Words: Kade Krichko

And this whole time you thought reading was for squares? Well, it turns out opening up a good book could be a good look for prisoners in Brazil. Ever since 2012, prisons in South America's largest country have offered a unique literacy program that rewards readers by reducing jail time. According to the national program guidelines, every book read and then reported on knocks four whole days off of a prison sentence, up to 48 days a year (that's a book and report a month for those keeping track at home). Not a bad deal, eh?

The monumental program kicked off over a decade ago, but wasn't standardized across Brazil until 2021. While it is not super well-known beyond country borders, the program earned international notoriety when former president and current inmate Jair Bolsonaro was ordered to participate in the jailhouse reading initiative. The disgraced leader is one of thousands of annual participants in the program.

In addition to the physical reduction of time served behind bars, the program was also designed to educate inmates and prepare them for life outside the prison walls. In order to participate, prisoners must choose or accept a recommended book, discuss the book in an established group setting, and then submit a report or drawing of the book that demonstrates a basic level of comprehension. 

Though Brazil doesn't have the best track record when it comes to prison ethics and conditions (a 2023 ruling by Brazil's Supreme Court recognized mass human rights violations), the reading program has served as a bright spot for an improving future. The literacy program is considered the largest of its kind in the world, and a model for what rehabilitation options can exist behind bars.