Pennsylvania rescinds harsh ‘books to prisoners’ policy
Great news – Pennsylvania has rescinded its restrictions on ‘books to prisoners’ groups thanks to much press & pressure against the measure.
You can read much more about this via a Philadelphia Inquirer article:
http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania-book-ban-doc-books-through-bars-wetzel-20181102.html
As the piece notes:
“The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections — which in September announced it would put a halt to book donation programs and mail-order books and publications — has revised its policy, allowing book orders to resume through a new centralized processing center.
“Everyone who got involved called Gov. Wolf, wrote letters, shared the story on social media — it was really public pressure, we believe, that led to the DOC updating their policy to allow us to again send books directly to inmates,” said Jodi Lincoln, an organizer with Book ‘Em, a book donation program based in Pittsburgh. “It’s a good sign that our state system and elected representatives actually sometimes listen.””
(There are still details to be worked out, and many of the overly restrictive rules for the rest of prison mail are still in place, sadly. But we plan to start re-sending there in a few weeks.)
Prisoners Literature Project is an inclusive, all-volunteer, grassroots nonprofit whose purpose is to encourage reading, the pursuit of knowledge, and self-determination among incarcerated people. By sending free reading materials to those behind bars, PLP aims to foster learning and critical thinking and help people prepare to lead successful lives after incarceration. We believe that all people have a right to read.
