Reading can reduce recidivism [2]. Taking inspiration from John F. Kennedy [3], I'd say that those who make prison rehabilitation impossible will make preventable recidivism inevitable.
[1] https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/10/18/prison-drugs-o...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changing_Lives_Through_Literat...
[3] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-first-...
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/16/brazil-jair-bo...
You can thumb flip through 300 pages in under a second to see that there is nothing in there.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bug+pesticide+paper+prison
https://www.goerie.com/story/news/crime/2024/11/27/inmate-ma...
I think the best alternative solution is to get better e-books on the tablets the prisons already have, as airstrike said.
> This is the strictest ban on sending reading material to prisons in the country. Advocates worry this will launch similar efforts nationwide. [0]
What are we talking about here? Who are these advocates and why should I listen to their worries over prison personnel?
This didn't come out of nowhere. Book and letters have both been used in the past to smuggle in drugs - including soaking the paper in liquids and then extracting them or using them directly inside.
hn_acker•3h ago
> Arkansas inmates restricted from receiving physical books, other media directly under new policy
The article is from December 2025, and the policy takes effect on February 1, 2026.