There is a big disparity in prison literature today. While there are places that have a decent supply of books, most of them are in need of mostly everything and the ones who do have books cannot get the right ones. Some prisons just cannot get the textbooks they need or enough books for their law library.
This is however one of the main reason people are somewhat against inmates reading some of what they are allowed to read. It is not the fact that they are reading that people object to, but rather the material they are allowed to read. People think that because they are in prison and therefore being punished that they should not be allowed to read law books, erotic books, or other material that some find offensive.
In this country you might be "innocent until proven guilty" but if you are "proven guilty you are surely not innocent". Or at least that is the prevailing thought amongst most of society these days. The fact of the matter is that over the last year in Illinois alone there have been two people released from incarceration because they were later found to be innocent.
While it is a happy day that they have finally been set free, they have unfortunately already served 17 and 22 years respectively and that is time that they cannot get back.So when you think about these cases you have to wonder if there was anything that could have been done differently for them or to them that might have changed the situation.
There are a lot of people who have very strong feelings about the prison system and do not want to help anybody who is there learn to do anything. They figure that if they did not take advantage of the schooling they were given on the outside why should we pity them now and teach them to read. A lot of people agree with that statement.
So the books that the library is filled with come from donations for the most part and they claim that they cannot turn down the donations because that would be foolish. If law books are donated they should be kept in the library and the inmates should be allowed to check them out and read them.
Of course this type of thing generally happens in an election year because it can be a ploy to get more votes. But that is not always the case. And even if it is it does not matter to those who need the materials. In many cases they don't care how they get the books, just so long as they get them. There are many who agree with that sentiment.
Another problem with prison literature is that when they get donations there is no way to ask for specific materials. They are just happy to get what they get. Most times they are in need of text books for the school programs or books to help inmates learn to read. It is also hard because more people feel they do not deserve this then there are who want to help.
This is however one of the main reason people are somewhat against inmates reading some of what they are allowed to read. It is not the fact that they are reading that people object to, but rather the material they are allowed to read. People think that because they are in prison and therefore being punished that they should not be allowed to read law books, erotic books, or other material that some find offensive.
In this country you might be "innocent until proven guilty" but if you are "proven guilty you are surely not innocent". Or at least that is the prevailing thought amongst most of society these days. The fact of the matter is that over the last year in Illinois alone there have been two people released from incarceration because they were later found to be innocent.
While it is a happy day that they have finally been set free, they have unfortunately already served 17 and 22 years respectively and that is time that they cannot get back.So when you think about these cases you have to wonder if there was anything that could have been done differently for them or to them that might have changed the situation.
There are a lot of people who have very strong feelings about the prison system and do not want to help anybody who is there learn to do anything. They figure that if they did not take advantage of the schooling they were given on the outside why should we pity them now and teach them to read. A lot of people agree with that statement.
So the books that the library is filled with come from donations for the most part and they claim that they cannot turn down the donations because that would be foolish. If law books are donated they should be kept in the library and the inmates should be allowed to check them out and read them.
Of course this type of thing generally happens in an election year because it can be a ploy to get more votes. But that is not always the case. And even if it is it does not matter to those who need the materials. In many cases they don't care how they get the books, just so long as they get them. There are many who agree with that sentiment.
Another problem with prison literature is that when they get donations there is no way to ask for specific materials. They are just happy to get what they get. Most times they are in need of text books for the school programs or books to help inmates learn to read. It is also hard because more people feel they do not deserve this then there are who want to help.
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