Nevada Prisoners Newsletter # 8 (NPN volume 2, Nr 2 in 2011) Knowledge is power

know what they did wasnt okay, and ask them not to do it again. The bottom line is that its essential, as men, to master your emotions. Never allow some fool to beat you for your cool. This characteristic, more than any other, is respected among men and women alike. Even if you are not particularly wise in world events or educated. You will be viewed as having superior intellect. And though you may not be the most courageous in battle, you will be viewed as having the wisdom of a great warrior. Ikemba S. Mutulu They can divide but not conquer the spirit of resistance On May 20th, 2010, the pigs here at Ely managed to separate me from an atmosphere that, to them may have felt hostile. But to me it was a place of strength. I was surrounded by shady characters, but that is to be expected everywhere up here these days. Even so, there were many men there who were pushing themselves as well as others to become more than just thugs. There was a lot of positiveness being spread. A lot of education. A lot of growth. Now Im once again placed in the middle of a bunch of self-absorbed sleepers and degeneratesI guess I cant be too upset. For I was once ignorant myself to why things are the way they are. I just need to see who I can reach out to here and see if I can build something positive Its still frustrating though. The goon squad showed up at our unit and went straight to Coyotes cell. We had all been given a heads up because a comrade saw them coming outside his back window. None-the-less. There was no reason for them to go to his cell. The comrade next to me was ready for battle, and so was I, but we held back, for being caught unaware, and Coyote came out without any problems. They shook down his cell and at the end, Coyote laughs and says: Wow, all that for this little pile? (referring to the 15plus guards, fully dressed in riot gear with an electric shield, all for a couple pieces of paper and a torn envelope!). The cheers & jeers started as we all thought it was over, seeing the pigs and assistant warden, Brooks, head out to the sally port. Though next thing we knew they came back in and marched straight up to my cell and the comrades cell next to mine. Long story short, we came out, for the simple fact that they wanted us to flip out. They

A Message to Young Men in Prison Part of being a man is mastering ones emotions. As children we are inexperienced and impulsive, prone to acting without thought or consideration. This is not a good characteristic for men. There will be times we are suddenly gripped by anger or some other emotion. That may cause us to react irrationally. But as these unthoughtful reactions are rarely to our benefit, it is best we work to keep them to a minimum. You can do this by practicing three simple manoeuvres: When you feel yourself becoming angry or emotional, just take a few deep breaths and brush it off. If its something you feel calls for a real response, now you have time to think and plan your next move. Be secure in yourself enough to know it doesnt matter what someone on the sideline thinks of you. The only opinions that matter are those you hold in high regard. Trusted loved ones, comrades, etc. Know that it is understood among men, not every slight requires a serious response. If a pig makes a smart comment behind the door. Or some simpleton calls you out. Half the time its not worth a mans time to even acknowledge that nonsense. The same can be said for most gossip and rumors An example on this last thing. Say you curse out the pig behind the door. Is it really worth your time or energy arguing with a pig, you know would have nothing to say face to face? Say it blows up into something serious. Now youre engaged in battle over some nonsense, and you know the pigs will not fight fair behind the door, in their riot gear, shock shields, etc., outnumbered 8 to 1. And in the case of the simpleton. Are you really going to take 2-3 years in the hole, and whatever restitution, for smashing out some nobody everybody knows is not to be taken seriously? And if you did, how would this add to your respect or reputation? Better to just laugh it off and keep your focus on things that matter. Obviously if these things persist, you may need to address them. But now youre able to do so wisely. Often its just a matter of pulling someone aside to respectfully and intelligently let them

shook our cells down for a long time, then they came and put the restraints and dog leashes on us and escorted us to other units. I dont know where the comrade went or what happened once we were moved, but I was taken to another unit without being told why, where I stayed over the weekend, then I was moved again to another unit where I spent the following 7 (seven) weeks without anything but my mattress, state sheets and a styraphone cup. I was only able to clean my cell (which was covered in absolute filth) because another convict was able to pass me some cleaning supplies. I eventually received a notice of charges which said I was moved because they found evidence in my cell that suggested weapons manufacturing. I was given another six months in the hole on top of the year I just started for the assault and possession of a weapon that stemmed from our little disruption with the pigs a couple of months back. Its obvious why they did this: with much thanks to Coyote our unit was transforming into a school for guerrillas. With all the literature being passed around, all the enlightening discussions and all of the intense debates being held, the spirit of resistance was filling the minds and hearts of the men on that tier. It was refreshing to hear for a change people debating whether or not pimping women was unethical in stead of whos the best couple on Dancing with the stars, or discussing how tactics found in George Jacksons Blood in my eye could be applied to Vegas neighborhoods, in stead of how much dope it would take to sell in order to buy a million dollar home The pigs and snitches took notice of these transformations taking place and knew the only way to win was by the tactics of divide and conquer. I also believe that some scary individuals heard the sounds of steel cutting steel and decided to inform their captors like good lapdogs! Anyways, some good did manage to come out of this though! For, instead of the comrade and I focussing our efforts on the same tier, we can reach out to a larger group of convicts now. So yeah, weve been separated, but it doesnt matter. All they did was prolong the inevitable. It doesnt take anything but will and motivation to start anew. So for now, Ive got some people to reach out to and some tools to collect. In solidarity, Christopher Gonzalez, 7-15-2010. Here another piece by Christopher of more recent days:

From the editors: The Nevada Prisoners Newsletter (NPN) is made by volunteers for and with prisoners in Nevadas prisons so that they are more informed about prisons, rights, about new ideas and initiatives; articles by prisoners published in other media. All views expressed are those of the authors. We can be reached here: NPN/NPW, 1420 W. Bartlett Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89106. Nevadaprisonwatch.org This NPN will be published also online: www.scribd.com/Prisonwatch. SAEs welcome, but it still is a problem sending out NPNs from the USA for the moment. We are working on getting a mailperson over there! For authors: Please try and write no longer than 2 to 3 pages, or give us the possibility to divide your article over several issues. In this issue: - A Message to Young Men in Prison - They can divide but not conquer the spirit of resistance - More Brutality and Repression at E.S.P. - Starving prisoners at Ely State Prison - Psychological Warfare Waged on Prisoners at E.S.P. - A new update and report on the ESP Book Drive - Dear Society - Classic Quotes - Trouble Speaks. Part II - Hunger Strike Planned at SHU Pelican Bay - Alone Strong (poem) - RIP Gil Scott-Heron

More Unity in Ely State Prison I open in solidarity and with a quick shout out to all the men who participated in the March 14th show of resistance on unit one! Fist to heart with a warriors salute. For all those who havent heard about or have only received bits and pieces of the story its like this Unit 8 has been closed down indefinitely, because allegedly, the head culinary staff lacked proper manners and respect, so allegedly, a fellow prisoner got upset and hit the boss upside the head with a 25 lb mixer. Needless to say, the kitchen boss wont be coming to work for a while. This being the case, those who hold us captive decided to make us all suffer the consequences. No school, no books, no law library, no showers, no laundry

