Well Oklahoma, some of you know I have been writing a friend in OSP for nearly 3 years now. Today I received notification that I am permenantly removed from his visitor's list and can never write to him again, ever, while he is in prison. All this is because I wrote to another inmate in the same prison who knew him when they were in prison over 20 years ago together and my friend had asked me to contact this other inmate to see if he could help with some legal work as this guy has apparently studied a lot of law etc. So now I have a letter saying that my 'intentions are to instigate and exacerbate issues related to conditions of confinement that are without merit.'

Does anyone know what the grounds are surrounding the denial of written communication? The visiting is not such an issue as I live a long way away, but the writing is a big issue. What rules/laws are there to enforce this?

Ok, vent over......any advice appreciated. I've battled with the doc for over 2 years now and this is the lowest stunt they have pulled - and there have been many....

This is just unbelievable. Sorry to hear this has happened.
They may be trying to get stricter because of the problems within the facilities. Fights and such. But then who knows.

Check out the DOC page under policies and procedures. The link for DOC is up in one of the sticky threads.

If you need more help I will try to get that policy for you.

Thanks Wannamae. Yes I will look into the policies, just don't feel like it today, you know. He's been a friend for a long time and it makes me sad to think that others can do this to people who just want to be there for eachother in life....

No help from me, but I DO know that the FEDS have this same rule at least at the Super Max in Colorado. I was told from day one that if I EVER wrote to anyone else there I'd be banned for life.

This is wild I had know idea they could do such a thing. Stopping someones MAIL! I would think this is a, human right thing.I've always been told they can't stop our mail?

WRONG about stopping the mail. With holding mail is now one of the forms of punishemnt in many prisons. No phone, no mail (in or out), and no store. Mail is viewed as something you earn; it is not thought of as a "right".

In this case though it was because the poster wrote two people in one prison; that is a no no in many places.

That is just crazy...I have never heard that before...but why doesn't it surprise me? I'm sorry I don't have any advice for you..but good luck!

<03 Facility Operations> I took a quick look and the area you need to read is legal!
the 03, in polices.

Well I am sorry to hear this has happened to you. I don't know the policies and procedures for the Oklahoma facilities, however, if indeed it is agains policy, I would "think" that people would need to be made aware of it, so they can abide by the rules.

I know in the visiting rooms at least here in Kentucky, they have the visiting rules which also include other rules for the loved ones of inmates in their facility.

However, since you don't visit due to the distance, at the very least it should be posted on a website and really even that should not be adequate because not everyone has a computer.

Good luck to you and I definitely would pursue it to have it in writing. Something just doesn't sound right here to me.

Thanks for all your thoughts and advice. Yes they can stop the mail but procedure has not been followed - no surprise there either! There is a lot more to it - in that there are long held grudges at play here against my friend as he's been incarcerated so long and some key doc staff do not want a lot of injustice and blatant law-breaking on their part to ever come out....

I too also heard that in some prisons you're not allowed to correspond with different inmates. They may feel it's a threat, intimindation, passing word to another inmate or whatever else suits their fancy. I'm so sorry

One of the hardest things I had to learn in prison is that the "rules" only apply to the inmate; they do NOT have to apply to the staff or the prison.

Thanks for all your thoughts and advice. Yes they can stop the mail but procedure has not been followed - no surprise there either! There is a lot more to it - in that there are long held grudges at play here against my friend as he's been incarcerated so long and some key doc staff do not want a lot of injustice and blatant law-breaking on their part to ever come out....


If one of the inmates are married they are not write to other females other than sisters, mother. If they are single it shouldnt matter. But since both are in the same facility it is reason to think there could be a "conspiracy". :eek:

But I know for a fact each faclitity will do what they want. My husband gets letters from another female and they know he is married.

They certainly do not have to follow their own policies. The facilities are given leeway to make their own rules. I know that this has applied to my visitation with my loved one.
They will not allow me to visit until I have a final divorce decree, even though policies do not mention this anywhere except to state that the inmate cannot have visits from someone of the opposite sex if the inmate is married. It states nowhere in their policies as to the marital status of the visitor being an issue.
To make this even more ridiculous, they are now not allowing a relative of his to visit that had been on his list for years because she recently married. So now she cannot visit him without her husband being present. It is beyond absurd.

It sounds more like they are upset that you were helping inmates correspond with each other, if I'm reading this right. I'm at work right now, but I know that one's "officially" against the rules. I know it happens all the time but some prisons don't seem to enforce it equally. And no matter what, I think there should be a warning before termination!

