Arkansas Bans Outside Reading Material Sent to Prisons
by Jo Ellen Knott
In a move that further isolates prisoners from the outside world, the Arkansas Board of Corrections (BOC) voted unanimously on December 19, 2025, to ban all externally purchased books, magazines, and newspapers sent directly to prisoners. The new policy—one of the strictest in the country so far—was set to take effect on February 1 of this year.
According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, outgoing BOC Chairman Benny Magness championed the restrictive policy, claiming it is necessary to curb the smuggling of synthetic drugs like K2. BOC provides oversight to the state Division of Corrections (DOC), whose Director Dexter Payne agreed, saying that “prisoners already have access to over 50,000 books on their approved personal tablets, as well as a library at each prison with other options.”
Of course, as the cover story of this issue of PLN illustrates, there is a private vendor profiting off the move—Securus Technologies, which already holds the contract for prisoner calls and to scan their mail, too. Moreover, reports have suggested that prison staff are a primary source of prison contraband; and tablets, despite frequent claims to include thousands of available books, often feature a severely limited catalogue. The DOC does not have a list on its website of books available on the tablets, which are provided by Securus, so the amount and type of content that is available is unclear.
While Payne cited safety concerns, critics argue the policy strips away a vital intellectual lifeline. The vote occurred during the same session where the BOC renamed the North Central Unit in honor of Magness, a gesture of self-congratulation that ignored the growing information vacuum created for those behind bars.
It should be noted that, prior to the policy shift, Arkansas had already banned certain materials, such as books with a state map or with the word “escape” in the title, according to public records obtained by the Arkansas Advocate.
Sources: Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Arkansas Advocate
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