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| Inmates May Be Losing Their MTV |
| By Knight Ridder Newspapers/Arizona Republic |
| Published: 12/21/2001 |
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Michigan prison inmates have spent almost 14 years in court trying to hold onto their rights. But the effort may cost them something more immediate - their MTV. State prison officials said that litigation costs related to the so-called Cain case - filed by inmates in 1988 when the state tried to implement new restrictions on prisoner property - are starting to erode prisoner benefit funds. The funds also are used to cover the cost of inmate amenities, like cable TV subscriptions and basketballs. Ingham County Circuit Judge James Giddings recently approved an increase in the per-prisoner levy to generate more than $30,000 a month for the benefit funds to pay for continuing legal costs in the Cain case. It's named after John Cain, the lead plaintiff, who is serving 45 to 100 years in prison for a 1985 shooting. The department said prisoners have paid nearly $1 million to their lawyers for the Cain case during the last two years. The money comes out of the benefit funds collected at each male institution in the state, most of it from a surcharge on items purchased by prisoners at on-site stores. The money is distributed to Prison Legal Services, housed at the Egeler Correctional Facility in Jackson, to pay for lawyers, expert witnesses and other costs related to the lawsuit. At some prisons, the Cain costs are the biggest expense for the benefit fund, corrections officials said. Inmate George White, who has served on the benefit fund committee at the Gus Harrison Facility in Adrian, said 'a majority of prisoners weren't here when Cain started, and they don't know much about Cain costs.' 'They don't know, and they generally don't care. All they want to know is when they go to play basketball, is there (a ball) there?' If prisoners lost cable TV or other amenities, 'it would create a serious problem,' he said. The unpleasant conditions of prison life would worsen, he said. The Corrections Department contends that diversions such as television and recreation are more important for the safety of prisoners and staff than any outcome the Cain case might have. |
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