Starting Feb. 1, the Policy Bans Families, Publishers, and Faith Groups From Sending Reading Material to Incarcerated People in Arkansas
Arkansas is preparing to enforce what advocates are calling the most sweeping restriction on prison reading material in the country, cutting off all books, magazines, and newspapers sent from outside sources to people incarcerated in state facilities.
Beginning Feb. 1, families, publishers, faith organizations, and nonprofits will no longer be allowed to mail reading materials into Arkansas prisons, ending a long-standing practice that many consider essential to education, rehabilitation, and maintaining human connection behind bars.
The policy was adopted by the Arkansas Board of Corrections on Dec. 19 and formally communicated to incarcerated people in a Dec. 30 memo from Arkansas Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne.
In that memo, Payne said the ban is a response to an increase in contraband—particularly drugs—being smuggled into prisons through printed materials. He emphasized that the decision was driven by security concerns and described the methods used to conceal drugs as increasingly sophisticated.
According to Payne, incarcerated people will still have access to prison libraries, religious materials through chapels, digitized publications on state-issued tablets, and news through television and radio. “This comprehensive prohibition on incarcerated individuals receiving external hard-copy publications directly into an ADC facility is necessary to mitigate significant security risks posed by increasingly sophisticated methods of contraband introduction,” Payne wrote, as reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Before the new rule, Arkansas policy allowed books and magazines to be sent directly from publishers or approved vendors, a system that had been in place since 2007. Under that framework, corrections staff reviewed materials individually and could reject publications considered a threat to security or rehabilitation goals.
The new policy eliminates that review process altogether, replacing it with a blanket ban on all outside printed materials.
A review of prison policies nationwide by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette found no other state with a prohibition as broad as Arkansas’. Wanda Bertram, a spokesperson for the Prison Policy Initiative, said the move stands out even among states that have tightened mail restrictions in recent years. “This is certainly the most thorough and harshest ban I’ve heard of,” Bertram said. “I’m not happy to see this, but I’m not surprised.”
In a Dec. 8 memo to the Board of Corrections, Payne detailed 25 instances between January 2022 and August 2025 in which drugs were allegedly smuggled into Arkansas prisons through books and other printed materials.
The memo cited substances such as synthetic marijuana and methamphetamines being sprayed onto pages, hidden in book covers, or tucked into spines. Confiscated items reportedly included religious texts such as Bibles and copies of the Quran.
The memo framed these incidents as part of “continued and escalating attempts” to introduce “potentially fatal substances” into correctional facilities, arguing that contaminated paper poses a serious risk to both incarcerated people and staff.
Critics, however, argue the response is far out of proportion to the problem. Bertram said contraband enters prisons through many channels and that targeting books unfairly punishes families and support networks who rely on reading materials as one of the few meaningful ways to support loved ones behind bars. “There’s going to be some drugs coming in from every avenue,” she said. “That’s what makes this so horrible.”
Arkansas’ decision comes as other states experiment with stricter controls on prison mail, though few go as far.
In September, Florida began routing all nonlegal mail through a private scanning center where letters are digitized before being delivered electronically. Even so, most states with tighter mail policies continue to allow books shipped directly from publishers or approved retailers.
While Arkansas officials say incarcerated people can access more than 50,000 titles on state-issued tablets and request books through prison libraries, advocates say those alternatives fall short. Prison libraries are often underfunded, unevenly stocked, and tightly curated, limiting both choice and independence.
Digital access, critics add, is no substitute for physical books, particularly when tablets are restricted, monitored, or inaccessible due to cost or technical issues.
Robin Graham, publisher of Spotlight on Recovery, a magazine featuring writers from dozens of prisons across the country, said the ban will effectively silence incarcerated voices in Arkansas. “They are hurting the support that is needed for prisoners to change their lives,” Graham said.
Whether Arkansas’ policy becomes a model for other states remains uncertain. For now, advocates warn it represents a significant escalation in the erosion of access to information, education, and connection for people living behind prison walls.
