I want to send and receive mail in prison Your rights

The First Amendment of the Constitution be entitles prisoners to send and receive mail, but the prison or jail may inspect and sometimes censor it to protect security, using appropriate procedures.

Prison officials’ ability to inspect and censor mail depends on whether the mail is privileged or not. Officials may open non-privileged mail, which includes letters from relatives, friends, and businesses, outside your presence. They can read this mail for security or other reasons without probable cause or a warrant.

Incoming or outgoing non-privileged mail may be censored for legitimate security reasons. However, mail may not be censored simply because it is critical of prison officials or because prison officials disagree with its content.

Prisons may not ban mail simply because it contains material downloaded from the Internet. You may not be punished for posting material on the Internet with the help of others outside of prison.

Clearly marked privileged mail, which includes communications to and from attorneys and legal organizations like the ACLU, gets more protection. Officials may open incoming privileged mail to check it for contraband, but must do so in your presence. They are not allowed to open outgoing privileged mail.

Privileged mail ordinarily cannot be read unless prison officials obtain a warrant allowing them to do so.

If your incoming mail is censored, both you and the sender are entitled to notice. The notice must explain the reasons for the censorship in enough detail to allow you to challenge it.

From the ACLU