Long-term inmates at Anamosa State Penitentiary are repaying their debt to society by translating literary, technical and other works into braille, the system of printing and writing invented by 19th century blind French educator Louis Braille. Much of this kind of translation used to be done by volunteers, but their numbers have dropped. Two of those are her students. After training that can take anywhere from three months to a year to complete, the inmates put in 40-hour weeks and get paid 31 to 55 cents an hour. They use specially designed machines to create the braille text, which consists of six raised points used in 63 possible combinations.
Revenue generated by the prisoners' translation is put back into the program.
Eight are certified in literary braille translation, two in Nemeth Code, and one in literary proof reading, according to Sturtz, who works for a prison contractor, Senior State Industries. This work also teaches good work habits and it gives workers a sense of responsibility.