THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 1995 TAG: 9512050305
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Prisoners who do not speak English are just as entitled to receive mail as anyone else under a new state prison policy.
Letters and cards written in a foreign language are no longer automatically considered a security threat under the policy that took effect Monday.
The change is the result of a lawsuit brought against state prison officials by the North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services Inc. on behalf of three prisoners.
The inmates claimed prison officials violated their constitutional rights by withholding their mail because it was written in Spanish.
The old policy stated that letters to inmates must be written in English, but made exceptions for prisoners who first received special permission from prison officials.
In the settlement agreement reached last month, the state agreed to clarify the policy to make sure that all inmates get their mail. The revised rule states that all letters are to be treated alike, regardless of the language in which they are written.
Prison officials will continue to open all mail to ensure that it does not contain contraband and may withhold any mail that threatens prison security. by CNB