Hi All:
After watching CNN's interview with Erick Menendez, I was enticed to make contact with several inmates.

I sent a couple of letters yesterday. I wonder....are all letters read line by line before inmates receive them?

How long does it take for letters to arrive and be delivered?

Any other tips would be appreciated

Thanks,
Newbie

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Thanks much for your reply
What's your experience with all this thus far? Do prisoners actually respond?
I wonder if my letters were too short -2 pages.?

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Thanks for your words
I wonder.....do we need to send self-stamped envelopes? or prison cover that?

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I would give it two weeks.. especially with the holidays, mail maybe backed up for abit, and like Babycub says, I think mainly they skim through it, unless its with an inmate they have to watch more closely.

Hi Cali79 and welcome to WAP.
You have asked some good questions, but there are so many uncertainties, that there are no good answers. But, don't despair. Yes, inmates do answer letters (most of the time -crossing fingers :-). The amount of time depends on how far your letters have to go. Mine go from Michigan to Texas in three days. But . . that has improved a lot since I first started writing, two years ago. Back then, it was a 5 day trip and my PP and I used to joke about the pony express. She has another PP, who only lives 50 miles from where she is incarcerated, and his letters take one day. So? It all depends. Only time will tell.
Is a two page letter too long? No, not really. Not for an introductory letter. For the most part, I am thinking that your potential PP will be delighted to receive that letter. However . . there are case where they may be flooded with mail, or they may not have writing supplies, such as paper, stamps, envelopes, etc. So, things can go wrong. But, try not to worry too much. We have all been through the same thing, and we all worried too. It can't be helped. :-)
Just one last thing. With all of the varying rules, in the different prisons, your new PP is probably going to be your best source of information. What they don't know, they can find out, right from the horses mouth.
So, good luck and happy writing. :-)
Feel free to ask questions at any times. We may not have the answers, but we always have an opinion. :-)

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