A:

Thanks Kitty. I'm on the road visiting some of the inmates. I'll send this off as soon as I can. It sounds very familiar. I hear stories like this all the time.
Jon- creator of ask a convict

A:

I'm curious what would make someone write a serial killer? But yes I'd be very cautious… not necessarily afraid, but cautious. Get a PO Box if you really want to write a serial killer, never give your fill name, use your first name and last initial only. Never give your birthday or other info like that and don't send them anything where you use a credit card etc because on the receipt they put your full name and address.
You can email inmates on www.jpay.com. Thanks for your question

A:

Bert? Hey I know you!! Yeah I remember you! Man it's been a few years. Bert ,are you still wearing your mommies panties Bert? Man I hope you kicked that habit. I mean it was bad enough that you wore womens panties any way but man when you started stealing your moms that was really scarey HAHAHA Hey remember when you got your dogs name tattooed on your ass HAHAHA. Man that was funny. Hey man thanks for the question. You take care!

A:

Yes I do. I regret a lot of choices I've made in my life. But I regret the most the emotional pain I caused by committing my crime… If I could take it back I would.

A:

I'm very sorry that your pen pal isn't being a good pen pal. I'll be the first to say that not every inmate is a 'Good Guy'. We do have some bad ones and that makes it so much harder for those who are looking for honest friends and nothing more¡K..
Now as far as your pen pal and his personal questions. If you've told him that you're in a serious relationship and let him know not to ask you these types of questions¡K then I'd stop writing to him period. Once you make this decision stick to it¡K write him a short letter. Tell him you are ending your correspondence. Tell him why you are ending it. Ask him not to give your address to another inmate and tell him Good Bye. More than likely he'll write you and tell you some story. But ignore it, once a idiot goes that far give him the boot.
Now as far as him getting out and tracking you down I wouldn't worry about it. Most countries won't ever give Visa's to felons. If you call your local government office they'll tell you. But please I wouldn't worry or even think about it. 5 minutes after most guys get out they forget all about the stuff in prison or friends or pen pals¡K If after you tell him not to write you and he does or he gives your address to other inmates¡K I'd write the prison warden and request that he not be allowed to write you and ignore all the rest¡K..
I am happy that you like my poems¡K a lot of inmates do have talent and yes as a whole prisoners are over looked¡K I hope that you find a good pen pal again. I'm sorry
for this ƒ¼ Thank you for your question

A:

Well Elisa I get my inspiration from my life and the experiences that I've been through. 90 % of my poems deal with that. Just within the last year I've been writing about other issues that I feel need to be expressed ļ I am gonna have to change the poems on my page because 'those' poems are my first efforts I've come so far since then. I've write some amazing stuff lately that I'm sure you will like as well as others who read them.
I am happy that you love your job. I am sure that it's very rewarding¡K It's sad, I never learned the joy you get from helping others until I needed help myself and no one was there. If with my writing I can help someone then I give back to those I took from¡K
Thank you for your question.

A:

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I think that our criminal justice and rehabilitation systems are non existent. There is more money in punishment than rehabilitation and money makes the world go round… I applaud your activism and I wish you the Best of Luck….. Our country, The Governments, The Courts and a lot of society is controlled by money… until you the citizen effects some sort of change weprisoners are lost… we are the last to feel change… The abuse and corruption in our country starts in the prisons. But the change will end with us. There is so much that
you a single person can do and I hope you have the courage to do it. Thank you for your question

A:

Well Gabby my profile tells a lot about me. I am 34 now and I will probably spend the rest of my life in prison. I write poetry and I do a lot of reading and I enjoy listening to the radio. No I don't feel I was wrongly prosecuted. The original crime I am in prison for I am guilty of. I think 60 years is pretty harsh and I feel that if I had been given a chance at a job that would support me. If I would not have been shot out of society that I never would have committed my crime….. Thank you for your question.

A:

I love everybody Babe… Hug and Kisses HA HA!

A:

I broke into a house, tied up a couple and took their ATM card to the bank and attempted to withdraw money from their account

A:

Yes I think it's clear that more serial killers are white males 'as to black males'. And I would say that it's because of the way they are raised and the white culture. If you look at most serial killer profiles. They had issues with their mothers or other women in their family 'not every case', but most. I can not tell you what this does to a person psychologically, but it does have an effect on some people…. That has been proved The Black Culture is different in a lot of ways… especially in the way they raise their children….. I could name a hundred things. But that's the reason I think it's. So I bet if you look at the black serial killers you will see a similar upbringing as of most white serial killers

A:

It depends on who you are… some live a life of Hell and some have no problem… In Texas a small young white dude had to fight his heart out or be someones girl… prison is really racial and whites are the minority so they get a lot of trouble… as far as Guard. If you can come in here and take what ever abuse they give you with out a word of protest you won't have trouble. But if you protest you're in a world of hurt.
Most prisons are violent and the system uses this violence as a means to control the prison population. As long as inmates are fighting and killing and raping each other they are not standing against the cruelty of the Guards. The luck of rehabilitation and the corruption of the criminal justice system.

A:

I join ask a convict to help people understand what it's really like in prison to show society that we are just like them. Most of us just made a mistake, and I joined in hopes of meeting a few good friends. So write me.

