sister of the moon

Instead of inmates being able to receive donated books in the mail from family members and community groups, inmates at three New York prisons now have to purchase books selected by six, state-approved vendors. And the selection is limited. And expensive, activists say.

Novels cost $11.25 from one vendor.

A book about chess costs $29.95 from another.

And about a quarter of the titles are coloring books.

According to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the directive is in an effort to restrict contraband from entering the prison “through a more controlled inmate package program.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office has made the point that inmates still have access to prison libraries, but some say it’s not enough. “The problem with prison libraries is that [the prisons] control who has access to them,” said Amy Peterson with NYC Books Through Bars. “So people who are in solitary confinement don’t have access to prison libraries.”

Peterson’s group has been mailing books to prisoners all over the country for nearly two decades, with a focus on New York. “We get letters from people saying they had to borrow a stamp in order to write to us. So if these people can’t even afford postage, we don’t know how they’re going to be able to afford buying books from a vendor,” she said.

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From the NY Daily News:

Over the past several days, inmate advocates pointed out that the vendors combined offered only five romance novels, 14 religious texts, 24 drawing or coloring books, 21 puzzle books, 11 how-to books, one dictionary, and one thesaurus.

Sign this petition from the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee

Send postcards to Gov. Cuomo and Acting Prison Commissioner Annucci

Leave a message about it at Gov. Cuomo’s office (you can follow the script from the postcard link): 518-474-8390

If you’re in NY, contact your State Senator and State Assembly Member

Donate to NYC Books Through Bars

Oh there’s more. So fucking vile…

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