DRUG SCANNER SCREENS VISITORS TO LOUISIANA PRISON

Residue Detector Has Critics Angry Over Rights

ANGOLA, La. - Guards at the Angola prison are turning away visitors who
flunk scans from a machine that detects trace amounts of drug residue on a
person's hands.

At least 54 people have been barred from visiting inmates at the Louisiana
State Penitentiary because of the $39,000 IONSCAN device, which was
installed March 1, said Warden Burl Cain.

Families of Angola inmates are upset about the procedure, said a woman who
asked to be identified only as a 68-year-old grandmother.

"I'm being treated as a criminal, and I don't appreciate it," she said.

The device, made by Barringer Technologies Inc., was calibrated so that it
would not fail someone whose only contact with drugs came from handling
money, Mr. Cain said. It has successfully stood up to legal challenges in
other areas, where it has been used in drug cases, he said.

The scanner is among several reported policy changes at the prison since a
pair of attempted escapes in November and December. The December escape
resulted in the deaths of an inmate and guard.

Joe Cook, executive director for the Louisiana chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union, called the use of the drug scanner "unconscionable."

"Since these escape attempts, they've been trying to make life more hellish
for inmates, and one way to do this is to limit visitation," Mr. Cook said.
"They can take reasonable precautions. . . . But this is going overboard
and will screen out many people who have nothing to do with the illegal
drug trade."