BOULDER, COLO. (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado is suing over the Boulder County jail's policy of restricting inmates' outgoing mail to postcards.
The ACLU claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Denver that the policy is unconstitutional because inmates are reluctant to freely express themselves and write about personal, sensitive information.
David Fathi of the ACLU's National Prison Project says the jail's decision to restrict correspondence is an overreaction to two inmates who enclosed letters to children inside letters addressed to a third party.
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle (pell-ee) says the courts have upheld similar policies by other agencies. He says inmates have the right to send legal and medical information in a private envelope if they ask.
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