Posner opinion tosses porn-seeking inmate's suit, but suggests scientific research is needed
Image from Shutterstock.
An Illinois prisoner seeking the right to read pornographic magazines such as Bootylicious and Naughty Neighbors has failed to prove his First Amendment case, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The Dec. 1 opinion by Judge Richard Posner of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed the suit by inmate Tobias Payton, but went on to advise Stateville Prison officials that a scientific study would be useful.
“As with so many behavioral issues touched by American law, one would like to see Stateville’s ban on prisoners’ access to photographs and print analyzed scientifically,” Posner wrote. He notes scientific studies on the link between pornography and aggressive behavior, “some of which challenges the intuitions of prison wardens and staff.”
The prison had introduced a statement by a former Stateville warden in support of its ban on sexually explicit materials. The former warden said such publications are a danger because of possibilities that inmates will engage in black-market trading of the publications and that inmate violence will increase, particularly when a publication is lost or stolen. The former warden also said female prison employees are more often objectified and harassed when inmates obtain nude pictures.
Posner said Payton had failed to introduce any evidence to refute the warden’s claim. “That said,” Posner wrote, “we think it important to note for future reference that the ex-warden’s statement, though plausible and sufficient for judgment given the absence of countervailing evidence, is not ironclad. Why the prison should be concerned if the prisoners swap these magazines is nowhere explained; nor is it suggested that arguments over sharing would cause a nontrivial increase in violence.”
Posner noted that Stateville staffers read six consecutive issues of intercepted magazines to determine whether they should be placed on the censored list.
“Stateville’s policy may be ineffectual—and it is costly,” Posner wrote. “Staff is deflected to skimming boatloads of pornographic magazines. Prisoners are denied access to reading material that would lighten slightly the burden of imprisonment in a maximum-security prison and might reduce rather than increase disciplinary problems at the prison. The Illinois Department of Corrections, which owns and administers Illinois state prisons, might be well advised to study Stateveille’s pornography policy—and with an open mind.”
Hat tip to How Appealing.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
