Prisoner Pen Pals

I was web surfing when I came across a sight that gives a list of inmates in prison all over the U.S. They have little ads asking for mail and friendship. It also lists their conviction crimes so you know your not talking to a rapist or child predator.

I know when I was locked up mail was so important. It was the one connection from the outside world nobody can take from me.

I wrote three inmates this morning. Two men and one woman. I have a P.O box so they will never know where my physical address is. Plus I think it would benefit me just as much to lend a listening ear and be supportive.

If anybodies interested in doing this pm me and I will give you the link. It's a Christian based, non profit, site.

All they want is mail.

I think that's cool. I know that not all inmates are monsters. And yes, mail and some form of correspondence is very important when you're cut off from the world.

Hi Desirae,
I have lots of free time and I wouldn't mind writing others who are in prison. I ve done some time myself and mailis one of the greatest things a person can receive.
Do you still have the pen pal list?

Hi Des,
I think this could be a little dangerous. It says what the prisoner was convicted for-not all the things he's done that he hasn't been caught for.
Please, be careful.

Please reconsider and do this through an organization that can assist you and help keep you safe. I have done this in the past, and even with my background, it became sticky at times.

The reason I say go through an organization, is so you don't give out your own address... or at least use a post office box. They have been known to show up on the doorstep..and even use penpals as references for employment and gaining credit accounts.

An organization can educate you in how to write and help without becoming unsafe yourself. TC please!

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Sky, you are absolutly right.... the person you send the mail to might not be the only person who reads it...... you never know who's hands it will end up in.... Be very careful..... maybe you could write to someone in a Nursing Home or some other oranization.......
If you do write use a alias ... for your safety....

I'm sorry Des but the more I think about it the more I think it's a really bad idea. (sorry)
Lilith is right-there are so many people more worthy of your time. What about the guys in Iraq? They have network emailing for them. Can you give that a try?

I agree with what LILITH and Jax are saying, there are other people out there in the world, more worthy of having pen pals, give them a try.
Another nice thing one can do, donate time to volunteer work for a good cause,helping children,elderly,people with handicaps,re-cycling,cleaning up litter around our river,streams,roads,animal shelters and wildlife centers.
There are so many ways good intentions can be put to use.
Remember that very old saying, "if you ain't got the time then don't do the crime." Even though they are not all monsters,I can't find any sympathy for the majority of prisoners, just their victims. And like said above my post, do it through some organization, for your family and your own safety if you still feel compelled to do this.
Just my feelings on this, I apologize in advance if I offended anyone.
Take care,
DE

Des ithink its a great idea as long as you don't use your address what harm can it do. you are just giving a lonley trobled person somthing to do and some one to talk to. just be carful.
DROWNING

I have to agree with dark eyes, if you are truly writing to give comfort to the other person, why not the elderly, or soldiers who have no family? They will get far more out of it, and you will be doing society a greater service by writing to them

wounded1

I actually never knew about these types of things were offered out there, I just happened upon this.

I think the reason I chose prisoners is because I have served time in the past I know how incredibly lonely and isolated an inmate can feel. It almost breaks my heart. Then again I'm sure they deserve it too.

Fortunately I use a P.O box for all my mail. There would be know why to get to me unless they waited at the post office for me to come pick up my mail. But since I'm strapped I fear I will be okay in those type situations.

I would love to write soldiers actually. That's a good idea I think I might go ahead and do some research on that because your right if there's anybody that deserves mail more then inmates it's definitely our soldiers.

Thanks all for your replies and concerns.

when i considered doing this, i limited myself to women on death row who did not have any chance of parole. For all the reasons that others have stated.

Boo Radley

Bad idea to write to prisoners without knowing any details about them. I have a stepgrandson who has been in prison twice, for drugs, and each time he comes out he is worse than before, takes advantage of family who try to help him, even his own brother. Will not work, is a healthy strong 25 year old. What a waste! Never know what you could get into since when we write, we give little details about ourselves that they could put together to find us. take care!!

A million years and at least 20 lifetimes ago, I did public speaking to challenge stereotypes and raise people's awareness of what a lesbian actually is: ie not all that different from anybody else.......

One gig was with a group called Friends Outside, for women who were doing/had done time. It was a 90 minute bus ride to get to the gig. I was dry mouthed and sweating. "Prisoners: oooow, scarey."
(Of course what I didn't realize at the time, was, they were waiting for me going: "Lesbian: oooooooow, scarey.")

Turned out we were all just women. We had a great time chowing donw on a pot luck spread (ex-prisoners eat good food,too), sharing stories, laughing a lot. Most had done time for petty non-violent crimes. Frequently poverty related. (Now we have meth and crack and a lot of prisoners are caught up in that mess which add a new level of scarey..)

Poverty has soooo much to do with women in prison..... abusive relationships have so much to do with women in prison..... Connecting with an organization that keeps the dangerous gals off the pen pal list could be a way to go.

Or check in with your local public defender's office to see if somebody local could use some support wherever they ended up to do their time.

Whenever I get a 2 for 1 offer from a magazine, I send the extra subscription to my local jail's prisoner services.

I pay attention to local crime and when it looks like an innocent person is being railroaded, I go to the court proceedings (others show up too) to see for myself (and let the powers that be know somebody gives a poo).

Let me tell ya, it ain't Perry Mason in there.... anybody who has never been to a real courtroom to follow a real case hasn't got a clue as to how things really work "in the system". Adversarial justice is not about getting to the truth like is looks on tv. Adversarial justice is about winning. The folks with the most money usually win. Truth be damned.

The most powerful people in our communities are DA's and Judges. Yet most of us have no idea...... I learned social studies when I was 13. Like I understood the context of what I was learning..... not. Real life ain't pretty out there in the judicial system. It ain't pretty at all.

hillbunnyb, you're right. I know that many women ended up in prison because of things they did while struggling with poverty, or very often, ending up with the wrong man. Some women in prison are innocent of drug charges, when it was their man who committed the crime, and let them take the fall for it. Some women fought back against their abusers.

There are dangerous and dishonest people in prison--men and women--that you have to be careful of, though. Some prisoners use their pen pals, or convince naive women that they love them, to commit crimes for them, or to use (even after they get out of prison, if they do), until they're through with them.

I think about innocent persons and people who aren't really bad people, but people who just made mistakes, or were in the wrong place at the wrong time, etc. Those are people who might deserve some friends to write to. You just have to be careful.

maven, yup, it's tricky to sort the good from the bad and ugly.... but, can be worth it. A PD contacted a people's watch group I belonged to to seek support for a woman who was up on murder charges. Long story. Short version, accident/self defense (why I don't like guns).

She is a great person who was caught up in old patterns that were just waiting for her to grow up big enough to walk into the trap..... With the involvement of a supportive group of women, this young woman's life was(positively) hijacked and she got to choose a new route.

Seems like life is becoming more and more tricky in general as more people become destitute and desperate and jobless and sick without care and homeless. Our priorities have gone down the greedy drain. The folks on the bottom always pay the most and pay first.

Hope is a precious gift to give anybody. It's worth figuring out how to do, if you have the urge and the energy.