EFF: Hundreds of S. Carolina Prisoners Sent To Solitary For Social Media Use

According to the EFF's Deep LInks, Through a request under South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act, EFF found that, over the last three years, prison officials have brought more than 400 hundred disciplinary cases for "social networking" — almost always for using Facebook. The offenses come with heavy penalties, such as years in solitary confinement and deprivation of virtually all privileges, including visitation and telephone access. In 16 cases, inmates were sentenced to more than a decade in what’s called disciplinary detention, with at least one inmate receiving more than 37 years in isolation. ... The sentences are so long because SCDC issues a separate Level 1 violation for each day that an inmate accesses a social network. An inmate who posts five status updates over five days, would receive five separate Level 1 violations, while an inmate who posted 100 updates in one day would receive only one. In other words, if a South Carolina inmate caused a riot, took three hostages, murdered them, stole their clothes, and then escaped, he could still wind up with fewer Level 1 offenses than an inmate who updated Facebook every day for two weeks.

Comments

Re:How

[irrational_design]

Nevermind. Who would have thought the article would actually have useful information? "Some inmates ask their families to access their online accounts for them, while many access the Internet themselves through a contraband cell phone (possession of which is yet another Level 1 offense)." Having the inmates be punished for something someone does on the outside seems ridiculous. Though, the prison authorities probably don't know whether it was done by someone on the outside or by a contraband device, so they appear to be assuming that it must be happening via a contraband device.

Re:When did facebook become a right?

[g0bshiTe]

Also it looks like we aren't just talking of using a common computer, this may be more about contraband cell phones.

http://charlestonthuglife.net/...

This is the guy mentioned that got 37.5 years solitary.

http://charlestonthuglife.net/...

Re:When did facebook become a right?

[CrimsonAvenger]

The private prisons, of course. 48 out of 50 states have a contract stating they will keep 90% or more bed occupancy or else face fines.

Well, no.

27 States have one or more privately operated prisons.

The 48 (and 90%) number(s) comes from a letter sent to 48 governors OFFERING to buy and run their prison systems privately.

And NONE of the States accepted the offer. not one.