Off the I-15

Interested in reading a face-to-face interview with a notorious Barstow criminal serving time in a state prison?

Perhaps not this year.

The governor recently vetoed a bill that would have eased restrictions on members of the media when interviewing inmates. According to state senate documents, the bill would have allowed journalists to interview inmates in person, face-to-face, prohibited audio monitoring of interviews, and banned administrative retaliation against an inmate for participating in an interview.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation allowed interviews from 1975 to 1996 when it adopted emergency regulations that hampered the media’s access. Similar bills have been vetoed seven times before, the documents state.

In his attached veto message, Schwarzenegger echoed rationale used in past vetos.

“For the past two years I have vetoed similar measures because these bills would allow the media to glamorize murderers and thereby once again traumatize crime victims and their families,” he wrote.

In addition to publicly stating his veto, the message directs the state corrections department to develop new regulations concerning media access with the interests of the media and the victims in mind.

— Aaron Aupperlee | Staff writer