EVERETT, Wash. – The state of Washington has become the latest state to ban pornography (search) in prison, and inmates will soon lose their smokes, too.
The prison system's new mail policy, barring any pictures of full frontal nudity, went into effect May 1 but gave inmates (search) two months get rid of porn they already had, Lynne DeLano, assistant deputy secretary of the Corrections Department, said Wednesday.
The ban follows at least five years of complaints from prison staff who said pornography sometimes made prisoners aggressive and created a hostile work environment, she said.
"It flew in the face of the principles of rehabilitation," DeLano said. "A lot of it that was coming in was fairly degrading, especially to women."
Several states have similar porn bans, including Alabama and Arizona, and about half the states have smoking bans, DeLano said. Washington's prison ban, which includes all tobacco (search) products, is scheduled to take effect Nov. 1.
The bans affect about 16,000 inmates in Washington's 15 prisons.
Any caught with the contraband will likely receive light punishments for their first offenses, but could lose privileges if they keep getting caught. Sanctions would be greater for inmates who traffic in contraband.
Inmate Darren Sherman, serving life without parole for aggravated murder, said his pornographic magazines help him momentarily escape his miserable existence. He doesn't plan to turn them in until guards demand them.
"I'm not going to fight them over something they are going to take anyway. It's a lost battle," he said. "But I'm not just volunteering to give them up."
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