I just wanted to let you know about the messaging program for inmates. I know there has been some discussion about prisoners being able to send messages to family. I received an email last night from Carswell in Fort Worth asking if I wanted to communicate with an inmate that I know. I just wanted to let you see what the email looks like. There is also a link at the bottom of the post that says it will give you more information.

Hope this helps some.
Eryn :)


This is a system generated message informing you that the above-named person is a federal prisoner who seeks to add you to his/her contact list for exchanging electronic messages. There is no message from the prisoner.

You have only the following options in response to this message.

* You may APPROVE this prisoner for message exchanges by clicking here (http://us.f555.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=admin@inmatemessage.com&Subj=13091078|-|SUBSCRIBE|-|{38B63880-BAB8-4049-A81E-931E92A62023}&body=DO%20NOT%20ALTER%20THIS%20MESSAGE%20OR%20ITS% 20Subj%20LINE%3B%20ONLY%20CLICK%20THE%20SEND%20BUT TON%2E%20%20Responses%20will%20only%20be%20aCcepte d%20from%20the%20exact%20e%2Dmail%20address%20plac ed%20on%20the%20inmate%92s%20contact%20list%2E%20% 20Messages%20from%20alias%20addresses%20will%20not %20be%20recognized%20by%20the%20system%2E%20%20) and then clicking the Send button; or

* You may REFUSE this specific prisoner's request for message exchanges by clicking here (http://us.f555.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=admin@inmatemessage.com&Subj=13091078|-|BLOCK|-|{38B63880-BAB8-4049-A81E-931E92A62023}&body=DO%20NOT%20ALTER%20THIS%20MESSAGE%20OR%20ITS% 20Subj%20LINE%3B%20ONLY%20CLICK%20THE%20SEND%20BUT TON%2E%20%20Responses%20will%20only%20be%20aCcepte d%20from%20the%20exact%20e%2Dmail%20address%20plac ed%20on%20the%20inmate%92s%20contact%20list%2E%20% 20Messages%20from%20alias%20addresses%20will%20not %20be%20recognized%20by%20the%20system%2E%20%20) and then clicking the Send button; or

* You may REFUSE this and all future federal prisoners' requests for message exchanges by clicking here (http://us.f555.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=admin@inmatemessage.com&Subj=13091078|-|ALLBLOCK|-|{38B63880-BAB8-4049-A81E-931E92A62023}&body=DO%20NOT%20ALTER%20THIS%20MESSAGE%20OR%20ITS% 20Subj%20LINE%3B%20ONLY%20CLICK%20THE%20SEND%20BUT TON%2E%20%20Responses%20will%20only%20be%20aCcepte d%20from%20the%20exact%20e%2Dmail%20address%20plac ed%20on%20the%20inmate%92s%20contact%20list%2E%20% 20Messages%20from%20alias%20addresses%20will%20not %20be%20recognized%20by%20the%20system%2E%20%20) and then clicking the Send button.

Any additional response will not be delivered to the prisoner or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

By approving this transaction, you consent to have Bureau of Prisons staff monitor the content of all electronic messages exchanged.

Once you have been approved by the Bureau of Prisons to correspond with the prisoner, the prisoner will be notified and must initiate messaging.

For additional information related to this program, please visit the www.inmatemessage.com (http://www.inmatemessage.com) FAQ page.

Here is some additional information on the inmate messages.

What is TRULINCS?

The Trust Fund Limited Inmate Communication System (TRULINCS) is a pilot program currently being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to provide inmates with some limited capabilities to send and receive electronic correspondence without having access to the Internet and uses no taxpayer dollars.
One purpose of this program is to assist in the inmate’s eventual community reentry. Many of these inmates are nearing their release date. Electronic communications have now become a standard form of correspondence within most American homes and businesses and can now also serve as a way to keep inmates connected to their families. Strengthening or re-establishing these family ties assists the inmates with their successful reentry into the community and can reduce the possibility that they recidivate.

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Do inmates have access to the Internet?
No; this service is solely a messaging application and provides no inmate access to the Internet.

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Who funds TRULINCS?
No taxpayer dollars are used for this service. Funding is provided entirely by the Inmate Trust Fund, which is maintained by profits from inmate purchases of Commissary products, telephone services, and the fees inmates pay for using TRULINCS.

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Which inmates have access to TRULINCS?
The pilot program is currently being conducted at the Federal Prison Camp and Low Security Correctional Institution in Coleman, Florida; the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut; and the Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery, Alabama.

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How do I correspond with an inmate?
Inmates are limited to sending and receiving electronic correspondence only from individuals on their approved contact list. An inmate must request to exchange electronic correspondence with a person in the community by placing that person on their contact list. If staff approve the inmate’s request to exchange electronic correspondence, the system generates a message to that person advising them of the request and gives them the option of accepting; rejecting the request and any future electronic correspondence from that particular inmate; or rejecting the request and any future electronic correspondence from any Federal inmate. The inmate will be notified of the requested contact’s reply action and messaging may begin if the applicable response was received by the contact.

