Jail should not deny prisoners right to books

THE ISSUE: Jail's information ban

OUR OPINION: Policy is unwise, likely unconstitutional






It must be remembered that the majority of people imprisoned in this country ultimately leave incarceration and return to society. A successful return is and should be the objective. But our track record of success is not strong. Recidivism is a real problem.


The debate rages about why jails and the prison system do not work any better than they do, whether they are more about punishment than rehabilitation, whether they are places of suffering more than reteaching.

We recently wrote in favor of prisons and jails being able to use jamming technology to prevent inmates from using cell phones, which prisoners are not supposed to have. Jails and prisons are not about easy access to the outside world. Regulation is necessary.

What is not necessary is totally shutting down a prisoner's access to information. That's what is happening in the Berkeley County Detention Center in Moncks Corner, where books, magazines and newspapers -- all literature except the Bible -- are banned.

It should not be that way and, in fact, the ban is likely unconstitutional. The county will find out since it is now being sued in federal court in the name of Prison Legal news, a monthly journal on prison law distributed across the nation to prisoners, attorneys, judges, law libraries and other subscribers. Filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the lawsuit charges that jail officials violate the rights of Prison Legal News under the speech, establishment and due process clauses of the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution by refusing to deliver copies of the journal and other magazines and books to detainees.

"This is nothing less than unjustified censorship," said David Shapiro, staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project. "There is no legitimate justification for denying detainees access to periodicals and, in the process, shutting them off from the outside world in draconian ways."

The ACLU lawsuit charges that since 2008, copies of Prison Legal News and other books sent to detainees at Berkeley County have been returned to sender, or simply discarded. The books rejected by the jail's officials include "Protecting Your Health and Safety," which is designed to help prisoners not represented by an attorney and explains the legal rights inmates have regarding health and safety - including the right to medical care and to be free from inhumane treatment.

There is no library at the Berkeley County Detention Center, meaning that some prisoners who are incarcerated for extended periods of time have not had access to magazines, newspapers and books - other than the Bible - for months or even years on end. Since these people are detainees, some of whom are awaiting trial, denying access to all information other than the Bible is unnecessary and unwise. We believe it is also unconstitutional.