By Allyson Bird
The Post and Courier
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Though the case could drag on, a federal judge now must decide whether to order the Berkeley County jail to accept inmate mail previously rejected for containing staples or sexual content.
U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Seymour heard hours of argument for and against such an injunction Tuesday and plans to issue an order that could change the way the Hill-Finklea Detention Center handles mail.
The American Civil Liberties Union brought the lawsuit against the Moncks Corner jail for allowing only religious material and turning away the monthly newsletter Prison Legal News. The ACLU claims that the facility’s policy violates inmates’ constitutional rights.
Jail officials contend that inmates can jam staples in their toilets’ flushing mechanisms and flood their cells, use them to destroy locks and to manipulate wiring or straighten them into needles for makeshift tattoo guns. They hold that suggestive photos could be deemed harassment against female jail employees.
Before this lawsuit, inmates could receive only religious literature and could purchase some publications from the commissary. Now, they also can receive books and magazines sent directly from bookstores or publishers.
The jail still prohibits suggestive photos and anything with staples.
David Shapiro, an attorney for the ACLU, described the policy as “a sweeping infringement on First Amendment rights,” noting that it prohibits not only Prison Legal News but also periodicals that contain staples, newspapers that contain undergarment advertisements and images of fine art, such as the Venus de Milo, that show the human body unclothed.
“Logging rejected mail takes more time than simply removing staples,” Shapiro added.
Sandy Senn, an attorney for the jail, described some of the images in Prison Legal News as a solicitation for sex magazines and noted that an injunction requiring that the jail accept the publication would threaten a flood of solicitations for subscribers - and make more work for jail employees.
The Berkeley County jail continues operating well over capacity, sometimes at triple its intended population of 154. A sparkling $10 million expansion originally scheduled to come online more than a year ago still awaits state approval and necessary funding.
“Why would the burden be on an overburdened jail staff and not on the vendor who’s trying to make money?” Senn said.
The U.S. Justice Department also joined the lawsuit on the ACLU’s side, noting the contrast between the strict Berkeley County jail policy and the federal Bureau of Prisons’ regulations, which allow staples and refuse only explicit sexual images.
Fourteen inmates currently subscribe to Prison Legal News, though only one of those inmates pays for the service.
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