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Letters from federal prisoners going electronic

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

Letters from federal prisoners going electronic MIAMI (AP) ? 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 in boxes. 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...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on August 16, 2008 (boomark / email).