Should Inmates’ First Amendment Speech Allow for Media Interviews?

An interesting bill lies on Governor Brown’s desk, awaiting his signature: AB 1270 would allow, and set procedures for, media interviews with prisoners.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, would dramatically change the parameters of free speech in prison.

Under the new bill, CDCR would be required to allow interviews with inmates on a pre-arranged and on a random basis, unless the warden determines that the interview “poses an immediate threat to public safety or the security of the institution.” The interview request should be presented within a reasonable time, and the interview itself requires the inmate’s consent, as well as a notification to the victim or his/her family ahead of time. The inmate is not to receive any form of remuneration for participating in the interview, and CDCR is not to change an inmate’s status or punish him or her for giving an interview.

Currently, media interviews in CDCR prisons with specific inmates are not allowed (visiting prison and speaking to inmates at random is allowed under certain conditions.). The Supreme Court’s decision in Pell v. Procunier (1974) upheld this regime, arguing that the existing provisions for media contact meant that there was no First Amendment violation.

Let’s think about a few potential applications of this. One of the concern folks might have is about sensational interviews providing wanton publicity for perpetrators of heinous crimes. Notifying the victim’s family is not, of course, procuring the victim’s family’s consent. And yes, it would mean more air time for tasteless, heinous and sensationalist media coverage. But how would that be different from the tasteless, heinous, sensational television we already watch?

Think about how much good it could do an innocent inmate if reporters would pick up the cause and pursue it, and how helpful it would be if, in addition to other footage, they could speak to the inmate him/herself. It’s enough to be reminded of the stunning impact that Paradise Lost, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory have had on the West Memphis Three case (here’s a great interview with the filmmakers).

And think of how much more attention the Pelican Bay hunger strike would have received if the public got its news not just from CDCR officials, and some crumbs from what families got through letters. But under the new proposition, it’s likely that CDCR would still have the prerogative to decline the interviews based on institutional safety reasons.

If you support the bill, you can let the Governor know your position.

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cross-posted to PrawfsBlawg.



    
Bill Allowing Resentencing of Lifer Juveniles Passes Assembly


Excellent news: SB9 – a Senate bill allowing lifer juveniles to have their life without parole sentence reevaluated by a judge – has passed the California Assembly.


This is a major achievement. Leland Yee has been pushing this issue for years. The full text of SB9 is here. And there is more information on the Fair Sentencing for Youth website.


In order to pass, the bill needs to be reaffirmed by the Senate (which has already approved it) and signed into law by the Governor, who is already being pressured by opposition groups.


Here’s what you can do to help: Click here to contact the Governor, and your Senator, and express your support for the bill.


And: Regarding our last post – the California Supreme Court has done the right thing. In CA v. Caballero, the Court has held a 110-year sentence to violate Graham v. Florida. This case joins CA v. Mendez, in which the Court struck down a 84-year sentence for a juvenile who did no harm.


Once you’ve emailed your Senator and the Governor, rejoice with all Californians who believe that everyone, especially at a very young age, should be offered a glimmer of hope and redemption.


       
Realignment: How Not To Do It, the Construction Version
Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) are raising some serious concerns about rehabilitation implementation. They are circulating a petition against the Riverside County plan to charge inmates for their stay, and also spearheading an effort to stop a planned Los Angeles County jail expansion.


Under AB 900, counties have been invited to appeal for Phase II funding to increase their jail capacity. The list of counties is here; Los Angeles tops the large counties’ list.


One of the arguments usually thrown around in support of realignment is that even if the counties do a bad job at imprisonment, they cannot possibly be worse than the state. I’m beginning to think that, in some cases, that may not be true. There is no reason to believe that the state administration has all the punitive foolishness and the counties, all the recidivism-reducing wisdom. It is time for the counties to wake up and seriously commit to the goal of reducing confined population (and the expenses involved in confining it). Otherwise, a precious opportunity will be lost.


    
Civil Disobedience in Support of Hunger Strikers


A few important issues that have fallen between the cracks while I was away at conferences: Citizens engaged in civil disobedience actions in support of the Pelican Bay hunger strikers at the CDCR headquartersin Sacramento and at the State Building in Los Angeles. Larry Everest kindly emailed and reported:


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A little past 8:00 am, on Friday morning, October 14, three of us – all supporters of the courageous hunger strike by California prisoners – walked up to the main entrance of the headquarters of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in the Sacramento, California – the state capitol. Then we chained ourselves to the front doors, sat down, and began a non-violent action of civil disobedience;We did so to support the just struggle and demands of the hunger strikers and to condemn the assaults of the CDCR and Gov. Jerry Brown on the prisoners.