A:

Thanks for your question lottie. Yes! Texas is a pretty hard state. They like to bury us in these prisons for as long as they can. I regret a lot…. where to start? I guess I should say I regret being born in all my other regret still matter. If I had one wish, I'd wish to talk to whatever God is running things, if there is one. I’d like to give him a big fucking black eye.

A:

Eddie! I'm and administrative segregation so no, I don't get to watch T.V. and I eat whatever they give us.. ha ha. Or what we can buy from the store.

A:

Well its dam sure not fun chillin’in jail ha ha, and the f keeps me alive. It could be good, but inmates cook it, and they are lazy, so they don't take the time to make it taste good. No spices , salt-and-pepper sugar etc. etc.. So is pretty bland., No I never read the book hot house, but the few prison books I've read, tell it like it is.
Well if you do everything on guard tells you never break a rule and let people walk all over you like a carpet know you won't be treated bad. But the first time you do something they don't like yeah they'll treat you bad to worse your infraction, the worse they treat you. Thanks for writing, your not crying. I'm always happy to hear from people. I'm happy that you liked my poems.

A:

Wow another Kitty....

A:

I would love to be your pen pal. I don't have internet access so you will have to write me and send me your address.
( Note From Jon-Although I don't suggest sending inmates money a small amount to cover postage is greatly needed, especially for over seas correspondence.)

A:

I am a felon. I've committed crimes how you determine how much my life is worth. We have all made mistakes some mistakes that are not actual crimes. I feel are a lot worse than some actual crimes. Which is worse, a mother who neglects or abandons her child or someone selling pot. A father who doesn't stick around raises kids or woman selling her body so she can live. All of our actions that can harm someone physically or mentally can be held against us if society really cared. So please tell me how you determine the worth of someone's life. All life is important to someone. Who will set the standard of whose life is worth more than someone else's mouth its case of self-defense through self-defense. But no one should be punished for protecting his or her own life, but murder is murder, no matter if it's an old lady or a drug dealer. We are all human, we all make mistakes. If you go around putting a price or worth on someone's life over another. Some really scary shit to come about, like let's say a man who is rich is worth more than a poor homeless man, think about it.

A:

I don't feel I can hurt or killed innocent person without being attacked. I almost got caught because I didn't want to hurt the people I was robbing , so I didn't tie them up good. And they got out while I was gone. Now, if they would've attacked me? I can only hope I wouldn't have hurt them. It is a ”what if “ situation and I can't say how I would have handled it. I would like to say, “no I'd never heard them”. But I don't know. I'm only grateful that I didn't hurt them. That's all I can say.

A:

No, we do not remain in touch, she wrote one time and I responded one time. I responded with an angry letter and I told her nothing she could say would change what happened. She should have thought about what would happen before she did what she did.

A:

All the relationships I had were not heavy, some were couple months old to longest was seven months. So when I received my time. They all got on with their lives.

A:

Thank you so much on to it for the compliments and prayers. It's always great to be complemented and prayers never hurt. I hope you continue to like my poems and answers. It's hard to answer honestly, sometimes. I want to tell people to mind their own business, but I signed up. And that's what this site was created for. I've learned a lot of stuff and met a lot of great people that I probably would've never met or done if I wouldn’t be locked up. It's sad to think that maybe I wouldn't be who I am today doing what I'm doing thinking how I’m thinking, if I never came back to prison. Spending the rest of your life in prison is a big price to pay. But I have to pay for my crimes at least I can do something good. Thank you again and ask me anything anytime.

A:

Yes a girl I was seeing turned me in, she wasn’t my only girl friend. I had a couple . She saw a black and white police Sketch of “a wanted person” and thought it looked like me, She confronted me and told me I had to turn myself in. We had a huge fight and she said she wasn’t gonna tell. She did that just to calm me down. I stayed the night. But when I left in the morning she called the police. No I don’t have any contact with her. She wrote me a few letters apologizing after I got all this time but that’s it.
It made me feel like shit. It made it very hard for me to trust people.

A:

No, I am not in a relationship now I have never had a serious relationship since I've been in prison. And I have no one who comes to visit me in that way or anyway for that matter. I like an open-minded female with a good sense of humor. Someone who isn't scared to open up and be herself. I look for honesty, I don't care if I don't like something or not. I will always respect honesty. It's every man's fantasy to have a knockout female, but unrealistic, as long as the female takes care of herself and does the best with what she was born with. I can like anyone. I find women sexy who respect themselves and try not to be something they are. I am not perfect, so I don't expect perfection. I love a woman with a big part. I like loyalty but if loyalty isn't in the cards I’ll except honesty. Hair, eyes, height, weight, all can be sexy. It just depends on the woman and how she carries herself.

A:

Home Invasion, Tieing someone up and escaping from Jail.

A:

Escape, robbery, and assult of an officer.

