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| Supreme Court Won't Review Sex Offender Case |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/05/2001 |
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A California inmate classified as a sex offender based on an unproven charge lost in the Supreme Court Monday. The court refused without comment to consider whether state prison officials should be allowed to use previous charges - not just convictions - to determine whether inmates are sex offenders. Benito Arencia Garcia, who contested the policy, was charged with sex crimes in 1976. After he took a lie detector test, the charges were dismissed. But the allegations were brought up again in 1991 when he went to prison for manslaughter. Prison officials reviewed his record and gave him an 'R' classification, based on the unproven charges. 'The imposition of an `R' suffix stigmatizes these inmates and exposes them to prison violence,' Garcia's attorney, Margaret Zettel Johns, told the Supreme Court in filings. 'Despised by the prison community, sex offenders are routinely subjected to isolation and psychological degradation' Those inmates' work and visitation are limited. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Garcia's claim that his constitutional due process rights were violated. He contends the prison officials never looked into the 1976 allegation. California's policy says sex offender status can be given to inmates who have been arrested, detained or charged with sex crimes. The case is Garcia v. Henry, 01-532. |
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