US jail inmate sues over pornography ban

A US jail inmate said he is being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment because he can not have pornography.

In a hand-written lawsuit, 21-year-old Kyle Richards claims his civil rights are being violated at the Macomb County Jail.

Richards said denying his request for erotic material subjects him to a "poor standard of living" and "sexual and sensory deprivation".

The Michigan Department of Corrections told The Detroit News that prisons allow some pornographic material, though it is banned at the jail. The American Civil Liberties Union said prisons have a lot of leeway.

Richards was charged with bank robbery after police followed a trail of snowy footprints and dropped money to his apartment from a bank robbery scene in January in Fraser, north of Detroit.

Richards pleaded guilty. Sentencing is on August 2.