Montreal inmate's prison photos

   Prisoners aren't supposed to have cell phones, internet access or cameras in prison, but these photos -- I'm assuming are from Bordeaux Prison -  were posted on an open profile of a young incarcerated Montrealer.
   The inmate, whose name I won't reveal here, openly announced that he is in prison and had these snaps posted next to other photos of himself lovingly posing with his young daughter.
   The issue of prisoners flouting the rules and getting on the internet isn't new.
   Several years ago I wrote about imprisoned triple-murderer Valeri Fabrikant's participation in online discussions through the help of his son. I later received a brief but crabby phone call from Fabrikant, presumably patched into a three-way call by one of his family members.
   So prisoners aren't entirely without access to advanced communications technology, in spite of the official rules.
   And although I am generally soft on crime, I believe that most prisoners behind bars are there for a good reason and deserved to be deprived of such creature comforts.
   I began to doubt even that recently however, after a small, quiet, gentle friend was sentenced for spousal abuse on a wife who was much larger, aggressive, drugged-out, drunker and more insane than he could ever dream of being.
   After being released, he was sent back inside for a much-longer stretch simply for being caught drinking a beer while riding his bicycle, which was a parole violation.  
   So he spent the better part of a year behind bars for being drunk on occasion and fighting back against his wife's drunken attacks.
   The good news is that his wife left him for another man while he was behind bars.
   So I'm not entirely without sympathy for certain inmates who are sent to live in such depression conditions.