Working

W
Working
ki to
t Extend
E t d Democracy
D
to
t All 
Volume
Volume
V
V l
3, N
3
Number
b 8
8

August

A
A
August
t 2014
2014


A YEAR AFTER MASS HUNGER
STRIKE IN CALIFORNIA PRISONS

O

n July 8, 2013, 30,000 California
prisoners launched what became
a 60-day mass hunger strike. One
year later, however, Luis Esquivel is still
sitting in the Security Housing Unit (SHU)
in solitary confinement in California’s Pelican Bay State Prison. “Right now, my uncle is in his cell with no windows,” said his
niece, Maribel Herrera. “It’s like sitting in
a bathroom - your sink is there, your toilet
is there, your bed is there. And you’re just
sitting there. I can only think about that for
so long because it hurts.”
Herrera’s uncle has been in solitary confinement for 15 years. “I hadn’t seen my
uncle since I was a child,” said Herrera. “I
can’t even remember hugging him.” When
she visited him in 2012, her first-ever visit

CONTENTS
A Year After Hunger Strike .......1
Quote Box ................................3
Editorial 3-8 ..............................4
SWAT Team Gets Toddler ........5
Letters ......................................6
From The Inside Out ................7
Largest HS in History ...............8
Motion to Dismiss Denied ........9
Update on SCI Protest .............9

WHAT’S CHANGED?
to Pelican Bay, more than 850 miles away
from her family’s home in San Diego, hers
was the first visit Esquivel had received in
seven years.
Esquivel is one of the plaintiffs in Ashker
v. Brown, a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of
Pelican Bay prisoners who have spent 10 or
more years in the SHU. In the SHU, people
are locked in their cells for at least 22 hours
a day. Those accused of gang membership
or association are placed in the SHU for an
indeterminate length of time.
Accusations of gang involvement often
rely on confidential informants and circumstantial evidence. Hundreds have been
confined within the SHU for more than a
decade. Until recently, the only way to be
released from the SHU was to debrief, or
provide
information incriminating other
p
prisoners,
who are then placed in the SHU
p
for
f an indeterminate sentence.
The lawsuit, filed in 2012, followed two
three-week
mass hunger strikes the previt
ous
o year. During each hunger strike, hunger
strikers
issued five core demands:
s
1.
1 Eliminate group punishments for individual rules violations;
2.
2 Abolish the debriefing policy, and modify active/inactive gang status criteria;
3.
3 Comply with the recommendations
of the US Commission on Safety and
Abuse in Prisons (2006) regarding an
end to long-term solitary confinement;
4.
4 Provide adequate food;
5.
5 Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU
inmates.

In 2013, prisoners struck again, reiterating their five core demands and issuing 40
additional demands, such as expunging
all violations for participation in the 2011
strikes and prohibiting retaliation for those
participating in the most recent strike.
The strike ended after California State
Senator Loni Hancock, chair of the Senate
Public Safety Committee, and Assembly
member Tom Ammiano, chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, promised
to hold hearings around the issues raised by
the hunger strikers. As reported earlier in
Truthout, the legislators’ support pushed
both the CDCR and the hunger strikers
toward a resolution. Hearings were held
in October 2013 and February 2014. Both
Ammiano and Hancock introduced separate bills proposing time limits on solitary
confinement. Ammiano's bill did not pass.
Hancock's SB892, which has drawn criticism from both advocates and SHU prisoners, has been amended although it does not
end the use of confidential informants in
determining SHU placement. Those placed
in the SHU before January 1, 2015, are to
be placed in the Step Down Program no
later than July 1, 2016, meaning that those
who have already spent years in solitary
confinement may still be awaiting review
for up to another two years.
The Lawsuit, the Review Process
and the Step Down Program
On Tuesday, June 2, 2014, a federal
judge ruled in favor of class certification,
allowing hundreds of California prisoners

to join the suit. However, the class is limited to those held in Pelican Bay’s SHU for
10 or more years. Those held in other prisons’ SHUs are not included.
In March 2012, the CDCR released its
plan changing SHU placement. Prisoners
identified as part of Security Threat Groups
(STGs) can be placed in the SHU. Advocates and prisoners charge that the STG
designation would enable CDCR to place
greater numbers of people in the SHU.
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity, a grassroots coalition of Bay Area-based organizations and community members, stated,
“Under the old policies, a prisoner could be
placed in the SHU for affiliation with any
of seven prison gangs. Under the new program, any grouping of three or more prisoners can be added to the list as a “security
threat group,” membership in which can
result in a SHU term."
That same year, CDCR unveiled its
new Step Down program for those serving indefinite SHU sentences for gang
membership or association. In an email to
Truthout, CDCR Deputy Press Secretary
Terry Thornton notes that, under the Step
Down program, prisoners are not required
to debrief or drop out of their gang. But
debriefing has not been eliminated: A validated gang member or associate can still
choose to debrief instead of completing
the Step Down program; that person would
then be moved to a Transitional Housing
Unit.
Despite CDCR's earlier assertions that
the hunger strike was fomented by gang
leaders and that participation in the hunger
strike might be considered negatively during the Step Down review, hunger strikers
have been moved out of the SHU.
As of June 9, 2014, CDCR has conducted 828 case-by-case reviews of prisoners
housed in the SHUs and Administrative
Segregation Units (ASUs) on STG charges.
Of those reviewed, 557 have been released
to Step Five, which is general population
housing. Two hundred thirty-one people
have been placed in Steps One through
Four, six are going through the debriefing
process and the rest remain in the ASU.
Sitawa Nantumbu Jamaa, one of the
plaintiffs in Ashker, went through the review process in May 2014. He was placed
in Step Three. “We thought he’d get Step
Five being that he’s not a gang member,”
his sister Marie Levin told Truthout. “But
he’s not being taken out of the SHU. He’ll
still be behind glass as far as visiting is concerned.” Jamaa is scheduled to be moved
2

