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Prisoner’s Activism Leads Colorado DOC to Reverse Ban on Greeting Cards, Postcards and Drawings
by Matt Clarke
Thanks to the activism of Colorado prisoner Tiffany McCoy, the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) has rescinded its prohibition against prisoners receiving greeting cards, postcards and drawings.
In 2018, the DOC implemented a policy whereby prisoners only received black-and-white photocopies of …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- DNA: To Collect or Not to Collect?, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Heat Death Reveals Continuing Danger, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania DOC’s New Mail Policy Robs Prisoners of the Personal Touch; Lawsuits Over Legal Mail Settle, by David M. Reutter
- Right to Speedy Trial Not Triggered by Placement in Administrative Segregation, by David M. Reutter
- Court Grants Compassionate Release After BOP Says Prisoner Wasn’t Dying Fast Enough, by Dale Chappell
- GEO Group Cancels Contract to Run New Mexico Private Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Female Attorneys Denied Access to Clients at Missouri Jail Due to Bras, by Edward Lyon
- Colorado DOC Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Treat Thousands of Prisoners with HCV, by Dale Chappell
- Settlement in Class-Action Suit Over SMU Conditions at Georgia Prison, by David M. Reutter
- First Step Act Update: Over 1,600 Sentences Reduced, 3,000 Prisoners Released, by Dale Chappell, Douglas Ankney
- Sleeping Guard Who Allowed Suicidal Prisoner to Hang Himself Prompts $507,500 Settlement, by Dale Chappell
- Virginia Jail Not Responding to Problems Cited in Department of Justice Report, by Douglas Ankney
- Mississippi County Pays $27,500 to Settle Lawsuit by Prisoner “Jumped” by Other Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- New York City May Expand Investment Bar to Prison Service Providers, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Missouri Sheriff Gets Prison Time for Illegal Cell Phone Tracking, by David M. Reutter
- Wisconsin Prisoner Sues After Injury; Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal, by Scott Grammer
- Oregon Faces State and Federal Contempt Proceedings Over Delayed Competency Services for Mentally Ill Defendants – Again, by Mark Wilson
- Dr. Arthur Zitrin, Anti-Death Penalty Advocate and Bioethicist, Dies at 101, by Scott Grammer
- Court Certifies Class of Former Washington State Prisoners Challenging Debit Release Cards in HRDC Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Jail Administrator, Guard Receive 55-Hour Sentence for Prisoner’s Death, by Scott Grammer
- Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s ADA Case Includes Over $410,000 in Attorney Fees, Costs, by David M. Reutter
- DOJ Probe Finds Alabama Men’s Prisons Overcrowded, Plagued by Ongoing Violence, by David M. Reutter
- No Error When Judge Ignored Iowa Prisoner’s Request for Substitute Appointed Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida DOC Attorney Resigns After Posting Racially-Charged Comments, by David M. Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana’s Sex Offender Treatment Program Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Rider Programs in Idaho Offer Prisoners a Second Chance, by Jayson Hawkins
- Permanent Injunction for Hepatitis C Treatment Entered for Florida Prisoners, by David M. Reutter
- Audit Determines Georgia’s State Prisons More Cost Effective than Private Prisons, by David M. Reutter
- Jackson, Mississippi Pays $300,000 to Settle Jail Wrongful Death Suit, by Dale Chappell
- Prisoner’s Activism Leads Colorado DOC to Reverse Ban on Greeting Cards, Postcards and Drawings, by Matthew Clarke
- Stormy Daniels’ Former Attorney Accused of Ripping Off Prisoner, Other Clients, by Edward Lyon
- Illinois Jail Guard Secretly Prosecuted for Assaulting Prisoner, by Scott Grammer
- Over $488,000 Awarded to Former Michigan Prison Warden in Retaliation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- Massachusetts Prisoners and Visitors Challenge Restrictive Visitation Rules, by Bill Barton
- Plans for a New Federal Prison on Coal Mine Site in Kentucky Withdrawn, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Pennsylvania Police Officer Shoots Unarmed Man in Holding Cell, is “Excused” by DA, by Scott Grammer
- Former Prisoner Named Secretary of Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, by Matthew Clarke
- “Feeling Cute” Social Media Challenge Reveals Brutality of Prison Guards, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Files FOIL Petition Against New York State Attorney General’s Office
- Michigan: $9,750 in Damages and Costs in Prison Ramadan Violation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- GEO Group Under Pressure from Shareholders on Human Rights Policy, by David M. Reutter, Kevin Bliss
- Arizona Prison Scandal: Cell Doors that Don’t Lock, Maintenance Funds Misused, by Matthew Clarke
- Maine: Female Detainee Raped by Jailer Wins Lawsuit, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Passes Laws to Preserve Dignity of Women Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Jails in Oregon and Washington State Have High Prisoner Death Rates, by Matthew Clarke, Mark Wilson
- Book Excerpt: Lessons of “The Birdman”, by Marc Mauer, Ashley Nellis
- Federal Court Dismisses GEO Group’s Defenses in Lawsuit Over Pay for Immigrant Detainees, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- When Going to Jail Means Giving Up the Meds that Saved Your Life, by Beth Schwartzapfel
- Opioid Epidemic Impacts Prisons and Jails, by Steve Horn
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, July 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026. Reading Materials, Legal Materials, Publications/Books, Banned Book Lists, Censorship.
- Illinois Jail Reprimanded for Denying Detainees Mail Based on Media Content, P.O. Box Return Address, Settles Detainees’ Suit with $111,825 Payment of Legal Fees, May 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, HRDC Litigation.
- HRDC Sues Colorado Jail for Prohibiting Dozens of Magazines and Books, May 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, Constitution, state, HRDC Litigation.
- Like Prisoners, Most Jail Detainees Now Banned from Receiving Physical Mail, March 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, Censorship, Digital Devices, Private Phone Contractors.
- Mail Went Digital in Alabama Prisons. Families Are Saying Their Mail Isn’t Being Delivered, March 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, First Amendment, rights, Access To Courts, Access to Computers.
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, March 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, Prison Labor, Hygiene Supplies, Mail, TV/Movies.
- Number of Narcan Doses Raises Drug Concerns at New Jersey Prisons, March 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Mail Regulations, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance.

