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Imprisoned Author Denied Access to His Own Published Writing
Loaded on Jan. 10, 2017
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2017, page 61
Filed under:
Publications/Books,
Mail Regulations,
Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement,
Censorship,
First Amendment.
Location:
New York.
In order to survive being subjected to nearly three decades of solitary confinement, William “Billy” Blake turned to reading and, more importantly, writing.
“A Sentence Worse than Death” is an essay Blake wrote for inclusion in an anthology of narratives about solitary entitled Hell is a Very Small …
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More from this issue:
- Culture of Abuse and Corruption Plagues Jail in Denver, Colorado, by Lonnie Burton
- Texas: Complaint Filed Over Contaminated Water, Conditions at Eastham Unit, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Michigan: Contract for Prisoner Legal Writer Program Results in Controversy
- Rundown on California Propositions 57 and 64, by Kent A. Russell
- Illinois: DNA Evidence Exonerates One Man, Implicates Another
- Imprisoned Author Denied Access to His Own Published Writing
- Seventh Circuit Tells Wisconsin Probationer with Gender Dysphoria how to Proceed, by Matthew Clarke
- Georgia Prison Guards Face Sexual Assault Charges
- Judge Rips DOJ Lawyers for “Series of Misrepresentations,” Orders Ethics Training, by Derek Gilna
- Krome Detention Center has Long History of Detainee Abuse, by David Reutter
- $28.1 Million Jury Award after Eighth Circuit Allows Conspiracy Claims in Nebraska Wrongful Conviction Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- New York: Nearly $10 Million in Settlements Over Denial of Medical Care at Rikers Island
- Michigan’s Wayne County Jails Plagued with Inhumane Conditions
- Michigan: Corizon Audit Finds Deficiencies, State Extends and Expands Contract Anyway
- Model Mental Health Care Diversion System Started by Miami Judge, by David Reutter
- Nebraska: Portions of Lawsuit over Guard’s Sexual Assault Allowed to Proceed
- BOP Prisoner’s FTCA Wage Suit States Cause of Action
- Three California Jail Guards Charged with Murdering One Prisoner, Assaulting Another, by Christopher Zoukis
- Constitutional Amendment Ensures Executions will Continue in Oklahoma , by Christopher Zoukis
- Two Fulton County Jail Employees Subject to Liability in Detainee’s Suicide
- FCI Danbury Prisoners Finally Transferred to New Women’s Facility
- Increased Access to Higher Education Programs for California Prisoners, by Christopher Zoukis
- Deaths Due to Neglect in U.S. Jails Reflect Nation’s Values , by David Reutter
- Mississippi: Hinds County Jails in Crisis, Face Mandated Reforms, by David Reutter
- New York DA Supervisor Engages in Kinky Fetishes, Wife Claims, by Derek Gilna
- Report Finds Charging Criminal Justice Fees Perpetuates Mass Incarceration, by Matthew Clarke
- Hawaii Warden Subjected Female Prisoners to “Shame Therapy”
- Correctional Medical Care Pays $425,000 Settlement in Prisoner’s Opiate Withdrawal Death
- Securus Phone Rates Spark Uprising at Alaska Prison , by Joe Watson
- Georgia’s Supreme Court Rules on Private Probation Services
- State University of New York “Bans the Box” on Student Applications
- Dear Librarian: Filling the Information Gap for Prisoners with No Internet Access , by Christopher Zoukis
- Jail Official Convicted of Illegally Recording Phone Conversations Loses Appeal, by Christopher Zoukis
- Shackled South African Prisoner Beaten by GEO Guards Wins Lawsuit, by Derek Gilna
- Recurring Injury Subsequent to Lawsuit Settlement No Bar to New Claim
- Ninth Circuit Vacates Generalized Order to Shackle Pretrial Defendants, En Banc Review Granted
- $325,002 Award to Michigan Prisoner Denied Medical Care for Joint Pain
- Second Circuit Expands Protections from Sexual Abuse by Prison Staff, by Derek Gilna
- Orleans Parish Jail Settles Prisoner Suicide Suit for $1.75 Million, by Derek Gilna
- Merits Ruling on Procedurally Flawed Grievance Satisfies PLRA
- Child Support Relief Coming for Incarcerated Parents
- Tennessee Sheriff Indicted, Suspended and Jailed Over E-cig Business
- Michigan Jail Subject of Wrongful Death Lawsuit and PLN Censorship Suit
- New York Prison Scrutinized, Employees Charged Following High-profile Escape, by Derek Gilna
- ICE Deportations Peaked in FY 2012, Declined from 2013 to 2015, by Derek Gilna
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- CCA’s Rebranding May Violate Trademark Rights
- NTSB Faults Texas Prison Guard, Road Crews in Transport Bus Deaths, by Derek Gilna
- California County Settles Class-action Lawsuit Over Jail Medical and Mental Health Care, by Matthew Clarke
- PLN Goes Undercover to Bust CCA Employees’ Misuse of Prisoner Labor
- Too Little, Too Late: Prosecutor Remorseful for Sending Innocent Man to Death Row, by David Reutter
- “Natural Causes Killed Victor: A Death in Solitary,” a folk opera by George Swanson (DVD, 55 minutes), by Lance Tapley
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- HRDC Wins Injunction Against Minnesota DOC Policy Banning Its Publications, Sept. 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Mississippi DOC Held Mentally Unwell Prisoners in Solitary, Many Died Because of It, Sept. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Staff Training, Deliberate Indifference.
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Security Systems, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Court Shuts Down Arizona Attempt to Fill Medical Staff Vacancies with Under-Qualified Providers, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Injunctions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Immigration Detention, Monell Liability.
- HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, July 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026. Reading Materials, Legal Materials, Publications/Books, Banned Book Lists, Censorship.
- Wisconsin Bans Recording of Prison Phone Calls with Journalists, July 1, 2026. Access to Media, Censorship, First Amendment, First Amendment, rights, Recorded Calls.

