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Groups File Suit Against DOC Over Censorship Of Prison Mail
November 18, 2011
The ACLU of Florida and the Florida Justice Institution filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging what the organizations say is “censorship” by the Department of Corrections.
The suit challenges the agency’s decision to block delivery of Prison Legal News, a publication covering legal issues in regards to prisons, because of advertisements for things like pen-pal services. The lawsuit on behalf of the publication was filed in a federal court in Miami.
“Government can’t censor material just because it doesn’t like what’s being published in the material — in this case, advertisements for pen-pal services,” said ACLU of Florida executive director Howard Simon. “Just because our client provides legal information for people who are incarcerated doesn’t mean they forfeit their constitutional rights.”
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
11 Responses to “Groups File Suit Against DOC Over Censorship Of Prison Mail”
you can check a inmates account you just call the number on the money slip or get the number off the doc web site. the info is all there people just need to want to know the answers. and most people do not mind helping you get info you want . so yes that account info is public has been for years. so if someone is getting scamed they want to be i just wish one of these people would send me some money it would be nice to put a doll house under the tree this year hahaha maybe one of those inmates getting all that money a month could send me some they could look at it as a seed gift
Legal publications are not considered “mail”. There are different rules concerning that and the prison is NOT allowed to interfere with them. If they could be bothered to read the laws, they would know this.
As for the advertisements for penpals and everybody who is so concerned with the “tenderhearted” women…….does it not occur to you that these women have ASKED to be scammed? They have submitted their addresses to become penpals with prison inmates. This means they WANT for these men to take advantage of them. These women know where these men are and they take their chances. For some reason, they WANT to be lied to and treated like fools. I have a really hard time feeling sorry for someone who basically, by writing these ads, said, “Here I am, a foolish and naive woman, asking for some man who is sitting in prison to lie to me, beg for money I don’t really have and make me feel stupid.”
PLN – you are confused. You can still send anything that you would like to send to the institution. This does not prevent you from this. This prevents the inmates from receiving materials that are prohibited. They are not entitled to the same rights that are afforded to people on the outside.
And thats why they call it incarceration. Old Simon must have had a slow week, to stick his nose into this no brainer.
Pen pal services give inmates opportunities to obtain extra money by scamming lonely ladies on the outside.
Please don’t take away their rights to scam the desperate and tenderhearted.
Hey Scott!
Again, you’re mixing issues. This suit isn’t about porn — it’s about a publisher’s right to send a legal journal to prisoners. The courts have already ruled that prisoners have no legal right to porn. If you’re going to comment, why not focus on the issue that is the subject of the article, instead of raising a red herring?
BTW, how many of Florida’s 100,000 prisoners are “perverts?” Seems like you’re making a generalization, there, since most prisoners are in for property and drug-related crimes (look it up on the FDOC’s website). There are plenty of perverts outside of prison, too. Should we ban all porn for everyone on that basis?
Hey PLN: The Florida D.O.C. also prohibits pornographic material. I guess you probably think that I convicted pervert has a constitutional right to this garbage as well.
From some of the comments, apparently people don’t understand. This has nothing to do with prisoners’ rights. It has to do with the rights of people OUTSIDE of prison who want to send their publication (which is protected under the First Amendment) to people inside prison. It is the rights of the publisher that is at issue. The government should not be in the business of telling people what they can or cannot read, whether they are incarcerated or not.
Nor is this about pen-pal services. The FDOC is censoring Prison Legal News due to some of its advertisements, not its content. That’s like refusing to allow prisoners to read publications with car ads because prisoners aren’t allowed to have cars. PLN does not offer pen-pal services itself, just as newspapers that advertise cars don’t sell cars themselves.
As for ArmyCptswife, prisoners do have rights (albeit limited) because they are still citizens of this country and they are not excluded from the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Your husband is fighting to protect the rights of ALL Americans, including those who are incarcerated. Your criticism of this First Amendment lawsuit and the ACLUs involvement is basically spitting on the freedoms that your husband is fighting to protect. You might want to talk with him about that.
They do not have cable TV in the state prison system, but inmates do not need any additional ways to find additional people to beg from, or try to scam in some way. I have personally seen an inmate make over 600.00 in a month by sweet talking quite a few unsuspecting people into sending them money. They have nothing else to do except write people and they are willing to write whatever it takes to get money from people. Is a bit of a downer when an inmate has more money in his inmate account than the corrections officers working there are paid, but guess it’s all good when we go home after work and they are still in prison. They should make a inmates account balance available to people making deposits, or public. That would reduce the number of them seeking “pen pals”.
The ACLU are just a bunch of trouble makers.
The ACLU should stay out of this. Since when should prisoners have any rights? I hate wasteful spending on frivolous lawsuits!!!!! If you are in prison you should have no civil liberties….. PERIOD. You also shouldn’t have cable tv either.