Anyone Ever Write A Prisoner?

[J Jordan]

Well, I figured this might be a new topic for this forum, but maybe not.

 

Anyone else here ever write to persons incarcerated in jail or prison? I have done this for a few months now. It doesn't take much dedication because mail moves pretty slowly within prisons. In my case, I'm a very conservative individual. I think if you are in prison, well then you probably should have done something different earlier on in your life. I don't think prisons should be about fun or amenities. If you do something wrong, then prepare to be punished for it.

 

Now, why do I write prisoners? I minored in criminal justice and I have been to two state prisons here in Texas, and one federal light security prison, which was a resort compared to the state prisons. I mainly write because I think it's a nice thing to do. Prisons are criminals surrounded by more criminals. So if my free world writing can help someone in there, then I think it's worth it. However, I do take into account the person I am writing to. I keep the relationship strictly casual. If they start to get all lovey dovey, I tell them to stop because I'm not interested in anything more and most of them will respect that. I write to female prisoners, so you can see how this could get started. I also stay away from violent offenders whether it be assault, battery, sexual offenders, etc.

 

Am I the odd one here?

[doggonecarl]

I don't, but I have a friend who writes a friend of his who was convicted and sentenced to prison for murder. He says his friend appreciates getting letters but has a hard time himself of finding anything interesting to write about. The sameness of prison life, I guess.

 

You are doing a good thing, just be careful.

[Octo]

Someone started a similar thread several months ago. Lots of pros and cons were mentioned and the thread may interest you.

 

Your perspective may be different based on your background in criminal justice.

 

You may be selective about choosing whom to write to, but you never know who else will see the letters or whether they will be passed around for all to read.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/220779-advice-sought-on-writing-to-prisoners-uk/

[J Jordan]

 

 

You may be selective about choosing whom to write to, but you never know who else will see the letters or whether they will be passed around for all to read.

 

 

 

Yes, and this is always something that needs to be taken into consideration. There's plenty of stories of people receiving mail from someone they didn't originally write to. A call to the prison will take care of that quickly if it is unwanted.

 

Writing to incarcerated persons isn't for paranoid people either. You must take into account that you are writing to people who are in prison for a reason. Don't trust any of them as far as you can throw them either.

 

As a firefighter, I end up in contact with criminals and ex-criminals all the time. My desk job also brings me in contact with such people all the time too.

[pen2paper]

Hi J,

No, as you can easily read, you're not the odd one here. (chuckles since All here seem to have some variant gene for fountain pen world nerdishness)

Please do read through the earlier thread cited with link. Read it again myself. Lots of good points, and experiences there.

 

Giving all due respect to your profession, you are trained to quickly assess potentially disastrous situations, so have given thought to the potential dangers in your subject interest.

 

I just thought I would add a couple of thoughts.. not everyone walking free are salt of the earth types with whom you would want to share your exact location. Be cautious with your exact name, identifiers, and location in general.

Also, and my main reason to comment.. I currently work with the senior population. If you have free time to do so, sharing experiences, in person, or by correspondence with retired firefighters would likely do both of you a world of good. Grey headedness is a gift, these days often not valued enough : )

All the best!

[AfterMyNap]

I corresponded with a lifer in Walla Walla for about a year in 98-99. I had seen him on Dateline and was very impressed with his artistic skills so I did my homework and wrote him a request to do a commissioned piece for me.

 

Let me be abundantly clear that his story and claims of innocence via multiple personalities was, to me, a load of carp.

 

Just the same, I was attracted to the novelty and he did do one for me. I have kept all the letters along with copies of the three different Dateline appearances for a sort of provenance.

 

It was a very intriguing experience for me and I am very glad that I did it. When the time came, I wrote and told him that I would no longer be writing him, wished him well, and secretly rejoiced knowing he had lost his last appeal.

 

All precautions were taken well in advance of my initial letter and I've never had a single problem with it.

Edited July 1, 2013 by AfterMyNap

[Vendome]

No thank you!

Lags are in prison for a reason.

[flyingfox]

I love writing and receiving letters. I started writing to my very first pen pals back in 1991. Initially, my "purpose" was to practice English. Turned out that I enjoyed learning about different cultures and life in different parts of the world. I have always had pen pals since then.