to the SHU in Tehachapi within four to six
weeks.
Despite CDCR’s earlier assertions that
the hunger strike was fomented by gang
leaders and that participation in the hunger strike might be considered negatively
during the Step Down review, hunger
strikers have been moved out of the SHU.
Paul Redd, another Ashker plaintiff who
had participated in all three strikes, was
recently approved for transfer to general
population at Corcoran State Prison after
more than 20 years in the SHU. Three other
plaintiffs - Danny Troxell, Jeffrey Franklin
and Gabriel Reyes, have also been placed
in the Step Down program and transferred
out of Pelican Bay. "If they're out of the
Pelican Bay SHU, they're no longer in our
class," attorney Anne Weills told Truthout.
However, unless the judge rules otherwise,
the five plaintiffs recently transferred from
Pelican Bay will remain as named plaintiffs.
Lorenzo Benton, who spent more than 25
years in the SHU, was also transferred to
general population after the review process.
He was sent to another prison where he was
assigned to both a work program and a vocational training program. He described
"sucking up the sun" each time he goes out
to the yard. "I even had the opportunity for
semi-night (7 to 8:30 pm) yard for the first
time of my 38 years of incarceration," he
wrote in a letter to Truthout. "The summer
skies and summer breeze was wonderful as
I took in the sunset."
Release from the SHU also comes with
surveillance and the threat of being returned: "Within days of my arrival, I was
subject to an interview and an advisement
by the institutional gang investigation (IGI)
unit here. They laid out their expectation,
such as no gang and/or criminal activities,

random urinalysis and cell searches, monitoring of one's movements and activities,
and an every so often interview on one's actions here. They even closed with the statement, 'That they look forward to the Step
Down Program working out.'"
He remains unconcerned, noting, "Gang
activity is not something I choose or elect
to involve myself with nor is it a practice
of mine."
CDCR Proposes to Ban Certain
Publications
Both Benton and Redd seem confident
that they can steer clear of all allegations
of gang activity. However, the CDCR’s
proposed new regulations around publications may make it more difficult for them to
stay informed of prison activism and policy
changes while also avoiding charges of associating with validated Security Threat
Groups.
On April 4, 2014, CDCR announced proposed new changes expanding the definition
of contraband (or prohibited possessions) to
include “written materials or photographs
that indicate an association with validated
STG members or associates.” Possessing
these materials can lead to being labeled an
STG member or associate and placement in
the SHU.
Censorship of publications is not new.
Daletha Hayden, mother of one hunger
striker, recounts handing out fliers in the
parking lot of Corcoran State Prison during
the 2011 hunger strike. She met a person
from the prison's mailroom who informed
her that mailroom staff were throwing
away publications. The editor of the San
Francisco Bay View noted, “In 2013, every
month’s issue of the Bay View from January
to June except February’s was ‘disallowed’
at Pelican Bay State Prison and withheld
until well after the hunger strike began
on July 8. Those issues were packed with
letters from prisoners explaining and
discussing the reasons for the upcoming
strike.”
The proposed change is absolutely a response to the hunger strike, the activism,
the organizing and the media [coverage],"
stated Weills. "It's meant to attack and
isolate prisoners, to cut their voices to the
outside world as well as to other prisoners.
Media was a clear mechanism for doing
so."
Family Members Organizing
Family members have been actively organizing to abolish solitary confinement.
Rock!

Dolores Canales, whose son has spent
13 years in the SHU, originally became
involved with hunger strike support during the 2011 hunger strike. “I just wanted
to know when my son was going to eat,”
she recounted. But she had no intention of
changing SHU policies. “I had accepted it
as the way it was.”
That same year, Daletha Hayden drove to
Sacramento to learn how she could support
her son Ian, who was also participating in
the 2011 strike. Ian has spent six years in
the SHU at Tehachapi on charges of gang
association. “I haven’t been able to hug,
touch or kiss my son in six years,” she stated. “I only get a one-hour visit each week
and they [prison staff] are very strict about
that one hour. Sometimes they even short
me that.”
Like Canales, Hayden had no prior connection with prison justice organizing. Her
son sent her California Prison Focus, a publication located in Oakland. Hayden looked
up the group’s website and saw that they
were having a meeting. “I jumped in my
car and went,” she told Truthout. She started learning about other organizations fighting for prisoners’ rights and against prison
expansion, such as CURB (Californians
United for a Responsible Budget). She also
met Canales and other women who formed
the California Families to Abolish Solitary
Confinement (CFASC).
Herrera has a similar story. During the
2011 strike, she and her family drove from
their home in San Diego to Los Angeles.
"We didn't know anyone there," she recounted. "We just set our GPS, got to Los
Angeles and started rallying." She and her
family drove to Los Angeles for every rally
and protest that year.
Family members also joined the mediation team that met with CDCR to negotiate the hunger strikers' demands. During
the 2013 hunger strike, CDCR secretary
Jeffrey Beard requested that family members not attend his meeting with the mediation team. "He had said that he didn't want
to meet with family members during the
hunger strike because he thought it would
be too emotional," Canales recounted. Instead, he offered to meet with family members after the strike was resolved. Five family members, including Canales and Levin,
were scheduled to meet with Beard in June.
Even after the strike, family members
continue to organize, driving several hours
to meet with other families, sometimes as
frequently as once a week. "We're not going away," stated Canales. "If anything,
Volume 3, Number 8

