BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A Shelby County man released from jail last week after five months for refusing a judge's order to remove comments on his blog says he is thankful to be out of jail but maintains the court-ordered censorship violated his constitutional rights.

"I'm very thankful to be out of jail. It was an extremely difficult experience, physically and mentally," Roger Shuler stated in an email Tuesday night to AL.com in response to a request for comment.

A judge ordered Shuler released, at least temporarily, on March 26 after Shuler's wife, Carol, recently removed certain comments on Shuler's blog Legal Schnauzer. The judge had ordered Shuler arrested on a contempt charge in late October after he did not remove comments the judge had ruled were defamatory against the son of former Alabama Gov. Bob Riley.

"I had hoped to be released much sooner than this, with the help of legal counsel that could have argued that the preliminary injunction in my case was improper under roughly 200 years of American law. It's a classic prior restraint, the kind that long has been forbidden under the First Amendment," Shuler wrote in his email.

"Outside legal counsel was slow in developing, and I couldn't argue the case for myself from inside the jail, so over the course of several weeks my wife figured out how to remove certain items as ordered by the court and gained my release. I see her as a hero in this, operating under very stressful conditions," Shuler wrote.

Shuler stated in another email this morning that he continues to look at "possible legal remedies. I'm not sure yet what form those might take, but I think it is essential to explore those options."

Shuler also wrote in the earlier email about the decision to remove comments from Legal Schnauzer and his Twitter account and conditions in the jail.

"I guess you could say it was a survival move. While inmates and guards generally treated me well, jail is a rough place," Shuler stated. "I witnessed an inmate suicide and regularly witnessed fights or intense verbal altercations that threatened to become dangerous. I needed to get out, especially when you consider this was a civil matter that involved no criminal allegations."

"I regret that it took five months to make this happen, but we had very little direction from the court on how to make this happen. And inmates in general have very limited opportunities to communicate with the outside world. I'm not sure the general public understands just how isolating the jail experience can be. I certainly didn't realize it until I experienced it," Shuler wrote.

Shuler also stated he was thankful for the help he and his wife received from people and groups while he was jailed.

"As for support from different groups, I know the ACLU and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) filed briefs on my behalf--and I greatly appreciate that," Shuler wrote. "I know a lot of people from all walks of life were in touch with Carol, offering support in different ways. I think my case was so extraordinary--I was the only jailed journalist in the Western Hemisphere for 2013--I'm not sure a lot of people knew exactly how to respond to it. It's just not the kind of thing you see, or should see, in the United States. Plus, the case file was sealed for a number of months, and that helped keep people in the dark."

"I do know that Carol and I have been in a lot of thoughts and prayers, and that means more to us than I can say."

In his order releasing Shuler, Circuit Judge Claud D. Neilson stated that Shuler may be released from custody pending a review by the court of all actions taken to remove the defamatory items and if the defendants have purged themselves of contempt. The judge also warned in his order that his injunction ordering Shuler to take the comments down is permanent.

In October, Rob Riley - son former Gov. Bob Riley - sued Shuler for libel and sought the injunction after Shuler alleged on his blog that Riley had an affair. Neilson was specially appointed to hear it.