Justice Turned-Up: P.A. Dept. of Corrections allows Turn It Up! Staying Strong Inside in all Pennsylvania prisons

The SERO Project, a national network of people with HIV that includes a large membership of incarcerated people, publishes Turn It Up! Staying Strong Inside. The latest edition is 34-pages of stories, information, fact sheets and resources for health and wellness.

In May 2017, SERO mailed over 30,000 copies of Turn It Up! Staying Strong Inside. Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections banned the publication  from all state facilities claiming it “promotes negative behavior within the correctional facility.” In particular, the P.A. Dept. of Corrections objected to a 1/2 page report of an unsuccessful hunger strike by inmates peacefully voicing grievances with a medical co-pay policy.

The AIDS Law Project appealed the decision arguing that under the First Amendment inmates are entitled to receive information on asserting their rights.

Earlier this month, in response to the appeal, P.A. Dept. of Corrections  reversed its decision.  Turn It Up! will be allowed to reach all inmates in Pennsylvania state facilities.