Support Marie Mason

Some of Marie Mason’s other supporters have put out a call to contact Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials to ask them to grant Mason a vegan diet. (After the Waseca warden denied her this, Mason started an appeal process to the regional BOP.) However, we spoke with Mason and she notified us that her appeal process had encountered some difficulties, and so she must repeat two of the steps.

Because of this, there is no need to contact these officials at this time, as her appeal will not be before them.

Sadly, we must convey the news that the Waseca warden has denied Marie Mason the right to vegan meals. She has told us that sometimes she goes days without being able to eat anything from the meals served, and must buy all her food from the commissary. However, her commissary funds are penalized to pay restitution.

Mason is currently appealing the Warden’s decision to the regional prison authorities.

We would like to thank everyone who has contacted the Warden’s office on her behalf. If you would like to donate money for her commissary, she asks that you send it directly to the PO Box. Do NOT send it directly to her commissary account.

A supporter has set up a new gift book list at Powell’s Books for Mason. If you’d like to send her a book she wants, you can purchase it here:

[ Mason has now been moved and is no longer a guitar instructor ]

Mason’s job in prison is being a guitar instructor, so when you buy the music books, it benefits all of her students as well.

Marie Mason Benefit Show

at Little Hamilton Collective
1318 Little Hamilton, Nashville
February 26th @ 6pm (Friday)
$5 donation
All Ages

Live music by the Thimbles

Followed by a Square Dance Party, featuring Daniel Frazer as caller

Free food provided by Food Not Bombs

“Marie is missed dearly by her community.  We are are putting on this benefit to support her and to make sure her needs are being met.”

Note: The warden has denied Mason vegan meals; see above.

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We are calling on all supporters of Marie Mason to contact the warden’s office at Waseca prison and ask that she be provided with vegan food. Mason is a vegan for ethical, medical and spiritual reasons, but the prison has denied her vegan meals since her incarceration. Because of this, she has been in ill-health, suffering from symptoms like dizziness and extreme pain in her hands. We call on all supporters to contact the warden’s office and ask that her request for vegan food be approved. Please be very polite.

write:

Warden Nicole English
FCI Waseca
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 1731
Waseca, MN 66093

fax:
507-837-4547

We are calling on all supporters of Marie Mason to contact the warden’s office at Waseca prison and ask that she be provided with vegan food. Mason is a vegan for ethical, medical and spiritual reasons, but the prison has denied her vegan meals since her incarceration. Because of this, she has been in ill-health, suffering from symptoms like dizziness and extreme pain in her hands.

We call on all supporters to contact the warden’s office and ask that her request for vegan food be approved. Please be very polite. Also note that currently (as of Wednesday, February 3) there is no Warden at Waseca. We expect that Warden English will be starting this position next week.

write:

Warden Nicole English
FCI Waseca
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 1731
Waseca, MN 66093

fax:
507-837-4547

Greetings from Waseca!

I’ve been incarcerated here a bit more than 6 months now and have appreciated your cards and letters of support so much. Thank you especially to those who’ve sent books and ‘zines, as these have been shared around and donated to our library here for all to use. It always makes me happy and proud to hear from all the folks at animal rights gatherings abroad, at anarchist and eco-groupings in the US and to know that there are so many in the struggle to confront this twisted, death driven, capitalist system and demand an end to fortune, exploitation and destruction. I’m proud to know you and share this struggle with you.

But without ideas and information to guide our actions, we can be lost and overwhelmed by the powers we confront. That’s why it’s so important to support the organizations that educate us and connect us to one another, celebrate our victories and rally us to solidarity. That’s why I’m asking that you consider making a donation or ordering a subscription to the Earth First! Journal this year.

These have been tough times financially for so many, but to lose this important voice for the wilderness would be a tragic loss and diminish our power as a movement. Please help if you can, with whatever you can and if you’d write me and say you gave to the Journal – it’d be the best holiday gift this prisoner could get. Thank you for all you do to defend the Earth.

Marie Mason
FCI Waseca

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Earth First! Journal subscriptions are $25/ year in US ($22 for low-income). For more information and complete rates, see http://www.earthfirstjournal.org

(text adopted from www.freemarie.org)

You might have noticed that we’ve been quiet on Marie Mason’s situation since she has entered the federal prison system. Mostly she has been trying to adjust to life at Waseca and get her basic needs met. The good news is that she was initially assigned a job in the kitchen, but was able to be transferred to a job as a guitar instructor. She recently played a holiday gig inside the prison with her new group!

Unfortunately, Marie Mason’s other needs are not being met. Mail delivery has continuously been disrupted. Contact  with her appeal lawyer was halted at one point, and he had to intervene to re-establish it. Contact with other lawyers is uncertain. Certain supporters were barred from contacting her, but then allowed to – only to find their communications were still censored or parts of them “lost”. Mason’s attempts to receive instruction in her chosen spiritual path also seems to be running into problems, and outside organizations have had to be informed regarding the situation.

The worst is her food situation; Mason is vegan, but has been unable to consistently receive vegan meals. She has been buying additional food from the commissary, but this too has caused a problem. There was too much money in her commissary account and therefore a monthly amount has been garnished (since Mason has to pay restitution as part of her plea bargain). This has created a vicious cycle: the prison system is refusing to provide her with vegan food, forcing her to buy food from the commissary; but because there is money in her commissary account to buy the food, they are punishing her for it. Mason is looking at options to get the prison to serve her vegan food. She is vegan partly for medical reasons, and her inability to receive a vegan diet is causing her significant health problems.

At this juncture, she wants supporters to be aware of the situation, but NOT to take any action. We also ask that supporters do NOT place money directly in her commissary account, but rather provide any funds directly to her family. (Donation information is available here.)

Supporters should be aware that the prison has notified Mason that she will not be allowed to use the new email system they are installing (although other Green Scare prisoners can). Additionally that they are implementing a list of 100 people that she can write to; all of these people must be authorized ahead of time. This can potentially limit contact with supporters, making events such as letter-writing nights impossible.  We are not sure if this is a system-wide change or one that is more limited; we post updates on this situation as they become available.  However, as of this time (October 19, 2009), anyone can still write Mason, so if you’ve been thinking about doing so, right now is the time. [Mason later clarified that the 100 person list only limits who SHE can write to; anyone is free to write her - but note that unless you are on her authorized list, she will not be able to write you back.]

Lastly, Mason’s appeal is still underway, and details will be posted as they become available.