My fiancee has been in an FCI for 14 monthes we've never had problems with our mail before, and 14 days ago he went to SHU he still has no explination why, he was literally in the middle of writing to me and they came to his unit and said "come with us", anyway, we've never wrote anything out of the ordinary, not even overly steamy, just love letters and word about family and just regular stuff, anyway, my letters that used to take 2 days are now taking a week and a half to get to me and they have been opened and re-sealed with clear scotch tape, I thought prison staff wasnt supposed to read out going mail. Do I have any say about this? I mean Its MY mail, I wish they would give him a reason why he was put into Administrative detention (thats what they call it) I dont know how long they are going to hold him or even why, his mom has called and called and the only explination is that they either dont know, or cant say, or wont give out that info, he has given permission for his mother to have information concerning him. really we're kinda lost. We've not had any kind of problems so far, so this really threw us for a loop. If anyone has any kind of info, advice, or just share with me if anyone has had this happen to them before, Id be so apriciative, I really rely on this site and and feel so lucky to have the support, Thanks very much Staci

hi, im in louisiana.
the policy at angola is that the mail room has the right to read ALL mail...incoming and outgoing. when my boyfriend gets my mail, it is already opened, and wen he sends his to the mailroom, he CANNOT seal it. do they actually read it? who knows!
we have been overly steamy ... i dont think that they have the right to say that you cant write steamy love stuff, lol ... i think they just scan it for escape attempts, illegal dealings on the outside ... that kind of stuff.
i wish i had some advice for you :(
i know its frustrating as hell as lately our letters also are taking longer for us to get them. i dont care that they read what we write, i just wish the buffons would read faster so he gets my mail, and me his!!!!!

ugh. the things we deal with.
keep your chin up and i hope all is well again very soon.

I am in California and I have been recieving my mail from my man with a piece of scotch tape too. Guess they dont want to lick the envelopes!

14 days ago he went to SHU he still has no explination why, he was literally in the middle of writing to me and they came to his unit and said "come with us",

Obviously they suspect him of doing something via the mail..... and they do have the right to inspect any inmates outgoing mail.


they have been opened and re-sealed with clear scotch tape, I thought prison staff wasnt supposed to read out going mail. Do I have any say about this? I mean Its MY mail

In the prison world, its not your mail until it leaves the facility.

I wish they would give him a reason why he was put into Administrative detention (thats what they call it) I dont know how long they are going to hold him or even why, his mom has called and called and the only explination is that they either dont know, or cant say, or wont give out that info

It sounds like they are doing an investigation and won't say anything until they are done with it and theres NO telling how long this will take.

Are your letters the only ones being read or is this the case for all of his outgoing mail?

I hope I have explained a little that helps you understand what's going on. The prison officials will keep your guy hanging as long as they can...that's th way they are. Hopefully you will all get to the bottom of this soon and figure out whats going on.

mrs

All my letters from my boyfriend basically comes opened to me :angry: .. I got one letter the flap of the envelope was tucked in no tape acrossed it.. Get this.. I even bought the self-adhesive envelopes for the mailroom to pull off the little tabs.. No such luck.. How ignorant can you get?? :confused: I called the mail room cause; it kept happening and no clear tape...their response "we must've missed that one"...$hit and all the other one's to follow :eek: ..I stopped buying the adhesive envelopes what a waste..argh... :mad: Sorry, went on a tantrum.. Kerrilyn is right, even in Florida my boyfriend can not seal his letter before sending it out.. :( I've always wanted to try super-gluing all the way around.. That would piss them off.. :D Of course, he would never get the letter.. :( LOL :)

There was an inmate who sent a letter to a friend who transferred to another prison. He made a comment about an incident that he was charged with. The prison called the other prison to search that inmates cell and get the letter, they then used it against him as an admission of guilt. Inmates get transferred around and try to communicate about a lot of things and the prisons want to know.

