NationStates Jolt Archive

Apparently for reasons of "operational security problems" a convicted murderer has been denied permission to obtain books on magic.

Like's he's going to climb inside a box and make himself disappear. :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4775532.stm

That is so supid. Are the prison gaurds afraid he will cast a spell on them or summon an evil tormenter. Or better yet he will tel his son HARRY POTTER to come break him out of prision.:D

I saw that. :p

I bet it'll be overturned though if he appeals. They already give prisoners pornography and colour tv's in line with the Human Rights Act, after all. Soon they'll have to let them out so as not to breach their human rights.

That is so supid. Are the prison gaurds afraid he will cast a spell on them or summon an evil tormenter. Or better yet he will tel his son HARRY POTTER to come break him out of prision.:D

Of course not, he's gonna use his magic to sneak into an alternate dimension and then back outside the prison. ;) Where's your common sense?

He's obviously trying to learn how to make himself invisible. Then the guard'll come by someday and not see him in the cell. When he opens it up he'll sneak past the guard and leg it. Obviously.

You're all wrong. He's going to cover himself in a sheet, have others prisoners stab it with homemade weapons, and when they take off the sheet, he will have replaced himself with the prison warden. Then, being in the warden's office, he'll grab some money and escape.

or or or he just wants to learn some simple tricks to keep himself amused in prison, prison is very boring and the time goes so slow. :(

or or or he just wants to learn some simple tricks to keep himself amused in prison, prison is very boring and the time goes so slow. :(
As it should. He did murder someone, after all.

magic isnt harry potter and depressed wiccans who want to kill their exboyfriends with a spell

magic is harry houdini and penn&teller.

its learning how to steal items while distracting the person you are stealing from so they dont have a clue whats going on. its making people think that "A" is happening while its "B" thats the problem. its knowing how to swallow an item and reguritate it at will.

it would be very dangerous in a prison.

For a second I thought you meant the kind magic people believe is real, but stage magic does feature escapology. Of course, they could just, y'know read the book to find out if it contains escapology.

Prisoners should have a limited reading list..."How to Be a Good Person" for starters. ;)

For a second I thought you meant the kind magic people believe is real, but stage magic does feature escapology. Of course, they could just, y'know read the book to find out if it contains escapology.

Prison guards can read now? :p

Of course, they could just, y'know read the book to find out if it contains escapology.

As Ashmoria said it is much more than that. Over the year I see such books that teach much slight of hand, formulas for diversion such as smoke. I even saw one murder committed where the inmate got the idea from a book on magic involving lead murcery he was able to obtain from a blood pressure gauge.
As far as reading the book, that is almost an impossible task as inmates are only allowed in most places to order books directly from the publisher or through a single mail order source approved by the authorities. Time has taught prision officials that having such items of personal property sent in from various sources tend to be laced with other items. Even in cases where they allow only items from a single source it is still a problem, as it is not difficult for criminals to find someone on the outside to gain employment at a given company for the purpose of introducing contraband via authorized shipments. Granted it is a simple enough matter to "shakedown" items coming in from an approved source, but it is another matter entirely to screen the entire contents of the millions of books sent into prisons evey week. Certain classes of books must be disallowed even though a subset of the subject may well be harmless. Magic easily fits that catagory.

This is actually pretty sensible.

I dont imagine they let prisoners have books about making homemade weapons either.

Imagine if he wanted a book called "How to Kill a Prison Guard with Just One Stab" about human anatomy.

Prison guards can read now? :p

In the US most prisons require a criminology degree to even be considered for promotion (except for wardens but that is another story) Some are going so far (federal) as to make it a requirement for employment period. Stupid prison officials without a great degree of skill in dealing with people are a formula for disaster that has been proven time and time again to have the most serious consequences.
The US concept of a "prison guard" is much different than that in the UK. In the US a corrections officer is usually a law enforcement officer who's authority extends beyond the walls and into the jurisdiction where parolee's reside. Needless to say, the day of the thug in charge of the thugs are long over in most US states.