After prison ban in Pennsylvania is revoked, Florida prison bars ‘Militant’
https://themilitant.com/2020/08/15/after-prison-ban-in-pennsylvania-is-revoked-florida-prison-bars-militant/
BY SETH GALINSKY
Vol. 84/No. 33
August 24, 2020
In a victory for the rights of workers behind bars and freedom of the
press, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections on Aug. 3 overturned a
ban on the Militant at the Camp Hill State Correctional Institution.
Five days later, the Militant received notice from authorities at the
Florida State Prison in Raiford, Florida, that they had impounded issue
no. 30.
Florida officials pointed to an article in that issue headlined
“Prisoners Demand Release from Overcrowded Jails.” The article reported
on a peaceful protest by inmates’ family members in California demanding
the state government release prisoners in the face of the spread of
coronavirus throughout the system. Prison officials claim the article,
“is dangerously inflammatory in that it advocates or encourages riot,
insurrection, rebellion, organized prison protest, disruption of the
institution, or the violation of the federal law, state law, or
Department rules.”
Prison authorities in Florida have a history of impounding the Militant
in recent years, which the paper has fought and overwhelmingly won on
appeal. Florida is the state where the Militant has the largest
subscription base among workers behind bars.
Overcrowding in California prisons has been widely reported in media
across the country. In fact, in 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered
California to reduce its prison population by 33,000.
The Militant article also reports that 20 prisoners who have COVID-19
had announced they were going on a hunger strike to better the
conditions they face.
One clause in the long list of reasons officials at the penitentiary
point to for the impoundment is new. The impoundment form was revised in
June, and for the first time includes the phrase “organized prison
protest” as something that is “dangerously inflammatory.”
But there have been prisoner protests for decades, widely reported in
the press. In fact, Florida authorities suppressed issues of the
Militant that covered the hunger strike organized by California inmates
in 2013 against brutal solitary confinement. On appeal the ban was
overturned by the Department of Corrections Literature Review Committee.
Other Militant news articles on prisoner protests that prison officials
challenged have also been delivered to inmate subscribers after
successful appeals.
Do they now think any coverage of a protest by prisoners — of any kind —
has to be suppressed?
David Goldstein, the Militant’s attorney, contacted the Literature
Review Committee and informed them the paper intends to appeal the
impoundment. The committee in response said the impoundment is
tentatively set for review on Aug. 13. If the committee doesn’t overturn
it, the Militant can appeal.
“Inmates across the country, like workers everywhere, are deeply
concerned about the way their living and work conditions affect the fact
they might catch coronavirus,” Militant editor John Studer, said Aug.
11. “They seek control over those conditions to protect their health and
safety.”
“We support these efforts and insist there is no reason they should be
denied news reporting on this issue. Workers behind bars have the right
to follow news and politics as they choose,” Studer said. “This is
protected by the Constitution.”
Studer asked all those concerned about the rights of prisoners and of
the press to join in urging the Literature Review Committee to overturn
the impoundment.
Send your letter to Dean Peterson, Literature Review Committee, Florida
Department of Corrections, 501 South Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, FL
32399 or via email at Allen.Peterson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, with a copy to
the Militant.
Front Page Articles
Fight for a union on every job site, and a labor party
Fight for workers control of production and safety
Port explosion fuels protests against gov’t in Lebanon
Bath shipyard strikers discuss tentative deal, strike still on
Nebraska meatpackers, union speak out in battle for job safety
After prison ban in Pennsylvania is revoked, Florida prison bars ‘Militant’
Feature Articles
Montreal port workers strike over unsafe schedules
Also In This Issue
Protests boost interest in books on working-class politics, history
SWP ‘stimulus’ appeal at $143,600, more to come
Protesters: Prosecute cops who killed Breonna Taylor!
Philadelphia: Political fight breaks out over Jew-hatred
London bans China’s Huawei, looks for trade bloc with US
As crisis deepens, workers fight boss attacks on jobs, conditions
Sugar workers in Iran on strike since June over unpaid wages
Belarus protests erupt over presidential election results
Books of the Month
‘American workers: Stop your rulers throttling our revolution’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
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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
