Was wondering that myself.
I don’t know if outgoing mail is screened, but I do know that incoming mail is opened and screened.
It appears that State prisons have different rules on prisoners mail. Here are 3
“According to the North Carolina Department of Corrections,
Personal Mail is read, censored, or rejected based on legitimate institutional interests of order and security.
Legal Mail from inmates may be inspected by correctional staff for contraband in the presence of the inmate prior to being sealed. If there is any question as to whether an addressee fits the definition of legal mail, the letter/package may be held for not more than 24 hours to resolve the question....
Legal mail addressed to an inmate may be opened by correctional staff in the presence of the inmate unless waived in writing by the inmate, or in circumstances which may indicate contamination. Correctional staff will ensure that the contents of letters from these persons are free of contraband and are, in fact, official or legal correspondence from the person whose name and return address appears on the outside of the envelope or package. The correspondence shall not be read beyond what is necessary to make this determination.
How about Georgia? According to the Georgia Department of Corrections,
Inmate letters and packages will be inspected to intercept cash, checks, money orders and any other contraband. Since credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and similar devices qualify as negotiable instruments, they are contraband and will be confiscated. Inspection will also include the random reading of the mail. A portion of all incoming mail will be read each week.
And Tennessee? According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections,
All mail addressed to inmates shall be delivered to the mail room, and all outgoing mail shall be collected at and posted from the mail room. Excluding weekends and holidays, correspondence shall be delivered to inmates within 24 hours of receipt. All incoming mail, excluding privileged mail, may be read by staff. Approved packages should be delivered within 48 hours, excluding weekend and holidays, to the inmate.
As can be seen from just a few of these policies, different states treat prison mail very differently.”
This is what I get when I Google and ask if they read prisoners outgoing mail who are in FEDERAL PRISON.
“Incoming general correspondence may be read as frequently as deemed necessary to maintain security or monitor a particular problem confronting an inmate. (b) Except for “special mail,” outgoing mail from a pretrial inmate may not be sealed by the inmate and may be read and inspected by staff.Apr 5, 2011” (If I recall what I read “special mail” is to lawyers etc)