MIAMI — In her online profile, Paula Jones says she is 42 and “nonjudgmental” and that she likes fishing, gardening and cuddling.
There’s a catch, though. Jones’ picture shows her in her blue Florida prison uniform. She won’t be out until at least 2010. Her listing is posted on a website called WriteAPrisoner . She’s looking for a pen pal.
By posting her profile, however, Jones is breaking a rule.
Florida officials have banned inmates from having the .-style listings. Other states have similar restrictions. Now, lawsuits in Florida and elsewhere say the bans are unfair and violate First Amendment rights.
But the Florida Department of Corrections doesn’t want to take any chances. The department made the change after receiving complaints from people who had been taken advantage of and from victims and their families who saw prisoners’ ads, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.
