Commonwealth v. Thompson

Commonwealth v. Thompson, 2007 PA Super 304, 934 A.2d 1281 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007), appeal denied, 596 Pa. 744, 946 A.2d 687 (Pa. 2008) involved the reading of a non-privileged letter sent by an inmate, marked "return to sender." Id. at 1284. The contents were admitted at the defendant's trial on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. Id. at 1282, 1285. The appellate court rejected the defendant's contention that such mail could be opened but not read. Id. at 1286. It cited prison policy to "open, examine, and read the contents of any letter that has been returned to sender." Id. at 1285, 1286 n.5.