Delaware ACLU to represent incarcerated man allegedly punished for planning boycott of prison tablet company
SMYRNA, Del. – The ACLU of Delaware is stepping in to represent David Holloman, an incarcerated man who claims he was punished by a Delaware prison for his attempt to boycott a for-profit company operating in the James T. Vaughn Correctional Institute.
Mr. Holloman filed his federal pro se complaint in the District of Delaware in January 2023, alleging that he was unconstitutionally repressed by prison officials when he attempted to organize a boycott of the for-profit company Global Tel Link. GTL, which operates the tablets used by incarcerated people to stay in touch with family and loved ones, claims the company charges extortionate fees while providing poor service.
The ACLU says it was after this protest was discovered that Holloman’s treatment at the facility changed drastically.
“He was placed in solitary confinement, he lost good time credits., he was transferred to a more restrictive housing unit; those are some of the most severe punishments that incarcerated person can suffer, all for this completely inoffensive and peaceful act of pure speech,” said Director, ACLU National Prison Project David C. Fathi.
Fathi says the stopping of the protest violated Holloman’s first amendment rights.
“The Department of Correction is silencing prisoner speech not to promote safety and security, but to protect the profits of a private corporation. And that should be very concerning to anyone who cares about freedom of expression or about prison security,” Fathi said.
In a statement to 47ABC the Delaware Department of Corrections say they would be unable to comment on the case but said:
“The Department of Correction recognizes and values the importance of communication between incarcerated individuals, their families, and other community supports, and thanks to investments in phone and tablet technology incarcerated people today have more communication with the community than ever before. Over a recent 12-month period incarcerated individuals in Delaware placed 3.8 million phone calls, participated in 454,000 video visits, and sent or received 8.4 million text messages. Every one of these calls, video visits and text messages keeps an incarcerated person engaged with people beyond our prison walls and that gives him or her a higher quality of life, reduces tension in our facilities, and improves safety and security.
Our phone and tablet system has been carefully designed with two goals in mind – to make costs affordable for incarcerated individuals and their families while not imposing costs on Delaware taxpayers. Incarcerated individuals do not pay to purchase tablets and are not charged a monthly subscription fee for access to tablets or phones. Many tablet features are provided for free, including educational content, law library, and other informational and programming resources. Video visits, text messaging, and movies, music and other entertainment are provided for a fee based on use. We note that a recent national survey of prison phone call rates validates our efforts to strike this balance, finding that the cost to make a phone call from a Delaware prison is the 8th lowest in the nation and, based on a 15-minute call the cost in Delaware comes in at half the national average. “
47ABC reached out to GTL and did not receive a response.
