Mail policy questioned at jail

STAFFORD — The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia in conjunction with several other ally groups, late last week demanded that officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately cease censoring religious material sent to prisoners.

The ACLU has asked by way of a letter to the jail’s superintendent, that the jail’s written inmate jail policy is revised and that letters will not be censored simply because they contain religious material. The ACLU, The Rutherford Institute, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Prison Fellowship, the Friends Committee on National Legislation and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, have united in this cause.

David Shapiro, an attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project, said in a released statement that such censorship violates detainees’ rights to practice religion freely and violates the free speech rights of those communicating them.

"It is nothing short of stunning that a jail would think it OK to censor the Bible and other religious material for no reason other than its religious nature," he said.

The ACLU’s letter was prompted by Anna Williams, whose son was a prisoner at the jail in June 2008 until he was transferred this year. According to the ACLU, Williams sent her son passages from the Bible; however the religious material was removed and a three-page letter sent to her son was whittled down to a salutation, the first paragraph of the letter and the words “Love, Mom.”

Jail Superintendent Joseph Higgs responded to the allegations with the following released statement:

“The information received today through the media prompted me to initiate an internal investigation. Upon completion of this investigation the results will be reviewed by the Jail Authority Board and Mr. William Hefty, legal council to the Authority Board before any results are published. …”

According to the current prison mail policy:

“Only 20 pictures are allowed per inmate. No nudity pictures accepted. Newspapers, magazines and soft back books may be accepted with prior approval. No hard back books are allowed.

The only items accepted in inmate mail are: letters, money orders and no more than 20 pictures. Any other items included in the envelope are unauthorized and will be destroyed and not placed in inmate property. These items are to include stickers, address labels, Internet items, coloring pages, puzzles and magazine/newspaper articles. Items with a monetary value, such as stamps, will be placed in the inmate’s property.”

"Sadly, prison officials across the nation routinely deny religious materials to prisoners," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "This is a gross violation of the First Amendment and should be resisted at every turn. …”

Tracy Bell is managing editor at the Stafford County Sun. Reach her at tbell@staffordcountysun.com.