FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 1, 2013
Kansas City, MO - The ACLU Foundation of Kansas and the Social Justice Law Collective
(SJLC) today announced the filing of a federal class action lawsuit against the
Wyandotte County Sheriff. The lawsuit
challenges the constitutionality of the Sheriff's postcard-only policy for jail
inmate mail. This policy severely
restricts the free speech rights of inmates and their friends and family to
communicate with each other.
The ACLU and SJLC are seeking a court
order against Wyandotte County Sheriff Donald Ash, in order to put an end to the unconstitutional practice of limiting jail
inmates and their family and friends to correspondence using only postcards. The vast majority of the people to whom the
policy applies are awaiting trial and, therefore, are legally presumed to be
innocent.
"Writing private letters is
important to inmates and their friends and families because it allows them to
stay connected and to express – at length and in detail – their private
concerns about family relationships, health problems, and financial issues,
among other things," said Doug Bonney, Legal Director of the ACLU
Foundation of Kansas. "If this policy had been in place in
Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. could not have sent his
now famous letter from the Birmingham Jail. This postcard-only policy punishes inmates as
well as their friends and family for no good purpose."
Communication through mail is often the only
practical form of communication available to inmates. Often, family members live far away and cannot
visit regularly. Moreover, telephone
calls from the jail are very expensive – costing $7.00 for a fifteen minute
call -- and in-person visits are limited to one hour per week. These barriers make it all the more essential
that inmates be allowed to correspond through regular letters and not be limited
to sending and receiving postcards.
"Simply because a family member is
in jail doesn't mean he ceases to be part of his or her family. Yet, this postcard-only policy forces them to either
write everything in abbreviated form, which can be read by anyone, or write
nothing at all. The Sheriff's policy effectively silences inmates if they
are unwilling to risk airing personal or confidential information to the entire
world," said Joshua Glickman, co-counsel with SJLC.
CONTACT:
Doug Bonney, Legal Director, ACLU of Kansas & Western Missouri, (816) 994-3311 (direct), dbonney@aclukswmo.org
Joshua Glickman, Founding Member Attorney, Social Justice Law Collective, (913) 213-3064 (direct), josh@sjlawcollective.com
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