A:

) I've never seen or heard an inmate cry himself to sleep, not in a adult prison anyway. In juvenile yes, but not here. But I¡¦ve seen
#2) Inmates cry after a visit, not many¡K But a few¡K But for the most part ¡§crying¡¨ is considered weak and unmanly and you don¡¦t do stuff in here to appear weak¡K someone will take advantage of it. It¡¦s better to be safe and hold it all in, or let it out by beating the shit out of someone ƒº Smile! And 90% of inmates who have been locked up for a number of years probably haven¡¦t cried in years.
#3) Yes, on some of the units in Texas, the older ones mainly, it¡¦s freezing in the winter and boiling in the summer¡K.every thing is concrete and steel so heat doesn¡¦t last long¡K
#4) Our sheets are thin because they try to make them last so long. Believe me, the prison gets its moneys worth out of anything they issue us.
#5) I can go to sleep whenever I want, and as far as I know all Texas prisons are like that¡K But some inmates work so they sleep when they¡¦re able¡K. They don¡¦t wake us up personally¡K They¡¦ll come on a microphone and say first call for school, work, chow etc. etc. and if you go you go, if not, then they write you a case.

A:

If an inmate has no one to turn to: He is released, It all depends on how long he’s been in, what kind of work skills he has… how old he is… But for your average inmate getting out with no family, he will be allowed in a shelter or halfway house for a short time but then he’s on his own…He either makes it or he doesn’t. Most of society could care less what he has to do to survive… But if he breaks a law then he’ll go back to prison.. and its been known to happen. Some inmates get out, no where to live, no family, nothing… and commit a crime just to come back… The recidivism rate in America right now is like 68%... It may go up with all the economic trouble we are in… That is sad, because one of the main reasons they come back is there are not a lot of people, jobs, housing and programs willing to accept a convict… So he goes back to crime… some do it because its all they know… some do it cause its cool…

A:

I broke into a house tied at the owners took their money into their debit cards to the ATM machine.
(Note from Jon) Tim wrote and told me the story about being recommitted to prison after being released on parole. Tim was trying to get a job go to school etc. but one night in desperation broke in to a house. After that he tried to go straight and promised himself he would never break the law again. It was too late. His girlfriend saw a drawing of him on a news program and turned him in.

A:

Well I am not exactly sure but a guard told me that the mother of the Baby is allowed to spend a few weeks with the new born but then the baby is either given to family or put in foster care. The woman get in trouble and so does the guard who got her pregnant…

A:

I broke into a house tied at the owners took their money into their debit cards to the ATM machine. Plus I escaped from county jail. The only family that I'm in real contact with is my mom, and sometimes my brother. My brother and mom just reestablished contact with me this past Christmas in 2007 by other family doesn't really have time to write me. They ignore my letters and act like I'm being in asshole when I write them and ask why they don't write.
(Note from Jon) Tim wrote and told me the story about being recommitted to prison after being released on parole. Tim was trying to get a job go to school etc. but one night in desperation broke in to a house. After that he tried to go straight and promised himself he would never break the law again. It was too late. His girlfriend saw a drawing of him on a news program and turned him in.

A:

Yes, I am in Administrative Segregation. I in my cell 23 hours a day I only come out for one hour, a recreation and a shower. Any time I leave my cell, I am placed in handcuffs with two guards to escort me. I am in a single cell. So no. I don't have a cellmate!

A:

Family and friends. When we were free we take a lot of family for granted. You really don't know most of our family, not the way you know a close friend. I know some of my pen pals more than I know most of my family. Nothing that I lost hurts me more than family and friends I’ll never see again. And now that I'm gone, locked away in a cell, I realize what I've lost a try to reach out to them. But they don't care, are mad at me , or don't have the time. I fear it’s too late, but I keep trying.

A:

do I have friends in prison?
I have associates, and maybe one or two friends, but not on this unit I'm on now. Never have been any like family. In general population, you see groups that appear close, but that's just for mutual survival. You got to watch everywhere in here. Even the people you feel you can trust. It’s sad you have to do that, but it only takes one bad apple to put a knife in your back.

A:

Do the police treat us nice? no they don't treat us bad or just the opposite they treat us like SHIT. The guards there was so many inmates that they treat us like cattle. They come to do their job and they go home. Most officers are good people, but they're trained not to trust us period.

A:

HA Ha Ha, That’s a good one! The state of Texas Isn’t going to waste time and money to make sure we are mentally stable, or sound especially if an inmate is on death row… I am in a control Unit administrative segregation, 23 hour lock down. The mental stress is unbelievable. I cope by writing reading and exercising. But a lot of people can't. All around me are men whose minds have snapped. My neighbor never talks to anyone. Three cells down a guy never leaves his cell, he never showers and the smell will make your toes curl. But he talks to everyone even people who aren't there.
The only answer Texas has for this is to dope them up with SHIT I wouldn't give a dog. To be honest, It only makes them worse. Right now Texas is cutting a lot of spending, and they're taking non- nonviolent mental patients off their medication . What’s sad is that there are studies done by prison specialists, Doctors , professors etc., that show that when you put men in a closed environment like I'm in, that mental illness skyrockets in the inmate population. But do you think they care? If we lose our minds, then that's one less person they really need to deal with…..

A:

Write your father! Be a part of his life! You said, no one else in your family has contact with him right? So how do you think he feels? I did 10 years my family virtually abandoned me never wrote. It was very lonely. It was 10 Years and when I got out. I didn't like my family much after that. I'll never understand how people can say,”I love you” but not write a letter or years at a time. Prison is a very lonely place, and without friends and family to love and support you, You’ll lose yourself up in here. Do you love your father? Hell do you even know your father? The greatest gift you can ever give him is to let him be part of your life, because without that ,he won't have one.

