Tag: censorship in prisons

Banned Books: Prisons

A single packed shelf of books behind the gray bars of a prison cell.

Banned Books Week starts this month, running from September 26–October 2. Each week leading up to the event, we will profile one of the many spaces in the United States where books are banned. We’ll look at who is banning…

Comics & Manga Among 20,000 titles Banned in Florida Prisons

As book censorship in prisons gains more media attention, more journalists and nonprofits successfully gather further proof of the rampant First Amendment Rights violations happening to inmates all over the country. The latest state to be exposed for disregarding prisoners’…

Victory for ACLU and Chokehold in AZ

The Arizona Department of Corrections decided to reverse its previous ban on Paul Butler’s autobiography, Chokehold: Policing Black Men after the ACLU threatened to sue. ACLU announced the decision on Twitter, and Butler also tweeted about the decision, calling it…

NH Book Ban Targets Texts Critical of Prisons

The Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), recently discovered that New Hampshire’s Department of Corrections is rejecting books that are critical of the prison industrial complex. According to a report published by Book Riot, the DOC’s guidelines are aimed at removing…

ACLU Urges GA Sheriff to Rescind Book Ban

The ACLU is working to reverse a new policy in a Georgia prison that severely limits inmates access to books and publications, by only allowing them to choose from what is available on the book cart. They’ve written a letter to Chatham…

WA Reverses Prison Book Ban After Failed Defense

The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) reversed its decision to ban book donations from nonprofits after outcry from the public and local lawmakers, including WA Governor Jay Inslee, voiced questions about the ban. DOC had previous enacted the policy…

Comics, Manga, and More Censored in Louisiana Prisons

Comics, manga, and art books figure heavily in the list of 950 books and periodicals banned by the Louisiana Department of Corrections (LDOC). The list itself was uncovered by The Times-Picayune following a public records request. Many inmate advocate groups…