A federal appeals court has ruled that Connecticut prison inmates do not have a right to possess or view pornography in prison.
The ruling Thursday from a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2012 policy from the state Department of Correction banning porn from prisons with the stated goal of eliminating a hostile work environment for guards.
Judge Joseph Bianco, writing for the court, said the state ban “is reasonably related to legitimate penological objectives — namely, promoting a non-hostile work environment for DOC staff, enhancing the safety and security of DOC facilities, and facilitating the rehabilitation of sex offender inmates — and passes constitutional muster.”
The state argued that inmates would use the pornography to pleasure themselves, often in front of female correction officers. The ban on pornography was introduced in 2011 and phased in over a year. It made exceptions for scientific and artistic materials.
The ruling Thursday from a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2012 policy from the state Department of Correction banning porn from prisons with the stated goal of eliminating a hostile work environment for guards.
Judge Joseph Bianco, writing for the court, said the state ban “is reasonably related to legitimate penological objectives — namely, promoting a non-hostile work environment for DOC staff, enhancing the safety and security of DOC facilities, and facilitating the rehabilitation of sex offender inmates — and passes constitutional muster.”
The state argued that inmates would use the pornography to pleasure themselves, often in front of female correction officers. The ban on pornography was introduced in 2011 and phased in over a year. It made exceptions for scientific and artistic materials.