A:

I would like mail. I am in solitary so Mail is what I live for

A:

If I found a job that paid enough to give me a healthy productive life. Sure I'd be up for the challenge for working in a Burger King Macon 725 an hour with no medical. No health insurance, living in an apartment with another family just to afford rent any Democratic is a few quotes of my own for you smile,
1) let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine (Thoreau)
2) the ancient commission of the writer has not changed. He is charged with exposing our many griefs, faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement(Steinbeck)
3) writers are forged in injustice as a sword is forged (Hemingway)

A:

If I had that chance I can tell you honestly that I'd probably never do crime again. As I learned one valuable lesson, society or our government or anyone else, with few exceptions, couldn't give a rats ass about me. So I would jump on the bandwagon and ride with the rest of society to hell in a handbasket. That’s the American Way right?

A:

Well, from what you say it's all going to end up the Same, You are going to have to move, maybe to a different town. Because you have two choices. You can accept the way things are and take the chances of getting hurt or you can even go to the police. If you go to the police, you'll be in even more danger and have to move away anyway. So listen. My advice is to file a restraining order and move to another town. And if you see hide or hair of him, call 911. He sounds like he is a potential starter and that he is not accepting your choice of leaving him. The fact that he's willing to break the law makes him more dangerous. So my advice is to get the hell out of town and get out fast.

A:

Honestly, yes, people do find prisoner prison easier to deal with than the responsibilities of life. Most of the time, they don't really realize what they're doing. But your husband sounds like he was doing something he knew was wrong. The human spsych is a weird thing. When some people do wrong, They’ll unconsciously do things that will get them caught. Almost like a cry for help! When he gets out, You just have to keep an eye on him, find stuff to do, hobbies,Keep them busy. But If he's lost then give him a wake up call. Don’t just sit by and watch as he ruines your life. Talk to him, yell and scream, but always let him know you love him. You'll be surprised how people think when they know people love them.

A:

it's a hard question granted, some jobs must be restricted to ex-convicts such as police prison guards. Banks etc. etc. but other than that, if I commit a crime and received five years. And I complete the entire sentence. I repaid my debt to society for society continue to judge me every time I fill out a job application is wrong. Person should receive a job on how qualified he or she is not on if he had made some mistakes that were in the past..

A:

You seem to have the idea that a person's desire to do crime is just because he's lazy, mean or what ever when that's not the case. There are hundreds of thousands stuck in here for drug-related offenses. America's war on drugs is a failed policy that has done nothing to the drug trade, but has enslaved millions killed thousands and destroyed parts of our society. Just as I believe it was intended to if you do away with this failed policy that would not only take away more than a third of the crime relieve overcrowding would give the minority people love suffered the most a chance to have a better life. I don't give a damn if you build a prison every day. There will always be a criminal to fill them as long as you are society turned your head, and the way our society governs our Ron. You'll never be able to fix the problem by starting at the bottom. Prisons are the end of the road by the time someone ends up here. It's already damn near too late. You got to go to the schools, ghettos, projects. You got a hit the streets. You have to fix the problem at the beginning, which I'm sorry to say is our society's lack of giving a ship about anyone but themselves. When we as a society really start caring get our heads out of the sand and really want change. Hell, there's no telling what we could accomplish. You'll always have some criminals, but if you give most people the resources to live a healthy productive life and take care of his family without having to call some one last. You'll see that most people are willing to be a law-abiding citizen, just like you

A:

I would change the fact that I got caught because 10 minutes after my crime. I didn't get anything. I promised I'd never do it again. And for almost 6 months, I didn't get caught. I was able to get on my feet and was somehow I got a job and went to college and was doing good. But my mistake caught up with me. It was wrong to do my crime, but the way society treats people is wrong too. You can't fix one without the other.

A:

There is nothing in prison worth living for, and many people, ”end it all” as you say. I wanted to end it all. But slicing my wrist or hang myself didn't appeal to me. I prefer to make the cops kill me. But right now I have a reason to live. You and people like you who reach out to us make our life livable. Plus, I have my writing that hopefully one day will help some kid to understand life better. I live through other people's hearts and minds. If I didn't have that, I would end it all. One of my worst fears is to die alone in prison. I have nightmares about it.

A:

what was I thinking when I committed my crime?? Well, I was thinking if I can just get $500 that I could get a car. So I could find a job, and I prayed. Please god, don't let me get caught and I'll never do it again. But we see out that turned out

A:

What do I do in prison? I will wake up the mail go. If I get mail, I responded my letters, but everything really depends on that already all write poetry. All exercise, and also warrior with the other inmates. I have no really set schedule. I get up when I want sleep, but I want, but I like being a good night quiet. Or as quiet as prison gets. I can think, write, or whatever without much stuff bothering me. Juvenile hall isn't different, they don't really do anything different than we do, just on a smaller scale, and only kids are pretty much helpless..alot of shit goes on. They just shut down a couple of juvenile centers because the guards were sexually abusing kids in Texas. The same for female prisons. Texas is always dealing with pregnant female inmates.

A:

Jimmy my boy that's a good question to good question indeed!!! And I’d have to say that lost my faith in God long ago!! There is much pain and suffering in this world, and all these preachers say it's part of God's plan. Well, I just feel if it were talking about God. He could have come up with a better plan. Don't you think?

