Under Lock & Key

Successful Grievance Against Limits on Legal Mail

From Hughes Unit: "I won my grievance due to interference from the department law library which deals with offenders who are indigent. They were saying five letters a month for everything and they were trying to stop my legal mail from going out to the courts. There is no limit on legal mail! They were also trying only to give us supplies like 25 sheets of paper, one pen, five envelopes a month. But an indigent offender who is doing legal work can have this once a week, and mail out as much legal work he or she wants."

One prisoner from Allred wrote Step 1 and Step 2 grievances requesting additional stamps. Because of his need to use his 5 indigent mail stamps to pursue legal research this prisoner was unable to write to family and friends and so requested additional stamps from the Warden. The first request prior to the grievances stated "I need to mail 5 more letters this month using indigent [mail]. ... This unit law library is giving me the run around having me write and ask everybody under the sun. They don't know about the 83rd Legislature House Bill 634 by Farias of Texas. It's the holidays, I need extra 5 letters this month." The response from the Warden: "That doesn't meet any legal requirement and I don't have the authority to allow you extra postage for that." Responses to his grievances following up on the Warden's denial included denying the Step 1 for "excessive attachments." The attachments were copies of his initial attempts to resolve the issue without filing a grievance.

Based on the victory from the prisoner in Hughes Unit, we encourage prisoners to appeal their access to stamps for legal mail separately from the restriction on personal mail.

Restrictions on Receipt of Stationary

A comrade in Eastham Unit reported: "Each year the big wigs running Texas prisons decide on what to take from the prisoners next. This year it involves indigent mail and stationary sent in from the outside. Prisoners who have no money on their trust fund account are able to receive supplies (paper, pen, envelopes) and send out letters through the indigent mail. Before this March prisoners could send out five letters a week, now it's just five letters a month... What's worse is that we're charged for indigent mail services. Whenever we get money on our account, the cost for every letter mailed and each supply is deducted.

"Prior to March our friends and family could have stationary from an outside store sent to us. This was eliminated, and now our only option is purchasing stationary from commissary, and paying their prices. Like any oppressor, TDCJ enjoys coming up with new ideas and ways to make life more difficult for their captors. There's strength in numbers. The more of us who write grievances, send letters to state politicians, and get the word out to our family and friends, the better chance we have of telling our oppressors that we're not going to take this lying down."

This comrade is right on about the strength in numbers. We have a number of prisoners across the state working on this campaign to end the restrictions on correspondence in Texas, and we've come up with a few key steps for prisoners and supporters to take.

Some jailhouse lawyers have created guides to fighting this injustice as well as a broader grievance guide for Texas, and we are seeing an influx of prisoners requesting these resources. We look forward to the results of this growing activism in this state with the largest prison population and one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.

For this indigent mail campaign in particular, we have a sample step 1 grievance for prisoners to use as well as a sample step 2 grievance for those whose step 1 is rejected. Write to us for a copy of the indigent mail campaign guide.

I recently wrote to you inquiring about how I can contribute to the struggle within, possibly by joining forces with USW. A few solid brothers and myself are in accordance with the 5 basic key principles/ideas that the United Front for Peace in Prisons represents. However, at Perry Correctional Institution (where I am currently confined), the consciousness is low amongst the masses due to the oppressor's effective psychological warfare tactics being enforced at all angles (fear, divide & conquer, rewards, isolation, etc.). This specific prison is designed to be the "breaking camp" for prisoners, where they train prisoners to be more "obedient" to further assist the oppressor's aim for control and financial advancement.

There are a lot of prisoner violations that occur at this plantation, but one in particular is the grievance system. South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) has recently implemented a procedure where you must first submit a request form to the appropriate officer/supervisor attempting to informally resolve your issue. The officer is then provided 45 days to respond to your request, which most officers refuse to do. If you are lucky enough to receive a response, then you are given only 5 days, including weekends, to submit your grievance after your request form has been answered. Then to add insult to injury, many grievances are never returned and the grievance officials feign ignorance as to what happened to it.

The grievance process/system within South Carolina Department of Corruption is substandard and blatantly violates prisoners' constitutional rights. I am unsure whether South Carolina is covered by the grievance campaign or not, but we are definitely experiencing similar issues in our grievance process and I would like to join this campaign. Please keep me updated in the decisions or proposals for combatting the grievance system and let me know what is needed of me and my comrades here.

Also, please provide any material available which may assist me in awakening the masses of how to fight against the oppressor and how to unite on a common ground with individuals in different groups. I will strive to become a ULK Field Corespondent for South Carolina in the future, whatever I can do to assist the struggle.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We commend these comrades in South Carolina for coming together around the United Front for Peace principals and doing the work to identify the critical campaign needs in their prison. The grievance campaign is not yet active in South Carolina but we look forward to working with these folks to customize the grievance petition for that state and get the struggle moving forward there. To work on this campaign in your state, write to MIM(Prisons) for a copy of the petition, and if one does not exist for your state you can help by modifying the petition for use there.

Although the law says we can aid others (illiterate or unskilled) on appeals and legal work, we can no longer legally pass papers "cell to cell," so now we can only help others verbally. (Thanks to Assistant Warden Robertson).

In addition, the 2011 CDCR rules limit all grievance appeals to one single issue appeal per 14 days. If we "Abuse" this abuse of our 1st amendment right to file grievances on the government, it is cut to one per 30 days. When I got here (in 1983) it was 2 appeals per week (104/year). Then cut to 1 per week (52/year), then 1/2 per week and 1/30 days if you exercise your 1st amendment rights. I'm on my second year of the limit to 1 per 30 days because of my work exercising my legal rights.

I'm fighting this under 42 USC 1983. "Judge" Rogers keeps stalling but I got her sleazy and false dismissal reversed.

