Protecting both?

Former deputy sheriff Owen North last year bought a CD compilation as a Christmas present for his friend Shawn Goode, an inmate at Virginia's Nottoway Correctional Center. The compilation was called Dylan Thomas: The Caedmon Collection, and included poetry and selections from famous authors such as Shakespeare. North was hoping the CDs would inspire Goode, a writer and poet. Prison officials refused to let Goode, who has been incarcerated since he was 14 years old, see his gift.

However, if the CD had contained religious content, Goode would have been allowed to receive it.

North, now a railroad worker in LeCompte, La., believes that this violated his free expression and due process rights. He filed a federal lawsuit against the state prison system and last week U.S. District Judge James Spencer in Richmond ruled that North raised sufficient constitutional claims to warrant a trial. At issue is a policy allowing inmates to have only approved music and faith-based spoken-word CDs, such as religious sermons.

"I think everyone should have freedom of religion," North wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "However, I find the notion offensive that the state of Virginia can favor religious speech over secular speech. I think our Founding Fathers intended to protect both!"

North wrote to prison officials last January asking for permission to send the CD and was shocked that CDs with "poetry, prose, or dramatic works considered classics" were not allowed. "In our modern society, our classical heritage is no longer widely valued," North wrote. "And how can we help meld civilized human beings if we no longer believe in civilization?"

A department official responded by letter, saying the system doesn't have the staff to screen thousands of novels, non-fiction and other works. Workers must listen to the entire CD to make sure that it has not been tampered with, doesn't contain inappropriate material or violate federal copyright laws, wrote Louis Cei, special programs manager for the department.

Cei added that "virtually all" works by Thomas, Shakespeare and others can be found in book form, whereas many religious spoken word CDs can't be easily obtained in print.

"We believe that they are constitutional, reasonable, and fair to all parties," Cei said of the department's policies.

Prison officials must prove at trial that the restrictions serve a valid government interest. No trial date has been set.

Over the past year, the department has settled lawsuits with inmates who challenged bans of a handbook that teaches prisoners how to file lawsuits over rights violations, a magazine focusing on prisoner rights and criminal justice issues, and an Islamic newspaper. One inmate's lawsuit lifted the ban on spoken-word religious material. Another successfully challenged the department's ban on literary works such Ulysses by James Joyce and Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence because of their sexual content, while at the same time allowing prisoners to have subscriptions to Playboy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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