What You Can and Can't Send to Marathon County Jail (mail rules, photos, books, and magazines)
Mail rules can feel picky when you're just trying to stay connected. At Marathon County Jail, your safest bet is sticking to standard USPS mail, labeling everything clearly, and assuming staff will inspect everything before it reaches the person you're writing to.
Quick Checklist
- ✓ Send mail through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
- ✓ Write your full name and return address clearly on the outside of the envelope.
- ✓ Expect mail to be inspected for contraband and security reasons. Mail that is gang related, sexually explicit, inappropriate, or a safety/security risk (including photos) can be confiscated.
Photos go through the same screening as any other mail at Marathon County Jail. If a photo is considered gang-related, sexually explicit, inappropriate, or a safety or security risk, it can be confiscated. This means a letter might make it through while the photo inside gets held back if it crosses one of those lines.
- ✓ Do not send Polaroid pictures.
- ✓ Do not send greeting cards.
Marathon County Jail allows paperback books, but only when purchased and mailed directly from a publisher or online vendor like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Don't try mailing a used paperback from home. Hardcovers aren't allowed at all.
Magazines and newspapers are accepted when sent directly from the publisher on a subscription basis. Even with a proper subscription, a publication can still be denied if it includes material that poses a security risk, portrays violence, or incites or demeans another race, sex, religion, or sexual preference. If you're unsure about a specific title, stick with mainstream publications that have general-interest content.
Legal mail gets handled differently than regular letters. At Marathon County Jail, legal mail will be opened in front of the inmate. Regular mail doesn't get that same privacy. All mail is inspected for contraband and security reasons, and anything considered gang-related, sexually explicit, inappropriate, or a safety/security risk (including photographs) can be confiscated.
If something you send doesn't arrive, confiscation is a common reason. Marathon County Jail inspects mail for contraband and security concerns. They can confiscate items considered gang-related, sexually explicit, inappropriate, or a safety or security risk. This applies to letters, enclosures, and photographs.
- Think back to what you sent - If it included photos or content that could be viewed as gang related, sexually explicit, inappropriate, or a safety/security risk, that is a likely reason it was confiscated.
- Check Marathon County Jail’s published mail rules - Look for any notes about rejected mail and what happens next.
- Contact the jail for clarification - Ask jail staff what was rejected and whether there is a process to challenge the decision or resend an allowed version.
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