A prison placed on lockdown when everyone in E.S.P. is already confined to their cells 23/24 hours a day! The biggest crime acted against us (especially those of us on disciplinary segregation and who cant order food) was how these sadists werent giving us proper proportions of food! For over a week all we received for breakfast was two small cups of cereal, and one hardboiled egg (which was often still running inside). For lunch: cold-cuts with no fruit or desert. For dinner: we received mystery food (is it soup or pudding?) on paper trays which means smaller portions! We had to listen to the guards taunt us by saying how our food was being messed with because it was the caseworkers and maintenance people cooking it and they were getting payback for all of the work we make them do! After a little more than a week of going to bed hungry and pissed off, some guys said aloud what everyone else was thinking: This isnt right. Were all human beings regardless of race and affiliations. Its time somethings done. Whos ready? And with that, words of solidarity were spoken, and the next morning brought forth unleashed frustration. A young soldier kicked it off by capturing his food slot, giving the unit senior a golded shower and starting a fire on the tier. Throughout the day more fires were lit. Both sides of unit one managed to flood out both wings and hallway. Fire cocktails and donuts were lobbed at the guards. But no cell extractions were attempted because the January 31st 2010 rebellion was still fresh in their minds and none of these cops are anxious to put themselves in that position again (c.o. Stubbs was stabbed on January 31st 2010 when he and a dozen other officers tried to assault another prisoner). In the end. There were no serious injuries (thankfully), but the guards were forced to do a lot of manual labor. And there was a decent amount of property damage. The best part was: the next day, we got our food back!! But before everyone celebrates a victory, hear one more thing there is rumor that because of budget cuts, we are going to start receiving two sack lunches a day and only one hot meal starting in June. This should not be tolerated by any prisoner. If this rumor proves true, I encourage everyone to come together and show these people that there are still limits! Everyone on the outs, family, friends, comrades, there are no steel

doors and concrete walls suppressing your voices, thus they can be heard louder than our own. When you see these prisons burning help fan the flames!! In solidarity and in struggle, Christopher Gonzalez More Brutality and Repression at E.S.P. To be able to meet and cross paths with true comrades under these circumstances is one of the best things going for a young soldier like me. To have to live under such disturbing conditions while surrounded by so many prisoners who unfortunately obtain counter-productive mentalities is a tragedy within itself. Especially as we are all going through this same struggle together. So to be fortunate enough to come across comrades like Coyote to pass me literature and encourage me to pick up the struggle. And comrades like Brother Reggie who inspires me to be mentally and physically strong while living in the hellhole, a young soldier like me would probably still be promoting a selfish destructive lifestyle. And I wouldnt be here today to write this article to shed light on yet another case of police brutality and abuse of power by the guards and the administration of Ely State Prison. Weve all heard about the incident of police brutality that took place in unit 4 on January 31st, 2010, where a guard allegedly got stabbed after beating over a dozen inmates bloody while in handcuffs, which resulted in a lieutenant and another officer getting fired, and which has provoked a series of lawsuits on top of hundreds and hundreds of lawsuits that are already ongoing against the cold-hearted administration of E.S.P. So another report of police brutality should be no surprise. In fact, Im sure it was because of the lawsuits in regards to the Bloody Sunday incident (which is what the January 31st fracas is now being referred to as) that has caused the I.G.s office to intervene on this latest incident of brutality that I am now about to report. Here for the very first time. Unfortunately the I.G.s office intervention was a little too late, so hopefully this article will raise awareness and inspire people to start taking action so that we can prevent this type of retaliation from happening again, Let me explain I was working in the kitchen on March 7th, 2011. An inmate named Newcastle, known to us as

"Chilly", was alleged to brutally beat the Culinary Manager Steve Roundy almost to death. No one really knows if "Chilly" was the one to beat Steve over the head or not. For all we know it could've been a guard, cuz this incident allegedly took place after Steve threatened to write an officer up. But what we do know for sure is that Chilly is the one who was targeted by the officers after the alleged incident took place. The pigs came into the kitchen and handcuffed every prisoner and made us all lay face down on a dirty ground and then the officers proceeded to beat inmate newcastle for about 20 to 30 minutes before they took him out of the kitchen. Chilly was in handcuffs and fully restrained. The pigs were supposed to have the video camera trained on the inmate, but they would point the camera on Steve, the Culinary Manager, while beating on Chilly. He was screaming and in obvious pain from the brutality of these vindictive, cowardly pigs. Then they took Chilly out of the kitchen into the hallway where I believe they beat him some more, which I will explain here momentarily. Eventually Chilly was taken to the infirmary where the I.G. (Inspector General)'s offices that a camera be placed on him for 24 hours, 7 days a week to keep him protected from he violent retaliation of these cowardly officers. Why would the I.G.'s office take such drastic measures? Because they obviously know the nature and the criminal ways of these so-called E.S.P. "Correctional Officers." All of the other eleven prisoners, including myself, were taken to the hallway and forced to strip naked where a female nurse stood in front of me examining my body for any cuts and bruises. I felt very uncomfortable as the female nurse was staring at me laughing while the guards were standing by making sexual comments about my genitalia. and besides, there are male nurses employed here at E.S.P., so what was the purpose of having a female nurse inspect my naked body other than to humiliate and degrade me? This is all part of the psychological warfare waged on prisoners daily here at E.S.P. So needless to say, I felt violated, especially after it was already said that "The other 11 inmates did nothing wrong." But that's nothing compared to the violation I felt as I watched helplessly while Chilly was being beaten with a vengeance by these pigs. After the inspection, or "degradation" I should say, we were all dressed and placed on our knees with our hands on our heads. And we

were repeatedly threatened by the officer in the hallway gun tower that if we moved we will be shot down. After 30 minutes of this we were then all sent back to unit 8. Whats even more crazy about all of this, is that when we were in the kitchen, lying on the floor in handcuffs, I was positioned in a way so that I was facing the pigs so that I could see then beat Chilly. And I could see everything that was going on, then one of the pigs tells another pig to make me turn my body the other way so I wouldnt see what was going on. Twenty minutes after we were returned to our unit 2 pigs come to my room and told me that I needed to come with them. And I was then told that I had to speak with an Investigator from Las Vegas, and while I was in the process of being escorted to the property room, I saw some bloody gloves in the hallway just laying there. So it makes you wonder Upon entering the property room I was told I would be speaking with an Investigator and that I need to let them know everything I know and have seen. After 2 hours of sitting in the property holding cell, Lieutenant Peck comes in and gave me a pink piece of paper and read me my Miranda Rights. The paper was an Administrative Segregation Notice of Classification Hearing paper that I had to sign. Then I was taken to the infirmary, but on the way to the Infirmary I asked the pig why Im being treated like a suspect in the case, because to my understanding any time you are apprehended or detained by authority and read your Rights concerning a crime, you are observed as a potential suspect in the crime, and thats clearly whats going on here. The pigs response to my question was: You shouldnt have been facing that way, told you. So to my understanding they know I was laying on the ground watching inmate Newcastle get beat. So then I was taken to the Infirmary and placed in holding cell #11 for 6 to 8 hours. Then Sergeant Lightsey and 2 C.E.R.T. officers came to my door and handcuffed me and when I came out the cell there was a video camera on a post facing me and the cell that I was in. I didnt even know it was there until I came out the cell. So then I was brought to the hole. In unit 1A, stripped out of my clothes and given an orange jumpsuit. I asked Sgt Lightsey Why am I being treated like a suspect? He responded You are th a suspect. The next day, March 8 , 2011, I was then taken to custody and was put in a small office where a sheriff from White Pine County and an investigator from Las Vegas asked me questions about the situation that occurred in the

