Prison mail digitization destroys family photos and charges inmates to read letters

A growing number of state prison systems now ban physical mail entirely, routing all correspondence through third-party scanning companies that digitize letters and deliver low-quality printouts or charge inmates to view them on kiosks. The people harmed are incarcerated individuals and their families who lose the last tangible connection they have: the texture of a child's drawing, a spouse's handwriting, the scent of perfume on an envelope. Printed scans are often blurry and darkened, leaving inmates unable to make out their loved ones' faces in family photos. Missouri expanded its mail ban in 2024 to include books sent by family and friends. Minnesota prisoners reported waiting 18 months for tablets needed to access their digitized mail. Administrators justify this by claiming physical mail smuggles drugs (soaked into paper), but a 2022 New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee report found zero effect on drug use after implementing mail scanning. So why does it persist? Because when physical mail is banned, inmates are forced to switch to paid electronic messaging services -- typically $0.25-$0.50 per message -- operated by the same companies that run the scanning program. Companies like Securus profit from both the scanning contract and the increased electronic messaging volume. The ban on physical mail is not a drug interdiction strategy; it is a business model.