even more family members are willing to
get involved." She noted that people inside the SHUs are urging their loved ones
to join advocacy efforts and that CFASC's
visibility has given them an opportunity
to do so. "A lot of family members had no
way of getting involved before," she explained. "They didn't know how to do so.
They feel isolated with having a loved one
in prison, but, with CFASC, they can find
encouragement. We know what each other
are going through."
Their organizing has not only raised
visibility of prison conditions among the
general public, but it has also allowed family members to support each other. "I now
am surrounded by family members whose
loved ones have been in solitary confinement for 20, 30 years," reflected Canales,
who was recently awarded a Soros Justice
Fellowship to continue her organizing with
family members to end solitary confinement and decrease mass incarceration. "We
draw our strength from each other. We're
growing our family movement. To speak
out, to no longer accept that this is the way
it is."
Family members in both Southern and
Northern California are planning events
to commemorate the strike's one-year anniversary as well as to remind the public
about the issues. In the Bay Area, Levin
and other family members and supporters
will hold a rally. In Los Angeles, family
members are planning events all day, including a morning rally at the state building, an afternoon get-together including a
barbecue in San Bernadino, and a candlelight vigil that night.
“We Are Not the Worst of the
Worst”
Those who have gone through the Step
Down program have not forgotten those
they left behind. One month after his release to general population, Lorenzo Benton wrote, “For me, this [my release into
general population] was further assurance
that I, as well as others, were wrongfully
being held in SHU on indeterminate status
for all those years (and some still are), after
being labeled ‘the worst of the worst.’ Such
a review shed light on much. We are not the
worst of the worst. All need a chance at our
freedom, whether in prison or in society,
because we are all children of humanity
who want a better life.” ●
http://truth-out.org/news/item/24695-ayear-after-mass-hunger-strike-in-california-prisons-whats-changed

Quote Box
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is
to instruct him to hold in higher esteem
those who think alike than those who
think differently."
Friedrich Nietzsche
"We place no race or people above any
other, acknowledge no superiority in any
culture, honor no special privilege in any
nation, and have no respect for any creed
that limits the absolute freedom of the
human mind."
ClassWarFilms
"Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society—one based on principles of caring, ethical and spiritual sensitivity, and communal solidarity. Their
need for meaning is just as intense as
their need for economic security."
Michael Lerner, journalist
"Hide nothing from the masses of our
people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties,
mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories..."
Amilcar Cabral
"Politically popular speech has always
been protected: even the Jews were free
to say 'Heil Hitler.'"
Isaac Asimov
"You must be the change you wish to
see in the world".
Mahatma Gandhi
"Wall Street owns the country...Our
laws are the output of a system which
clothes rascals in robes and honesty in
rags. The [political] parties lie to us and
the political speakers mislead us...Money rules."
Mary Elizabeth Lease
Populist orator - 1890
"The two parties have combined
against us to nullify our power by a
'gentleman's agreement' of non-recognition, no matter how we vote ... May God
write us down as asses if ever again we
are found putting our trust in either the
Republican or the Democratic Parties."
W.E.B. DuBois

3

EDITORIAL 3.8
I’ve struggled with the question of
whether to merely say I have medical issues
and leave it at that, or if I should take the
drama queen approach and give you some
of the details. Even though I’ve decided on
the latter, my health is not something I will
be regularly commenting on.
I have advanced stage lung cancer. This
was discovered last week while a CT scan
was being done of my right shoulder, which
had been giving me a lot of pain. There is a
tumor over three inches wide between my
lungs and multiple cancer nodules located
throughout both lungs.
How much time I have left is uncertain,
and at this point would be little more than
speculation. If the disease grows fast, not
much. If slow, then I’ll have more time. I
know I’ll have enough time to publish at
least one more issue of Prison Focus and to
continue with Rock for a while longer.
Needless to say, the news of this
condition has caused me to do a lot of deep
thinking about what I want to do with the
rest of my life—with what little time I have
remaining. Sadly, I want to continue doing
exactly what I’ve been doing—to go on
working against the pro-slavery provision
of the thirteenth amendment and to extend
full democracy to prisoners, including the
right to vote. I would like to keep trying
to move social prisoners in the direction of
rights consciousness, and rights conscious
prisoners toward class consciousness. I
also want to continue to devote my one
human power to the effort to bring about
a socialist revolution and to put an end to
such crimes as income inequality (poverty),
unemployment, and perpetual wars of
aggression.
It was also my grandiose hope that I
would live to see the day that the prisoners
of one state would initiate a peaceful, long
term work strike—one that would light
the way for convicts in other jurisdictions
to follow. Georgia came close but failed
after only five days. Maybe the political

4

consciousness on the inside is not there
yet. And even if it was, such consciousness
would most likely have only a reformist
(rather than a revolutionary) orientation.
Anyway, you keep supplying the stamps,
I’ll keep putting out the newsletter for as
long as I can. Unfortunately, when I go there
is nobody to take my place. Mark lacks the
technical skills for running the software
needed to produce the newsletter, labels,
etc. So, as things currently stand, the Rock
newsletter will pretty much die along with
my ability to put it out. If stamp donations
slow down it will die even sooner.
A friend I met shortly after my release
from prison went by the name of Donny The
Punk. On the inside he had created a group
called Stop Prison Rape. His idea, which
was similar to mine in Men Against Sexism
at Walla Walla, was to combat prison rape
from the inside. Donnie relied on education
and consciousness raising, rather than
things like legislation. His approach was
from the ground up, not from the top down.
Donnie, with very little money and the help
of some community volunteers, continued
his work with Stop Prison Rape while on
the streets.
Not too long after his release Donnie
became ill and died. While the volunteers
he worked with carried on, they did so in
a manner that failed to honor Donnie’s
approach to stopping prison rape.
They first changed their name from Stop
Prison Rape to Just Detention International
(JDI). They got lots of grant money, paid
themselves salaries, and worked out of a
nice office (kind of like Prison Legal News
is today, very bourgeoisified).
Worse, they ignored Donnie’s approach
to the problem of prisoner-on-prisoner
rape. Instead of working from the ground
up with education and persuasion aimed at
prisoners, their focus was on solving the
problem through repression, from the top
down. Working with law makers, they got
state and federal laws passed against, and
increased penalties for, those convicted of
prison rape. Donnie would not be pleased
with what JDI is doing
in his name. He never
stood for increased
repression.
I don’t want some
liberals carrying on the
newsletter’s name but
without the communist
content—by making it
toothless—or as a mere
vehicle for lobbying

