2025 ~“MIDWEST PRISON CENSORS UPDATE: Exposmg thel Scanmng Scam “There is a gulf between the image and the redlity of the punishment bureaucracy. Copaganda creates that qulf It the system of government and news media propaganda that promotes mass incarceration, Justifies the barbarities and profits that accompany it, and distorts our sense of what threatens us and what keeps us safe”. - Alec Karakatsanis, “Copaganda” TABLE OF CONTENTS Stop Mail Scanning in Illinois 8 Mail Scamming: IDOC FOIA’d Confiscation and Exposure Data 12 Lockdowns at FCI Thomson 22 The Censorship of Ideas is a Form of Psychological Warfare 32 Prison Censorship Survey N Midwest Books to Prisoners 1%‘21 N Milwaukee Ave PMB 460 Chicago, IL 60622 hitps://midwestbookstoprisoners.org lnsmai;ram: @MidwestBooks2p Email: midwestb2p@gmail.com ‘Midwest Books to Prisoners shares reading materials with cople behind bars free of charge, We Hght to undermine the ot aceess o communcatio and eaficaton whie - amplifying voices the system silences by helping people self~ PUBIISH el works 36 2ines. We host open meeHips fwice a Rieekto answer letters and pack books. Get involved! Prison censorship is a front in the fascist american project. For the millions buried by the largest prison system on the planet, we know that access to communication and reading materials remain one of the only ways people behind bars can maintain humanity. Prison is censorship, a system of walls and borders that criminalizes people and ideas: 4 system we are determined to break by building bridges of Solidarity - through sharing books and publishing zines. Coinciding with the fascistic expansion of police and cop city projects, the prison censorship machine Ias apidly marched on, consyming the majority o loal, state and federal aciiies Played- out “war on drugs” fear mongering s nhy most people behind bars 1o longer receive physical mail: books are banned under cover of “icontent-neutral” and “publisher-only” restrictions, and private monopolies experiment with dystopian tablet technologies to monitor and profit from all communications. Illinois has been one of the last holdouts until last year when prison copagandists began another all-too-familiar disinformation campaign. Guards are staging drug exposure hospitalization stunts to take away physical mail - Incidents easily disproved as impossible by medical experts and according to IDOC’s own confiscation and exposure data. Unlike other states, this battle is being waged at capitol: multple bills for and agairst mall scanning are being debated in Springfield. IDOC has not made any announcemerits yet, buthas signed a fiew phone/email tablet contract with ICSolutions! Tllinois could fall to all-digital mail unless we organize now to stop i. One voice that has not been heard from are those behind bars who are bearing the brunt of their draconian machinations. We made sure to share their plans to thousands of our incarcerated correspondents throughout IDOC, asking for comments and strategies on how to fight back and providing information on the bills and the addresses towrite congress, Throughout these pages you'li hear directly how mail censorship affects life behind bars: and special appreciations to the brave souls writing us, refusing to be silenced. ‘We are determined to stop mail scanning and book bans in llinois we share these tools and updates, seeking comrades to help break down the panopticon through underground networks of paper and print. Free the books, free the mai, freé the people - free them all! By Anthony Ehlers In the spring, the Illinois House is set to take up a bill aimed at turning all risons in the State of Illinois Paperless. This is all coming from epublican Legislators and AFSCME, the correctional officers union. These new rulés will ban all mail from private individuals until it is digitized; it will also ban books and newspapers. ‘Why would they do this? Ostensibly, they will tell you that it is necessan in the name of public safety: keéping IDOC and its employees an residents safe. Qne of the things that happened in the wake of legalizing marijuana is that a lot of synthetic cannabinoid products are being produced: This is part ‘of the cannabis market that is largely unregulated. One of the products that has come forward is called’Kz. It is a synthetic form of camnabinoid that wiltill getyou highwithout the form of THC n regular marijuana. K2 is widely sold in gas Stations among other places. K2 gets sprayed on paper and these pieces,of paper are either caten or smoked and that's how prisoners get high. They cut them into small pieces called “strips”. This Is part of the excuse that AFSCME and the Republican Legislators use for wanting to implement the Paperless prison system. The other reason that is put forth is that it is needed for the safety of correctional officers who handle the mail. There have been numerous reports in local and nationwide media about officers in mailrooms in prisons throughout the couniry who have been made sck or died due fo rug soaked paper and things like that, There was one here in the State of Illinois that made the news at a downstate prison called Shawnee Correctional Center, Six correctional officers and two prisoners Sexperienced medical symptoms” while sorting mai, The prison was put on lockdown: mailrooms across the state were alerted, and all mail in that prison was temporarily stopped. This sounds like 2 reasonable response, ight? However, the Hazardous Material team that responded to the prison found no drugs on any paper, not on the clothes of the officers. There is no evidence of any drugs of contraband being found causing a medical emergency. They use generic terms like what was reported on WSIL TV about an incident in'Menard Correctional Center in September of 2024, Part of the report says “One staff from the mailroom started exhibiting symptoms”, it goes on: “Another employee exhibited symptoms and was taken to thé hospital”. Exhibiting sympfoms? Symptorns of what? The report goes on to say that “All impacted staff were treated and released”. You know what that means? It means they were politely told ‘nothing is wrong with you, youcan go'. It was reported in “The Southern” that in August of 2024 “two officers had an elevated heart rate and dizziness after having responded o an inmate medical situation where possible overdose was suspected”. An clevated heart rate and dizziness after responding to an emergency medical situation? That seems like a normal reaction to me. They are instead trying to tie it ©0 a possible drug contamination without any evidence atall, They use these generic terms like “exhibiting symptoms” and trying to tie every situation to drugs in order to further their narrative. The Sad truth is they treat every medical emergency like a drug overdose no matter who it InJune of 2024 at Stateville Correctional Center, my friend who lived next door to me named Michael Broadway, had such a medical emergency. 1t took 20 minutes for the nurse to show up to his cell. When she gt there, all she wanted to do was hit him with Narcan. When the first ohe didn’t work, she hit him again. The IDOC said Michael died of a drug overdose, however, the autopsy showed that he died of an Asthina. attack exacerbated by extreme heat. His family is now suing IDOC. Nowhere in the State of Illinois has there been an incident of a corrections worker being made siclof dying of any drg soaked paper Even holding, or touching the deadly drug Fentanyl will not result in overdosing of being made sick. Touching of holding the drug does not harm you. It is a narrative that AFSCME keéps pushing, but it siimply isn’t true. These synthetic drugs aren’t as dangerous as they are being made out to be. How do I know? For the last 23 years I was in Stateville Correctional Center before it closed in October. Strips, as they were called, had permeated the prison. Some guy did get caught, and they were punished. But mostly, prison staff didri’t seem to care much. Many guys smoked these drugs; you could smell the smoke in the air all the time ‘This wasn’t a problem the prison cared to address. Prisons are mostly concerned with prisoner violence, either violence towards each other or violence towards staff. As long as'guys weren’t doing those things, they didn’t care if prisoners smoked therselves into oblivion. 1 don’t smdke or get high, but I was always around it, and was forced to breathe in Secondhand smoke in_these encloséd spaces. 1 never “exhibited symptoms”, whatever that means, and neither did any of the countless other prisofiers who were around it, or who did it, nor did any of the correctional officers who were around it. prison guards with AFSCME picketing in corn felds demanding an end to physical mail e Southern lllinois Lawmakers Urge SUNPPRRPSPR |10 to Temporarily Stop Mailat e Deoutrs iiertans s priser o Correctional Facilities Going paperless is costly, and simply does not work. In 2020, the Wiscansin Depattment of Corrections began sending allprisoner mail to acompany called TextBehind in Maryland that scans the mail and sends a digital copy to prisoners. This costs the Wisconsin Department of Corrections over $1million a year. Doing this for IDOC will needlessly cost taxpayers millions of dollars. There is evidence as well to show that going paperless does not work. \isconsinWatch org reported that in the veat 201 the year Wisconsin Degan restricting mail, there were 49 incidents of drugs being found on paper. Thus far i 2024, there have been 55 incidents. X Marsiall Project Investigation from 2021 found that restricting mail did not curb drugs found In Texas prisons. The Patriot News reported last year that aftér banning physical mail in 2018, the number of Pennsylvania prisoners who tested positive on random drug tests substantially increased. Do vouwant to know why golng paperless and restricting mail docsr't work? Because most drugs ate brought into the prison by the people who work here. In Stateville, staff were routinely walked out and fired for bringing in drugs, selling cell phones, or having sex with prisoners. In Cook County Jail last January, a nurse was arrested for bringing in drug soaked paper to her prisoner boyfriend. In March, a CCJ commissary worker with a private company was arrested trying t6 smuggle in drugs. In 2023 in Wisconsin, prosecutors charged nine Waupun prison workers, including a former warden, in a federally investigated staff smuggling ring. I can tell you from expérience that many staff members in Stateville, botfi correctional officers and other staff, have been caught smuggling things into the prison. Makeng mistake, his paperless agenda will afect more than a pisoner’s ersonal letters. it will also stop prisoners from being able to purchase ooks ox magazines, even newspapers. I00C has already severely curtalled ourablity 'get bodks Everyone knows that buying used boole s cheaper than buying new books. However, IDOC has employéd a policy that will not allow in any books with highlighted passages, underlined sentences, or stains of any kind. This seriously limits your ‘ability to get used books, forcing you (or your family) to spend money on new books. Sadly, not everyone can afford to purchase hew books. The drugs they claim io be tryinig to stop aren’t highlighted or underlined, so thes? restrictions make little Sense other than trying to stop books frorh coming in at all. Books are a huge part of the prison culture: good books, both fiction and non-fiction, aré passed around. You whittle away the hours in a place like 4 this, and many men do that by reading. Once I set my mind to try to becdrne a beiter person, | read anything and everything | could get my hands on. Reading books helped me to get on a better path: they helpe me grow and become self-rehabilitated. Some books are so valuable in prison, I've seen them used as currency. That’s how valuable books can be Inaplace like this, and they are trying to take that away. Some men in this place also write books. I myself have been writing a book. Other men, like my friend Michael Broadway who died, are alreat) ublished authors. He wrote and self-published a semi-autobiographical o0k about growing up in Chicago called “One Foot In”. Other ghys have published poetry books or memoirs. This bill would stop all of that. You would stop incarcerated men and women from becoming better people. Worse yet, you would stop them from expressing themselves; This willalso hugely Impact education and learning in prison. ID0C does not have any higher learning or a degree bearing éducation. Many men take correspondence courses such as Blackstone Career Insitute which upon completion certifies men and women as paralegals anywhere in the country. There are also various colleges ‘and Universities across the country. that offer correspondence courses like Adams State or the University of Colorado at Pueblo. If this bill passes, none of these things will be available to the men and women in IDOC anymore. 