Inmates do not have a constitutional right to play
electric guitar in federal prison, a U.S. appeals court ruled.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
upheld a ban on guitars, keyboards or other electronic instruments
for federal prisoners, ruling it does not violate their constitutional
right to express themselves musically.
By a 2-1 vote, the panel upheld the rationale by the U.S. Bureau
of Prisons for the ban and rejected a challenge by inmates Brett
Kimberlin and Darrell Rice, who wanted to play electric guitars
at a federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland.
In 1995, when the ban went into effect, the only instrument allowed
in the Cumberland prison was the harmonica, but inmates who already
had a guitar or electronic keyboard were allowed to keep them.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2003-02-17 01:00