I ran across an excellent bias/propaganda article in the Reader’s Digest from April 1996. It was an article about despicable inmates and their abuse of lawsuit privileges. It was a perfect hate—mongering presentation of some of the country’s most heinous criminals with a gruesome, sordid depiction of some of their crimes. It is nearly impossible to resist the repulsion gathered in this writing for our prisons prisoners. Murderers, rapists, evil incarnate, plundering the taxpayers dollars because of some frivolous constitutional rights which allow slimey criminals to file frivolous lawsuits.

The article goes on to cite some of the most ludicrous lawsuits imaginable, filed by these pretenders to humanity. And without a doubt, the lawsuits posed have no rational defense; all are designed to infuriate any reading taxpayer. What the article failed to provide was an insight as to who "profits" from such a senseless practice. All these thousands and cumulative millions of dollars from taxpayers go into the coffers of the criminal justice system’s officers of the court; lawyers, prosecutors, and judges. A part of the "loot" is doled out to law enforcement and court people serving the court processes, or to jury members.

Nor is there any mention about most of the idiotic lawsuits filed by such particularly scummy inmates is the exception to the rule rather than the common practice. Many inappropriate or unfounded lawsuits from inmates are encouraged by Corrections staff people who know better. The more "junk" lawsuits the inmates can be encouraged to file, the less validity any lawsuit from prison inmates will be viewed by Judges who have been antagonized by such earlier abuses through their court.

Many times, I have heard "Jazzy" Correction Officers tell some "Doltish" inmates to "sue" the courts for redress to their dislikes about the prison system. I’ve actually listened to inmates being instigated to believe that they had a legitimate lawsuit by some of the prison staff and even by some bored inmates who knew better but couldn’t resist helping someone make a fool out of himself.

Read the following and judge for yourself.

I agree with Senator Hatch that the outrage must stop, but I differ in opinion as to what actually constitutes the outrage. The article rabidly places the blame on prisoners alone and the insinuation is strong to legislate away constititional rights which allow the inmate to file lawsuits. This is nothing more than throwing away the baby with the bath water.

If anything needs changed, it is the perpetuated ignorance about the valid issues for lawsuits. If the inmate had fair instruction as to the ramifications of such ignorant lawsuits as those cited in the article, most would not pursue such course of action. You’ll always have an element of irresponsible inmate wh& will have displaced anger and frustration who will sue for idiotic things only because he doesn’t know what his real problems are. And there is no one who can translate his real issues for him unless he has a "dream—team" set of attorneys at his beck and call. Only in Hollywood!

F. Lee Bailey stated years ago that Ohio could reduce its prison population by 75% if the inmates were retried in their court cases with competent attorneys representing them. Sometimes with some inmates, I am reminded of a woman who has been brutally raped, and she wails about her hair being messed—up, or her dress being torn, Sometimes inmates who sue for an extra pancake just don’t have their real problems focused, and there isn’t anyone there to help them see the real. I’m not defending the jerks cited in the article, but I do think something is missing in the abject portrayal of the "Scandal" of inmate lawsuits by Dale Van Atta.