Just read this article online and its got me STEAMED:angry:

The Everhart Solution:
A Trash Barrel Full
Of Your Mail
By: Neithereign Knor Snow
Peggy, the woman who runs the prison mailroom has a pretty cushie job even for a state bureaucrat; send out the mail, receive the mail; the kind of chore that most businesses generally delegated to the mentally challenged. Even with a staff of helpers, Peggy (sounds like it should be some inexperienced girl, doesn't it, but really it's an aging grnadmother who should know better) fails to deliver the mail. All that Postal Creed business about the mail getting through regardless of any obstacle was written before Peggy got her trash barrel. Instead of delivering the mail that's addressed to prisoenrs, Peggy "peggies" it, throws it in the trash. The sender's paid to have the prisoner get the mail. The prisoner wants to have the mail, but Peggy is a bureaucrat with a mission: "peggy it:" steal the mail.

Suppose you're the art supply mail-order house, Dick Blick. You send a catalog to a prisoner. It costs you about $5 what with printing and handling and postage. When it arrives at the prison, Peggy summarily "peggies it," throws it into her trash barrel. She doesn't give the sender any notice. She doesn't give the prisoner any notice. Nobody can appeal or argue or reason with Peggy. She simply eases her bureaucratic labors by discarding the mail.

The other day, a prisoner happened to look into the trash barrel as it was bound for the compactor. It was a heaping 30 gallons of catalogs, magazines, newspapers, offers, letters, brochures, and heavens knows what else. Anything that the grandma of the mailroom didn't want prisoners to get. Dick Blick doesn't even realize that its catalog has been "peggied." The prisoner doesn't realize that mail addressed to him has been "peggied." The only stooges who are the wiser are Peggy and her minions of trash-packers.

After a few months, the prisoner starts to get suspicious. Could Peggy have just stolen his mail or is he being paranoid. Prison tends to make people paranoid. His wife orders a catalog from Dick Blick, puts it into a special priority envelope with $3.20 in postage and sends it off to him.

Dummy, that'll never work. Peggy's on the job. Screw the $3.20 in postage. Screw the wife's loving efforts. The priority envelope gets "peggied!"

Before Peggy was elevated to her lofty position, Scotty was on the job. Scott had a different approach. Thinking that it was a shame to simply "peggy" the mail, Scotty's approach was to "redirect" it. Regardless of the addressee, mail was redirected to the prison library, and apparently to friends on the prison staff, prisoner snitches and pets. There's no telling how much prisoner mail found/finds it way into pockets of the mailroom staff. There's no accurate way to tell how many tons of it are "peggied," but you can bet it's a lot.

If you write and get no answer, figure that your mail was "peggied." If you send a catalog or magazine or newspaper, but it never gets to the prisoner, figure it got "peggied."

But don't think that the grandma is alone in her lofty mission; no, no way! The whole Pennsylvania prison system is geared at isolating prisoners from the free community. (http://www.prisoners.com/mailnuts.html) It's a calculated strategy intended to prevent any possibility for rehabilitation. Even Sunday newspapers (http://www.prisoners.com/masoncom.html) are censored. They are too much work for the bureaucrats to deliver.

If mailers care to do it, I'm sure that they could pressure the Department of Corrections ("DOC") into delivering more of the mail, but power is both arrogant and abusive. Under the present regime sanity has had a very low priority.

What? That is just wrong !!

Good lord where did you find that article?i'm in pa as you can see and so is my fiance.he always gets the catalogs, letters, magazines that i send.thats crazy.

Here is the site, think alot of it comes from PA too.

http://www.prisoners.com/glimpse.html#glimpse

That's the gospel truth of what happens to our mail. I would like to know the source of this article? Newspaper source? Can you please state where online you found this? Thanks a bunch! :)

Please list the source of this article?

Thanks,
Buggles

Sorry. I was posting just as you were posting the source of this story. Thanks!!!!!

:-) Don't be bugged...it's all good!

Bug hugs!

Well if we can prove peggy did it she is looking at tim ein the fed pen. It is FEDERAL CRIME to tamper with mail addressed to someone other than yourself. Maybe we need to start writing to the mailrooms and wardens and remoind them of this.

o helllllllno. I snet my man magazines 3 months ago he didnt get yet...hhhmmmm

does it take 28 days to recieve mail?

