The Bizarre Idiocy of the Correctional System

On February 25th, I posted a notice about my friend Kevin, a prison inmate. (http://bobchatelle.blogspot.com/2008/02/befriend-sex-offender.html)

Kevin is very interested in trying to better himself. A while back, I sent him a few books, including a dictionary and a grammar book, from Amazon.com. (I've been sending prisoners books via Amazon for years.) I couldn't find the grammar book I use (it's out of print), so I took a chance on one called Painless Grammar. He loved it! They also sent Kevin one of their brochures, which listed some of the other books in the Painless series. There were three that especially interested him: Painless Writing, Painless Reading Comprehension, and Painless Poetry.

I got a call from Kevin tonight. He told me that the prison authorities had declared the books contraband. They refused to give him any reason why they considered these books so dangerous and subversive. The contraband slip (which I have requested) only said, "Not Approved by DOC."

Kevin was given two choices: authorize them to destroy the books or send them back to Amazon. But if they were sent back, he would be charged $15 for the postage. Kevin had to authorize them to destroy the books because he couldn't afford the postage. (I suspect that some people who work for DOC get a certain pleasure out of destroying books.)

I can't find the words to comment upon this act of stupidity and vandalism.

-Bob