Open Discussion: Prison Pen Pals

Yup. That's what I'm writing about today is penpals in prison. I always found it sort of odd that women (and sometimes men) actively seek out and find people who are in prison, for any amount of time and for any crime, in order to specifically be their penpal and, as I've been finding with my limited online research, build romantic relationships with them. Actually, building a romantic relationship seems to be the most common goal of people seeking these specific type of penpals. It's not the truth in every case and some people do it to make a friend, to have the option of old-fashioned snail mail communication. This is my main reason for doing it. I figure that it never hurts to make a friend and it never hurts to keep lines of communication open, practice my penmanship and keep the post office in business.

Is there safety in this?? Definitely. Well for the most part there is safety in it and the safety is subjective, something that the person doing the initial contact has to take into their own consideration and decide for themselves if they're comfortable with the person they are about to contact and what they may have done. I guess it would be depend on with whom you are corresponding and the reasons that they are where they are. However, I do believe in reform for those who want it and I'm going to make a very uneducated psychological deduction here in believing that having someone waiting for you with an open mind as to your successful rehabilitation can work to someone's advantage in being successful when released.

But back to the safety issue; I seriously believe that it depends on the situation, for example: sexual assaults would be a huge red flag and other crimes could be held and considered according to circumstance. These people have already been through a trial and sentencing so it isn't up to us to pass a second judgement. I think that if you're comfortable enough to pick up a pen and tell someone "on the inside" (if that's even the correct jargon, excuse my naivety) secrets of your life, you're going to have to deal with the consequences if things go wrong, if anything.

Likewise, there will also be safety issues for those incarcerated penpals. They have to be curious about who would be writing to them and their reasons for it. I'm sure that there have been many occurances of inmates being taken advantage of, lied to or misled. I'm sure that there are trust issues not only from what may occur from trying to learn, know and grow with a person that you only get to communicate with through letters and pictures plus the occasional phone call but also the lifestyle that is led in prison and past experiences bringing about an almost immediate mistrust. These girls and boys also have a lot to lose by putting their hard-earned trust and understanding into someone they cannot physically touch or look into their face to gauge their honesty.

So...I have no idea where I'm going with this post. I decided to write to someone today who is in prison and as a result became my usual overanalytical self and did more thinking than necessary. I now know how to get in contact with inmates on death row -- how exciting! No, I'm not writing to someone on death row but someone within our own country who was introduced (if you could even use that word in this case) to me by a good friend. It'll be nice I think to write something that is tangible and I can hold in my hand. I'm sure it'll be exciting to wait for the envelope in the mail. I honestly, even through my analyzing and researching the fundamentals and psychological implications of having a prison penpal, can't see anything wrong with it. There is never anything wrong with making a new friend.

So, let me know what you guys think: do you think that having a penpal who is incarcerated a bad or detrimental thing??