Prisoner's rights

The Boston Globe did a nice profile piece on my long time listserv friend Paul Wright and his publication Prison Legal News, a self-help magazine.

The publication, known as PLN, does more than highlight mail censorship, sexual abuse by prison guards and prison overcrowding in its black-and-white pages. The nonprofit tabloid often takes on the role of prisoner advocate, going to court against states and private prison operators -- and winning money, reform and public attention for prisoners. [...]

PLN is not fighting for cable TV or air conditioning for prisoners," said Rhonda Brownstein, legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, in Montgomery, Ala. "What they're fighting for is basic human rights, and the basic human rights we're talking about are the right to be free from violence by other prisoners or guards, the right to adequate medical care, adequate mental health care and the right -- to an extent -- to freedom of expression."

Paul commited a serious crime that put him in jail in the first place but he's the best example I know of someone who turned his life around and found a way to turn bad into something good.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]