Volunteers continue to face restrictions as they work to provide free books to people incarcerated in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
For nearly two decades, Wisconsin Books to Prisoners<\/a> sent new and gently used books to inmates who wrote to the group, requesting specific titles and topics.<\/p>\n But last year, the state Department of Corrections told Wisconsin Books to Prisoners it could only send new books<\/a> from preapproved vendors.<\/p>\n Stay connected to Wisconsin news \u2014 your way<\/p>\n Get trustworthy reporting and unique local stories from WPR delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n That meant Books to Prisoners had to stop sending used books, which were often donated to the nonprofit organization by community members. <\/p>\n Prison officials said they were concerned about drugs being smuggled in used books shipments.<\/p>\n \u201cAs DOC has shared previously, paper has become a vehicle for some to attempt to smuggle intoxicating substances into correctional facilities nationwide,\u201d Department of Corrections spokesperson Beth\u00a0Hardtke said in a statement. \u201cThese substances have the potential to harm or kill individuals who come into contact with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Leaders with Books to Prisoners have said a books-only policy isn\u2019t feasible in the long-term because it significantly increases costs.<\/p>\n And, in recent months, Wisconsin Books to Prisoners has run into roadblocks after some of its new book shipments were returned or just never delivered, said Camy Matthay, a cofounder of Wisconsin Books to Prisoners.<\/p>\n Matthay said the group hasn\u2019t gotten clear answers from the DOC about what happened to those shipments. <\/p>\n Because of that, Matthay said Books to Prisoners has largely halted its operations at most prisons. She says that\u2019s led to heartbreaking letters from book lovers who are behind bars.<\/p>\n \u201cLetters like, \u2018Your program has been so impactful,\u2019 and, \u2018I\u2019m absolutely distraught at the fact that your program looks like it\u2019s being shut down,\u2019\u201d Matthay said. \u201cWe get many letters like that.\u201d<\/p>\n DOC, Books to Prisoners have started pilot program at one prison<\/p>\n In a news release earlier this month, Wisconsin Books to Prisoners \u2014 sometimes called WBTP \u2014 reiterated it wants to get back to is previous way of doing business. That means sending both new and used books to individual people locked up inside all of Wisconsin\u2019s prisons.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are cautiously optimistic that WBTP will be back or close\u00a0to\u00a0our full operations by September 2025,\u201d the nonprofit said in that release.<\/p>\n In a response to an email from WPR, a DOC spokesperson did not answer a question about whether that goal could be achieved by this fall.<\/p>\n Books to Prisoners has been working with the Department of Corrections to gradually expand used book offerings via a pilot program at the Oakhill Correctional Facility, a minimum security men\u2019s prison in southcentral Wisconsin.<\/p>\n Earlier this summer, the department and Books to Prisoners completed the first phase of that pilot, which involved sending about 90 books \u2014 some of which were secondhand \u2014 to the Oakhill prison library. <\/p>\n As part of that pilot\u2019s second phase, Books to Prisoners was going to send used books to individual inmates at Oakhill, similar to how the group operated before the recently-imposed restrictions, Matthay said.<\/p>\n Matthay said the second phase of that pilot was scheduled to begin this week, but days before the planned start, a DOC official said it would be delayed.<\/p>\n The DOC did not answer a question from WPR about why the second phase was delayed or whether and when it could be expected to start.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pilot program is designed to allow DOC to test and refine its screening process for donated reading materials to ensure the safety of both staff and persons in our care,\u201d Hardtke wrote in an email to WPR. \u201cThe goal is to eventually allow WBTP to send reading materials to all DOC facilities \u2013 safely<\/strong> \u2026 DOC must proceed deliberately as screening processes and procedures are studied and refined.\u201d<\/p>\n How are drugs getting into Wisconsin prisons?<\/p>\n Moira Marquis,<\/a> an anti-censorship advocate who founded Prison Banned Books Book Week<\/a>, is skeptical of the DOC\u2019s state rationale for restricting books. <\/p>\n Marquis says studies are needed on what policies are effective at keeping illegal drugs out of prisons. But she says data from other states<\/a> indicates that drugs are more likely to be smuggled in by prison staff<\/a> rather than being sent through the mail.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to deny somebody a constitutional right, you should have very robust reasons for that,\u201d Marquis said of restrictions on books in prison. \u201cAnd I want to see that evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n There have been reports across the country of drugs being smuggled into prisons and jails through paper that\u2019s soaked in controlled substances<\/a>, including synthetic cannabinoids. <\/p>\n Wisconsin\u2019s Department of Corrections has recently tightened up its mail scanning policy, and it previously provided partially-redacted incident reports to WPR, indicating some book shipments have tested positive for drugs in the past.<\/p>\n But Marquis says mail scanners used by prisons are notoriously<\/a> unreliable<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMany lawsuits have already happened in various states because of false positives,\u201d said Marquis, who works at an organization called the Petey Greene Project<\/a>, which provides college readiness programs to incarcerated people. <\/p>\n In recent years, multiple people have died of drug overdoses while incarcerated in Wisconsin, and that\u2019s prompted wrongful death lawsuits against the state\u2019s prison system<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2023, the governor confirmed the Federal Bureau of Investigation had launched an investigation into allegations that corrections employees were smuggling contraband into Wisconsin\u2019s Waupun prison. Last year, a federal judge sentenced a former Waupun maintenance worker to house arrest <\/a>after he pleaded guilty to taking bribes in exchange for smuggling cell phones and marijuana into the maximum-security facility.<\/p>\n \u2018Books saved my life\u2019 says woman who served time in Wisconsin<\/p>\n DOC officials have pointed out that people incarcerated in Wisconsin have access to books from sources other than Wisconsin Books to Prisons.<\/p>\n The department recently signed a contract with vendor ICSolutions and is in the process of providing new tablets at its institutions. DOC officials have previously said those tablets include some free e-books.<\/p>\n