UK High Court rules prison book ban unlawful News
UK High Court rules prison book ban unlawful

[JURIST] The High Court of Justice of England and Wales [official website] has declared [ruling, pdf] that the government’s ban on sending books to prisoners in England is unlawful. Current rules prevent prisoners from receiving parcels unless there are exceptional circumstances such as a medical condition. Justice Collins called the ban “unnecessary and irrational” and highlighted the importance of books for the prisoners. The book ban was introduced in England last November partly to control the entry of drugs into prisons. The challenge was brought by inmate Barbara Gordon-Jones, who is serving a life sentence.

The UK was not the only country to have banned the act of sending books to prisoners. In 2010 the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, pdf; press release] that challenged a South Carolina detention center rule that banned all books sent to prisoners. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Prison Legal News [advocacy website] against the Berkeley County Detention Center [official website] in Moncks Corner for First and Fourteenth Amendment [texts] violations.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Supreme Court ruled Indians not US citizens

On November 3, 1884, the US Supreme Court ruled in Elk v. Wilkins that John Elk, an American Indian who had tried to vote in a federal election in Omaha, Nebraska, was not a US citizen entitled to the protection of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution. Native Americans became eligible for citizenship in 1887 under the Dawes Act, but only in 1924, under the Indian Citizenship Act, were all Native Americans born in the US made citizens.

Last public execution at Tyburn Gallows in London

On November 3, 1783, the last public execution took place at Tyburn Gallows in London, when John Austin was hanged for highway robbery. From the hanging of William Fitz Osburn in 1196 until Austin's execution, Tyburn served as London's primary location for public executions.

Learn more about the trial of John Austin.