state officials to do the right thing.
Constructive change will only come to
prisoners through their unity, as expressed
in peaceful collective action (such as
withholding their labor). This is also the
only way in which prisoners can enforce
any gains or promises made by the state.
Woe be to anyone who uses my life’s
work to push for anything other than the
class oriented empowerment of prisoners
and revolutionary change.
If prisoners want more widespread
support from progressive elements they
will need to take public stands on issues
like war and peace. As they say, if you
don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for
anything.
If you think this struggle is only about
prisoners you have your head up your ass.
There is a reason you don’t get a decent
education or training while in prison, or,
for that matter, even in the schools. There’s
a reason why you can’t find decent work
once you are released from prison.
Those who initially conceptualized
the first hunger strike probably had low
expectations. I too had my doubts.
Because of these low expectations
the five core demands were kept very
moderate. I can’t speak for the reps, but as
for myself, I was surprised at the amount of
support for the strike, both inside and out.
The last of the three strikes kicked off with
30,000 prisoner participants.
What has been “won” so far? Well, there
is the step down fiasco, which can be viewed
as nothing other than a resounding defeat.
In fact, the end result of all that struggle
and sacrifice will be a more widespread
implementation of behavior modification
programs in California’s prison system, and
of course the expansion of what constitutes
a STG to include just about anyone—no
longer restricted to just gangs.
Your captors aim to make you the cause of
the problem, not them, and thus alienating
you even further from yourselves—
insuring a continuation of the ongoing
cycle of doing life on the installment plan.
These two draconian measures (SDP and
STG) were the principle “concessions”
CDCR gave to their slaves. Oh, yeah, let’s
not forget sweat pants and what not.
With the possible exception of the
1971 Attica uprising, where rioting
prisoners demanded transportation to a
non-imperialist nation, the demands of
struggling prisoners have traditionally
addressed only their immediate needs
(better food, etc.). That limitation has
Rock!

been in place since the invention of the
penitentiary. Unfortunately, as you can see,
not much has really changed since then.
Maybe it’s time to try something new?
Those convicts who, at their innermost
core, have a love for peace and justice
are going to need to take a stand on more
than just prison issues. Society itself must
undergo a radical transformation before
the issues of crime and punishment can be
successfully resolved. You must be a part
of this long-term change, and in the process
you’ll be transformed into a better version
of yourself.
You, the essence that is you, is made of
countless individual cells all cooperating
together to make up the whole. What if
some of those cells developed a capitalist
way of looking at things, and rather than
cooperating with each other started looking
out for only themselves, taking nutrients
meant for others so they could grow faster
and stronger. Well, some cells really do
that—they are called cancer. That’s what
capitalism is, a cancer on the body of
society.
Now those who have left the SHU to enter
one of the state’s behavior modification
programs might see the three hunger strikes
as a success—it got them out of the SHU
and into SDP. Many will see narrow selfinterest, rather than mutual cooperation,
as their guiding light. These are the
illegitimate capitalists, the wanna bees.
Their reward will be even more alienation
from themselves, more anger and hatred, as
the state’s brain washing program works to
convince them that they are the problem,
not the state nor it’s capitalist masters.
Of course it’s all adjustment oriented
crap. The state’s message is “adjust to the
sickness of imprisonment and the existing
social order. If you don’t there is something
wrong with you.” Yet if you adjust to this
sickness, what does that make you?
What you should be doing is what the
cells in your body are doing, peacefully cooperating with each other for the benefit of
the whole. That’s how civil society should
be organized as well, not by a few rich assholes who send us off to fight and die in
their endless wars of aggression.
There is such a thing as right and wrong.
What the state is doing to you is wrong.
Rather than adjust to that wrong, act on the
side of right and you become a better person—you’ll be making the world a better
place to live for yourself and for those you
love. ●
Ed Mead
Volume 3, Number 8

SWAT TEAM
BLEW A HOLE IN
MY 2-YEAR-OLD

A

fter our house burned down in Wisconsin a few months ago, my husband and I packed our four young
kids and all our belongings into a gold minivan and drove to my sister-in-law’s place,
just outside of Atlanta. On the back windshield, we pasted six stick figures: a dad, a
mom, three young girls, and one baby boy.
That minivan was sitting in the front
driveway of my sister-in-law’s place the
night a SWAT team broke in, looking for
a small amount of drugs they thought my
husband’s nephew had. Some of my kids’
toys were in the front yard, but the officers
claimed they had no way of knowing children might be present. Our whole family
was sleeping in the same room, one bed for
us, one for the girls, and a crib.
After the SWAT team broke down the
door, they threw a flashbang grenade inside. It landed in my son’s crib.
Flashbang grenades were created for
soldiers to use during battle. When they
explode, the noise is so loud and the flash
is so bright that anyone close by is temporarily blinded and deafened. It’s been three
weeks since the flashbang exploded next to
my sleeping baby, and he’s still covered in
burns.
There’s still a hole in his chest that exposes his ribs. At least that’s what I’ve been
told; I’m afraid to look.
My husband’s nephew, the one they were
looking for, wasn’t there. He doesn’t even
live in that house. After breaking down the
door, throwing my husband to the ground,
and screaming at my children, the officers –
armed with M16s – filed through the house
like they were playing war. They searched
for drugs and never found any.
I heard my baby wailing and asked
one of the officers to let me hold him. He
screamed at me to sit down and shut up and
blocked my view, so I couldn’t see my son.
I could see a singed crib. And I could see a
pool of blood. The officers yelled at me to
calm down and told me my son was fine,
that he’d just lost a tooth. It was only hours
later when they finally let us drive to the
hospital that we found out Bou Bou was in
the intensive burn unit and that he’d been
placed into a medically induced coma.
For the last three weeks, my husband and
I have been sleeping at the hospital. We tell
our son that we love him and we’ll never