kitchen on March 7th, 2011. They asked me did I see the inmate Newcastle go in there, I said: No, I was doing my job sacking up the lunches. Then I was asked did I hear him say anything? I said: No. I was just doing my job. I asked them why I was being treated like a suspect. I was then told I am a possible suspect and witness, so I told them I did nothing wrong and I didnt see anything. I was taken back to unit 1 and placed back into the cell with bloody ankles from the shackles being placed around my legs so tight I requested for medical attention, and I did not receive medical attention: my cell emergency button did not even work. I am here on Ad. Seg. Told that I will remain under investigation for the 3-7-2011 situation. Of course, even though Im only 22 years old, Im still wise to their ways, I understand that all of this is just an intimidation tactic. To keep me from exposing how they savagely beat Chilly down while he was fully restrained like the cowards they are. It took me 3 weeks before I could get my property or even before I could take a shower. My rights to make a legal call were denied. And for a week we were being starved out with 2 cold, 300 calorie meals a day. And one hot meal at dinner. All of this to try to break my spirits. To try to make me cave in, left to set in a cell to worry and agonize over whether these cold-hearted cowards were gonna try to set me up as a retaliatory act because they know I watched them beat Newcastle. After a week of being starved out, an anarchist comrade and an anti-authoritarian comrade on 1B kicked off a disturbance where supposedly fires were started, slots were captured and the tier was flooded out as more and more prisoners started to join in the resistance. From my wing A-wing we could see prisoners get carried out on stretchers and smoke everywhere. So we were quick to show our solidarity on A-wing! Supposedly Unit 1 was flooded and burnt out on the day of March 14th 2011. The next day we got fed our normal 2 hot meals a day and a cold sack lunch! So it just goes to show what a little resistance can do! People need to know about the depravity here at ESP. Theyve already heard about the Bloody Sunday incident+ And the mysterious death of Timothy Redman. They ve heard about the way they let Cavanaugh rot and die. Theyve heard about the medical neglect, the F.B.I. investigations. And all of the lawsuits. And now theyre gonna hear about this! What

else is it gonna take before we can get these callous and uncaring administrators and wardens removed from this prison, where someone capable can come in and operate this in a reasonable and humane way? I was at one time blind and ignorant enough to work in the kitchen and help uphold the operations of this foul ass prison. Ive seen the brutality of these pigs. And Ive seen prisoners almost die because these incompetent nurses have given them the wrong medication. The kitchen is the most unsanitary place in this whole prison. The pots and pans they cook food in are only half cleaned, the sheet pars they cook cakes and pies in are dirty. The floors and walls are dirty. And to top that off you have mice and rats running around the kitchen bite through food they feed us! Theres holes in the walls and the pigs even put food in the holes for the mice and rats. This prison needs to be shut down, or else tempers are going to continue to flare and things are gonna blow up around here. The pigs are very disrespectful: they call your name and talk shit to you and they even call you names and talk shit to you and they even call Black people monkeys. And they know they can get away with just about anything because most of them live in the same town and are friends, they all watch each others back. And these so-called wardens cover up for them and back up their wrongdoing to cover their own asses. Back here in the hole its bad. Psychiatric patients going crazy and terrorizing everybody. If youre on Disciplinary Segregation you cant even get a book sent in from your people on the outs. Left to sit in between 4 walls and lose your mind. No food off canteen, so D.S. inmates are forced to eat this unsanitary food or starve to death! Its all bad. I was once blind to all of this madness here at Ely State Prison. But now after being through all of this, and running across good comrades like Coyote who have taken the time to pass me literature and extend his solidarity and discuss serious matters about oppression and about how we need to elevate ourselves under these conditions, nothing can be the same for me anymore, now Im stepping up to the plate, to be involved in the struggle and to be a part of the solution, no more can I stand idly by while we all suffer under these same atrocities. And Im calling on others to start getting organized, start becoming active in the struggle that we are all aware of for liberation and justice. Leave the old,

destructive ways alone and get involved in something that truly matters! Im only 22 years old, I step up to the plate, so I know you can, because we all know what goes on here at Ely State Prison day in and day out. I step up because I know that God got my back for what ever comes my way, Im prepared. In for better for myself and others, With the heart of a young warrior, Comrade Vick P.! Received by mail: April 09th 2011 Grievance papers included. This was published on: Nevadaprisonwatch.org. Starving prisoners at Ely State Prison Received by NPW and emailed on 21st of March 2011 to several receipients. Also received a sworn statement from author. Apologies for misreadings of the manuscript. For the past 6 days and counting we here at ESP have been receiving only 1000-1500 calories meals each day. It angers me to even write what theyre giving us. Prisoners are starving, not only me but other prisoners are weak, light-headed, dizzy and shaking badly. I myself submitted a medical request complaining about these medical issues Im having and medical has deliberately refused to respond to medical requests. Numerous Correctional Officers are angry, surprisingly not toward the inmates but with Director Greg Cox, for issuing the order to shorten our meals, to punish the entire institution for his faults. Stupid muthafucka should of never issued furloughs knowing that was a retarded ass move, and he should have listened to Howard Skolnik, ex-Director of NDOC. But no, he wants to further abuse his authority. Director Greg Cox has personal issues with numerous prisoners and personell within the Department. I saw on my life if inmate Chris Welsh would have killed himself blood on my shirt. (unreadable). Well the administration has said that we will start receiving our hot breakfast again, which I dont believe until I see it. Also a couple of inmates on 1B side have been taken out on a stretcher. This is not a want or a need, this is a must-do. All who read this, write the Governor, the Board of Commissioners, Attorney General, everyone you can, to get Director Greg Cox

out of that office, before he pulls another stunt. Ill keep you updated on events occurring at ESP. Signing out, Raymond Watison #1031828 Aka Tear Drop Date: March 14, 2011 Psychological Warfare Waged on Prisoners at E.S.P. Comrades and Warriors of the struggle in the Nevada prison system, I send my greetings and respect I just want to take this time to reach out to you about the psychological mind tricks that those of authority (the pigs) try to play on us to keep us in control so well think twice about rebelling against them and their unjust conduct and how some actually fall for it, we as warriors of the struggle have to be stronger than that, we have nothing but time to think, study and analyze our situation, so we cannot, I repeat: we Can Not let these pigs outsmart us!!! I came to Ely State Prison because of my sentence structure, not because I had gotten into any trouble on another yard or because I had any hole time, and I sat in the lockdown unit for 13 months before I was allowed to go to the mainline yard; throughout those 13 months their excuse was because I was a threat to the general population because of my gang status and involvement, they told me that there were 2 individuals on the yard that I may have a potential conflict with, a potential conflict (crazy right?). Then after I got word that those 2 individuals were gone I put in another request to go to unit 8. I was told that I was still a threat to general population and they felt that I might go up and cause trouble. A few months later I put in another request and I was told that I was too young (at 22 years old) to go to the yard and that they werent letting anybody on the yard under 26 years old, so finally after13 months of 23, sometimes 24 hours of lockdown per day, they set me in front of 10 people in a so-called full classification (Assistant Warden, Head Caseworker, 2 other Caseworkers, CERT Sgt, Lt., Prison Investigator, unit 8 Senior officer and 2 guards that escorted me). For the first few minutes I was talked very badly to, to see if I would snap. I remained cool and after a while the head case worker told me that shed allow me to go to unit 8. The Cert Sgt leaned over my chair and said: You see how long it took me to let you go to unit 8 this time, you cause me any trouble and you wont see unit 8 again nor will you leave Ely any time soon

