From what I understand, there’s a few people that write letters to infamous prisoners. Why? Hoping for jucy details on what it was like to stab someone 193 times? Honestly feeling compassion for someone few other people do? Trying to convert them to whatever relgion? Bragging rights (I got a letter from Manson?) Hoping to get something back they can sell? Boredom? The thrill of writing with someone infamous?
What do you write. I assume most offenders don’t want to talk about there crime, but what else do you say/ “what are your plans for this weekend?”. “Had any good food?” seem out…
And how often do prisoners write back? Some prisons won’t let you send stamps, and I imagine buying them is low on the priority list when they make 25 cents an hour and need to by stuff from teh canteen to make Pruno. And are prisoners creeped out with people writing them, or if the people are decades older or younger than them.
Prison seems pretty boring and lonely. I don’t think it’s that hard to get them to write back.
Another aspect is that since these ARE criminals, you have to keep in mind that some of them may be looking for a naive “mark” that they can con in some manner or another
People don’t only write to famous prisoners. I wrote to a couple a few years ago. They weren’t famous and their crimes weren’t sensational or violent. I just did it because I was curious, plus nobody writes letters anymore, so that was kind of a novelty. And most prisoners benefit from connections with the outside world anyway, so it’s a nice thing to do. I would never write to one unsolicited though, or a serial killer or rapist or anything like that.
As for what you write about, well, that shouldn’t be that hard to imagine. You write about your lives, past experiences and future plans, current events, hobbies, whatever.
Every year, Friends Meeting of Austin sends Christmas cards to prisoners on death row.
A number respond and ask for penpals. Friends that express interest are ‘given’ a prisoner.
I wrote to a death row inmate for several years and visited him up in Livingston twice.
He was a Honduran national and, according to Chi, his family didn’t visit or write often.
It was an interesting experience.
Texas ended up executing him a number of years ago although it had been established that Chi was never given access to the services of his consulate before or during his trial which is a violation of international law.
That said, I think he was guilty as hell and not someone I’d ever want to be released.
As the contact point for a local science fiction club, I get a lot of interesting mail… Every year or two, I get a letter from someone in prison. If the letter has any promise at all, I try to respond. I’ve had some good correspondence this way…
Alas, some of the letters have been illucid, and I’ve sent back the most banal, pro-forma postcard in response. “Thank you for your interest.” Blah.
Some have been illucid, but in an interesting way… One guy had invented his own entirely new concept of arithmetic, and never got tired of trying to explain it to me! I considered that harmless, at least, and so I responded in the best way I could.
I confess, sometimes I think of it as a bit scary. What if the guy gets out, some day, and the only name he knows is mine? What if he decides to look me up?
But then the Golden Rule kicks in, and I think about how I’d feel if I was all alone with few avenues of conversation.
While I definitely don’t blame you for being wary, one could argue that it might help them re-integrate in society better if they’re able to make connections with ordinary people during their time in prison, rather than just interacting with other prisoners. It is unfortunate that even if someone actually does want to turn their life around after prison, it’s often hard for them to do so because nobody wants to hire ex-cons or associate with them except for other criminals.