HARRISBURG, PA — A convicted rapist’s bid to overturn Pennsylvania’s ban on pornography in prisons ended Monday when the state’s Supreme Court unanimously backed the Department of Corrections rule.Shannon R. Brittain, 34, challenged the ban on constitutional grounds, saying the DOC’s prohibition on simple nudity violated his constitutional rights and “served no reasonable purpose.” A lower court sided with Brittain, and the state appealed. The high court reinstated the ban, saying the lower court failed to give enough weight to the judgment of prison officials.
Enacted in November 2005, the porn ban prohibits all “materials in which the purpose is sexual arousal.” The DOC defended the decision as necessary to keep order among inmates, prevent sexual harassment and assault, avoid a “hostile working environment” for prison employees and refrain from interfering with prisoners’ rehabilitation and treatment. Later the ban was amended to allow case-by-case review of materials alleged to have educational, scientific or literary value.
During the appeal, the DOC offered statistical evidence that assaults and sexual misconduct complaints declined after the ban was imposed.
While upholding the porn ban, the justices did indicate another argument by a different prisoner might present compelling reasons for reversal. However, Justice Max Baer wrote in his decision, “the burden of doing so is high.”
