Ohio Prison Banned Books Gallery 2

Prison staff at Trumbull Correctional Institution blocked a copy of “Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft,” a book by the founder of the modern Wiccan religion, because they said it could encourage violence and was written in code. One of the pages they cited showed instructions for a ritual in which a person agreed to be tied up. Four of the five members of the publication screening committee deferred to the committee member representing the religious services department. He voted to ban it. 

Both staff at the Correctional Reception Center and members of the Publication Screening Committee decided to ban “Black on Black Violence: The Psychodynamics of Black Self-Annihilation in Service of White Domination” because it “depicts, encourages, incites, or describes activities which may lead to, the use of physical violence against others,” and specifically cites a page from the introduction.