Inmates lose pornography, right to smoke

Inmates in Washington’s prison system must now give up their pornography – and soon their cigarettes – in a policy change aimed at improving conditions for the Department of Corrections’ 8,000 workers.

As of July 1, inmates at Washington’s 15 prisons – including Airway Heights Corrections Center – no longer are allowed to possess sexually explicit material. Inmates were to have their smoking privileges revoked on the same date, but that ban has been pushed back to Nov. 1.

The reforms, which affect the state’s 16,000 prisoners, are both proactive and reactive. A lawsuit was recently filed by a corrections employee over the health effects of secondhand smoke, said Lynne DeLano, assistant deputy secretary for the department. Employees have also complained about the sexually explicit materials found within prisons, she added.

“With all the medical research … it was just time,” DeLano said of the smoking ban.

Regarding pornography, DeLano said some workers have complained that, “This is like sexual harassment. It’s a hostile work environment.”

The smoking ban also prohibits workers from smoking in prison facilities. The delay in implementing the ban is the result of negotiations between the corrections department and the union representing workers, DeLano said.

“We’ve pretty much agreed now, so it will go into effect Nov. 1,” she said.

DeLano estimates about 50 percent of prison workers and inmates smoke.

Lea Zengage, who co-founded an organization working to undo racism in the state’s criminal-justice system, said she questions the motivation behind the smoking ban.

“Doing that is going to make people even more stressed in an environment that’s already negative,” said Zengage, who started Seattle-based Justice Works in 2001.

State prisons began enforcing the ban on pornography Thursday. It went into effect May 1, but inmates were given time to either mail out or trash their collections.

Hardcore porn has been banned for many years, DeLano said. The new restrictions go further. For instance, a magazine such as Playboy will no longer be allowed.

Discussions about prohibiting sexual materials have been in the works for about five years, DeLano said. Staff members — mostly women — complained about having to look at, or sort through, sexually explicit materials, she said.

Some inmates posted pictures, and employees working in the mailroom are required to examine all incoming and outgoing mail. In both cases, DeLano said, circumstances force workers to view the material.

At the Airway Heights Corrections Center, just west of Spokane, spokeswoman Risa Klemme said inmate reaction has been low-key.

“Well, I’m sure they’re not happy about it,” Klemme said. “But there hasn’t been escalated behavior over it.”

Inmates had an opportunity to turn in pornography during the past two months, but now any materials will be considered contraband. Klemme said inmates will be given one more chance to turn in their collections during an amnesty day. After that, any inmate caught with the materials will face discipline, she said.

DeLano acknowledges that the pornography policy, coupled with the upcoming smoking ban, could be difficult for inmates to handle.

“Generally, we try not to burden the inmates (with restrictions), one on top of the other,” DeLano said.

Inmates still have access to television and legal services, DeLano noted. They can write and receive letters. Some can even have extended family visits, some of which are conjugal visits.

“I don’t think it was ever easy” being in jail, DeLano said. “It probably has become more difficult, but it’s become more difficult on the outside.”