ST. LOUIS ? On July 16, the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri filed a suit on behalf of Tara Ballenger and others who correspond with detainees held at the Morgan County Adult Detention Center. Ballenger had regularly sent printed materials, such as letters, newspaper and magazine clippings, and books to a detainee, who did not receive items she sent on various dates in June. Ballenger never received notice that the items were confiscated, and none of the items were returned to her.
Ballenger is not the only one left assuming the mail she sends is delivered. That’s because the center does not have a policy or practice of letting senders know when their mail is rejected.
“In the United States, we assume that correspondence we send will reach its intended recipient,” says Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU-EM. “When government officials prevent that from happening, the senders deserve to know why and how they can contest the decision.”
“The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment entitles prisoners to receive and send mail, subject to censorship only when there are procedural safeguards,” said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU-EM. “Morgan County’s complete lack of due process fails to protect senders of mail that is wrongfully censored.”
