Thread: Sun Times article on prison pen pals

http://www.suntimes.com/news/2013134....article:link:

Maybe just me Crabbybudda, I could not get your link to work, I think this is what you have.




Richard Lovett was behind bars when he got the terrible news.
His fiancee was one of 10 people killed when their Salvation Army van smashed into a tractor-trailer in January 2001. They were traveling from Chicago to visit loved ones in prison.
» Click to enlarge image
Richard N. Lovett, who received a 45-year sentence for murder, is one of the inmates seeking a pen pal on the Web site Lovett's profile pic is a graduation photo.



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Lovett, a convicted killer, said he was crushed with grief. His fiancee used to write him twice a week. At his family's suggestion, he turned to Internet pen pal sites to fill the void.
"I've had women from every aspect of life write me," he said. "Not all of them are looking for love, either. Some of my pen pals are poets, artists, authors, etc."
Lovett is among hundreds of Illinois inmates who subscribe to pen pal services on the Web.
It's a lonely hearts club for convicts.
For a price -- usually $40 to $100 for a yearlong subscription -- these services post inmates' biographies and photos online. The companies then convert e-mail responses into letters that are mailed to the inmates because most of them don't have access to the Web.
Some inmates also have relatives post their bios on social-networking sites like MySpace and Facebook for free.
Family members of crime victims have expressed outrage that prisoners are allowed to have pen pals. But prison officials say they must balance public safety with inmates' free speech rights.
"Every single piece of mail that comes into an IDOC facility is scanned for contraband," said Januari Smith, an Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman. "We check for coded messages to gangs, too."
As for inmates like Lovett having pen pals, Smith said, "We're OK with that."
The Chicago Sun-Times wrote to about 50 of the convicted killers, burglars and drug dealers whose bios are on pen pal sites.
Some wrote back that they've gotten visits from female pen pals.
Others said they've been tricked by people pretending to be someone else. And a few called the sites a scam, saying they haven't received any mail.
But all of them agreed on one thing.
"Getting letters at mail call makes me want to dance!" said James Daly, who's serving a 14-year sentence for driving under the influence.
Alan Friedman, a clinical psychologist in Chicago, said women who write to inmates generally are seeking a distraction from the pain and emptiness in their lives. "Many women -- more than men -- have 'rescue fantasies' where they want to take care of a victim," he said, adding that many of those women have been victims themselves.
Dee Battaglia, former warden of Stateville Correctional Center, said inmates' family members typically stop calling and visiting as the years pass. "You become desperate for communication from the outside," she said.
Inmate Christopher Clingingsmith said he's been lucky at making female friends through the mail. He said a Missouri woman even visited him in prison.
"We held hands during our visit and even had a few kisses at the end," said Clingingsmith, who's in prison for driving under the influence in Will County.




Inmates subscribe to lonely hearts pen-pal club on Web :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES ::

yep that is the one...thanks

see now profiling like that pisses me off

We could name oursevelves : "the desperate inmates penpals"

Ok, a question..do you thiunk it would be ok to print this off and send it to a pp? Would they be allowed it? Just think it may be interesting for them to read and say what they think on it?

*think even lol

I like the term wapers

Originally Posted by SandyF

We could name oursevelves : "the desperate inmates penpals"

The D.I.P club! Wooohoooooo, I'm all in for that!!!!!! Now we need a cute mascot. What about a pinioned mail fairy?

And I will definitely print this out and send to John. I wanna know what he thinks about that.

I'd like old Mr Friedman to spend a half hour with me with his profiling bulltoss *rolleyes*