Athens bookstore sues jail over mail policy

Avid Bookshop told only Amazon, Barnes & Noble books accepted at jail.

Avid Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Athens, has filed a federal lawsuit against Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor and jail commander Benjamin Haynes over the facility’s mail policy.

The lawsuit alleges that customers asked Avid Bookshop to mail books to an inmate in the Gwinnett County Jail on two occasions in May 2023. The packages were mailed by store operations manager Luis Correa, and were sent with a packing slip and a receipt, as the jail’s Authorized Retailer Policy requires, the lawsuit said.

Both packages of books were returned, along with a notification that it was not sent from an “authorized retailer.”

According to the Gwinnett County Jail’s website: “Magazines/ non-local newspaper subscriptions and books will be accepted as long as they are mailed directly from the publisher or authorized retailer. All packages received for inmates by U.S. mail or UPS containing books, newspapers, or magazines must be pre-paid. They must have a packing slip or receipt stating what is in the package. Any packages that do not have these slips or contain contraband items will be returned at the sender’s expense.”

There is no information regarding specific authorized retailers.

Correa called the jail and asked why the packages were returned.

A deputy told Correa that Avid could not become an authorized retailer, and that friends and relatives could enter the bookstore and place contraband inside the books that were sent to the jail, according to the lawsuit. The deputy added that the jail only accepts books from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, the lawsuit said.

“But even Barnes & Noble, we’ve been having problems with them,” the lawsuit said the deputy told Correa.

Avid Bookshop’s attorney, Zack Greenamyre, said the deputy’s explanation doesn’t make sense.

“One reason that Avid was told that it couldn’t be an authorized bookseller is because it had a retail store that was open to the public. But that’s equally true of Barnes & Noble,” Greenamyre said.

Officials from the Gwinnett County Jail said in a statement that the sheriff ’s office “maintains the safety and security of our staff and inmates. It does not limit the content or subject matter of the publication, but only the origin of the shipment.”

Greenamyre said Avid is hoping the jail’s mail policy will be changed.

“Avid and its legal team are looking forward to hopefully changing the policy at the Gwinnett County Jail, so that the people who are incarcerated inside the jail can access books, and so that businesses, local bookstores can compete on an equal footing with corporate giants,” Greenamyre said.