Has anyone else had delays in their mail because they're screening??? That seems to be the problem we're having although it seems to be passing. Of course this is Texas and we all know what they say about things down here in Texas. Will sure be glad when this election year is over! Mrs.Alamo

Lynne
I get mail from Texas fairly quickley, but he doesnt get mine that quick, our mail is always so far behind :(
Isnt that a federal offence, tampering with mail? Like I KNOW they have to make sure there is no contraband, etc, in it, but things like a catologue or a magazine isnt listed as contraband, if it comes from the publisher.
I mean, people are PUT into prison for mail violations like this, but our little friend "Peggy" can do whatever she wants, cause she believes shes a higher authority.
Fine, if it doesnt fit in the mail laws, send it back, trash it, whatever, AND give an explanation to the person sending and the inmate, but to just trash for the hell of it??
This makes me :angry:

I'm a mother of a VSPW inmate... In the 3 years of incarceration - the deal is: her mail to us, is received in a few days. The mail we send to her reaches her sometimes a week or 2 weeks later!! Yes, we understand that all mail has to be inspected, but why does it take so long? !! Maybe more mail people should be hired. Frustrating!

Of course this is Texas and we all know what they say about things down here in Texas.

It doesn't only happen in Texas. My guy is here in Kansas, at a mental health facility where the incoming mail is screened extra carefully. While in the process of moving here from Rhode Island (the trip took 4+ days), I wrote to him from two different motels, and placed the mail in a mailbox myself...so I know it was processed within a day or so. Yet, I had already been in this new house for over 8 days, and I got a frantic letter from my guy, saying he was going nuts not knowing if I was okay. His letter was dated June 9th, and he still had not received either of the letters sent from the road....meaning the letters were probably held up in the mailroom for days, while my guy paced his cell. Also, that same frantic letter reached me in a single day, as I live the next town over from the prison....so I know his mail should have reached him long ago.

Now, I understand about security measures and all....and I know the U. S. mail can hit a snag now and then. But when he was back at the old prison in El Dorado, and I was still in Rhode Island (2,000 miles away), my letters NEVER took more than 4-5 days to reach him; we kept track of each others' postmarks to be sure none went missing.

Ask the Kansas DOC to explain that, and you'll get the usual pile of crap. *sigh*

This is just flat out wrong!!

Nick and I actually had this discussion just this morning. Mail I sent him two weeks ago....he hasn't received it yet (he's in Illinois). His mail I get in a few days. The mail has always been slow, but for the past two months, it's been ridiculous. I'm getting ready to start making some waves.

my fiance was in detention in waco for several weeks before he went In Transit. i only live 100 miles from waco & still it took up to a week for us to get each other's letters. then he conaired out to atlanta on 5/18. i located him there via BOP & wrote to him. still no word back from him. 3 wks later, his fed p-t p.o. located him in monmouth county in nj & suggested i write to him there. i did. the next day i found on BOP that he was in FDC philly, so i wrote to him again, at the street address listed on BOP.
still no word back from jamie. the letter i sent to atlanta was returned about 10 days ago, & the letter i sent to monmouth was returned 3 days ago: june 24th. i called FDC philly, after finding an inmate pobox on PTO, to ask if the letter i'd mailed to the street address would be returned. OF COURSE.
so i haven't heard from jamie for 5 weeks now, but i'm hoping that the letter i mailed to the pobox on the 22nd will reach him soon.
i don't understand why----if they're gonna transport them all over the country---& they don't allow the inmate to communicate in anyway while in transit------they won't JUST FORWARD THE MAIL!!!
i KNOW that THEY know where the guy's gone to, & it's a whole lot harder for us to locate them, & creates incredible emotional strain.
i'm even more concerned because jamie & i had had a big argument right before he was transited from waco------so he doesn't even know i've been trying to write to him to get things straightened out for the last FIVE WEEKS! (so much for the good advice "don't let the sun go down on your anger to avoid health & relationship problems"!!!!!!!)

What? That is just wrong !!
WRONG? This is ILLEGAL!

LeftHereAlone,
You can thank yourself for being the final push in opening this new forum dedicated to Prison Mail Issues. Some of us at the Texas GTG this past weekend were talking about this very thing and now after reading this, I opened up the new forum. :)

Thanks for sharing this!

