A new rule in Texas prohibits prisoners from having any access to social media, reports member station KUT. The order also families, loved ones, or advocates on the outside from maintaining social media accounts on their behalf. Critics say the rule goes too far in censoring inmates.
They point to the fact that Texas had more exonerated inmates than any other state last year, with 54 statewide. And many of those cases were fueled by social media accounts. In a good number of the exonerations, hashtags and Facebook posts brought attention to cases that would otherwise have been forgotten.
The new rule was codified by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Reporter Jordan Smith of The Intercept has noted that the new order seems to have shown up into prison rules without being vetted by the TDCJ board. The new guideline appeared in between a rule that require prisoners to be polite and another that forbids roughhousing.