UPDATE February 2016: This case has entered court as Clark v. Jeffrey Beard CV-11-03520. The comrade fighting this has reported that Judge Rogers has thrown out all testimony from M.L. Davis (Appeal boss of San Quentin) on 4 perjuries and 1 faked document, Davis has since retired to keep his pension rather than be fired.

MIM(Prisons) adds: This limit on grievance appeals is a blatant example of the Amerikan criminal injustice system restricting prisoner's legal rights. Grievances are one of the only opportunities for prisoners to fight abuse and illegal policies and restrictions. Often these grievances are ignored or "lost". Because of these practices, and restrictions like the ones described here, United Struggle from Within initiated the grievance campaign, first in California and now in ten states across the country, with petitions for these states that prisoner's can use to demand our grievances be addressed. Write to us for a copy of the petition for your state, or to help create one if you do not live in a state where this has already been done.

Each year the big wigs running Texas prisons decide on what to take from the prisoners next. This year it involves indigent mail and stationary sent in from the outside. Prisoners who have no money on their trust fund account are able to receive supplies (paper, pen, envelopes) and send out letters through the indigent mail. Before this March prisoners could send out five letters a week, now it's just five letters a month. Going from twenty to just five letters a month shows how indifferent and uncaring towards our family members and friends the prison administration really is. What's worse is that we're charged for indigent mail services. Whenever we get money on our account, the cost for every letter mailed and each supply is deducted.

Prior to this March our friends and family could have stationary from an outside store sent to us. This was eliminated, and now our only option is purchasing stationary from commissary, and paying their prices. Like any oppressor, TDCJ enjoys coming up with new ideas and ways to make life more difficult for their captors. There's strength in numbers. The more of us who write grievances, send letters to state politicians, and get the word out to our family and friends, the better chance we have of telling our oppressors that we're not going to take this lying down.

MIM(Prisons) adds: This comrade is right on about the strength in numbers. We have a number of prisoners across the state working on this campaign to end the restrictions on correspondence in Texas, and we've come up with a few key steps for prisoners and supporters to take.

Some jailhouse lawyers have created guides to fighting this injustice as well as a broader grievance guide for Texas, and we are seeing an influx of prisoners requesting these resources. We look forward to the results of this growing activism in this state with the largest prison population and one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.

When a prisoner writes the TDCJ Executive Director it will always be forwarded to the Ombudsman. They (Ombud) will always reply that they do not respond to prisoner complaints and that the grievance procedures should be followed. It's a "closed loop" to prisoners.

The Call to Action that I wrote which included the contacts were primarily for our family and friends to put pressure on authorities so that our grievances are more effective - eg. our families should contact the Executive Director and Ombudsman to file an official complaint about the policy change.

I got my Step 2 back around November and I sent it to the Texas Civil Rights Project to see if they would be interested in representing this issue in a lawsuit. I am yet to get a response from the Texas Civil Rights Project. It could be worth while if someone could contact them (TCRP) about this issue to prompt a response to my correspondence to them as I know they get piles of mail every week.

We not only need to file grievances but also strongly encourage our freeworld friends and family to contact all the contacts on the Call to Action to put a lot of pressure on the Texas Board of Criminal Justice to repeal the policy.

I believe it is futile to send the Texas Grievance Petition to the Executive Director because of the closed loop with the correspondence being forwarded to the Ombudsman. It could be worthwhile for freeworld people to send a version of the petition to the Exec Dir but I think prisoners need to start directing the petition to someone else.

I also want to mention that this mail restriction should not affect legal/privileged correspondence - prisoners should still be able to send 5 per week.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We received information from another prisoner on this same issue:

Comrades in Texas, do not send your petitions to the Executive Director or Central Grievance office because they are not working in our favor. They only forward the petitions to departments that don't address these issues, who contacted me and said "address this grievance related issues on a unit level with the grievance investigators."

We on the Polunsky plantations are sending our petitions to: ARRM Division, Administrator, PO Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342-0099. I suggest that all Texas prisoners do the same so that we will be in solidarity. Let's flood their office with our complaints. If this doesn't work we will flood the DOJ in Washington DC. Let's work in solidarity!

We agree with these comrades' recommendations that prisoners focus sending their grievances to somewhere other than the Executive Director. We suggest the following addresses:

ARRM Division, Administrator
PO Box 99
Huntsville, TX 77342-0099

Senator John Whitmire
PO Box 12068, Capitol Station
Austin, TX 78711

Oliver Bell
Chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice
PO Box 13084
Austin, TX 78711-3084

We also now have a sample Step 2 grievance available to those who had their Step 1 on this issue rejected. Write to us if you need a copy of this.

We know this campaign is not going to change the criminal injustice system in any significant way. But restrictions on mail access is equivalent to cutting many people off from the outside world. And for those who are engaged in educational and organizing work, this is a significant problem. For this reason, focusing a campaign on restrictions on indigent correspondence is important to our broader organizing work.

MIM(Prisons) received this petition from one of our readers. We print it here in full because it does a good job exposing the neglect and abuse at SCI Albion. We do sometimes engage in petitioning government officials for reforms in prison, though petitions with such a broad scope of abuses do not have a history of success. Nonetheless, campaigns such as this one are important educational tools and we hope this one inspires activists to get involved in fighting the criminal injustice system in Pennsylvania. Our one point of disagreement is with the introductory quote from the Anarchist organizer Anthony Rayson: as we have repeatedly demonstrated, prisons are not "for-profit" and in fact take a big loss subsidized by the U.$. government.

A Call to End Oppression: United We Stand

"Prisons aren't about crime control, they're about for-profit repression. In fact they are a huge, government-run, criminal enterprise wildly profitable, & completely paid for by ripped-off taxpayers." - Anthony Rayson

The State Correctional Institution Albion in Western Pennsylvania, is a notorious prison for frequent abuse & torture of prisoners, some are held years in solitary confinement without any chance to see daylight, medical negligence has led to the suffering and death of thousands of prisoners. Lack of adequate mental health care has driven many to commit suicide. The taxpayer's money is being used to prop up an untamed beast that only the people of Pennsylvania can stop.

