Posted on February 15, 2023 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
PEN America is pushing back against a proposal to digitize all mail at the prison on Rikers Island.
The New York Department of Corrections argues that the move will cut down on drug smuggling into the New York City facility, but PEN counters that staffers are the primary source of such contraband.
The digitization plan would also affect books, which is why it's popping up on our blog.
PEN expressed accessibility concerns about the digital-book-only plan, noting that the private company on deck to provide tablets for reading is a for-profit one — making it far more difficult for prisoners to receive reading material that they can afford.
The same day PEN issued its press release condemning the digital-only move in prisons, it also highlighted some older news: a list of the most banned picture books of the 2021-2022 school year.
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Categories: Today in Books