Re: Thoughts on homepages for felons?
katherine hardesty (vivra@sgi.net)
Mon, 18 Aug 1997 19:01:08 -0400
Jim Thomas wrote:
>
> I occasionally receive inquiries about how incarcerated felons,
> especially those challenging capital convictions, might set up a
> homepage and whether the Crit Crim death penalty page would be
> a "home" for such a page.
>
> I have routinely said no, but we're happy to provide a link.
> But, this really seems a decision that the Division ought to make.
>
> What are your thoughts on sponsoring (as opposed to linking) prisoners'
> homepages? "Sponsoring" doesn't mean that we necessarily support the
> prisoner, but it does indicate that we, the Division, are the ones
> providing the space. It could also make the Division accountable
> for content. A link, by contrast, is simply "directions" to another
> address.
>
> jt
Hi Jim,
I think that home pages are good in that they provide outside contact
for prisoners. Home pages give prisoners a voice that can be heard
outside the prison and can exert political pressure on behalf of the
prisoner. However, what is our liability if the prisoner misuses the
home page? One capital prisoner distributed his prison's fax number
world-wide on the Internet and requested that people fax the prison
protesting an order he received to get a haircut. The resulting flood
of faxes disrupted DOC operations. Would the division be held
responsible for the costs incurred? At the very least, a disclaimer is
indicated.