One of the items on this site is called A Diet Of Prisoner. It doesn't identify the guard who is the subject of the article and it doesn't even identify which prison is involved. It does, however, describe criminal activity by a member of the staff.
Someone decided that I wrote the article and that it refers to a guard at SCI-Huntingdon. Instead of investigating or prosecuting the criminal allegation against the guard, the prison covered up the assertion by writing me up. I was charged with harassing the guard and using abusive language to him.
Nothing happened to the guard.
While I've contributed articles to this site, I didn't happen to write A Diet of Prisoner, and have nothing against the guard in question. No matter, I was given 60 days in the hole. The person who wrote me up (I'm not allowed to identify him) also has put the following prior restraints on my writing. I'm not allowed to write about the guards, not allowed to name names and not allowed to profit from my writings. You taxpaying members of the public are not allowed to have information the prison wants kept from you even where that information relates to crimes or improper conduct by prison staff.
I am preparing a suit and could use some legal help. The prison doesn't seem to care much about the law. I tried to cite it to them but I've been ignored.
In 1987 a case came out of SCI-Pittsburgh entitled, Brooks v Andolina, 876 F2d 1266. In part it rules: "Prison officials may not censor inmates' correspondence simply to eliminate unflattering or unwelcome opinions or factually inaccurate statements...prison officials may not punish inmates for statements made in letters to outsiders, even if the same statements would be grounds for punishment if made orally to prison guards." (page 1268)
The law relating to harassment, 18PaCS 2709, provides in part: "(e) this section shall not apply to...any Constitutionally protected activity."
The law doesn't mean much at SCI-Huntingdon unless it can be used to punish prisoners. I urge other prisoner authors to be very careful. They risk vindictive retaliation by the DOC. Of course the idea is to chill our speech.
Prison authorities hate for you to know what really goes on in these places. If you want the truth, you better get on the DOC to respect freedom of speech and the press.
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