1t s not just limited to correspondence courses either, There are higher education programs scattered across the state like the Northwesfern Prison Education Program (NPEP), or Lewis University. These programs largely rely on paper printed articles instead of books. NPEP is Iargely funded by donations and grants: it would cost thousands of dollars to pa for course books for everyone. Many of the course materials are printed. This would also stop. The guys in these programs would not be able to do their coursework. 1t would have the effect of shutting down higher education in prison. Is that really in the interest of public safety? We have been able to purchase tablets through a company called Global Tel-Link (GTL). The tablets have apps for Music, news and podcasts, which you have to pay a subscription or. It also has emails which you also P2y 0, and ebooks which are free The reason that the baok app is frée s Caulse they are all public domain materials which are older than 70 years. That means any science of any kind is old and no longer applies. There is no recent history, no self-help books, or anything thaf is contemporary. You know what the tablet does not have? It does not have the ability to hold any writing whatsoever, other than a 2000 character email. You cannot write letters, poems, songs, or books. You cannot write your school papers or your own legal motions. It doesn’t even spellcheck. Nor can it hold pictures or drawings that small chidren do for their parents You cannot create art on it. 1f this bill passes, you cannot even use paper to draw or paint. Moira Marquis of PEN America said “If you are going to limit somebody’s First Amendment rights excessively, you really should have a very strong burden of proof that not only is this hiecessary, but also effective.” This IS neither necessary nor effective: this is IDOC blaming families and the people they incarcerate for the problems their stalf can't or won't address. s Restore Justice at the Capitol campaigning with legislators to protect physical mail as well as youth seniencing reforms House Bill 3713 introduced by Rep. Laura Faver Dias would require prisoners receive the physical, original mail, that communication cannot be resiricted for disciplinary reasons, require emails and calls to be free of charge, and require that [DOC collect comprehensive data on all drug confiscations. Winois Senate Republican Terri By, aformer 20 year IDOC guard, s leading the disinformation charge, performatively surprise Visiting prisons &nd introducing legislation derianding an end to physical tail. Her proposed SBI641 requires 100% scanning capacity” within “one year”. Hotse GOP David Friess, Tony McCombie and Patrick Windhorst also proposed a second law HB5893 which also requires all mail to be scantied and delivered on tablets or kiosks, but this bill never passed during the last session. State Senator Jason Plummer and Terri Bryant demanded Latoya Hughes step down as IDOC Director, grilling her f during her confirmation hearirig: “Are We going to have a system in place - . Toys cconss MGl SCNNING oF Whatever - 10 stop the 2 synthetics that are flooding ou faciliies, 2 - ‘harming our correctional staff, and_ renmiwonas haFMINg oUr inmates a the fatility?” 5 Latoya Hughes responded vaguely “iWe’re in conversations with otir union partners related specifically to your err Bryant i lso asking guards to break _ Question, related to mail and mal Sanctuaty state policy and BEport scanning. We are working with them on undoctmented people as they end theix comprehensive approach” IDOC sentence: UStaff are prohibited from notifying or cooperating with ICE 50 no way for TCE (o khow the offender is incarcerated, . If you are IDOC staf who wants ICE o kow of an illegal immigrant inDOC, call or message me'". 1 won't rat you out T will oty ICE” Dear IDOC Director Hughes, We, the undersigned community, legal, nd policy organizations,on behalf of qur ‘metabers, are WAARE to you In NEAFof cals o suspeRd delavery or clecronically scan ncoming mail for people aho aré incarcerated n e lnois Department of Corections {(ibO0), b comvey fur Corplete oppastion to any acton that would temporariy or permaneniy "hall the pracessing ahd delvery of briginal, pRysical mail 1 people who are Tneatcerate Ensuring the safety of the people who live and work in IDOC s vital. Restricting the mail or Keplacing it with mail scanning will not ncrase their safety. I other states, Feplacing Bl i e d ol T o\Graoses b drog e I prsore 1 ome Easen e ate of verdoses and drug e inrcssed Ther s no cvidence fha suspending o baining the delivery of physical Fai to peopie who are incarcerated provides an fnstiutionsl satery benehts. pecr " v Letters, cards, drawings, books, and photographs sent in the mail are treasured forms of communication for peaple who are incarcerated and their loved ores on the otside. ‘Maintaining close Felationships with One's SUpport system dUring incarceration promotes rehabiltation and Hmproves post- release outomes, MaKIng all of us Safer. Mail s essential £ maintaining a sense of hope and connection, and restricting it has measurable negaive impacts on mental health, behavior, and success when people return home. Digital replicatons e often ow qualtyand ncomplete,and physica etersoffr personal connection that cannof be feplaced by digital means. ‘Medical and toxicology experts have routinely debunked claims that a person can have significant drug exposure or overdose by simply andling something ke drug-soaked pahersoreven boulerfentamyf ke o Kt when Randing il ae o xpecially with personal protective equipment, and the alleged claims that are circulating about drugs entering prisons through the mail have not been verified. There i no publicly available Gata or Evidence related to how liclt Substances enter IDOC facilties i theré i 3 verifiable Substance use problem, the evidence-based way fo Solve it is to address the root of the ‘problem through comprehensive substance use disorder treatment for peaple who are Fmpacted by it during feir incarceration. e e el e el o o i Thank you for your consideration of this important issue. AccessLiing ChiresBestnerestPrject— Midest Books o Prisoners A ot Edhcationustice e i Theabe et Ailaceor HigherEducaton i EAHA NatonaLovgerk G - Chicago i Hinda nstue i roers Kepersof et o the o iAo o ot g Comanies ot oenoy and ishce v Bore ot Drans o oo End Permanent recos W My of G Gren Laga id Biniment Reconcition Catocmer il ot ion prject B oy it Chalene 1 Change Imector Koy Resor e Ghagskaoliie e Gut ik Saferfoundaton Chislodfoneginascual fimes i oron G for St LeonatdsMinstris Expoftion (GASE) o Ay ity g igpnicoespror S on Cuiron ity Untdchurhof s, it e e it Hiojo ChiagoBooks toWomen inPion Lty eeniry Fdation Ciafan niveralis Advocacy oo CouncoLmers et Cound o e hice Networko Mo Ghicago LawyersComhtc o vl Lifeaton vy Unirian nerat rison e et o sy or s Cilcago Torure ustceCeter o Activating Movementsfor Uptown Pople's Lw Cnter Ghicadvotes liion & Soldary (WANAS ol Trned Sdeways Chiden and Famly usticeCenter Metropotitan Family Sevices 165 not oo latetowritethe IDOC director or the Governor! LatoaHaghes,Disecto, DOC Govarr 18 Prsar GhesgnOfc b G i CincordlaCourt Sogiar O o ho Govamor <55 W o 8. 6 e B oo e S e Springfa, 1L 62701 Sorogtaly szt FroneiHE S22, M2s1e21z2 v oehesaiTnsicgty R el ek g oz e Mail Scamming: IDOC’s Own Data Exposes how Politicians and Guard Unions are Lying about Drugs in the Mail 1493 drug confiscations Mot sent for 15P Tosting: 42% © ISP Negative for Drugs: 23.4% © 157 Positive for Drugs: 34.6% An all-too-familiar playbook: the ‘media parrots press releases from prison staff without any independent Investigation. Was there any evidence of thesé drug exposures? Hospital records or drug test results from the affected officers? Uncritcal journalists and alack of public data enables prison staff to restrict books and mail on dishonest narratives. However, through a FOIA request, we ‘now havé datasets for all drug confiscations within IDOC from 2023- 2024, and all drug exposure incidents within IDOC in 2622, This confiscation data includes the date, facility, description, location found (in mail, in cell, on person), field drug test results, ‘whethef it was Sent to Illifois State. Police for accurate drug testing, and the results of those tests. The exposure data contains date, time, facility, whether it was staff or a prisonef, ‘whether Narcan was used, and whether they went to the hospital. More _ comprehensive statistical analysis is ongoing: we've posted the data on our websitefor others to review and are sharing some of our initial findings. 1DOC’s data confirms that Republican politcians and prison giard unions are eliberately misleading the public about these supposed fiospitalizations, inaccurately blaming books and the mail. Out of the total 1493 alleged drug confiscations in a two year period, only 30.1% was ever found in the mail. Only 2 mailroom confiscations of Fentanyl was ever confirmed by ISP testing in this period. Of all the confiscations that ISP confirmed contained drugs, over 90% was synthetic cannabingids or ‘THC/Delta, which cannot produce the overdoses or symptoms officers claim. Even with Fentany], medical experts repeatedly prove how it is impossible foran incidental drug reaction b simple handling oft drug (and i any case mail staff are supposed to use masks and gloves). Their rush to confiscate or reject anything that looks suspicious has drastic consequences for the confined, espectally for those currently fighting cases in court. Out of the 88 pieces of legal mail confiscated, only £0 were confirmed by ISP to have actually contained drugs: that means 48 pieces of Attorney-Client privileged mail was illegally opened, searched, copied, not iver to the recipient who'may have also been discipfined - all based on arbitrary suspicions and defective field tests. Illinois uses the Sirchie Narc Il for ‘presumptive testing’, which has been widely discredited for rampant false positives: regardless, IDOC relies on this initial testing to place people in solitary confinerrent, restricts communication and commissary tights, and affect good time / parole decisions. We're also thinking of the thousands of books we sent that were rejected for stains’ or ‘unusual discoloration’ that were rejected without any actual drug testing whatsoever. 