Calls Emerge to Ban Books Depicting in Prison

There's a call to ban certain books from prison libraries in Connecticut. 

An Associated Press review of book lists shows inmates have access to true crime books and fiction that depicts murder and violence. 

For example, "In Cold Blood," about a 1959 killing in Kansas, is available in at least two Connecticut prisons, including one where Steven Hayes, the suspect on trial for a similar 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, had served time.

There's no apparent restriction based on a reader's criminal history, but State Senator John Kissel, whose district includes six state prisons, said he'll ask that books like “In Cold Blood,” with violent themes be removed from the prisons.

"There are so many books in the world, and I don't think inmates need to be reading about murder, whether it's fiction or nonfiction," Kissel told the AP.

If the department does not remove the books, he said  he will introduce legislation to force them. The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut said it would oppose any such ban.

 "This is yet another case of politicians scapegoating expression as the cause of serious violent crime," said ACLU attorney David McGuire.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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