We ask that you support the struggle for humane conditions and rehabilitation by signing the attached petition, copying it, and mail it to the listed officials, or sacrifice a few minutes of your time by calling the officials and stating the demands/issues in the petition.

Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Washington, DC 20530-0001
202-353-1555

Secretary of Corrections
John E. Wetzel
1920 Technology Parkway
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
717-728-0312

Senator Ronald Waters
6027 Ludlow St - Unit A
Philadelphia, PA 19112
215-748-6712

Senator Shirley Kitchen
1701 W. Lehigh Ave, Suite 107
Philadelphia, PA 19132
214-227-6161

Senator Le Anna Washington
1555-A Wadsworth Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19150
215-272-0475

Governor Tom Corbett
225 Capitol Bldg
Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-787-2500

Public Complaint & Petition
To: U.S. Department of Justice
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett
Pennsylvania State Senators
Secretary of Corrections John E. Wetzel

From:

Date:

Re: Stop prisoner abuse - inadequate medical/mental health treatment & care - real rehabilitation
This petition comes pursuant to and in full compliance with the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution and Pennsylvania Constitution Article 1 Section 20; the people have the authority to petition government officials and to redress of grievances.

Inadequate Mental Health Treatment

SCI Albion officials are not providing adequate mental health treatment to mentally ill prisoners that are warehoused in the Restricted Housing Unit (RHU) (Solitary Confinement) that exacerbates their mental deterioration (i.e. cutting/self-mutilation, suicides attempts, smearing/throwing of fecal matter & bodily waste, etc.)

Mary Beth Anderson, an unlicensed psychologist assigned to the RHU to provide and assist prisoners with psycho-therapy, fails to comply with the PDOC policy DC-Adm. 6.5.1 that states: "Psychologist is to visit the RHU 5 days a week and evaluate each inmate in the RHU every 30 days," Ms. Anderson clearly acts hostile to, and in an unethical manner towards prisoners under her care who have sought assistance. Two such prisoners under Mary Beth Anderson's personal responsibility committed suicide, Stoney Schaefer on October 25, 2012, and Harry Cooper on December 9, 2012. Prisoners continue to deteriorate detrimentally in the RHU due to the lack of treatment, with no apparent signs of improvement.

Dr. Steven Reilly, (LMP), is the supervisor of all the (so-called) "unlicensed psychologists" at SCI Albion, who allegedly has been known to manipulate a prisoner's diagnoses, and also dictates to the institution's psychiatrist Dr. Gottsman how to prescribe to the prisoner(s), even when it doesn't conform correctly to a mental disorder; a review of a prisoner's dispensed "psychotropic" medication(s) and their joint-diagnoses will bear this out as occurring.

He also allows the (so-called) "unlicensed psychologist" staff to neglect prisoners who seek help. Two cases in point were of James Whitman who committed suicide September 22, 2013, and a prisoner named Myers who set fire to his cell on the Special Needs Unit (housing unit for mentally ill) October 9, 2013, in an apparent attempted suicide as a result of being denied the treatment that's offered by the department.

Officials at SCI Albion house prisoners who attempt suicide in a Psychological Observation Cell (POC) these cells are designed as torture chambers where prisoners arey confined 24 hours a day with no counseling or therapy, the lights stay on round the clock, and they are forced to wear only a smock (cloth dress mode). These torture chambers only intensify their psychoses that only make them worse upon their return to general population, causing them to receive misconducts and then warehousing them in RHU (Solitary Confinement).

According to the Department of Correction's policy "All Correctional Officers shall receive an annual psychological evaluation," yet SCI Albion officers completely ignore this policy, guards at SCI Albion have not had their psychological evaluations done in years, for some decades, the resulting neglect ramps up the intensity leading to abuse and guards assaulted. The psychological evaluation is also necessary for guards who are active in the military that go to war and return to work with prisoners seething with a combat mentality. Data collected by the International Academy of Suicide Research indicate that prison guard's suicide rates are 39% higher than similar averages for other jobs. If proper psychological evaluations are carried out, it may prevent suicides of guards.

Inadequate Medical Treatment

Prisoners at SCI Albion are being denied proper health care. Prisoners held in the RHU (Solitary Confinement) that send in a request for medical treatment (sick call) get a physician's assistant at their door who attempts to diagnose them based on a brief conversation. Because of this, most prisoners are misdiagnosed, thus violating federal law (Privacy Act), by openly allowing prisoners' medical information disclosed within earshot to everyone on the "pod" (including prisoners).

Many prisoners who request medical treatment in general population and go to see the doctor or physician assistant, are often told to come back or are briefly seen and misdiagnosed. Derrick Jones, a former SCI Albion prisoner won a $312,000 lawsuit for medical negligence at the prison due to a misdiagnosis of a broken ankle as a sprain and inadequate treatment.

Many prisoners with serious medical conditions remain in general population in unsanitary conditions (housing) where they spread their diseases to other prisoners. Prisoners who are on the verge of their demise get housed in the infirmary where they are met with hostile nurses who don't have much regard for life. Dennis Austin died at the infirmary with bed-sores that were grossly infected, confirming a clear disregard for life even at the infirmary. Prisoners continue to die/suffer to death due to lack of adequate care.

No Access to Courts

Valarie C. Kusiak (CCPM) and acting Deputy Melinda Adams are both in charge of the law library at SCI Albion where prisoners' access to the courts and law library are denied. The law library sessions mostly are canceled with no make-up dates; also prisoners are allowed only one 30 minute slot per week access which hinders their research abilities to type up documents and make copies. Also, Ms. Kusiak and Ms. Adams took all the law books out of the law library denying prisoners vital information needed for research. In times of court deadlines, prisoners are not granted extra time to prepare documents and are denied the means to make copies, often leading to losing appeals.

