I am writing to express my anger over the deplorable actions that are being arbitrarily administered by the Correctional Staff at Union Correctional Institution.  To wit, the memorandum issued to death row prisoners on Nov. 24, 1999 titled "Security Ink Pens For Confinement," in which staff plans on taking ink, pens, pencils, drawing pencils and calligraphy pens for no legitimate nor logical reason.  There can be no broad base ban for security reasons if no justifiable cause or concern exists.  And even if there have been occurences in which such items have been misused, in the words of Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida, they have been isolated incidents and thus the individuals are subject to the DOCs disciplinary rules already in place.

According to the 11th  Circuit Court of Appeals,  "death row prisoners have not necessarily shown themselves a threat to the internal operations of the prison, while persons on the YSL have."
Bass v. Perrin 170 F.3d. 1312  (11th Cir. 1999)

Furthermore, the timing of this memorandum is reprehensible in that it in effect denied deathrow prisoners from properly grieving this action prior to being deprived of these recognised therapeutic and rehabilitative avenues of expression.

Not only do the prisoners benefit from these forms of expression but so do the friends and family of deathrow prisoners.  This is the reason for us, the friends and family of these men, to supply funds to them to purchase these items.  To simply come now and take these items from them is not ony a slap in their face, but in ours as well  !

We request and demand that those items be immediately returned to the death row prisoners and that your Dept. Of Corrections staff cease and desist from any and all further actions against our friends and loved ones which are designed for no other purpose than to punish them without cause or provocation.

Please respond,