Should Canada adopt Brazil's reading program for inmates?

Brazil is set to offer its inmates a chance to turn the page on their offences by reading their way to a shorter sentence.

The Redemption Through Reading program will give prisoners the opportunity to shave four days off their sentences for every book they complete.

But it's not as simple as it sounds.

The offer will be extended to penitentiaries holding hardened criminals, but not every inmate will be eligible. A special committee will screen those interested.

Once they're selected, participating inmates will only have four weeks to read each text. They must then complete a polished essay to showcase their newly acquired knowledge.

There's also a cap on how many books each inmate can read, and therefore how much time they can take off their sentences. Each participant will be able to take in up to 12 works - within the categories of literature, philosophy, science, and the classics - to work toward a 48-day maximum reduction per year.

The point of Reading Through Redemption is to help rehabilitate prisoners by stimulating their minds, which distinguishes it from programs that have focused on keeping prisoners physically occupied.

"A person can leave prison more enlightened and with an enlarged vision of the world," said Sao Paulo lawyer Andre Kehdi, who heads a book donation project for prisons.

"Without doubt they will leave a better person."

Do you like this novel idea? Why or why not? Which books would you recommend to an inmate?

(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' replies)