What Is Privileged Mail at Great Plains? Who an inmate can write without content screening
Privileged mail is the small category of correspondence an inmate can send without the facility reading what's inside. At Great Plains, it's reserved for specific government and legal contacts—and it's handled differently than routine mail.
At Great Plains,
The content won't be read, but there's still a security check. Letters must be submitted unsealed. Staff do a quick inspection for foreign substances or anything hidden in the paper or envelope - they're not reading to judge what it says.
The Governor of Oklahoma is a privileged correspondent. If your loved one writes the Governor, that letter gets privileged handling instead of routine content screening.
Members of the Oklahoma Board of Corrections also qualify. Letters to Board members receive privileged handling at Great Plains.
Several Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) leadership and oversight roles are on the privileged list: the ODOC Director, Chief Administrator of Operations, PREA Coordinator, and Inspector General. Letters to any of these positions count as privileged mail.
Licensed attorneys qualify as privileged correspondents when they're representing an inmate - or seriously considering it. Mail to and from attorneys is treated as legal mail, protected by attorney–client privilege. Court correspondence also gets legal mail handling. One thing to know: mail to or from a paralegal service doesn't count as legal mail under this policy.
Since privileged mail only covers specific categories, double-check that the recipient actually fits the facility's list before assuming a letter won't be content-screened. If they don't qualify, it's handled as routine mail.
For attorney correspondence, what matters is whether the person is a licensed attorney representing the inmate - or seriously considering taking the case. When that's true, the mail is protected as legal mail under attorney–client privilege.
Note: Mail to the Oklahoma Attorney General is considered privileged except when it’s related to pending litigation where the Attorney General’s Office (or its designees) represents the State of Oklahoma, its agencies, or its employees.
Watch where privileged or legal mail is addressed. If it's mistakenly sent to the contracted mail-processing vendor, it'll be returned to sender. Verify the correct addressing instructions before mailing anything time-sensitive.
Find an Inmate at Great Plains Facility, OK
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