All of this was to install fear in me so Id get a job and not cause problems (in other words, go along with their unjust conduct). They know that no one wants to sit in lockdown 23 hours a day (sometimes 24), 7 days a week, so they use that against you to make sure youre a good ol boy for master, and you have some inmates who actually bend over backwards to comply, the ones who smile and crack jokes with the guards, the ones who always seem to get pulled out for questioning every time something happens. Ive actually seen an inmate give a c.o. a honey bun once, the guy gave the guard a honey bun, says the guards cool with him and never tears up his cell, isnt that something?!? We have to realize that an officer is an officer and they are the enemies, no matter how cool a guard may seem to be, he is still a pig!! Please dont get me wrong, there are some c.o.s who treat inmates like human beings and seem to be decent people but at the end of the day if hes given the orders to beat and stomp you, hes going to do what he has to do to keep his job and move higher in his ranks to earn a bigger paycheck, hes going to back his fellow officers, whether hes wrong or right so please dont mistakenly get the idea that he is ever on your side because he is never on your side! Our oppressors do everything in their power to break us down, especially when youre sitting in the hole or lockdown unit They turn the a/c on in the winter and the heat in the summer. They serve you cold food, not to mention your portions are only half of what you would get on the main yard, and if you somehow manage to get on a c.o.s bad side, your phone kites just happen to get lost or never come up, your cell gets searched 3 and 4 times a month when its only supposed to be once a month, your property gets damaged or comes up missing and the c.o.s seem to know nothing about it even though everything in your cell was just fine and in place before the pigs came in; they will put handcuffs and ankle cuffs on you tight enough to break the skin and in some cases draw blood; they constantly harass and talk trash to you behind the doors or while youre in handcuffs (cowards); they spread rumors about inmates to other inmates to get us to turn on each other

There was once a tine when I was in lock down and my neighbour tipped over a trash can that was in front of his door and took out the trash bags. The trash can was left tipped over on the tier. The c.o. came on the tier and saw the can and trash everywhere and stormed to my neighbors door yelling profanity (all the while I was standing at the door). My neighbour told him that he didnt know what he was talking about and that it wasnt him. The c.o. asked him who was it then, he told him that he didnt know and to do his job and to find out. So the c.o. comes to my door and tells me that my neighbour just told him that I was the one who tipped over the trash can (wow), I just laughed in his face These are the type of things these pigs do to divide us, they love division amongst inmates, they prey on it and it helps their system run smoother. If we were all to come together there would be nothing they could do: NOTHING! They all do these little things so they can break you down in the mind, to make you give up and submit to their ways of doing things, its all a form of psychological torture but we have to show them that we will not break They do these things so that if you do make it to the main yard you will do everything in your power to conform to their subjugation of force and slavery (what they call the hole), so that before you get yourself into anything close to deficing against them, youll stop and think about how bad it is back in lockdown. This happens more than you think. Ive seen many men compromise their dignity and drop their heads and give in to the ways of these devils and it is a hard and sad sight to see I once had a huge problem with a rookie c.o. in lockdown. He would tear up my cell every time I went to showers. Talk trash and throw away my phone kites. I told him that if we ever came face to face, to make sure he had that same attitude and tongue so that I could beat his ass. Well just so happens that when I finally made it to unit 8 guess whos there? Yes this same tough guy rookie c.o., but only now hes not so tough, he escorted a nurse on the tier to see an inmate (I take it that he did not know I was there), and when he saw me I made sure to make eye contact with him (the coward looked like he dropped something in his pants). I held his stare while he walked until the coward ran into a table, he broke the stare And went into the back room with the nurse and inmate Right after lockdown for count he came to my cell escorted by 4 other c.o.s (the coward was in the back of everyone). One of the c.o.s asked me was there going to be a problem with

their officer? I asked if there were, were they going to let him come in? He replied No, but were going to come in. I looked past the other 4 guards and directly at the rookie and stated that I planned to do my time and stay out of their way and it wouldnt be a bad idea if he did the same. They stared me down for a minute as to figure me out, then they left. One unit c.o. stayed behind and told me, Aw dont worry about him, hes just a chicken shit rookie trying to prove himself. This just goes to show you how coward they are and how they can only beat you in the mind if you let them. They can only win if you allow them to On March 7th 2011 there was an incident in the culinary, where a staff member was allegedly beat into a coma by an inmate. Due to that incident the whole prison was shut down. We received half cooked and cold meals and were not able to use the phone for 2 weeks. They turned the heat up in the unit to something like 80 degrees, you could not walk to your sink without breaking a sweat, it was almost impossible to exercise and the heat was so frustrating that it caused unnecessary tension between you and your cellmate, etc. This is what they wanted: they wanted to show us that they control this prison, and how miserable they can make it for us if we choose to act out and rebel against them They would pass out our store at 2 and 3 in the morning (am), waking up inmates fro their sleep, and these are just a few things they do to make us submit to their unjust ways, we just have to be wise to their plan I was taken to Ad-seg on April 5th 2011, and put in a cell with only my boxer shorts, socks and boots. I was in this cell for 6 days before I even received a jumpsuit or a towel to shower with. It is now April 20th 2011, and I still do not have any of my property, they have me sitting in an empty cell with no shower shoes, no hygiene products, no clothes and I cant even attend to my legal work. My cell is freezing cold and I have none of my personal belongings to warm myself with. This is all a plan to break me, because I have nothing to say to them While I was being escorted to Ad-seg, a CERT officer was being extra friendly towards me and started asking me questions about one of my comrades as if I was not wise to what he was up to. I told him that I have nothing to say. He replied: Well well see what you have to say when you get your charges for the weapon you had. This was his way of trying to rile up my emotions to try and get me to slip up and say something to implicate one of my comrades. But I am wise to their devilish plans. The devil

is one of deceit. Fellow warriors, do not let them deceive you The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he did not exist. Warriors, do not let their devilish ways trick you into thinking that they are your friends: they are the enemy, do not forget that Warriors, I hope you find comfort and courage in my words. My love goes out to all True warriors of the struggle, no matter what area or race theyre from, because true warriors come together when there is a common greater enemy I have been blessed to come across more skilful and seasoned warriors with lots of wisdom and knowledge that they have bestowed onto me. They have been big Brothers and mentors to me and have helped me become a Young Man of wisdom as well as that they have helped me train to become a Young Warrior and for that I give thanks to Kasi, Bro. Reggs, Donald X (Pokey-P). Another comrade who has helped sharpen the minds of a lot of youngsters is Coyote and also a great man who goes by the name of Ice-Cold, O love you man, go home and take care of ours I mention those individuals to show you that there are still stand up guys and warriors in the system who take the time to open the eyes of young men like myself, comrades that care enough to put a book in your hands and words of wisdom in your brain. Comrades, your time with me was not spent in vain and will forever be cherished With a Warriors Salute and All My Love, L.D. Ps Warriors, I use the word devils as a term to describe our oppressors, it is in no way a racist term as I use it, I use it because it fits to those who use their authority to wage their evil ways on us no matter what race they may be

