A Letter From Prisoner #44902-112
This has been circulating on the adult webmaster forums I sometimes frequent. Commentary seems superfluous:
Friday, Feb. 6th, 2009 LA MDC
Greetings friends and fans,
I’m sorry that I haven’t contacted everyone before this late date, but recent extraordinary events have overwhelmed me, and rendered me incapable of anything but defensive actions. This is actually the very first opportunity that I have had to sit down and collect my thoughts in sufficient quantity and clarity to justify writing to you at all. I hope you are all in the best of health, and free to move about your world without having to ask permission to do so.
I want to assure you that physically I feel great, as I’ve made some very positive changes in my life, ridding myself of the grip that cigarettes and alcohol have had on my health and well-being. I must confess that I had little choice in the matter because I am presently incarcerated in a federal prison, but these are changes that will help me regain my health and renew my spirit and ultimately emerge from this prison a better man.
Some said it was inevitable that I should pass through here someday, because I’ve always had a problem with authorities telling me what I can and cannot do — but it still seems surreal that I’m in here not for what Paul Little did as a person, but for what the fictional character Max Hardcore did in a movie. Movies that no one was forced to watch (well, except inside a federal courthouse), movies that we as adults in this country ostensibly have the freedom to enjoy or ignore.
The authorities have finally jailed me on the incredibly vague and subjective crime of “obscenity”. Of course, the United States government took it upon itself to order and scrutinize these films despite the fact that no one in the community where I was tried had complained about them. It was clear at my trial that none of the jurors from Tampa Bay had ever seen anything like my videos, but those same people have decided what adults all over this country and, by extension, all over the world can watch in the privacy of their homes. And these films were presented to this jury not in their entirety, but in a way crafted by a judge concerned primarily by perceived “demeaning treatment” in the movies, including the use of “harsh and abusive language” as directed toward certain female actresses in a small number of my movies. Seems strange that an administration that condoned real torture would be so shocked and concerned about “demeaning treatment” and “harsh language” between consenting adult actors in a fictional film, but that’s what happened…
Amazingly, the jury went along with the whole government program, as I now know they almost always do, and convicted me on all 10 counts. The judge sentenced me to 46 months and a fine of nearly one hundred thousand dollars. I’m holding out hope that I can get conviction overturned in a higher court, but it’s an uphill battle that few ever win. Until the ridiculous Miller test of obscenity is thrown onto the trash heap of judicial history, I’m afraid just about any controversial artist could be convicted of it. The laws on the books are clearly out of step with what the public has demanded, so I’m sure it is only a matter of time before the government gets out of the business of trying to enforce morality. However, in the meantime, I would encourage all of you to spread the word about this case throughout the adult and mainstream entertainment industries, as well as letting your representatives in government know how outraged you are about this gross infringement on your freedom of speech.
They are flicking the lights in here and that means it’s time to head off to our cells and be counted in for the night. But I’ll write back soon and let you know how things are going, and pass on the benefit of my experience here. Until then, stay positive and live every day as if it were your last.
Sincerely,
Paul F. LittleMailing Address
Paul F. Little, Federal # 44902-112
Section 5-North
Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles
P.O. Box 1500
Los Angeles, CA 90053
Shorter URL for sharing: https://www.erosblog.com/?p=3149
Having seen portions of some of his films, it was past my personal comfort zone. However, it was made by two conselting adults (actors). Why should actions legal for two consenting adults be illegal to film and distribute?
I have not seen the film, and don’t know who Mr Little is. For me Porn, Science Fiction and Fantasy do not translate well to the silver screen, and so I avoid such films. But I am appalled that we as a nation still punish the expression of speech and ideas.
Hell, now that I can’t get these films, I want them all the more. Such is always the effect of prohibitions!
Uh… Karl, I’m not an attorney, but it seems to me that once evidence is introduced in such a court, it is part of what is called the “public record”, and as such, MUST be made available for “careful study”, to anyone who wishes to examine it.
Surely a true freedom-loving government would never DARE incarcerate one of it’s OWN citizens without providing a incontrovertable method of proving that they weren’t unjustly deprived of their inalienable right to liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness by some sort of illegitimate kangaroo court or other improper partisan procedure.
Such a quasi-judicial proceeding would invite the reasonable citizenry to “alter or abolish it and institute new government”…
Therefore, I’m guessing that the court would have to screen these films for you, or in the very least provide you with a certified copy of the material in question for your perusal. I’d go for the latter, because they might frown upon eating popcorn in their screening room…
If anyone feels like petitioning a Congressperson, I recommend postcards, in large quantities and bright colors. From experience (not from sending them), its what (seems to) work for the pro-lifers (the staff takes notice). I also recommend petitioning a Democratic member of Congress.
I was going to ask the question, “Is this for real?” and check in Snopes. Instead I Googled his name and the story of his sentencing pops up all over.
While I suspect I might find his work disturbing (based on what I’ve read here) I find it even more disturbing that we seem to have worked ourselves back to the era of censoring Lady Chatterly’s Lover and Tropic of Cancer.
We imprison those who create an image of violence, but we are not willing to charge those who actually commit torture upon the innocent?
I am a fan of bdsm porn performed by consenting adults, and still have access to tons of it via the internet. What am I missing in Paul’s case…why was he successfully prosecuted when many (Kink.com, Infernal Restraints, etc.) do not seem to be worried? Was it the use of the postal service? I looked around Google a bit, but cannot find the pivot on which this case turned, other than it was begun under the former administration’s judiciary umbrella.
Paul’s story terrifies me.
I don’t think he’s the first to be prosecuted (I recall hearing vague commentary about others), though I echo what Suze asked up there – I’m not clear why some and not others either.
As to Suze’s question of why he was singled out, after doing a bit of web-searching myself, I could only draw this conclusion (It would seem that there are two, maybe three differences…):
One: He publicly pointed out that the charges against him were false, and a waste of tax-payers money to distract us from the real issues (…like a failing economy).
Two: He didn’t have the resources to fight them, that other larger porn concerns had available to themselves.
Three: That he was good at what he did.
So Paul Little is Max Hardcore? He’s been doing films for over a decade! I never cared for his style but enjoy the fact that in a free country, he can express it.
I actually met him in 2000 at an Adult Expo and honestly, he was a very sweet man. Made me stomach his films a little easier. However, I am disgusted that he is serving time over them when real-life abusers roam free. Chris Brown, I’m talking to you.