Ag Argues Against Felons' Civil Rights

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- Attorney General Rob McKenna is arguing that felons who have not had their civil rights restored should not have the same rights to public records that others have.
McKenna makes the assertion in a friend-of-the-court brief that is to be filed with state Court of Appeals in a case concerning an imprisoned arsonist who's been trying to dig up information on the judges, lawyers and corrections officers who helped put him behind bars.
In the filing obtained by The Associated Press, McKenna — an active proponent of public records access — says that inmates' rights to public records under the Public Records Act is "fundamentally inconsistent with the objectives, needs and realities of the prison system and the legal status of inmates."