![]() ![]() The Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2020 piloted-and later paused- Smart Communication’s MailGuard service, which scans incarcerated people’s mail and then delivers printed or digital copies. The original will be shredded unless the sender pays a $2.50 return fee. Alternatively, people can send mail to TextBehind’s Maryland facility, where TextBehind will scan it and deliver a digital copy to the recipient. Fees start at $0.49 and increase with every photo or drawing. In North Carolina, senders must now use an app from the contractor TextBehind to draft letters or create digital cards and drawings. New Mexico banned physical mail in prisons in February and has contracted with another prison communications firm, Securus, to deliver copies to recipients. “Having a physical picture or having a physical card cannot compare to a scanned version that is printed from the kiosk.” They are what keep him going day to day,” Tatiana Sparks, whose husband is incarcerated, told FDC officials during a hearing about the rule. “For us, for my husband personally, physical pictures are what keep him motivated. They won’t be able to receive postage stamps from friends and family, making it more difficult for them to write back. They won’t be able to hold the handwritten letter sent by their mom. This means that people in Florida prisons won’t be able to run their fingers over the picture their child drew for them. Those charges are exorbitant for people who make pennies per hour and must also pay out of pocket for things like overpriced soap and doctor’s visits. ![]() They won’t get the originals, but they can request to have scans printed for them for a fee: $0.10 per page for black-and-white copies, $1 per page for color. ![]() People in prison will only be able to view the scanned version on their personal tablets or at communal kiosks. Incoming mail-including handwritten letters, cards, and photos, but excluding legal mail-will be digitized by JPay, a for-profit contractor that provides communication services to Florida’s prisons and jails. In January, the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) adopted new restrictions on how the estimated 80,000 people incarcerated in its state prisons can receive mail. More facilities have implemented bans on mail in recent years, including many in the last few months alone. Maintaining personal connections eases their stress and anxiety and increases their chances of success after release.īut increasingly, departments of corrections are creating rules that obstruct mail correspondence-despite research that clearly demonstrates the impact that letters, photos, and cards can have for those behind bars. ![]() For people in prison, those messages are a lifeline to the outside world. Physical mail has generally been the most accessible form of communication for people who are incarcerated and their loved ones. Users can send personalized postcards, with a photo and a message, to people in jails and prisons across the United States.īehind bars, costs for phone calls, video calls, and emails add up quickly. Today, he is the founder and CEO of Flikshop, an app that makes it easier for people to stay connected to incarcerated family members and friends. The letters and photos from family and friends that Bullock received while incarcerated helped him not only while he was in prison, but also when he went home. “It didn’t matter where I went, those photos would end up on the side of my bunk.” It was something I could take with me when I moved from facility to facility,” said Marcus Bullock, who was incarcerated for eight years from the age of 15. “There’s something about that mail coming through the slot and hearing your name get called that reminds you how valued you are. count every weekday, Monday through Friday, was mail call. But more jails and prisons are introducing cruel policies that mean people in those facilities never get them.Īfter the 4:00 p.m. For people who are incarcerated, a letter or photograph from home goes a long way. ![]()
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