The Butler County Prison Board is pondering a proposed revision to the jail’s inmate mail policy.

Board members during a Tuesday meeting said they had received the proposed policy revision only a day before and were not prepared to discuss it or vote on it.

The issue of how outgoing mail is handled has been a topic during the meetings since Butler County Commission James Eckstein first raised it in December.

Eckstein, prompted by a conversation he held with a state Department of Corrections official, believes the prison’s policy opens the county up to litigation from inmates. Specifically, he asserts that when a guard scans the out going mail the process is equivalent to reading the mail, which he alleges is a violation of the prisoners’ rights.

The other members of the prison board as well as Warden Rick Shaffer have publicly defended the policy, saying it is appropriate and necessary to identify potential threats by inmates or illegal activity.

The board refused to provide a copy of the proposed policy revision to the Eagle.

But Eckstein, who said he already read it, said it still “doesn’t correct the problems.”

County controller Jack McMillin, who also is on the board, suggested adopting a policy that mirrors the one for state prisons or asking state officials to review the county’s proposed policy before the board’s vote.

However, Shaffer said state officials would not review any local prison policies because that could open them up to litigation. And, board solicitor Mike English indicated that he had already spoken to the state corrections official that Eckstein earlier referred to and was assured the county is not doing anything inappropriate.

The board also is pondering revisions to the prison’s policies on abortions and uniforms.