Hot Topic (9/13) Would you write a letter to a prisoner?

[Cafe GroupAdmin]

PrisonerPal

This is a website to be a penpal, with a prisoner.

Most prisoners listed on this prison pen pal site have done years in prison without a pen pal, visits, or phone calls to the outside world, and they are desperately hoping this prison pen pal site will give them a chance to form a lasting friendship with someone willing to take the time to write a letter or two a week to let them know they have not been forgotten by the world they left behind.

Would you write to a prisoner?

[luckcharm]

I have written to someone in prison before.   A friend of mine's boyfriend was in jail for 6 months waiting for trial after threatening his exgirlfriend after she set fire to some stuff in his front yard.  

He made friends with a guy while in their who didn't have any family other than a kid with his ex girlfriend.  He was in jail for a non-violent crime and was having a hard time dealing with being away from his kid and having no contact.   So,  my friends boyfriend asked if I would write to him. 

So I did.  He wrote letters about how he had been reading a lot of parent books so he could be a better father and got excited about hearing about little things like me learning to repair my plumbing.  He even sent me stamps so that I didn't have to spend money on stamps to write him.  We exchange ideas on being better parents and stuff like that.

If you are careful about how you do it then its not a bad thing to do.   I didn't share any information as to where my home was,  he sent the letters to a PO Box.  I didn't share personal info on my kids or me just general stuff.  

It is something that you have to be very careful doing tho.   I  wouldn't just pick someone off of a website to write tho.

[YuppyMom]

Absolutely.  Our church has a prison ministry where we can write letters, make visits, send goodie boxes at holidays, etc.

[ta2dirishlass]

I have in the past. A lot of friends ended up doing some time so I'd write them and whatever friends they passed the letters to. I think I had 3 or 4 going at one time. But like PP said, you do have to be careful.

[truetigress]

My friend's ex husband is going to prison for marijuana and intent to sell it. Guess he had a LOT of it on him. Plus he pulled out a gun in his car and the cop said he had dragged him when he took off in his car...Dunno though..wasn't there.

Also I have a nephew facing prison time 6-30 years for (crap brain fart...can't remember the exact reason but he apparently did something to my great nephew ---his son---hit him and he was still a baby...took him to the hospital because he was unresponsive and was told by the doctors that he had injuries consistant with shaken baby syndrome...the baby is okay but OMG what a hard thing to deal with being the one aunt that he "supposedly" respects...

 Soooooooooooooooo..........

I may have to write to two prisoners going in...  

[IhartU]

I used to know this woman and her daughter who wrote letters to prisoners and ended up being romantically involved with them. It was disgusting because those prisoners used them to get cigarettes, sex and who knows what else. 

[tha-hawt-mommie]

 Definately. Where im from alot of people go to jail. If you see one friend,than dont for a while, we know what happened. I would definately do this,friend or not.

[coug7099]

My brother and my son both spent some time in jails and the letters and bit of cash I sent them were very very important to them. I would write to prisoners for sure. It doesn't hurt me any. It would probably be more useful than the time I spend typing answers to anonymous questions on CM. I might not write to murders, rapists or child molesters. IDK for sure, though.

[MontclairMama]

If I knew someone before they went in, I would not hesitate to write to them. I would not write to a stranger in jail. No way.

[behappilyever]

this, exactly. having a previous relationship with someone, absolutely. but just randomly writing letters to people you don't know who are in there for who knows what? hell. no.

Quoting MontclairMama:

If I knew someone before they went in, I would not hesitate to write to them. I would not write to a stranger in jail. No way.

[mamadukes676]

Yes, I would. Some of these prisoners do not have family  and I think a letter from someone would help