A new update and report on the ESP Book Drive With an extension of my truest greetings of solidarity and respect I write you these few humble words and present this update and report to you, to give you the latest news on this book

drive that Ive started up in late December of last year. Before I begin to list some of the new books that I know of that have been donated to our library, let me try to break down one of the reasons I started this book drive in the first place. Readers and followers of the NPN should already be aware of the Bloody Sunday incident that took place on Jan. 31st 2010, where 16 ESP prisoners got brutally beat down by the guards for trying to take a stand for justice and against the depraved conditions and treatment weve been forced to live under in this hell-hole. We fought hard and it was a good fight until we were placed in handcuffs and fully restrained, and thats when these cowards started brutally beating us, and then, allegedly, a pig got sent away bleeding, with a hole in his belly, and I guess after that, they didnt want no more. Two officers got fired for this incident, one was a lieutenant. Yet the conditions are still the same and probably getting worse. For some, this fight has been taken to the courts, and we are still waiting to see what the outcome will be One of the things we were standing up for or at least I know I was was the fact that we are not allowed to receive books sent in from the streets while serving time on disciplinary segregation even though it doesnt say that in the AR, thats the twist theyre putting on it and getting away with it too. It always frustrates me to see the measure these swine will take to keep us stagnant and to keep us enslaved to ignorance, to make sure that were not learning and growing and uplifting ourselves, but doing the opposite. It seems they would rather make sure that we are deteriorating and succumbing to a sentence of intellectual depravity; they want to break us, to make us weak and complacent, and they want to see us fail, fail and keep failing, because they know that books are our real weapons and that we arm ourselves with knowledge as a means for survival, selfempowerment and liberation, and they know that knowledge gives us strength, and what do strong people do? They resist, they fight, they lead, and they uplift themselves and others. These swine obviously fear that., they despise us for wanting to gain knowledge and wanting to better ourselves, because in their minds with knowledge we are a threat, we are dangerous. So they try to keep us weak by keeping us ignorant and this is how they

control us and suppress us and get us to go along with the bullshit they subject us to. I cant speak for others, but for me, all this does is inspire me to go harder and to do more. Im talking about raising awareness, elevating minds in here, teaching others and flooding this prison with as much empowering and radical and educational literature as possible. Because I see the fire of passion and the determination and the eagerness to learn burning strongly in the hearts of these young comrades. So, while some are waiting for the outcome of the lawsuits and I wish them all the best of luck Ive decided to try another tactic. Ive started up this book drive, asking people all over the world to donate radical and educational books to our library. This way we can create this prison library into a real library, making it a valuable resource where prisoners can get a quality education for free! Whether were in the hole or in General Populockdown, all we have to do is put in a library request form and check out any of these books as often as we want and the amazing thing is, that indeed, all kinds of people from all over the world have been kind and caring enough to donate good ass books to our library, with more coming in all the time! This is definitely a beautiful thing, because it is absolutely necessary for prisoners in here, under these stale ass, solitary confinement conditions, to be able to have the opportunity to learn, grow and elevate themselves, especially when this system isnt providing us a real education or any type of rehabilitation. In the last issue of the NPN I reported on some of the books that have been sent in to our library, and so now I want to take the time again to present a list of some more books that I know of that have been sent to our library since then. First, my comrade in Chicago, Chris Wright, who does the Chicago ABC Chapter and Zine Distro, has donated 12 books to our Library. I dont know the names of the authors, but the titles of the books he donated are: 1) Fired, laid-off or forced out! 2) Websters Dictionary 3) Down and out 4) Chronicles of American Indian protest 5) Mass mediated culture 6) Cuba: between reform and revolution 7) Blackness without ethnicity 8) Racism in a racial democracy 9) End Game vol 1 and 2 10) The Caribbean in the wider world 11) Anarchism: for and against 12) Patriotic treason

Second, Ive contacted MIM, sent them a copy of my Book Drive flyer, asking them to donate books to our library, and I dont know the names of all the authors, but they responded by donating these books: 1) Bury me Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown 2) Fanshen, Fateful triangle 3) The real terror network 4) The CIAs greatest hits 5) Maos four essays on philosophy 6) UC Berkeleys Chicano Studies Reader 7) The Autobiography of Malcolm X Third, the beautiful, good-hearted companyera the one who does this newsletter for us with the money out of her own pocket, and all the way from another continent has been kind enough to donate 1 book a week to our Library! The books shes donated this time around are: 1) Biko Donald Woods 2) You just dont understand: women and men in conversation - Deborah Tannen 3) Starting to paint portraits Bernard Dunstan 4) Still life Bernard Dunstan 5) The Carretta B. Traven 6) Government B. Traven 7) March to the Monteria B. Traven 8) Trozas B. Traven 9) The General from the jungle B. Traven 10) The bridge in the jungle B. Traven 11) The way of the prisoner Jens Soering 12) With Justice for all - John Perkins 13) Restoring at-risk communities - John Perkins (from MS) The Biko book is about the revolutionary, Steve Biko, thats an important book for those involved in the struggle! These 6 books by B. Traven are from his Jungle series, these are some bad-ass revolutionary fiction novels! (The other book to this series, The rebellion of the hanged, was already donated to our Library a few months ago. All of these books are definitely worth reading! Fourth, my mother came up to visit me in March, and she dropped off two boxes of books at the school on 1135 Avenue C, for the ESP Library. I dont know all of the books she donated cuz she didnt give me a list, but a lot of the books she donated were her own personal books, some of them came from some of the people she goes to college with. They donated all kinds of different books on psychology, sociology, yoga, health, religion,

spirituality, politics, etc. The books that I can remember from the conversation I had with `Moms` in the visiting room are: 1) The Zen of drawing 2) Atheism 3) Flow, the psychology of optimal experience 4) Everything you need to know about the Holocaust (textbook) Fifth, my companyera in Reno, Amanda (Miss Charm) donated a box of books to our Library, some of them we already have in our Library, but now we have more! The books she sent are: 1) The three Thebian plays Sophocles 2) The curious incident of the dog in the night time Mark Haddon 3) 1984 George Orwell 4) The Seven Ts: Finding hope and healing in the wake of tragedy . Judy Collins 5) Hamlet . Shakespeare 6) French dictionary 7) The Prince . Niccolo Machiavelli 8) The Martian trilogy Edgar Rice Burroughs 9) All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque 10) The Autobiography of Malcolm X 11) The Oddyssey of Homer 12) The Classic Slave Narratives Henry Louis Gates Jr 13) Candide Voltaire 14) Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 15) The Hobbit J.R. Tolkien 16) Tess of dUrbervilles Thomas Hardy 17) Siddharta Hermann Hesse 18) Selected stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne 19) Heart of Darkness; the Secret Agent Joseph Conrad Sixth, my friend in North Carolina, Cecile, ordered these 3 books from the Bargain Books Catalogue, to be sent straight to our library: 1) The American Red Cross First Aid and Safety Handbook 2) Suddenly frugal: How to live happier and healthier for less Leah Ingram 3) Making a living without a job, rev. ed.: Winning ways for creating work that you love Barbara J. Winter Seventh, my companyera in Ohio has donated a box of books, I dont know what they are though, but she will be donating books on a frequent basis! The Friends and Family of Incarcerated Persons (FFIP) have gotten involved with this book drive