Inadequate Food

Prisoners at SCI Albion are given unhealthy food. The food served to prisoners is uncooked, and the meat is old and freezer burnt. Vegetables and fruit are rotten; milk is 3 days past its sell-by date that most prisoners throw away. Prisoners are getting sick due to these unhealthy food diets.

Inhumane Working Conditions

Prisoners at SCI Albion who are assigned jobs work without proper safety gear to protect them against many dangers. Prisoners working as plumbers do not wear any suits to protect their skin from exposure to the dirty pipes and water that carries Hepatitis C, HIV-Aids, and other viruses from others' body waste that they can be infected by due to a lack of appropriate safety gear. Painters that have to stand on ladders to paint do not have hard hats or eyewear that can protect them from a fall, or paint going in the eyes causing damage to sight. Warehouse workers do not have any hard hats, gloves, eyewear, or safety belt that puts them in great danger. Work related injuries happen quite frequently as a direct result of non-safe standards; also there are other various jobs without any safety measures.

Inadequate Programming & Education

Programs being offered to prisoners at SCI Albion have proven to be ineffective to a prisoners' rehabilitation. Prisoners are lectured in groups (i.e. Violence Prevention, A.O.D., Thinking for a Change, etc.) by coordinators who read from books and do not engage prisoners in critical thinking necessary for rehabilitation, also they allow prisoners to just sit around and talk amongst themselves, when they don't feel like reading and dismiss the group early; this happens a lot. Valarie C. Kusiak and Melinda Adams, who are in charge of programming, do not investigate the efficiency of the groups or prisoners' complaints that the groups are not beneficial.

There are no vocational programs/courses offered for prisoners that coincide with or compliment outside job market trends for ex-felon hiring's at sectors with available openings, leaving an unprepared prisoner upon release to continue a former life of crime that's due to the lack of proper occupational/preparatory instruction. SCI Albion has a 3-in-4 prisoner recidivism rate within a years' time.

The Texa$ Legislature cut $60 million from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) budget for 2012 and raised the medical co-pay from $3 per visit to $100 per year. They had the unrealistic expectation of collecting up to $15 million from the prisoners [see Prison Legal News, Oct 2012 p. 42]. As all of us have noticed, the TDCJ also enacted other corner cutting measures to save pennies. These include: cutting back on legal books at the law library, reducing education and rehabilitation programs, serving two meals on the weekend and dessert once a week, restricting indigent correspondence to 5 letters a month, banning freeworld stationary (so you must buy it from the commissary), and reducing the number of staff. The idea was to reduce expenses that would help Texa$ manage its massive budget shortfall.

This guide is about appealing the $100 medical co-pay in Texa$. It presents all the Co-Pay Exemptions that can be used to get your money back. We want to keep our very limited funds out of the hands of the TDCJ so that we can use it for more important purposes. Specifically, you are encouraged to spend any money you recover on educating and organizing others. Send a donation to Under Lock & Key to expand the pages in this valuable resource, create study groups and make copies of literature to study, copy and distribute grievance petitions to fight the corrupt grievance process and to end the limit on indigent correspondence, or buy stamps and envelopes for indigent prisoners who can't buy for themselves. There are a lot of things we need to be doing with our limited funds, so we fight to keep this money from being appropriated by the state.

How Do We Appeal The Medical Co-pay?

It is rather simple. Get a Step One Grievance (I-127) and explain on it why you are exempt. If your Step One is denied, follow through with the same argument in a Step Two (I-128). You will be surprised at how often the Appeal is granted. The issue is that most medical departments systematically charge everyone the co-pay out of hope you are ignorant about the exemptions and fail to appeal it. They get away with this because there is no confirmation necessary for them to charge you (compared to commissary purchases, receiving legal mail, sending indigent correspondence - all need your confirmation - but not the medical co-pay). Here is a brief example: Co-pay is not to be assessed for any prisoner receiving a clipper shave pass as they have been diagnosed with a chronic and permanent dermatologic condition - "pseudofolliculitis barbae." Diabetic prisoners who receive foot care, specifically toe nail trimming, as part of their chronic care treatment plan are not to be assessed a co-pay fee either.

The medical co-pay regulation can be found at Texas Government Code 501-063. The Administrative Director for it in TDCJ is AD 06-08. In relevant part, the Co-payment Determinations and Exemptions are found in Section III.

Here are the Exemptions:

A) Unless specifically exempted, offender-initiated visits shall be subject to a copayment (meaning that if you do not initiate the visit, i.e. work related or officer initiates it, then you are exempt).

B) A copayment shall NOT be charged if the health care service is the result of an emergency which includes, but is not limited to, injuries sustained as a result of an accident or assault. Such injuries shall be covered by the emergency visit exemption.

C) Copay shall NOT be charged if the health care services are related to the diagnosis or treatment of a communicable disease. Such services, including follow-up visits and testing, are exempt as either a chronic care visit or a department-initiated visit. Offenders shall not be charged for initiating communicable disease testing.

D) Initial requests for mental health reviews initiated by the offender are NOT subject to the copayment requirement. Emergency, follow-up, or chronic care requests for mental health reviews shall NOT be charged a copayment.

E) Follow-up visit related to the monitoring or treatment of a condition diagnosed in a previous visit with a health care provider are exempt from copayment charges.

F) Prenatal services, including the initial visit diagnosing pregnancy, subsequent examinations, testing, counseling and patient education services are specifically exempted from copayment requirements.

G) Physical or mental health screening, laboratory work, referrals and follow-up appointments provided or recommended as part of the initial intake diagnostic and reception process are exempt from the copayment requirement.

