Kevin T. Singer is currently serving a life sentence for murdering his sister's boyfriend. He's also challenging the prison's rights to take away his Dungeons & Dragons.
Incarcerated at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin in 2002, Singer had for two years been not only playing D&D with his cellmates, but had in his possession several books on the subject, and had even written his own 96-page scenario.
In 2004, however, the prison banned the game after an anonymous inmate complained that Singer and his friends were forming a "gang" around the game.
His game and reference materials were then confiscated by prison guards, on the grounds that they promoted "fantasy role playing, competitive hostility, violence, addictive escape behaviors, and possible gambling".
Singer appealed the prison's decision, but earlier this week 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his pleas, on the grounds that "punishment is a fundamental aspect of imprisonment".
Game over: Wisconsin inmate can't play Dungeons & Dragons [InsideBayArea] [image credit]