1DOC works with Illinois State Police’s drug testing facility for actual drug test results: 65.6% of the confiscations ether tested negative by 5B or 1D0C never bothered fo send it for accurate testingall. What was not in the FOIA data was drug test results or medical diagnosis for the fguards who sought hospitalization ierestingly, the vast majorty of ll drug exposure incidents affecting guards occurred aier July 2024 This ata demonstrates that there was little tono correlation between any of these incidents and actual confirmations of drug-laced mail. One such incident at Menard in early September where several guards were Location Confiscated © Incom: a7.0% © mait: 30.1% © on Person 19.4% ® other: 2.7% Of the 444 Confiscated in Mail Mot sent for 1sP Testing: 32% Of the 509 ISP Confirmed e foan{lgs synthetic Cannabinolds: sa.7% © THCDelta: 8.2% © Fentanyt: 0.2% © Motn: 0.2% @ rcri02% ® Codeine: < 0.1% © Morphine: <0.1% - Cocaine: < 0.1% allegedly hospitalized had state Senators Terri Bryant and Dan Fowler calling for an immediate suspension of all physical mail until they implement a scanning system. Read this ridiculous timeline of events out of a scifi novel: Monday, /o, one staffmember from the e i pening mail and was ransporid to an Oliside hosptalvia ambulahce. The remaining Staffin he mailroom were thesrelocated o ity S warchouse Wile in the warkhouse, another mairoom employee. xhibited sympfoms and was ranspolted to Sitside hospHalong ambulance Subsequenly. (o other stff members, who were ot n oo, it came i conactwih (e 1t Symploms and were aker tothe ouside Rl ambtanc Lte, (e lhoom Sl membel reportedfecing i nd was alpared o chawislc hospcivia e Location of 153 Staff Exposures Big Muday miver: 5% © Dixon: 3.3% o 1.3% © 1L River: 5.2% Lawrence: 7.8% ® Logan: 2% © Monare: 29.4% Pinckneyvile: (e ® Pontiac: 1.7% © Roblnson: 1.3% © Shawnee: 4.6% @ statevite: 1.3% © Vienna: 8.5% © Wostorn: 6% Confiscations by Institution Big Muday: 3.3% © Contralia: 2.1% © Danvitle: 1.5% © . Moline: 6.3% Graham: 2.4% @ n.0% ® 1L River: 3.6% © Jcksonvie: 1.7% Prckneyvile:3.4% @ Jollet TC: 0.5% © Pontiac: 1% Lawrence: 2.3% © Rovinsom 2.3% © Statevie: % © Shawnews 4% @ Vandala: 0% Western: 15.1% Lincotm: 0.1% © Logan: 0.4% © Menare: 27% vehicle Another mairoom stalf member was ke th hospial by s veRElE wihoot St oty by e A obcted dafPwere ested and releoséd. ey e et e linois Nafiomal Guard, were on-sie 10 assist Wil tsting hems of cincer: o che oo, e s ton o he econt cvoms o However, according to their own data, there was no drug confiscation in the mailroomat Menard on o/o/2024 Al week they put people on lockdown and sent search teams tearing up cells looking for scraps of paper. So many of these plague scare lockdowns, the data shows no Tesults - just cops faking it. Police and politicians are lying to justify harsh and unnecessary grestrictions on the basic human right to W [llinois guards use Sirchie’s Nark I field tests - so notoriously inaccurate that multiple states have ordered DOC to stop using them. A class action lawsuit against Massachusetts DOC “less accurate than witchcrgft, phiehology, or simply picking a nuber out of a hat” creating “false positives nearly 80% of the time”" Nonetheless: many states including Illinois continue to use Narc It for “presumptive festing” that commonly results in loss of good time, being put in solitafy confinement, have communication rights restricted, and impact parole board decisions. Less Accurate than Witchcraft’: Class Action Claims Mass. DOC Uses Faulty Drug Tests on Legal Inmate Mail The 29- page complaintcharges thatthe Mass. DOC uses the Narcotis Reagent Analysis Kit (NARK) II-brand tests, which are made and sold by defendants Sirchiie Acquisition Company, LLC 4nd Premier Biotech and designed to detect synthetic cannabinoids, to test for drugs sprayed on paper. The case scathes that although these tests ar “lossgecurate thah witcheraft, pzenclogy,or Simply picking anumber out of a hat,” and create false positives “almost 80% of the time, according to one DOC official's estimate,” they produce very real consequences for proposed class members.” - ClassAction.org on Green et al.v. Massachusetts Department of Correction et al. (NARK I1 lawstit in Massachusetts attesting to false positives 2021) “They further claim that the inadequacy of the training materials Sirchie provided to the DOC all but ensured that DOC employecs would underestimate the product's flaws, misinterpret preliminary results, and make decisions adverse to inmates based on false positives” & “DOC employees allegedly attempted to dissuade him from pursuing confirmatory testing during that time. Two months later, confirmatory resting Showed that the preliminary result had beena false positive. When Mr. Green finally received the tested mail, it was too damaged to read.” - Excerpt {rom the Opinion and Order in Green et 4l v. Massachusetts Department of Correction et al. Revealed: drug tests in California New York punished 2,000 prisoners prisons yielded false positives, affecting I SEEENISINTLUTATE ST thousands of people finds s gt Qe Dt e st s ALBANY. N, (AP)- New Yorcs prison systam unfay punihed mora 2000 prconees aret s of Elipeced conraband subsiances assy esid Do for cruge, ascordng 1.8 NY Inspecor Genara et In gt o s, i poconars ot no ofensa, ot s fawed est wers s ot e oty onfnaman iy . o 1§ “ “We have deployed 14,000 Kioskt atd over oS i Aimilian messages il WevedaRertttol o songs: We have eployed axer 300,000 oo e have felvercd over 1,000,000 llinois’ signed a new contract is with ICSolutions for phone, “ernail”, and tablets: the contract also offers the capability to “scan and digitally delivering the mail to the population”. However, IDOC hasn't made announcements: *How this functionality will be utilized is still being determined and IDOC is committed to continued dialog withkey stakeholders on thisissue,» says 1D0C spokesperson Naomi Puzzello. We are heating they are having trouble rolling out the new phone and tablets: people are losing access to the old GTL tablet and going Weeks between systems with no working communication. Iesolutions is owned by Advanced Technology Group (ATG) which is owned by Keefe Group and ultimately TKG and HIG Holdings. That the same corporation owns both the Keefe commtissary empire as well as Trinity Services Group - the food contractor for many state prison systems such as Michigan DOC - creates a monopolistic conflict of interest creating the profit inventive to lower genpop food quality to increase commissary sales. HIG holdings also owns notorious Wellpath - privatized healthcare provider for people in prisons such as Pennsylvania DOC - that mited in lawsuits has filed for bankraptey protections in late 2024, The FOIA'd ICSolutions contract contains detailed information on their monitoring capabilities. The ENFORCER™ and The ANALYZER ™ The COMMUNICATOR ™ allows prison staff to “look up physical locations, cross-reference contacts, visual contact networks, track fangaffilations, and fcllates sharing data with other aw énforcement ] intel agencies” Despite the proliferation of prison communication monopolies, some are in hot financial water. SmartCommunication, after scandalous family drama and 86 million in debt, filed for bankrupicy in Dec 2024. Write us for the full story ISR T Sov Dt o s Pris rfr: ‘The Succession Battle For A Prison Empire L o, marion oot oo Conict 04 s i hrs 3 lga war s xpsng et How Activism Brought Securus to the Brink O the ook o ropay 1.3 bion of dobt thisyer, the natorss argost prson tlacom compary 0 bankiuptey s fallre would repracerta usness of g ot fom roners. remarkable vctoryfor dvocates- and 5 potertal Beginning of the end or e ndusty a5 we knom it LOCKDOWNS AT FCI THOMSON We attempt the “administrative grievance” process but we get stonewalled and told that the mailroom “know what they’re doing and are following palicy” Hello again from ECI (supposedly) ‘Thomson: high security, low classification. “We run this like a medium because we can!” constantly onlockdown for no known reason facility! Guess what? We're on lockdown again! We're told this one ‘will be 2 weeks plus, but not why. The Vs are all npluggéd n the day room S0 we can’t watch the news, we can’t revalidate or change our tablets or MP3 players (which we have to do at minimum overy 2wk o they lock us out), a radio sells for approx. $80 on comimissary (i we were allowed to shop). One other thing, our current meals consist of breaklast: 1 apple, 60z dry cereal (bran flakes), and 1 pint of skim milk. Lunch & Diner: 4 pieces of bread, 1 apple, 1 packet of peanut buttef, 1 slice of lunch meat. So theoretically we are being punished fog something o get this trestment, right? ‘And, oh yeah, Warden Lammers has ecilded that mail is now a privilegel Warden Larmmer’s [unpublished] Insttutional Supplement on Mailand the way the head of the mailroom C/O Foster has chosen how to administer and interpret it. My cellie was nice enough to print ouit a copy so I could send 1t to you to help explain what is going on: - The local procedures directly violate Program Statement 5265.14 and a couple laws ‘There should not be a price tag on our life' | USP Thomson staff union renews calls for new mailroom screening protections + No directives are actually referenced in this supplement - A second paragraph this violates free speech and it was decided in the 705 that mail is a right not a privilege - They are no longer notifying inmates of regulations so we don’t know unless someone tells us A5 e national policy only the Warden can reject mail and for very specific reasons SIS should not be involved in he process at all Implementation: f it’s not a book, ‘magazine, newspaper, of catalog, it gets cople 1's more than s pges, You'stifl only get 5 pages. I had Something come in from the FBOP regional office out of Kansas City and they copied that too! This prison decided that despite national policy there is no difference between personal ‘mail and mail from a business. Newsletters are hit and miss, catalogs are thrown away 9 times out'of 10 because they don't have ‘FCI Thomson” on the address or have a mailing label on them. We hear back from ot families that they are getting ‘mail back unopened and books sent back to Amazon without anyone being fold why. Then of course there re the books that just vanish. People will go down to the mailroom with the tracking i and mallroom staf il ell them; the tracking # doesn’t exist (it does).Just becausé it shows that the books got to the local post office it doesn’f mean they ever got here (our post office must be the worst in the US i they "lose” as much mail as this place says they do). Our mailroom is understaffed So it could be 2-4 weeks il they process our books, or our favorite “Tdon’ tknow, write an email” 17 officers taken to hospital after being exposed to ‘unknown substance’ at federal prison ru | Ve ax imediate action: T Gonduct 8 full imvestigation into the pattern of lock Sncluding the facility's justification o health, Tysical health, and il of 2. Towestigaté. the ongolng issue of donied FSA credit to ensure inmates are Fecelving the to by Ine 3. Requl Cation duing lockimne, tneluding acce Sorvespondence e gotry:fesuss of food quELIty, pedical care, e Lo aring lockdoms . o o Formal wettten response ulth findirgs and proposed soluc B ol oy oo e ke of this leter, " e LRt hinTs sppacent ibil1ity 1o maintain now op 6. Contemplate a chat (of course never gets answered). We attempt the “administrative grievance” process but we get Stonewalled and told that the mailroom “know what they re doing and are following policy” even whien we can prove they are not. And then, when we o for the third step which ¥ sending the grievance out to the regional office, we rarely ever hear back. I personally ‘have been told by 2 separate officers that a very large amount of mail is ‘going to SIS and very little of that is &ver feturned to the mailroom. Another told me that ALL mail being sent to the regional of central offices ow goes through SIS. All of this is according to the administration now national policy due to an officer in California coming in contact with Fentanyl and dying, “This appears to be another attempt to stop all incoming mail for good.” P'm writing about FCI Thomson, The Jast Several months the institution has been increasingly censoring our mal. 10 wide range of issues from. discarding, not copying correctly eecting ‘Without notification and not allowing any pictures even from places fike freeprints (family pictures). On Tuesday April 15 4pm we were locked down for the rest of the night for astail meeting. On Wednesday April 16 11:30am exactly when we finishet eafing in the chow hall the institution went on lockdown. COs advised us the mailroom staff was expgsed (o drugs and also responding stal ‘The Warden Lammer has since stopped fomally requesting that the forth Central the facility to establish a clear and tr: take the Regional Offic followin e a0 thei § e fssue Hitg s to phone Letter: all incoming mail. Outgoing was stopped for a time. This apiears to be anather attempt 10 stop all incoming ‘mail for good. They are already gettin away with photocopying all of our mai Last year at this same time we were locked down for a claimed picture of a gun that was never found. P writing about the censorship. Can you help bring attention to this? Please and thank you! - Anonymous “I.can’t even trust that you will get this! I just hope that someone out there can do something with this info to help us STOP these almost constant and obvious FALSE lockdowns! Iwas once given one of your publications. I don’t have a date, but it's the one talking about IDOC banning books and mail P’ here at ECI (ex USP) Thomson, ‘where we lock down QUARTERLY for at Teast a week I've been stuck here since Dec 26th, 2024 We have locked down: Pt s (e art v YAEAE R R W k- PR e Now, we've been on lockdown for YET AANOTHER staff exposure. The lie told 10 ourlocal TV news was “12 officers” but the Gestapo interview said only 1 13 However, thistime they ve gonea step beyond jist the lockdown. Since the lockdown began on the 16th, ALL INCOMING MAIL HAS BEEN STOPPED 'UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, according to the propaganda shoved through our door, this Is due to the old umbrella seipt of “Safety and Security of the staf and population”’ Now, not only can we not phone our family, we can write but not receive anything back. This also includes rellgious studies and LEGAL MAIL, as wellas ordered books, magazines, and ‘newspapers. We can only Hope we will et them once their censorship stops. ast night, they even went around and unplugged all the TVs in the units. Please tell me where THAT falls under our “Safety and Security! “The Warden has stopped ANY mail coming in to the prison, reqular mail, legal mail, religious mail” I got transferred to FCI Thomson IL December oth 2024 Once here | gofa [gb working inthe Kitchen on cember 315t making 21 cents/hour. We got locked down 2 days in Decémber. After the New Year it was ok the first 3 weeks or so. Then we were locked down in our 2 man cells maybe 7itwide by Lt long with a ollet and sinkin the room, The January 18th lockdown went from 18th of January to Friday February 7th in the morning. The reason behind the lockdown was from the COs saying a Race War between 2 races, sothe whole complex was locked down. During that lockdown the first 2 weeks in January we received for breakfast 1 little bag of Bran Flakes, 1 fruit, & 2 half pint milks. For lunch and dinner we received for each meal 1 ‘peanut butter packet, 2 jellies, 4 pieces of bread 1slice of méat, and 1 fruit That's all we got for the first 2 weeks of lockdown, We also received 6 shower daysJan. 