PRESS RELEASE
Prison Legal News - For Immediate Release
November 4, 2009
PUBLISHER SUES TEXAS DEPT. OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE FOR CENSORING BOOKS
Corpus Christi, TX - Prison Legal News (PLN), a non-profit monthly
publication that reports on criminal justice-related issues, filed suit
today in federal district court against Brad Livingston, Executive Director
of the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), and other TDCJ officials.
According to PLN's complaint, TDCJ has inappropriately censored books sent
to Texas state prisoners. One of the censored books was Women Behind Bars:
The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System, by Silja J.A. Talvi. Ms.
Talvi is an accomplished journalist and award-winning author. Her book on
incarcerated women was described by one reviewer as a "comprehensive and
passionately argued indictment of the inhumane treatment of female prisoners
... the sort of shocking expose too seldom seen in these media days of so
much celebrity fluff." Two other Texas prisoners also were not allowed to
receive Women Behind Bars after placing book orders with PLN.
PLN contends that the censorship of Women Behind Bars, which was upheld by
senior prison officials, was improper. Further, the TDCJ did not notify PLN
of the censorship decision which would have provided PLN an opportunity to
respond and contest that decision.
TDCJ staff also censored another book ordered from PLN, The Perpetual
Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime, by Joel Dyer, on the basis
that the book mentions "rape." In fact, as PLN explains in its federal
complaint, Perpetual Prisoner Machine "quotes from a 1968 Philadelphia
District Attorney's Office investigation into sexual assault in prison, and
describes crimes committed against prisoners." Again, the TDCJ did not
notify PLN of this censorship.
"It is a sad commentary when government officials censor books sent to
prisoners - particularly books that deal with prisoners' rights and
conditions in our nation's prisons," stated PLN editor Paul Wright.
"Apparently, the TDCJ prefers that prisoners remain uninformed about issues
that directly affect them. We believe this is a poor rationale for
censorship."
"For decades, Texas prisoners have had the right to read most books while
they are incarcerated," said Scott Medlock, Director of the Texas Civil
Rights Project's Prisoners' Rights Program. "If there is anything everyone
should be able to agree on, it's that encouraging prisoners to read is a
good thing."
PLN is seeking compensatory, punitive and nominal damages plus declaratory
and injunctive relief for violation of its rights under the First and
Fourteenth Amendments, as well as attorney fees and costs.
The case is Prison Legal News v. Livingston, U.S. District Court (S.D.
Texas, Corpus Christi Division), Case No. 2:09-cv-00296. PLN is ably
represented by Scott Medlock with the Texas Civil Rights Project and by HRDC
general counsel Daniel E. Manville in Ferndale, Michigan.
Prison Legal News (PLN), founded in 1990 and based in Seattle, Washington,
is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting human rights in U.S.
detention facilities. PLN publishes a monthly magazine that includes
reports, reviews and analysis of court rulings and news related to
prisoners' rights and criminal justice issues. PLN has almost 7,000
subscribers nationwide and operates a website (www.prisonlegalnews.org) that
includes a comprehensive database of prison and jail-related articles, news
reports, court rulings, verdicts, settlements and related documents. PLN is
a project of the Human Rights Defense Center.
For further information, please contact:
Paul Wright
Prison Legal News, Editor
P.O. Box 2420
West Brattleboro, VT 05303
(802) 275-8594 or
(802) 257-1342
pwright@prisonlegalnews.org
Scott Medlock, Attorney
Texas Civil Rights Project
1405 Montopolis Dr.
Austin, TX 78741
(512) 474-5073
scott@texascivilrightsproject.org
Paul Wright, Editor
Prison Legal News
P.O. Box 2420
West Brattleboro, VT 05303
802 257-1342
<mailto:pwright@prisonlegalnews.org> pwright@prisonlegalnews.org
<http://www.prisonlegalnews.org> www.prisonlegalnews.org
Seattle Office
2400 NW 80th St. Suite 148
Seattle, WA 98117
206-246-1022
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