New York’s prison system reversed a policy on Wednesday that would have effectively blocked incarcerated writers and artists from publishing their work and receiving compensation.
“It is evident that [the policy] is not being interpreted as the Department intended, as it was never our objective to limit free speech or creative endeavors,” the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision spokesperson Rachel Connors said in an email to JS. “Accordingly, we have rescinded the directive effective immediately. The Department will engage [interested] stakeholders to revise the policy in order to encourage creative art projects, as originally intended.”
The policy was first reported by New York Focus on Tuesday and attracted immediate backlash for its apparent effort to silence incarcerated writers and artists.
“This is going to make prison a black box,” John J. Lennon, a journalist incarcerated in New York’s Sullivan Correctional Facility, told New York Focus.