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| Suit Alleges La. Jail Sold Pirated CDs |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/23/2003 |
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A Louisiana jail illegally copied and sold its inmates copies of recordings by hundreds of artists, including the Rolling Stones, Eminem and Garth Brooks, according to a record company's lawsuit. The suit alleges that the Claiborne Parish prison gave incoming inmates a list of 330 rock, rap, country and R&B recordings available through the commissary for $3 per compact disc. An inmate copied the ones requested by prisoners or visitors, said Roy Maughan Jr., the lawyer who filed the suit for Baton Rouge-based Utopia Entertainment. 'You'd just tell them what you wanted and they'd burn you a copy,' Maughan said Tuesday. The defendants are Claiborne Parish Sheriff Kenneth Volentine; LaSalle Management, the private company that manages the men's section of the northern Louisiana jail; and an inmate who allegedly copied the CDs on a computer in a prison office. Utopia, which produced three recordings on the prison's CD list, is seeking $150,000 in damages for itself and other parties whose copyrights were allegedly violated. Maughan said other record companies have expressed interest in joining the suit, filed Friday in federal court in Shreveport. Maughan said money from the CD sales went into an 'inmate welfare fund.' He was not sure how much money was collected. William McConnell, a LaSalle manager, said Tuesday the company was investigating the allegations. 'If it occurred, it would be a violation of our policies,' he said. McConnell said the record company is considering asking prisoners to return any CDs they bought, then searching the cells of those who refuse to comply. LaSalle oversees the day-to-day operations of the jail, where all employees work for the sheriff. The sheriff's office is also investigating the allegations, Chief Detective Chuck Tally said. Sheriff Volentine was traveling Tuesday and unavailable for comment, but Tally said the sheriff had not been served with the suit. The inmate named in the suit ran a Shreveport computer business before he was sentenced to 12 years for aggravated incest. He was held in the Claiborne prison for about two years, then recently was moved to a state prison. Other artists on the prison's CD list included Elvis, rappers Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, and numerous Christian groups. |
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