The Rock, March 2013, vol. 2 #3
Editorial by Ed Mead
The January issue of Rock was censored at Pelican Bay because of an article that started on page four and ended on page seven. The title of the article was “PBSP – SHU, Short Corridor Representatives Responsive Opposition to CDCR’s October 11, 2012 STG Pilot Program”, and was written on December 3rd. In this issue I am being extra careful not to print anything that may raise the ire of Pelican Bay’s censorship police.
Again, victims of the thought police should ?le 602s and go through the entire administrative appeal process. The censorship issue is getting out of hand. The warden did not respond to my administrative appeal, 602s are being “lost” until the appeal window has closed, etc.
The arrogance of your captors is appalling. All of this will and more be separate counts on our lawsuit. I am working with prisoners in drafting a Title 42, Sec. 1983 civil rights complaint in the Western District of Washington (it will probably be transferred to the Northern District of California). I plan to pay the ?ling fee of $350. If any of you have extra money you can contribute toward this it will be a help. Send the money to me with a note that it is toward the ?ling fee, not the newsletter.
I’ve just learned that the February issue of Rock was also censored as a threat to the security and order of the prison. Of course, once again, the newsletter was only banned at Pelican Bay. Also censored from PBSP was the January issue of the S.F. Bayview newspaper and the latest PHSS News. I am in touch with Mary, the editor of the Bayview, and with some of the folks at PHSS News, regarding a community response to this heavy-handed government suppression of our right to communicate.
The lawsuit mentioned above presently only challenges the censorship of the November issue of Rock, but may be amended to include other issues of the newsletter and perhaps even other publications.
The bottom line is this, in an effort to preclude the possibility of this issue being censored by your captors I have removed, gutted even, the very best of the newsletter’s content, including important articles containing news you can use, as well as the entire section of letters from subscribers (many of which addressed the ongoing inter-racial celling discussion and other important issues). Lastly, I apologize for sending out this watered version of Rock.
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