I checked out this site - you guys, we need to remember that just because something is posted on the Internet doesn't make it true! Look at this article! It is grammatically wrong, words are mis-spelled, there are no sponsors, there is no contact information.....this site has no credibility to me what-so-ever! I feel it was written by someone with a grudge, I would take it at face value. Just my opinion - there are millions of bogus sites on the Internet. This is a good checklist to consider when looking at a site - I have found it useful in the past:

http://library.usm.maine.edu/research/researchguides/webevaluating.html

True, there are millions of bogus sites on the internet, and just as many who hold a grudge. I think that by opening up this new forum, we can share personal stories and experiences!!

Fellah and I track every letter sent and received. While many get through, there are many that just simply vanish. Where the said letters disappear -- who is to know? Is it still in the postal carriers truck, the sending Post Office, the receiving city Post Office, the prison mail room? Who can know for sure.

Then there are the letters that take over a month for Fellah to receive!! He wil be receiving mail fairly consistantly, then boom! a letter that was mailed a month previously will finally be delivered.

Fellah was written up for 4 letters (he had erased his old cell #, put his new cell # on the return address, and he was written up for altering mail). Somehow, the letters vanished. Since they could not produce the letters, they had to drop the write up. But that was 4 letters I will never receive!!! He can get a write up for changing his return address, but there ain't **** we can do about them loosing 4 letters.

Right now.... knock on wood.... letters are getting though rather quickly and in tact. I better get busy and write some more!!! Before it changes again!!!

JJT

I recieved a letter off my friend in Texas on Friday, and he was kind of P*&^&* off because he said, I wasnt answering his mail, and was slackening off, etc, etc. I was reading thinking, what does he mean???? Now I know :(

I do understand that this article may have been written with a grudge and be completely false, but there are thousands of cases that are not. I too was one that tracked my mail quite extensively and I probably had at least 15 personal letters and who knows how many requested catalogs and other things that I never got a response out of. One publisher where I ordered books from said that they sent them to me and even show a tracking number that confirmed it was delivered. I filed a report but how far did that get me?

The post office will tell you that their jurisdiction ends at the gates of the prison. True it's a federal offense and illegal to tamper with the mail-------unless it's delivered to a prison. Once inside the gates there, then it's up for grabs, so to speak, and the post office has no say and no jurisdiction.

Where did you find out this information? Is this something that a local post master said or does federal law cover it?

my fiance is in GA and he said they had the actual post office in the prison! He said actual, like it was the real U.S. Postal service! So i don't know about what toi said.

Interesting communication regarding the mail delivery in prisons in Florida and then there is communication from the supervisor mail clerk at one of the prisons, following this. Maybe the suggestions this supervisor offered can help in other prisons? (Maybe...just an idea!) This is stems from communication originating from Kay Lee, one of our members in Florida...

http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/starke/gulfmail.html

MAIL PROBLEMS AT GULF

They will do nothing. I suggest you file a formal complaint with your local post office - and they send it to the regional office. Let them handle it. You will get better results.

JM

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I tried that. The post office said their responsibility ends at the prison door.


"Whitfield, Shannon" whitfield.shannon@mail.dc.state.fl.us wrote:

Ms. Trevor,

I am the mailroom supervisor at Gulf CI. Below is the response I sent to our Region Office about you situation. I will be glad to help you in any way if you can provide me with some information. Is there any particular person that you have been dealing with at our institution? If so, what is that person's name? If you can tell me about what time frame the incident occurred, I will be glad to try and rectify the situation. If you have any further problems with the mail, please notify me directly and I will get right on the problem and try to get it fixed for you.&n! bsp; If you are not satisfied with the way I handle the situation, you can feel free to notify our warden at Harrison,Duffie@mail.dc.state.fl.us . As it is now, when you send the message to several other people, it takes a few days before I get the message and it takes that much longer for me to be able to find a solution. If I can be of further assistance please feel free to contact me at the number or email address listed below.

Shannon Whitfield
General Services Specialist
Gulf Correctional Institution
850-639-1141 SC 790-1141
whitfield.shannon@mail.dc.state.fl.us

Well I must be one of the lucky ones as we have never had a letter lost one way or the other. Sometimes it takes forever to get, but it shows up eventually. I even sent 20 packages once (numbered them of course) and they all arrived. I thought for sure one of those would have end up lost.

i cant belive that would happen, i used to work at a calif. prison and in the mail room they never did things like that if the mail was damaged the would send a letter to the inmate and to the sender, wouldnt it be nice if all the prisons did that.

