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The list of books banned by Texas prison in recent years looks like the bookshelf of a dangerous counterculture, and it\u2019s easy to understand why Texas prison officials decided to deny access to some of these fiery tomes.<\/p>\nThe list of books banned by Texas prison in recent years looks like the bookshelf of a dangerous counterculture, and it\u2019s easy to understand why Texas prison officials decided to deny access to some of these fiery tomes.<\/p>\n
Or — wait. What are we talking about here? Books like the incendiary screeds of underground author\u2026. John Grisham? The dangerous words of Alice Walker? John Updike?<\/p>\n
And there are dirty pictures on the no-read list, too. Books on Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Picasso and Michelangelo aren\u2019t allowed in Texas prisons.<\/p>\n
What could possibly be the danger of a John Grisham book? Perhaps prisoners will be inspired to hatch a complex and diabolical scheme involving a colorful cast of characters rigging a jury or winning a civil lawsuit.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s probably it.<\/p>\n
The Austin American-Statesman<\/em> reported<\/a> on Texas’ ridiculous and overreaching book bans on Sunday, finding through a public information request that prison officials in the state had reviewed 89,795 titles over the years and censored at least 5,000 of them. The system is fairly arbitrary — prison mailroom staff look for offensive images and make the decision on the spot. Prisoners can appeal to state officials, but it’s tough to argue on behalf of a book you can’t see.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is an unacceptable abuse of power by prison officials who are refusing to consider the interests of more than 150,000 prisoners. Access to books and educational resources is critical to the success of prisoners after release, and by denying inmates books, Texas is simply perpetuating its sprawling prison system.<\/p>\n Pete Brook wrote about this issue<\/a> a few months ago, pointing to Texas’ refusal of two books on the prison system: Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System<\/em><\/a>, by journalist Silja J.A. Talvi and Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime<\/a>,<\/em> by Joel Dyer.<\/p>\n More than 500 Change.org community members have written<\/a> to Texas Department of Criminal Justice Director Brad Livingston, urging him to reverse the department’s decision on these two books. By focusing on these two important books, we can show Texas leaders that these decisions have an impact and shouldn’t be made lightly.<\/p>\n