner’s
actions unless he was somehow asking me to rectify the problem between
him and XXX YYY ZZZZ by “handling it.”
By “handling it”, I for all intents and purposes meant to do bodily
harm to XXX YYY ZZZZ, as physical force is the only power I have over
another, to harm an inmate – being an inmate myself – I went so far as
to describe “bashing his head into the wall”, as to getting a clear
understanding to the degree of violence that officer Pano smiled at me
and said, “You know how it goes, it’s just business.”
But I didn’t “know how it go.” I am not accustomed to officers
soliciting my service to do harm to another inmate. Though I have
experienced in the past, officers of CDCR attempting to incite violence
between myself and a cell-mate out of retaliation for a cell-mate’s
misbehavior. [Officers conducted a punitive cell search of my assigned
living quarters, destroyed only my property and then informed me that it
was because of my cell-mate that the nature of the cell search
transpired as it did, hoping I’d take my anger out on him, See,
KVSP-APPEAL-602-0-10-00887]
I am a political prisoner freedom fighter with many years of
experience in dealing with crooked officers who abuse their power,
invested into both badge and seal by the republic of California to cross
up prisoners and have them framed for rule violations and criminal
charges in the local courts. My particular history can be reviewed in
the Superior Court of CA County of Kern, “People of California v. David
Cauthen DF010469A.”
Officers at Kern Valley State Prison made me the target of a
physical beat down, while in handcuffs, for my leadership role in a ten
man protest on the rec yard. KVSP officials came together in an effort
to frame me in disorder to cover up their attack on me. False statements
were made in reports used to have me prosecuted by Kern Valley District
Attorney Lisa Green, Officer of the Court, in a criminal complaint based
on charges of ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A POLICE OFFICER. I spent nearly two
years in California’s Security Housing Unit defending myself in court on
bogus charges.
When it comes to the struggle being waged between California and its
most advanced political prisoners, I may be considered an expert.
Identifying the sneaky tactics of officers/pigs instigating problems
amongst the prison population to justify their failure to correct &
rehabilitate. I have made it a point to single-handedly lead the charge
of political prisoners uniting and holding the state accountable for
their actions.
I believe it is in a database held by the state that I am who I say
I am and C.O.s may and often do access this data for their own personal
information. Officer Pano had to have accessed this information to make
himself familiar with me as a prisoner with capabilities of committing
violence against another prisoner.
After standing in the center of the dayroom of the unit, pleading
with Officer Pano that as it had begun to get extremely hot in the cells
[The staff at CSATF TURNS THE HEAT ON IN THE SUMMER TIME] his decision
to enter my living quarters and confiscate the cooling fan used to keep
me cool, would be construed as inhumane & cruel treatment. He just
smiled and walked away to retrieve the fan.
Pano returned the fan, but not without making a smug statement about
how I needed to “get at my celly” and how he’d return to confiscate the
fan if the particulars of a situation did not check out.
I returned to my assigned living quarters without any further
dialogue with Pano. Upon my return I opened a dialogue with my cell-mate
XXX YYY ZZZZ in relation to his actions having an effect upon my
program, bringing about unnecessary altercation with the Babylon, and
what could be done to rectify the situation.
I informed XXX YYY ZZZZ that the Babylonian officer had acted in a
manner that would cause the two of us to be placed in a cross. It was
intended for me to act rash in response to the level of disrespect
suffered at the hands of both “Ant” and the Babylons, but as a righteous
member of the Black Riders Liberation Party and leader of the United
Struggle from Within Chapel Group Ra’star Far I, Prison Ministries I
would not be puppeted by the pigs.
I informed “Ant” that there were two options. 1) The two of us could
file a complaint and get paid from the Babylons’ willingness to break
the law, or 2) we could fight, like the pigs wanted, for the disrespect
suffered to my character and make our people look like fools. I
explained to him how I aspired to be a member of the African People’s
Socialist Party and could not in good conscience support the second
option and preferred the first alternative. He too agreed and settled
for the first option.
I immediately got to work drawing up the statement of facts for the
entire incident. Once I had concluded my works I took my outcome to the
young ndugu “Ant” to read over. To my surprise he lit up and seemed on
fire to bring justice to the situation. We agreed that the facts I
outlined were best and should be moved forward on.
But on the following day, 8 May 2017, things took a turn for the
worst. I reported from my work assignment as a Main Kitchen Baker,
making about $0.15 an hour :( Upon arrival to the living quarters I
discovered that my cell-mate had rolled up, voluntarily removed himself
from the yard and was in the process of being transferred to a more
safe/comfortable living environment.
This young African stole close to $400 worth of property from me and
the Babylons helped him pack it up and travel to the program office. The
pigs actually inventoried my belongings as being inside of his property
and tried to tell me that it was nothing they could do about it when I
brought it to their attention. This alone confirmed to me that the
Babylon had planted this lost ndugu amongst my ranks to distract my
mission and disorder my campaign to unite the prisoner masses.
