Volunteers with the Inside Books Project have been sending used books to people in Texas prisons for nearly three decades.
Here's how the process works:
Incarcerated individuals send hand-written letters including a request for what they'd like to read, and sometimes details of their day-to-day life behind bars. Then, a volunteer searches for the right literature that fits the person's preferred genre or author, before writing a return letter and sending the package back to the prison.
But new regulations are now threatening that work. In April, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) issued a ban on hardcover and used books in its prisons.
Hope Corrigan, who reports on the U.S. prison system, books and culture, sat down with NTX Now's Ron Corning and Miranda Suarez about her latest piece for the Texas Observer titled "Throwing the Book at Books in Prison."
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the 'listen' button above.
Importance of access to literature
Corrigan explains that research shows having access to books while in prison reduces the risk of recidivism, or returning to the prison system. She said it also gives inmates something to do with their time while offering a way to entertain and educate themselves.
"In general, having access to books, easy access to books, makes life easier for people who are incarcerated and the staff who work in prisons as well," she said.
Requests coming to Inside Books range from fiction, travel guides, business books, spirituality, and even self-help books.
Purpose of the ban
TDCJ put this ban into effect because they say there have been instances where books have been being used to smuggle contraband into prison. Corrigan says the statistics of how often that's happening are murky.
"The spokesperson that I spoke with told me that over the last year, the entire year, they logged 385 alleged instances of narcotics being found on books," Corrigan said. "For context, she also told me that between January and April of this year, 25,000 book packages passed through state prison. So if you do the math there, it's a pretty low number of instances where they are allegedly finding narcotics on books."
What's next?
The vast majority of books being offered to inmates right now are donations of gently used books. Corrigan says the rules for what packages prison mail rooms can accept are still unclear.
"If there's underlining, if there are stains on the book, if there is highlighting, that's still to be determined if those books are going to be accepted or if they have to be completely brand new," Corrigan said.
Advocates are also debating if the lack of access to books is a violation of a prisoner's civil rights.
"I think it is in everybody's best interest that they support people having ways to better themselves in prison," Corrigan said. "Because most people are released from prison and they become our neighbors and coworkers and people in our community."
"It's in their best interest, as well, to make sure that people who are incarcerated have things that can help them when they get out."
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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