leave him behind. His car seat is still in the
minivan, right where it’s always been, and
we whisper to him that soon we’ll be taking
him home with us.
Every morning, I have to face the reality
that my son is fighting for his life. It’s not
clear whether he’ll live or die. All of this to
find a small amount of drugs?
The only silver lining I can possibly see
is that my baby Bou Bou’s story might
make us angry enough that we stop accepting brutal SWAT raids as a normal way to
fight the “war on drugs.” I know that this
has happened to other families, here in
Georgia and across the country. I know that
SWAT teams are breaking into homes in
the middle of the night, more often than not
just to serve search warrants in drug cases. I know that too many local cops have
stockpiled weapons that were made for soldiers to take to war. And as is usually the
case with aggressive policing, I know that
people of color and poor people are more
likely to be targeted. I know these things
because of the American Civil Liberties
Union’s new report, and because I’m working with them to push for restraints on the
use of SWAT.
A few nights ago, my 8-year-old woke up
in the middle of the night screaming, “No,
don’t kill him! You’re hurting my brother!
Don’t kill him.” How can I ever make that
go away? I used to tell my kids that if they
were ever in trouble, they should go to the
police for help. Now my kids don’t want to
go to sleep at night because they’re afraid
the cops will kill them or their family. It’s
time to remind the cops that they should be
serving and protecting our neighborhoods,
not waging war on the people in them.
I pray every minute that I’ll get to hear
my son’s laugh again, that I’ll get to watch
him eat French fries or hear him sing his
favorite song from “Frozen.” I’d give anything to watch him chase after his sisters
again. I want justice for my baby, and that
means making sure no other family ever
has to feel this horrible pain.
Update: As of the afternoon of 6/24/2014,
Baby Bou Bou has been taken out of the
medically induced coma and transferred to
a new hospital to begin rehabilitation. The
hole in his chest has yet to heal, and doctors
are still not able to fully assess lasting brain
damage. ●
Alecia Phonesavanh is the mother of
"Baby Bou Bou." She and her family live in
Atlanta. For more information about Bou
Bou, go to www.justiceforbabyboubou.
com.
5

Tehachapi SHU Does Not Get A Five
Star Rating
I’m writing you to inform you of my
change of address. After 24 years at PBSP-DHU I was recently transferred to Tehachapi SHU for placement into the newly
created step 3 of the step-down program.
And I am here to tell everyone that this
SHU/program is the worst in the state!
There aren’t any cleaning supplies for the
cell, no weekly change of clean clothes or
linen, a constant struggle to get any state
issued supplies, such as pen filler & general
forms. Very terrible reception on the only
six (6) channels here and that’s when the
TV signal comes in at all. And the radio
stations are just as bad. Visits are allowed
only one (1) hour per week behind glass.
These are just a few examples of what a
real shitty hole this place is compared to
PBSP-SHU or Corcoran SHU, or New Folsom SHU and what those coming here have
to look forward to! ...................................
Danny Troxell, Tehachapi
Oregon Prisoner Is In On California
Prisoner P.A.C. Idea
You mention the coalition of California
Prisoners having disparate political beliefs
and because of this you refrain from writing about your own ideologies which from
what I know are blazing red. You don’t do
it in an effort to appeal to a wide spectrum
of prisoners.
Well, I guess that makes sense but can
I say that as someone who’s come from a
long history in the white racist movement
both inside and outside prisons and we
know that nationalism (racism) and communism are fundamentally clashing ideologies. I would still welcome a certain
exploration of Marxist/Leninist/Maoist
concepts.
I do appreciate your position to facilitate
inclusiveness. Please correct me if I am
wrong though. But it is my understanding
that the whole purpose of prison activism
on all of our parts is to create revolutionary
changes within the prison system. I know
that I for one am aiming for ultimate abolishment of the entire system. That’s not to
say I believe it’ll necessarily happen but
the goals and focus are there and the objective is to destroy every element of the
system we can. If nothing else, it’s to create
more mobility for prisoners to have politi6

People are more open to strikes
and shit like that I think because
we can see its developments and
effects as it is happening. We’re
already stripped of any control
we have in our lives, so it may
seem that outsourcing our means
of resistance is giving up even
more control to others. Besides,
where do we start with a P.A.C.?
Don’t we need lawyers and shit?
Still, the question remains--why aren’t you guys in California committing to a P.A.C.?
Zero, Oregon State Penitentiary

LETTERS

LETTERS

cal influence in society general and to become a functional part of that society. Even
if one is not seeking ultimate revolution
(which I am) one who is involved in the
prison movement is seeking revolutionary
change. Correct? To be honest, on a personal level, I really don’t even give a shit
about the more subjective horrors of confinement. Personally, I only seethe prison
system as a tool of force to be used as conflict in the war between classes.
Well…the complexities of what I just described are Marxist concepts, are they not?
I mean I guess I understand people’s aversion of communism and socialism. But we
can think of it like this. If one is involved in
the prison movement, then one is involved
in a political struggle, correct?
And in a political struggle one can’t get
very far by applying theistic fucking principles. So much for religionoids. Neither
can one apply divisive nationalistic principles. So, anyone who is more concerned
with racial separation while under the same
oppressive thumb as the Black gentleman
in the next cell, well maybe we should just
build giant prison for our whole race…that
way no one can infiltrate us, make sense?
The reality is that I, a white dude, am
stuck in the same social class as my Pisa
neighbors, the Black dude across from
me and the rapos for that matter. So as far
as I’m concerned all the elitist, divisive,
clique bullshit is our own self-maintained
roadblock.
Back to revolutionary motion and communism and socialism, etc. Well again,
correct me if I am wrong. But from what
I understand, Marxism is essentially the
foundation of revolutionary political science. If Hitler, for example, had never studied Marx, he would have never been able to
apply socialist politics to his nation. Communism in itself is the objective study of
social dynamics and progressive strategic
revolutionary development. Am I wrong?
And isn’t that what we need to have a grasp
of in order to wage an effective revolutionary campaign? I mean, I’m just sayin…
As for the P.A.C. thing, I’ve been following the dialogue in your pages and the question is why those guys aren’t committing
to its creation. I can’t speak for California
but I can say that once we can develop a
functioning political force here in Oregon,
whatever shape it may take, I for one will
be working on a P.A.C. for us here. Perhaps
it falls on deaf ears down there because the
concept of a P.A.C. is hard to visualize.

