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| Judge rules inmate has right to computer access |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/17/2004 |
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An inmate at a south Georgia prison has the right to access to a computer to complete his dissertation for his Ph.D., a Superior Court judge has ruled. Christopher Scott Heftler of Cobb County, who is serving a 10-year sentence for child molestation, said he was told he could have access to a word processor if he bought it himself. But when the computer was delivered to the Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo in July 2003, warden Ralph Kemp denied him access, Heftler's complaint said. According to court records, the 35-year-old prisoner has been working on a doctorate in classical philosophy through a correspondence course with the University of Texas. The university requires that the dissertation be sent as a computer file, Heftler's complaint said. Judge Thelma Cummings-Moore of Fulton County, in a ruling issued June 7, said prison officials violated the spirit of a state statute that calls for inmates to be allowed "reasonable" opportunities to get an education. The ruling did not say whether the computer could be in Heftler's cell. The inmate sought to have the computer as a personal item, which would allow him to have it in his cell, said Russ Willard, spokesman for the attorney general's office. Schere Lipscomb, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said inmates are not allowed to have items such as computers or televisions in their cells. McNeill Stokes, an Atlanta attorney who has assisted Heftler in preparing legal briefs, said the inmate was allowed to use the computer lab at another prison before he was transferred to Wheeler. Stokes said it was shortsighted to make it harder for inmates to better themselves. "The issue is, are we going to try to educate these people or not," he said. |
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