bhttps://themilitant.com/2019/04/27/florida-prison-officials-at-it-again-impound-two-issues-of-militant/
Florida prison officials at it again, impound two issues of ???Militant???
By Seth Galinsky
Vol. 83/No. 18
May 6, 2019
After nearly seven months without any reported attempts by Florida state
corrections authorities to block delivery of the Militant to subscribers
behind bars, officials there just seized two issues of the paper.
Militant???s March 25 issue, left, and April 15 issue, above, banned by
Florida prison officials. ???They think it???s OK to beat and mistreat us,
but not to read about it,??? one prisoner subscriber wrote the
Militant.Militant???s March 25 issue, left, and April 15 issue, above,
banned by Florida prison officials. ???They think it???s OK to beat and
mistreat us, but not to read about it,??? one prisoner subscriber wrote
the Militant.
Officers at Florida State Prison in Raiford took aim at the Militant
article titled ???Woodfox Shines Light on Prison Abuse, Solitary
Confinement??? in the April 15 issue. The story reports on a book tour by
Albert Woodfox, who served over 40 years in solitary as one of the
???Angola 3??? in Louisiana???s notorious state penitentiary.
Prison authorities claimed it ???depicts, describes or encourages
activities which may lead to the use of physical violence or group
disruption??? and that it ???otherwise presents a threat to the security,
good order, or discipline of the correctional system.??? Woodfox describes
assaults by authorities there against inmates and their efforts to fight
for their rights and dignity.
???It???s crazy,??? wrote one of the prisoners who alerted the Militant to the
ban. ???They think it???s OK to beat and mistreat us, but it???s not OK for us
to read about it.???
???The Department of Corrections always makes the inmate look like the bad
guy,??? he added. ???But if they take a second to look in the mirror 98% of
the staff that works in the Florida Department of Corrections should be
in prison because they are the ones beating and killing inmates and
nothing is being done about it.???
The article reported on two meetings Woodfox spoke at in New York ??? one
at the Brooklyn Public Library and one at the Fortune Society, a
government-funded group that helps former prisoners readjust to society
outside prison walls. Woodfox???s decades in solitary, most of it after he
was framed up for the murder of a guard that prison authorities knew he
did not commit, were a result of his efforts to defend prisoners??? rights.
Nothing in the article encourages violence or threatens prison
???security.??? In the article Woodfox stated an obvious fact ??? prison
guards beat and sometimes kill prisoners because they keep getting way
with it.
???Until that changes, the abuse will continue,??? Woodfox says. ???There
needs to be oversight and accountability.???
The Militant is not the only paper that has covered Woodfox???s nationwide
speaking tour, the story of the inability of prison authorities to break
his spirit. There have been reviews of his book Solitary and other
reports on Woodfox by the New York Times, Washington Post and National
Public Radio, to name just a few.
Then another impoundment
Officials at Union Correctional Institution, also in Raiford, impounded
the March 25 issue of the Militant, citing an article titled ???Protests
Continue in Fight Against Police Killing of Stephon Clark,??? which
reported the decision by the Sacramento District Attorney to not bring
charges against the cops who shot him eight times, all but one from behind.
In 2017 and 2018 Florida prison authorities attempted to ban the paper
some 20 times, but, after protests by the Militant and a number of
organizations concerned about the rights of workers behind bars, they
backed off in all but a handful of cases. The last time an issue of the
Militant was impounded was in September. After protest from the National
Coalition Against Censorship, the Florida Chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union and many others, the prison???s Literature Review
Committee reversed that impoundment as well.
The Militant???s lawyer, David Goldstein, has informed the prison system???s
Literature Review Committee the paper will be filing appeals to overturn
the censorship.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???Workers at Stop & Shop end strike, discuss results
???Washington???s sanctions on North Korea fall on toilers
???Former FBI boss Mueller???s probe blow to political rights
???Florida prison officials at it again, impound two issues of ???Militant???
???Washington steps up economic war against Cuban Revolution
??????US rulers wars are extension of the bosses??? attacks on workers at
home???
Feature Articles ???Erbil book fair highlights cultural, political
openings, struggles in Kurdistan and Iraq
Also In This Issue ???Protesters in New Zealand defend Maori land
???Over 300 May Day brigadistas gather in Cuba
???Kurdistan event discusses way forward for working people
???Join May Day protests for amnesty!
???Campaign to expand reach of Militant,??? books, fund April 6 - May 28
(week two)
Books of the Month ???Origins of women???s oppression, private property and
the state
As I See It ???Amnesty for immigrants is key for working-class unity
25, 50 and 75 years ago
?? Copyright 2019 The Militant?? -?? 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor -?? New
York, NY 10018?? -?? themilitant@xxxxxx
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Christopher Hitchens
??? What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without
evidence. ???
??? Christopher Hitchens,