A review of book lists from state prison libraries shows Connecticut inmates have access to true crime books and works of fiction that depict murder and graphic violence, with no apparent restrictions based on a reader's criminal history.
"In Cold Blood," about a 1959 killing in Kansas, is available in at least two Connecticut prisons, including one where a man on trial for a similar 2007 home invasion in Cheshire had served time. Prisons spokesman Brian Garnett said talking about book policies would violate a gag order in the case. The Associated Press obtained the information under the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Connecticut state Senator John Kissel says he will ask that all books with violent themes be removed from the prisons, and may propose legislation to ensure that happens.
