As Tennessee prisons phase out physical mail, prisoners weigh in

The Tennessee Department of Correction says it’s in the process of giving tablet-style computers to every person in the state prison system. A spokesperson says the plan is for everyone to have tablets by summertime.

At that point, the department will phase out physical mail, other than legal mail. Cards and letters from family and friends will be scanned to a digital format and emailed to people in prison to read on their tablets.

WPLN News heard from those incarcerated at Turney Industrial Complex, an hour west of Nashville, about what the change means to them.

Brian Hurst is in the 18th year of a life sentence. He says opening a letter from a friend is a comforting, multi-sensory experience.

“It’s not uncommon for me to breathe in the aromas from their individual homes when I open the envelopes — sometimes perfume or cologne, and sometimes air freshener, fresh-baked cookies, cats or dogs,” he said. “Which is a far cry from the odors we are constantly bombarded with in prison such as cheap floor cleaner, male body odor, fresh latex paint and moldy showers.”

Sometimes, physical mail can be a prized possession, like when Hurst gets drawings from his young nieces and nephews.

“I would show their drawings to my friends and then keep them in a folder to look at from time to time. If I was sad, or if I was allowing my sentence to weigh heavy on me, I could pull them out, lay them out on my bunk and remember how loved I am,” Hurst said.

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Hurst and other prisoners say they regularly get holiday cards and family photos through the mail.

Ivor Parsons, another person held at Turney, wrote to WPLN, “When I’m having a tough day, or I really miss my Lauren, I can hug or kiss her photo. I can carry a physical picture or letter with me to remind me I’m loved, cared about, valued, or even just to calm myself should a situation arise.”

According to Hurst, people in prison were told their mail will be scanned by an outside company, which he doesn’t trust.

“We also have heard horror stories where those vendors in other states where this has already happened don’t properly scan the mail and entire chunks of images and text go missing, never to be retrieved again,” he said.

TDOC says it’s phasing out physical mail “to increase staff and offender safety by reducing the introduction of contraband.”

Data from another prison system, in Florida, showed that less than 2% of contraband entered prisons through the mail. In 2021, The Marshall Project and the Texas Tribune found the largest share of contraband in Texas prisons was brought in by guards.