I believe that everyone, regardless of whether or not in prison or in the freeworld on death row or not should be allowed a voice and be allowed to use it.

I think it is good that the guys and gals incarcerated can voice what prison is like or the ups and downs of incarcerated life for the world to see.

The men and women on death row have it harder than any other inmate, especially in Texas. They are dehumanized and suffer through some messed up conditions. They have a story, why should they be denied the right to tell it?

I believe the ones with something to hide are the ones who are opposed to this.

I am all for it.

__________________

William Jennings Bryan

I guess I really dont see the difference between myspace ads and ads on sites such as this one..... and I agree, I am a mom of 5 kids, 3 are teenagers avid in the internet, I feel i am responsible for what they are viewing and doing online. I have found my sons looking at pornographic stuff, so, is that the websites fault? Nope, its mine, I trusted them a little more than they were ready for and now have backed up to being right on top of them when they are on it. I feel that is part of having kids in this age. If my parents were so proactive when I was young, I would not have gotten into some of the crap that I did. I met guy on the internet, I was 16 talking to a 40+ year old guy and set up a meet, told my parents I was going on a college visit day, ended up lost and went home early, thank god! So, this stuff does happen and I think guys locked up for life are probably safer than the ones living down the street sometimes.

__________________
Life throws curve balls, get battin and stay strong! Momof6

I agree Momo5,, they are safer with someone locked up then the ones on the street ,,,, parents need to stop trying to control the outside world and educate and put that energy into raising the kids to face all sides of life...good bad and make good choices.....

personally I think it is a violation of constitutional rights to try to say that a DR inmate can not have a page on a public forum. I heard talk about it on the radio today and a victims right advocate went so far as to say that myspace should not allow a convicted felon to have a site. Going way too far...

Just seems to prove my point that "victims advocates" are more interested in punishment/revenge and not justice, rehabilitation.

__________________
Raingods with Zippo's, a tin man rusts away and slowly falls apart,
Raingods with Zippo's and all he leaves behind a bleeding broken heart.
-Fish-

I agree wholeheartedly with you on this one Raingod! These "victim's rights advocates" are bitter and veangeful people, and they are NOT interested in crime prevention or rehabilitation. They only want an outlet for their rage and hatred. There is no compelling reason to prevent inmates from keeping on-line blogs or posting ads, other than to placate these individuals, who in my opinion should seek out couseling, before their bitterness and hatered eat them alive!

I really can't stand people like "Nancy Grace" for instance. She sees herself as someone who is protecting innocent people, and standing up for victims, but I see it MUCH differently. I feel that the men and women in prison are also victims, and that punishment is not always what is needed.

Also, I think it is vital that inmates have a a means to communicate with the outside world, because most people are unaware of what goes on behind prison walls. What if abuse was taking place for example? How are people who believe in inmate's rights supossed to advocate on their behalf, and challenge injustice, if we are not even aware of what is going on? I think prison officials and politicians who want to silence inmates, are those individuals who have something to hide, and something to lose, should people find out the truth.

And I agree with Momof5 too. She is obviously a very responsible parent. It is not society's responsibility to raise other people's children! Parenting is a BIG responsibility, and one that too many people take too lightly! It is up to YOU to monitor what your children are doing on-line, what they are listening to on the radio, watching on television, who they are hanging out with etc. It is not the role of government to supervise your children!

And if I were a parent(never had ANY interest whatsoever in being one!) I would be more apt to be concerned about people on the "outside" than those men and women who are behind bars! BUT, that is just me!

And I still believe that people who are all up in arms about websites like WAP for instance, have too much time on their hands, so that is another thing peanut2 and I will just have to disagree on. Respectfully of course! I do not feel that I have the right to tell any ADULT man or woman what to do with his or her time. For instance, there are some people out here that would not write to a serial killer or someone who has harmed a child. You know what? While I don't have a problem with sex offender's, I probably wouldn't choose to write to a serial killer. WHY? Because while I feel that they too are deserving of love, I would rather write to someone that I feel I can help. HOWEVER, that is my own personal choice. I would not try to stop those who DO write to them, from doing so.

Pornography is another perfect example. I may find it offensive or it simply may not appeal to me, therefore I choose not to buy it or watch it. But I frankly don't give a darn what Mr Smith next door does in the privacy of his own home! As long as it isn't illegal, or harmful to other's(like child pornography for instance) he can knock himself out! LOL I just don't believe that I have a right to impose MY values and morals on other's. And that is what these parents are attempting to do.

Lisa

I understand the pain that victims feel and the hate even they must hold,,,, but punishment and revenge only cause's more hate and revenge,,,not really going at any solution,,,,kinda like the thinking an eye for an eye,,, I made a bomb,, so the next one makes a bigger bomb, as history shows how we grow to the point it is maddness all around and wipe out all of society...the large scale of that thinking,,, same applys to the smaller steps we take,,, it is a cancer of our souls to really believe the inmate has no right to free speech,,,or to believe in the DP,,,,it really on a whole rots our souls and moral's and it just spreads....makes us harder and cold.

Solutions are the better way if emotions of neg can be put aside,,,,, mental heath,,, rehabilitation ,,,skills ,,,, starting with parents ,, into schools and neighborhoods ,,, getting back our souls and lose the hardness of hate ,,, which only breaths more hate,,,,

If someone places the infor on a site for an inmate if not any illegal content then it is just as much a right as any man or women has a natural right too.
It does keep things in sight and not hidden to the public on what is really going on the checks and balances on.....I do not believe in blind faith on who is minding the shop in any situation ,,,,,especially a money maker they have going on with prisons.....................................

I think that's a big difference between those of us on WAP and the rest of the world. We don't see things in black and white. We understand there are shades of gray. We tend not to judge others (much:P). Know our values may not be others and aren't threatened by that. It seems that those who cry the loudest about their beliefs (be it political, social or religious) are the ones who are the most insecure about them. I'm pasting a bit of an email I got from michaelmoore.com this morning that truly makes sense to me. I don't wish to open a political debate, but I thought it was rather interesting.

I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:
1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.
3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.
4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.
5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.
6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.
7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.
10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.
11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.
12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.

__________________
Raingods with Zippo's, a tin man rusts away and slowly falls apart,
Raingods with Zippo's and all he leaves behind a bleeding broken heart.
-Fish-

I really love that and makes sense to me ................Thank You Raingod,,, for posting this

Anybody care to share some of those inmates pages?
Would be interesting to hear some of their points of view and what they are going through.

Thanks