All Being Said, Step-Down Program
is Individual Choice
I wanted to make all aware that us inmates here in PBSP D-8-F Pod filed a writ
of habeas corpus challenging the ridiculous delay in reviewing our case-by-case
reviews by DRB and the arbitrary decision to allow ICC to conduct ASU inmates
CBC’s but not SHU. The Court ordered
CDCR to file a response to all our grounds
and specifically state when each petitioner
will be reviewed and CDCR will complete
all CBC reviews. Currently Due June 26,
2014. We’re trying to get a lawyer and certify as a class action.
I want to propose to change The ROCK’s
publishing policy and put forth a new policy holding if you don’t have the courage
to put your own name to your words then
your letter should not be published. Period!
I also don’t agree with the extremely
negative view put on the last month’s letter who stated they participated in the SDP.
From my understanding it’s a personal
choice for each inmate to make. Many up
here including short corridor inmates have
put up for transfer to CCI for step 3 and
4. I look at like lifers padding their C-files
with N/R, A/A, certificates to get paroled.
I don’t look down on them for doing it. It
may be childish and stupid, the material
presented in the SDP but it doesn’t as far as
I have seen make anyone incriminate themselves. We being on the mainline, not the
SHU or single cell status
Lastly, I would like to let those involved
in the Asker v Brown, suit know they might
want to consider due process claims for
the certifying a Group A STG. Most know
we’re entitled to notice, opportunity to be
heard, ‘some evidence’ to support finding
and periodic reviews of whether or not we
are an associate or member of a Group.
Rock!

But we’re also due these same due process
protections for certifying re: Group as a
prison Gang/STG. I have found some case
lwa on this. Walker v. Ryan, (U.S. Dist.Ct.
Arizona)2012 US , Dist. Lexis 137891 Sept
26, 2012 citing Zinerman v. Burch, 494 US
113, 125, 110 S.Ct. 975(1990)
On a political front, with the collapse of
both Amminos and Hancocks bills to nothing of significance and Asker v. Brown not
set for trial till December, 2015, our only
and I feel our own best chance to leverage our position is to take advantage of the
fact CDCR cannot provide anywhere close
to enough cells to house all ASU/SHU inmates in their own cell. This act is not only
crippling to CDCR, it is easily sustainable
for as long as necessary till we reach our
goals.
I close as I came united in the struggle to
achieve our aims and goals. We will only
do it together as one on every front available.
Thomas “Klumzy” Goolsby

FROM THE INSIDE
OUT
“Overcoming Misdirection
and
Revealing What's
Hidden.”
“Some Proposed Solutions”

I

have been incarcerated inside the Prison
Industrial Complex (PIC) System now
for 20 years, from the summer of 1994
to this summer of 2014. One issue is constantly seen and overheard which seems to
remain constant. That is the division within
“us” and the unity of those against us. Here
in the State of Washington, we cannot seem
to agree on anything which would unite us
and instead we find ourselves being selfserving and stubborn to no end.
This makes it easy to give up. So, with
that in mind, I wanted to share with those
of you in this state and those outside of
Washington State, what ideas and solutions
I have which I hope will bring some common agreements and unity.
The purpose being (of course) is to attempt to overcome the systems misdirection and to reveal those issues which are
hidden from us that can assist us in solving
these ongoing problems.
The evidence I have seen and overheard
over the past 20 years shows me that the
Volume 3, Number 8

Washington State Penal system is designed,
like other states, to “break you”. What is
done is the day to day actions of prison authorities (hereinafter referred to as snouts)
to dehumanize you, and make you feel like
a failure on every level.
However, what is not told to you is ever
more important and meaningful. That is
that we all have this tiny candle flame of
courage and hope still residing inside us
which cannot be seen but felt only and it
drives us to never give up. So, why do we
give up?
It’s called misdirection. Just like a magician, the snouts like you to think and act a
certain way all along they succeed at dividing us, thereby defeating us.
How do we defeat this misdirection by
the snouts? I’m glad you asked. Fight fire
with fire? Simple concept but it works.
That tiny candle flame of courage and
hope can ignite real change.
First “Education” is the key! That’s fire
in action! Every day we sit with our buddies and play games of chance. What are
the odds of success? Not very good. How
many times have you lost? But if you get
together and educated each other on common problems and common solutions, the
direction you will go will define your future. You will not be wasting your time.
The odds of winning are greater if you are
together, than if you are against one another. True talk.
“Zero”, an Oregon prisoner, was right,
“The problems are only symptoms of the
overall structure.” I agree. We cannot afford to be self-serving! We cannot afford to
not unite! We must unite! There is no other
way to make change happen!
What could the snouts do to us if we
were so educated that we could overcome
their lies and half-truths and teach each
other how to survive through this?
The snouts could not overcome this even
if they tried to separate us because we became united in spirit as well as in physical
body. If you’re real about this then nothing
they do will change you!
In the January 2014 edition of the Prison
Legal News (Vol. 25, No. 1) it gave an example (in the cover story) about the lives
of men in a prison overseas. Prisons in this
country should be the same way. If so, I
believe there would be allot less crime or
laws being violated.
Also, make your education fun and also
exciting for those who participate. For
example here in segregation (on the tier)
I have a contest in my law school 101

