Inmates at the El Paso County jail are no longer allowed to mail personal letters in envelopes and are instead forced to use postcards, a policy shift the ACLU of Colorado says is a violation of First Amendment rights.

The policy, which took effect Thursday, allows Criminal Justice Center inmates to pay 50 cents for a 4×6 postcard for letters sent to family or friends.

All inmate correspondence has previously been screened by jail staff for potential escape plots, for example. Forcing inmates to correspond only in a way that can be read by anyone outside the jail infringes on free speech, said Mark Silverstein, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.

“It affects the First Amendment rights of prisoners and people in the free world who wish to receive that correspondence,” Silverstein said.

It was unclear Friday what prompted the policy change. A sheriff’s spokeswoman did not return calls for comment.

The policy does not affect legal correspondence.

Poor inmates will be provided with one envelope and two blank pages for legal correspondence, according to an intra-office memorandum from Cmdr. WIlliam Mistretta, which was sent to the Gazette by an inmate. Non-indigent inmates can purchase legal envelopes and paper from the jail.

“All outgoing legal letters will be checked to ensure address (sic) is a legal source,” the memorandum says.

“Imagine if you will your husband or wife receiving a personal letter already read by county sheriff staff. Detainees at CJC await transport and/or trial therefore have not been convicted of any crime. How then is it possible to take away there (sic) right to personal private mail?” inmate James Gregory Malveaux wrote in a letter to the Gazette.

Silverstein said he spoke with sheriff’s officials Friday and suggested they repeal the policy. He would not comment on their response or if the ACLU is considering suing the Sheriff’s Office.

Taylor Houze, 12, of Colorado Springs climbs a rock face Thursday, July 15, 2010 at North Cheyenne Canon Park during a day-long climbing camp led by guides from City Rock, a rock climbing gym in Colorado Springs. Guides Joe Groshong and Bruce Hamilton of CityRock led the clinic. Photo by ANTHONY SOUFFLE, THE GAZETTE