Join the fight against Pennsylvania prison ban on issue of the ‘Militant’
https://themilitant.com/2020/08/01/join-the-fight-against-pennsylvania-prison-ban-on-issue-of-the-militant/
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
Vol. 84/No. 31
August 10, 2020
The Militant received a letter from a subscriber in Pennsylvania’s State
Correctional Institution at Camp Hill July 23, saying that prison
officials there banned issue no. 28 of the Militant because of “security
issues.”
The inmate sent the form prison officials gave him that claimed the
paper was confiscated because of what was on pages 3 and 4. It said that
they “create a danger within the context of the correctional facility.”
No notice was ever sent to the Militant informing it of the prison
officials’ July 16 ban, which they are required to do by law.
The subscriber wrote to the Militant that he is challenging the ban
from inside the prison. “I’m fighting it in here. Please help me fight
out there,” he wrote.
We plan to do just that. Militant attorney David Goldstein has informed
state prison officials that the paper is preparing to file a challenge
to overturn the impoundment by the prison.
Prison authorities only say they’re impounding this issue because of
those pages, but they don’t say what they object to. So what’s on those
pages?
The main article on page 3 is a continuation of a front-page story
covering nationwide protests against police brutality. It describes
protests demanding the cops be prosecuted for the killing of Breonna
Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky; Elijah McClain in Aurora, Colorado; and
Ejaz Choudry in Mississauga, Ontario.
Two photographs show a June 27 protest by thousands in Aurora against
the killing of McClain, and violinists playing music to honor him as
cops confront the protesters. McClain played the violin to comfort
animals at area shelters. Coverage of such marches and rallies has
appeared in thousands of newspapers over the past couple of months.
Page 4 contains reporting on the Socialist Workers Party national
election campaign and its program. Photos show Alyson Kennedy and
Malcolm Jarrett, SWP candidates for president and vice president, on the
picket line with striking shipyard workers in Bath, Maine. Also pictured
is a banner of the SWP candidates in a New York protest calling for
“Prosecute cops responsible for police brutality!” Millions have joined
similar protests in cities and towns in the U.S. over the past few
months. Reporting on such developments certainly doesn’t create “a
danger” in “the correctional facility.” And it is impermissible for
prison officials to suppress news they just don’t like.
Fight prison ban on 'Militant'“We will be reaching out to supporters of
political rights as we have done many times before to send letters to
Pennsylvania prison authorities urging them to reverse this ban,”
Militant editor John Studer said. “We’re confident that this can be
beaten back, as has been the case in most attempts to ban the Militant
from our subscribers behind prison walls — from Florida to Indiana,
Washington to California.”
Among those who have spoken out, some numerous times, against similar
efforts to ban the Militant are Amnesty International USA, National
Lawyers Guild, PEN America, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the
Press, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, union officials and
many others.
“At issue is the right to freedom of speech and of the press,” continued
Studer. “The millions of workers incarcerated in the U.S. must have the
right to read and think for themselves, to form their own opinions about
political developments in the U.S. and worldwide.”
Pennsylvania authorities maintain a list of “denied publications,” which
shows every time a publication has been impounded and what the outcome
was. The Militant has never been put on this list before.
We ask readers and supporters of free speech to send letters protesting
the impoundment of the Militant to Diana Woodside, director of Policy,
Grants and Legislative Affairs, Department of Corrections, 1920
Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 or Email: dwoodside@xxxxxx.
Ban on books
Pennsylvania prison officials have previously targeted the right of
inmates to read what they want. Two years ago officials in Pennsylvania
severely restricted prisoners’ access to books. Under pressure from
defenders of prisoners’ rights, they had to back off.
In September 2018 new rules were announced, backed by Democratic Gov.
Tom Wolf, that prisoners could no longer order books directly from
publishers. They also could no longer receive free books donated over
the years by organizations like Books Through Bars in Philadelphia and
Book ‘Em in Pittsburgh.
Two months later these restrictions were dropped. Family and friends can
now order books and inmates can place orders directly from a hard-copy
catalog and order free books. But they all have to be screened at a
“processing center” in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, before prisoners can
receive them.
Front Page Articles
Workers need our own party, a labor party!
Join campaign to put SWP’s presidential ticket on ballot!
March builds support for Bath shipyard workers strike
Capitalist rulers seek to paper over growing frictions in EU
As virus rebounds, recovery falters, workers fight growing boss attacks
Join the fight against Pennsylvania prison ban on issue of the ‘Militant’
Feature Articles
Workers oppose federal cops, antifa violence in Portland
Also In This Issue
Fighters for Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain rally together
Teachers need workers control for schools to open safely
Events mark 1953 opening of the Cuban Revolution
Montreal port workers fight for new contract, safe work schedules
Unions in Mauritius fight for equal pay for immigrants
Books of the Month
SWP fought for US to admit Jewish refugees of Nazi terror
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Letters
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York, NY 10018 - themilitant@xxxxxxx
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Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos