In Brazil's prisons, inmates shorten sentences by reading
(Read article summary)The program is called Redemption Through Reading and allows for a maximum of 48 days off their sentence per year.
Now here’s a novel idea. One way to solve prison overcrowding, promote literacy, and empower inmates, in one fell swoop? Offer inmates the chance to shorten their sentences by reading.
That’s right, Brazil’s government recently rolled out a new program, Redemption through Reading, that allows inmates to shave four days off their sentence for every book they read, with a maximum of 48 days off their sentence per year, Reuters reported Monday. The program will be extended to certain prisoners in four federal prisons in Brazil holding some of the country’s most notorious criminals.
According to Reuters, a special panel will determine which inmates are eligible to participate. Those chosen can choose from works of literature, philosophy, science, or the classics, reading up to 12 books a year. Flashback from grade school: they’ll have four weeks to read each book and write an essay that must “make correct use of paragraphs, be free of corrections, use margins, and legible joined-up writing,” according to a notice published Monday in Brazil’s official gazette.
