In March 2019, the Washington State Department of Corrections (WA DOC) prohibited state prisons from accepting used books mailed to individuals, alleging that they could be used to smuggle drugs. Books to Prisoners successfully challenged this decision. Support from local media was invaluable in rallying public opinion behind incarcerated people’s right to read.
4/1/2019 Washington Prisoners May No Longer Be Able to Receive Donated Books The Stranger
4/1/2019 Washington State Prisons Ban Used Book Donations KING 5 News
4/3/2019 Washington Department of Corrections Quietly Bans Book Donations to Prisoners from Non-Profits Book Riot
4/4/2019 Officials quietly banned prisoners from receiving used books through the mail. Outcry is now drawing concern in Olympia. Seattle Times
4/8/2019 Washington DOC quietly bans prisoners from receiving used books video clip, KIRO 7 News.
4/10/2019 Corrections officials’ claims of contraband in used books mailed to Washington inmates don’t add up, Seattle Times
4/10/2019 Washington corrections officials reverse ban, will allow prisoners to get used books in the mail, Yakima Herald
5/9/2019 Books to Prisoners: Action is Still Needed Seattle Collegian