Writing to death row prisoners...?

Question

I'm thinking of writing to death row prisoners in USA.Can anyone tell me their experiences of this?

Answer 1

i've tried as part of a psychology study,and its quite unlikely that you'll get a reply.if you're not the FBI or a psychiatrist,you wont go very far.good luck tho.and if you do get thru,can you let me know?

Answer 2

I have been writing to around a dozen prisoners for the past 7years or so. The number varies for several reasons-including one having been found innocent and released from prison.
A lot depends on how you write. I have never had anything other than genuine friendship, care and respect from anyone I write to either male or female.
A lot of them , due to the way the American justice system operate have not actually been the killers themselves but have been there when the crime was committed.
Sure they are not saints- who is? And it is very difficult when one of your friends is executed, especially so as you know in advance the time of their death.
But it has made me re-evaluate how I view people and hopefully turned me into a better human being.
It is a long term commitment. Starting to write on a whim and not continuing is cruel.
Have a look at the www.deathrowspeaks.info website. It is very well set up and may give you a clearer picture of why you or anyone would wish to write to someone on death row.

Answer 3

I write to a guy in San Quentin.
I am British. I contacted him through an organisation called The Wing Of Friendship.
I have written to him for over 2 years now. I send him photos of the town I live in. Tell him stories of amusing things that happen in my day to day life.
When I started writing he asked if I wanted to know about the reason he was there. I said no & he has never mentioned it again except to say when he has hearings concerning a re-trail. He says he is innocent (but then they all do, don't they). I did not want to know what his crime was so that I could not make any judgements about him. He has never once asked for anything other than friendship.
I (& he, according to his letters) think that I am in some small way making his life a little easier. There really is no crueller punishment than to tell a man he is going to die & then not do it for years.
I think if a man is guilty without any doubt at all then he should be sentenced, given 1 month to make his peace with whatever God he worships, say his goodbyes to his family & then the sentence carried out. It sounds harsh but it is easier on the prisoner, his loved ones & cheaper for the state.

Answer 4

Email me. I had a death row pen pal for five years. He was excecuted in Jan 26th 2006. by the state of texas. It was a revelation and a beautiful experience but i would never do it again
email me formore if you want to know more info

Answer 5

hey there...sorry but this isn't exactally an answer but i wanted to respond simply for this reason.....about an hr ago I was ont he phone with my brother and he is locked up not prison but a detention center and his time is up on Dec 1st he is not in there for any violent crime just a burglry charge which he is innocent of..( I know that's what they all say)lol but anyhow if you would liek to write and inmate liek him i would gladly give you his address..I also will be asking this question to yahoo answers..hopefully there is a site where i can submit his name and address..know of any?..ty HUgggzzz Chelle

Answer 6

it is interesting to read the replies to your question, one answer why you want to write to someone that kills, does the state not kill ppl on death row, is it ok for a few in charge to kill? ha the hypocates!!!! these so called criminals obviously had a bad childhood bad parents and were let down by society only to be put to death by the same systems!!!
ppl cannot be (or should whatever) judged by ppl.
only God can judge, surely?

and if one innocent person was falsley executed how can this be JUSTIFIED EVER?

Answer 7

I don't know how you would go about it but I would think twice about doing it, there's a reason why they are on death row and they are evil people who have commited atrocious crimes. Find a better kind of penfriend to write to.

Answer 8

Why oh why would you want to do that. If you feel you have the time and the ability to make a difference to someones life surely there are many unfortunate people in circumstances not of their making that would love to hear from someone who cares.

Answer 9

Are you insane?These bas*ards have been convicted for MURDER.They know every trick in the book,& will use you to send them money & whwt-ever else they can get from you.They will send you friendly ,even loving letters,& all the time they will be laughing at you amongst themselves.Wise up!

Answer 10

Are you writing to find out how their minds work ?
I myself have no interest in writing to someone who killed.
You might collect enough information to write a book.
Truman Capote did just that.