315t 231, 27th, 29th, 31st, and February 3rd. The second lockdown since I've been here was February 21st 2025 This lockdown went until February 27th. This was due to an exposure fo a drug they said as a shakedown occurred ina different unit than the one I'm in. Meals improved o hot rays or lunch & dinner. We received 1 shower on Februaty 25th for the whole week. The third lockdown happened on Sunday March oth. This lockdown is about Threats to Staff and it was over on March 215t We received hot meals. again and only received 3 showers Tarch 12th, 14th, & March 17th 2025. ‘The current lockdown started April 15th at 11:15AM on Tuesday. So far the meals have been hot and we had 4 showers April 18th was a warm shower and the CO let us get hot water for coffee, get tablets charged for 15mins. But on Monday April 21st, the showers were freezing cold and it was impossible to shower,as well on April 23rd. On Friday the 25th the showers were so hot that the water almost burns your skin. Last night the COs unplugged our TVs. The reason for this lockdown is COS were exposed to something in the mail room. During this lockdown the warden has stopped ANY mail coming in to the prison, regular mai, legal, rligious ’m hoping this will get to the place it's going. Thanks for yotr time Copies of The Marshall Project’s ‘magazine being rejected by USP ‘Thomson for their investigative reports on the prison. FCI Thomson was a ‘newly built supermax owned by the state of Ilino’s before sold to the feds to form USP Thomson’s “Special Management Unit”, the notorious supermax 2 year solitary confinement step-down program. The SMU program was shut down in 2023 after investigations into rampant torture and murders rchestrated by quards, but has since changed into a Low 14 HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS InApril 2025, we AT FCI THOMSON! heatd from miultiple peopieatret T e omson aboutthe [ [ oo s peredcomntyntens, bogus lockdowns and the suspension of all mail. circulated their prepared statement h initiateda l0ne zap targeting e Warden and the BOP Regional Office: within days they came off fockdown and mail was being delivered again. AFGE 4070 “union” boss Jon Zumkehr (pictured here meeting with Eric Sorensen D-Rockford) has been spreading disinformation through these “blue flu” fake overdoses at least six times over the past few years to an effort o deprive the rights of peaple incarcerated at ECi Thomson and promote federal legislation which would ban physical mail in favor of third party digitization corporations. The proposed law [LI 1046 “Mare Fischer Memorial Interdiction of Fentany! in Postal Mail at Federal Prisons Act” was named after the mailroom guard who supposedly died {rom contraband- infused mail, but according (0 the autopsy and the overnment’s own filings, Marc Fischer “died of natural causes from a eart attack” There is o évidence o support any of thealleged mailzoom overdoses anywhere or that banning physical maifor increased lockdowns would stop the availabilify of drugs behind bars, Despite 5 years of mail scanning ] to keep drugs from Pa. prisons, Overdoses Rise in Missouri Prisons ‘problems remain Despite Strict New Mail Policy Studies show that state prisons that use mail digitization services have NOT reduced overdoses or availability of drugs m[ fl'&,fl?flwfls» [—— | MNISARRIVE RuLES A den o o e v | e S e ot o 1 e v o et e e s o s bl recuieg o e v o 16 s e sy L e s e et L e o ouher 1 he e i s 3 o Vi 11 1 ek vl b rcaeho v 05k b b e e e o e 3 S sy sk b Revrse O i vdhns S, T rcrday oo b e Cons ity amebey oy o e o .%ot e g e e 05 S0k ke b v e o5 o o o o et e e b e e o s e gt o 4t i vl e o o ey ol b (bl ot s ey 1o o ernandes FEUSE Check out more from Juan Carlos Hernandez at his Instagram @jch_convictedart or his website hitps://wwnw.jchconvictedart om/ TAKE ACTION NOW! CALL THE GOVERNOR= ol thr you OPPOSEany proposal ot 1L i o s oo USE ANY/ALL OF THESE NUNBERS' [ TELL DIRECTOR HUGHES & GOVERNOR PRITZKE 00, o ulety hat mall from reaching people imprisoned i L hey must not succeed: toolkit: bit.ly/ IDOCma: “Don’t take away our reading materials just because some officers are crying wolf.” Hello and good morning. I am writing to you concerning the individuals who are conspiring todeprive me and other Sa-Bre=arg = 2117020 Wa-dtg-paey - M7-702-0244 Hrearing Tm A7-762-C8 - IO bB=b5=100% Call seript i the toolkit-or ust speak from your heart- {ookit: itly/ IDOCmai away our reason to stay away from rugs. We have been asking the officers why the mail lady hasn'tben exposed to any drugs, but somehow officers have beer, because the mail lady handles all the ‘mail that comes through our prism and prisoners of our Constitutional Right to it doesn’t have drugs oh it when she feceive mail and reading material in _ prison. Please don't take away our mail and publications. Please don’t let our freedom of speech and expression, our rights to receive ‘mail, and our access to reading ‘materials become privatized so that we can become extorted out of our money. T cannot afford to pay any more just to get access tomy mall, neither can my Family afford it: Don't take away our reading materials just because some officers are crying wolf. 1f the officers are being exposed to drugs ke they clam, then why can't they prove it? Where is the evidence to support the officers claims? Why is there no mailroom staf being exposed to drugs, except, for officers? 1 am fairly certain there is not a drug in the world that only affects people who are officers. If there is someonie who gets caught with drugs in their mail, tfien ‘punish them an surveillance, but don’t punish the rest of us when we've been following the rules. Finding out how and who's bringing drugs in and holding those eople accountable will be far more eneficial o productive than stopping handlesit, but somehow it allegedly does when the officers ahdnle If. The officers claimed “that’s because drugs come through the logal mail, not the regular mail”. If this s known... why is gveryone calling foral of ur - legal mail to be Suspended? What purpose does that serve, other than an ulterior motive? Iwould like to point out that the officers wear rubber gloves when passing out legal mal,so [ don't know ow they get exposed to anything Also, tomy kniowledge, all the drug exposure tests have come back negative, which contradicts the officer’s claims of drug exposure epidemic. Itis important to note that the IDOC officers and their union have been caught in the past trying to scam taxpayers for their monéy when they conspired tofile their carpal tunnel class action lawsuit, which proved lace their mail under ~false. It is upon information and belief that ihe officers are attempting something similar with these alleged drug exposures. Plus, they ge the added benefit of taking more things ‘away from us in the process, which is something they always seek to our mail ever will. A little effort, proper ~accomplis recautions, and common sensé can elp to alleviate these issues. Taking away our physical mail will only take We have already had almost all of our out of cell time taken from us, under 17 T3t s ety o putnd bacavse o e of Za el o wantlt utse only had bun Yods and Ve ay been oble fo ged o the Low Uibeary bute o that Hue 10 1 ga | Phgeasse ; der'al : T can desecibe i werds, the guise of new policies meant to give us beter access to showers and phones. Ithas had the opposite effect. We have less movement now than we did in a ‘maximum security prison. ‘The Warden at Big Muddy, upon arriving here, imiediately went after ‘and shut dowh all the leisure time Services and any programs we had to entertain ourselves and stay away from the drugs and violence - particularl Dungeons and Dragons and Magic Gathering players They don'twant us playing i, o they are doing things to ‘make it impossible to play, even though the people who play those things are about the only ones not associated with drugs in prison. Our Art Class has been shuf down and they won't sell us the basics that we need to work on Art, like white paint or any paintbrush setsor drawing pencils. We haven't been able to read any books from the library since March because they fired our librarian and haven’t replaced her. Our dayrooms are now segregated, so we ‘have even less time to socialize or interact with others. In the last two months, we've only had two yards and I've only been able to get to the Law Library twice in that time. Itis difficult enough for us to rehabilitate ourselves in prison, even ‘more 50 when IDOC is hindering our aitempts or otherwise preventing us from doing so. Now there are people on the outside ing to make our lives even more difficult when they have no idea what its like to be in prison. Please don’t punish the rest of us for the actions and Words of a few, Find a better solution. Don't assume that the officers are telling the truth, because they have a history of lying, and worse, so make them prove thelr claims before making. any decisions. Help me and others like me to become beter people than we used to be; don’t hinder s from bettering ourselves. Thank you for your time and patience, and for the opportunity to speak on my ‘own behalf concerning mail and ublications. I greatly appreciate any 1elp you can provide In protecting our ight o receive and obtain mail and put cations. I for one need the sentimental value that it provides in order to make it through life in this hellhole we call prison; Lam sending a copy of this letter to Governor Pritzker's Office, and to Latoya Hughes, director of IDOC. I can onlyhope that t helps . “I plan on writing my rep over the books + mail when I get more envelopes. This Costing 8o cents per envelope does hiurt compared to the old 50 cents per stamped envelnfi. Our water currently smells li ariver and the taste is odd in the mouth to drink, let alone smell and bathe in.” - Vandalia Restricting the mail or Teplacing it with scanning LNOT increase our safety. 