Photos of Prison Guard

NuTex · #1 12-13-2003, 11:10 AM

I thought everyone would find this interesting.
NuTex
State to fight reinstatement of guard who posed nude

by DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press Writer

The state plans to fight reinstatement of a prison guard who was fired after nude photos of her appeared in a magazine and on the Internet, a spokesman for the state prison agency said Friday.

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services filed a petition for judicial review in Washington County Circuit Court Friday. On Thursday, the agency asked an administrative law judge to stay his order that it rehire Marcie Betts, 22, of Hagerstown.

The appeal will seek to overturn Administrative Law Judge D. Harrison Pratt's Nov. 12 ruling that Betts' First Amendment right to make and publish photographs of herself outweighed the impact those images might have on the state's ability to safely and efficiently run its prisons.

Betts expressed disbelief at the state's move. "I don't know why they are wasting taxpayer time and money on something they could solve as simply as letting me go back to work," she said.

The state contended during a two-day hearing in September that inmates eventually would see the photos of Betts and perceive her as a "sex object." Betts would then be at greater risk of sexual assault or blackmail, which would jeopardize the safety of officers who might have to come to her aid, the state and its witnesses argued.

Pratt called the state's argument speculative and lacking in supporting evidence.

Betts testified she and her husband took the pictures in 2002, after she had taken a test for the prison job but before she was hired. She said she sold 81 pictures to a World Wide Web site, BurningAngel.com, for $300. One image was later published without her knowledge in Tabu Tattoo magazine, Betts said. She has a large tattoo of birds, flowers and a skull on her chest.

Betts lost her position at Roxbury Correctional Institution near Hagerstown on Jan. 29, two months after being hired as a correctional officer. She initially denied any knowledge of the photos when asked by a fellow officer and an inmate, according to testimony at her September hearing. A copy of Tabu Tattoo containing her picture was found in an inmate housing unit the day before she was fired, according to the case files.

Maryland prison inmates are allowed sexually explicit material, including magazines and photographs, but they cannot use computers connected to the Internet.

NuTex · #2 12-13-2003, 11:10 AM

I thought everyone would find this interesting.
NuTex
State to fight reinstatement of guard who posed nude

by DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press Writer

The state plans to fight reinstatement of a prison guard who was fired after nude photos of her appeared in a magazine and on the Internet, a spokesman for the state prison agency said Friday.

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services filed a petition for judicial review in Washington County Circuit Court Friday. On Thursday, the agency asked an administrative law judge to stay his order that it rehire Marcie Betts, 22, of Hagerstown.

The appeal will seek to overturn Administrative Law Judge D. Harrison Pratt's Nov. 12 ruling that Betts' First Amendment right to make and publish photographs of herself outweighed the impact those images might have on the state's ability to safely and efficiently run its prisons.

Betts expressed disbelief at the state's move. "I don't know why they are wasting taxpayer time and money on something they could solve as simply as letting me go back to work," she said.

The state contended during a two-day hearing in September that inmates eventually would see the photos of Betts and perceive her as a "sex object." Betts would then be at greater risk of sexual assault or blackmail, which would jeopardize the safety of officers who might have to come to her aid, the state and its witnesses argued.

Pratt called the state's argument speculative and lacking in supporting evidence.

Betts testified she and her husband took the pictures in 2002, after she had taken a test for the prison job but before she was hired. She said she sold 81 pictures to a World Wide Web site, BurningAngel.com, for $300. One image was later published without her knowledge in Tabu Tattoo magazine, Betts said. She has a large tattoo of birds, flowers and a skull on her chest.

Betts lost her position at Roxbury Correctional Institution near Hagerstown on Jan. 29, two months after being hired as a correctional officer. She initially denied any knowledge of the photos when asked by a fellow officer and an inmate, according to testimony at her September hearing. A copy of Tabu Tattoo containing her picture was found in an inmate housing unit the day before she was fired, according to the case files.

Maryland prison inmates are allowed sexually explicit material, including magazines and photographs, but they cannot use computers connected to the Internet.

