NCJ Number
129668
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1991) Pages: 190,192,194,196
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The ruling of a Federal judge in favor of administrators at the U.S. Penitentiary at Lompoc, California against an inmate to prevent publication of stories which arouse the inmate population is reviewed along with the legal issues raised by his decision.
Abstract
The case raises the question of whether an inmate's right to free speech takes precedence over a warden's responsibility to manage an orderly institution. Following a review of all trial evidence that involved penological objectives, prison regulations, and the administrators' acts, the judge determined that the interest of prison security was involved by the publication of the controversial article. Both the application of the regulations and the detention and transfer of the inmate were found to be neither arbitrary nor capricious nor intended as a retaliation. The Judge advised that correctional agencies do not have carte blanche to restrain inmates' unfavorable opinions and that prisoners retain first amendment rights. Important lessons for correctional practitioners are that the first amendment remains protected within prisons and that administrators must take stands when necessary for the security of their institutions regardless of outside pressures and threats of lawsuits.