Social media bans in prisons silence important voices

In 2022, after serving 12 years in federal prison for drug trafficking, I became a journalist, writing for outlets like parents.com, The Marshall Project, and the Columbia Journal. I had a burning desire to rewrite the story my country was being told about people like me living behind the fence.

But for journalists who write not about life behind the fence but about the country’s problems outside the prisons, social media bans have the effect of blocking any source of information they could use to produce quality work.

That’s why we must work together to breathe new life into the fight for the rights of imprisoned journalists who are crushed by social media bans. And while the current proposed rule could formalize a ban and increase the risks for those they expose to social media use in prison, in my experience and that of other federal inmates I know, inmates already lack meaningful access to social media.

Social media provides a platform for journalists and writers to share their work and connect not only with their professional network but also with their audience. A social media ban in prison, as happened to me, makes it impossible for journalists and writers to connect with their readership, potentially limiting their impact and reach. It begs the question: what good is an author without readers? Questions like these stab at the soul of a dedicated journalist and cause wounds that may never heal.

The problems a social media ban in prison creates for a journalist go beyond keys, locked doors or other digital barriers. There are also long-term psychological and emotional consequences that come from not being able to raise one’s voice and be heard.

For journalists and writers, social media can be an avenue for therapy, inspiration, and creative expression. A social media ban can lead to feelings of isolation and frustration, and the loss of an outlet for self-expression, impacting your mental well-being. These psychological stresses add to a burden that is already too heavy to bear.

The social media ban in federal prison made me a rule-breaking offender. Third-party companies like CorrLinks, which outsmart existing messaging systems, allow incarcerated writers to bypass digital gatekeepers and reach the eyes and ears of the public.

I will not reveal how these third parties operate, but it goes without saying that the use of these means by a prisoner is illegal and that an imprisoned journalist caught using such means will face harsh, even painful, punishments, such as weeks in solitary confinement or even an extension of his prison sentence by months.