Four -day reduced punishment for each read book: The measure taken by the authorities in Brazil, where the detainees' recurrence rate exceeds 80%
Detained at a book presentation in a prison in Brazil. Photo credit: SOPA IMAGES / SIPA Press / Profimedia
Brazilian prisoners will be able to atone for four days of punishment for each book they read and make a review, up to a maximum reduction of 48 days a year, which can be obtained with 12 books. The program “Redemption by reading” created in the South American country can be an interesting example for many countries, such as Italy, which has to cope with the disastrous consequences of overcrowding of prisons, notes the Italian newspaper at Stampa, quoted by Rador Radio Romania.
It is not an isolated or improvised initiative, but a program that aims to transform reading in hope and the possibility of a new life: in Brazil the recidivism rate exceeds 80%.
The program works on the basis of well -established rules. The detainee chooses a book – fiction, non -fiction, poetry, but never violent texts – and has between 21 and 30 days to read it, plus another 10 days to write a review that demonstrates “understanding and reflection” and is evaluated by a commission. If the text passes the test, the punishment is reduced by four days.
The selection of books is very careful, and in the libraries of the penitentiaries you can find audio books and braille texts that allow the involvement in the project and the detainees with visual or alphabetic difficulties.
And in the end, some publishers will publish the best reviews, giving voice and visibility to those who normally remain invisible, notes the newspaper La Stampa.
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia also adopt similar programs.
“The program is not limited to reading books and reducing punishments,” writes UNESCO in presenting the program “Redemption by reading”. Its fundamental purpose is to transform the lives of prisoners. “It is about acquiring knowledge and culture and being able to enter another universe.”