1, thendersigned, on behalf of mysel and all individuals currently incarcerated in the IDOC or will be in the future, am writing in protest of the proposed change in policy that will suspend delivery and/or electronically can incoming mal for people n the llinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). All parties considered are ‘opposed toany action that will temporarily of permanently halt the processing and delivery of original, physical mail to those of us Incarcerated. ‘The safety of those that live as well as those that work in IDOC is important Restricting the mail or replacing it with scanning WILL NOT increase otit safety, It has not changed the influx of drugs in other states that have replaced ‘phySical mail with scanning, There is ‘noevidence that banning physical mail produces any safety benefis for the individuals that live or work in any institutions. Instead of suspending our treasured form of communication with our loved ones on the outside, we urge youto explore evidence-based Solutions that foster safety, rehabilitation, and connection instead of restricting access to this indispensable lifeline. Thank you for your consideration of this important issue. Times are indeed changing - as well as the continued loss of IDOC prisoner rights! ’m 62 years old now, currently on 33rd year of imprisonment. So I've been around, have seen too much; vet reading your enclosed News Koundup we leartied of IDOC's new efforts to ban books generally and per policy rule 05.03.451to bah hardback books. Foralmost 24 years Dve been stuck in hell that s called Pontiac CC. Oddly, Dve always been able to have hardcover bookssent njecived rom family/ friends, wonderful bookstores like _ yours, and ordering from various mail ‘order companies stich as Hamilton. I know the mail room gets away with not following rules when any mail s denied: I've had family & friends get their majl returned to them with fio notice of reason why! We saw reported on local news that 1DOC will do a pilot program in about 7 ‘months transition to private mail digitization service. I'm not sure f that will be through crap company GTL and ViaPath which already profiles just crappy tablets apps and services which ina word sucks: sadly it’s the only ‘game (scam) for music access IDOC inmates have. The one app that’s not provided isa egalapp fo do our own legal research t0 fight for our freedom! Towit - IDOC doesi’t want us to obtain our freedom in any respect. Many suspect actors will make $ from allowing mail to be put on tablets. Security wil always find away to do less work and inmates always end u paying the priceand enduring to sulfer loss of rights and s0 on. No question Ilinois politicians, 1DOC and justice departments are all watching closely how the federal prison USP other state DOC surely our nelghboring state Wisconsin to see how ‘mail scanning there is faring as IDOC getsready tofol ut the pilct program. s tocivil actions brought against 1D0C for bad conditions, harns, Ioss of rights, catch-all rulings allowed IDOC itS'evil deeds to contintie and take take take from inmates under the needs of satetyand security ofsoff and prisons themselves, fuck the rights an conditions for inmates. Pontiac, Illinois omson, T dbesa't help thed we dosd have @ Worcian ot Hhe moments I oleat #hink we have had one Sec Over b meonths now, and T dent think he have el Hhe jolo listing yed. T+ didnt help Shroun, that when the Jas? [ banan was Dese, she decided o ot picl R o \eA or books [t she dawed wese o\d Are etz fahinG o£amn of lepYe=}a! ~Mouid bz o prefounc easdal e 2eet of ureNical hafzes TohING UP Rz amd naroeable_ %%:hma Wil Focitahe ine colechue umbmamf_flmm erouieedl o omsIiioN pilpes) Oeraeinment of «coeezciond” laipi) e N G aconvolLted 2oaty inat eaLies t‘:m:mt ACHONING PNEPrcze LiniN [H=Y QLI COMMMUNITED. “We strongly detest bein% manipulated and lied to by the very institutions charged with our well-being” Theard about the officers union and uards peddling agendas o lighten their workload. 1t’s another good way of going about it the wrong way, though- There needs to be an enforceable penalty for state actors willfully perpetuating insightful asseverations to the detrimment and suffering of others. In that talking point that they were so intentional to propagate, was there any mention of tracing theé tainted mail back to its source'in order to affect an arrest? The ‘mere faking of an overdose should be a profound revelation as to the sort of unethical tricksters taking up residence iin the skins of trustworthy and ‘honorable employees tasked with facilitating the objective rehabilitation standards required to transition 1DOC residents back into a convoluted society that requires us to become functioning ‘members within our communities. Are there not now substance sniffing dogs in the mailrooms to detect the substance that allegedly caused the overdoses? Are there nt drug sniffiry K9s along the chow hall routes to sni out residents transporting this ko crap as officers so kindly hinted of doing but as of yet have not? One thing’s certain, Security knows who the smokers are. A while back when Rob Jeffreys was the 1DOC director, they started (prematurely) announcing newer and beter tablets with all of these new updated apps. They even went s far as to discontinue the sale of the current GTL tablets and even suspended the purchase of link units for our existing tablet subscriptions. Real talk: “we strongly detest being manipulated and lied to by the very institutions charged with our well-being.” “Iam pissed off. I count on these books.” You recently sent me books: once again, this mailroom has stopped all biit orie you sent. They again said books had unusual stains. paid to send them home: my people went front to back several times and saw not one stain or ‘marking 1.am pissed off. I count on these books: many times we don’t get library. Tinformed you Dixon CC does not allow hardcover books. Their whole library is ‘mainly hardcaver and in 25 years I've never seen or heard of an inmate constructing body armor. Not ever. P beginning to believe it's because youstand up for inmate civil rights to read and the book bans they're trying toenforce. 1 thank you all for your hard work T know many if all volunteer to do this. I do appreciate you standing up for books now. Dixon, Hinois “Why not wear a mask and gloves while sorting mail?” Twould like to thank you for the services you provide. The mail is indeed life- changing for people behind bars. I could list Several reasons why, but just getting mail or books and seeing your Tame on the mail lst gives people a feeling they sl exist.For some ofus, we've been socially isolated due to jpearceration: simply put, our friends and family have just moved on, we can'tget people to answer the phone ‘much Tess Send us a book or write us a letter. For many of us, snail mail s all we'll ever get. If thal s taken away, we'll lose fearly all the communication with the outside world. Combine that with taking away books that have real potential t6 better a prisoner’s education, mental and spiritual health, and overall knowledge. The DOC is obviously hindering a prisoner’s ability torehabilitate. 1 haven’t heard of any ‘mal carriers having the issues the DOC is having. Also why hot wear a mask and glovés while sorting mail? All of smell smoke. They claim to be nauseous and light headed, they feel like they are going to faint/pass out. Bt what about (hé people o the wing that have to smell the smoke on a constant basis, but aren’t passing out? It doesn’t help that we don’t have a librarian at the moment... It didn’t help that when the last librarian was here she decided to get rid of a lot of books that she claimed were old and ‘happened not to be checked out. Alot of those books she ended up throwing into the trash.” Why is Chess considered a security isstie fo be banned from the tablet game’s selection? Big Muddy River CC, Illinois the rion legal mail we get here is scanned aiid we get a copy of the original so don't understand how this is stch an issue. - Anonymous Bosch, Marion, llinois “Why is Chess considered a security issue to be banned from the tablet game’s selection?” ‘What people here at Big Muddy River CC are writing grievances on is that the Cos are claiming medical emergencies because they walk onto a wing and @toolathewriter o s o e v S 355w S e e, ey gt e e et e e et e e e e (e e Tt st e R LR e Toola Tayor #CraatinghtyOunLane Thedrbanakeovar HTOOLA #BestSelingUrbanNovel AimcanAmericant cton HUrbanFiction & sacurity of pison stalf and stopping the praiferation of drugs ito the. #TheSwipeNove! system, and continue to make thi push despite not having been provided HTOOLAmaWrter s cloar efablcdats fcucharaconan depeivatonbeingn octua Solution. This is currently being Implomented n pisans across the country 3l filng to demonstrate that depriving prisoners of their mail works, ot protacts atatfrom medical incidents - and there have boen no confirmed Pcidents connecting aleged prison stff fentanyl overdoses 1o incoming mail or books. In fact, there have been numerous such allagations by prison workers that have been debunked by medical professionals - yot, Brganizations such as AFSCHIE are orqaniing proteets outside prisons, tagng wakloffs and coerinating disiocampaigns o supoordive s iegifion Bun_ e TAUTHs i drimaly s ONEY GAS #linois SCensorship | The Censorship of Ideas is a Form of Psychological Warfare: A Message from the Diversionary Treatment Unit ANARGHISM RADICAL TRADITION R¢oop) INMY Eye ) crone 1 RoN By Hybachi LeMar In'The Palestinian Prisoner's Movement: A History, it's written that "the primacy of the liberation of prisoners as a collective goal of the Palestinian resistance is also emergent from the unity of imprisonment as a place of militant development, training, and socialization". It teaches of the universality of imprisonment as a weapon of warfare, and occupation, and that whenever there is occupation, there is rebellion, and that even the most brutal forms of imprisonment can emselves become schools of revolt In "Black Anarchism and the Black Radical Tradition", Atcicys Baghy-Williams and Nsambu 22 Suekama articulates that "black anarchist politics reside within a cultural oral tradition"" Letters from jail and from exiled revolutionaries and self-published literature in the form of zines, primarily because many initial black anarchist intellectuals emerge from prison struggles. Brother Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin points out that these naterials ae weapons against fascism, literacy) el hatred, and lack of self-ésteem. Printing and shating these ideas revolutionary enough to subvert these interlockin oppréssions are an essentlal means of ur psychological self-defense. Defense against kick-backs, coverups; of mice that eat through ramen noodle packets, of chipped-walls, peeling ceilings, roaches, no cell windaws or air conditiohing; slave Iabor, periodic denials of suicides. We're in a violation of freedom of press: it takes maneuvering under radar, under the censors, ideoiogical - [this is a call from Pennsylvania State Correctional [nstitution Huntingdon. This call is Subject to recording and monitoring] Nota single lifer I spoke with where I'm confined was aware of the 2016 nor 2011 country-wide prison strike: a political form of protest - largely due o targeted newspapers denied to them by mailroom officials. What helped me got through whilen the hole?Self. discipline, meditation, and the application of knowledge. A healthy vibe of: do pushups and study. Do sit ups and study. Do dip off the side of the toilet and recall what I've learned while pacing the cell. Robin D.G. Kelly acknowledged the way Robert F. Williams insisted that "all young black activists undergo personal and moral transformation'” It was a familiar lesson embodied in the lives of Malcolm X & later George Jackson, the idea that one possesses the reyglutionary wil o transform one's self. ‘Government attacks on newspapers and books have played a particularly violent role in South Africa during apartheid. For example, as early as the 19505, it was behind the repression of urion papers like Morning Star; and in he Sos,on books like "Biko", on the South African Bantu revolutioriary who was banned {rom being comminicated with while i publc as well ashfs teachings before his torture and execution. ‘The power of print can also be felt in Rojava. Before 2011, when North and East Syria was pregnant with revolution, we saw several similar circumstances: labor pain, miscarriages of Justice, society satytated with cortuption and nepotismy Survelllance and censorship everywhere. These very conditions, however, spawn a species of thinkers who evolved, who brood over books, whose diet consists of ideas, who find themselves stirririg, mutating, in the resérvoir of the repressed social imagination. Before his assassination August 21, 1971, general and field marshal in the Black Panther Party George Jackson spoke of his revolutionary awakening, of his transformation. While in San Quentin he wrote "I met Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Engels and Mao; and they redeemed me." And from an isolated cell o imrali Island, Abdullah Ocalan - the now-renowned revolutionary of the Kurdish freedom movement - became exposed to the social ecology writings of anarchist Murray Bookchin. He cross-bred Bookchin's ideas it s own principles of el determination, which assisted dynamically in hatching the Rojava revolution. Qcalan analyzed how our ecological crisis is a symptom of human hierarchy and domination. And with this diagnosis, directly inspired the demacratic autonomous administration