By The Herald Bulletin
INDIANAPOLIS— A former Pendleton Correctional Facility inmate is suing five Indiana Department of Correction officials alleging they censored a newspaper that featured a story on him.
The inmate, Robert L. Holleman, also alleges that he was moved from the prison to another state facility in retaliation for his comments to the newspaper about his medical treatment. The article was published on Oct. 11 in The Herald Bulletin.
The state has not filed a response to the civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana. In a letter accompanying the lawsuit, Holleman said he would make the required $100 filing fee within 90 days. The federal court gave him until Aug. 29 to ask for a pauper attorney.
The newspaper article was sparked by a lawsuit Holleman filed over medical treatment at the Pendleton prison. Holleman was interviewed by the Anderson newspaper in September 2015. He claimed he had been denied proper health care by Corizon Health which contracts its services with the DOC.
An article written by reporter Rebecca R. Bibbs was published Oct. 11. Another article was published Oct. 21 in which Holleman said the earlier account had been removed from copies of the newspaper that were available to inmates. The latest action, Holleman claims, violated First Amendment rights to read the newspaper.
In his recent filing, Holleman says he was transferred in November to Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in retaliation for his comments to the newspaper.
Holleman is seeking a transfer back to Pendleton and punitive damages of $75,000.
Holleman, 62, is serving a life sentence for murder from Lake County.