Booksology Censorship is rampant in American prisons. This is the highest number of First Amendment violations in the United States. Between ever-changing policies regarding what can and cannot enter prison facilities, a lack of library and on-site trained library staff, and the prohibitive costs of accessing inferior tablets and e-books (including having to pay to access public domain books), people experiencing incarceration are not only punished by their location, but are further denied the ability to learn and grow. Prison censorship is nothing new. It’s part of the legacy of slavery.
Arkansas’ new blanket ban overrides a statewide policy that has been in place for nearly two decades. Before the new policy was put in place, corrections officers were individually examining and deciding whether materials could be given to people inside. Materials for incarcerated people were already limited to those sent directly from publishers or approved vendors, and materials sent from individuals or unauthorized organizations were prohibited. Currently, materials are only allowed into the system upon request for donation to the prison library and/or prison chaplain. Staffing levels for libraries within the system already vary from facility to facility, even when such staff exist.
The blanket ban on personal printed matter follows accusations that such printed material serves as a conduit for smuggling illegal drugs into prisons. Dexter Payne, director of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, claimed in a memo that there are “continued and escalating attempts to introduce unknown harmful and potentially deadly substances by soaking or impregnating paper products, including books, newspapers, magazines, and legal and religious documents.” He said the ban on books, magazines and newspapers was necessary to ensure the safety of prison staff and incarcerated individuals.
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“I don’t believe that the majority of people in prison are trafficking drugs through the mail. This is an overreach by banning all printed materials from entering the prison,” Naseem said. “We have to look at how these drugs are coming in through officers who bring in illegal drugs. Are we going to ban all the materials they bring in, from their lunches to the legal pads they put notes on? If our primary concern is eradicating drugs from our facilities, we need to tap into a broader net and apply our policies to the people who work in our prisons.”
Drug smuggling is one of the most typical excuses for such prohibitions, but no real data, evidence, or comparisons are presented with other means by which “illegal substances” enter prisons.
“There are serious questions about the veracity of the drug claims,” added Michelle Dillon, director of Seattle Books to Prisoners. “A 2024 report from the New York Bureau of Investigation found that the methods currently used by the Department of Corrections, including when administering tests on paper or books, result in a false positive rate up to 91% of the time. This problem is very likely to exist in any correctional system that uses these methods to test items in the mailroom.”
The Marshall report investigated media coverage of how print material became the main source of drugs entering prisons in October 2023. Advocates for incarcerated individuals have heard similar claims from correctional officials in other states as to why their contributions are being denied or denied altogether.
From what they say:
But (Dylan) Pyles, co-founder of Liberation Lit, said prison staff are more likely to be the source of contraband than nonprofit book organizations. The director of the Missouri Correctional Officers Association told the Jefferson City News Tribune that he supports mail regulations, even though prison staff are the main source of drugs and smuggling through the mail is minimal. In April, police arrested a corrections officer on suspicion of smuggling drugs into a facility where an overdose death occurred.
There is also evidence from other states that security guards are a source of drugs and other illegal contraband. Since 2018, there have been at least 360 cases in which staff members smuggled contraband, including drugs, into Georgia prisons, according to an investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. An Urban Institute study of several correctional facilities across the country also found that in Florida, staff are a common source of contraband cell phones and cigarettes.
Payne emphasized that while incarcerated individuals can still access digital resources in institutional libraries and on prison tablets, these are inadequate and expensive alternatives. In fact, this blanket ban represents an opportunity to increase costs and reduce choice for prisons, where such conduct is already widely restricted.
“Most people who are incarcerated cannot afford to regularly purchase new books or e-books on a tablet, especially when the system is set up to demand money from people in prison for many other necessities of life, such as deodorant and phone calls to loved ones. And while we work to eliminate this harmful new policy in Arkansas, it is important to emphasize that similar policies are being rolled out in prison systems across the country,” Dillon says.
Arkansas stands out among the nations with significantly higher prison rates than other democracies. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, more than 27,000 people will be in Arkansas prisons in 2023. Black people make up the largest proportion of people experiencing incarceration, at a rate roughly three times that of white people. Arkansas is also one of the states that has seen its prison population increase since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Naseem, who was sentenced to life imprisonment at the age of 17 and served 28 years before being released in 2018, found that having access to books was critical to his education and enrichment. Information helps me keep an open mind, and I believe that a variety of books and reading choices is a way for the inner person to continue to improve themselves.
“Some of the best books I’ve been introduced to are not books I ordered myself, but books that were circulating around the facility,” he explains. “Suspending books that go directly to incarcerated people prevents such valuable books from circulating around prison populations; prophet Written by Kahlil Gibron. ”
Revoking access for incarcerated individuals to request materials deprives them of one of their few opportunities to grow and further their potential. Rather than address the root of the problem, particularly drug rehabilitation services, the state has chosen to deny educational opportunities to its most vulnerable populations. But for the prison-industrial complex to thrive, cutting off access to one of the most effective tools for preventing recidivism means more than just brutality. It is to protect and fuel the system.
However, all hope is not lost. Similar to censorship in public schools and libraries, advocates on the ground can take action to protect access to books for incarcerated people. This is true whether you live in Arkansas or any other US state. deARcerate and the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition urge everyone concerned about fundamental rights to sign a statement opposing this policy as an unjustified suppression of reading in prison. Let the administrators and elected officials of the Arkansas Department of Corrections know that you do not support the suppression of education and reading.
“The quality of education available in prisons is lacking at best, so the public needs to take action,” Naseem said. “Because we want people to come back healthy and healthy.”
Read more about book banning and the work decARcerate is doing in our press release.
