prison sentences
In the country, strict rules are governing the use of mails in both the jail as well as prisons. However, it should be noted that prison sentences that are longer are not simple to endure. The main reason is that such sentences denote years or in some cases, months of separation from an individual’s loved ones. For this reason, when it comes to letters, inmates always feel an emotional connection with the letter because, in most cases, they help the inmates to pass the time, creating a sense of belonging (DeHart, Shapiro, & Clone, 2018). Notably, over the past years, the established rules governing the sending or receiving of emails in both prisons and jails have been developed. Regardless, the rules usually vary from one state to another and from prison to prison. Correctional staffs always face a challenge of whether to mail cards or letters to the individuals who are not in the approved mailing list on behalf of the inmates. In this respect, it is wrong for a correctional officer to mail cards and letters to people who are not on the approved mailing list.
In this case, an inmate has been a model inmate, but I would not do him a favor of mailing a birthday card to Lyla, his daughter, who is not among the people in the approved mailing list. Is because correctional officers should uphold all the set rules and regulations in prison, and sending a letter to an individual who is not on the approved list is illegal. Notably, conferring to Article I of the constitution, Congress established a post office. Therefore, the law gives the U.S postal services the sole right to regulate the country’s postal system (Shapiro, 2016). After numerous cases, it was decided that prisoners’ officials may put reasonable limitations on the right of prisoners to use postal services. Such restriction included limiting the number of individuals with whom the person in prison can open, receive, and read incoming and outgoing material. In this case, I will be breaking the law as a prison staff if I send the card.
Another reason why the sending of mails is restricted in prison is for security and administrative purposes. All the mails received and sent must be only from sources that are approved (Shapiro, 2016). Thus, in this case, the daughter is not approved, making it hard to send the card because it can pose a security risk to both the prisoner and the girl. Apart from that, sending mails to unapproved recipient amount to additional charges from the prison, which is morally wrong. However, in some states, if the prisoner is willing to bear the coast of sending the letters, then there is no restriction, which has not been indicated in this case.
Thus, even though I have worked for the facility for more than five years, I find helping a convict send letters to people who are authorized a violation of the law. Remarkably, this is because the inmate had a legal channel to follow when he wants to receive or send a letter. Therefore, I would advise the prisoner to follow the right channel to avoid getting into more problems with the law. Consequently, as prison staff, I am required to act as a role model for all the inmates by following the established laws and regulations of the country.