H) A health screening upon arrival at a new unit of assignment shall be considered a visit to a health care provider initiated by a health care provider and is exempt from the copayment requirement.

I) Prescriptions and medications are considered to be a result of a medical visit and follow-up procedures and are exempt from the copayment charge. No charge shall be assessed for accessing approved over-the-counter medications made available in the offender housing area.

J) A copayment applies to a single visit. An offender requesting a visit to a health care provider for multiple symptoms shall be charged only one copayment if the symptoms are addressed in the same visit. If a request for a visit with a health care provider results in scheduling of appointments with more than one provider, such as a dentist and a physician, the initial visit with each clinician is subject to the copayment requirement.

K) If an offender is being seen by a provider for services otherwise exempted from the copayment and during the course of the visit requests healthcare services related to a different condition then that being served, the additional request shall be treated as an initial offender-initiated visit, shall be documented in accordance with the walk in procedures, and are subject to the copayment requirement.

L) A copayment shall NOT be assessed for medical treatment of self-inflicted injuries. Offenders inflicting injuries on themselves shall be referred to mental health evaluations.

M) Offenders shall NOT be charged for "No-Shows" because a visit did not occur. The copayment requirement only applies if the offender is seen by a health care provider. "No-Shows" shall be documented in accordance with CMHC procedures.

N) Dental services are considered health care services and subject to the copayment requirements if the services are initiated by the offender. Exemptions from copayment requirements for emergencies, chronic care, follow-up, health screening and evaluations, and department initiated visits are to be applied in the same manner as for other health care services.

O) Physical evaluations following use of force incidents are required by TDCJ policy and are not subject to the copayment requirement.

P) Inpatient services are considered follow-up services and are not subject to the copayment requirement. These services include, but are not limited to, hospitalization, extended care nursing, hospice and unit infirmary inpatient care.

Q) Procedures or testing ordered by a Court or performed pursuant to state law are exempt from the copayment requirement.

R) Services provided under contractual obligation established pursuant to the Interstate Corrections Compact or under an agreement with another state that precludes the assessment of a copayment shall be exempt from the requirement to charge.

Each One, Teach One

Share this guide with those who need it. If you are a good grievance writer, then help those who may not feel as confident. And be sure to encourage everyone to make good use of the money they win through these grievances. It is not enough to just keep $100 out of the hands of the TDCJ. If that money is spent on unnecessary canteen purchases or on drugs or services that are bad for your health and/or a waste of money, you haven't actually accomplished anything. Spend this money on meaningful work to fight the criminal injustice system. Even a small donation can help with the education of others and the expansion of our work, and $100 can do a lot! Get in touch with MIM(Prisons) to make a donation or for more information about educating and organizing in Texas prisons and beyond.

Prisoners in Texas have been fighting the recently enacted restrictions on indigent correspondence which restricts indigent prisoners to 5 one-ounce domestic letters per month. As we've explained in other articles, this is an attack on the growing number of revolutionary voices in Texas speaking out to expose the barbaric treatment and inhumane conditions. One comrade created a grievance that prisoners can file and a list of people to contact to demand this policy be changed. We are now getting reports of responses to these grievances. And as usual, the prisons are just giving us the run-around.

One prisoner got a response to his grievance stating: "TDCJ as an Agency revised Board Policy 03.91 in August of 2013 affecting indigent mail. Those decisions are not made at the Unit level, merely enforced. No further action warrented."(sic)

Further, several prisoners have received form letters from the TDCJ Ombudsman's Office telling them that they Ombudsman will not be responding and they should contact the "appropriate unit staff" instead. "Issues regarding unit operations, disciplinary disputes, property issues, mail or any other matter relating to conditions of care or supervision may be formally addressed through the Offender Grievance Procedure..."

So basically the Ombudsman's Office says prisoner's must take up this issue via a grievance. And the unit staff respond to prisoner's grievances saying they can not address this issue because it is a state-wide policy. The original campaign urged people to contact a variety of TDCJ leaders and Texas politicians. To date we have no reports of any response from them.

This campaign is an important battle to ensure the voices of Texas prisoners can be heard. Limits on correspondance mean we will be unable to get regular reports of abuses behind bars, and unable to maintain study and communication with politically active comrades. We must continue the pressure and demand more than just form letters and dismissals to our protests.

This pamphlet is a compilation of the work a prisoner, who is a member of the National Lawyer's Guild (Jailhouse Lawyer member) and sits on the Steering Committee of the NLG Mass Incarceration Committee and a pamphlet produced by the Director of the Prisoners' Rights Program, Texas Civil Rights Project (Oficina legal del Pueblo Unido, Inc. 1405 Montopolis Drive Austin, Tx 78741-3438 www.TexasCivilRightsProject.org). MIM(Prisons) combined the information put together by these authors and we welcome feedback, corrections and additions.

Introduction

Regardless of what mistakes you may have made in the past, there is one thing that being in prison can never change, and that's the fact that as a humyn being you have unalienable rights. These rights can never be taken away from you. The Texa$ prison system encourages the belief that we have no rights, that somehow by violating a statutory law you lose your constitutional or humyn rights. This is a demoralizing lie. The purpose of prison is to separate us from society for a specific period of time, not to be sadistically mistreated by prison officials. Texa$ will continue to abuse and violate our rights until we make a stand and demand they either reform or abolish their oppressive, outdated and counterproductive ways.

Our greatest advantage is that we have numbers, at least 166,000 prisoners. Our biggest disadvantage is ignorance. Most prisoners don't know their rights. this guide has been written by prisoners for prisoners. It is to show you what your rights are, how to stand up for them, and why it is important to do so. No one on the outside can do this for us. They can help and support us but only those within the prison walls can make a real difference. This guide is the first step in getting things changed: being paid for work, meaningful good time, conjugal visits, not being forced to shave, legitimate rehab programs, and humane living conditions and treatment (just to name a few).

