Why It's Illegal for Prisoners to Masturbate
Document Type
News Article
Publication Date
1-6-2017
Abstract
Some inmates are getting thrown in solitary for seeking a little stress relief.
Nine months in the hole. No books—aside from the Bible—and few breaks. It's the purgatory 29-year-old Josh Richards* (behind bars on an aggravated assault charge—a shootout when he was 18) says he's serving for masturbating in his prison cell. Richards claims he was recently caught masturbating for the first time in 12 years of incarceration when a female guard peeked her head in during night checks. He got a ticket—no big deal. But a short time later, when another prisoner was caught masturbating and ran off, the blame was pinned on Richards, and he was slapped with nine months in solitary confinement. "I'm two years away from going home—I'm not looking for trouble—and now I'm in the hole and have this on my record."
Source Publication
Vice Media Group
Recommended Citation
Smith, Brenda V. and Dold, Kristen, "Why It's Illegal for Prisoners to Masturbate" (2017). Popular Media. 399.
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/pub_disc_media/399