A:

What you do is, you love him and show him what is right and wrong. Not only with words, but by being a good example. Especially now, while he's shown when he so if you know what it's like in dry sponge and gave him the best chance he can have the active in your son's life. If you and his father are still together. His father should play a big role in his life. Get him involved in sports and other school activities. Football baseball fan, anything. Just sell its constructive and get him skills he'll need. Read to him now. When he's old and can read on his own reward him for what he's read kindle a love of books in his heart. Essays against school help him with homework, making learning fun of that as he grows older you like school and want to learn limit his TV time computer time etc. do a lot of outdoor activities camping, biking etc. love him all these. Even when he messes up. Praise him when he succeeds ,and teach him that it's okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. Keep him from the ga gangs and street kids. If you live in a bad neighborhood try and find someplace else to live. Give him 100% of yourself and you should be okay. By 14 or 15 years old building walking the road he wants, whether good or bad. Mary Martin to start young, because they are learning so much seminary in most parents don't realize it was too late. Love is the key.

A:

My advice to you is to move out of the neighborhood. It doesn't matter how you carry yourself you'll still have trouble. Hell, if you walk down the street with a 357 you’ll still have trouble. I was a white kid in a tough neighborhood. It is not how you carry yourself it’s your skin color. Very few white kids are accepted in neighborhoods like that. You’re new and different, and you're” a clean-cut white kid.” So you're going to have trouble.

A:

Why Not?

A:

I don’t know…I would try to do the best I could to stay out of trouble…and hopefully I’ll be able to get back with my family and be happy…I don’t think about the future much it’s pretty scary from where I stand.
Tim is looking at 60 years to go.

A:

Dear Maria,
Yes prison is like that but it’s not just young good-looking guys…It’s anyone whose weak or scared to fight…sexual assult is probably the most dangerous thing in here…there is a lot of AIDS around, Hepititas C etc etc…and the administration doesn’t really help people who get assaulted…Because all the administration does is either move them to a different unit “where everyone will find out what happened in about two months” and then it will happen again… or they will put them in safe keeping where they have some serious sexual predators and aids everywhere… or they lock them away in protective custody “Ad Seg” 23 hours a day lock up…so if someone gets assulted sexually he is in a no win situation however you look at it…
I don’t know anything about Lazers or electronic beams…they tried stun shields and stuff but guards died using it so they stopped…now they use a paint-ball gun that shoots tear-gas pellets!

A:

Q-from “anonymous” why do inmates have a penpals site, etc etc etc
A
If you are to lock up the inmates with no privileges or outside contact society wouldn't like the people who would eventually be reunited to them. Your American prison system has gone through many changes over the last hundred and fifty years. When the first prisons opened inmates were not allowed privileges. They could not even talk. The only thing they were allowed to read was the Bible. And this was quickly done away with, because the mental damage you cause. Inmates went crazy, became violent or killed themselves . The same Constitution that protects you also protects inmates. You can judge how free society is by how they treat their inmates. The website was designed as a bridge between society and inmates so that both sides can get a better understanding of each other. Society cannot just banish us to some penal colony like the days of old. We will serve our time and come right back out. Yes, the victims are very important and they do receive a lot of help. And as with all programs I'm sure the victims assistance programs around the country could be improved. Back in 2001. I was in a prison in South Texas. A guy I knew was in prison for murder. He got sent to the warden's office one day, the warden gave him a letter. It was from the mother and father of the man he killed. His mother and father would like to visit their son's killer. The warden told the inmate that he is not required to do so, but if he wanted to the warden would set it up. The inmate said yes. The first visit didn't work out, the inmate got upset because the woman broke down crying and asked “why did you kill my boy”. The inmate left, he went to his cell and he cried like a baby. I'd been in prison for eight years already and this is the first time I've ever seen inmate cry like this. At the time I didn't know who had visited him. I thought maybe he had a death in the family. But over time they had more visits, wrote letters,and both found within themselves the power to forgive and stop the cycle of hate. Let me tell you something, I've seen a lot of games in prison. Inmates pretending to change etc. and I’ll be the first to say it happens a lot. And I know bullshit when I see it. But when that mother and father came to visit their son's killer and then forgave him. I saw a man break, not from punishment, not from locking him in a cell, but from his victims reaching out to him in love and forgiveness. 90% of all inmates have feelings, just like you. We try to distance ourselves from our crimes, not because we're cold blooded ruthless criminals, but because we're a human just like you and believe it or not, It does hurt us win if we take a look at ourselves and what we've done. If I had my way I'd make every criminal visit his or her victims every month for their whole sentence. Studies done by many universities show this to be a more effective way to rehabilitate inmates than any other way. If the lockup a man and treat him like an animal by the time he gets out he will be an animal. Our society has a long way to go, and for your information. We're not surfing the web, we write letters by snail mail and Jon, the creator of this site, writes our answers on the site. We look for penpals, most of us anyway, because as humans. We crave human contact friendship etc., and thankfully there are a lot of kindhearted people who can look past our mistakes and see the person within. So please stop the cycle of hate, find it within yourself to forgive. Try writing an inmate in learning his or her story or share your own and maybe you can turn a man from his old way of life. I find that a lot of people who start writing prisoners never regret her decision and lifelong friendships are known to happen.

