By Bob Katzen

The Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security held a hearing on a measure that would ban prisons from prohibiting an inmate from playing Dungeons and Dragons or other role-playing games.

“Current law allows correctional facilities to ban role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons under the misguided belief that they promote gang activity or inappropriate behavior,” said sponsor Rep. Jack Lewis (D-Framingham). “This restriction is not only baseless, but it echoes the outdated paranoia of the 1980s ‘Satanic Panic.’ Denying incarcerated individuals the opportunity to engage in creative, collaborative and mentally stimulating games is an unreasonable infringement on their free time and rehabilitation potential.”