The information in this guide is for the benefit of all Texas prisoners. Empower yourself with its knowledge and then actively pass that knowledge on to others. If you are incarcerated in a state other than Texas, I would encourage you to put together your own grievance guide.

Your Rights in Prison - Learn them!

Here are some of your rights in prison:

1. Freedom from discrimination and the right to equal protection
   
2. The right to due process (the fair and proper application of law and policy - this includes disciplinary cases too)
   
3. The right to freedom of speech and expression
   
4. Prison officials can not open legal or privileged mail unless in your presence to inspect for contraband only (See BP 03-91)
   
5. You have to right to practice your religion - you also have the right to meet with a religious leader and to attend religious services of your faith.
   
6. You have the right to decent and safe conditions in prison - prisoners are entitled to sanitary toilet facilities, proper trash procedures and basic supplies such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, toilet paper, razors, shower shoes and cleaning products.
   
7. Guards to not have the right to harm or beat you.
   
8. Prisons must provide prisoners with opportunities for exercise outside their cells
   
9. Prison food needs to meet nutritional standards (not just calorie count)
   
10. Prisons must provide you with adequate medical care
    
11. When you ask for a grievance or request to speak to a ranking office they must do it. It is not discretionary.
    
12. Prisoners have the right to complain about prison conditions and voice their concerns about the treatment they receive without retaliation.
    
13. You have the right against guard harassment
    
14. You have the right against torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
    
15. Collective punishment is prohibited
    
16. You have the right against being held in slavery or servitude in any form. You must be legitimately compensated for the work you do in prison ("goodtime" in Texas is not legitimate compensation because it is meaningless. It only goes towards parole eligibility - which is still at the Parole Board's discretion - and must be signed back to the State in order to make parole).
    
17. You have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, even for disciplinary cases.

Detailed Guide to Filing a Grievance in a Texas Prison or Jail

In most cases, prisoners must file a grievance about a problem in prison before they can file a lawsuit. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires prisoners to "exhaust administrative remedies" before they can take a problem to federal court. Though grievances may not work, an inmate must at least try to fix a problem through the grievance process. In most prisons and jails, "exhausting administrative remedies" requires filing a grievance and an appeal. If an appeal is not also filed, a prisoner has not "exhausted" their remedies and cannot go to federal court.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice
For prisoners in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, complete a Step 1 (I-127) and Step 2 (I-128) grievance. Be careful to follow TDCJ's grievance rules.

Before you file: Talk with prison staff about the problem. This is considered "Informal resolution."

How to file:

1. Get a grievance form from TDCJ. Forms should be available in the law library and your housing unit.
   
2. Follow these guidelines when you write your grievance:
   Only write about the issue you want help with. Each grievance can only discuss one problem. If you have more than one problem, write a different grievance for each problem. Remember you are limited to writing one grievance per week.
   When you write the grievance, explain who you talked to and what they did (if anything) about your problem in the "Informal resolution" part.
   Be sure to file your grievance within 15 days of learning about the problem, or as soon as possible.
   Make sure you include how you would like to have the problem solved. For example, if you are sick and need to see a doctor, write "I want to see a doctor."
   Do not use indecent, vulgar, or threatening language. TDCJ has the right to refuse to process a grievance with bad language.
   
3. TDCJ has 40 days to respond to your Step 1 grievance. You can file a Step 2 grievance as soon as you receive a response to your Step 1 grievance. If 40 days have passed and you have still not received a response and you have not been notified that there will be a delay, you can proceed to file the Step 2 grievance. You must file a Step 2 grievance within 15 days of receiving the response to your Step 1 grievance. TDCJ has 35 more days to process a Step 2 grievance.
   
4. Always keep copies of your returned grievances. You may need them later on and it can be difficult to obtain copies.

TDCJ polices and procedures
Actions of an employee
Harassment and/or retaliation for use of the grievance procedure or access to courts
Violation of your rights
Loss or damage of personal property by TDCJ
Basic care (things that TDCJ has control over)

State or Federal law
Parole decisions
Time served credit disputes

Restitution of property, either monetary or compensatory (see Gov Code §501-007)
Change of policy, procedures, rules or practice
Correction of records
Other relief as appropriate

Request for consequential or punitive damages
Request for disciplinary action against guards or employees (Note: you can request that appropriate action be taken to remind the guard of policy/your rights).

If jail staff will not explain how to file a grievance to you, you may not be required to file a grievance before taking your case to court. Make notes about who you asked for help filing a grievance and what they told you.

All county jails are inspected every year by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. To report a problem to the Commission, you can complete an online form here:
http://www.tcjs.state.tx.us/complaint.php. The postal address is: PO Box 12985, Austin TX 78711-2985 (no TDCJ complaints). Contacting the Commission does not exhaust administrative remedies under the PLRA. If you wish to take legal action, You must also make sure to follow the jail's grievance policies in most cases.

If TYC does not satisfactorily respond to the grievance within 15 business days, you must appeal. Ask the facility who appeals should be given to. Children, parents, and advocates may file appeals in the same way. If the appeal does not resolve the problem within 15 business days, another appeal must be filed with TYC's executive director at TYC's central office.

For children on parole, the process is the same. Children on parole can get a grievance form from the district parole office where they report.

For more information about TYC's grievance process, see TYC's website: http://austin.tyc.state.tx.us/Cfinternet/gap/93/gap9331.htm

Children, family and youth advocates can also contact the Office of the Independent Ombudsman: http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/ombudsman/index.html, an independent watchdog agency supervising TYC. Speaking with the Ombudsman does not exhaust administrative remedies under the PLRA. If you wish to take legal action, you must also make sure to follow the grievance procedures in most cases.

