Dannie Martin is used to being punished when he does something wrong. Indeed, Martin, 49, is currently serving a 33-year prison sentence for the 1980 attempted armed robbery of a Cle Elum, Wash., bank. But Martin is convinced that a recent eviction from his home of seven years in California's federal penitentiary at Lompoc is a grave injustice, and he has a powerful ally. The San Francisco Chronicle has joined Martin in a lawsuit charging that federal prison officials are unfairly attempting to silence him for exercising his First Amendment rights to free speech.
Martin's relationship with the Chronicle began two...