A prison in New York State found San Quentin News unacceptable reading material for its inmates because the paper allegedly advocates lawlessness, violence, anarchy or rebellion against the government.
New York inmate G. Erwin, a San Quentin News subscriber, received a “Sender Disapproval Notice,” instead of the February 2015 edition.
The Orleans Correctional Facility in Albion, N.Y., (near Rochester) evaluated the paper and circled two reasons why it wouldn’t be allowed into the prison population.
“D. Any publication which advocates and presents a clear and immediate risk of lawlessness, violence, anarchy or rebellion against the governmental authority is unacceptable.”
“E. The publication should not incite disobedience towards law enforcement officers or prison personnel. ‘Incite disobedience,’ for purposes of this guideline, means to advocate, expressly or by clear implication, acts of disobedience.”
The notice didn’t indicate which news stories they viewed as violating their standards. However, an article about the New York City Rikers Island jail on page 4 of the February 2015 issue reported on findings by the U.S. Justice Department that correctional officers systematically abused adolescent inmates on Rikers Island.
“We conclude that there is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers that violates the constitutional rights of adolescent inmates,” the Aug. 4, 2014, Department of Justice report stated. “In particular, we find that adolescent inmates at Rikers are not adequately protected from harm, including serious physical harm from the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by DOC (Department of Corrections) staff.”
The article also mentioned steps taken to solve the abuse problems on Rikers and recommendations on more measures that the New York Department of Corrections should take. No specific officers or incidents were written about.
Coincidently, the February issue contained an article advising those protesting the killing of an unarmed Black man in Ferguson, M.O., to follow the non-violent principles of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was part of Watani Stiner’s regular OG Perspective column on page 13.
There was also a story on page 8 about a Muslim who found out he is housed in the same prison as a Christian man who murdered his uncle. The Muslim chose to forgive the reformed man instead of seeking revenge.
“I could not deny the favor of forgiveness that God has given me. So, when it came to my brother, Holloway, I looked him in the eye and told him that I forgive him,” Isaiah “Abdul Raheem” Thompson-Bonilla told Derrick Holloway, the man who killed his uncle.
“They didn’t read it,” said Lt. Sam Robinson, the San Quentin Public Information Officer when shown the “Sender Disapproval Notice” from the New York prison. The lieutenant reads each issue of the San Quentin News prior to publication to check for articles that might involve prison security concerns. The February issue would not have been cleared if he had any such concerns.
Indeed, had the New York authorities read the San Quentin News in its entirety, they would have seen that the newspaper promotes rehabilitation and peaceful ways to resolve conflicts. These articles that inspire hope in prisoners should not have been rejected in order to suppress information about the Justice Department’s report.
Censorship cannot hide the realities of abuses from inmates who have experienced them first-hand.
–Rahsaan Thomas
