Hans Reiser Guilty of First Degree Murder (Wired)

This is getting a bit far afield, but this idea that programmers shouldn't be allowed to
program while in prison is one that utterly rubs me the wrong way.

History is full of people who wrote letters and essays and literature in prison. And were
allowed to use a pencil and paper and get it published. King's Letter From a Birmingham Jail
is the first one that comes to mind.

This writing from inside prison has been allowed to have sometimes large impacts on the world
outside. (It's also no doubt been used to continue criminal careers from "inside".) Similary,
prisoners are allowed to use phones (with various limitations). And yet, currently there's a
feeling that using a computer and the net is somehow a privledge that should be taken away
from the incarcerated. Especially if they're programmers.

Perhaps this is just another case of the legal/justice system lagging technology by the
customary 50 years. I hope so.

And if you think that being in prison while still being allowed to write (or program) is any
kind of "normal life", please think again.