Letters from Marc Emery #1

Dear Loretta, Monday, Nov. 29 7 pm

Checking on my commissary account I see you put $300 on the account Nov. 19. 14 days later would be Friday Dec. 3, 15 days would be Sat. Dec. 4. Try every day to put another $300 on my account. I have .02 cents in there right now and my phone minutes will run out on Thursday or Friday, although I don't call Jodie Friday (she's in the air)Saturday or Sunday (visiting me) or on Monday (in the air); but I am desperate so I hope Access Corrections takes that money soon.

Otherwise today was a good day. I got a job in the library Monday (8 - 10 am, 1-3 pm) to Friday. I'd prefer not to work at all. I'll have lots of newspapers, books and magazines to read. Today I got 56 letters alone, that will take me weeks to respond to, even more now. But its also a job I can help others at. We dispense legal paperwork for appeals. I want to get some magazines/books in there.


Side notes from letter: As of Thursday I will have no money for phone or commissary. HELPLESS PLEASE HELP! If you can't put money on my account by Saturday then you'll have to get all my supporters to call the prison about me being starved for money by their insane policies. Have people call here and GEO headquarters. (Loretta's notes: This was rectified)

4:30 pm Tuesday, Nov. 30

Today was my first full day at the library and I got the entire book collection re-labeled, straightened out and looking as good as possible. However, it is a very sad library. They have no current magazine subscriptions. The most recent copy of Rolling Stone is August 2009, Michael Jackson's Death issue.When it converted from the State Prison the company that owned the State Prison (Cornell) canceled all the magazine subscriptions and GEO has not renewed any of them. So, I need you to ask people to send me a subscription of any good magazine, especially Spanish language ones for me to put in the library.

Same with any new or like new paperback books or magazines bought by anyone. Should be sent one per envelope. The library can't take books from the public weirdly, (everything about this place is all weird, odd, or contrary to BOP regulations ---- this whole set up is wrong. And it doesn't seem to have ordered any new books. They are all ancient library books, most very worn out. There are a few good books and the small collection of Spanish language books were bought new. But they have maybe 250 Spanish books total and they need about 2,000 - 5,000 books in Spanish alone. There are no more than 100 recent or like new books out of 2,500 English language books. Most of these are 10 to 40 years old and obsolete. The inmates are truly being ripped off here. Yet the prison employs probably 150 people, but they have nothing to do and know little; they just warehouse us. Inmate labor (at .12 to .20 cents an hour)does most of the work in the kitchen, maintenance. Yet the yard and volleyball court are already deteriorating because no professional grounds keeping (watering and fertilizing the yard for one) is being done.

GEO has run this place for 2 months now and progress in any area is not happening (putting money on inmate accounts; collect calls, getting inmate property from previous prison, getting inmate money from previous prison, visitation forms.) Its supposed to be low security but our movements are rigidly controlled. We're searched all the time. The 6 Canadians are isolated. Very challenging.

I have 20 stamps left so I am going to last on stamps if my phone time stops Thursday. Please keep calling the prison and beg them to change this strange restriction on inmate deposits. The BOP limit is $10,000 on any inmate account. Inmates can issue checks drawn on their inmate accounts to pay bills, order books and magazines, pay lawyers - let alone cover phone bills like my phone account. Its so cruel and completely punitive, as sop many of the rules about this place are, the way GEO runs this place.

The food is very repetitive too, with almost no fresh fruit, after 12 days here I can tell you I'm going to hate this place after 60 or 90 days.

Called Dana and told him to send you $500 to use on my account. I talked to Jodie and she's having a rough day. She cried the entire 15 minute phone call. She's exhausted and frazzled.

Kirk, my lawyer, is supposed to come in the next few weeks and this place is so badly run legal action ought to be taken. But once I get money so I can get phone time and essentials I will feel better. I was distressed at Jodie being so distraught. I'm going to call you up and urge you to call her and calm her a bit. Reassure her.

I'm very excited to get a visit from you. Excited to see Jodie Saturday and Sunday but she's worried about being turned away, being tired when she sees me, money in my account. I understand, I worry about those concerns and more, too.

I worry that they are not working on making the transfer paperwork happen, even though Sylvia Royce (US lawyer in Washington D.C. hired to make this happen) is supposed to call this week.

So, you can tell that though I am glad I got a library job I worry about all these things because this place is so bizarrely run and I feel I will be stranded helplessly in this place.

Like I say, I'll feel way better once I see you and Jodie in visits. Write me often and keep trying to put money in my account.

Please visit soon!

Thank you so much for everything!

Love you,
In Gratitude and Affection

Marc