Athens bookshop sues Gwinnett County sheriff over jail mail policy
ATHENS, Ga. - An Athens bookstore is suing the Gwinnett County sheriff, calling the county jail’s mail policy for inmates a violation of civil rights.
Officials with Avid Bookshop in Athens told FOX 5 they filed the lawsuit nearly a year after several books sent to a Gwinnett County Jail inmate were returned because they weren’t an "authorized retailer".
"In filing the lawsuit we’re saying that our book selling is an expressive act," said Luis Correa.
Correa, the bookstore’s operations manager, said there is a freedom found in reading for many in the prison system over the days, months, and years spent behind bars.
"Books really change people’s lives," he stated. "They need books."
He told FOX 5 that the need was denied to an inmate last May after jail officials returned six books that he had sent from the independently owned store.
"Friends of someone who is incarcerated there tried to use us to send books there, and we kept getting the packages rejected," he recalled.
In a lawsuit filed Friday, Correa said jail officials told him the bookshop was ineligible to become an "authorized retailer" because friends and relatives could enter the bookstore and place contraband inside the books sent to the jail.
Avid Bookshop in Athens is suing the Gwinnett County sheriff saying the current jail mail policy violates the inmates’ civil rights. (FOX 5)
The bookshop’s appeal of that decision was also denied. Correa said he was told they could send books directly through a publisher, but he doesn’t feel that’s a fair alternative.
"Essentially, what that boils down to is that Amazon and Barnes and Noble can send books but small businesses, but local businesses like Avid Bookshop can’t," he said.
The federal suit accuses the Gwinnett County Jail of excluding brick and mortar bookstores like Avid from sending books to inmates through its current mail policy.
They’ve challenged that policy claiming it’s in violation of their 1st and 14th amendment rights as well as the rights of friends and family members wanting to send books to inmates.
"I think it would be invaluable for people who are in prisons and jails to be able to receive books from bookstores in the communities that they’ll go back to," Correa said.
The lawsuit is asking for the store to be added to the authorized retailer list. FOX 5 reached out to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office about this. They declined to comment, citing pending litigation.