Brazilian Inmates Read Their Way Out Of Jail
Via Reuters
Four overcrowded federal prisons in Brazil are offering an interesting option to select prisoners: Read and write essays on works of literature, philosophy, and science to reduce their sentences by four days for every book completed.
Prisoners have one month to read each book and write a book report that must "make correct use of paragraphs, be free of corrections, use margins and legible joined-up writing." The program, called Redemption Through Reading, allows avid readers to shave up to 48 days off their sentence every year. Lawyer Andre Kehdi, who runs a book donation project for inmates, says, "A person can leave prison more enlightened and with a enlarged vision of the world."
Despite statistics and analysis showing some strong links between literacy and crime levels, many U.S. prisons have no interest in helping inmates develop reading habits. Some, like a jail in South Carolina, have gone as far as to ban books other than the Bible. Do you think the U.S. or your home country should consider implementing a program like Brazil's?
Image via Meltwater
News by Kimberly Turner
Kimberly Turner is an internet entrepreneur, DJ, editor, beekeeper, linguist, traveler, and writer. This either makes her exceptionally well-rounded or slightly crazy; it’s hard to say which. She spent a decade as a journalist and magazine editor in Australia and the U.S. and is now working (very, very slowly) on her first novel. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two cats, ten fish, and roughly 60,000 bees.
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This says a lot:
Some, like a jail in South Carolina, have gone as far as to ban books other than the Bible.
This is awesome! Especially since it costs more to send someone to prison than it does to send them to college.