A:

Our justice system is not fair and never has been fair and probably never will be. Money talks and bullshit gets a lot of talking time, and society doesn't give a damn. Read Jon Grisham's book, “The innocent man”, and you see how corrupt our system is. As we see I am currently under state indictment. My lawyer lied to me that judges pretend they never received my motion estate is hiding evidence. I have proof of all this. I wrote the court's ACLU Justice Department newspapers, everything. And no one gives a damn. I don't mean you should give up. But I’m not going to lie to you either. Our justice system is as crooked as a coat hanger, is made for the rich people who can pay money. The poor people are just fucked. 31 people have been taken off death row because of DNA proved their innocence. I can't imagine how many innocent men and women sit in our prisons today, society doesn't care what they do with us. No one is going to tell that judge anything. We have a judge in Texas, who is a known crook and no one cares. They just beat a man in prison in Texas in 2007 broke his neck and left him in a cell for two days pissing and shiting him self. He died from his injuries at the state said “oh, no ones at fault”. And that's why they always do as long as society lets them get away with it. It will happen.

A:

Dear Lynn,
Man do you have some “issues”! And I will be glad to point some of these out to you in due time but let me say this first…It is never right to take another’s life except in self-defense …and a murderer should be punished… and victims and society protected...But either you live on a different planet or your narrow minded head is so far up your ass that you can't see the whole picture as it really is in this country!
You describe Rockwell as an animal! That's interesting since most of white American society has felt black people were animals without souls to begin with... If you have been following the Obama/ McCain campaign you are aware that racism is still alive and well in the “U.S.A”
I don't believe you’d know a clinical sociopath if he bit you on your racist ass... clinical sociopaths are very rare “a truly emotionless person” born that way is about as rare as a solar eclipse! But people like you who live in this world have a way of turning normal children into “sociopaths”. Have you ever seen the projects ghettos or inner city neighborhoods where 90% of black people live in this country? Most of these black kids know what it feels like to be called a nigger or how it feels to be excluded from something because of their skin color before they learn how to read or write…our government still has to force people to hire, house and treat black people as equals… so what if I may ask, do you think happens to the developing minds of these youngsters who are treated as animals by society... they get locked up in juvenile centers where there are not only treated like animals they are caged like animals... they are told all their lives, they are nothing, worthless, and won't amount to shit, hell, You just said it to him.
So, as they grow up its natural for them to build walls around their hearts, suppress their emotions... all humans do this when they are repeatedly hurt over and over. They escape into drugs and gangs to find a place they don't feel pain, but are accepted. Some of them fight back against a society that brought them over as slaves and still treat them like animals 500 years later. So what the hell do you expect them to turn into, being treated as animals and porch monkeys all their lives? Rockwell's answer to the question scares me far less than that of your comments to Rockwell.
Just what the hell kind of sick and twisted person are you to laugh at the idea of someone in prison being raped? Having a girlfriend named Bubba or dropping the soap in the shower? It's easy for someone like you to hide behind a keyboard and say this without putting your name and stuff on it. As I don't believe the Lynn is your real name, but if it is, there are millions of Lynns. I don't believe you have the guts to say this in church. Even though I believe most of white society feels this way. They don't say it out loud because they are trying not to be labeled as racist. You laugh and make for Rockwell's writing skills. See what's interesting, whites like people to be stupid and not have the ability to raise above their situation. It's a lot harder to fuck over an educated black man then an illiterate one. All over this planet, prison guards, and cops are killing us animals left and right! Minority children are treated like animals all over the USA. And upstanding people like you in society silently applied and laugh behind your white picket fence houses. It's been like that for hundreds and hundreds of years so it doesn't shock me none to see it in black-and-white. Instead of trying to find ways to hurt people, why don't you invest your time in trying to change a society that turns bright young kids into a emotionless killers? Why don't you go to the underfunded inner-city schools and teach these kids how to read and write so big white mouth racists like yourself can't make fun of them? Why don't you go be a friend to young minority woman and girls? Help them rise out of the animal cages our racist society puts them in! There are thousands of easy things you can do to help someone. But you chose to try to degrade him and belittle someone who is already locked in a cage and being treated like an animal. Thank you for showing me my view of society is right.
My name is Timothy Baker number 1151865 Hughes Unit PO box 4400
Gatesville, TX 76597, and I’ll stand before the throne of God and say the same things I wrote on this paper will you..

A:

Dear Cindy…
I first came to prison when I was seventeen years old in 1992, except for about a year when I was out on parole, I have been locked up ever since…This whole time in prison I have never met a person who no longer wants outside contact…shoot…whenever you get a new cell-mate or meet a new dude that’s cool…The first thing we do is show each other our pictures and stuff and if you have a bunch of pictures of pen-pals and friends one of the first things they’ll say is “Come on, Homeboy, will you hook me up with a pen-pal?” I’ve been through it hundreds of times all across Texas..
I cannot say why your friend that you have been loyal to for seven years has been giving you the cold shoulder…He could be doing any number of things..But regardless these are the facts:
If you have been a loyal friend for seven years and now he’s acting funny he no longer deserves your friendship!! Friendship is a two-way street…you give and take…It’s not a friendship anymore if only one person is trying to be a friend…For whatever reason he is shutting you out …That is his choice…If you have to write and beg someone to be a friend then they really aint a friend…You are giving him every opportunity you can to tell you what’s wrong..If he has not told you then that’s all you can do, my advice to you is to move on find a new friend who really would be happy for your letters and friendship….I know you care about him…Tell him this but also tell him that if he doesn’t at least tell you what’s wrong and be your friend then you are going to move on…..It’s not right for him to shut you out and expect you to stick around…

