Georgia Independent Bookstore Sues Jail Over Policy Banning Book Shipments
A Georgia jail is refusing all books shipped to inmates, except those that come from major retailers. One local bookshop is suing, saying that policy is unconstitutional.
In May 2023, two different people visited Avid Bookshop, a progressive independent bookstore located in Athens, Georgia. Each customer purchased three books to mail to an inmate at the Gwinnett County Jail. Both packages were returned, with papers from the jail listing the reason as “Not from publisher/authorized Retailer.” The shoppers asked Avid if the store could mail the books directly.
Each time, Luis Correa, Avid’s operations manager, packaged new paperback copies of the same books and mailed them directly from the store. Aware of the jail’s stated policy that shipments “must have a packing slip or receipt stating what is in the package,” Correa included both. (Correa declined to be interviewed for this article.)
Again, the packages came back, with a sticker saying they were “not sent from publisher or authorized retailer.”
Gwinnett County’s website states that “magazines/non-local newspaper subscriptions and books will be accepted as long as they are mailed directly from the publisher or authorized retailer,” but it gives no clarification on what an authorized retailer is or how to become one.
Correa contacted the jail to ask why it was rejecting Avid’s shipments. The lawsuit claims a deputy then advised that “because Avid was a local bookstore, friends and relatives could enter the bookstore and place contraband inside the books that were sent to the Jail.” The deputy further noted that the jail only accepts packages from Amazon and Barnes & Noble but added that “even Barnes & Noble, we’ve been having problems with them.”
That’s blatantly unconstitutional, says Atlanta civil rights attorney Zack Greenamyre. “Avid exists to be able to communicate through books with other people,” Greenamyre tells Reason. “That certainly includes people who are in custody, perhaps especially. And the government is telling them they can’t engage in their expressive conduct, for no good reason.”
Avid pressed the issue, seeking to appeal the “authorized retailer” policy. In an emailed reply, Dan Mayfield, general counsel for the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office—which runs the jail—said that the policy was in place “to ensure that associates of the residents cannot soak pages in drugs or otherwise create safety issues. We cannot approve bookstores, like Avid, that are open to the public.”
Texas prison officials allege that inmates receive shipments of paper that has been soaked in drugs like fentanyl or synthetic THC. Testifying before the New York City Council in October 2022, NYC Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina explained how fentanyl gets into the city’s jails: “Most of it enters in letters and packages laced with fentanyl, literally soaked in the drug, and mailed to people in custody,” at which point inmates “smoke it or chew it or
Article from Reason.com
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