Letter from Charles Kellar (Las Vegas, Nev.) with enclosures to Flora Dungan (Carson City, Nev.), February 8, 1968

d V a tio n a L c^/J-?$oaiatLon j-ox tfiz d/fd(jancEHi?.ni: oj~ (2o[oxecI LAS VEGAS BRANCH P. O. Box 362 ? Las Vegas, Nevada F e b ru a ry 8th, 1968 Hon, F lo r a Dung an A s s em blym an The C apitol C arson C ity, Nevada D ea r F lo r a : I have read your statem ents and te le v is io n com m ents on the conditions at the N evada State P en ite n tia ry , You w ill find en closed photostatic cop ies o f certa in com plain ts I have r e c e iv e d . P erh ap s they w ill help you in your fu rth er con sid era tion s and any in vestiga tion s which you m ay undertake, I am r e lia b ly in fo rm ed that on ly the N e g ro e s w e re te a r-g a s s e d in spite o f the fact that none o f the N e g ro e s had anything to do with the planning o f the strik e and w ere innocent bystanders who w e re in vo lved inasmuch as the W arden wanted to show how fie r c e and ru thless he could be. P le a s e le t m e have the resu lts o f your in vestiga tion s as they a re pursued. If I can be o f any a ssista n ce to you, p lea se le t m e know. ^ ? x S in c e re ly , C h a rles L . K e lla r , P re s id e n t Laif V ega s Branch N A A C P 1042 W est Owens Avenue Las V eg a s, N evada 89106 642-6622 elk / csk February 2nd, 1968 Mr. Robert Robertson Executive .Administrator Executive Chamber Carson City, Nevada 89701 My dear M r. Robertson: The only reason that you have not recei ved the many complaints o f the Negro prisoners is because l^uhave^nc, communi^ - tion with them. If they felt that the Governor of the -tate of Nevada was interested in their plight , I have no doubt that they would have written to him if the Warden would have permitted the letters to pass censorship and be posted. In any event, following are some of the persons who have grievances: Sylvester Scolt, James Hinton, Carry .. Charles Skinner and a number of others. , Carry 7. Folmar, C arroll E. Barnes, Charle I am certein that ?n impartial Inveatigation ' ?S ' 8** which are enclosed in this complaint, censored by the Warden, in the case of Carry J. Folmar. I appreciate the need for a society. I appreciate even m ore the need for a fair society. Persons who have power !? w<th compansion, understanding, fairness and without racial ttBcrimto* tion. I have had occasion to write to the Warden about discrim inatory practices aeainst Negroes in the assignment of work and training. Althoug to some extent these have been alleviated, there is still great need for more change for the better. When society isolates prisoners it should be for the purpose o f teaching them appreciation for society, understanding of its and equiooing tbemJW&ls better to meet the Uazzards and problems upon return to society. I am convinced that the present practices and procedures at the Nevada State Penitentiary are not directed to that end. Please let me hear from you. V ery truly yours, elk/esk Enel. Charles L. Kellar, P resid en t Cas Vegas Branch N AAC P P A U L L A X A L T G o v e r n o r T H E ST A T E O F N E V A D A E X E C U T I V E C H A M B E R C a r s o n C i t y , N e v a d a 8 9 7 0 1 January 30, 1968 Mr. Charles L. Reliar, President Las Vegas Branch NAACP 1042 West Owens Avenue Las Vegas, Nevada 89106 Dear Mr. Kellar: We nave received your letter of January 23, 1968. I note from your first paragraph that "I have received many complaints from Negro prisoners... that there is abuse, discrimination and intolerable conditions there. We have received no such complaints. May we have from i?u specific cases citing names, numbers, types of mal?treatment and dates of occurrences^ As the Governor has said, mittees of the Legislature m the most minute detail, Prison. the two institutions com?are invited by him to examine, the full operation of the P ^ SOner at% the Nevada State Prison, race, color, creed or national origin, is girveegna rdflaeisr s of humane treatment. There are times, however, when prison community rules or regulations are broken, when discipline has to be meted out to offenders; I'm sure that you, as a., a i.orne., rtcognize that, this is absolutely necessary xn any occ^otuJ : ituation - if there is, in fact, to be a society. Again, hearing averred at your earliest convenience, I would appreciate mr oymo uyr? u lestpteecri.f ics of the incidents to which ?y*ou Sincerely, Robert Robertson Executive Administrator RR: ph * ?~>y^O-?^ C'oorfrreessppoonn d en c e Rules k R ev e rse^ ? id e?P le a s e Read C?rpfnlW N E V A D A S T A T E C O R R E S P O N D E N C E P R I S O N R U LE S < 1. Address your mail to the inmate by the name under which he is registered here, Box 607, Carson City, Nevada, 89701. 2. Place your full name and address on the envelope. 3. Mention your relationship to the inmate in your letter and sign your full name. Signatures, bearing names such as ? pal? or ? Uncle John? , etc. will not be delivered. 4. Confine your letters, enclosures included, to three sheets of paper written on one side, approximately 300 words. One letter per day only. 5. Do not ask about or mention the names of inmates, other than the one to whom you are writing. Do not discuss family affairs of other inmates. 6. Do not enclose stamps checks or cash in letters. Money orders, payable to the in?dividual only, will be accepted and must be sent by mail. Deposits for inmates will not be accepted at the time of visits. 7. Former inmates are not allowed to write present inmates except where they are a member of the immediate family. News of former inmates will be removed. 8. N o packages will be accepted except at,Christmas. Christmas packages must be sent directly to the inmate by the store from which they were purchased. 9. All publications, periodicals, and printed matter must come directly from the pud-lisher. 10. All mail is strictly censored. Bear this in mind at all times and it will be to your advantage. 11. N o personal belongings are to be sent in. V IS IT IN G S C H E D U LE G U ID A N C E C E N T E R : Seven Days Per Week-9:00 A M to 11 A M and 1:00 P M . to 3:00 PM . M IN IM U M S E C U R IT Y : Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays only-9:00 A M to 11:00 A M and 1:00 P M to 3 :00 PM . W O M E N ?S P R IS O N : Mondays through Saturdays-9:00 A M to 11:00 A M and 1:00 P M to 3:00 PM . Sundays and Holidays-9:00 A M to 11:00 A M only. H O N O R C A M P S : Sundays only-Tim ing of Visits to be approved by Sergeant in Charge. The above schedule subject to change.