How does one write a letter to a person, who's in prison at the moment. What is the procedure?

Question

Is there any guarantee that the letter is not going to be read by other people. Please give as much information as possible, it is very important for me. Thank You!

Answer 1

All mail going into or out of a jail or prison is subject to inspection (reading) with the exception of legal council. If you want to know what each jail or prison will allow, you may contact them directly. They will also be able to tell you what you need to get a letter addressed to a specific prisoner.

Answer 2

Send any correspondence addressed to the person in question at the prison concerned and it should be passed on to him or her.

I think that normal correspondence has to be checked by the authorities, but there are some exceptions to the rule, namely legally privileged correspondence.

Prisoners' correspondence with courts and legal advisers may not be opened, read or stopped by a prison except in very particular circumstances. It may be opened (but not read) if there is reason to believe that it contains an illicit enclosure. It may be opened, read and stopped if there is reasonable cause to believe its contents endanger prison security or the safety of others or are otherwise of a criminal nature. If the prison intends to open legal correspondence the prisoner is entitled to be present when this is done. A decision to read correspondence which purports to be to or from a legal adviser must be taken personally by the governor.

If you mark a letter to the ombudsman or SPCC 'confidential access', no one should open it before it leaves the prison. The SPCC or ombudsman will preserve confidentiality in their dealings with you, but will probably not be able to keep your name secret when they investigate your complaint.

Answer 3

Contact the prison directly and find out what their procedures are. Tell them that you want to write a letter to someone, but you want to make sure that it isn't thrown away. Also, use common sense. Letters like, "My next letter will contain a kalishnakov." might not be a good idea.

Answer 4

Send it to the prison, with persons name on it and thier inmate number.

Answer 5

All mail is going to be read and screened, and this applies to incoming and outgoing mail, so no matter what you write, I am more than sure they (guards) have seen it all, so its up to you what you do and don't want read.