Inmate Robert Gandy was just trying to be helpful.
He wanted to alert a home-improvement store that inmates at the Limon Correctional Facility were being told to build unauthorized reproductions of sheds sold by the store.
Gandy, 49, said the prison was then turning around and selling them for less than the store.
Prison officials who read his letter said Gandy was attempting to “advocate a facility disruption” by sending the letter.
Gandy was charged with violating prison rules and found guilty.
But the Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday said that what Gandy did was perfectly legitimate. Prison officials can regulate prisoner mail, the court said, but prisoners do have freedom of speech, and corrections officials stepped on Gandy’s rights.
“Regulation of prisoner mail is permissible if it furthers security, order and rehabilitation,” the court said. “Consequently, prison officials may not regulate inmate correspondence simply to eliminate unflattering or unwelcome opinions or factually inaccurate statements.”
The opinion said that although the store conceivably could have initiated legal action regarding Limon’s shed-construction program, such a lawsuit doesn’t support a conclusion that Gandy was attempting to throw the facility into turmoil or disorder. A corrections official said Thursday that the prison hasn’t been sued by any shed manufacturer and the prison doesn’t compete with private industry. The sheds, they said, are sold to prison employees or go to nonprofit organizations.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
