For those who haven't heard, a new ban on packages going to prisoners is being "piloted" in NY. This means prisoners will not be able to receive fresh produce or commissary sent from family and worse yet they WILL BE RESTRICTED FROM RECEIVING BOOKS! They will have to buy from a few "approved vendors" who sell books at premium prices. TIn a state from Books through Bars, "The approved vendors’ catalogs are currently limited to the following books: five romance novels, fourteen bibles and other religious texts, twentyfour drawing or coloring books, twentyone puzzle books, eleven guitar, chess, and howto books, one dictionary, and one thesaurus. No books that help people learn to overcome addictions or learn how to improve as parents. No Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, Maya Angelou, or other literature that helps people connect with what it means to be human. No texts that help provide skills essential to finding and maintaining work after release from prison. No books about health, about history, about almost anything inside or outside the prison walls. This draconian restriction closes off so much of the world to thousands of people."
Sign the petition and join the campaign!
No Package Restrictions for NYS Prisoners!
diy.rootsaction.org
Visitation packages are a crucial part of subsistence in the prisons. New York State’s prison system that houses over 60,000 men, women, and children, all of whom are under fed, under nourished, and are not able to meet hygiene needs without purchasing products. Packages brought in by visitors all...