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and they will be gathering hella books to drive up here when someone comes to visit one of their family members here at ESP, and they will drop all those books off at the school. Also, my comrade in Chicago, Anthony Rayson, who heads the S. Chicago ABC Zine Distro has 2 boxes of books for us, Ill tell you what they are in my next report! Ms Thiel tells me that even the people here in Ely have been donating books to our library! Speaking of Ms Thiel, she will be retiring on June 2nd (frowns), she doesnt know who will be taking her place yet, but whoever it is, shes gonna school them about this good thing we have going with the book drive, so hopefully this will continue. The Librarians are inmates from building 12, we had some good, competent Librarians from Unit 8, but ever since the March 7th Slave rebellion in the kitchen, theyve pretty much locked the unit 8 slaves down and found new slaves (campers) to run this prison plantation, so these new librarians havent got the hang of it yet, and are still green, so things are moving kind of slow with the library right now (frowns), but hopefully things will get better soon. So thats my latest update on the book drive. If anybody else has any updates or know of any other books that have been donated, please send in a report for the next Newsletter. Oh yeah, before I forget: hardback books are not allowed in our library anymore, so if anybody sends hbs, the Librarians will tear the covers off and make new, softback covers for them, but this seems to be taking them a long time, cuz I havent been able to check out any of the textbooks or Hbs that I know for a fact have been sent, so Id tell your people to hold off on sending any hbs for a while. Medical books, we need medical books! So we can learn about symptoms and health amd stuff like that, cus we all know we cant trust these people to give us any real medical treatment, you go up in there to see the Doctor, hell give you a bunk ass prescription for some Tylenol or something and tell you nothings wrong with you, send you back to your cell, and then, 20 mins later theyll find you dead up in that cell! So we need to educate ourselves on this type of stuff, we need to get more medical/health books into our Library! Almost forgot, I donated one of my personal books to the Library: Soldier June Jordan.

Id like to close this article with a powerful message. My message is this: Right now theres too many things going on in the world for anyone to us to be walking around blind. This is a time where more and more prisoners should be willing to gain more of a class consciousness, and instead of just talking about things like the NBA playoffs, or getting excited about TV shows like Big Brother, etc, Id like to encourage prisoners to embrace real struggle and strive for real changes, start tuning into the real things that are going on, that Reality TV aint showing you, like the things going on in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya for example. Id like to encourage more prisoners to start having little dialogues with each other about these things. Elevate your thoughts, get involved in meaningful activities, and study, study, study! If youre on D.S. and cant get books sent in to study, well then, check out some of these books from the Library. Or try to study whats going on around you; be aware of the psychological warfare tactics and the divide and conquer tactics that are being waged on us every day. Be aware of the ways they try to condition us and break our minds in here. Be aware of the fact that theyre leaving us here to be locked down and warehoused in these tombs called cells, to deteriorate and become more stagnant with each passing day. Be aware of the fact that these people dont care about us; their indifference should be obvious, theyre not going to help us in any way that will really even matter. All they want to do is confine us, control us, and crush us. And if you dont believe me, all you have to do is take a hard, square look at all this shit going on around you. Keep your eyes open, your heart truthful, and elevate your mind around the real struggles we face in life! Solidarity and respects, Coyote, E.S.P. Anarchist Black Cross, Nevada Prison Chapter May 2011 Dear Society, To chain a child that becomes a man is to unchain a man who is still a child by K. O., 1987. Its me again, Pig Pin! I cant figure out why you keep letting me get my 2 ct in but Im beginning to think youre all as crazy as I am! I was asked to keep sending them in, Im not sure which ones will be published and which will not, but to tell you the truth, its all the same to me. So many thoughts come and go when

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youre in a cell with nowhere to go. But deeper in ones own mind. So Ill go on a tirade and spit out my version of the truth and whether you take it or leave it is your business. I really appreciate it if you warn your loved ones though sometimes I say shit thats offensive! The saying above was written long ago little did I know how very true it would prove itself to be. Though I am now nearly 40 years old, Im but an infant to the ways of society. Socially retarded is what its called or to you all some Politically Correct Bullshit to make it sound more like a corrective mental issue! But its the same I have an IQ in the high 130s yet I get stupid in front of Public People, all of a sudden Im very conscious to the fact I have no idea what Im doing and they know it too! These are only a few issues an ex con faces in his/her mind after many years inside the walls. Technically they are as children. Full of anger, fear, frustration, and whats left is confusion. If you havent figured it out yet, this is not an Idea piece. Its a Face the Truth piece I guess. After my Last Hitch I was sitting with my Dad after a long days work. While we were sitting there enjoying the silence, all pie-eyed with the munchies, the ol Man looks over and asked me, Whats it like, Son? Whats that, Dad? I asked in return. Whats it like spending time in prison?, he clarified, handing me a cold one. Its been said only veterans can relate to convicts that have spent a long time inside. Me, I spent 36 of my 56 months in the hole my last hitch I just couldnt function properly I guess, or maybe I was just too busy trying to prove how tough I was to my peers. Either way Its said the shit we see and do inside the walls scars us to a degree that war veterans are generally the only ones who see it. Maybe because theyve seen worse Maybe not Ive seen some pretty gruesome shit in prison, jails, etc. Ive done some pretty gruesome shit. The point is, my ol Man was the only one I could ever talk to he was a 2 tour veteran back in the early 70s, he gave a shit ya know? Well Dad, its like a dog that you chain to a post. Occasionally you go out to beat his ass if he barks too much. You surround him with walls he cannot see past, except little cracks or spaces in the boards. You dont pat him on the

head you dont let him off the chain for years. Basically hes just a Dog you feed and shelter and kick around. Every few years you let him off the chain. What do you think happens? Hell run loose fuck everything in sight eat up toys and shoes and track mud everywhere and go around fighting other dogs I get it now, good comparison, Son! I couldnt help smile that smartass smile that used to get me smacked as a kid. That smile that used to drive the ol Man crazy. Because it said all I ever needed it to. I know something you dont, ol Man. Now that Im a Young Man it just makes him curious. So he asked me what more there was. See, he associated the Behavior I described to him to myself wild, violent, pissed off at the world for past grievances and he assumed I would grow up and get over it eventually. Then theres the Dog that just sits there Dad, never wondering past the perimeter of the chain hes been tied to for these past few years. He knows nothing else eventually only that if he moves too much or barks hell be beaten and chained again. Youve taken away all he knew, so now he goes back in the House, stays within his limits. Hes not a good Dog Dad hes a scarred Dog, a tired Dog. He doesnt know how to be good or bad. He just knows hes safe there. Soon he wont even come out of the house!! Now Dad, why do you even let him go? You havent taught either dog a damn thing except dont bark or there will be punishment. He was quiet for a long time and simply watched me pace back and forth his son had turned into a Wild Dog. Then theres both kinds, right?! he asked at last, providing the words I couldnt find. It stopped me dead in my tracks my father had figured out what You Society still continue to ignore, or are ignorant to! Yeah Dad then theres the one that just sits there and sees his perimeter as his and hell die protecting it. He goes out, creates havoc, knowing hes gonna go back to his house and that damn chain. He hates it, but knows nothing else. Youve taught him nothing else. Hes neither a good Dog or a bad Dog hes just the Dog youve made him to be. Now I can see it Son and Im sorry he said, and that was the end of that. We never spoke again of the subject. But for the rest of that very short 9 months as I slipped off into the abyss we call Dope, I could see in his eyes wondering

