Prison Authorities in Virginia and Elsewhere Only Allowing Inmates to Get Photocopies of Incoming Mail

From [HERE] Many people who are incarcerated at Virginia prisons and jails won’t get the cards, drawings and photos they’re sent in the mail this holiday season. Instead, they’ll get black-and-white photocopies. 

That’s because the Virginia Department of Corrections only delivers scans of incoming mail to people inside prison facilities and shreds the original copies. Virginia prison officials said the policy began in 2017 to stop the flow of drugs into their facilities. But the strategy is not unique to Virginia. The Prison Policy Initiative said it’s a growing trend among jails and prisons nationwide.  

Santia Nance’s fiancé is incarcerated at Lawrenceville Correctional Center. Now in their 30s, Nance said they’ve known each other since they were teenagers and only reconnected a few years ago. 

“I do think that during the holidays especially, it can be a drag,” she said about trying to maintain their relationship.   

Her fiancé, Quadaire Patterson, whom she calls "Q," has about 3-and-a-half years left in prison, after having already served 14 years for robbery — a crime that makes him ineligible for early release on good behavior. 

The couple has occasional video visits and phone calls, but mail gets complicated.  

“Handwritten mail is very special to us,” said Nance, who is co-founder of Sistas in Prison Reform, a criminal justice reform organization. “We both are very creative individuals and we like to make things for each other.” 

But she said the scans of their correspondence are dark and spotty, and it’s often difficult to make out detailed drawings, pictures and handwriting. The department also limits the number of pages it scans and delivers to three pages, front and back, including the envelope. [MORE]