Pa. Supreme Court upholds state prisons' porn ban

[The Straight Story]

Pa. Supreme Court upholds state prisons' porn ban

MARK SCOLFORO

The Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A sex offender's bid to overturn the state prison system's pornography ban was ended Monday by the state Supreme Court, which sided unanimously with the Department of Corrections.

The justices said inmate Shannon R. Brittain, 34, failed to refute the department's arguments in a meaningful way. They reversed a lower court ruling that had allowed Brittain's case to continue.

"Brittain's submission of self-serving non-expert averments of fellow prisoners, which merely assert that they do not believe their rehabilitation and treatment are hindered by viewing pornography, were insufficient," wrote Justice Max Baer.

Baer said it is conceivable that some other inmate might be able to make a compelling argument against the prohibition on obscene materials, but "the burden of doing so is high" and Brittain did not meet it.

The Corrections Department in November 2005 announced a ban on "materials in which the purpose is sexual arousal" as well as images of human nudity. The policy was later amended to allow a case-by-case review of items that may have literary or educational value.

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090720_ap_pasupremecourtupholdsstateprisonspornban.html

[billyoc]

1. Whoah. It's not even worth GOING anymore.