When an inmate is in the SHU all letters are given to the CO unsealed. They inspect the mail and then seal it with tape.

MrsD is right, its not your mail until it leaves the facility.

Hey I've been getting my letters from Matthew with a piece of clear scotch tape across them too. :hmm: Well I would keep calling the prison until they give you an explanation on why he is on "administrative detention" because it makes no sense to me, why they would do that to him, especially since you say that you dont talk about anything more then the ordinary in your letters. Much Luck!!!

Thank you everyone for your responses, I don't know if all his outgoing mail has been opened and then taped, his mom hasnt recieved any letters at all from him although he's written to her, and we are the only people he has written to lately, with the exception of his legal mail, I dont care if they read our letters, I just wanted to know if that was something they can do without just cause or probable reason, other than discussing my grandmothers illnesss, how much I love him, and daily events in me and my daughters life, there is nothing out of the ordinary in them, maybe its his legal mail that has them investigating him, Its my only guess. Thank you for the help, I hope that this is all resoved soon for his sake, and mine, I miss my nightly phone calls. Staci

I may be mistaken but I believe I read in the Title 15 that mail to an from an inmates attorney can't be read by them. If I'm incorrect please let me know.

I have heard of people getting Administrative Detention because they were using stamped envelopes for trade with other inmates. I also heard about an inmate who worked in an area who was found to have been stealing envelopes from an office area. There are many reasons why inmates are looked at, you may just have to wait to find out the answer.

I always tried to be on the safe side and assumed everything was read. I was fortunate that the letters I wrote from jail to my husband in prison actually went through. I know some places it wouldn't.

My b/f is also in the SHU at a federal prison and my letters don't have any tape on them. I thought that they only read incoming mail and if they read outgoing, they had to tell you first.

Hi I Was Wondering If Anybody Knows What Else I Can Send To Santa Rita Jail In Dublin,ca. I Thought It Was Only Letters And Soft Cover Books From A Publisher.but I Was Wondering About Pictures.not Porno Just Snap Shots Of Me And Kids Is That Ok.or Even Funny Pictures From The Book Stores We Are Both New To This And I Dont Want To Get Him In Trouble But Can I Send Him Paper And Envolpes Or Does He Have To Buy It From There Store.thanks For Any Info

WOW all of this is so interesting. I thought that this was just a Calif problem here within the prisons, with the mailroom and our mail. But if this sheeeet is happening all over there has got to be something we can do to either have it investigated or stopped. My hubby always tapes the outside of his letters. He has been doing this for years. I know they do read my letters to him. I write whatever I am feeling at that moment in time. If I want to make love to him -- then I do it in the letter and I have known to get real descriptive. I hold no punches. See I know other than the mail room -- no one else reads our mail. It is just somethang that I have learned to accept and live with. But this problem of the mail be delayed for whatever reasons is totally unacceptable. I will check into this further and let you all know what I come up with.

Staci, i am sorry your guy is in the shu....i hope this gets resolve quickly, and with no new problems for the both of you!!!!!!!

question: so if the letter we receive has been opened and taped that means our man is administrative detention, or is this just a random thing..

Well from what I understand my husband gives the co the mail unsealed!! And then they can read it if they want to, I think the way the legal mail works is that they call them to come and get it and they open it in front of them. I dont think they can open the legal mail with out them.

When in the SHU it seems to always take a lil bit longer, But they have a certain amount of time to tell him why and they can always just tell him its an investigation and then just let him go. Its really crazy. I dont get the tape thing I would think that was the co doing it cuz he dont want to it.

Why do u think it has something to do with the mail.

You can always call and just ask if he can have visits and maybe you will get more information from there.

Keep ya head up!!!

Its the waiting part that is tuff!!!

