this a question that i have been asked by several people, my reasons are simple i like to write and to have someone i can focus my thoughts for, i have always loved to correspond and by writing to an inmate i get to discuss subjects with someone who is totally unconnected with my other freinds so can give an unbiased opinion without fear of critisism and outside influence. Also writing allows us, {both Parties} to consider our words and is the best way to get to know one another. The world moves so quickly today people don't always have time so send a text or an e-mail, generally that's fine but you cannot beat sitting down and reading the words written to you by a freind.So people why do you write?

There are lot of reasons why I write to inmates. First of all, when I was a child I also had lot of pen pals from all over the world, but when we grew older, my pen pals and I got disconected and the writing stopped. I also have some email friends, but it's not really the same thing as writing real letters with real stamps. Nowadays it's something special and not as usual as it used to be when computers were unknown when I was a child. Another reason is that letter writing helps me to practice my English in combination with brightening someones day when he or she has mail call.

hi andrew,the reason i decided to write to inmates is a long story but i will cut it short, but i hope the short version is still understanderbly...last november i had an operation, i died for a few mins during the operation and had to be shocked back, well later in the recovery room the person in there next to me turned out to be a prison inmate who had also just had surgery, we shared a ward for a few days and i noticed he got no visitors and i thought that was sad, well to keep this short i talked to the priest who was the only person to visit him and he told me as i had been spared maybe i should just give a little back, and he suggested taking a few mins a day and making some ones life better through letters , and he told me about a few prison penpal sites and that how i started..

tighthead2k....thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes. can you imagine never having anyone visit you or call you?
God will defintely bless you manytimes over. (((Hug))) I am paying forward for the blessing that I have in my life now. It wasn't always so,but now that it is..I want to share and give back.

tighthead2k....thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes. can you imagine never having anyone visit you or call you? and then add being sick on top of that.
God will defintely bless you many times over. (((Hug))) I am paying forward for the blessing that I have in my life now. It wasn't always so,but now that it is..I want to share and give back. I also have a personal interest in one of my PP's...I write to 3 others.

hello everyone...i was'nt sure what i was getting myself into when i began writing...i too had pen-pals as a young person. however this experience has got to be one of the most serious, unselfish, exciting, beautiful things i have ever been involved with. i never knew that sharing what i thought was small ( a letter/note/card, magazine & thoughts or just plain old listening) could give another so much joy! i don't think that the inmates that i write will ever know that they give me more than i could ever give them and for that i am grateful!

our reasons are all very similar and i guess we all get a lot back from it. someday's i don't know who looks forward more to the mail coming Me or my Pen pal. every one seems to start for a different reason or from a different set of circum satnces but we all seem to get so much out of it on the happiness gauge i only wished i'd done this sooner. thanks for your posts, more are welcome. Andrew UK

Well I started writing to prisoners many years ago and the main reason I started was due to a story printed in the Daily Mirror about 2 brothers on DR in Florida for different crimes. As a writer I figured someone would cover that story and I wrote to the oldest guy and asked if I could do it. His name was Ernest Downs and the more I found out about him and the conditions he lived in the more I wanted to know.
That led to me putting out a request for details about conditions in prisons all over the USA - boy the flood gates opened and I was getting over 100 letters a week and that went on for months. I had to do something with all this mail so I started up a penpal club called 'Friends from England' and we found pals for over 3,000 inmates all over USA. Personally my path crossed with some really nice people and I soon had lots of penpals. Over the course of time many fell by the wayside BUT the ones I still have now I have had for many many years and class them all as 'friends'.
Why do I enjoy writing? Well I hate the injustice and the unfairness that prisoners have to battle with daily. I enjoy lifting the spirits of those confined and they give me as much pleasure as I know I give to them.
Yes I have lost several to execution BUT I will not give up doing this - its not just a hobby its now a way of life (smile)

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Mystic Mo...Your are one unforgetable character. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I would truly like to know you!! I have said this before,but I will say it again. I enjoy all of your posts and learn from you on a daily basis!. keep them coming!

Awww Sunnie thank you for the kind words. I try my hardest to be as good a human being as I can be because it really is true what they say - what goes around comes around (smile)

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They say NOBODY is perfect so just call me NOBODY