A federal judge has ruled that prisoners do not have the right to keep guitars in their cells, a decision that emerged from the case of a convicted murderer ordered to surrender his electric guitar with removable steel strings.“I understand that playing music is therapeutic and a way for the applicant to use his time in a constructive and positive manner,” wrote Federal Court Justice Julie Blackhawk. “While the applicant does not agree with the decision, this is not a basis for judicial review.”Blacklock's Reporter says Patrick Daniel Fischer, currently incarcerated at Kent Institution in Agassiz, B.C., appealed a 2021 Warden’s order that confiscated his electric guitar. The warden cited safety concerns, stating, “Guitars are large in size and weight and could be used as a weapon. A guitar being in your cell presents a risk. It could be used nefariously not just by yourself but by other inmates.”The Correctional Service informed the court that Fischer’s instrument was “a large, weighty guitar with removable steel strings.” Fischer, who was sentenced in 2001 to 25 years without parole for strangling a 16-year-old girl in Merritt, B.C., challenged the order. Evidence, including undercover police wiretaps, indicated the teen had visited Fischer to see his dog, and he confessed to police, saying, “It was either me or her.”Pathologists testified that the girl’s murder was a slow, agonizing death, taking two to four minutes without signs of struggle. Blackhawk emphasized that while a 2015 Commissioner’s Directive allowed inmates to apply for permission to keep certain musical instruments in federal prison, final decisions were at the discretion of local managers. “I appreciate the warden’s standing order prohibiting possession of guitars in cells,” wrote Blackhawk.“The warden has the necessary expertise and working knowledge to assess reasonable and foreseeable threats to the health, safety, and security of the inmates, staff, and the Institution as a whole,” noted the Court. “It is also clear such considerations are constantly changing based on the inmate population. I do not agree with the applicant that the Correctional Service must demonstrate guitars have been misused in an incident before the warden is able to prohibit the possession of such items for in-cell possession.”Prison rules forbid numerous household items, including badminton racquets, baseball gloves, cellphones, ceramic coffee mugs, cigarettes, digital watches, electric toothbrushes, flashlights, pendant necklaces, Polaroid photographs, scissors, and wire coat hangers.
A federal judge has ruled that prisoners do not have the right to keep guitars in their cells, a decision that emerged from the case of a convicted murderer ordered to surrender his electric guitar with removable steel strings.“I understand that playing music is therapeutic and a way for the applicant to use his time in a constructive and positive manner,” wrote Federal Court Justice Julie Blackhawk. “While the applicant does not agree with the decision, this is not a basis for judicial review.”Blacklock's Reporter says Patrick Daniel Fischer, currently incarcerated at Kent Institution in Agassiz, B.C., appealed a 2021 Warden’s order that confiscated his electric guitar. The warden cited safety concerns, stating, “Guitars are large in size and weight and could be used as a weapon. A guitar being in your cell presents a risk. It could be used nefariously not just by yourself but by other inmates.”The Correctional Service informed the court that Fischer’s instrument was “a large, weighty guitar with removable steel strings.” Fischer, who was sentenced in 2001 to 25 years without parole for strangling a 16-year-old girl in Merritt, B.C., challenged the order. Evidence, including undercover police wiretaps, indicated the teen had visited Fischer to see his dog, and he confessed to police, saying, “It was either me or her.”Pathologists testified that the girl’s murder was a slow, agonizing death, taking two to four minutes without signs of struggle. Blackhawk emphasized that while a 2015 Commissioner’s Directive allowed inmates to apply for permission to keep certain musical instruments in federal prison, final decisions were at the discretion of local managers. “I appreciate the warden’s standing order prohibiting possession of guitars in cells,” wrote Blackhawk.“The warden has the necessary expertise and working knowledge to assess reasonable and foreseeable threats to the health, safety, and security of the inmates, staff, and the Institution as a whole,” noted the Court. “It is also clear such considerations are constantly changing based on the inmate population. I do not agree with the applicant that the Correctional Service must demonstrate guitars have been misused in an incident before the warden is able to prohibit the possession of such items for in-cell possession.”Prison rules forbid numerous household items, including badminton racquets, baseball gloves, cellphones, ceramic coffee mugs, cigarettes, digital watches, electric toothbrushes, flashlights, pendant necklaces, Polaroid photographs, scissors, and wire coat hangers.