of North and East Syria DAANES with a radically feminist revolutionary prescription of direct detnocracy against the state. The force of censorship has failed to epress the resurrecting powers of Black consciousness our martyr Steve Bantu Biko gave rise to; nor did it stop General George's message in blood from making it clear to the American government that i it continues to kill us, then there will be funerals on both sides. I the inal analysis,the censorship ofieas is a form of psychological warfare. The state might ban' our books, they may dispose of our bodies, but they fail to annihilate our ideas. Ourbeloved compa Casey says "forward ever forever forward." It's practically scientific: the more the repressive hands of state forces struggle to hold us back, only catapults us further into the expanding arms of the revofution. e " b P Checkout iy ok thr it G s he b st ) andORstate prisons, probably others) Wrie us or a copy or astér on HelpACompa com “They bully us women” Thave been incarcerated 18 years! We are not allowed anything that shows body parts! We are motlers and ‘grandmothers! We're not allowed Journals of any sort! No art books that teachyou things, how to draw or create. No children’s coloring books! If we get therm, we have 0 lthr destroy or donatel We can only order books from :D. Marcus or Union Supply catalogs Just so we have to pay high prices for the books, because the system gets a huge cut for our staff who say that they're underpaid to sit on a computer all day or sit there and do ‘nothing and yell and scream at us from the officer’s desk! They bully us ‘women, take advantage of our surrounidings, they now don’t even ‘have to have a High School Education or GED to be employed. All the old. officers leave becatise of the way they treat us women. Wehave mold and rust everyuhere, but don’t have the money to replace thése items - beds, showers, cabinets where we put our clothing and underwear. Rust s an item that can cause lockjaw - ‘mold can kill us! They'd rather use Bureau Of Prisons To Restrict Mass “To Prisoners. ‘The Bureau of Prisons is implementing a new system to restrict mass emails coming into prisons. Iz taxpayer dollars to buy lights on their heads for the medicationine, of lighted wheels on their health care emergency medical bags! And 1/2 the time the boys are full with items that are non-functioning. They say they re understaffed so they can cage us up like animals and when they let us out at the least 10 people go to see because they're wound tip! They lock us down ‘when Madison comes in to see how we are treated, and no one can talk to any of them. They cover up a lot! Especially the men COs that yell and scream at us because they re overworked - yeah ok 1/2 of the COs fall asleep on their jobs! But they don’t reprimand them for that! We are a med-max facility that most of us all get treated like we’re supermax or death row! Our grievance systemis for the COs. Wish we could have Law Library on our tablets with flash drives, not allowed yet, that’s what's important! I can’t get no legal help unless I have an Open Case. Thanks forallowing me tgrespond. | will write anytime. T am a Voice from within these Walls! Logan Correctional Center, Illinois “The BOP issued a statement from BOP Public Affairs’ Ben 0’ Cone stating, “In esponse {0an Ofice of nspector General (0IG) audit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (FBOP) Monitoring of Inmate Communications to Prevent Radicalization (March 2020), the OIG recommended that the FEOP establish controls that mitigate the risk of individuals commnicating with unknown and un-vetted patties and take steps, including the utilization of available technological features as found in TRULINGS, to reduce the risk of mass emails being receiving by highrisk individuals, includiry terrorists. As a result, the FEOP's Executive Team decided to reduce the ‘number of emails that an outside pari could send into a group of incarcerat individuals to ten- This measure was taken to comply with the OIG audit.” It ‘would seem ke a more sensible approach would be to restrict the emails and improve monitoring of Certain prisoners so the larger group of prisoners could continue to enjoy »4hose newsletters. truthout Communication Crackdown in Federal Prisons Has Been Operating Quietly Until Now ilja J.A. Talvi, Truthout ed June, 2024 By i Pubish “The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has quietly but steadily been implementing a nationwide policy that silences the voices of people incarcerated in federal prisons by MU LA DEFENSA A P L preventing them from sharing the same email and phone contacts for people on the outside, also known as a “double contact ban.” The policy, which gives prison authorities wide leeway to censor communications, appears o have gone through an intenSive test run for thie past toyears at a Minnesota women's federal prison, FCI Waseca, where roughly 900 incarcerated people recelved a written warning from the warden on March 13, 2024 ‘The notice sent to prisoners’ emails could neither be printed nor forwarded. Truthout was able to obtain a capy of the policy, which reads in part: FCIWaseca Inmate Bulletin: “Recently, a review by SIS [the Special Investigative Services] was condiicted on inmates” email and phone accounts at FCI Waseca ‘and it was discovered inmates are actively sharing emails, addresses and phone ‘numbers with other inmates housed at FCILand within the Bureau of Prisons, With the exception of approved inmate to inmate correspondencé, egal correspondence,advoccey groups and educational informationthe sharing of email addresses and phone numbers pose asafety and security Concern for the Bureai of Prisons and FCI Waseca.” California prison system considering mail digitization Dozens of organizations published a letter demanding the protection of physical mailfor people incarcerated in alifornia: Dear California Budget and Corrections Leaders, We are writing to raise serious concerns regarding the possible implementation of digital mail scanning across California state prisons through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's newly executed contract with Securus Technologes 25 FEDERAL BUREAD OF PRISONS s return ( sender” form 1 qot, | hink U rom the “newsletter” you send with the twitter feeds and articles. Our mailroom has basically lost their minds and are arbitrarily making their own rules. Hundreds of petty rejections ganznan{?l‘u?;ri jan, _ obinson, ani Pinckneyville as cover for political censorship Figure 3. IDOC Lockdown Days o Lockdown Dy et b Lockdonn Days = Adiisin-bsd Lockion Doy Figure 4. Access to Outside Supports Reported by Incarcerated People (1=8.572) e L ——— e g STl e e e TR 1% s et -a Suongly Dusgres = Disgee < Newnd «Apre @ Suongy A Source: John Howard Associatign Re: Book Donations sTaTEoF oI et 52, WSt bl s 43943738 To whom it mey coucem: P e T e “The decison was made o no longer accep doed books fo ffenders due he mecting our policy sandards. We continue (0 fceive books n poorcondiion with s conten, scker, markings, e The offenders are ot allowedthese books and i slos dowt our o3l rocess. Al books ecived wil b refused nd retumcd 0 your company e ko Pt Gt Pt How o Wi oy o, Tk o e i oy 1,303 Te i Deptm o oo (00 it o it e ool o e e ot ey P ko s T o v o ety 0 bk sl s ety b iy e o e e e ot o o oo P -0 10 st o oy e epeiog e e ——— e o e oy A e S s o o s e o Tty b e et i .. Howiits pendleton Indiana’s mail room guard Yolanda Chambers rejects gnything she doesn'tlike as “stains”or “STG”, and once tried to ban all “donated books” but Indiana DOC reversed this after a well-crafted letter asserting our rights and the rights of the confined. One comrade has been retaliated against forfiling grievances on the rejections by being falsely accused of recefving diug- soaked mail (eventlially dropped): now there’s an active federal lawsuit for denying access to mail communications. In the past year, two of our correspondents were falsely accused of receiving mail from us that allegedly tested positive for drugs. Both people were put in restrictive housirig and had communication privileges taken away: We followed yp with them and called the prison to complain, and they eventually had their disciplinary charges eventually dropped. Pison officials may act ifferently if they know that péople outside will bring attention to their false charges. Fedd Geoonced T uonnd 4o Thgak Y Wnke & alling_ e RS wos ey ¢ Joousieg Sl LransGrred Uople OT dbe (ncile 1ol dicoissed, O Prison Sysleen 5 ormuphs C resliich Most jails in Chicaflo's surrounding counties have eliminated all physical mail in favor of profiteering digitization contractors \ May 2025; Lake N County jail goes all digital mail with =\ TexiBehind T May 2023; DuPage Gounty jail gocs al digital mail with TextBehind November 2023: Will County Defention Center goes all digital mail with " Smart Communications June 2024: Kankakee County jai goes al digial mail with Securus State prison systems have transitioned to mail scanning at an alarming rate - from statesto 27 in just four years. .g{ler switching to ‘Wisconsin prisons restrict books ‘extBehind to eliminate and mail to keep drugs out, but physical mail, Wisconsin DOC some staffstill bring druy ‘went after the books: last St i August, Wisconsin Books to Prisoners was told they could no longer send to people throughout WIDOC prisons. After campaigning and negotiations, they appeared willing to allow books from Just their group s long as it’s “new books only”. Minnesota DOC restricting how Minnesota DOC also fell to incarcerated adults in the state can TextBehind mail scanning in purchase books November 2024, and initially restricted books to only a few vendors. Fortunately, multiple Books to Prisoner groups including ours was able to pressure them into loosening these policies to allow for our groups to continue to share books. SmartCommunication’s patents on MajlGuard™: they hilariously failed trying to sue other prison tech corporations for copyright infringement Minnesota November 2024; Contracts with TextBehind to digitally scan all incoming mail: people receive printous. All books nitally resiriced to 5 vendors; after campaigning, expanded to include 5 Books to risoner groups including ours July 2022: Contracts with B Digeonly to digitally scan all incoming mail: people receive printouts. Books must come from one of only two “quthorized vendors”; “Books N Things” and Edward R. Hamilton. No hardcover United States Missouri July 2022: Contracts with Securus to digitally scan and print all incoming mail September 2023: Books are no longer accepted unless directly purchased by people inside from only “bona fide” publishers 30 Michigan * All incoming non-~legal mail is photocopied: the originals are not given to the recipient * January 2025: Contracts with TextBehind for DOCS "legal mail” system requiring attorneys to register to supply QR codes on each mailpiece to verify the source * Books must come from one of six "authorized vendors": Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Edward R Hamilton, Schulerbooks, Walmart, or Prison Legal News (after a 2019 lawsuit) Ohio 2025: ODRC contracts with Global Tel Link to l/q tally scan all incoming mail. %2 the prisons 8 are already implemented, ¥2 are receive photocopies “Legal Mail” requires attorney registration with ORDC. In May 2025 the Ohio Justice & Poli Center sued over the policy o scanning attorney-client protected mail. Books must come from “authorized publisher”; interpretation and rejections vary rom prison to rison but have steadily increased. No used [ - Indiana 2025: New Command 5 tablets from GTL/ViaPath 2020: All incoming non-legal mgil is photocopied: the originals are not given to the recipient. 2018: Indiana DOC began restricting only to Amazon and Edward R Hamilton. In 2021, a HRDC lawsuit forced them to reverse this: books are now accepted. No hardcovers, petty rejections increasing Prison Censorship Survey As part of our campaign against prison censorship and boo anning, we've sent over 1200 zines and surveys out to our incarcerated correspondentsin the trenches sowe can understand the current situation and develop strategies. We've published the full responses on our website, but we're sharing a few excerpts here. Combined with the responses that others in the coalition have received, it's a ‘wide-ranging, enlighténing, and heart-breaking perspective of the problem. It has it a fire in our Souls, reminding us of the urgericy and importance of this carmpaign. Have you ever had books or other materials blocked or confiscated? If so, which ones? Why? Tell us about it. 4 Zines from East Bay Prisoner Support, Life without Law, The Insurgent Southwést, The Solitary Anarchist, Grand Jury Investigations FI Harassment and Your Rights.