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| Federal Judge Rules Arizona Ban on Inmate Internet Correspondence Unenforceable |
| By Capitol Media Services |
| Published: 07/30/2003 |
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A federal judge has permanently barred the state from enforcing a 2000 law blocking prison inmates from soliciting correspondence on the World Wide Web. U.S. District Judge Earl Carroll said the statute illegally infringes on the First Amendment rights of those with whom the inmates want to correspond. He said while officials from the Department of Corrections have legitimate security concerns, they can be addressed in less obtrusive ways. Mike Arra, publicist for the state agency, said there will be no appeal. That means the law will remain on the books, but be unenforceable. The ruling is a defeat not just for state prison officials but also for Stardust Johnson whose husband, Ron, was murdered in 1995. It was Johnson who spurred lawmakers to enact the ban after seeing a web site set up on behalf of Beau Greene, the man convicted of his killing. She said the web site was misleading at best. It gave no clue he was a brutal murderer,'' Johnson told lawmakers when she lobbied for the legislation. Her husband, a University of Arizona music professor, disappeared after an organ performance at a Green Valley church. He was found four days later, face-down in a muddy wash west of Tucson, his skull crushed in four places. Inmates have no direct internet access. But various groups, like the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which sued to block the law, make web pages available for inmates who send them information about themselves, either seeking to tell their story or looking for pen pals to write them through the regular mail system. Johnson said Greene presented himself as a lonely man holding a cuddly kitten who was misunderstood.'' And that, said Johnson, was a good reason itself to ban the web pages. She said without the legal barriers, inmates, including pedophiles, can make contact with hundreds or thousands of people who are unaware of the crimes these people have committed. The 2000 law made it a crime for inmates to send information, which would be posted on the net. It also allows the Department of Corrections, to deny or reduce the inmate's earned release'' credits. Court records show at least five inmates were disciplined because their names appeared on Internet web sites. In defending the law, the state said the restrictions are necessary to prevent attempts to defraud the public and preclude inappropriate contact'' with minors, victims or other inmates. Carroll, however, said there are other ways to do that. He noted that prison staffers can open income and outgoing mail and examine it for contraband. And letters that are not privileged may be read to determine if the contents might facilitate criminal activity.'' Carroll rejected state arguments that monitoring is impractical, saying the law allows the Department of Corrections to limit the volume of mail inmates may receive. |
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