via AlterNet:
The Loop 21 /
By Nadra Kareem NittlePrisons Ban Books (Except the Bible)
Nationwide, the works of Toni Morrison, Sojourner Truth and even Shakespeare have reportedly been banned in prisons.May 20, 2011 |
When Malcolm X made the transition from a crimminal to a Civil Rights icon he credited the books he was able to read while in prison for his success. But the catalyst that took a man from the streets to the history books is often denied to those incarcerated today as many U.S. prisons have started banning most reading materials.
Nationwide, the works of Toni Morrison and Sojourner Truth have reportedly been banned in prisons, even Shakespeare. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a suit against the Berkeley County Jail in South Carolina, because inmates there are allegedly only allowed to read the Bible. And by July this year, the Connecticut Department of Corrections plans to further limit the books inmates there can read over concerns that an ex-con took part in the notorious Petit family murders in 2007 after reading violent books in prison.
“The idea that this horrific crime was a result of what they read in jail and not other factors is simplistic,” said David C. Fathi, director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project, to theLoop21. “The Bible contains many scenes of appalling violence and cruelty, but no one suggests that prisoners should not be allowed to read the Bible.”
A publication called the Prison Legal News (PLN), which produces materials informing inmates of their rights, is the plaintiff in the ACLU’s lawsuit against Berkeley County Detention Center, along with the U.S. Justice Department. In 2008, a staffer at the jail allegedly told a PLN staffer that the publication was banned there due to its Bible-only policy. ...........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.alternet.org/story/151026/prisons_ban_books_%28except_the_bible%29/