course. Those who study and get the
questions correct win a prize and reward.
This gives those involved the idea that
education is exciting and a chal- lenge
which can be rewarding. This changes
the misdirection that learning is boring
and dull. This is how we over- come.
One day at a time. One ques- tion at a
time. One answer at a time. One solution
we didn’t know before.
Here in Washington State I’ve seen the
snouts take smoking away, porn away
and also at least 35% of any funds
that come into our accounts. There was
little to no opposition by us and it’s getting
worse day by day.
We are still holding on by a thread of
hope though due in part to those outside
organizations who are keeping our struggle
in the light.
I do think we are coming full circle to
another modern day Attica uprising here in
Washington State. It’s going to get worse
before it gets better. However, your candle
is still burning strong and cannot be put out
by the snouts. Only you can chose to put
it out.
Let me be an example to you and others.
I will not give up! I will not bow! I will not
kneel! I will not live a slave! I’d rather die
on my feet than live on my knees!!!! True
talk. We can change this corrupt system.
But we must first change our outlook on
our situation.
Deprogramming and then reprogramming yourself. That’s the key to making
the candle flame burn brighter. Step outside
of yourself, see your neighbor for the first
time as you (human) and help him/her and
in turn you will find an ally to help you succeed.
My mission is the same as yours. Change
the prison system and the social order that
feeds it day by day. What is your mission
today? It should be to help ignite another
candle flame and help it to burn brighter to
get rid of the darkness and expose the truth
to the light… ●
Jason Lee Sutton #730954
Washington State Penitentiary

7

LARGEST HUNGER STRIKE IN HISTORY:

O

California prisoners speak out on first anniversary

ne year ago, on July 8, 2013,
30,000 California prisoners initiated the largest hunger strike the
world has ever seen. Sixty days later, 40
prisoners, who had eaten nothing in all that
time, agreed to suspend the strike when
state legislators promised to hold hearings
on ending solitary confinement, the heart of
their demands.
The 2013 hunger strike followed two in
2011 in which participation peaked at 6,600
and 12,000. In the interim, effective October 2012, the hunger strike leaders, representing all racial groups, issued the historic
Agreement to End Hostilities, which has
held with few exceptions throughout the
California prison system ever since.
These statements, most by hunger strike
participants, arrived in time for the July 8
anniversary, and more will be added as they
arrive.
We the people
By Mutope Duguma (James Crawford)
What we learned this far in our protracted
struggle is that We the People are the vanguard. We the People have to demand what
we want for ourselves. No government, no
power, no authority and no one should be
able to trample over the People without the
People rising up and saying, “Under no circumstances do We the People accept this in
our home.”
• We the People reject torture of human
beings,
• We the People reject mass incarceration
of our sons and daughters,
• We the People reject police brutality,
• We the People reject poverty,
• We the People reject solitary confinement,
• We the People reject Security Threat
Groups and Step Down Programs,
• We the People reject oppressive prison
conditions
• In solidarity.
We the People reject violence
Our unity is our strength. If we learn to
cultivate our unity, we can begin to reshape
this world – back into a world that reflects
our humanity – because there is too much
pain and suffering in the world today that
only our unity will end. We’ve got to be
unapologetic and always be dedicated and
serious about the revolutionary change we
8

seek.
Violence only perpetuates more violence
inside of the vortex of violence, the senseless taking of lives, like a timeless hour
clock that never ends, feeding on the very
lives of our families and friends.
An end to all hostilities means peace
amongst the oppressed, where our children
can focus on school and living their lives
peacefully, while they develop into strong
young men and women.
An end to all hostilities means peace for
the elderly and worrisome minds, where
they can take peaceful walks during any
time of day or night, sit out on their porches
and watch the moon and stars in the sky.
An end to all hostilities means peace
where young men and women can go into
any neighborhood to socialize with fellow
human beings without fear of being attacked or murdered.
An end to all hostilities means peace
where all races in the free society can coexist without worrying that their race or class
will be a hazard to them.
During our strikes to end all hostilities –
July 1 to July 20, 2011; Sept. 26 to Oct. 14,
2011; and July 8 to Sept. 4, 2013 – we men
and women got together and said enough
already!
An end to all hostilities is solidarity.
Mutope Duguma, s/n James Crawford,
D-05996, PBSP SHU, P.O. Box 7500,
Crescent City, CA 95532.
Weighing sacrifices against
successes, the price was too high,
but the struggle moves forward
By Antonio Guillen
Greetings to one and all,
It has been three years since the commencement of the first hunger strike.
As I look back over that time to weigh
our sacrifices against our successes, I have
to admit that the accomplishments we’ve
achieved thus far do allow me to be somewhat optimistic about the future. I cannot
help, however, but remain angered at the
cost of human life and damaged health we
suffered simply to enact change – the price
was way too high!
And, although our accomplishments appear promising, in no way am I suggesting
that we’ve succeeded in our overall struggle, which is to end long term solitary confinement and to better the living conditions

of all SHU facilities – we are on our path,
though!
As always, it’s of the upmost importance
to acknowledge family and friends on the
outside, who through your unwavering
support have made it possible for us to be
who we are today. Each of you, through
your contributions and sacrifices, be they
personal or collective, have helped pave
the way for this struggle to move forward.
And we on the inside will forever be grateful!
Power to the people.
Strength and respect,
Antonio Guillen
Antonio Guillen, P-81948, PBSP SHU,
P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City, CA 95532.
Work together to keep the
pressure on
By Phil Fortman
July 8th is a date that made history
around the world last year – 30,000 prisoners began a hunger strike in the state of
California due to the inhumane conditions
of solitary confinement.
The strike did not come about as a spur
of the moment idea. No, these inhumane
conditions have been worsening year after year, decade after decade until the outside and inside finally joined together in a
movement for change.
The change started on July 1, 2011, and
Sept. 26 of the same year, which set the
course for the Big One – the one that got
the attention of the world to show how prisoners are being treated, not only in California, but in most states of this country.
Speaking as one of the four main representatives for the prisoners in the Pelican
Bay SHU, I applaud us all, prisoners and
advocates alike, those who participated in
the hunger strike and worked so hard for
our case.
Looking back on this year, I see progress
being made toward closing these holes –
not as fast as we’d like, but the crack has
been formed. The light is now beginning to
seep in upon these dark, dreary walls for
once.
In order to widen the crack until these
walls come crashing down, we need to
work together to keep the pressure on and
on. We, as prisoners inside these places,
have been advocating an end to hostilities
among us. This attitude, along with the
Rock!

