Prison libraries will ease rules

After receiving criticism from religious leaders and Capitol Hill, the Federal Bureau of Prisons says it will scale back its effort to ban religious texts from prison libraries.

“The bureau will begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed in June 2007, with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as material that would be radicalizing or incite violence,” the bureau said in a statement.

Mark Earley, the president of Prison Fellowship, a Christian prison ministry, applauded the response.

“By returning to the common-sense approach of getting rid of only those materials that incite violence, they ensure that prisoners have access to a wide range of quality religious materials that will help them become productive members of society when they are released back to our communities,” Earley said.