37 Pa. Code § 93.2 - Inmate correspondence
(a)
Permitted correspondence. Inmates are permitted to correspond
with friends, family members, attorneys, news media, legitimate business
contacts and public officials. There may be no limit to the number of
correspondents.
(b)
Restrictions. The following restrictions apply:
(1) Correspondence with inmates of other
facilities, former inmates, probationers or victims of the criminal acts of the
inmate will not be permitted except upon approval of the facility manager or a
designee.
(2) Correspondence
containing threatening, obscene or explicit sexual material, or nudity as well
as correspondence containing criminal solicitation or furthering a criminal
plan or institution misconduct is prohibited.
(3) An inmate shall refrain from writing to
persons who have stated in writing that they do not wish to receive mail from
the inmate. This will not be interpreted to restrict the right of inmates to
correspond with public officials with respect to the official duties of the
latter.
(4) Correspondence with
prohibited parties through a third party is also prohibited.
(5) Mail addressed to an inmate organization
will not be accepted unless the facility manager and Secretary have approved
the organization and it is addressed to the staff coordinator of the
organization.
(c)
Incoming mail. Mail sent to a facility will be opened and
examined for contraband in the facility's mailroom or designated area except
when permitted under paragraph (1).
(1) The
Department may permit sealed mail to be opened in the presence of an inmate
under the following conditions:
(i) An
attorney or authorized representative/designee may hand-deliver a sealed
confidential client communication to an inmate if the attorney is unable to
communicate through alternative means, if the following conditions are met:
(A) The person making the delivery does so
during normal business hours unless granted permission in advance by the
Secretary or a designee.
(B) The
person making the delivery shall provide valid identification and information
sufficient to verify that the person is the inmate's attorney or authorized
representative of the attorney.
(C)
The person making delivery shall present the documents for inspection for
contraband, unsealed and unbound.
(D) Upon inspection, the documents will be
sealed and delivered to the inmate where they will be unsealed and searched
again for contraband.
(ii) An attorney may obtain a control number
from the Department's Office of Chief Counsel if the attorney wishes to have
correspondence addressed to an inmate client opened in the presence of the
inmate.
(A) An attorney shall submit a written
request for a control number to the Office of Chief Counsel. The request must
include the attorney's name, address, telephone and facsimile numbers, State
attorney identification number and a verification subject to the penalties of
18 Pa.C.S. §
4904
(relating to unsworn falsification to authorities) that all mail sent to
inmates using the control number will contain only essential, confidential,
attorney-client communication and will contain no contraband.
(B) The attorney shall place the control
number on each envelope that the attorney wishes to have opened in an inmate's
presence. The number is confidential. It shall only be placed on the outside of
the envelope so that it can be obliterated before it is delivered to an inmate
client.
(C) If a control number
does not appear on the envelope, the mail will be treated as regular mail and
opened in the mailroom unless the procedures in subparagraph (i) are
followed.
(D) The Department may
change the control number for any reason upon notice to the attorney who
requested it.
(iii) A
court may direct delivery of court documents sealed from public disclosure to
an inmate by specific order. The court's representative shall deliver the
sealed documents and the specific court order to the facility. Under no
circumstances will documents filed in a court of public record be delivered
sealed to an inmate.
(2)
Contraband in the form of money orders, certified checks, cash or other
negotiable instruments will be recorded indicating the nature of the receipt,
the sender, the amount received and the date. Personal checks, unless
certified, will be returned to the sender. The facility is not responsible for
cash sent through the mails. Confiscated coins and currency will be deposited
in the Inmate General Welfare Fund. Contraband not specifically addressed in
this section will be returned to the sender or destroyed.
(d)
Outgoing mail. Sealed
outgoing mail from an inmate will not be examined except as set forth in
subsection (e).
(e)
Scrutiny of correspondence.
(1) The facility manager or a designee may
read incoming or outgoing mail, except mail sealed in accordance with
subsection (c)(1), when there is reason to believe that it may reveal or
discuss illegal or unauthorized activity or for reasons set forth in any
Department document that is disseminated to inmates.
(2) The facility manager or a designee may
read mail sealed in accordance with subsection (c)(1), only upon the written
order of the facility manager with the written approval of the Secretary when
there is reason to believe that there is a threat to facility security or
criminal activity.