#3 12-13-2003, 11:22 AM

NuTex.. interesting story...unfortunately lying about the photos probably was not a good plan...I am surprised sexually explicit photos etc. are allowed in prison...Hmmmm?...Odb [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

NuTex · #4 12-13-2003, 11:46 AM

quote:
unfortunately lying about the photos probably was not a good plan

I agree. Bad move.

quote:
I am surprised sexually explicit photos etc. are allowed in prison...

My understanding is that it helps keep the frustration from getting to a dangerous level among the inmates.
NuTEx

Croydon · #5 12-13-2003, 11:55 AM

quote:
Originally posted by outdoorbare:
[qb] NuTex.. interesting story...unfortunately lying about the photos probably was not a good plan...I am surprised sexually explicit photos etc. are allowed in prison...Hmmmm?...Odb [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img] [/qb]

I too am surprise that they allow explicit materials for prisoners. Although, it is unfortunate that the woman was fired but when you decide to publish nude photos of you online, there's always going to be someone you know who will find it. By publishing nude pics of you online, you accept the consequences of your action. I think a lot of people are naiive when posting pictures of themselves online. They think no one they know willl find out. With MILLIONS of people online these days, someone who you knows or knows someone you know WILL find out. It is unfortunate the woman lost her job but I don't feel bad for her

#6 12-13-2003, 02:07 PM

I feel her ability to do her job is in no way affected by those pictures. It shouldn't be relevant to her work at all.

NuTex · #7 12-13-2003, 02:14 PM

quote:
I feel her ability to do her job is in no way affected by those pictures. It shouldn't be relevant to her work at all.

I agree and it sounds like the courts do too.
NuTex

Naturist Mark · #8 12-13-2003, 02:20 PM

quote:
The state contended during a two-day hearing in September that inmates eventually would see the photos of Betts and perceive her as a "sex object." Betts would then be at greater risk of sexual assault or blackmail, which would jeopardize the safety of officers who might have to come to her aid, the state and its witnesses argued.

Hmmm... so the state thinks that an attractive female guard would not be in any significant danger from a group of confined convicted male criminals absent the existence of these photos? I'm surprised they don't require her to wear a Burkha. In fact, for her protection she should wear one outside the prison as well. Americans aren't as far from Taliban thinking as we like to believe.

**Bob S.** · #9 12-13-2003, 08:48 PM

So basically, the state is arguing that if the inmates see a naked picture of her, they will see her as a sex object. Well, these are men serving who knows how long with access to pornographic magazines. Wouldn't they objectify the women anyway?

And her lying was not wrong. It seems that an inmate had been reading this magazine (I'm sure just for the articles [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] ) and somehow recognized something about her. Of course she denied it to the inmate and an officer. What was she supposed to say? She had to maintain her professionalism. Prison guards can lie to inmates.

I hope that she gets her job back.

Bob S.

Naturist Mark · #10 12-14-2003, 06:51 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Bob S.:
[qb]It seems that an inmate had been reading this magazine (I'm sure just for the articles [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] ) and somehow recognized something about her.[/qb]

Actually not. The magazine Tabu Tattoo was intercepted by prison authorities before it reached the prisoner it was being sent to.

Note that Mrs Betts knew nothing about the pictures in that magazine, they were published without her knowledge. She did know about the 81 photos she sold to an 'adult' website before she was hired at the Roxbury prison where inmates do not have internet access.

Mrs. Betts is no particular friend to the naturist movement. In fighting her unlawful dismissal she has allied herself with the pornography industry and the 'protect porn' movement.

So why should we care?

Because what happened to her could happen to any of us.

Many of us have pictures online. With hidden cameras and cell-phone cameras any of us could unwittingly find ourselves exposed.

Although we recognize the vast difference between social nudism and 'adult' entertainment, not all authorities do. Mrs. Betts did not break any laws, if she can be legally dismissed from a civil service job due only to non-job related lawful activity, so can we.

So will we.

Marcie Betts