If you file your lawsuit in state court, the PLRA does not apply to TYC and County jail prisoners.
The PLRA only applies to people in prison, so it may be possible to wait until you are released to file your case. (Remember, though, in most cases you must file within 2 years of when the problem occurred. Do not wait to get out if it will take more than 2 years.)
If you want to file a lawsuit because someone you are related to died in prison, you do not need to file grievances.

If there is any doubt about whether you qualify for an exception, you should file grievances. Try to talk to a lawyer before relying on an exception. Overall the authors of this guide encourage prisoners to follow the PLRA guidelines rather than trying to circumvent it with an exception.

Some Noteworthy Government Codes

These Texas Governmental Codes may be useful to quote in your grievance

§500-001 - 'Supervisory or Disciplinary Authority of Inmates' (this prohibits prisoners disciplining or supervising another prisoner)
§501-002 "If an employee of the department commits an assault on an inmate….the executive director shall file a complaint with the proper official of the county in which the offense occurred." (If you are assaulted it could be worthwhile writing the executive director or get your family/friends to contact him directly and remind him of his statutory obligation to contact the sheriff).
§501-003 "The department shall ensure that inmates … are fed good and wholesome food, prepared under sanitary conditions and provided in sufficient quantity and reasonable variety."
§501-007 "The department may pay for the miscellaneous funds appropriated to the division claims made by inmates … for property lost or damaged by the division."
§501-008 Inmate Grievance System - must provide procedures "for an inmate to identify evidence to substantiate the inmates claim."
§501-010 "a) the institutional division shall allow the governor, member of the legislature, and members of the executive and judicial branches to enter at proper hours any part of a facility operated by the division where inmates are housed or work, for purpose of observing the operations of the division. A visitor described by this subsection may talk with inmates away from institutional division employees."
§501-055 Report of Inmate Death
§501-101 Programs and Services for wrongfully imprisoned persons who are discharged

Administrative Review and Risk Management Division (ARRM)

If you have Complaints concerning the grievance process you can direct them to the administrator of the 'Offender Grievance Program'. The address is: ARRM Division, Administrator, PO Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342-0099

This address is good to complain about actions of grievance officers such as not following procedure, timelines or refusing to accept a grievance. If you're writing about a specific grievance, make sure to send them the grievance processing number. If you want to complain about the denial of a Step 2, you can write ARRM and respectfully request for them to reconsider or review its denial. Then explain why.

Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook

The essential handbook regarding your rights in prison and a step by step guide on filing a lawsuit against prison officials. It can be downloaded by a friend/family from: www.jailhouselaw.org or you can request a copy by writing: The Center for Constitutional Rights, RE: Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook, 666 Broadway 7th floor, New York, NY 10012

The US Department of Justice

The US Dept of Justice (DOJ) is a Federal agency that is collecting evidence for their investigation against TDCJ for violating prisoners' constitutional rights. We can help them by sending our Step 1 and 2 grievances with a witness statement. You need to make sure that you put their case number for this investigation at the top of every page that you send them. The case number is 168-74-0. You can seal the envelope because it is official legal mail, this way the prison authorities can not find out what you have written. You need at least one forever stamp for every 6 sheets of paper. You can write a "witness statement" (in letter form if needed) stating the injustices you have witnessed while being locked up. Also explain how this affects ALL Texas prisoners or what you have witnessed is happening to all Texas prisoners. This is an important point to emphasize because the DOJ needs to prove that Texas has a systematic "pattern or practice" of the deprivation of Constitutional rights that violates all Texas prisoners to "have the authority to initiate civil actions against state officials to remedy the unlawful conditions." Make sure you provide your full name, TDCJ No, and unit. State that you would like to see a Federal investigation conducted into Texa$ prisons constitutional violations of prisoner rights. Sign it and put a date.

Note: you can not get in trouble for writing the DOJ. Remember, you MUST put the case number (168-74-0) on the top of every page you send them, and seal it.

Appropriate topics for witness statements can be:

Goodtime as a fraudulent and meaningless system
Grievance system a deception of lies
Unjust practices of the disciplinary system
Unsanitary conditions
No payment for Texas prisoners who work
Deficient law library and denial of access to courts
Misuse of force by officers
Medical ignoring complaints of health issues
Guard harassment and retaliation

More info: www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl

Outside Help

If you can't get an issue resolved or need to put some pressure on the system, it is very helpful to get help from the outside (friends, family, media and advocates). It helps to remind the authorities to remain honest and stop abusing us in any form.

Get people from the outside to write letters or make followup calls to the Warden or Regional Director to find out if an issues has been resolved, and if not, why.

Here are a few contacts that either you or your outside help can contact to put pressure on the system:

TDCJ Ombudsman: 936-437-6791 ombudsman@tdcj.state.tx.us
TDCJ Executive Director, PO Box 99, Huntsville TX 77342, 936-437-8035 exec.director@tdcj.state.tx.us
Texas Senator John Whitmire, Capital Station, PO Box 12068, Austin TX 78711, 512-463-0115
Central Grievance Office, PO Box 3629, Austin, TX 78764-3629
Inmate Assistance League, 6804 E Hwy 6 South, Ste 202, Houston TX 77083 (Advocates)
Concerned Christians, PO Box 101094, San Antonio TX 78201
Con Care Services: 10124 Champa Dr, Dallas TX 75218-1704, 214-348-0293 (Advocates)
Texas CURE, PO Box 38381, Dallas TX 75238-0381
Office of the Governor, PO Box 12428, Austin TX 78711-2428, 512-463-2000
San Antonio Express, PO Box 2171, San Antonio TX 78297
Austin American Statesman, Attn: Mike Ward, Investigative Reporter, PO Box 670, Austin TX 78767
Houston Chronicle, PO Box 4260, Houston TX 77210
Dallas Morning News, 508 Young St, Dallas TX 75202
Loredo Morning Times, PO Box 2129, Loredo TX 78044
Corpus Christi Caller-Times, PO Box 9136, Corpus Christi, TX 78469
The New York Times, 620 Eighth Ave, New York, NY 10018-1405
USA Today, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean VA 22108

PD-22 General Rules of Conduct for TDCJ Employees

These are the rules the guards can be written up for by their rank. Sometimes it is helpful to include these rule violations in your grievance. A full copy can be found at your law library or can be downloaded from www.tdcj.state.tx.us.