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which of those Dogs his son had become. Then in jail facing 2 death penalty cases I think it finally settled in which it was to my father and he had to let go for the final time this time. I think of that a lot now 13 years later when I see another Good Dude who has spent years in this prison, slammed down, kicked around, not taught a damn thing except not to bark too much, get out straight from here! No prerelease program to adjust a little to people. We have virtually No Human Contact here in E.S.P. As a person sits longer and longer in this Human Warehouse the more and more they become more childlike in their Human interaction skills, even among groups of other Cons. We dont last long on other yards. Not because we are scared. But because for those of us that have spent more than a decade in a cell, we have lost our ability to cope. Some of these men are getting out soon. So I ask you Society: Can you see it now?? As my Father finally did? Fare you all well Pig Pin Away Classic Quotes The oppressors, who oppress, exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves. Only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both - Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. Steve Biko, South African Freedom Fighter, assassinated by the Apartheid regime. A reservation Indian is already well-prepared to go to the penitentiary. Before he gets there he has already practiced being in prison. And even on the reservation, many Indians are still having a barbed-wire attitude I try to teach my children and my people to get rid of the barbed-wire mind. Leonard Crow Dog, Lakota medicine man, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. Trouble Speaks. Part II Abdul Olugbala Shakur, Abasi Ganda and Kamau M. Askefi wrote a book on the bell curve conspiracy which is a primary racistbased pseudo-hypothesis: 1. that we as a people are intellectually inferior

2. that there exists a gene which presupposes Black people to criminal and violent behaviour. It is upon these two premises that the conspirators one through seven justify their systematic discrimination. White Amerikkka for the most part either view us as potential criminals or intellectually incapable of performing certain job descriptions it is under this auspices that the birth of this conspiracy was born. Conspirator one is the doctrine where the Brothers talk about how the US school system is establishing a curriculum designed to instil a sense of intellectual inferiority in our New Afrikan children/youth. One quote the brothers talked about on this topic is: in most white communities the educational forum is designed to educate and prepare the students to be successful leaders and own their own business(es). The forum (i.e. curriculum) speaks to their intellectual, spiritual and moral sense; orientates them to perceive themselves as superior to all other people, especially black people, regardless where they live or are from. This is one of the innate characteristics, but it immediately and explicitly contradicts itself when the schools are located in New Afrikan communities. Not only are the educational curriculums inadequate in their deliberately distorted white precise intent of orientating our children/youth to think a lot and be inferior. This does not mean all our children/youth will capitulate to its intended functions i.e. imprint the inferiority psyche in their mind. But unfortunately many of our people did and will fall pray to its functional purpose, the possibility that the New Afrikan (so called Afrikan Amerikan) male has an inherent propensity for violence and crime and this idea is propagated unabashed in the media/press, not to mention the movie-music industry. They continue with conspirator 2: the cultivator: News media/press has played a dominant role in the criminalizing of black people and our community, in fact we have become their official emblem for crime in Amerikkka, for example I was watching the news and they were doing a report on domestic violence, but depicted was a picture of a young black male with a gun in his hand, now what did this have to do with a white man killing his wife? And thirdly, the Brothers talked about Conspirator 3 made for TV movies: 99% of these made for TV movies are for and about white people and their experiences. From adultery to murder, this much is obvious, but beyond the cover of prime time entertainment there lies the

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glaring and oftentimes subtle mythology of white supremacy, which finds expression in a dramatic propagation, for example: in the majority of these movies, the white perpetrators such as murderers, child molesters, serial killers, rapists, are given a human story. His/her human identity is not dismissed, the movie will go into his/her family background, it will tell of a tragic childhood experience, almost excusing the monster he/she has grown up to be. Even a number of talk shows will take this same approach when dealing with a white murderer, child molester or serial killer, but if the perpetrator (s) were black, there will be no human story to be told. In fact, in most cases he/she would be completely stripped of his/her human identity. This applies to our children as well. One may wonder what is the significance of the above observation? Many of these movies serve as a medium to affirm white Amerikkkas sense of power humanity, culture, not to mention their illusion of racial superiority while simultaneously dehumanizing, demoralizing and criminalizing the New Afrikan. Theres no doubt that some will agree with this, and some will disagree with this. But my question to you is: is this truly a conspiracy? Or is this a self-imposed mental [..] block that hinders our efforts as a people to move forward and grow. In the first conspiracy the Brothers were talking about how schools only talk about our people in a subservient role or a very docile Response to Slavery. We were not taught about those who led slavery revolts, political leaders, inventors. We know this system was not set up to teach us about us. It was not set up to show the youth how to be leaders, entrepreneurs. Instead it was geared to teach us how to be subservient, obedient laborers. As a people we must take the control of our fate and mindset out of the schools hands and take action. We can not just sit back and talk about how we have been done wrong. We have to encourage our brothas & sistas to educate themselves and teach them how not to fall victim to the media & press & allow them to tell you who you are. I told my comrade its a shame how a lot of young brothers wont open a book or AR to learn their rights. He told me, more importantly its a shame our young brothas dont know their worth. My sole purpose in writing this is to show you the tricks of Amerikkka. And to give you the tools to take the right steps to changing our

current status in Amerikkka, we must come together as a People and stop allowing schools, teachers, news, music and movies to define who we are as a New Afrikan Race. With Bulletproof Respect. Trouble, aka Mashaka i Afua Hunger Strike Planned at SHU Pelican Bay (CA) April 25, 2011 Dear Supporters of Prisoner and Human Rights, On July 1, 2011, between 50 and 100 prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison in the Security Housing Unit (SHU), Corridor D, are going on an indefinite hunger strike. The D corridor (also known as the "short" corridor) has the highest level of restricted incarceration in the state and among the most severe conditions in the nation. The rules of their confinement are extremely harsh in order to force them to "debrief" or offer up information about criminal or prison gang activity of other prisoners. Most inmates in the SHU are not members or associates of prison gangs, as the PBSP staff claims, and even those who are put their lives and the lives of their families and other prisoners at risk if they debrief. Using conditions of severe mental and physical harm in order to force prisoners into confessing is torture! Many debriefers simply make up information about other prisoners just to escape the isolation units. This misinformation is then used to validate other prisoners as members or associates of prison gangs who in reality have nothing to do whatsoever with gang activity. California Prison Focus recently interviewed some of those who are leading this hunger strike and we will be taking a number of key steps to publicize this event. This widespread hunger strike has the potential to become the most significant event in California prison reform in the last decade. Public support is crucial. Please stay in touch with California Prison Focus and other prison organizations who are supporting this hunger strike. Published on the CPF website are two documents. The first (see here below) lays out the five core demands of the hunger strikers. The second is their formal complaint which outlines how the conditions of their imprisonment constitute human rights violations and violate both US and international law. In support, California Prison Focus (http://www.prisons.org/hungerstrike.htm)

