yup, I am courious ..lol so now I want to know why you decided to write an Inmate instead of someone outside?

aaaaaaaannnnnndddddddd in this case just another question , what was the reason for you to choose your inmate from all that guys here ? was it the picture or what he/she wrote or just a feeling you had ?

i have written letters to people on the outside and they only write for a month and get bored but with inmates i have been writing for years,they are loyal letter writers and non judgmental

Inmates need human contact too :-) I've had friends that have been in prison and after talking to and writing them, I learned the importance of letters, not only to those in prison but to those of us who get our letters returned. I have been very fortunate, I ended up not only writing but we talk on the phone, I flew 2300 miles to meet him and we ended up in love. I have now spent time with his family and we're all thankful that first step towards pen pals was made

I have an old b/f from the early 90's serving a 70 year bid. i was afraid his family had all passed away & he was alone. i wanted to offer an outside contact for him. i only wanted friendship and to be kind. he unfortunately wanted more. it did not work out. but i saw the joy letters and contact brings into an inmate's life...so i found another guy to write. he is 1500 miles away. i specifically wanted someone in my age range & similar religion (hoping this would help us have something in common). I only wanted someone seeking friendship as i did not want a serious b/f, g/f relationship.....so i began looking. Once i got a "feel" for what others were looking for....i stayed close to the ones who wanted simply friendship. i did notice some inmates being open, honest and remorseful (accepting responsibility for their mistake) and seemed to highly respect these qualities in a person i had yet to even meet. so i found a man, very open, remoreseful....even offering to help others understand what drives one to commit a crime he is currently conviceted of. I found this impressive....and wrote that first letter. We are now into our second year of pure friendship. I love the connection and love, peace, honesty and warmth i have added to my life thanks to this beautiful man's contact with me. We consider each other to be "family"....he is my big brother and i am his little sister....i like this. It is cute. He does act just like a big brother, too. (I have my own bio big brother!) He is kind, protective over me, worries about me, etc. Of course, I feel the same way. We both "argue" that we each have the better side of our relationship. He is so sweet. There is much that can be gained by writing an inmate....if you are thinking of it....give it a try. You might find yourself spendidly surprised! Safety & Peace to ALL!

I picked my inmate penpal for several reasons.

a)- he has been incarcerated since he was 18 b)- He has been locked up for the past 12 years already c)- he is in Ad Seg solitary confinement, and has been (from what I can tell so far) for at least the last two years straight and maybe much longer, spending 24/7 in a box, no direct contact visitation, most privileges revoked d)- Not only is he in Ad Seg but he is in Ad Seg at one of the worst prison - one that has been repeatedly investigated for serious prisoner abuse in their BMU & Ad Seg units. e)- He did not commit a violent crime (no murder, rape, assault etc) and was young when he made that mistake, yet is serving very hard time and for a very long time. He has already lost the best years of his life. f)- Some of the things he said on his post touched me. g)- I can tell he needs support badly but there was a sense of pride and dignity in his post.

After doing a whole lot of research on solitary confinement and the prison he is incarcerated at (which, as I said, has a very bad reputation for abuse and cover ups etc) I came to the conclusion that this man is suffering and I want to help if I am able. He has 6 more years of this to go and is starting to crack, I can feel it in my bones. If this man does not lose his insanitywithin the next 6 years, before he has a chance to get out, it would be a miracle of God. I feel I can make a difference in helping him stay connected with the outside world, by being a positive energy in his life, by introducing some mental(and possibly spiritual) stimulation, showing him that someone cares, that he is valued. This is going to be a challenge, because I know that long term confinement in isolation can have serious effect on an inmate's sanity and ability to interact and process. It can break a man's soul. I am here to try to balance the equation at least some and bring a sense of healing back into his world. Keep us in your prayers.

Hope, how much longer does he have to serve? Did the falling in love happen suddenly or very gradually, (how long did it take for this love to sprout between the two of you).

I've always enjoyed writing letters and in 2008 I wanted to find some pen pals again. I ended up on a site for prisoners and got curious. A couple of weeks later I had sent out letters to a couple of guys :)