Happy Sunday Friends,

This week we’ve been shining a spotlight on prison mail restrictions. Every single day, letters, postcards, and envelopes are returned to us stamped “Rejected,” “Refused,” or simply “Return to Sender.”

We’ve shared just a small sample of those rejections this week. Each returned envelope represents a broken connection, wasted postage, and one more person inside cut off from the outside world.

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When Connection Hits a Wall: Five Stories From This Week’s Mail Rejections

• Oregon’s Envelope Ban
  Security envelopes — the kind we use every day — are now banned in Oregon. Even envelopes purchased inside and mailed to us are being rejected.
• Tennessee Goes Digital
  As of August 1, Tennessee routes all personal mail through a third-party scanning service. The result is delays, poor quality copies, and zero privacy.
• No Postcards For You!
  From photos and postcards, letters written on diner placemats, and children’s crayon drawings, these cherished personal mementos are now banned in most federal and state institutions.
• Mystery Rejections (Oklahoma)
  Return to Sender. Refused, Unable to Forward. The recipient was still in custody, the info was correct, and yet…rejected. This was how we discovered Oklahoma has quietly gone digital.
• Mystery Recipients
  Frequently, the mailroom slaps a giant sticker over the intended recipient’s name and ID, leaving us no way to know who the letter was meant for.

The reason given for all these restrictive mail policies is always “security,” and to reduce contraband. But does that really add up?

Evidence Check

• No solid proof mail scanning works. After instituting mail scanning, the percentage of incoming mail that the Department of Corrections reported as “tainted” only decreased by 0.1% over the course of a year. As of 2023, the rate of positive drug tests in Pennsylvania prisons is now almost 3 times higher than it was before the policy was introduced.
• In Florida, of the 3.1 million contraband items that entered the prison system from January 2019 to April 2021, only about 1 percent came in through mail.
• Texas prisons stopped in-person visits and limited mail, but that didn’t stop drugs from getting in.
• It’s the guards, stupid. Reports confirm that most often, it’s staff—not “drug-soaked papers”—that bring contraband into facilities. In many cases, contraband enters through corrections staff—not mail. That includes drugs, K2, and cell phones. The BOP imposes no restrictions on the personal property BOP staff can bring into the institutions, does not search staff or their property when they enter for duty, and does not conduct random drug testing of staff.

Have you had mail returned or rejected? Have you seen policies change in your state? We’d love to hear your story. Comment below, and/or use this form to help us track mail policies nationwide.

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As always, thanks for reading, sharing, and supporting.

With gratitude,
—Melissa 

Quote of the Week: 

“Mail from home was so important when you were traveling. It kept you in touch with the familiar, even the part you were running from.” – Helen Van Slyke 

PS: On the home front, we’ve been told to expect an update from our insurance company soon about what (if anything) will be covered from the water damage in our kitchen. Insurance companies follow closely behind prison mailrooms when it comes to delays and absurd policies that benefit only themselves.

On the brighter side, I’ve perfected single-serving rice in the egg cooker (who knew?), and am still on the hunt for more off-label uses. (Read last week’s installment here.)

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