Tennessee inmate sues over ban on sexually explicit material
By The Associated Press
06.03.02
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A death-row inmate is suing to block a Tennessee prison policy that took effect June 1 banning sexually explicit publications like Playboy and Hustler.
Gary Bradford Cone contends in a lawsuit filed May 31 that the state constitution protects inmates' access to such material.
Cone, convicted in 1982 of killing an elderly Memphis couple, is housed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Earlier last week, he lost a U.S. Supreme Court appeal of his death sentence.
Correction Commissioner Donal Campbell, citing security issues, gave prisoners the month of May to dispose of sexual materials before guards begin confiscating them. The announcement followed a 2000 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal challenging an Arizona jail system's ban on adult books and magazines.
But Cone's attorney, John Herbison, said the Tennessee state constitution, which says "every citizen may freely speak, write and print on any subject," offers broader free-speech rights than the U.S. Constitution.
Herbison said he will seek a temporary restraining order against the prison, which has not allowed inmates to receive sexually explicit material through the mail since March.
"Something that prohibits speech based on its content is presumed to be unconstitutional, and the burden of justification is on the government," Herbison said.
Correction Department spokesman Steve Hayes said officials were undeterred.
"To suggest potential litigation as a reason not to improve security or the operation of our facilities is inconceivable to me," he said.
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