The following material was given to participants in the criminal justice lobby day for use in conferences with legislators on April 11, 2000:

RESTORATION OF MEDIA ACCESS TO PRISONS

AB 2101(Migden) Support

Assembly Bill 2101 restores the right of the media to conduct interviews with specific inmates, and allows inmates to correspond confidentially with reporters.

BACKGROUND: In 1995 the California Department of Corrections adopted regulations eliminating the confidential status of inmate-media correspondence and preventing reporters from requesting face- to-face media interviews with specific inmates. Under these regulations the media is only allowed random interviews with inmates while on tour of a facility. While a reporters may be placed on an inmate's visiting list, no pencil, paper, or tape recorder can be used during such a visit

This restriction on media interviews reversed a department policy that had permitted the media to freely interview prisoners over the previous twenty years, without any significant security problems. The reason given publicly for the change was that it would prevent stories that "glorified" the lives of certain prisoners, or gave them notoriety. Opponents of the change thought that there was probably a second, more powerful motive: the prison bureaucracy would rather keep reporters from probing their activity very effectively.

It should be noted that there was a previous cycle of restriction on prisoner contact with the media. Before 1971 reporters had liberal access to inmates. A ban was then imposed on interviewing specific inmates, and it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, subject to inmates having reasonable alternative means of communication. (The current ban on face to face interviews, combined with elimination of confidential mail appears to remove all alternative means of communication.) In 1976, access to the media was restored as part of the Inmate Bill of Rights. 1994 legislation reduced these rights, and omitted media access.

LEGISLATION: AB 2101 would permit a reporter to initiate an interview with any prisoner who agrees to talk with the media, unless there is some specific security risk. It would also permit prisoners to send confidential mail to a reporter, which means the prison censors would not know what is being communicated to the media.

The advantages of this bill are:
- Any prisoner who has been subjected to abuse, or who may have witnessed abuses in an institution would be able to bring the facts to the attention of a reporter who could look into the allegations further and publish an account of the incident.
- A reporter working on an issue would be able to talk with particular prisoners who could confirm or dispute the stated facts.
- Prison staff who know that their actions or inactions can become the basis for media coverage are more likely to act professionally.

Media access can give the public necessary information to reach informed opinions about prison operations. Because prisons are seldom visited by most citizens, the media's role in keeping the public informed about how its tax dollars are spent is vital. AB 2101 provides the proper balance between the need for media access and the need for prison security and autonomy.

For further information contact: American Civil Liberties Union
1127 11th Street, Sacramento CA 95814 (916) 442-1036

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For more information on these and other bills, contact the FCL office at (916) 443-3734.

Friends Committee on Legislation
717 K St., Suite 500-B,
Sacramento, CA 95814-3406
(916) 443-3734