By C1 Staff
ALBANY, NY — The New York comptroller recently signed off on a new contract to license feature films for inmate viewing.
The Times Union reports that Comptroller Tom DiNapoli signed a contract with St. Louis-based Swank Motion pictures for $894,000, which is a downgrade from the previous contract that totaled at $1 million.
The previous contract ran from 2009 to this year.
The contract also runs counter to a previous idea proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to allocate $1 million a year to let inmates earn college degrees, which sparked a political firestorm.
Cuomo argued that college degrees would help combat recidivism, but lawmakers said they didn’t want their taxpayer dollars used to educate inmates. Some said their constituents were struggling to pay tuition for their kids and were loath to offer free schooling for prisoners.
The proposal was summarily dropped from the 2014-15 state budget.
State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision spokesman Tom Mailey said in an email that licensing costs are approximately $4.10 per inmate per year.
Eligible inmates then pay a fee on their own to watch the movies, which are shown in communal spaces.
Mailey said the movies “reduce idleness and decrease the opportunities for unrest.”
Lawmakers have likewise supported the limited use of cable TV in some prisons to help fight the boredom that corrections officers say could, if ignored, lead to disruptions and violence.
Last year almost 43,000 inmates in 52 facilities viewed the movies, including titles such as “War Horse,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Mission Impossible,” and “The Muppets.”
No “X-rated” films are allowed, and films that are shown must be approved by the superintendent of each facility.