Lawsuit contends N.M. jail bans all but religious literature

By The Associated Press

08.01.02

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DEMING, N.M. — A county jail blocks prisoners from reading anything but religious literature, a lawsuit charges.

Books recently rejected at the Luna County Detention Center included The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, John Steinbeck's The Red Pony, and H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man, according to Jeffrey Smith, one of two lawyers who filed the lawsuit late last month.

"The plaintiffs are equally restricted from reading Shakespeare as they would be properly forbidden to possess manuals of how to escape from jail," the lawsuit contends.

Luna County officials said there is no book ban. Jail director Ed Gilmore said he prohibits certain kinds of material, such as pornography, violent literature or hardcover books that could be used as weapons.

Jail manager Scott Vinson suggested there might have been a misunderstanding about the policy.

"Our policy is that everything that comes in has to be gone through. So you can bring in reading material, but it has to be checked for contraband," he said.

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