On December 13, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the August, 2024 dismissal of a lawsuit that sought to challenge, on First Amendment grounds, a South Carolina Department of Corrections’ (SCDC) policy that prohibits the publication of interviews between prisoners and the media or members of the public. In its decision, the Fourth Circuit cited to Houchins v. KQED, a 1978 Supreme Court ruling which held that the U.S. Constitution does not mandate ?“a right of access to…sources of information within the government’s control,” including those incarcerated. The Fourth Circuit reasoned that ?“the media have no special right of access to the [prison] different from or greater than that accorded the public generally.”
In its challenge, the ACLU of South Carolina (ACLU-SC) characterizes the prison media-access policy as ?“among the most restrictive of any state in the U.S.” It also criticizes the policy for essentially ?“tak[ing] the position that incarcerated people ?‘lose the privilege of speaking to the news media when they enter SCDC.’” The SCDC’s total ban on media interviews blocked the ACLU-SC from publishing two interviews with clients?—?Sofia Cano and Marion Bowman Jr.?—?discussing their maltreatment while in SCDC custody. In their initial filings, attorneys for Mr. Bowman wrote:
“A story about Marion Bowman?—?that is, a telling of his case and his life behind bars?—?is not functionally equivalent to a story by Marion Bowman…In the context of prison advocacy, empathy is hard earned. The sound of another person’s voice can break the demonizing and otherizing constructs that the public has about ?‘prisoners,’ and can reveal the multidimensional humanity possessed by those behind bars.” (Emphasis original)
Mr. Bowman was convicted and sentenced to death in 2002 for the 2001 shooting death of Kandee Martin. In July 2024, the South Carolina Supreme Court found that all three of the state’s methods of execution?—?lethal injection, electrocution, and firing squad?—?are constitutional. This ruling prompted the resumption of executions in South Carolina for the first time since 2011. Because Mr. Bowman has exhausted all of his appeals, and could be scheduled for execution, the ACLU argues that publishing his interview is a necessary part of his clemency request, intended ?“to increase political pressure in favor of clemency, to shed light on the impropriety of capital punishment, and to inform the public about the inhumane treatment endured by people incarcerated at SCDC.” Mr. Bowman will ask Governor Henry McMaster to consider his clemency request but neither Gov. McMaster nor any other South Carolina governor in the modern era of the death penalty has granted clemency to a death-sentenced prisoner
