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Inmates sue over prison magazine censorship


PHOENIX -- A national newspaper for and about prison inmates is accusing the state Department of Corrections of censorship.

The lawsuit filed in federal court contends top agency officials purposely and illegally withheld copies of Prison Legal News from inmates who subscribe. And even in situations where the newspaper eventually was delivered, portions had been redacted.

Attorney Lisa Ells acknowledged the state prison system has various regulations dealing with what kinds of material is off-limits to inmates.

That includes pictures and text that "may encourage unacceptable sexual or hostile behaviors.'' Also forbidden are policies with "sexually explicit material.''

But Ells said what agency chief Charles Ryan and his staff are censoring are factual stories about inmates being raped or abused by prison guards and staffers. That includes one incident in Arizona that wound up in federal court.

She also contends the state may be targeting Prison Legal News because it informs inmates of their rights.

Ells is asking a federal judge to declare that the actions of the Department of Corrections are unconstitutional and bar the agency from engaging in similar conduct in the future. Her lawsuit also seeks unspecified punitive damages.

Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder said the agency had redacted a "handful'' of sentences, saying the move was consistent with department policy and done to ensure "the safe, secure and orderly operation of our prisons.''

According to the lawsuit, Prison Legal News is distributed to prisoners and law librarians in about 2,600 federal and state institutions. It has 97 subscribers to its monthly publication at Arizona state facilities.

Ells said the problems started last year when the department would not deliver the March, April, July and October issues. She said the agency never returned the items or even told Prison Legal News of the action, with the paper finding out about the censored issues from subscribers.

And Ells said there is no formal process for the newspaper to appeal such decisions.

The state withheld the following month's edition, at least temporarily. Ells said that is likely because of an article about a criminal case in which a prison kitchen supervisor at a federal facility in Arizona was found guilty of having non-consensual sexual contact with two prisoners.

The "why'' of the decision is less clear.

What is likely, she told the court, is the Department of Corrections objected to an article that said a federal appeals court has ruled that sexual contact between a prison guard and an inmate in Idaho is presumed to be coercive.

Ells cited similar problems with other editions which dealt with sexual contact between inmates and prison staff.