Mail Restrictions In Texas Prisons

The Texas Board of Criminal Justice today
approved changes to policies related to inmate
correspondence.

Effective June 1, 2004, the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice (TDCJ) will begin operating under new
procedures for both incoming and outgoing inmate
correspondence. All changes in policy are consistent
with the national standards outlined by the American
Correctional Association.

The following is a general overview of the changes
approved by the board at its regularly scheduled
meeting in Austin.

General Rules and Instructions Regarding
Correspondence:

* Offenders are limited to putting their
commitment name, TDCJ number, unit name, and current
address on each outgoing item to prevent the disguise
of the location from which their mail is being sent.
Offenders may also place their legal name in the
return address if it is different from their
commitment name.

* Offenders may not draw pictures or write
messages on the outside of their envelopes.

* Mailroom staff shall refuse to mail any item
they reasonably believe will be deemed unmailable by
the United States Postal Service.

* Victims are now specifically mentioned as
restricted correspondents for inmates (victims are
defined by the Texas Penal Code, Section 38.111).



Rules and Instructions Regarding Special and Media
Correspondence:

* Outgoing special or media correspondence will be
opened in cases where there have been known problems
("special correspondence" is defined as any official
of any federal, state or local law enforcement agency,
including offices of inspector general). The intent is
to prohibit offenders from sending correspondence that
seeks to threaten, harass or intimidate in any way
(including anthrax hoaxes).

* Incoming special, legal and media correspondence
will be searched for contraband and only in the
presence of the offender.

Rules and Instructions Regarding the Handling of
Offender Correspondence:

* Offender mail must be processed within 24 hours
and packages within 48 hours. Weekends and holidays
recognized by the U.S. Postal Service are not included
in this time calculation.

* All sexually explicit images contained in
publications or in offender mail will be considered
contraband and prohibited.

* Sexually explicit is defined as "material
that shows the frontal nudity of either gender,
including the exposed female breast(s) with nipple(s)
or areola(s), or the genitalia or anus of either
gender. The chests of infants and pre-pubescent
children are not considered breasts." This definition
is consistent with the one used by most states in the
9th Circuit that has withstood challenges, and with
the policy used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

* This prohibition will be effective one
year from the date of the approval of the Board
Policy, giving offenders enough time to allow current
publication subscriptions to expire, to terminate such
subscriptions and to appropriately dispose of sexually
explicit images already in their possession.

* Publications constituting educational,
medical, scientific, or artistic materials, including
but not limited to, anatomy medical reference books,
general practitioner reference books and/or guides,
National Geographic, or artistic reference material
depicting historical, modern and/or post modern art
era, may be permitted on a case-by-case basis.

* The intent of the new policy on sexually
explicit materials is to encourage a rehabilitative
environment for offenders and to discourage sexual
harassment of staff.

We the undersigned do not agree with these mail restrictions
being placed on the Inmates of Texas, and feel some are unnecessary