MONROE – Darren Sherman lives in his 6- by 9-foot cell at the prison complex here with little hope.
The corkboard is filled with photos of family and friends. But Sherman, 36, of Kelso, will never see them outside of prison. He is sentenced to life without parole for aggravated murder.
Sherman, who has been locked up for about 13 years, has few pleasures. A box full of pornographic magazines momentarily helps him forget about his harsh reality.
But today is the last day Sherman can legally keep those magazines.
As part of a new policy, the state Department of Corrections has ordered inmates to get rid of all pornographic materials in their cells by Thursday, said Lynne DeLano, assistant deputy secretary of the department.
The reasons include: Prison employees have complained about the sometimes graphic materials; prison officials hope to reduce aggressive behavior in inmates; and prison administrators hope it will help in the treatment of sex offenders, who make up 18 percent of the prison population.
The department also is banning inmates from smoking beginning Nov. 1. So, officials are a little concerned that taking pleasure items from inmates would increase violence, but it’s prepared to take action, DeLano said.
The department, which adopted a policy similar to one used by the Arizona Department of Corrections, defines pornographic materials as any pictorial representation for sexual gratification showing sexual behaviors or full frontal nudity.
If inmates keep such materials after Thursday, prison officers will search their cells and take them away, DeLano said. The policy applies to all inmates regardless of gender, she said. About 16,000 inmates are incarcerated in 15 state prisons. Approximately 8 percent, or 1,280, are women.
Talk of a pornography ban began about five years ago, DeLano said. Some officers complained about viewing it while sorting inmates’ mail or searching their cells.
“It’s kind of like a sexual harassment, particularly for female staff,” DeLano said.
Those who view sexually explicit materials tend to increase their sexual aggression, which could make prison environment less safe, a memo from DeLano also states.
And the ban also will help the department rehabilitate sex offenders, she said.
That may not happen, said inmate Derrick Cleary, 23, of Paducah, Ky.
“For those who commit those kind of crimes, you never know,” said Cleary, who has been locked up for robbery since 2000 and is to be released in 2006.
The timing of this ban is bad, Cleary said, referring to the upcoming smoking ban for inmates and correction officers.
“We don’t have too much stuff because we are in prison,” said Cleary, who smokes after almost every meal. “But things we have, we want to keep.”
Arizona started reviewing and regulating sexually explicit materials among inmates in 1998, said Anita Zimmerman, a program and project specialist at that state’s corrections department.
At first, inmates were upset, but over the years they have calmed down, Zimmerman said. “I’m not aware of any violence that took place because of the review process,” she said.
Monroe prison inmate Robert Vederoff, 30, of Seattle, who has served 10 years for second-degree murder, said he is against the smoking ban, but at least he can see it would bring long-term health benefits for inmates.
But the pornography ban is different, said Vederoff, who will get out in 2010. “Do I see the benefits for inmates? Absolutely not.”
Sherman said he will keep his magazines until officers take them.
“I’m not going to fight them over something they are going to take anyway. It’s a lost battle,” he said. “But I’m not just volunteering to give them up.”
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@ heraldnet.com.
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