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What do I do if I have not received a system generated message, but the inmate added me to their contact list?
Verify with the inmate that they entered your e-mail address properly. Pay special attention to the spelling of addresses and domain names (.com, .net, etc.).

Many mail clients have filters to protect users from spam and viruses. Once you have verified the inmate entered your correct e-mail address, you should check your junk mail folder to see if a filter diverted the message.

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I accepted the system generated message, but the inmate has not been notified.
Responses will only be accepted from the exact e-mail address placed on the inmate’s contact list. Messages from forwarded domains, alias addresses, or mis-configured mail software will not be recognized by TRULINCS and, therefore, can not be delivered. Please verify your Reply Address in your mail client’s account settings. It must be the exact address entered on the inmate’s contact list.
Do not alter the reply message or the subject line.

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I tried to approve or refuse communiction with an inmate by clicking the appropriate response, but nothing happened?
Many mail clients' viewing capabilities are defaulted to view text formatted messages to reduce the number of viruses introduced to your computer. To approve/refuse communiction with an inmate, your viewing capability must be set to view html formatted messages in order to launch the appropriate hyper-link to approve/refuse communication.
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Is correspondence monitored?
Yes; all correspondence is subject to monitoring. Inmates consent to monitoring when they agree to participate in the program. Contacts consent to monitoring when they approve corresponding with the inmate and are notified each time they receive correspondence from the inmate.

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Are there rules?
Correspondence may not jeopardize the safety, security, or orderly operation of the correctional facility, or the protection of the public; exceed 13,000 characters (approximately two pages); or have attachments. Correspondence that jeopardizes the safety, security, or orderly operation of the correctional facility, or the protection of the public or exceeds the 13,000 character limit, will be rejected. Any attachments sent with correspondence, will be stripped and not delivered to the inmate.

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What do I do if I want to stop corresponding with an inmate?
Contacts may remove themselves from a specific inmate’s contact list or refuse all future Federal inmates’ requests for message exchanges at any time by selecting the applicable action identified in the footer of each inmate message.

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What do I do if I accidently declined to correspond and want to correspond?
If a member of the public accidently responds that they do not want to correspond with the specific inmate or any Federal inmate and a block is placed on their e-mail address, they must provide a written request to the Warden of the facility where the inmate is located to remove the block. Requests must include the contact’s name, physical address, e-mail address, and telephone number.
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Does anyone know how long this pilot is gonna last, or when the rest of the facilities are going to be able to start using this?
I would love for Jerry to be able to use this, as it takes almost a week for him to get my mail and vice versa!! :(

Personally if this had been available when I was an inmate, I would NEVER have used it. This gives the BOP an electronic copy of everything that is written. This is to help them, not the inmates. Without this system, they would have to go back and transcribe the telephone conversation, scan your incoming and outgoing mail or search your locker which may no longer contain the letter.

As is, the outgoing mail is sealed by the inmate before going out and incoming mail is opened only for contraband. Inmates are able to ask me questions that I can answer (as they read between the lines sometime) but no one would have a copy of both letters to construe or misconstrue intent.

Susan - as always you make some great points.

Personally if this had been available when I was an inmate, I would NEVER have used it. This gives the BOP an electronic copy of everything that is written. This is to help them, not the inmates. Without this system, they would have to go back and transcribe the telephone conversation, scan your incoming and outgoing mail or search your locker which may no longer contain the letter.

As is, the outgoing mail is sealed by the inmate before going out and incoming mail is opened only for contraband. Inmates are able to ask me questions that I can answer (as they read between the lines sometime) but no one would have a copy of both letters to construe or misconstrue intent.

Very, very true! :thumbsup:
I dont want it to substitute our original means of communication. I want just for when we have something urgent to tell one another... i.e. flight times and stuff. The last time i flew over to visit him, i wasnt sure that he got all the info in time. :( I have the computer, but i still hand write his letter. Its about it being a more personal means of communication. The electronic was would be just and addition to us.

Personally if this had been available when I was an inmate, I would NEVER have used it. This gives the BOP an electronic copy of everything that is written. This is to help them, not the inmates. Without this system, they would have to go back and transcribe the telephone conversation, scan your incoming and outgoing mail or search your locker which may no longer contain the letter.

As is, the outgoing mail is sealed by the inmate before going out and incoming mail is opened only for contraband. Inmates are able to ask me questions that I can answer (as they read between the lines sometime) but no one would have a copy of both letters to construe or misconstrue intent.
Thank you. You make a great point. I was getting all excited but you are right. If it comes to Beaumont, I'll tell my man not to use it.