A federal prison blocked an incarcerated Reason subscriber from receiving an issue whose cover story showed how the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) allowed a cadre of guards to sexually assault female inmates with impunity and allowed them to escape legal consequences after they confessed. Reason reported that it received a notice that FMC Devens, a federal men's prison in Massachusetts, rejected the October 2023 issue of the magazine. The cover story details how at least a dozen women were abused by corrupt correctional officers at FCC Coleman, a federal prison complex in Florida. A Senate investigation later revealed that those officers had admitted in sworn interviews with internal affairs investigators that they had repeatedly raped women under their control, yet they were allowed to retire without being prosecuted.
The rejection notice from evens says the issue "is being rejected due to the nature of its content. The magainze [sic] contains an article about Bureau of Prisons staff at FCC Coleman including the names of Correctional Officers and victims. Such material jeopardizes the good order and security of the institution." The correctional officers named in the story are now retired. The women went on the record with their names when they filed a lawsuit, which the U.S. government eventually settled for about $1.5 million. Other issues of Reason have been impounded b Florida and Arizona prison officials. The latter found an article on the deplorable conditions inside the Washington, D.C., jail "detrimental to the safe, secure, and orderly operation of the institution." A Marshall Project database of books banned in state prison systems lists more than 50,000 titles. Prisons and jails also restrict nonprofit groups and loved ones from sending incarcerated people used books, a policy that several groups are challenging on First Amendment grounds.