A:

Micha is your baby's father is just trying to hang on to the only person who gave issued about him being alone in prison isn't nice. But you need to think about you and your son or daughter cut him loose. Find you a man who will be there for you. Take care of you and your child. This guy had his chance and he fucked it off by being a playa. Now even though you may cut him off. Don't take his kid away from him, if you feel he'll keep a respectable conversation and will not be trying to beg you back in every letter. Then write him only about your son or daughter, but if he can't respect your wish not to have a relationship with him then go through his family to keep him up to date on his kid. So my advice is move on with your life. He had his chance and he blew it

A:

Jackie ,
Alot of people misunderstand Inmates, and I believe this misunderstanding is the cause of your fear.. I heard about the Inmate who got out and killed his pen pal. Hell everyone did.. They splashed it all over the news. But when some guy kills his wife for leaving him they kick that back to page two in the paper. Look at all those movie stars who got people stalking them. It’s not “oh I should fear Inmates” It’s I should be cautious about all the new people I meet. People who get obsessed, stalk, harass or whatever are not born in prison… It’s an imbalance inside them and I have read more about “freeworld “people stalking, harassing and killing people they know, 1000% more, than with inmates. With free world people it is old news, with inmates its blown up, put on the front page.
There are some things you can do to stop any misunderstanding with a pen pal you may write… First tell him you are only looking for a pen pal .. Tell him you are married, and you have no thoughts, Ideas or desires for any extra marital affairs. YOU MUST STAY WITH WHAT YOU SAY!!!.
Inmates are very lonely and if you play games with their emotions it can cause trouble. So stay with in the lines you set down..
An inmate may try to test you, start flirting or whatever.. Either stop writing or warn him one time. If he pushes again stop all correspondence and as with anyone you meet , be cautious, If he says or does things you don’t like… Tell him, ”you are not the kind of person I want to write”, and find someone else.. A lot of free world people and Inmates are full of games. You must judge them all the same.
I have a pen pal, {smile} If I had to swear on a Bible this is what I know about them… They are a person. (I’ve never been told if theyre male or female) They teach at some level I don’t know where they teach. They play cello, they went to college and got a criminal law degree but didn’t like it and started teaching. They live in Maine… All I know them by is Ramsy. I don’t know if that’s a first name, last name or what… I write a PO Box. They are very knowledgeable about poetry… That’s all I can say for sure. I have been writing this person for 2 ½ tears and they have taught me more and been a better friend to me than all the people I have known in my life!!!
Now Jackie if you can’t get passed your fear about an inmate getting out and harassing you then you could always write a lifer or someone with a lot of time…shoot by the time some of us get out we’ll be lucky if we get food stamps let alone worry about trying to find an old pen pal… We are people just like you, we need friend ship and human contact just like everyone else. Don’t let a misunderstanding stop you from finding a friend in prison

A:

You know, a lot of people feel informing on someone who\\\'s done a crime, whether you were part of it or not, is the right thing to do. But in actuality, if you look at it pitches informers and tattletales are destroying the fabric that binds our society together. The trust and security has been taken from us and not just crimes, but anything someone may want to know, buying stitching is a dirty business, and the feeling of brotherhood we had with our fellow man is being destroyed for greed or comfort is got to the point. You can\\\'t trust your own family, friends etc. to keep a secret. But as far as a codefendant snitching as my friend once told me. The only trustworthy codefendant is a dead one. If you\\\'ve got a partner in crime, and you get caught. 90% of the time someone rat\\\'s. That\\\'s just how it is.

A:

Dear Yamira,
what kinds of questions, should you ask a convict in order for them to fully understand transformation important to grow.
It's not so much of asking them questions are getting them to transform everyone knows that drugs partying in criminal activity ain't gonna lead to a bed of roses. They know they need to change in order to succeed in life as a law-abiding citizen. The best way to get a convict transform is to get him in a position, "job" wise, where he can feel it's better than trying to do the criminal way. This only applies to convicts who sell dope, rob, steal, or scam to get money. But for people who fight, murder, party, do drugs and end up in prison. They have to find the will to want to change. Nothing you can say, ask ,or teach someone who just wants to party run the streets will change that. In our culture, the poor of struggle for identity and our kids are finding it in gangs fighting in being a "gangster". It's all they want. That's more important than succeeding in society. Hell for some, prison is a notch on the gangster resume for them, you have to give them an identity. Everyone wants to be part of something. Humans are herd like, in their need for companionship.
For any questions you need to find out what type of person you're dealing with. Are they criminals trying to make money to live etc., or are they just pothead drug users etc. or are they part of the culture of people who find gangs, fighting, crime against an identity? You have to ask and make each see different stuff for the dope heads partiers etc. ask them where it leads them, what is done to their life how it has hurt their family. For the career criminal, asked them what it's brought them. Have they had a better life is a crook rather than working for the right way. It is the one of the gangsters asked them what the life has brought them where they will end up. But for all these you have to show them that doing right, working, transformation is better than what they are doing now. That is the key, no one will change if they feel, what they are doing is right for them not to show them that their old life isn't as good as a new life can be. If you can do that then you can change people.