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Final notice: PBSP SHU D-Corridor Hunger Strike Attention: beginning July 1, 2011, several inmates housed indefinitely in PBSP-SHU DFacility, Corridor Isolation, will begin an indefinite hunger strike in order to draw attention to, and to peacefully protest, 25 years of torture via CDCR's arbitrary, illegal, and progressively more punitive policies and practices, as summarized in the "Formal Complaint." PBSP-SHU, D-Facility Corridor inmates' hunger strike protest is to continue indefinitely until the following changes are made: Our Five Core Demands: 1. Individual Accountability - This is in response to PBSP's application of "group punishment" as a means to address individual inmates rule violations. This includes the administration's abusive, pretextual use of "safety and concern" to justify what are unnecessary punitive acts. This policy has been applied in the context of justifying indefinite SHU status, and progressively restricting our programming and privileges. 2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria - the debriefing policy is illegal and redundant, as pointed out in the Formal Complaint [IV-A, p. 7]. The Active/Inactive gang status criteria must be modified in order to comply with state law and applicable CDC are rule and regulations [eg, see Formal Complaint, p. 7, IV-B] as follows: A) cease the use of innocuous association to deny an active status, B) cease the use of informant/debriefer allegations of illegal gang activity to deny inactive status, unless such allegations are also supported by factual corroborating evidence, in which case CDCR-PBSP staff shall and must follow the regulations by issuing a rule violation report and affording the inmate his due process required by law. 3. Comply with US Commission 2006 Recommendations Regarding an End to LongTerm Solitary Confinement - CDCR shall implement the findings and recommendations of the US commission on safety and abuse in America's prisons final 2006 report regarding CDCR SHU facilities as follows: A) End Conditions of Isolation (p. 14) Ensure that prisoners in SHU and Ad-Seg (Administrative Segregation) have regular

meaningful contact and freedom from extreme physical deprivations that are known to cause lasting harm. (pp. 52-57) B) Make Segregation a Last Resort (p. 14). Create a more productive form of confinement in the areas of allowing inmates in SHU and AdSeg [Administrative Segregation] the opportunity to engage in meaningful self-help treatment, work, education, religious, and other productive activities relating to having a sense of being a part of the community. C) End Long-Term Solitary Confinement. Release inmates to general prison population who have been warehoused indefinitely in SHU for the last 10 to 40 years (and counting). D) Provide SHU Inmates Immediate Meaningful Access to: i) adequate natural sunlight ii) quality health care and treatment, including the mandate of transferring all PBSP-SHU inmates with chronic health care problems to the New Folsom Medical SHU facility. 4. Provide Adequate Food - cease the practice of denying adequate food, and provide a wholesome nutritional meals including special diet meals, and allow inmates to purchase additional vitamin supplements. A) PBSP staff must cease their use of food as a tool to punish SHU inmates. B) Provide a sergeant/lieutenant to independently observe the serving of each meal, and ensure each tray has the complete issue of food on it. C) Feed the inmates whose job it is to serve SHU meals with meals that are separate from the pans of food sent from kitchen for SHU meals. 5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates. Examples include: A) Expand visiting regarding amount of time and adding one day per week. B) Allow one photo per year. C) Allow a weekly phone call. D) Allow Two (2) annual packages per year. A 30 lb. package based on "item" weight and not packaging and box weight. E) Expand canteen and package items allowed. Allow us to have the items in their original packaging [the cost for cosmetics, stationary, envelopes, should not count towards the max draw limit] F) More TV channels. G) Allow TV/Radio combinations, or TV and small battery operated radio H) Allow Hobby Craft Items - art paper, colored pens, small pieces of colored pencils, watercolors, chalk, etc.

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I) Allow sweat suits and watch caps. J) Allow wall calendars. K) Install pull-up/dip bars on SHU yards. L) Allow correspondence courses that require proctored exams. NOTE: The above examples of programs/privileges are all similar to what is allowed in other Supermax prisons (eg, Federal Florence, Colorado, and Ohio), which supports our position that CDCR-PBSP staff claims that such are a threat to safety and security are exaggerations. Date: April 3, 2011. Submitted by: Todd Ashker and Danny Troxell On behalf of themselves and similarly situated participants

News just in: RIP poet, jazzsinger, rapper before Rap, social consciousness activist Gil Scott-Heron April 1, 1949 May 27, 2011: His Facebook Bio is short: "Help me I'm the prisoner, won't you hear my plea." The Prisoner Here I am, after so many years Hounded by hatred and trapped by fear I'm in a box, I've got no place to go If I follow my mind, I know I'll slaughter my own. Help me I'm the prisoner, won't you hear my plea I need somebody, yeah, to listen to me I beg you, brothers and sisters, I'm counting on you (yeah). Black babies in the womb are shackled and bound Chained by the caveman who keeps beauty down Smacked on the ass when they're squalling and wet Heir to a spineless man who never forgets Never forgets that he's a prisoner, can't you hear my plea Cause I need somebody, Lord knows, to listen to me I'm a stranger to my son who wonders why his daddy runs. On my way to work in the morning when I don't give a damn Can't nobody, can't nobody, can't nobody, can't nobody see just who in hell I am Hemmed in by a suit, yes all choked up in a tie Ain't no wonder some times near morning I hear my woman cry She knows her man is a prisoner, won't you hear my plea Yeah, cause I need somebody, wooo, to listen to me My woman she don't say but she hates to see her man chained this way Yeah, help me, I'm the prisoner Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm the prisoner. (Gil Scott-Heron, album Pieces of a Man, 1971)
Gil and his son, 1975

Alone Strong I sit doing ten years for a gram of dope Witnessing Johannes Mehserle get probation for murder. I sit watching men starve to death Witnessing guards who cant even alight a flight of stairs, Because theyre too fucking fat. I sit in a country that told me to stay in school And educate yourself. In a cell where they wont give me a book. I was told in my youth to just say no To drugs. And now that I refuse their psycho-tropics, They refuse me parole. They told me to Love Thy Neighbor, Like you Love Yourself. And now I watch my countrymen shoot Mexicans, Swimming the border. I sit in the Land of the Free, Rattling my chains Waiting I see the hypocrisy and the bitter twisted lies Do you? I sit alone 7.4 million strong Knowing nothing more than to carry on Nothing more than my countrys wrong Knowing nothing nothings at all wrong To you From our brother and neighbour, Brandon Green, Utah State Prison, Uinta One (feb.11)

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