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| Mass. Prison Officials Push Magazine Ban |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/01/2001 |
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Hardcore pornography is already banned in Massachusetts prisons, and now corrections officials want to extend that ban to Playboy, Penthouse and almost any other publication featuring nudity. Officials say they are making the change because they fear sexually explicit material 'desensitizes' inmates and makes them more likely to engage in inappropriate sexual conduct around staff. The material also makes it harder to treat prisoners convicted of sex crimes, Department of Corrections spokesman Justin Latini said. Latini said a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year encouraged prison officials to institute the new ban. The ruling rejected the claim of an Arizona inmate who said a ban on Playboy violated his rights. Still, free speech activists say the move treads on the First Amendment rights of prisoners. 'Just because you are locked up doesn't mean you lose all your rights. And your First Amendment right is one you should maintain,' said Kara Gotsch, public policy coordinator for the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Other states have already cracked down on inmates' access to sexually explicit publications. Oregon, Minnesota and South Dakota have all passed laws in recent years barring adult materials from prisons. Within Massachusetts, some inmates are already blocked from receiving magazines featuring nudity. At the Bristol County House of Correction, Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson initiated a policy against the magazines, saying they are inappropriate in a jail setting. Republican state Rep. Francis Marini pushed a successful ballot initiative last year that denied prisoners voting rights. He said sexually explicit materials have no place in prison. |
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