| have filed an appeal to BOP Regional Office. | il exhaust my available xemedies & filea lawsuit." - Marlon, linois “Economic Books, Legal Mail, Education Material Confiscated for suspicion of drug tratficking." - Cook County Jail "Yes. 've had prison legal news and prisoner revolutionary news letter blocked. as told that it contained language that incites violence or poses a security threat to the institution.” - estvlle Correctional Facility “House building (how to build, from site selection through paint and rzs) ‘Apparently "safety & security' However, I nowthe bool bulding houss as my trade contain true historical anecdotes?" - i "The book I requested and ordered was dentedBecal s oLt sl Chiof which they claim i was fof artial ats purposes. 1 e e G e puose o help i my depression and amety” - MCC Chicago "Yes. OUT Magazine. It's amainstream LGBTQ magazine that is commonly caled Foscene porography” and “injurous ‘material" 1 subseribe to this as many other Inmates do, The institution ibrary routinely targets each issue now. - WIDOC Have you ever been l;lmished for reading material that was sent to you? If yes, what were the materials and what was the punishment? Y oo radng okt o wihppehepalicinen il 2 solsio i st gl il B g o RS T e “I have been punished and retaliated against such 35 unfactual disciplinary conduct Fepors fo harassment from Iemal Inkestigations Cannotaitend specal count etters. orced to pay higher shipping costs 10 send the materta back to the publisher. Sendleton, ndiana 5000 fuesome Fcts (About Everything)” lwsas) Gl on ot He enire it uigg) ‘meant for ehildren. | was threatenéd with Tl nd et st o oer e e Ppdlo MO me R erion "Yes They give s STG gang tickets (even e o BB e, aoramthingtiy S Bl v e o gt s & 3o g and even atransies to igher secugity prison: %51 he e the Bense® riheriatis rmless. - Pinckneyville Should the prisons have the power to control what you can and cannot read or see? If yes OR no, why? o, Because it s our constitutionsl st Amendment ight. - Conk County i “No.Institytions should not limit wht we resd OF S ecme they do ok Khow iy Wewant o s o fead the msterals we e Seniing . they connotread our mids ot Ry derotand whap we St ting 0d0Th sur ndhiualpaihs - Cook oy Jai gLy rehabilaon, e ook Coonsy ol DR e he el o epd R A Coptinit o See e Sobat oer o th beles oy houis e PR b o eveont Sl P el B e ot have bt e o) eprccaton | havebser Roved s, o e o AR Alt-Right, Man a‘fk:heco'snlafhémi_l\s n.é‘y‘.{\‘;c’;mm.m é".‘?g;ulm boldto FEs e upremacit deplopes Seeing T Bk e e e "No.Fwas confind in the 10905 and sctual. PR A Do A e e sy o Peoesfes e 00 A Litorm poliey by whith mean enforce the Written one they have, they just dowhat ey want and chte the policy - WIDOC Are you in a facility that scans incoming mail? Does the mailroom copy or scan newsletters and other printed reading materials? Does the facility's scanning policy affect our ability to read books and terature: 33 "' gt a facilty that scans everything The amphlet T recelved From yall and thesurve {vas Scanned: ves i makes it hard o read e words are smeared. They ave a really bad Scanner. < Rew Caste, faana "Yes Iam being denied to have access to Hard-Cover Boglas sating a safly & Sy Sehesbutfcanfiove s clevisgn or ELIIbler that has glas. and piastc Canbe turn into a weapon and hore of . Security threat than a Hapd- Cover book. The EB UL piing profts From the GL- ablef o must st gome,and ‘movie aps over nhates safety & Securty.” PRt dtan i "Yes! To all above! Also affects legal access. My coiet il s st 2 o Tl copiad open outside my presence. Phptocoy R i postmar Sich. Prvileging themselves to my egal personal tssges-- USP Coleman 1, FL. ° {WIPOC uses Texthehind,whoregylarly bt e e G Jotos get massively degeaded reguiar i sanfe photo can be sent multile s 0 ot ok ooiing diferent each time They've even squished photos out of Proportion justto fit them onto one pa Eathe than printing it corvectly on ahother Page (cbviotsly o Save fewcents). AS an A, having my reference imagery core rough IrLed s SEgravating, shd 105 isrespectful o treat iy family photos so Poorhy - Waupun, Wisconsin In your present facility or any previous ones, did you receive a clear explanation of the facilities censorship policy? If s, is it applied consistently or fairly? If no, what is it they tell xou when something gets locked? “No. LOL:) I laughed when reading this one. e el cating s o Tyt iehng s SOHHRG Myt 24, or security threat on page 24.." Bctneyiiets prge “All they usually say is it is confiscated due toractlty ol iFyou e ucky They might e you s pullshit chcuse wi Eonitscatedit. it all comes down 0 them ixying o control us. - Miami CF indiana o B ey R i whbever K in the mat room. M, 1 Have you ever filed a grievance against your materials being blocked by the mailroom or getting confiscated? Were you successful? What was the explanation for blocking the material? bt e e Menard, 1L e s "o, This facility targets complainants so its prient o ol oned basies My Smghiar Eompiain imolvedstapling of potos vas ‘et with denial, then 3 policy change, then hotos that were *lost & never fouhd." - Ci Eikton, Ohio “The grievance was unsuccessful, the #1 reason, which we cannot get around is they Say “for the safety and Security of the instinution” they wall not allow it n.” - Pinckneyvile, L havefled rievance against material B A e e o thim a5ty ot the Dok The explanation for blockia the B e g, B mesty 5 bedsaae e i oo, R A 34 Why do you think prisons censor what materials you can get? What's their game? "I think prisons censor the materials we can getasa form of control and punishment to s uninformed and ignbrant. The less we know, the more they can manipulate us and abuse us." - CCOOC/L “They give all kinds ofreasons, but rul thini¢ifis to make usfeel s miserableas” possible. They don' have to o, they. Eiose to, So that means they do it out of Spite:” “hami CF Indiana s pons o el o g gttt il e s e e i o g e et e poy e e L e el ont el bl ety ool Byl oo ortant to you? If away to pass improvement? Is reading im| ves, how 07, time? As sel Education? Do you read daily? "Reading is my method of expanding my knowledge and wisdom n order o gEow ‘mentally: emotionally, physically, and Spiritually. 1 also Use Feading for fecreation 283wy 6 rela and ccape nto another world. read everyday a Various points throughout the day." - CCOOG/L 1t s my current only way to escape from this sitdation” - ackionmile . Al ofthe above, I read for away to pass time,self-mprovement, education. 1y to et copy hoyts oy And oo row of reading, 1T wil push us back to fhe stone- Sges.* USP Bequmont "Everything you mention. Plus emeTAmIMER: Education covers everything (mental- Spirfuah amoona) bat asg Gl il ehdee S Bearion nowidee. UnlsEoanding Underaianding K prejiice Mark Twaiichas s quote. S el andersanainebing fal P proedice T Menardit Al of the above. When I am reading 3 book 1am ot in prison, 1 3m in the story-Plus the only way T m goih 10 better myself so1 Gont come back to fis piace s education, becaisethisplace doch T offer o ther Way o better myself. Yes every day. Hiami CF Indiana B "It helps pass time. Helps me become smarter:Kiso helps caith me down at imes. Itaisg helps me escape realy. 1 alsodo read R Dot Stae Peiteniary "Reading s very important even though am slow it byt the more | ead the fore “ducatedT g I've started reading in the eniientiat st f ot to pass Hine, it to Bet etemal lnowiedge. 1 have. git What [ £6ad, g sight from my subeonsclous o Sl 1 1 BE consetous, Althoughl do not Tead datly, only certin basic ke pblical ol have a drive Lo propheces” - "Education: I read daily and I feed my brain soTcan clevate myselr, ke Maicolm X and Huey P Nevwion and Angela Davis” - £C1 Detelsburg "Mainly for knowledge and self improvement When fcan't get my books in o being censored and blogked, [ have to E0t0 my ison tablet and 1escarch case [ £ Can pain knowledge n fghting my case iy and fighy Rl againatthe Eonstitutional ights - Pendleton, Indiana "1 read daily, it helps me learn about myself, this Strugglewe fight a transgender Women, Plople & WorkimE pecpe. . WIDOC "Due to eading 1 applied mysel in so many ways and I'm csrrently entolled inan s patlega program ot wich ve SEored ob mody frstiest and 1 now entoling with Adams State University o get Ty Bachelor's Degree in sociology." A Blcago 35 Are there things you want to brend s worldto me ot here needto read rightnow that are ety bols o conscion st so1 blocked? If so, what are rhe,s start and run a construction business when I and why do you want themi? &t out of prison - Wesnille ¢ Are you able to organize an orized book club or reading group in your present facility? Computer ook They don'tuant s Ieammig computers. Yettheorld s B OBy epates " Northsranch G aryland "Yes House-building books o keep breast of ne tehology: ol e 65 G TV T e el e ot omed mtenat robsby. Have you ever parti o oy Bianket (o opprecoion s p e b PR Bools 0 a book club or group: i ey elow mandexpereice e e hougts et tove "There ar fewbooks tht come toming. There s one sbowt et Eo e founde of e Bone rpamization Tvanted fis lacke foneorgamastiof Lvanied Bookon the Bk Fanine pary it because of align deglogy with the Back Parihers - Renard ;mled I think the big one is Sun Tzu's "Art of ‘War".Its one of the most significant historical texts out there, and 1 have a cultiral connection to it 35 I'm Chinese. I'm f the opinion the ban on this book 1s BTG RIS Have you ever been prohibited stubbom {0 change. 1t not e The Atof ~ from informally discussing War'" holds any secrets these days, with someofhit b siiteiedine - books as a group? ‘modern psycholo Eam'stil sccess. Nachiellsrifhnes s well a3 umber of modern military Srategytactic boo 2nd rather aggresaive pscudo- psychoio el el bod by Weltem autiors 10 VoRlimds was dented thapare [t of thee PPN T ca ellve A mang that hdes ity i one volume would shw it in Another, especially since both series have Pen’ tatings" WIDOC Waupun “Everything! 'm supposed to and "not” ippose do. T3 elbitate and kowmy IegH rights. And every opporunity the fret o TR R R Do you have access to a law library? If so, are passes or ducats to the library readil available or tough to get? Do you receive the materials you need? Are there any restrictions you face, or barriers to dccessing materials? *“The law librarian comes to us upon equests iven to the counselor, e o oger Rt stciss o che physical Law Libfary since COVID and et then, only certain divisions have s law [brary within, SOt et e { oo it Copies made of my certificates o give Ebechise o ygrian wont copythem CounyJail & “1t's not hard to get to the law library, i the prison isn't on lockdown but we seer! o be BrTockdown 3 lot because of so calied ' Staft Shortage. When 1 do go to the law library, T'm able fo get the materials that I need." - Westvlle CF indiana "Tough to get a pass tothe law ibrary, o B Bl you gt sher! “The lawlibrary here s terrblel You can only be there 38 minutes. And go once a ey 3 And 3ot e they re out of fonef 6 you can't make copies. > New Casle, Indiana o o, am in Resticive Housing Unic and oyt A R B e Statfjofficers destroving outgoing legal mail PRAGHe et Py Sonconaslug o helaw by bt o arefaloyedloualiardindshdco v R i "Yes, It's on several computers in thelibra and on one n the housing unit We have scces, bt s ot updated aoftenas 0. el e ot HRRERR NS e Pekin, llinois g s oyt How do you feel about the quality of the books made available in your facility's law library? Do you have access fo printing or a copy machine? Is there a computer? What do you wish you had access to or available in a law library? "W do ot have access tothe booi, nly secons Thatwe fequeet Weavendaccss Lo printingjcopy machines Librarian docs BB R TRy aces o o ‘wish we had aceess to physical lw ra where we could physicaly cess materials” TSt TeSourebs e need.' < Cook Count) Jai, s "o books to check out, ' all on computer ~ i unit, T computer with legal access for R L ot of sarvice! Twould ke fullaccess to any & allegal materals < Marion, Hinors "The quality of the books available at my faclity s laking,they are mostly over bsed i me. down We'do ot ave ccess 101 Eapy machine: We doryt have Sccess o2 coRptes Twould e thire to e compters for 10 type o, to draft clemencies ot lega Gochmentes “Hienard, Hinor & “Thecopies thatwereceive re s atecall, Bave s two computer machine which T don't Ko tows to wark them. Twish that we could have available Serviceto help us prepare ot documents o he coutts and R the sise oo e sk o - D, INope beokssince 2012 o carlier AL arc-outof pan’ o ‘blocked: v Sdministrator Jacksonvie G, Wisconsin 1 should ot have to have a deadline to be b e T s i "Guality of books are prety decent shape; vt actess to 3 printér/coty machine, bu e Lo these prisans keeping us on lock down Statie PUSP Beaumont "Only 3 handfulof functioning computers. Ve need 5 e allowed to pUrGkase word. Processors. - Indiana Site penentiary 37 Has access to the law library at urpresent acilitychanged i&m’mng the pandemic? If yes, ow? “"Yes, The number of allowed to others at a. time has been lowered, and only allowed to attend 1 day a week. " - Plainfield CF, Indiana “Gotten worse. We had no access during the ‘pandemic. Now it is hard because staff Hortage or not doing their jobs." - Marlor, Tlinois™ e “During he pandemic we had no acees and RS v o R e o d I 0 o o s oand bope e Does the facility allow you to bring books and other literature to the yard? Are bool u allowed to share or literature? rsticiang T Faiield & indiona "Booksto yard, no Yes, we can share “We cannot bing them to theyard. At Menarc ] was thcatencd with ST ticket Fincknegule, Hinors ot allowed to share anything, big rule. No owed North iloreiate Famentary “They don'tallowit,but you know how e “Can brin to yard however we cannot share boaks besguse unmauthorized sansfer of B i possessions.