El Paso sheriff may limit inmate mail

COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) - El Paso County inmates may have to resort to postcards to communicate with friends and family.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa is considering a ban on letters, packages and magazines which would leave inmates with the option of sending and receiving postcards. Sealed mail from attorneys would be forwarded unread.

"They can still communicate. They're just going to have to do it on postcards," Maketa said in a story published Friday in the Gazette. "If it's private, maybe they ought to have that conversation over the phone or during visitation." One full-time and one part-time employee handle about 500 pieces of mail for inmates every week, opening envelopes to check for contraband and removing the glue and stamp, Maketa said. Letters also can be read if there are security concerns.

Additional workers lend a hand during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season when the number increases to about to 650 a week, he said.

Mike Dell of the prisoner advocacy group Colorado CURE said postcards would limit an inmate's ability to communicate. "One of the reasons a lot of guys do their time successfully is because their family is supporting them," Dell said.