Incarcerated people are baffled by the state’s book screening process.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has a host of policies controlling which books people can have in prisons, how they can get them, and what they can do with them.
It’s also unclear who is allowed to send books. Officials say there’s no longer an approved vendor list, but documents show prison staff have still rejected books because senders weren’t on the approved list. Twenty of the 293 banned books don’t cite a specific clause of ODRC’s policy on banned materials. Instead, they are listed as harmful to rehabilitation and prison discipline. That includes 10 books about computers and electronics.
Smith, the department spokesperson, pointed out that people in prison have access to computers for educational programs and legal research, and that “allowing these types of printed materials presents a substantial risk of misuse” and poses a security threat. While states like Ohio list criteria about what could get a book banned and the procedures staff must follow to ban a book, Thompson found the standards in many states are vague and applied with little oversight, making prisoners’ ability to read dependent on the whims of prison staff.
The Ohio prison system’s banned book list also includes books that were screened, but ultimately permitted by the Publication Screening Committee. In some cases, it’s unclear why one book ended up banned, while another was allowed through.
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