BALTIMORE (AP) - An American Civil Liberties Union attorney says she is relieved Maryland state prison officials have decided to withdraw a proposal to create the nation's first total ban on letters sent to prisoners in an effort to curb inmate access to a highly addictive drug. But she says the ACLU remains concerned that such a policy was introduced in the first place.
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services withdrew the proposal Wednesday. The proposal would have barred inmates in state-run facilities from receiving letters, instead limiting their correspondence to postcards, in order to stop the flow of Suboxone, a drug that can be hidden inside envelopes or soaked into paper. The drug has been flooding into Maryland's prisons.
Scretary Stephen Moyer said he will form a focus group to come up with an alternative to the ban, and research the most effective procedures to ensure the safety of staff and people in custody.
ACLU staff attorney Sonia Kumar said the organization is "gratified" that the proposal was withdrawn, but said this was "only one of several policy changes that have affected families' ability to stay in touch."
She said the policy "should have never been proposed in the first place."
