by Tommy Accardi, Sr.
My January 2018 issue of your newspaper has been disapproved by the facility I am at, Alexander Correction Institution in North Carolina. I have enclosed the notice I was given. According to this notice, your newspaper is on the “Master List of Disapproved Publications” and thus I am not allowed to appeal the disapproval.
Though, according to “The Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook,” published by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Lawyers Guild, “A prison cannot maintain a list of excluded publications” and “must decide about each book or magazine on a case-by-case basis.” (Williams v. Brimeyer, 116 F.3d 301(8thCir. 1997)).
As soon as I complete this letter, I will be composing a formal grievance on this matter.
In Solidarity,
Tommy Accardi, Sr.
Send our brother some love and light: Tommy Accardi, Sr., 0861582, Alexander CI, 633 Old Landfill Rd, Taylorsville NC 28681.
Bay View’s response
The news March 20 from North Carolina prompted the Bay View’s response when the largest newspaper in the state reported a severe shortage of guards in maximum security prisons that had become so dangerous people were afraid to work there. The Bay View’s response, shown below, may succeed in delivery of disapproved papers to their subscribers and the removal of the Bay View from the “permanently banned” list … but it may not.
We seek professional legal help, willing to file suit if necessary, to back up Tommy Accardi’s brave grievance. Please contact the Bay View right away, at 415-671-0789 or editor@sfbayview.com, if you’re interested.
And there’s a role we all can play. In our experience, the quickest way to solve censorship problems is for people on the outside to call the warden’s office in the prison you’ve learned is censoring the Bay View and politely ask for the papers to be delivered to their subscribers. We encourage prisoners’ families, friends and supporters to try it.
If guards are being killed, you know how dangerous these prisons are for your loved ones. We’re simply applying the power of the people.