I'm sorry and I know you've been having problems for a long time with them. I wish I had more and hope you can work this one out :grouphug:

It's simple, inmates can't communicate with inmates in other prisons without official approval. There are very sound reasons behind this. It has to do with murder and assault and preventing such. All inmates know and understand this, and any attempt in using unknowledgeable free-world citizens to act as their maildrop is simply one more criminal manipulation to add to their list of accomplishments.

Don't worry, now that he's caught using you for illicit purposes and your usefulness has ended, someone else will take your place and the cycle of lies and manipulations will continue until he's stopped--again!

We don't know how close or not their relationship is, or anyone else's, so a sweeping generalization like that doesn't apply. Let's keep this on topic.

It does apply because that's what the overwhelming majority of inmates use these contacts/relationships for; to do the things that they can't do for themselves. This inmate knew the rules and knew what would happen when he got caught. He was willing to sacrifice the relationship for personal gain. The potential gain meant more to him than the relationship.

Live in Denial at your own peril.

Sorry to hear that hun. Same rule in Tamms Supermax prison though where one of my pen pals are and same rule in many others I write. Difference is my pals told me UP Front that they could have no contact with any other inmates in any shape nor form.

It's simple, inmates can't communicate with inmates in other prisons without official approval. There are very sound reasons behind this. It has to do with murder and assault and preventing such. All inmates know and understand this, and any attempt in using unknowledgeable free-world citizens to act as their maildrop is simply one more criminal manipulation to add to their list of accomplishments.

Don't worry, now that he's caught using you for illicit purposes and your usefulness has ended, someone else will take your place and the cycle of lies and manipulations will continue until he's stopped--again!

If I am not mistaking, the inmates were in the same facility. Also the person denied has really been writing the one for a long time.

What you say is really something to think about. But this penpal is truely living in another Country.

Just have to believe that maybe the stricter rules now could be due to all the problems at DOC sites.
Who knows.

The topic of this thread is DOC policy on ending writing priviledges. The original poster did not ask for opinions on her or her friend's choices. Why penpals write is a valid topic but belongs in the Penpal Forum with it's own thread. Keep to the topic, final warning.

Sorry to hear that hun. Same rule in Tamms Supermax prison though where one of my pen pals are and same rule in many others I write. Difference is my pals told me UP Front that they could have no contact with any other inmates in any shape nor form.
And that's exactly how an individual who's honest and on the up-and-up handles the issue. He doesn't ask you to do something that he knows will jeopardize your relationship if he values it. It's too bad when someone who doesn't know the rules finds out the hard way. They may feel that it's unfair because they didn't know. That doesn't change the fact that the inmate knew and weighed the risks, and decided accordingly.

Human Relations 101: People who value you don't ask you to do things that endanger you or which will prevent you from haveing a relationship with them.

If I am not mistaking, the inmates were in the same facility. Also the person denied has really been writing the one for a long time.

What you say is really something to think about. But this penpal is truely living in another Country.

Just have to believe that maybe the stricter rules now could be due to all the problems at DOC sites.
Who knows.
The rules aren't stricter. It's just that staff are getting smarter in detecting violations.

The topic of this thread is DOC policy on ending writing priviledges. The original poster did not ask for opinions on her or her friend's choices. Why penpals write is a valid topic but belongs in the Penpal Forum with it's own thread. Keep to the topic, final warning.
Sorry Madam Moderator, I didn't realize that the issue was so narrow.

No disrespect intended.

Maybe not stricter, but when the rules are set that is how they should be throughout DOC. Not by each facilities own set of rules or codes.
I Think I read somewhere that during reception of an Inmate they are given the handbook and also in there it states(I think) that facilities are a bit different from one to the other. Depending on the inmates level and such.

If the penpal didnt know of the rule maybe a "warning" should of been given before the contact terminated all together.

The intial post also states that she has corresponded for 3 years. That is a long time for penpals.

The issue isnt narrow, its just one that has been gone thru before. And why if all is going well with penpals, why should they just put an abrupt stop to letters? Now "if" there was something that was said and was questionable, it could have been brought to the attention of the penpals to see if it could have been fixed.

That's not one of the issues that varies from prison to prison. It may be enforced better at some institutions than others, but it's the same everywhere. It's a fundamental principle for managing prisons. Inmates are separated from other inmates for someone's protection. If the person wanting to harm an inmate can communicate with other inmates in the victim's area, then it's easy to have the victim assaulted or killed. All inmates know this and understand the reasoning behind it. To violate it is to attempt to pull something over on someone for whatever reason. Common sense on the part of the penpal should come into play at some point. If the administration is not allowing one inmate to communicate with another, there just might be a valid reason behind it, something more than mean ol' prison guards just wanting to be mean to poor, poor, innocent-as-the-driven-snow inmates.

