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| Inmate thrown into lockdown wins suit |
| By AP |
| Published: 11/01/2004 |
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Louisiana prison officials violated the rights of a convicted murderer thrown into lockdown after his mother posted an Internet ad seeking an attorney for him, a federal judge ruled last Tuesday. Acting on a suit filed by Shannon Dale Cassels, U.S. District Judge James Brady of Baton Rouge said a rule at the Louisiana State Penitentiary forbidding inmates to spread "rumors," was unconstitutionally vague and denied Cassels his right to legal assistance. Cassels is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder. The case began in 2001 after Cassels claimed he had been denied adequate medical treatment for an allergic reaction and was disciplined for refusing to work, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit. The next month, Cassels called his mother about what had happened and she posted an Internet advertisement seeking legal help, repeating allegations of inadequate medical treatment that had been rejected by a review board at the prison, the suit said. The ad was noticed about a year later and Cassels was put in disciplinary lockdown for six months and forced to work without inmate pay, the suit said. Cassels said he was disciplined for violating a rule prohibiting the spreading of rumors and any action "that may impair or threaten the security or stability of the unit or well-being of an employee, visitor, guest, inmate or their families." In his decision, Brady noted that attorneys for the state could not respond to what constituted a "rumor" and said that the rule "clearly does not have a valid, rational connection to any legitimate government interest and therefor is unreasonable." |
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