Can the local sheriff withhold mail and medical care if you are in lockup?

Question

My son is in jail for a DUI. He hurt his back doing work for the county. The sheriff has not taken him to the doctor for treatment. He is in a great deal of pain. The sheriff is also withholding most of my son's mail. Is this legal?

Answer 1

I represent a jail, so I guess this answer is from the "dark side", but your son's rights are being violated. We can open a prisoner's mail and check for contraband UNLESS the mail is from his attorney. They may not withold medical treatment and there is a lot of law on that issue. We have a doctor and nurse on staff 24/7 and we absolutely cannot withhold medical care. I do not mean to sound self-righteous, but we apparently have one of the better detention facilities in the U.S. We house local and federal prisoners and were recently evaluated by the feds and received an A+. I've been county attorney almost 6 years and we've never been sued by an inmate, so we must be doing it right. You son is not being treated legally and there is U.S. Supreme Court cases exactly on point. If his attorney doesn't respond to you, send a notice of intent to sue to your county's manager and copy your county commission. They will wake them up. In my experience, the county usually does not know what's happening at the detention center. Good luck to you.

Answer 2

He has no right to keep him from the doctor. Your son will not be able to go without a police escort, but you should look into this because the sheriff is wrong. Mail I'm not so sure about, if they are bills that your son needs to pay, it could ruin your son's credit if the bills go unpaid. The mail is delivered by the federal government, the sheriff has no right to withhold it from him either, in my opinion. Even prison inmates get mail, although it is scanned and sometimes read before getting delivered to them for security purposes.

Answer 3

It depends....

Most sheriff's depts have medical staff available so he needs to work with his attorney if the sheriff's office isn't responding.

They CAN withhold mail - but it depends on why/what for. Again, he should be going through his attorney if that's the case.

Answer 4

Your son has perhaps been seen by a PA (physician's assistant) at the facility where he is incarcerated. Hence, he would not have "gone" to the doctor. As far as the mail...yes, his mail can be withheld if it is inappropriate or otherwise inflammatory. Mail in and out of jails, etc, is censored.

Answer 5

Have you gotten in touch with your son's attorney (whom I am going to assume is an APD)? Perhaps your son's attorney can light the fire and get things going - your son needs medical attention first...mail can be a secondary concern. Right now you need to get his med issues addressed.

APD= Assistant Public Defender

Answer 6

If it is not life threatening or contaigous, they can deny treatment. They usually only do this to trouble makers. If the mail is sent to the jail, they have to deliver it. If it was sent to his home, they do not have to allow it in. One more reason to behave and not wind up in jail.

Answer 7

No it's not. Talk to a lawyer. They can withhold mail as punishment, but they can't withhold medical attention.

Answer 8

I think they can withhold mail, but NOT medical treatment. Call you attorney or the local states attorney for help.

Answer 9

Absolutely not!!! Contact your local DA or an attorney or Civil Rights group and put a stop to that post-haste!

Answer 10

legally they can't do anything about mail; unless it is sent ot jail. If he needs medical attention..they should help him. perhaps he needs to feel the pain for doing something stupid like driniking and driving!! I really don't care about your son!!