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Are Books in Prison Dangerous?

MD Dept Public Safety and Correctional Services

Maryland’s prisons have clamped how on where inmates can acquire books--they can now can order from just two limited vendors. The department of corrections says books from other sources can be used to smuggle drugs, and that can fuel violence behind bars. We ask Sonia Kumar, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, why ACLU-MD contends the new restrictions violate the First Amendment.

Then we talk to Glennor Shirley about her two decades running libraries in Maryland’s prisons and how she viewed her responsibility to her patrons.

Here is the letter sent by ACLU-MD to DPSCS

Check out the Ear Hustle podcast here

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.