(f)
Rejection of correspondence. An item of correspondence which
appears to violate subsection (b) may be rejected by facility mailroom staff.
The inmate and the sender, in cases when the inmate is not the sender, will be
notified when the letter is rejected. The letter will be held for at least 7
business days after mailing of the notification to permit reasonable
opportunity to protest the decision. If the letter is rejected, it will be
returned to the sender.
(g)
Incoming publications.
(1) A
publication review committee consisting of staff designated by and reporting to
the facility manager or a designee shall determine whether an inmate may
receive a publication.
(2)
Publications shall be received directly from a publisher, bookstore, book club,
distributor or department store. Newspapers shall be mailed directly from the
publisher.
(3) Publications may not
be received by an inmate if they:
(i) Contain
information regarding the manufacture of explosives, incendiaries, weapons,
escape devices, poisons, drugs or intoxicating beverages or other
contraband.
(ii) Advocate, assist
or are evidence of criminal activity, inmate misconduct, violence, insurrection
or guerrilla warfare against the government.
(iii) Threaten the security of a
facility.
(iv) Contain nudity,
obscene material or explicit sexual materials as defined in subsection
(i).
(v) Constitute a bulk mailing
specifically intended for the purpose of advertising or selling
merchandise.
(4) An
inmate under 18 years of age may not receive explicit sexual materials as
defined in
18 Pa.C.S. §
5903
(relating to obscene and other sexual materials and performances).
(5) A publication will not be prohibited
solely on the basis that the publication is critical of penal institutions in
general, of a particular facility, staff member, or official of the Department,
or of a correctional or penological practice in this or any other
jurisdiction.
(6) An inmate may
receive only one copy of any publication unless granted permission by the
publication review committee.
(7)
Small letter sized pamphlets may be received in regular
correspondence.
(8) Covers of
hardbound publications may be damaged or removed during inspection in the
discretion of mailroom staff.
(h)
Exception.
Correspondence and publications containing nudity, explicit sexual material or
obscene material as defined in subsection (i), may be permitted if the material
has artistic, educational or medical value. The following considerations will
guide the Department in determining whether to permit nudity, explicit sexual
material or obscene material:
(1) Is the
material in question contained in a publication that regularly features
sexually explicit content intended to raise levels of sexual arousal or to
provide sexual gratification, or both? If so, the publication will be denied
for inmate possession.
(2) Is it
likely that the content in question was published or provided with the primary
intention to raise levels of sexual arousal or to provide sexual gratification,
or both? If so, the publication or content will be denied for inmate
possession.
(i)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this
section, have the following meanings:
Explicit sexual material-Any book, photograph, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter, sound recording, explicit and detailed verbal description, narrative account or other material of the following:
(i) Sexual conduct, which
means acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse, sexual
bestiality or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals,
pubic area, buttocks or, if the person is a female, breast.
(ii) Sadomasochistic abuse, which means
flagellation or torture by or upon a person clad in undergarments, a mask or
bizarre costume, or the condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise
physically restrained on the part of one so clothed.
(iii) Sexual excitement, which means the
condition of the human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual
stimulation or arousal.
Nudity-The showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering or the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any portion below the top of the nipple, or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernible turgid state.
Obscene-Any book, photograph, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter, sound recording, explicit and detailed verbal description, narrative account or other material is considered obscene if one of the following applies:
(i) An
average person applying contemporary community standards would find that the
subject matter taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest.
(ii) The subject matter depicts or describes
the following in a patently offensive way:
(A)
Ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including
sexual intercourse, anal or oral sodomy and sexual bestiality.
(B) Patently offensive representations or
descriptions of masturbation or execratory functions.
(C) In a sexual context, flagellation or
torture upon a nude person or one clad only in undergarments, a mask or bizarre
costume or fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained.
(D) Lewd exhibition of the
genitals.
(j)
Construction. This section is not intended and may not be
interpreted to create or confer any rights in addition to those created by the
United States Constitution, the Pennsylvania Constitution or Federal or State
statutes applicable to the Department.
Notes
The provisions of this § 93.2 amended under sections 1 and 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § § 51-732 and § 186).
This section cited in 37 Pa. Code § 93.4 (relating to purchase for inmates by family and friends).
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