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Adopted Prisoners |  |
PRISON RULES FOR COMMUNICATING WITH ADOPTED PRISONERS BY MAIL OR PHONE
In order for a prisoner to be able to telephone anyone, the person to be phoned must be on the prisoner's approved Call List and the party called must be willing accept a "collect" call and be aware that all such calls are recorded and may be otherwise monitored.
When writing to any of prisoner on the Adopted Prisoners pages, keep in mind that their INCOMING mail is first inspected by the prison's Mail Room, and may be read or browsed; OUTGOING mail is stamped on the outside to indicate it originated from a prisoner. The prison's Mail Room will reject any "prohibited" mailing or what it considers to be "contraband." Each prison has its own level of security and rules for prisoner mail. For instance, some prisons permit printouts of WEB PAGES FROM INTERNET while others prohibit it; some prohibited web pages get through if URLs are cut off. Generally mail that is marked "LEGAL MAIL" may be regarded as priority mail, if from an attorney or legal papers are enclosed or is about a legal matter. Generally prisoner mail takes twice as long as other mail, due to inspection and processing through the prison's Mail Room. Mail handling in prison Mail Rooms is usually done by prisoners.
The following list is only a general guideline and you should request and respect the Mail Rules for the prison in which the prisoner you are writing to is housed:
PROHIBITED ITEMS:
Letters sent without Return address on envelope
Letters with an excessive number of pages
Letters that contain coded messages
Letters with Postage Due are usually refused/returned to sender
[Web pages, Penpal Solicitations at some prisons]
Stickers (including return address or other Labels), glitter, glued items
that cannot be properly searched without destroying the letter or card)
Musical cards
Cards exceeding 8"x10"
Padded or bubble envelopes
Photos over maximum 8"x10"
Polaroid Photos (unless, for some prisons, bottom & backing is removed)
Photos depicting gangs, rugs, nude minors, sexually explicit
Negatives/slides/laminated items/frames/cardboard/pencils/pens
Tattoo patterns/tracing paper/gang logos
Bulk mailing (maximum 40 envelopes, embossed or plan,
40 stamps, 200 sheets of paper or 3 pads)
Paper Money, Coins, Jewelry, credit/calling cards, hard plastic or metal
Money Order if made out incorrectly
Clothing or food
Homemade items
Books, magazines, newspapers must be mailed only from
the publisher or vendor
Unauthorized correspondence: prior approval with form on file
Unauthorized third party letter; may not forward letter inmate to inmate
