Overview

• An inmate at the Federal Penitentiary Unit No. 5 in General Roca sought court intervention after guards refused to admit a PlayStation 2 sent by his family.
• Prison security officials cited the prisoner’s history of conflicts with other inmates and conditioned any future admission of the console on improved behavior.
• The petition was first denied by a regional federal court and then rejected by the General Roca Federal Court of Appeals.
• Judges concluded the refusal to admit the console did not constitute an illegitimate worsening of detention conditions or a violation of fundamental rights.
• The episode has prompted discussion about the boundary between protected rights in custody and penitentiary authority to regulate privileges based on conduct.