黑料福利社

Bryson Fico聽believes in rehabilitation and second chances. He's also an avid reader and knows from personal experience how books can change lives.

Fico drove from his home in Okanogan in March to donate 2,167 paperback books to the Yakima, Benton and Franklin county jails and the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. He is the founder of , a Washington-based initiative that donates paperback books to county jails across the state, and this was the largest donation in the nearly three-year history of Pages of Redemption, Fico said.

Since founding Pages of Redemption in September 2023, Fico has donated 5,187 paperback books to jails across Washington state. Positive responses to his efforts helped Fico build his book-donation efforts, and he's eager to expand them.

"A couple people released from incarceration reached out to me," Fico said. "A couple inmates said, 'We really appreciate you.' Correctional staff are saying these are great quality books."

Book drives at Central Washington University have provided books to donate, and he works with the Friends of the Wenatchee Public Library, the Friends of the University Place Library in Tacoma and the Friends of the Ellensburg Public Library. Fico also receives donated paperbacks directly from several authors. For example, last September he partnered with Washington-based author J.A. Jance, a New York Times best-selling author.聽Fico still has several boxes of her paperback books to donate.

Donating books to jails and prisons "empowers incarcerated individuals by expanding access to education, fostering personal growth and encouraging positive behavioral change," Fico says on Pages of Redemption's LinkedIn profile.聽

It's beneficial for inmates, who learn something "but also pass the time and (are) entertained," Fico said recently. "Every book is important."

'Just an idea'

Fico volunteers his time for Pages of Redemption. His day job is聽 for Okanogan County聽Superior Court, where he serves as a judicial assistant, jury coordinator and therapeutic court coordinator.聽

Fico received a bachelor's degree in law end justice from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, then earned his paralegal certification from the University of Washington.

Originally from Las Vegas, Fico, 27, learned to read from his mother, a sixth-grade reading and English teacher. He's an avid reader and particularly enjoys autobiographies, he said. Among others, "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen resonated with him.

He was living in Ellensburg when he started Pages of Redemption. "I had no idea what I was doing. It was just an idea," Fico said.

Garage sales advertised on Facebook and local bookstores got him going. His first donation of 88 books was to the Kittitas County jail in Ellensburg.

Since then, Fico's list of book donors has lengthened. Central hosts book drives for him; in February, Fico picked up more than 600 books donated through a Central book drive. The authors who donate to him include Ginny Burton, a previously incarcerated woman who graduated from the University of Washington with a law degree.

Community members who've donated books include a Ritzville lawyer and people from Mulkiteo, Omak, Ellensburg聽鈥� "people from all over the state," Fico said.

He relies on community donations and the generosity of individuals, he said. Fico tells people the best way to reach out to him is through.

For those who want to donate books for Fico to donate to jails, Spanish-language books are good, he said. An estimated 70% of inmates read at or below a fourth-grade level, he said, so that's important to consider. Even books on how to write poetry can bring a positive behavioral change, he said.

What's allowed, what isn't

Fico works with correctional officers and supervisors. Grant County is building a new correctional facility, so Fico has been in touch with jail officials there.

Before donating, Fico runs book titles through . Reporters for the nonprofit asked every state prison system for book policies and lists of banned publications, according to its website.

He's learned that many facilities don't accept "The Concise 48 Laws Of Power" by Robert Greene. "Some facilities don't like 'Dungeons and Dragons,'" Fico said. "Their rules, I'll follow them. You ask the (correctional officials) what they want and don't want."

Fico worked with Lt.聽Travis Irion to donate books to the Yakima County jail.聽

Yakima County jail officials follow the Washington Department of Corrections' lead in what books to allow. Anything the state DOC denies, the Yakima County jail also denies, Irion said. The state's聽. Many books are denied because they are deemed sexually explicit.

Mountaineering books are also denied because they could aid in escape, according to the site. There is an appeal process.

Where the books come from matters, Irion said. Books generally must come directly from the publisher; books from Amazon are denied because someone could become an Amazon dealer and put items in books, Irion said.

"Donated books, we're very cautious of where (they) came from," Irion said. "We go through and double check the books are legit."

"Typically, we buy books from Yakima Regional Libraries when they're getting rid of them. It's not a huge financial burden, but it is a little bit of a burden," Irion said. "Anything free for the inmates is always better for the county."

Yakima jail books

The Yakima jail provides only paperback books for inmates, and what they buy in bulk from the library system comes already packed in boxes; there's no choice.

"There's a lot of romance novels floating around," Irion said. "Other books, they get torn up, ripped up. It's hard to keep the books that are actually decent reads" in good shape, he said. Inmates prefer Westerns and mystery novels, Irion said.

After they worked out the delivery details, Fico drove to Yakima with the books. Irion left church, opened up the sallyport and Fico left 200 books. Jail officials went through all of the books and confirmed there was nothing in them, Irion said.

Irion noted that the jail just got new tablets for the inmates. Every inmate has a tablet, through which about 40,000 books are available. But sometimes it has to be a real paper book you're holding. And the donated books are welcome.

"If you were stuck in here, I'd want something for my mind to do on a constant basis. Otherwise you're stuck in here, thinking about things that may not help you in your progression back to society," Irion said. "Something to occupy your mind is better for your mental health.

"We as a jail strive to find other activities, programs, movies. If it's the same books, it's going to get boring. We try to give them lots of options to keep their minds busy," he added.