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

Posted by timothy on from the don't-you-have-enough-friends-already? dept.

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.

8 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. Unequal application of the law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    When can we start punishing non-inmates for this offense?

    1. Re:Unequal application of the law by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Society needs its demons.

      I've repeated this numerous times, and I'll repeat it again: Few people are interested in actual justice. Most of them just want somebody that they can publicly rail against for the sole purpose of making themselves feel righteous. It has nothing to do with righting any wrong.

      It's not just the police, the prison guards, or the judges that are guilty of it. It's a systemic problem. Some of the worst bullies I've seen are those who target supposed bullies.

    2. Re:Unequal application of the law by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bullshit. Her tweet was making light of our first world bubble. It wasn't worded quite well, but when you look at the context based on her other tweets, it's very self evident.

      All of us have said stupid things now and then. Every last one of us. Nobody deserves to have their lives ruined over just one sentence. As the article linked mentions, some historical figures ended the practice of public shaming because they found many cases where it is measurably worse than a death sentence.

      That isn't justice. People like you who espouse such an outcome don't give a shit about justice. Your only motivation is to make yourself feel righteous at their expense, and righting a wrong never comes into play.

  2. Re:When did facebook become a right? by jandrese · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Like being in prison?

    Looks to me like they're already disallowed Facebook access, since it lands them in Solitary. I'm guessing this is mostly a "covert communication with the outside" type violation though. The prisons are trying to prevent gang leaders/drug lords/etc... from running their empires while locked up. Plus, they don't get to rip off the prisoners with their massively inflated telephone fees.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  3. It's what you do with it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What the sensational article deliberately ignores is what these prisoners were doing ... running gangs on smuggled phones.

  4. Re:When did facebook become a right? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't see why inmates need access to it at all.

    Because social connections reduce recidivism.

    America imprisons more people than any other country. On a per-capita basis we imprison more than Russia, Saudia Arabia, Cuba, and four times as many as China. We spend more on prisons than the rest of the world combined. Yet we have one of the worse recidivism rates. It would be hard to design a dumber system even if you tried. Enforcing social isolation just makes it even worse.

  5. 37 Years??? by Random+Nobody · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I assume they mean solitary when they say isolation. I don't care what "crime" these cons did on the inside, unless you're talking about Magneto and his plastic cell no one should be in solitary for 37 years.

    Long term use of the SHU seems to be used as punishment, or more appropriately a form of torture. I can barely imagine the psychological and physical damage of being in the SHU for that long. We may as well be blasting loud music 24/7 and practice forced feedings while we're at it.

    If you're so worried about communicating outside the prison and apparently unable to control smartphones from getting inside then maybe you should start looking at Faraday cages or jamming signals. I'm sure the FCC would give an exception given enough proof that these communications were actually resulting in gang activity.

  6. Re:When did facebook become a right? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"