British justice ministers have defended their push to prevent prisoners in England and Wales from having family and friends send them books.
They argue that prisoners can earn the right to buy books through the prison’s book selling program through a new “incentives and earned privileges” regime.
The Guardian has more: “Justice ministry officials say lifting the ban on sending in books would undermine the basis of the new regime. The prisons minister, Jeremy Wright, said: ‘The notion that we are banning books in prisons is complete nonsense. All prisoners can have up to 12 books in their cells at any one time, and all prisoners have access to the prison library. ‘Under the incentives and earned privileges scheme, if prisoners engage with their rehabilitation and comply with the regime, they can have greater access to funds to buy items, including books.'”
Writers have called the move barbaric, stressing the importance of reading as part of a prisoner’s rehabilitation.