A Surprising Reversal In Va. Books Program

From the Washington Post:

But after protests from supporters, Corrections Department Director Gene M. Johnson said he will allow Books Behind Bars — which has put as many as 1 million books in prison cells statewide — to resume. In a Sept. 15 letter to Kay Allison, the program’s founder, Johnson said each inmate could request up to three books a month. “At this time it is my intention to restore the opportunity for inmates to request three free books per month through the Quest Institute while strengthening our procedures for the introduction of materials into [Corrections Department] facilities,” Johnson wrote.

This is excellent news, particularly considering the Corrections Department’s ridiculous initial explanation (they “would not provide details, saying it [was] a security issue“). Gives hope that, someday, other ridiculous prison-related policies might also be reversed — like the fact that one our of every 100 Americans is in prison in the first place (PDF).