MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin woman is speaking out after a state prison warden repeatedly refused to allow a book she purchased as a gift to reach an inmate, despite the book being shipped from an authorized vendor and later testing negative for illegal substances.
Penny Boylan has corresponded with Antwan Robinson, an inmate at Stanley Correctional Center in Chippewa County, for more than 10 years through her church's prison ministry. She recently sent him "America Let Me In," a book by Felipe Torres Medina that tells stories about immigrating to America through satire.
Watch: Wisconsin woman challenges prison's book ban:
"I started corresponding with Antwan through our church's prison ministry more than 10 years ago now," Boylan said. "We found we both like books —a lot."
However, the book never reached Robinson. In letters obtained by TMJ4 News, the warden cited a "suspicious" shipping address label as grounds for rejection. Boylan said the book was shipped directly from Boswell Books, which is an authorized vendor as required by the Department of Corrections.
The warden also alleged there was concern that a substance had been sprayed on the book.
"(Antwan) wrote to me and said it came, but they won't let me have it," Boylan said.
According to a Department of Corrections spokesperson, the book arrived "stained and blemished." The spokesperson added that "damage like this can be a sign of the paper being treated with intoxicants" and that "it was not allowed into the institution out of an abundance of caution."
But that statement came after the warden confirmed that tests on the book later determined there was no illegal substance.
The spokesperson told TMJ4 News that the book was allowed to be sent to a family member.
"I understand they have to be careful about what comes into the prisons, but this is from a book vendor," Boylan said.
Boylan believes the denial of this book, full of humor, represents a larger systemic issue within the prison system.
"Some people may say, 'What's the big deal? It's just a book.' But actually, it's one example of the arbitrary and unjust decisions that are common in the prisons," Boylan said.
Boylan and Robinson have filed an appeal and are awaiting an answer. She is now calling for an independent oversight committee to be implemented to help ensure rules are being followed fairly when situations like this arise.
"I would hope, in the big picture, that the state would establish this independent commission that would oversee appeals like this of what's happening in prisons and make sure that DOC and the prisons are following the rules, whatever those are, but also to make the rules more humane," Boylan said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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