4/10/14

Hey,

I received a letter from you the day I took my plea and at that point I decided to wait and respond once I finished processing. As it turns out, you found me before then! I’m writing a brief letter to keep the communication open and to let you know I am committed to helping get change to Durham’s justice system even though I’m out of Durham and never want to return!

I received only your letter. The newsletter was not an “approved publication” but I appealed and now am waiting for some committee to rule on it. It’s a bummer to hear that Durham is rejecting the newsletters now. I’m guessing that one of the volumes with a call for violence* has perked their fear instincts! I certainly don’t believe violence is the answer, but unfortunately it seems no one reacts till they perceive that threat. Will you try to get a court injunction or whatever?

So, how is the Huerta protests going? Was there one in March? Has anyone got answers yet? I’ve lost track of things while in this processing unit. No phones (which I hear is unconstitutional!) That’s right, I’ve been here 30 days without access to any phones. There’s over 100 of us processing and phone calls are not allowed.

The news here is that I’m still here. In 1 day I got my IQ test done, w/in 3 days I had my mental eval, dental eval, and medical eval done. The final step is to see a Case Analyst. The problem is that they had 1 out sick, one quit, and only 1 left to handle the caseload. There are lots of us bogged down, only allowed to go to rec 1 hr a day, and the rest of our day is spent sitting around wondering what’s going on! We can’t even get answers. Guys who have arrived weeks after me have seen a case analyst and shipped out! No one knows what the criteria is to be seen, but it’s not in a first come, first to be seen order.

I will help (man who was beaten by c.o.s at Durham) should he file a complaint, and I’ll share Durham stories as soon as I get to a camp…

thanks, R.A.

*for clarity, no prisoner writings in the newsletter advocate violence in any way.