Asheville bookstore sues SC Corrections for destroying their books
Summary:
An Asheville bookstore has filed a federal lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
The lawsuit alleges a prison policy unconstitutionally restricts inmates from receiving books from unapproved vendors.
Inmates are reportedly denied books based on the sender, not the content, and are sometimes forced to have the books destroyed.
The policy allegedly interferes with prisoners' access to educational, religious, and legal materials.
Article:
ASHEVILLE - A local bookstore has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina alleging that the S.C. Department of Corrections violated the rights of state prisoners by not allowing them to receive mailed books that were not from one of six large, for-profit distributors.
Firestorm Books, along with nonprofit collective Asheville Prison Books and South Carolina inmates Christopher Santiago, Shawn F. Anderson and Eric Spears, state in the lawsuit filed May 8 against S.C. Department of Corrections Director Joel Anderson, that prison staff destroy books that are mailed to prisoners if they are not from the state's list of approved vendors.
Firestorm Books alleges in a civil lawsuit that the South Carolina Department of Corrections is violating the civil rights of incarcerated people by not allowing … Show more
Kara Fohner/Citizen Times
The prison system's pre-approved vendors are Hamilton Books, Books N Things Warehouse, BookstoInmates.com SureShot Books Publishing, LLC, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million, according to the lawsuit.
Why they're suing
Firestorm, a self-described queer, feminist collective on Haywood Road in West Asheville, regularly mails books to inmates, and sometimes sends them for free through a partnership with Asheville Prison Books, according to the lawsuit.
The filing lists several instances in which books Firestorm or Asheville Prison Books mailed to prisoners were rejected by the prison staff.
In November or December 2025, Asheville Prison Books mailed books to people incarcerated at Kirkland Correctional Institution and Broad River Correctional Institution in South Carolina. The Department of Corrections rejected those books, but did not send any notice or explanation why the books were rejected or provide a way to appeal the decision, the lawsuit states.
On March 30, 2026, prisoner Christopher Santiago, who follows the Buddhist faith, requested a book about Buddhism from Asheville Prison Books. Firestorm sent Santiago "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodrun, April 2, 2026, according to the lawsuit.
The Department of Corrections did not deliver the book to Santiago, nor did it return it to Firestorm, according to the lawsuit.
Santiago has also sought legal books, including the "Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual," a book provided by the Columbia University Human Rights Law Review at reduced or no cost to incarcerated people. Santiago also asked for a Buddhist religious book, "Unlocking Your Potential: How to Get Out of Your Own Way," by Sravasti Abbey, according to the lawsuit.
He was prevented from receiving those books as well, according to the lawsuit.
Another prisoner, Shawn F. Anderson, asked Asheville Prison Books for free books books, and Firestorm sent him a copy of "The People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn on March 30, 2026, according to the lawsuit. The book was delivered April 2, but was rejected automatically due to Department of Corrections policy, according to the lawsuit.
Another prisoner, Eric Spears, a practicing Muslim, attempted to order religious books from a trusted Islamic bookstore and was denied, according to the lawsuit.
When books are rejected under prison policy, incarcerated people are sometimes called to the mailroom and required to choose between paying to have the book returned or signing a form consenting to its destruction, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges First Amendment and 14th Amendment violations and asks that a federal judge enjoin ― or prohibit ― the prison system from withholding, rejecting or destroying books sent to a prison without providing constitutionally adequate notice and process. The lawsuit also asks that a judge prohibit the prison system from enforcing the approved vendor policy to prohibit the plaintiffs from sending books to incarcerated people.
What Firestorm and Asheville Prison Books say
Libertie Valance, a staff member with Firestorm Books, told the Citizen Times via email June 29 that the bookstore has been hosting packaging parties organized by Asheville Prison Books since 2017. In 2019, when the bookstore moved into e-commerce, Firestorm immediately began receiving requests from prisoners and their families. Valance said that Firestorm has had no problems sending books to prisoners in South Carolina until the recent policy change.
Mac Marquis, an Asheville Prison Books spokesperson, said the organization has been sending books to incarcerated people since 1999. When Asheville Prison Books started, it was the first books-to-prisoners program in the Southeast. During that time, the organization has not received a single "credible, documented complaint" from the S.C. Department of Corrections that the books contained contraband.
Marquis said that Asheville Prison Books, which now primarily serves the Carolinas, has successfully challenged every instance in which the organization was banned from an institution.
"When institutions instill unconstitutional bans, as is the case in SC, we challenge them," Marquis said.
Why prison policy changed
Chrysti Shain, S.C. Department of Corrections spokesperson, told the Citizen Times in an email June 29 that the prison system changed its policy in October 2025 in response to a scheme run by a former employee and a former inmate.
The two mailed drug-filled books to more than 20 inmates at 14 prisons, Shain said. The packages were disguised as coming directly from a bookstore, and the scheme coincided with the problem of "drug-soaked mail" being sent to prisons, Shain said.
On June 29, the Department of Corrections had not yet responded to the lawsuit. When asked about the allegations by the Citizen Times, Shain said that it will respond in a court filing. The response is due by July 7.
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com.
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Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com.