Thousands of Federal Inmates Gain E-Mail Privileges

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Thousands of Federal Inmates Gain E-Mail Privileges
Sunday, August 17, 2008

MIAMI — When Melvin Garcia was sent to prison almost a decade ago for racketeering, he had never used a computer. Now he sends 50 e-mails a month from a federal prison in West Virginia, punctuating notes with emoticons.

Garcia, 38, is among thousands of prisoners at more than 20 federal facilities where inmates now have inboxes. By the spring of 2011, all 114 U.S. prisons are expected to have e-mail available for inmates.

The program, started several years ago, has reduced the amount of old-fashioned paper mail that can sometimes hide drugs and other contraband. Just as important, officials say, e-mail helps prisoners connect regularly with their families and build skills they can use when they return to the community.

For Garcia, that means learning the computer.

"LET'S JUST SAY THAT MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT DIDN'T REQUIRE IT :o)," he joked in a recent e-mail.

The system inmates use isn't like programs used in most offices and homes. Inmates aren't given Internet access, and all messages are sent in plain text, with no attachments allowed. Potential contacts get an e-mail saying a federal prisoner wants to add them to their contact list and must click a link to receive e-mail, similar to accepting a collect call from a lockup.

Once approved, prisoners can only send messages to those contacts — they can't just type in any address and hit send. And contacts can change their mind at any time and take their name off the prisoner's list.

Scott Middlebrooks, the warden at Coleman federal prison northwest of Orlando, said his inmates sent more than 3,200 messages and received some 2,800 a day last month through the system, which is called TRULINCS and run by Iowa-based Advanced Technologies Group Inc.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says the system pays for itself with some of the proceeds from prison commissaries. Inmates also pay 5 cents per minute while composing or reading e-mails.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405124,00.html

When I worked at the Supermax Prison in Boscobel, Wisconsin, I had to build an "inmate proof" enclosure for a computer as a prototype, because all the cell blocks were going to get them. I left before I saw if they actually used my design, but, it was for the same reason as the article stated. The inmates were going to get computer priviledges.

I don't have a problem with it. Not in a supermaximum security prison like that was. When inmates are locked down 23 out of 24 hours, anything to keep them busy that's not harmful is a good thing. I just think prison staff should monitor what's coming in and what's going out as far as email, because gang leaders could run their gang from inside a prison very easily with email.

Pale Rider wrote:When I worked at the Supermax Prison in Boscobel, Wisconsin, I had to build an "inmate proof" enclosure for a computer as a prototype, because all the cell blocks were going to get them. I left before I saw if they actually used my design, but, it was for the same reason as the article stated. The inmates were going to get computer priviledges.

I don't have a problem with it. Not in a supermaximum security prison like that was. When inmates are locked down 23 out of 24 hours, anything to keep them busy that's not harmful is a good thing. I just think prison staff should monitor what's coming in and what's going out as far as email, because gang leaders could run their gang from inside a prison very easily with email.

FRom the article, it looks like they are watched and everything is checked

It is easier then checking incoming mail