softheart
05-12-2003, 11:20 AM
Sentence is extended for prisoner who writes articles for pay
Panel says man guilty of operating unauthorized business; he protests
05/12/2003
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - From the solitude of his prison cell, convicted rapist
William Bryan Sorens has been writing articles for several newspapers
and magazines for most of the 19 years he's been in Texas prisons.
Most times, Mr. Sorens says, he got paid for it.
For writing articles for pay, a prison disciplinary committee found
him guilty March 18 of operating a business from his cell in the
Wynne Unit, near Huntsville.
The effect of the committee's finding was that Mr. Sorens, whose
first possible date of release was December 2005, now won't be
considered for release from his 60-year sentence until December 2006.
The prison committee also ordered that Mr. Sorens transfer from a
light-duty job in the prison's kitchen to more strenuous work in its
factories, which produce license plates and mattresses.
"I was, in effect, sentenced to one year for writing," Mr. Sorens
told the San Antonio Express-News for its Sunday editions.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Michelle Lyons says
there's not much doubt that Mr. Sorens violated a disciplinary code
against "establishing and/or operating an unauthorized business
enterprise within TDCJ."
"We may not know about every case," Ms. Lyons said, "but if he's
selling something without authorization, that's wrong."
Mr. Sorens and his editors are protesting the action to prison
officials and politicians, saying it's unfair because other prisoners
write and sell articles from prison.
Mr. Sorens mostly writes about prison conditions, and also composes
opinion pieces for Christian and "white nationalist" newsletters,
some of which he helps edit. He had an article titled "Hardcore Hate"
and attributed to "John Doe" that was published in a 2001 issue of
Playboy magazine, and this year sold a story on prison censorship to
Penthouse magazine.
Penthouse planned to publish the piece in its August issue, but in
early May, editor Peter Bloch decided to delay going to press with
the Sorens contribution.
Mr. Sorens said that many prisoners write articles for pay.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/051203dntexprisonwriter.96898.html
Panel says man guilty of operating unauthorized business; he protests
05/12/2003
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - From the solitude of his prison cell, convicted rapist
William Bryan Sorens has been writing articles for several newspapers
and magazines for most of the 19 years he's been in Texas prisons.
Most times, Mr. Sorens says, he got paid for it.
For writing articles for pay, a prison disciplinary committee found
him guilty March 18 of operating a business from his cell in the
Wynne Unit, near Huntsville.
The effect of the committee's finding was that Mr. Sorens, whose
first possible date of release was December 2005, now won't be
considered for release from his 60-year sentence until December 2006.
The prison committee also ordered that Mr. Sorens transfer from a
light-duty job in the prison's kitchen to more strenuous work in its
factories, which produce license plates and mattresses.
"I was, in effect, sentenced to one year for writing," Mr. Sorens
told the San Antonio Express-News for its Sunday editions.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Michelle Lyons says
there's not much doubt that Mr. Sorens violated a disciplinary code
against "establishing and/or operating an unauthorized business
enterprise within TDCJ."
"We may not know about every case," Ms. Lyons said, "but if he's
selling something without authorization, that's wrong."
Mr. Sorens and his editors are protesting the action to prison
officials and politicians, saying it's unfair because other prisoners
write and sell articles from prison.
Mr. Sorens mostly writes about prison conditions, and also composes
opinion pieces for Christian and "white nationalist" newsletters,
some of which he helps edit. He had an article titled "Hardcore Hate"
and attributed to "John Doe" that was published in a 2001 issue of
Playboy magazine, and this year sold a story on prison censorship to
Penthouse magazine.
Penthouse planned to publish the piece in its August issue, but in
early May, editor Peter Bloch decided to delay going to press with
the Sorens contribution.
Mr. Sorens said that many prisoners write articles for pay.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/051203dntexprisonwriter.96898.html