 

Back in the dark ages before the computer/ internet/ pen pal search web sites, many people looked for pen pals via FBs (Friendship Books,) a small, hand-made booklet that are passed from one person to another via snail mail. Whoever was looking for a new pal wrote down his/ her name, address, and other personal information (usually the age/ DOB, hobbies, collection, favorite artists, etc.) on those FBs and then passed onto their pals who passed onto yet other pals, until the booklet became full and returned to the person that the FB is made for. Somewhere along the line, the FB would fall into someone's hands who potentially became your new pen pal.

 

I personally initiated correspondence via FBs many times, and received replies sometimes. I also received letters from a random stranger who saw my entry, and I replied to most of those. Some people I "met" via FBs became my very dear friends over the course of the years/ decade of correspondence. Good old days, when people were not nearly as concerned re. personal information. I still receive FBs at times, but less and less people seem to participate in them, for obvious concerns.

 

Some of those FBs containing my contact information must have made it to prisons as well- I have received letters from incarcerated individuals several times over the course of those decades. I have never replied to them, for all the reasons that were already discussed in this thread as well as the other one.

 

Especially, being a woman, when I was living on my own, I was too concerned about my safety. Now that I am married, I am concerned about my husband's safety as well.

 

Of course some of the individuals in the prison systems are there for no reason. At the same time, some are there for a good reason (or two or...) The question becomes, then, that- am I confident in my ability to figure out which individual is which? No, hence my decision not to even get into it. It is unfair, yes, because it is more about me than who they are.

 

My deepest respect to you, J. I think it is a great thing to provide companionship via letters to those who need that the most. Without compromising your safety, of course, but it seems like you've given it a lot of thoughts anyway and have taken all the precautions that is humanly possible. It takes special individuals who has knowledge and training who put a lot of thoughts into it.

[HDRoot]

This is what I learned in Sunday school. Catholics call these corporal works of mercy.

 

To feed the hungry.

To give drink to the thirsty.

To clothe the naked.

To shelter the homeless.

To visit the sick.

To visit the imprisoned.

To bury the dead.

 

God made prisoners, too.

[GabrielleDuVent]

As I feel apprehensive even giving my address out to members on here (there's always a tiny, illogical grain of doubt lurking in the corner of my mind, sibilantly whispering "this fellow might be masquerading as a very nice gentleman and might be a mass murderer on the run..."), I'd never write to a prisoner. Not only that, I'd have nothing to write about... I have trouble finding common topics with most people to begin with!

[Fabienne]

I have written to a nephew of mine. He stole money from an old man and swindled him. Alas. But, I did write to him. He was in New Folsom Prison. He was unbearably critical of his surroundings (c'mon,you are a prisoner...get over it), didn't want to be written to by a woman (his uncle finally wrote as well but he complained to him even more). By the time he got out I felt like throwing the book at him!!!! Arghh! People!!!! Oh, he lived in Concord CA before he was busted, Argh!!!!

Edited July 2, 2013 by Fabienne

[Runnin_Ute]

Hi J,

No, as you can easily read, you're not the odd one here. (chuckles since All here seem to have some variant gene for fountain pen world nerdishness)

Please do read through the earlier thread cited with link. Read it again myself. Lots of good points, and experiences there.

 

Giving all due respect to your profession, you are trained to quickly assess potentially disastrous situations, so have given thought to the potential dangers in your subject interest.

 

I just thought I would add a couple of thoughts.. not everyone walking free are salt of the earth types with whom you would want to share your exact location. Be cautious with your exact name, identifiers, and location in general.

Also, and my main reason to comment.. I currently work with the senior population. If you have free time to do so, sharing experiences, in person, or by correspondence with retired firefighters would likely do both of you a world of good. Grey headedness is a gift, these days often not valued enough : )

All the best!

 

Have to agree on that point. My current position puts me in contact with the "Medicare eligible" population here in the US (65+ generally) on a daily basis. Some of these people are very lonely. I would bet many people that you meet that are of that generation would love to get letters.

 

How about servicemen from your area deployed in a war zone thousands of miles from home? I would bet that they would appreciate a letter or two as well.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Runnin_Ute

[tfwall]

How about servicemen from your area deployed in a war zone thousands of miles from home? I would bet that they would appreciate a letter or two as well.

 

All of the caveats about prisoners in this thread I would also apply when considering writing to servicemen. A proclivity to violence, detachment from ordinary experiences/priorities and a high degree of mental illness apply to both groups in the aggregate.

