Santa Rosa Inmates Can Exchange Letters

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) – Federal judge Casey Rodgers signed an order reversing the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s “post card only” mail policy and ordering the jail to again allow inmates to exchange letters through the U.S. mail. It’s the result of a legal challenge to the policy brought by the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute (FJI). Judge Rodgers’s consent order approves an agreement between jail inmates and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff. According to the Court’s order, inmates in the Santa Rosa County Jail will now be able to send unlimited, regular letters. The Sheriff, who is responsible for administering the jail, must also provide writing materials to indigent inmates. The Sheriff has also agreed to pay $135,000 in attorney’s fees and costs to the ACLU and FJI for their efforts in securing the judgment. Read more here.