In an obvious act of religious discrimination, a South Carolina prison has banned all books, except the Bible, from being read by prisoners. The ban went into effect in 2008. The Bible is the only religious book allowed.
The book ban is taking place at the Berkeley County prison. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit.
Prison officials claim that only books and magazines with staples in them are banned. But several book publishers, and individuals, say all books (except the Bible) sent to prisoners are being returned by the prison officials. Also, in an email response, a prison staff member admitted that only Bibles are allowed: “…our inmates are only allowed soft black Bibles in the mail directly from the publisher.”
The ACLU also discovered that legal pads of paper, with staples in them, are being sold to prisoners. The ACLU says the Berkeley County prison has obviously implemented a Bible only policy, despite officials trying to dodge the claims of the lawsuit.