Indiana Prisoners Don’t Have Right To Advertise for Pen-Pals

By: Chris Simpkins
BleekeDillonCrandall

The Indiana Department of Correction’s policy that prohibits inmates from advertising for pen-pals was recently upheld by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Prison inmates filed a class-action against the state alleging that the policy violated their rights to free speech. Not surprisingly, the Court agreed with the Department of Correction’s argument that prisoners’ rights to free speech must give way to prison security needs and the legitimate state interest of curbing fraud caused by inmates.

The Department of Correction’s policy was in response to an investigation regarding the source of funds in inmates’ trust accounts. The inmates were apparently misrepresenting themselves on the pen-pal website in an attempt to defraud other users. “A prohibition on advertising for pen-pals relates fairly directly to the goal of preventing fraud since it cuts off the inmates’ access to potential victims,” Judge William J. Bauer wrote for the 7th Circuit panel.