Overview
- Incarcerated people will receive photocopies of all confidential and legal mail beginning Jan. 5, 2026, under a Michigan Department of Corrections policy.
- Staff will open legal mail, copy it in full, hand the copy to the recipient, and immediately shred the original in the recipient’s presence for secure disposal.
- MDOC says synthetic sprays and strips that can be embedded in paper continue to enter facilities and endanger staff and prisoners.
- The change expands a 2020 practice of photocopying standard mail after some contraband shifted to fake confidential-handling envelopes despite attorney verification via TextBehind.
- The Michigan Bar Association and ACLU highlight longstanding protections for privileged mail, while MDOC maintains confidentiality standards will be met and warns drug mailings are felonies.