This ndugu was allowed to roll up with a variety of valuables, but
what was of a tell-tale sign that the individual was a plant is that he:
1) Took the complaint that I had put together, 2) He stole letters from
the latest supporters of my United Front for Peace in Prisons project
“FREE KING DAVID” as a means to interfere with communications, and 3) He
stole the goods of commerce to support the economical needs of an
initiative to finance the subscriptions to: “The Burning Spear,” “The 5%
Power Paper,” “The Final Call,” “The Bayview Newspaper,” and “Under Lock
& Key.”
After establishing a partnership with the leader of “Peace Behind
Bars” to develop a system of exchange inside prisons using photos of
women, to remind men what they struggle to be released to, for postage I
convinced this brother to begin printing photos for my project so that I
can begin accumulating postage stamps, and in turn offer them to the
comrades employed by the above publications in order to have the
publications mailed in to the yard with hopes of raising the awareness
level. I had a total of 50 wonderful photos prices at the least 8
postage stamps alone. Taking care of the bill of one subscription, dues
to he who made it possible and postage for a new 50 photos to be mailed.
But all was delayed by Babylon.
I have submitted the report as a complaint of C.O.s soliciting
murder from me as of 22 May 2017. So I trust Babylon will bring its
fire. All of this comes right after the announcement published in
“Turning The Tide” of my works to move along the United Front for Peace
in Prison and a complaint filed at the previous prison against “UNSAFE
WORKING CONDITIONS” in support of the 2016 nationwide prison work
stoppage. [See, CSATF Appeal-STAFF COMPLAINT-D-17-02787- ]
I write this statement to describe to brothers & sisters behind the
wire inside Babylon of what staying strong under pressure looks like.
When you sign up to join forces with groups like the Ida B. Wells
Coalition Against Police Brutality, Anti-Racist Action/People Against
Racist Terror, Black Riders Liberation Party, Uhuru Movement and the
United Struggle from Within, Babylon is going to bring its death game.
We must remain strong under fire and lean even greater on the teachings
of the groups mentioned above, and those not, placing the people’s
principles into practice.
No matter who you are, radiate the teachings and uphold good conduct.
Feed other prisoners who wander the path of the freedom fighters and
trust in the teachings, not the student. The Babylon will scratch and
claw at what it fears threatens its existence as a system of power
oppressing the people. All of the above mentioned groups are feared
because they bring light to the minds of prisoners, who are essentially
the most capable mass of people in the United $tates to free themselves
from the strongholds of imperialism.
Educate yourself on the methods of government interference with United
Front culture campaigns, that you will be prepared. Both state and
federal government agencies will go out of their way (the District of
Columbia) in order to intimidate the members. In the newsletter
publication of Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons, ULK
No.56, there is a story published titled,
“No
TX pack tactics have worked,” by a Texas prisoner. This story really
touched me because I know the struggle. It feels like it’s all a waste
of time, but it’s not! I’ve learned that we won’t see the works of our
labor filing charges against the Department, but it will be NOTICE.
At the moment the Campaign Demanding that our Grievances be addressed is
in a phase where supporters of the campaign in states across the U.$.
are familiarizing themselves with the art of serving NOTICE to the
office that corruption is taking place. Once prisoners master the art of
serving NOTICE, then they will learn to FILE CHARGES against the office
with the right people/agency, forcing the Department to make a public
statement officially ANSWERING to our charge :)
The comrades being released will then begin holding court with the
agents/representatives in the streets. Until then, just keep documenting
the corruption until you have a book to release. And you will see the
movement that has been here all along. Keep it sharp, keep it tight.
In struggle, David S. Cauthen, Jr.
MIM(Prisons) adds: Since receiving this report, the comrade has
asked for supporters to call CSATF on eir behalf at (559) 992-7100. Ey
is going to initiate a civil complaint. The appeals coordinators are not
even processing the appeals, they’re just rubber stamping them. Callers
should inquire:
Why wasn’t a report filed? A crime occurred.
Why was a complaint against a C.O. processed as a first level appeal
when it was accepted on its charges of “An Officer Soliciting Murder”?
Why was appeal log #SATF-D-17-03418 against SATF Appeals Coordinators
for failure to process appeals canceled by a Lt. N. SCAIFE – an officer
who wrote themselves into the coordinators office?
As this example paints quite clearly, the campaign to have grievances
heard in California prisons, which began over 7 years ago, is a campaign
to get the CDCR to put a stop to life-threatening behavior by their
staff. The lives of the oppressed nation lumpen are given little regard
in this injustice system. Those in power manipulating their wards to
fight and kill each other has long been a practice in California prisons
to control those who the state sees as a threat. The notorious
“gladiator fights” staged by staff in the Corcoran Security Housing Unit
is just one blatant example of this. So while the right to have
grievances heard may seem like a nicety of civil society, it is more
than that. It is about the oppressed having recourse when their lives
are threatened by their captors.
Our comrade has already been retaliated against with a transfer for
filing a complaint on the above incident, filed by a grievance when the
Appeals Coordinator refused to NOTICE the complaint. We expose this case
to rally support on the inside and the outside for the campaign for a
meaningful grievance process in California prisons, and in all the
states across the country waging this same battle.