 

It is also worth pointing out that OP is asking about writing to prisoners in the US, while the earlier thread is about UK prisoners. The US imprisons a much larger proportion of their population than any other country in the world. So, statistically you have a much better chance of getting in contact with prisoners in the US who are imprisoned for economic or political reasons.

[Sasha Royale]

I did, once. The subject spent six months behind bars. He is out and long since disappeared into the ether.

 

"doggonecarl" is right. The sameness of prison means that the inmate quickly runs out of things to say.

(That's why they call it "prison".) Another result of the "sameness" is that inmates have a lot of time to

devote to thinking about YOU, and how to manipulate you -- how to get things from you. Things include

time and attention and sympathy and intimacy.

 

I don't recommend it. It can be dangerous. Your pen pal probably deserves to be in prison, and is being

influenced by a lot of very bad people. Prison is Hell. Do you really want to open and maintain a connection

to Hell ?

[barleycorn]

My mother is involved with a prison ministry which, if you put aside any assumptions for the moment, has very strict rules about what you write and the giving of personal information. This pretty much eliminates most of what you would write about in a letter. If, however, the individual is someone known to you personally than that is different... One must assume that letters will be examined by officials at some time or point, or confiscated or lost. I cannot imagine a starker situation to be in and not able to write about an interest or hobby such as botany etc.

 

 

I started writing letters in response to one received from someone who I used to know. He is in a psych hospital but checks himself out once in a while and ends up back in again. After a time I had to give it up because all he would write about was his delusions and asking me to assist in his pursuit of vindication as he viewed it... Sad really not so funny when I discovered by reliable information it was all bunk.

 

On a lighter note, prisoners are not likely to have access to fountain pens or decent stationery supplies.

[hermanlab]

I am not a penpal person, although out of loyalty and for the sake of friendship I used to keep up snail mail correspondence with one friend for 15 years. Today the only snail mail correspondence I still keep up happens to be with a prisoner.

 

It began while I was researching a prison matter. I sent largely the same letter to about 6 people of a particular profile - and received only one reply. He was just a stupid kid who had made a big mistake a few years ago. He is 24 now, serving a very long sentence.

 

I kept answering back out of curiosity at first. It is a slow way to get to know someone - three weeks for a letter to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and three weeks plus for the reply. But even so, slowly his personality began to take shape. Slowly a name on top of an address became a living person. Someone who once had hopes and dreams, just like us.

 

Equally slowly, I discovered that my letters had become a window upon the world to him. A lifeline. A small telescope that pointed back to a life and to values which had grown dim in both his past and in his future.

 

What is there to share when two lives have little in common? I don't know. Does there have to be much? It is easy for me to write. Every letter writes itself. My pen is an inkwell from which flows memories - memories of my childhood in the countryside, experiences during my travels - and thoughts and reflections about honour and justice, laughter and sadness.

 

His letters contain poetry sometimes. Reminiscences of a good life which is irretrievably lost. A future that vanished before it even started. Sometimes they contain a mosaic of daily life within that miniature wilderness which he inhabits - a savage world in which the predator easily becomes the hunted - where survival is everyone's daily preoccupation. A fascinating, messed-up microcosmos where each man has a vulnerable side - which he will hide as his greatest secret.

 

For the most part, his letters are like a sad voice that is crying in a canyon. You can hear the echoes long after the sobs have ended. But you know that you will never see the voice who uttered them because it comes from a place that you can’t reach.

 

For a long time I felt ill at ease to have contact with an inmate. I come from a family and a society which knew little scandal or blemish. We don't talk to prisoners. But I realized one day that nearly every one of us has done something which could have landed us in jail - we were just never caught. You think this doesn't apply to you? Think again. The traffic light you skipped just once - you could have hit a child while you had half a glass of wine too much after a meal. But there was no child that day. There was no accident. You were never caught. You were lucky.

 

But even if you never did anything wrong. There is still the matter of kindness to a stranger. 2,000 year old words kept whispering in my mind: "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord…. when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

 

I realized that if I had nobody, I would have truly appreciated anybody throwing me a harmless hand full of words through prison bars sometimes. A touch from the outside would have lit up my world.

 

 

These things I have been taught when I was a child. I realized that I needed no reasons at all. It just seemed the right thing to do. I almost never write hand-written letters anymore. But to him I still write by hand sometimes. Old thoughts, scratched onto paper by ancient nibs to a scared and lonely kid that I will probably never meet. I don't have to have a reason anymore. It just seems right.

[georges zaslavsky]

Never had and I don't even plan to.