That article may be bogus but mail being trashed is not. In Texas this is happening- BIG TIME. Maybe not at all units but it is a huge problem. And if someone is "interested" in your man ( u r the wife or girlfriend) your mail may never get to you or be seriously delayed. More "stuff %$@%!!!" we don't need. :banghead:

This happens in Maine all the time! I can't tell you how often I have sent information to Christopher and he doesn't get it. When I have called they just say not allowed - one item in particular was a photograph of sneakers that I had just bought for him. He never receives notice that something has come in and gone to his property or just been disposed of. I think it's ridiculous, but can't fight the DOC.

It's bullpucky!

Sheila

I feel for all of us who write to our loved ones/friends that are locked up...I have recently become a member of this forum scene and have unfortuantley become a member of the "peggied" mail...I WILL not rest untill it is resolved. I hae pictures of my babies daddy in the letter that was lost...I was told that ALLLLL mail that is sent certified or in manilla envelopes HAVE to be documentedand recorded!!!...at least in Cali. I am not aware of what other state prison facilities practices are....best of luck to all!!!

I understand that they are prisoners and the prison's have the right to search the mail but they do not have the right to trash there mail, if there is contraband or something illegial then they should keep it and notify the inmate but to trash someones mail is just another prime example of how our prisoners in the us are of no concern but an terrorist prisoners gets more rights then them go figure

:angry:After having loved ones in prison and knowing the abuse the guards take of their "authority" you'd think by now we'd all know the big picture. It happens in TEXAS too. Imagine That!!!:rolleyes: And phoen calls and letters to the UNITED STATES POSTMASTER GENERAL will ammount to nothing!!! They will tell you that once it leaves the hands of their employees it is no longer under their jurisdiction. It is an internal affair of the Dept. of Corrections. And we all know how greviences are handled----NOT! Good luck getting it to change.

Well according to about 14 different inmates all in the same yard but in different area's there is one female CO that will read the mail they are sending out and then pick at pages and throw them away. This has been witnessed many many times her doing it as she doesn't hide while doing so. A formal complaint was filed by the inmates also. Plus, I got her name off another lady who's husband is in another yard there and that is ONE of the reasons she was moved from that yard to the one she is now at. So with finding out her name I called the 800 number for the USPS and was told by a Supervisor there that basically if ANYONE tampers with the US Mail it is a federal offense and to file a complaint with the US Postal Service. I have the forms being sent to me now to put it in writing but I also gave a verbal complaint that they took from me with her name and location and they are going to start a prelim. inquiry then when they recieve my written formal complaint more things can happen then internally.
My guy has also lost magazines one of them cost me 45.00 a year for his subscription :angry: he has received 2 issues in 9 months so I have written the company and they are going to re-issue them this time asking for verification they are delivered which was really nice I thought ...
so call and ask your local post office for the 800 number and call and make a formal complaint because the USPS is responsible for the mail til it is in your loved ones hands is what I was told.
and yes I told them he was in prison as well with the same answer given to me

My husband is at High Desert here in Calif. and the mail at some times is 3 weeks to a month backed up. I called the prison first and was told they were short staffed, So I figured okay maybe folks are on vacation or something. But this sheeeeet went on for a long dang time.
I called the post office and was told that when the mail arrives at the post office it is sorted and placed in a large bins on wheels. The guards pick it up at 11 every morning. Now once the mail is picked up by prison staff that releases the post office of all responsibilty. I went into the post office on another occassion and spoke to the post master and was told the exact same thing.
Now I have called the mail room and always seem to get someone who is kinda nice. They have the same lame a$$ tired excuse -- we get so much mail and looking for contraband and other items it takes a while to sort thru the mail.
Now my husband has told me that they tease him about my mail and the different scents of perfume I spray on the letters.
And check this out they read the jokes and other stufff I print off the internet. They have mentioned to him I have good taste in jokes. And how I must spend a lot of time on the internet.
I am sorry but I find no humor in that. Hey read the mail if you must -- but then pass it out in a timely fashion. My mail to hubby is personal especially when I get kinky and nasty. But if they got to check it I don't have a problem with that but give my man his mail.
I don't know what to do -- but I am dang sure getting tired of my mail taking so long to be delivered to my man.
I say we should start a leeter writing campaign. Just start writing letters to the warden, to their counselors and to anyone else you can think of at the prison who will listen and respond. And who knows maybe in the end all of our combined efforts will do some good.
Sassy

Is that article true????
If it is, thats insane.