https://themilitant.com/2019/07/27/florida-prisons-ban-militant-for-reporting-on-prison-censorship/
Florida prisons ban ???Militant??? for reporting on prison censorship
??By Roy Landersen
Vol. 83/ No. 28
August 5, 2019
Florida prison officials informed the Militant they have impounded
issues no. 24 and 25 of the paper, claiming articles reporting on the
fight against prison censorship is ???a threat to the security, good
order, or discipline of the correctional system.??? As it has with dozens
of previous bans, the Militant will appeal.
Since 2013, prison wardens have impounded 37 issues. Through 2016 it was
only one issue per year, all overturned on appeal. The censorship has
expanded since then. Still, until April this year, the overwhelming
majority of bans were overturned by the prison system???s Literature
Review Committee ??? after the Militant protested ??? and given to the
paper???s subscribers behind bars.
Over the last three months prison wardens have impounded nine issues.
The review committee has only overturned two of these bans while
upholding seven, though nothing has changed in the Militant???s political
views or coverage, including on prison censorship.
Many of the Militant???s 55 readers in Florida prisons also appeal when
they don???t get an issue. One sent the paper a copy of his grievance
against the banning of issues no. 20, 22 and 23. He said the reason
given by the warden was ???a poor excuse and also a violation of freedom
of speech and freedom of thought.???
In protesting prison censorship, ???I am neither threatening nor
endangering anyone, but simply doing what???s right,??? he wrote.
The bans aren???t consistent. In 2016 the Militant ran a front-page
article on the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison rebellion. It
wasn???t banned. Nor was the issue in 2013 with an article on a hunger
strike by 30,000 California prisoners. Nor did Florida officials impound
any of the issues of the Miami Herald in 2015 and beyond that ran a
series of articles exposing extensive abuse inside the Florida prison
system.
Why does the Literature Review Committee uphold the ban on some issues
for covering the fight against censorship, but reverse those on other
issues, banned under the same pretext?
Despite repeated requests from the Militant???s lawyer, David Goldstein,
the committee has never explained a single decision or its criteria.
What is clear is that Florida prison officials have stepped up their
censorship of the Militant, in violation of the constitutional rights of
both the paper and its subscribers.
On July 16 the Human Rights Defense Center released a 279-page list
maintained by the Florida Department of Corrections of thousands of
books and publications impounded since 2012 as ???a threat to security???
and the results of reviews by the Literature Review Committee. The list
includes coloring books and a Klingon dictionary. It shows that in all
these years only one issue of the Miami Herald was impounded, in 2014.
The list is available at prisonlegalnews.org.
Join the fight
WeCount! a community organization in south Miami-Dade County that
promotes the interests and welfare of immigrants, sent a letter to the
Literature Review Committee July 19 calling the Militant ban
???unwarranted and arbitrary.???
???None of the articles are a threat to order or incite violence in the
prison system,??? the group???s executive director, Jonathan Fried, said.
???Prisoners should have access to information and different points of view.???
Seth Galinsky, Socialist Workers Party candidate for New York City
public advocate, spoke at the Harlem Book Fair July 20 to win support
for the fight against censorship of the Militant. ???We are fighting for
the right of prisoners to read a wide variety of material, to consider
different viewpoints, to think for themselves, to be part of the world,???
he said. ???Prisoners are fellow workers, brothers and sisters, behind bars.???
He urged people to join the National Coalition Against Censorship, the
Florida American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA,
National Lawyers Guild and others in sending letters to the Literature
Review Committee urging them to stop censorship of the Militant.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???Huge Puerto Rico marches demand governor resign
???Moonwalk 50 years on - what it shows about life on earth
??????I???d like to see the miners fighting back everywhere???
???Hundreds protest gov???t refusal to charge cop who killed Eric Garner
???US rulers step up threats, sanctions against Iran - US hands off!
???Florida prisons ban ???Militant??? for reporting on prison censorship
Feature Articles ???In new victory Gibsons win $6.5 million in attorney
fee award
Also In This Issue ???Six years after Lac-Megantic, how to fight for rail
safety?
???Fight to keep family planning clinics open that offer abortion
???Independence for Puerto Rico!
On the Picket Line ???Indiana Machinists strike for health care, higher pay
???Quebec workers strike senior residences for $15 minimum pay
???Baltimore Symphony musicians protest lockout, moves to cut pay
Books of the Month ??????Toilers of the East awakening is part of world
revolution???
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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George Carlin
??? Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe,
and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they
have to touch it to be sure. ???
??? George Carlin