With me was Gregory “Joey” Johnson, a revolutionary communist activist, whose bold action in the 1980s of burning an American flag led to a rare Supreme Court victory for the people (Texas v. Johnson), and Maryann, a relative of a California prisoner and a World Can’t Wait activist.


We felt it was imperative to take bold to underscore the urgency of the situation faced by prisoners and to make clear our support for all the prisoners who have been on hunger strike – or who are continuing their hunger strike.   And we felt that everyone has a moral obligation to step up their support for the hunger strikers and their just demands in whatever ways they possibly can.  Anything less is unconscionable.


We made clear to the activists and bloggers who joined us at CDCR headquarters that we were demanding:


* Gov. Jerry Brown and CDCR fully meet all the prisoners demands!


* No mistreatment, punishment, disciplinary retaliation, or denial of medical care, to prisoners who have been on, or are continuing their hunger strike!


* Prisoners are Human Beings – They Must Treated As Such!


Outrageously, we were all arrested and each slapped with 5 different misdemeanor charges. As we were being dragged off, we all shouted our support for the prisoners, the demands of the hunger strikers, and our opposition to retaliation and ongoing torture.  And we denounced the fact that we were arrested and dragged off to jail in order to ensure that the CDCR and the State of California could continue carrying on “torture as usual.”


The charges against us are outrageous and we’ll be mounting a legal and political battle for all of them to be dropped.  And, these charges are certainly not going to stop us from doing everything in our power to continue fighting for the rights – and humanity – of the prisoners!


  
Prison Hunger Strike Panel at UC Hastings
The Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal, with Hastings Prisoner Outreach, La Raza Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Hastings National Lawyers Guild, Hastings Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Hastings Criminal Law Society are organizing a panel on the upcoming Pelican Bay hunger strike.


When: Monday, September 26, 3:30-5:30pm
Where: UC Hastings, the LBM Lounge, 198 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA (ground floor)


Speakers will include attorneys that have been working with the Solidarity Coalition to support the strikers, family members, and formerly incarcerated people. Yours truly will give opening remarks.


The event is free and open to the public.


  
Six Days Till Troy Davis is Executed


Today, CNN features the excellent video above on Troy Davis’ case, including interviews with the victim’s family and with a juror from the original trial. It also provides a rich background on the racial overtones of the case. The plot is thicker and murkier than it appeared on the newspaper coverage, and this piece does a good job of exposing it.


Do something:


NAACP petition to the original prosecutor
NAACP petition to the Georgia Department of Parole
Legal Professionals petition
Religious Leaders petition


As a coda, I want to offer a thought experiment. Having read plenty about this case, I am fairly convinced that Davis is factually innocent. But if he were guilty – and he’s been in prison for the last two decades, scheduled for execution four times – does all that not count as punishment for homicide? The problem with our administration of the death penalty is that it is not merely execution; it’s life imprisonment under atrocious conditions with an execution thrown in at the end as a coup-de-grace for good measure. It is an unconscionable system.


So, fight for Troy if you believe, as I do, that he is innocent; and I do hope you come to that conclusion upon learning more about the case. But think on whether this system makes sense for guilty people, too.


  
Tomorrow: Open House and Petition for Troy Davis, My Office
An execution date has been set for Troy Davis: September 21 at 7:00pm EST.


Davis has repeatedly said he did not kill MacPhail, and seven out of nine witnesses who gave evidence at his trial in 1991 have recanted or changed their testimony.


No murder weapon was ever found, no DNA evidence or fingerprints tie him to the crime, and other witnesses have since said the murder was committed by another man — a state’s witness who testified against him.


The case has became internationally famous as the face of what critics call a corrupted justice system in the US deep south, with an innocent black man wrongly and hastily convicted of killing a white officer.


Tomorrow I will be holding an open house for Troy Davis at my UC Hastings office, Room #328, at 200 McAllister Street, San Francisco. I’ll be in 9:00am-12:00 noon and 1:00pm to 5:00pm. Step in and we can chat about the case. Sign petitions to the Georgia Parole Board and to the Governor of Georgia. Talk about wrongful convictions in general and what they mean for the struggle against the death penalty. Everyone is invited.