Pam
04-25-2002, 02:28 AM
Check this out. See what kind of justice we have in AL
Judge denies interview with female death row inmate
By Mark Niesse
Associated Press Writer
04-25-2002
MONTGOMERY
A judge denied a television station's request Wednesday to interview a death row inmate who is scheduled to be the first woman executed in Alabama in 45 years.
Circuit Judge Charles Price agreed with prison officials who said interviewing Lynda Lyon Block would cause security problems at the overcrowded Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in nearby Wetumpka.
Reporter Eileen Jones and her station, NBC affiliate WSFA-TV, sued Corrections Commissioner Mike Haley when he denied an interview request with Block. The lawsuit claims Haley violated the station's First Amendment right of free speech because he's trying to censor Block's anti-government views.
"There are a legion of cases that hold, as this court does, that Commissioner Haley's decision to deny the stated interview is not a denial of plaintiff's right of freedom of speech," Price wrote in his ruling. "This court finds that the denial is based on security and control reasons and not content-related."
Block is sentenced to die in the electric chair May 10 for the murder of an Opelika police officer in 1993. Barring a stay, she would be the first woman executed in Alabama since 1957 and she could be the last to die in the electric chair. The Legislature approved using lethal injections beginning July 1.
"It would have been absurd to jeopardize security just to glorify a convicted cop-killer. Finally, we are treating criminals like criminals and treating victims with the care and compassion they deserve," said Gov. Don Siegelman.
WSFA news director Michael O'Neil said the governor was mistaken about glorifying Block. "Just because we put somebody on the news doesn't mean we are going to glorify them. He should know that," O'Neil said.
The news director said no decision had been made about whether to appeal.
Attorneys for WSFA argued during two days of hearings that prison officials were restricting access to Block because of her radical anti-government political views.
"This security concern is a pretext. ... They said they would not permit the interview of an inmate who had killed a cop," said attorney Richard Ball.
A March 20 memo between Haley and prisons spokesman Brian Corbett indicated they didn't want Block's views aired in public, Ball said. There was no mention of security concerns.
Haley wrote in the memo: "It is neither my intention nor my desire to publicize this heinous crime and in so doing to bring any recognition to Ms. Block and to dishonor Sgt. Motley and his badge. Therefore, it is my decision to deny any media interview for Ms. Block."
Block, who has no active appeal and no attorney, believes Alabama courts lack jurisdiction over her. She was convicted of killing Opelika police officer Roger Motley, who was shot repeatedly in a store parking lot in 1993. Block's common-law husband George Sibley also is on death row for the slaying.
Block and Sibley contend the shooting was justified because, they say, Motley reached for his holster.
Although Block hasn't been permitted to appear in on-camera or face-to-face interviews, she has continued to correspond by mail with news organizations.
Judge denies interview with female death row inmate
By Mark Niesse
Associated Press Writer
04-25-2002
MONTGOMERY
A judge denied a television station's request Wednesday to interview a death row inmate who is scheduled to be the first woman executed in Alabama in 45 years.
Circuit Judge Charles Price agreed with prison officials who said interviewing Lynda Lyon Block would cause security problems at the overcrowded Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in nearby Wetumpka.
Reporter Eileen Jones and her station, NBC affiliate WSFA-TV, sued Corrections Commissioner Mike Haley when he denied an interview request with Block. The lawsuit claims Haley violated the station's First Amendment right of free speech because he's trying to censor Block's anti-government views.
"There are a legion of cases that hold, as this court does, that Commissioner Haley's decision to deny the stated interview is not a denial of plaintiff's right of freedom of speech," Price wrote in his ruling. "This court finds that the denial is based on security and control reasons and not content-related."
Block is sentenced to die in the electric chair May 10 for the murder of an Opelika police officer in 1993. Barring a stay, she would be the first woman executed in Alabama since 1957 and she could be the last to die in the electric chair. The Legislature approved using lethal injections beginning July 1.
"It would have been absurd to jeopardize security just to glorify a convicted cop-killer. Finally, we are treating criminals like criminals and treating victims with the care and compassion they deserve," said Gov. Don Siegelman.
WSFA news director Michael O'Neil said the governor was mistaken about glorifying Block. "Just because we put somebody on the news doesn't mean we are going to glorify them. He should know that," O'Neil said.
The news director said no decision had been made about whether to appeal.
Attorneys for WSFA argued during two days of hearings that prison officials were restricting access to Block because of her radical anti-government political views.
"This security concern is a pretext. ... They said they would not permit the interview of an inmate who had killed a cop," said attorney Richard Ball.
A March 20 memo between Haley and prisons spokesman Brian Corbett indicated they didn't want Block's views aired in public, Ball said. There was no mention of security concerns.
Haley wrote in the memo: "It is neither my intention nor my desire to publicize this heinous crime and in so doing to bring any recognition to Ms. Block and to dishonor Sgt. Motley and his badge. Therefore, it is my decision to deny any media interview for Ms. Block."
Block, who has no active appeal and no attorney, believes Alabama courts lack jurisdiction over her. She was convicted of killing Opelika police officer Roger Motley, who was shot repeatedly in a store parking lot in 1993. Block's common-law husband George Sibley also is on death row for the slaying.
Block and Sibley contend the shooting was justified because, they say, Motley reached for his holster.
Although Block hasn't been permitted to appear in on-camera or face-to-face interviews, she has continued to correspond by mail with news organizations.