"Prison Grievances: When to Write, How to Write" - Graphic Book on the Basics
By Matt Clarke
In Prison Grievances: When to Write, How to Write by Terry LeClercq , you will find the basic information on how to get your grievances heard presented in an illustrated format similar to a graphic novel or comic.
Dr. LeClercq, along with artists Patrick Hubik and Shawn van Briesen and many others, including prominent people from the Texas criminal justice scene, worked together to give a presentation of the basic grievance-writing process that is accessible to all—including those who have never written a grievance before. In an interview on KPFT's Prison Show, Dr. LeClercq, a professor at the University Of Texas School Of Law, said she wrote the 55-page book aiming at a fifth-grade level of education to make it useful to almost all prisoners.
The book gives step-by-step instructions on what issues can be raised in a grievance, how to raise them and what to do if your grievance is ignored.
The literary device used in the graphic section of the book is that of a lawyer who volunteers his time to teach prisoners a class on their rights inside the prison and how to write a grievance should their "inside rights" be violated.
Although the graphic section is set in a Texas state prison and includes a prisoner seeking relief in the courts after his grievance is ignored, the 20-page workbook section includes information on the grievance system in the federal prison system and the procedures described in the book should apply to any prison system or jail. The workbook section also contains check sheets showing the necessary steps to take prior to filing a grievance on medical issues, inappropriate disciplinary sanctions, lack of due process during disciplinary proceedings, life endangerment, excessive heat or cold, exposure to environmental hazards or toxic materials, denial of mail, and restrictions on religious practices, as well as general information on prisoners' constitutional rights and the requirements of the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Dr. LeClercq generously offered to give individual assistance to prisoners having problems filing grievances on difficult issues. She may be contacted at the following address:
727 East 27th Street
Austin, TX 78725
Source: Prison Grievances: When to Write, How to Write; Captive Audience Publishing (ISBN: 9780615739755); KPFT Prison Show
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