~Taycheedan, Wisconsin® yeheedal, do you feel about the options forreading material available services on it? What services do they offer? "o, To share books s considered books "~ Big Muddy Rver CC 1 Tor Bifging RPC baoks o the yard. - loaning and borrowing get dowm. - Wabash ValldyCF, I8 Droperty" aind they throw fhem ot 1f found Do you use a tablet? If so, how on it What m%flm’es provide Thereading materialsarevery retricted. he oyt Edows The servcsoffred Eadio for recreationl. Thére s alsoa phone et ks~ ook count ] Music, movl, podcas, and garming apps it ke enagmgf}nm%s tha Westulle CF, ndiina P "The options for eading material on ur tableols Gurdsted The Gblet omy g Bk thatste pubic domain. piout o the Dok oAb Bk Minericans e egtoor Coloted They company hat providesservice ot ablet o R 3l e 3 Ch pare i Al e 2T R "They have no reading material on ther. Only Fames, Music, A TOViEs (o ent: Tablet 15500, Garmes $3-3 - Son 0wt 3 each Movies about S4:00 andean eeh sncar: YA Tt 38 WIDOC uses Access Tablts (T v SCORE, R R LRl Bloress mbeny Brec sty Ther are o e ‘mostly from the ate 18005 and early 10008 R yem s ey andstet i and dosens PRaReR B B e LR S e and et Fdoca Sotony S now TS o e oo oot P bk S B T opely Mt s rotedtes.Other bans ai eveh more baftling. Since.l can still R downloaded, I'll list them. [...] There's a oAt ahot 2 podcecsall PRUCLAPRD b2 dozenpodeat sibsripton, S montd L st About 3 e e ol ecdblc B o B oSty el AR enc ‘new gares, "Arch Knight' and "Budding. et et th oo Dugs e e M ot s Pt e Amor LA P SR POy for pemologieal imteeste hich giard and in the other you clear pison B v by ceman: arstare e e oL vl Tantasy land. Reep n mind this i the same e Hhenc o0 By 3 Chld o oo T S U pepic foueier ot r sy sworan B Yo k) Eroose o mharer B b oot s o el peyihet e LB T recently ncreased the price of “ e bters o 82 o picing seems el fo.3, e LIRSS R T i maon et 25 Ao e remtos onty k45 o RSP S SR, e B oneeal e wiy thcough. Thert's e B an L o ey e, and s o [ et R hfi% St m‘éy\?f%’ Eminated Zmounts of ext. The tablet vendor contract isup soon and everyone (ncluding OC staf s farly sure Acccss willose the o a3 L ey by facyae Somictin 2oal Iis siywhy eyl et b oxherstes eep S wndor i vl e X;ndn%la%es the contract), have S Peked U fie B rental prices They e Shey Lot ose the comisac 00 o e i S S Has your outgaing mail ever been censored? If you are a writer or artist, ave restrictions on outgoing mail ever made it difficult to publish o self-publish your Writing or creative worl "Yes, it took me 14 years to self publish my book! - Western finors T Y "Yes, 1am always concerned about my mail ot g 1 detinaton o being Eampered with." - Cook County Ja, inois ““Pim writing my 7 chapter of my book, but ey L e maleotios 31 Send outh* Gook County Jai, inos Lastly, is there anything you think e on the outside or the general public need to know about censorship, reading, books, education, or your life inside? Feel free fo write as much as you want. We will read and value every word. "I think there i a ot that I could say about this place that would shock and repiise s placetht would shock and epul ‘eople i they even believed it. There is so Phuth evil i here and the corruption is grear, but there are good people that work ere and there are good men and women tTapped in herc. Wé are human bengs, ot Jemons. The world cast us out and ighores s whilewe are ot inchain, but we have brains, families, love, and God to hold us Shiough ™ Cook Couniysal linols e symuch Lo people b about their fellow incarcerated brothers and meaningful way. In myexpme‘némd\mng PRt Lnietn ol st Brpprsti gl B s truly possible? Prisons are designed, for the D o breate s dow ol e e on the wrist. IS that justice? Is that the Law and Order? We can do better regarding regarding thei incarcerated people, and {hEY et trly rehabiftated - or the most ot oy i st prson sysen. e must redb one amendment, we most remove one of it's clauses. We have to Xewor the 13th Amendment becatise, ekt whafmostpeopl believ, s not abalish slavery. I we were to remove the Elause i the 13th Amendment that allows Slavery for the convietion of a crime, the prison system would bea place. o tuly Tehabiitate. Lo us finaly abotish Slavery in SIS forms, fet's amend the 13th Amendment " Citizens out there need o know that just because I've made.a mistake in my e, my s still (should) exist I'm stillan Afherican, a country that has a constitution and preaches freedom, But et we are feadfng the entire worid n incarceration! 1 {oureending this you're geting nvolued Coep gorng SvoveRt et ot indhane "Censorship Just keeps getting worse. Im treated like an animal hére without any rights. Since | have no contacts on the. otitside 5 very hard for me to get books or iterature. can use all donations. Piease lelp.Met meknow ifyou even reclve this back Thank You. Blessed be" - North Branch ¢, Maryland "We don’t have what society s led to believe wedo - Reading material, health care, legal access, and just respect as humans.Jails risons get away whh lots of misdeed,both llegal & unconstitutional. See law sults - state & federal faciities." - Marion, linois PRISON BANNED BOOKS WEEK single state prison systems censor more books than all state schools and libraries combined Literature gets banned by prison mairoom y Staff quic Tlipping through books as they inspect the mail. These cursory judgments sweep up medical books, drawing and art books, popular magazins, history books and literature of all kinds, Prison censorship prevents people in jails and prisons from reading, () “The third, annual Prison Banned Books Week ‘will focs on the exponential rise of “approved vendor” policies. Denying independent booksellers and limiting places to purchase books, sometimes o a single, bookseller, “approved vendor” policics are being passed around the country under the speciots claim that mail is the primary conduit of contraband. PrisonBannedBooksWeek.org The American Library . Association has come out with updated 2024 standards: Library services and resources should be regularly accssble and relovant fo all individuals who are incarcerated or detaed rgardiessofcisody e e of carceral facility, or informational need. rofessional library staff should make all redsonable efforts to provide consistent access to both the physical library space and library services through institutional mail, book carts,or other effective access points where library services can be readily reached by the most facility residents. Access fo ibrary services and materials should extend beyond the physical space of the main library, including all restricted access unifs such as administrative seqregation, hospital units, and crisis beds. Best Practices for E-reader Tablets in Carceral Institutions Produced by the Coalition for Carceral Access to Literature and Learning (CALL) with 58 partner groups. Write us for the full version, here are some excerpis: “E-readers must supplement, not xeplace, access to physical books in carceral institutions or facilities... Books ordered through or donatéd by prison bogkorganizations and outside ok, vendors must also remain accessible or available... Access to digital books must not be revoked as a diSciplinary measure: Access to literatureis a right, not a privilege... E- reader vendors mut reject pay-per- use models.. E-readers cannot be held up as expanding access to literature for incarcerated people if the cost of urchasing a tablet is prohibitive for a large portion of the incarcerated population. E-reader vendors and carceral institutions must provide free access to digital books that are already a part of the public domain. E-reader vendors must make content that meets the literary and educational needs of incarcerated populations, including by developing e-catalog collections in’ consultation with libtarians, educators, and formerly incarcerated people. E- reader vendors must make content in multiple languages available and be responsive t6 the cultural needs of incarcerated populations. UN Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules): “Every prison shall have a library for the use o allcategorics of prsoriers, adequately stocked with both recreational and instructional books, and prisoners shall be encouraged to' make full use of it.” 1. Inno circumstances may restrictions or disciplinary sanctions amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. ‘The following practices, in particular, shall be prohibited: (2) Indefinite solitary confinement; (b) Prolonged solitary confinement; () Placement of a prisoner in a dark or constantly lt cell; () Corporal punishment or the reduction of a prisoner's diet or drinking water; (e) Collective punishment. Prolonged solitary confinement shall refer to'solitary confinement for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days. Wite us for free copies of these standards! a Write us for free copies of these zines about fighting prison censorship! END BOOK BANS & MAIL CENSORSHIP at COOK COUNTY JAIL ‘Midwest Books to Prisoners. Campaign Against Prison Censorship and Book Banning DERLLS PRISON MAIL DIGITIZATION THE FINAL STRAW RADIO SHOW 12:12-21 :lcuuvlllvlu.‘“ Legal Resources to Fight Censorship also available upon reque: Lenientn Theory, Dum i Fact:Piso,Spech,and Srutiny” by David M, Shapro “Tumer'ssurmeuntaple Rucden: A Thtee: el Survey of risener Fee Speeen Clims" b by Kten Sehnell M Chgpel S ekt o commicte it the Qutside wond i Py il s A AR aod uPID e B st prisons” (1/2022) VersInstiin o Jusice: N and Mot Pons e Banming Mall(33022) Filter Mag: The Prison Mail Bans Aren't About Fentanyl. They te About Understaffing, (/9/2024) N TO SENDER: BETUEN 12 Baneorshie O = The Insider’s Don’t Step Back, . Fight Back! Guide to e Jailhouse Law ki == g A Publication of Prison Book Program =) 2024 What it feels fike 4, G dleal with c:,:c!‘u':fyffiu w o) wailroom A 7 A .‘ LN SESARTUENT OF CORRECTIONS | Notice 4f Unauthorized Item(s) Not Permitted \ linois River Correctional Center HOUSING UNIT ikt o forms, o phon cards or gt cars. it gyl o ancvr i i o sporord. S0 you caunalr ot sl No ormativn st pinots prtaing o cims of e o ottt ic may comprorse e secarty of e facity and no ook pots. 1 N SoclSecurty Do Licans 0. car;Schoo o mpoymen . o f ry o o 0 Bamned Puicaton pr Sovngkd P, Reviw Comite: i Money vouchris i IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE WITHIN 30 DAYS, THE ITEMS WILL BE DESTROYED. ndicate ne of the following: O 1 nave provided a stamped, adressed evelape 1 rtum e e (ATTACH FORM TO QUTSIDE ‘OF RESPONSE) ITEM MUST BE RETURNED TO SENDER UNLESS TOLD OTHERWISE. 1 1wish o have he aboe sted ems desoyed. \ O om Be adise, ifyou o ot et s form, th above fem wilbe disposed o i accordance with DR 501,200, Do Yellow Moo Pk Wi em ko e ============== Lut JUouoUBI 20, ) SIFIY L Joy %HL@WC.« vacz +c90cm_ 2Q O} JAHIQY ChoLn O} JIHF, et 310 \ "y 2, qudO mo +c6con“ 00+ : _909 .cc QCdrs.LuchG 0 \ 52429 ) Q .D:oa 7 cuoflw_uu Yt :30 u e T - uo#ce..o...m. 2q 04 ,_utum_