Rule 3: Sleeping on Duty
8: Failure to follow proper safety procedures
10: Falsification of records (also a violation of Texas Penal Code §37.09 and 37.10)
11: Unauthorized taking or use of personal property
13: Failure to obey a proper order from an authority
14a: Use of profane/abusive language/gestures (violation of Texas Penal Code §39.04)
14b: Use of slurs/hostile epithets (TX Penal Code §39.04)
17: Reporting to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs
19: Use of alcohol or illicit drugs on the job
20: Violation of statutory authority/court order/rules/regulations/policies (TX Penal Code §39.04)
22b: Harassing or retaliating for participating in an official investigation/inquiry or for pursuing legal activities (i.e. petitioning the courts) (TX Penal Code §36.06)
23: Mistreatment of offenders - mistreatment usually takes the form of physical abuse but it may also include, but not be limited to, such actions as threats or unauthorized/illegal denial of privileges or entitlements. (TX Penal Code §39.04)
24: Use of excessive/unnecessary force.(TX Penal Code §22.01)
27: Failure to turn in all evidence seized (TX Penal Code §37.09)
28: Improper or untidy uniform (including not wearing name tag)
32: Destroying evidence or giving false testimony/information. (TX Penal Code §37.09)
33: Release of information - a TDCJ employee is not allowed to release any information relating to employees or offenders (TX Penal Code §39.04)
34: Accepting goods, money, services or favors (TX Penal Code §36.02)
36: Insubordination
37: Misconduct
41: Denial of uniform access to courts (also see BP 03-81) - unauthorized denial of legal visits or access to legal materials, harassing or retaliation against an offender for exercising the offender's right to file a grievance or complaint, not giving a grievance once one is requested, not allowing an offender to correspond with the courts or public officials (TX Penal Code §39.04)
44: Tampering with a witness (TX Penal Code §36.05)
50: Discourteous conduct of a sexual nature

Other TDCJ Policy of Interest

AD 3-22 Offender Searches
AD 3-29 Procedure to be followed in cases of offender death
AD 3-31 Procedures relating to unit lockdowns
AD 3-40 Out-of-cell time for general population offenders
ED 2-01 TDCJ ethics policy (great for a laugh)
BP 3-46 Standards for the use of force
AD 3-50 Ad Seg
AD 3-53 Solitary confinement
AD 3-70 Cell restriction for general population offenders
AD 3-72 Offender property
AD 3-76 Offender disciplinary procedures
BP 3-77 Offender grievances
BP 3-81 Access to the courts, counsel and public officials rules
AD 3-82 Management of offender grievances
AD 3-83 Offenders who refuse to comply with grooming standards
BP 3-91 Uniform offender correspondence rules
AD 4-18 Offender jobs assignments, job descriptions, etc.
AD 4-35 Review of offender disciplinary action
AD 4-80 Good conduct time
AD 4-83 Time credit dispute resolution
AD 5-25 Menus and diets
AD 6-08 Medical co-pay (also see Gov Code § 501-063)
ED 7-29 Religious policy statement
AD 7-30 Procedures for religious programming
AD 7-33 Recreation
AD 7-40 Offender organizations
ED 10-61 TDCJ Safety policy
AD 14-09 Postage and correspondence rules
AD 14-62 Guidelines for handling offender funds, accounts and transactions

Conclusion

This guide is only the first step. We hope that it gives you the tools to put resistance into action. Remember: Each one, teach one. It is your duty to pass this info on to others. United in struggle - united we Fight The System.

Disclaimer: This information is for general information purposes only, and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. It is not legal advice. Legal advice involves the application of legal knowledge and skill by a licensed attorney to your specific circumstances. If at all possible, always talk to a lawyer before filing a lawsuit. To find a lawyer near you, call 1-800-252-9690.

Background on Campaign to Resist Restrictions on Indigent Correspondence

In a move that caught some of us off guard, the Texas Board of Criminal Injustice has issued an order to drastically change the indigent mail policy within the Texas Department of Criminal Injustice, which runs over 111 Texas state prisons. In August 2013 the board convened and decided that starting October 1, 2013, indigent prisoners will only be allowed to mail 5 general correspondence letters per month! Indigent prisoners were previously allotted 5 letters per week. The primary reason cited for the drastic cut is the financial costs involved in providing postage for the tens of thousands of indigent prisoners housed in Texas prisons. However, there is a very real attack being aimed at the growing number of revolutionary voices that are popping up around Texas to expose the barbaric treatment and inhumane conditions that exist in Texas. It is validation to many of us that our voices are being heard by outside supporters, and this new policy is definitely a retaliatory reactionary response to our activism.

Just this year alone has exposed so many major problems in Texas:

1. Texas surpassed 500 executions of human beings on June 26 2013.
   
2. A wrongful death lawsuit was lodged against Texas in regards to the extreme heat (and the pigs joined the prisoners!)
   
3. Texas leads the nation in prison sexual assault and abuse cases

Comrades, the U.S. Department of Injustice doesn't give a shit about us. In order to actuate change for ourselves we must unite in solidarity, get active with USW and MIM(Prisons), link up with sincere activists and media outlets who are sympathetic to our cause and "mash the gas" on these oppressors. Texas hates media coverage, so now we are forced to really make our correspondence count. Drop all the letters to organizations that are only offering lip service with no action and get with this movement! Share Under Lock & Key, increase your political study, stand up to the pigs. Don't let the comrades in California be the only true revolutionary soldiers.