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NCAC:
5.09.2019 by Lauren Truong
In
March, the Washington Department of Corrections issued a new
policy banning nonprofit organizations from donating used books to
prisoners. After public outcry, the department reversed the ban and scheduled a
meeting with Books to
Prisoners, a Seattle nonprofit. The outcome has not been made public.
Federal
courts have repeatedly affirmed that prisoners have a First Amendment right to
read, and publishers and others have a right to send them reading materials.
While those rights can be restricted in the interest of security, blocking the
free flow of ideas serves no penological purpose. Proponents of stricter
controls on the books available to incarcerated readers argue that some
information is inherently dangerous, but the First Amendment is designed to
prohibit the suppression of information.
The
Washington State policy is one amongst many infringements on the free
expression rights of inmates in the US. In many states, Departments of
Corrections have strict guidelines on what types of books incarcerated folks
are and aren’t allowed to read. These guidelines tend to be worded broadly,
allowing varied interpretations and resulting in sweeping book bans. While bans
are often instituted in the name of security, many are simple abuses of power
in order to censor inmates’ access to information.
Books
featuring sexual content and nudity are frequently restricted. Prohibiting
books that contain sexual content prevents inmates from accessing classics such
as Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why
the Caged Bird Sings. A total ban on nudity includes books on figure drawing,
magazines about art and art history, and books on human anatomy.
Why
should we care?
Access
to books plays a huge role in rehabilitation. Prison literacy programs have
been shown to improve inmate behavior and lead to lower
recidivism rates. Additionally, many prison education programs regularly
face steep budget cuts. Allowing prisoners access to books provides low-cost
educational alternatives, in addition to rehabilitative benefits.
These
organizations (and many others) work to provide reading material to
incarcerated folks:
Prison
2016:
Highlights-US PIAAC Survey of Incarcerated Adults: Their Skills, Work
Experience, Education, and Training, NCES Number:
2016040
2013: Evaluating
the Effectiveness of Correctional Education, Rand
2013:
Saving Futures, Saving Dollars: The Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and
Earnings; Alliance
for Excellent Education
2011:
Correctional Education, OVAE
2010:
Prison Count, PEW
2009:
One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, PEW
2006:
Locked Up Locked Out: Educational Perspective on US Prison Population, ETS
2003:
Literacy Behind Bars, NAAL 2003
2003:
Education And Correctional Populations, BJS
1994:
Literacy Behind Prison Walls, NCES
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