As for giving notification to penpals, those policies are nearly always available to the public at the agency's website.

The whole situation seems very unfortunate-- espcially when your so far away!!
I really can't shed any light on what to do- as i have often found the facilites not to be forgiving or accommodating. Best of luck.
Also thanks to the moderator for keeping this on line- maybe i'll get in trouble but a few of the posts seemed to me to be in that un-forgiving vein,- Sorry just my opinion.

Thank you to those of you who have provided constructive comments:). I will not address those comments coming from a place of generalization and if I am permitted to say it; paranoia. Those are not my issues! This thread was merely intended as a way of finding out if I have any rights/redress in this matter - nothing more. Doc policy does not preclude writing to two inmates at the same facility and my short letter to another inmate was nothing more than an introductory letter, briefly asking if this inmate would help me with legal work. There was never the suggestion that it would be some kind of messaging system! The irony is is that this inmate had been moved (I found out last night) just before my letter arrived at the facility anyway, so they are not even in the same prison. Policy and procedure was not adhered to in this matter; even visitors with blatant violations are supposed to be given 3 warnings and mail stoppage follows a warning, with the possibility of appeal prior to mail being stopped for a limited period initially. None of this happened. While doc staff there are allowed to abuse and manipulate policy and in effect play with inmates' lives, nothing can ever really change....

also a felon can not write to another felon even in another prison, if i understand it all right. i feel so sorry for you, this makes no sense that you should be banned

Liltoo :)

I hate that you're having to keep fighting. It seems like a neverending battle...grr! As far as I know, you're right. If there was no cross correspondence or attempt at that, then you weren't in the wrong unless they have a policy at that particular prison about writing to 2 inmates. There are definitely policies on helping inmates write each other, but I haven't seen anything about you personally not being allowed to write more than one. I wish you luck since that's all I have to give :grouphug:

Liltoo, The only thing I can sugest is maybe write the warden and appologize. Maybe ask why.. I, myself, correspond with several inmates, some in the same facility. I do keep my letters just between us and what is going on in my life, I may tell one that the other said hello or something like that, but I leave the message passing for the guys to take care of themselves. There is always another inmate or CO that will gladly pass a kite for a price of course. Liltoo, I do understand how you feel, when I left the county facility that my man was at, our mail was blocked also. Of course we knew why, but we were never given an explaination nor were my calls returned. The mail was just returned to sender/refused. Of course I know that my man would never refuse my mail. I do remember that on the visiting form that I had to list all the inmates that I corresponded with or visited in other facilities. I only visit one, but like I said I do write my family and our friends. Good luck and God be with you. You and your friend will be in my prayers.

Okay call me foolish but, if you want to write to two inmates in the same institution, use different names and different addresses.....like two different post office boxes in neighboring towns, or one box and one physical address....one computer generated one handwritten--surely the recipient will be able to figure out why something has changed

Good luck

<Common sense on the part of the penpal should come into play at some> <point. If the administration is not allowing one inmate to communicate with> <another, there just might be a valid reason behind it, something more than> <mean ol' prison guards just wanting to be mean to poor, poor, innocent-as-<the-driven-snow inmates.>

Who are you, or who do you think you are? Liltoomean, is a very educ. lady who does alot of good for our "innocent as driven snow inmates" you know it's guards/CO's/case mangers etc etc. that give the good ones a BAD NAME, it makes me wonder sometimes why do people with bad attitudes work is this type of job? Maybe they feel small and just need the little bit of power,<kinda like the ugly duck in school>, gives them that chip on there shoulder they need to make it thru the day. I can't even think, that in most case's the 2 week training that some of the state emp. get is enough for them to even walk into a prison let alone take care of our guys.
Maybe before someone per judge's someone else they should look at there self first. Yes some inmates are bad BUT there are alot of inmates who just want to do there time and come back home,just like there are great people in prison work then there are %$#@!
Just like the courts you need to get all the facts first BEFORE you fined someone gulity,

Go Idysirois...And just for the record- there are no 'pat' rules from facility to facility or state to state for that matter. Not to mention the fact that they change them at will depending on who is enforcing them.

Just because someone may work at facility doesnt mean they know everything about every facility- especially those out of state. But hey my cousin is just the Atty General of another state- and that's just what he says... Oh and then there's my other cousin who is a Senator of another state who concurs!! Just my two cents! (I apologize in advance to the moderator!- But I did check my facts with these elected officials before I posted)

THANK YOU, LOL, FOR CHECKING ON THE FACTS! HUGS,and I to apologize to our GREAT moderators for some people's stupiedness

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