All non-legal mail, like personal letters, pictures and cards going to inmates at Iowa state prisons now must be sent through the third-party company Pigeonly that will scan and screen the originals, and send the copies to inmates.
The DOC says this new system is meant to stop drugs, particularly the synthetic drug K2, from getting into prisons through the mail.
But Johnson County assistant public defender Julia Zalenski said this new system could have a big impact on inmates who are trying to maintain connections with people on the outside.
“I think taking that away from people just really sort of contributes to the overall dehumanization that prison inflicts and makes it harder for people to feel like they are still members of their families, still members of their community,” she said.
Alison Guernsey, a University of Iowa College of Law…