Keeping calling them and keep writing

I'm coming into this post a little late but to be short and to the point:

For the Federal Bureau of Prisons -

All inmate mail - incoming or outgoing - is a 'priviledge'. It is not a right to send or receive mail. Now with that said, that does not mean that the BOP can do whatever they like with it. They still have rules to follow. It does mean, however, that they BOP has the right to read and inspect all mail - incoming and outgoing. The inmate does have the right to deny the BOP the right to open his/her mail, but in so doing the inmate will not be allowed to receive any mail. Anyone that has served time in a federal prison might remember one of those forms that they fill out when they were first admitted and/or when they were transferred - this form (BP-408) has a place for the inmate to sign acknowledging that the BOP will open and read all mail. IF the inmate does not want the BOP do read his mail, then he can sign the dotted line that will PROHIBIT the BOP from reading any of his incoming mail, HOWEVER, on that same dotted line it states that he will not be allowed to receive ANY mail. (Catch-22).

So in summary - the BOP has the right to read all inmate mail.

So be careful about what you write or send.

Greyghost

As for probable cause to investigate - our inmates had the luxury of that BEFORE they were convicted. There is no such requirement, due process is not required within the correctional system.

So - no rights to privacy, no due process, and there isn't a darn thing we can ever do about it.

Inmates mail can be read. At the officers discretion. Sometimes mail is read because they think something is going on.

Greyghost, I respectfully have to have a difference of opinion with you here. Receiving and sending mail isn't a privilege, it's a right. If you don't believe me, then check it out further. Back in the 70's when Attica happened, that was a big issue and it was made a right for all prisoners, not just at Attica but everywhere. While it may be true that if the prisoner refuses to sign a paper that all mail is opened coming in, sending and receiving mail most certainly is a right, not a privilege. And legal mail, both incoming and outgoing, is not to be messed with by the prison. All mail also supposed to be delivered in a timely manner and regular mail is not supposed to be opened going out unless a particular inmate has mail issues, but Texas and some other states have seen fit not to abide by that.

As a matter of fact, here's an article Fed-X posted dealing with just this issue:

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66811

Thanks Fed-X! Serendipity strikes! I found the article a little further along in "view new posts" after I'd already posted my response.

That was my take on it too, that they dont read outgoing mail unless had cause to. I just figured the not being allowed to seal the letters was just to look for contraband etc....cant think of anything too much they b sending out lol other then letter. I guess I am going to find all this out soon enough if and when my fiance goes to DOC. 6 mths now in jail in arizona and he has always been able to seal his letters to me. He puts drawings or an 'I Love You' over the top of seal so I am able to tell if been tampered with. From sounds of all I read here we are going to lose that so called privilege :(

I just had a buddy get back from Santa Rita. Photos should be just fine--I don't think they allow computer generated pics though. As far as envelopes and such...they give them a free pack, but then they have to pay for their own stuff on comissary. If you send a MO with his name and #, that should be OK but I'd call Santa Rita just to make sure. Good luck! I'm in Cali, so if you have any other questions about Santa Rita, feel free to ask!
--Lanie :thumbsup:

Okay a little update, after the first week or so back in the middle of June when Rick went to the SHU, the letters stopped being opened and taped, thats because they had been conducting an investigation on him and then the investigation was over so they no longer "needed" to do that, yes it was positively an investigation having to do with his legal mail, and he is STILL in the SHU and was charged with 90 days, not starting in June when he was placed there, but starting Aug 18 when they got around to charging him,("investigation was over by the 1st week of July) so he will be there for awhile, yes he's requested and send out a "cop" out form to challange and try to get the charges reversed, He has made himself a target by making a fuss on paper of the prison conditions and the "dirty" way they run it, nonetheless, he had every right to do so, nonetheless they asked him to stop trying to disrupt the orderly way they run their prison, and they made that the reason to charge him, so thats just the short version, its wrong but they do it because they can, and you know what? hes not going to stop, he had every right to the courts and they cannot deny him access although they can make his time very hard as we are seeing right now. So Im sure this makes no sense, it doesnt to me either but thats what they wrote him up for and why they were opening his mail. You all take take care, good luck Thanks, Staci