Lawsuit seeks interviews with Ohio riot inmates

COLUMBUS (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio wants the state prisons agency to drop a ban on media interviews by inmates convicted in the 1993 Lucasville prison riot.

Four reporters and five inmates represented by the ACLU say the long-standing ban is unconstitutional and meant only to stifle public discussion of the riot.

The lawsuit filed today in federal court in Columbus asks a judge to overturn the ban and allow interviews with the inmates, including four prisoners sentenced to death for their role in the riots.

JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the agency can’t comment on pending litigation.

Nine inmates and a guard were killed during the 11-day riot, the nation’s longest deadly prison uprising.