Updated May 9, 2013
Ste. Genevieve County Jail Inmates to Receive Their Newspapers Once Again
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO — Stanley Schell, a former detainee at the Sainte Genevieve County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center, will be a little richer and current detainees will receive their newspapers again, thanks to a settlement in Schell v. Sainte Genevieve. The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri filed the suit Jan. 2 on behalf of Schell who stopped getting his prepaid subscription to the Ste. Genevieve Herald a week after his letter to the editor of that paper was published. When Schell inquired about his missing paper, he was informed that the sheriff was no longer allowing local newspapers into the jail.
As part of the settlement, Ste. Genevieve County has adopted new jail policies relating to newspaper subscriptions and other written material mailed to detainees. “We are pleased that we were able to get newspapers back into the Ste. Genevieve County jail,” says Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU-EM. “It is a significant victory for detainees that jail policy will now provide both senders and recipients of censored material notice and the opportunity to challenge jail censorship decisions.”
Jan. 2, 2013
Ste. Genevieve Detainee Sues to Defend First Amendment Rights
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO — The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri filed a suit Jan. 2, 2013, on behalf of Stanley Schell, a detainee at the Sainte Genevieve County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. Schell had a prepaid subscription to the Ste. Genevieve Herald and received his copy every Wednesday for several months, until Nov. 7. This was exactly one week after his letter to the editor of that paper was published. When Schell inquired about his missing paper, he was informed that the sheriff was no longer allowing local newspapers into the jail.
“It’s clear that the sheriff punished Mr. Schell for writing his letter by withholding the publication. This infringes on free speech and is unconstitutional,” says Brenda L. Jones, executive director of the ACLU-EM. “It is also a due process violation to deprive Schell and other inmates of their local newspapers without providing senders and recipients notice and an opportunity to challenge the censorship,” adds Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU-EM.
The ACLU-EM is a non-partisan, not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of civil liberties in eastern Missouri. Located in St. Louis, the ACLU-EM is an affiliate of the national ACLU.