Censored inmate letters anger ACLU, other groups
Published: July 9, 2009
Prisoner and free-speech advocates are demanding a written guarantee that inmates at a Virginia jail can receive letters containing religious material after a prisoner said his mail was censored.
The American Civil Liberties Union, its Virginia chapter and several other civil, religious and prisoner rights organizations sent a letter today to Rappahannock Regional Jail Superintendent Joseph Higgs Jr. requesting that the issue be resolved without litigation.
Anna Williams, whose son was detained at the jail for several months, said officials cut out entire sections of several letters she sent to her son that contained Bible verses or religious material. She said the jail cited prohibitions on Internet material and religious material sent from home.
The groups cited a three-page typed letter from Williams where the only thing left when jail officials gave it to her son was the salutation, a paragraph and the closing, "Love, Mom."
"Obviously for security issues the right to practice religion while incarcerated is a balancing act to some extent, but that can't possibly apply to a mother sending religious passages to her son," said Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.
Higgs said in a written statement that the letter prompted him to initiate an internal investigation. Jail officials reached by phone referred questions to attorney Bill Hefty, who said only that he was reviewing the letter and would respond to the groups.
The groups declined to name Williams' son, who has been transferred to another lockup, or provide details about why he was jailed.
The U.S. Supreme Court has said that inmates have the right to practice religion as long as it doesn't interfere with their other obligations or create a security risk.
Prisons and jails also have the right to censor mail, but Willis said removing material just because it is religious violates the inmate's and the sender's constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
The groups say it also violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which says agencies cannot impose a substantial burden on a prisoner's religious exercise unless it is the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling government interest.
"The guiding principle here is that even if you're incarcerated you still have freedom of religion and freedom of speech," Willis said. "Obviously it's not as complete as if you were not incarcerated, but those rights still exist and a prison can only remove them when it can show a compelling reason to do so."
The groups asked that the jail guarantee in writing that it would no longer censor biblical passages from letters and revise the policy so that letters are no longer censored because they contain religious material.
Reader Reactions
“You don’t know me…“ - what is this, the Jerry Springer show? No, I don’t know you. And you don’t know me. And neither of us knows the struggles that any given individual around us is dealing with at any given time. No one knows. I can only urge you to take a long hard look at how quickly you judge people and dismiss them and their journeys simply because they don’t fit into your mold of what it “right.“
What I do know is this: finding GOD (as you put it - in all CAPS) is a personal journey and it is not my place nor yours to criticize how someone embarks on that journey.
You talk about “Christians” and yet you sit in judgement of the very people you should love. Jesus didn’t pick and choose who to love, and any real brand of Christianity wouldn’t either.
What you call “telling it like it is” is telling it from your point of view - but that doesn’t make what you say correct or credible. It’s merely your opinion.
Your “telling it like it is” does however, hint to others that you are quick to judge and dismiss others that you feel are different than you and, therefore, wrong. They aren’t wrong. They are simply on a different journey.
Like I said before, I am saddened by your venom.
I hope the prisoner’s mother continues to do what she feels is right, and I hope the ACLU continues to fight for someone who needs all the help he or she can get. I also thank you for making sure that folks like the ACLU have to stay vigilant in seeing that our rights are preserved.
beanoblues- You don’t know me and yes I have FREEDOMS which I don’t take likely and take with a lot of responsibility. I never said that people couldn’t turn their lives around and if you read my post correctly I also said that I’m sure there’s more to the story as to why the letters were censored. You’re only hearing the side of his mother, his lawyer and the ACLU. I don’t need you or the ACLU to fight for my freedoms because as a tax paying citizen of this country I do it myself.
Why is it that when someone tells it like it is others label them vindictive? What’s vindictive about telling the truth? That people that go to jail all of sudden find GOD, which I’ve seen happen all the time. Have you ever visited a prison? I have to minister to those prisoners who committed horrible, unspeakable crimes and who now have found GOD. You know why they find GOD because they will be for the most part spending the rest of their lives in prison paying for a crime that they didn’t need to commit. They also use GOD as a manipulative way of getting what they want. Try actually interacting and studying the mind of a criminal before you call me vindictive. Most prisoners create a cult of followers in prison akin to a gang to have control and still continue their vindictive ways. So don’t judge me if you don’t have all your facts. Many people call themselves “Christians” but do they really practice the law of GOD? If these criminals did then our prisons would be empty and they would be productive citizens of this country.
dee65 - I feel very, very sad for you. Someone so quick to express such a blanket condemnation on others must have been seriously hurt somewhere, sometime in their life.
Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, most people do possess the ability to change. How they arrive at that place which compels them to change varies from person to person. Some people have to find their bottom in prison. But regardless of where one finds it everyone in America - EVERYONE - is entitled to basic freedoms. One of the most basic of those freedoms is the right to express your religious beliefs or lack thereof.
Being sentenced to prison is one way of taking responsibility for a crime; restitution is another way. But turning your life around through whatever means are available to you inside or out is a major way to take responsibility for your actions.
All I can say is that it is a good thing you have the freedom of expression that allows you to show the world exactly how the mind of a truly vindictive person works. The funny thing is that both the ACLU - and I - would fight hard to assure that you retain that right even when we disagree with the words you spew.
I do agree that their letters should be censored, but I can’t imagine any scripture they could deem threatening & cut it out? Do tell!!!
Someone once said “If you want to find God go to prison”. They couldn’t have been more right. Why is it that when these criminals go to jail all of a sudden they find GOD, apparently they weren’t worried about looking for him outside of jail. Obviously they’re in jail because they committed a crime and now they want to whine about their RIGHTS, please. All FREEDOMS, including religious freedom, come with responsibility and criminals never take responsibility for their crimes so why should anyone worry about or take responsibility about theirs?
Yes, they are human beings and no one is taking that away but jail isn’t supposed to be camp and certainly not a Bible camp. I’m pretty sure there’s more to the story of why they censored his letters and we shouldn’t be so quick to judge the prison system. If his mother was really interested in having her son find GOD then she should have taken that up with the prison Chaplain because obviously when her son was free she didn’t do a very good job. There are religious groups and local churches who have people visit prisons on a weekly basis spreading the word so if he didn’t get it by mail he certainly can get it another way just like everything else in jail.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement