| January 10, 2001
Web posted at: 11:20 a.m. EST (1620 GMT) FRONTERA, California (CNN) -- To the special-education students at a Frontera high school, Tracy Morales is a voice offering access to whole new worlds. Her taped book readings, played in class, have made the adventures of a frontier dog come alive in "White Fang." Students have learned about the horror of a boot at the door, of a short life spent in hiding, from Morales' rendition of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Morales, whose readings are offered to the visually impaired as well as special-education students, has no training in acting, broadcasting or teaching. She does have a number. A convicted drug smuggler, Morales is serving time at the women's prison in Frontera. She reads the books as part of Voices from Within, a prison program in which inmates spend their "free" time reading for audio books. Morales and 20 other female inmates, some serving life sentences for murder, are participants. The inmates have logged more than 3,000 hours in make-shift recording booths creating nearly 140 books on tape. They have ranged from children's stories to textbooks.  | | Eighth-grade dropout and inmate Annika Deasy is the program's project coordinator | | | The program is about more than just making money, says inmate Annika Deasy, who pockets about $25 a month as the program's project coordinator. "I'm an eighth-grade dropout, so I was motivated to get my GED (general equivalency degree) just to have it," says Deasy. "It was an accomplishment for me." Other program participants don't get paid; they read during work breaks or at night. The women say they don't do it so they can get out sooner. Instead, they say, the readings give them an "out" of sorts. "It doesn't have any impact on when we get out," says inmate Maryann Acker. "I can just go in the booth and just read and get lost in whatever world I'm reading about." CNN correspondent Jim Moret contributed to this report
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/books/news/01/10/books.behind.bars/index.html
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