A:

Dear bloody Mary,
I was in a situation where I thought I was about to get hurt really bad,. And I stabbed the guy a few times.. He lost the kidney and some of his stomach. But I never killed anyone. But this is close, and I never felt anything but anger and fear. And when it was over. It was just a memory that I have. Killing someone is not something I want to do or think about, but just for you. I\'ve asked the opinion of three convicted murderers and one guard who was a Marine sniper in the first Iraq war. The three murders all say it doesn\'t feel like anything. At the time adrenaline is pumping, anger and fear and hate his running through their veins. A once it\'s over their only worried was getting caught. One guy said he waited and worried for three years and once they caught him. He was relieved, he said it was like a weight being lifted off his chest. A Marine sniper says he drinks a half a bottle of whiskey so that when he goes to sleep he doesn\'t see the faces of the men he had killed. I would say how it feels to kill someone depends on the situation in your psyche, and who you are, some people feel nothing. Some can\'t deal with it, and some deal with it like any other action they may regret, forget it.

A:

Dear hugs and kisses,
I'd better say,my answer may be biased :) since your boyfriends and ex-convict. I feel obligated to help him out! His lack of showing a motion could be from his childhood. A lot of people who grow up in a taped the people they are raised by or were abused. It could be a number of reasons, and in prison for six years didn't help none sense and here it is always best not to show emotion except anger : )
he may be showing emotion, and you just haven't recognized that it is what it is. 10 months is a rather short time to learn someone's ways, and habits. All people are different in Maine not be able to show the kind of emotion that you want, but that does not mean he does not care. So it comes down to, do you. care enough to find out if he cares! How much of your life, are you willing to give up? You don\'t say how old you are. But listen, don\'t think about changing him because you may not be able to do that, get to know him, his habits, his ways, and in time if he cares. You\'ll find the ways that he shows it? For now, just except him for who he is, if he means that much to you.

A:

Dear Doctor,
There are two main correctional philosophies practice. Number one is punishment. That's where the prison system is ran in a way that punishes the offender and number two rehabilitation, where the system tries to rehabilitate the offender. Right now in American prisons, 90% of it is punishment.I have a book college textbook called corrections in America .this is what was being taught to people and criminal justice classes. It gives data on what works and what doesn't in every aspect of prison life and beyond release. And Texas anyway, doesn't follow even 20% of it. Sure, they give classes that have no real value. For example by first time in prison, I took a six-month plumbing trade and got her certificate to be a plumber\'s helper but when I got out no plumbing company would hire me because they mostly work in people\'s homes and their insurance wouldn\'t cover the ex-convict worker. In my opinion, it\'s almost impossible to rehabilitate offenders in the system as it is ran today. Think of prison is a sink, and the water flowing into the sink as offenders. before you can fix it. You got to shut off the water is the sink is overflowing. So you want to help shut the water off work with the kids in the ghettos, the abuse, the neglected, the runaways, the drug addicts, these lost and confused kids are the ones who will fill our prisons tomorrow. Shut the water off and you will fix the problem. Our culture is all fucked up. So I don\'t envy the person who takes on the job. I could go on and on, but this tells how I feel if you need to know more, drop me a line.

A:

Texas has so many gangs it's not funny. They lock up all the leaders and most of the big gangs in segregation. Unless you're on medium custody or close custody. You don't really have to do anything. But on medium custody and close custody. You may not join a gang, but she will be part of a group. Prison is really racial blacks, whites and Mexicans! They all stick together, if the race riot breaks out, you better be with your race or hide in the cell. Texas is getting better only because they are restricting our movement, segregation. You are in your cell 23 hours a day close custody you are an in your cell 22 hours a day. Medium custody, you are in your cell 20 hours a day. Only on medium custody, do you get to go around work school recreation watch TV etc. if you can make it on your own. It's better to do your own time.

A:

Yes you can walk a man up, but you can\'t stop his sex drive without some kind of medicine. That is, as long as there are prisons people will be raped. Most of the rapes are not beat down forced rapes. New people, especially young ones are scared. They have heard so many rumors, heard so many horror stories that by the time they get to a cell, they are ready to drop their pants so they won\'t get hurt. When all they had to do is show some backbone and stand up for themselves. And they would be okay for a gay man. They really have no choice. The only way they won\'t get raped or forced into a relationship is to find a man to look out for them.

A:

You could always call in Sally! LAMO.
This is a college kid. There\'s not much you can do if it is what he wants to do. The first thing is to find out how deep this is, If it\'s something new, discuss his feelings. Find out why he did this, showing him it\'s something not normal or whatever your opinion about it is. Don\'t embarrass him or make him feel bad. People, close up when that happens. As long as he\'s willing to discuss it you have a chance of helping. But this is something old and may be harder because he\'s been hiding it for a while. You still should try to talk to him about this. If need be get him into a counseling session with the psych doctor. Don\'t yell scream or talk bad to them, be supportive of them but also let them know this isn\'t something the college man does. You have to let them work it out in himself, but always let them know you love him and are disappointed.