Steve Stevens v. George Ralston, Warden, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners

This is a habeas action arising out of a mail restriction imposed by the warden of the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners at Springfield, Missouri. The district court dismissed the petition. We reverse.

The petitioner was sentenced in Texas in 1974 to consecutive twenty-year terms for robbery and escape and was initially confined in the Texas state prison system. He was transferred to the federal prison system in 1979, apparently for his own safety, following his participation in a federal class action challenging conditions at certain Texas prison facilities. Since 1977, the petitioner has…