continued help and support of you good
folks out there, will hopefully bring about a
more civilized society and for us to live in
peace and harmony.
I thank us all.
Phil Fortman, B-03557, PBSP SHU,
P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City, CA 95532.
Women prisoners speak out on
solitary and hunger strike
anniversary
Solitary is torture. It humiliated me. They
strip you of everything – I was only given a
mumu and half a mattress. You are locked
away with no answer. I was cold, tired and
hungry. The other ladies in Ad Seg helped
me out and also the ones on Death Row,
which is right nearby, gave me stuff to survive.
The hunger strike last year was amazing.
The guys went through hell, but it was so
good for them to come together!
Alicia Zaragoza, X-07564, CCWF, P.O.
Box 1508, Chowchilla, CA 93610.
Solitary confinement in all ways is cruel. If it is a form of abuse to keep a child
locked away in a closet for long periods of
time, then why is it not abuse to keep that
same child, who is now a man, locked in a
cell for years? Put yourself in their shoes! I
supported the hunger strike.
Natalie De Mola, X-12907, CCWF, P.O.
Box 1508, Chowchilla, CA 93610. ●
http://sfbayview.com/2014/07/largesthunger-strike-in-history-california-prisoners-speak-out-on-first-anniversary/

FEDERAL COURT
DENIES MOTION
TO DISMISS
Grants Motion to Amend
Complaint in Coalition’s
Censorship Lawsuit

A

challenge to prison censorship of
political and human rights literature
in the Pennsylvania Department of
Corrections (DOC) has seen two favorable
developments in the past month.
On Thursday, May 15, United States
Federal District court ruled that a lawsuit
challenging censorship of political literature in the Pennsylvania Department of
Corrections will go forward. The court denied the defense’s request to dismiss some
of the censorship claims and all of the suVolume 3, Number 8

pervisory officials named as defendants.
On June 13, the court granted plaintiffs’
motion to amend and supplement the original complaint, adding new claims for relief
and one new defendant: DOC Secretary
John Wetzel. The new complaint adds due
process challenges claiming that prison officials failed to provide non-prisoners with
notice and an opportunity to challenge
when prison staff censor their mail. Additional claims challenge the criteria used by
the DOC to justify censorship as being impermissibly vague, permitting prison staff
to impose arbitrary standards when making
censorship decisions.
Plaintiffs are seeking monetary and injunctive relief.
The lawsuit, Holbrook et al. v. Jellen et
al., was filed in January on behalf of the
Human Rights Coalition (HRC), prisoner
Robert Saleem Holbrook, and College of
Charleston Professor Kristi Brian against
several employees of the State Correctional
Institution (SCI) at Coal Township and the
DOC for confiscation of mail sent to Holbrook, a co-founder of HRC who is currently held at SCI Coal Township.
The suit details a series of confiscations
of Holbrook’s mail since January 2012 that
includes academic correspondence with a
college professor, scholarly essays from
the anthology If They Come in the Morning, a Black history book, and a newsletter
published by HRC, The Movement, which
focuses on prison abuse, solitary confinement, and ways that prisoners’ family members can come together to challenge human
rights abuses and injustice in
the criminal legal system.
Plaintiffs are represented in
the case by the Abolitionist
Law Center, and David Shapiro,
Clinical Assistant Professor of
Law at the Roderick MacArthur
Justice Center at Northwestern
University School of Law. ●

secutive days between Monday, June 16
and Sunday, June 22 in protest of cutbacks
to food portions at the prison. In a remarkable display of discipline, unity, sacrifice,
and solidarity, the men maintained the boycott for a full week, sharing food items they
had in their cells with one another.
Support from family members and human rights defenders on the outside was
loud and widespread as well. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and SCI
Coal Township received so many calls on
the first day of the protest that they were
compelled to post a message on their website claiming that prisoners were being fed
according to undefined “standards.” The
pressure kept on throughout the week,
forcing prison officials to spend hours on
the phone listening to outraged family
members and others take them to task for
making people go hungry in order to save
money.
A more detailed update will be available
soon, including next steps to support prisoners at SCI Coal Township who are seeking changes at the institution and throughout the PADOC.
This protest was the largest collective action by prisoners in the PADOC in recent
memory and has the potential to inspire
and elevate human rights and abolitionist
organizing to a new level of commitment,
power, and possibility. ●
In solidarity,
Human Rights Coalition

UPDATE ON
DINING HALL
PROTEST AT
SCI COAL
TOWNSHIP

A

pproximately
500
prisoners at SCI Coal
Township refused to go
to the dining hall for seven con9

Important Notice
Articles and letters sent to the
Rock newsletter for publication are
currently being delivered and received in a timely manner. Please
do not send such materials to third
parties to be forwarded to Rock as it
only delays receiving them and adds
to the workload of those asked to do
the forwarding.
Letters sent to Rock (located in
Seattle) in care of Prison Focus (located in Oakland) can take over a
month to reach us. Send Rock mail
to this newsletter's return address.

“…jailhouse lawyers often unwittingly serve the interests of the
state by propagating the illusion of
‘justice’ and ‘equity’ in a system devoted to neither.” They create “illusions of legal options as pathways to
both individual and collective liberation.”
Mumia Abu-Jamal,
JAILHOUSE LAWYERS: Prisoners
Defending Prisoners v. The U.S.A.

Free Electronic Copy
Outside folks can also have a
free electronic copy of the newsletter sent to them each month by way
of e-mail. Have them send requests
for a digital copy of the newsletter to
ed@rocknewsletter.com.
Back issues can be read once the
Prison Art website is up and running
again.

Ed Mead, Publisher
Rock Newsletter
P.O. Box 47439
Seattle, WA 98146

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