SC inmates want to tell stories of maltreatment. Judge allows global speech ban to continue
South Carolina inmates will continue to have their speech silenced following a federal court ruling.
U.S. District Court Judge Jacquelyn Austin dismissed a lawsuit filed by the South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The suit challenged the S.C. Department of Corrections’ policy that restricts in-person interviews between inmates and anyone else — including attorneys — from being published in the media. The ACLU claimed it had been blocked by the department of corrections from publishing interviews from two clients, regarding maltreatment while in the department’s custody.
While Austin found the ACLU had sufficient grounds for the suit, the organization failed, she said, to make a valid a claim, resulting in the case’s dismissal, according to a court opinion Aug. 30.
The ACLU had intended to publish interviews from two of its clients — Sofia Cano and Marion Bowman Jr.
Cano, a transgender woman, claims transgender healthcare in the corrections department is lacking, and is the subject of another lawsuit regarding the same topic. While Bowman, who’s on death row, wants to tell the public about the “inhumane treatment endured by people incarcerated by SCDC” via a podcast.
S.C. Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, who the lawsuit says, “exercises final ultimate authority over the construction and enforcement of all SCDC policies,” was named as the sole defendant.
In the suit, the ACLU said the corrections department “has a pattern and practice of prohibiting incarcerated people from anyone who intends to publish prisoner speech, either in person, by video or telephone.”
The department’s policy permits the publication of communications via letters, although such writings are first screened by correction officials.
The corrections department argued its policy is “rooted in victim’s rights, and a belief that victims should not have to see the person who harmed them or their family members on the evening news,” according to the opinion.
The ACLU contended their clients’ First Amendment rights were being violated and asked the court to declare the policy unconstitutional, preventing its further enforcement.
“South Carolina’s prison media-access policy is among the most restrictive of any state in the U.S.,” the ACLU said in a news release after filing the lawsuit in February. ”Unique among prison systems nationwide, SCDC takes the position that incarcerated people ‘lose the privilege of speaking to the news media when they enter SCDC.’ ”
As an example of the policy’s practice, the non-profit organization cited an instance where Alex Murdaugh “had provided personal information to his attorney during a legal call, and his attorney recorded the call and later provided it to FOX Nation for inclusion in a docu-series,” according to the opinion. SCDC punished Murdaugh by revoking phone privileges while notifying his lawyer that phone communications between Murdaugh and his lawyer could be jeopardized in the future, the opinion said.
Austin ruled the ACLU failed to articulate a claim based on the First Amendment.
Essentially, Austin said the SCDC hasn’t restricted communications with Cano and Bowman for the purpose of the ACLU’s legal representation. In addition, the First Amendment doesn’t afford the ACLU the right to record and publish interviews with their clients for media publication.
“SCDC stands by its longstanding policy, which allows inmates to answer interview questions in writing,” a spokesperson from the SCDC said. “We’re grateful the courts recognized and upheld it.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 3:06 PM.
