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Post by mailartist on Aug 24, 2018 23:07:31 GMT
I was surprised to receive a "first letter" today from a prisoner in one of the US penitentiary systems, since I have never corresponded with (nor do I intend to, ever, invite correspondence with) prison inmates. I do know that there are pen pal services that match writers with inmates, but I have never signed up, nor agreed to sign up. Perhaps my name was cadged from an old InCo list?
In any event, the envelope currently remains unopened, and I have no intent of opening it. BUT: I could either (1) "round file" and forget it, or (2) return to sender (meaning the prison itself), with a big note saying something about this being unsolicited, and the sender a stranger to me (which the prison wardens may be interested in knowing). This inmate may, in fact, be some poor soul content to pay his debt to society, but it's more likely that there is a whole lot of lies and rumpus beneath that, quite frankly, I'm have zero interest in dealing with -- especially since I have enough ongoing snail mail activities currently that I'm not desperate for new ones. (5Qs and notebooks are fun enough for me.)
Any advice on this subject would be welcome, since this letter smells "stinky," and I don't want to end up in the poo. How is the best (i.e., safest) way to deal with such things?
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Post by mailartist on Aug 24, 2018 23:10:23 GMT
Mia, do we know if incarcerated prisoners have open access to the private boards on this site, or are there firewalls that protect from that?
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Post by Mia on Aug 25, 2018 13:07:50 GMT
A lot of this forum is off-limits to guests so your address is unlikely to come from this forum.
I have no experience with prison mail.
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Post by stompie on Aug 25, 2018 15:08:06 GMT
Just throw it in File 13 and forget it. Any response might be just what they want no matter what the response is. Hey, might even be a prison warden trying it on!
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Post by Gary S on Aug 25, 2018 18:35:00 GMT
I'd already have opened it. Perhaps the explanation as to how they gained your address is just one swipe of a letter opener away.
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Post by tramplingrose on Aug 25, 2018 23:48:49 GMT
I got an envelope from a women’s prison during this year’s InCoWriMo, and while I opened it, I was convinced that the sender had possibly sent the wrong letters in the wrong envelope. Either that, or the person was just sending mail to whoever would read it. I kept the letters, but never responded.
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Post by katiel on Aug 26, 2018 11:02:54 GMT
I’d open it too. I mean, they already have your name and address, and that’s not going to change by the fact of whether you open it, or not. And if reading the mail could answer some questions as to where they got your address or why in the world they’re writing to you, I’d say, do it.
I understand it’s probably a bit of a surprise and a rather uncomfortable feeling, finding a surprise like that in your mailbox, but perhaps there was some particular reason it was sent?
As a side note, I’m super curious now: is prisoner mail marked to denote that in some way? From your reaction, I’m guessing it must be. I had never thought about this before, but I guess it’s a good idea, if so. Very curious.
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Post by blessed on Aug 27, 2018 16:20:28 GMT
I'd open it too. I think I'd be too curious not to and like some of the previous posters have said, the answer as to how they got your name and address might be in the letter.
I don't know if I'd respond to unsolicited prisoner mail but I have to say I could imagine corresponding with inmates although I'd obviously want it to be my choice iykwim.
I think if that letter makes you uncomfortable, it may be best to either ignore it or send it back with a simple "return to sender" notice so as not to "invite" a follow-up letter.
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mskafka
Crayons
Posts: 40
Looking for Penpals?: Yes. Global penpals welcome
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Post by mskafka on Aug 28, 2018 5:43:15 GMT
I would open it too, but I wouldn't reply. I don't know if you all remember that my address was published by someone else on the InCo list 2017, and I had no idea. I started getting letters from many unknown people. Well, it turned out that a pen pal of mine posted a picture of one of my envelopes on Instagram without removing my address, and someone used it. Maybe you also have a friend who likes to publish mail on Instagram? Could that be the reason? My friend hashtags with words like "pen pal", "snail mail" and so on. If a prisoner searched for those hashtags he would probably see my address there. Thanks to the Internet the concepts of privacy and safety have changed a lot
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Post by mailartist on Aug 28, 2018 14:26:50 GMT
If a prisoner searched for those hashtags he would probably see my address there. That's part of my concern. If what I've read in newspaper articles is true, US prisoner access to the Internet (i.e., "freedom of information") is severely curtailed. If inmates are allowed the privilege of technology access at all (it is a privilege, which can be revoked, and this can vary depending on the security level of the institution), they can only do basic things: email family, check balances in their personal prison bank account, and read online ebooks. I don't think "random Internet surfing" is part of that package, because it's too easy for inmates to use it for continuing criminal activity. But, it's also not unusual to read of some prison hacking, where prisoners find a way to get access to larger information. I was able to find basic online information on this prisoner, and while it is silent on the actual crime, it sounds like it'll take some time for him to repay his debt to society. Thus, it's not some lesser crime like manslaughter, writing a bad check, or driving over his neighbor's begonias, in which case, he'd have been out ten years ago. Whatever he did was serious enough for him to remain behind bars for at least 20. Not sure I want to be in anyone's orbit who's in that category.
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Post by gellerbing on Oct 8, 2018 19:00:13 GMT
many prisoners get your address from friendship books, i tend to throw them away.
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Post by mailartist on Oct 12, 2018 20:28:29 GMT
Since the letter I received really wasn't interested in a pen pal (as commonly understood), but more in, what I might call, "an accommodating girlfriend," I think any future letters of this ilk will be shredded without thought.
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Post by katiel on Oct 13, 2018 10:18:38 GMT
Since the letter I received really wasn't interested in a pen pal (as commonly understood), but more in, what I might call, "an accommodating girlfriend," I think any future letters of this ilk will be shredded without thought. Wow. Did they really think that might work?
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Post by Gary S on Oct 14, 2018 0:39:18 GMT
Hey, if a guy sends out enough random passes to total strangers surely a handful will take the bait so said prisoner can have the most girlfriends on his cell block. It's the improved cylinder duck hunting technique where you fill the sky with lead pellets in hopes that a duck just happens to fly into enough of them that he goes down in a blaze of glory. I hunted with a guy who only used that method and it worked occasionally. Either that or he claimed some of my ducks to assuage his wounded pride after wasting a couple boxes of #4 shot. That we were still using lead shot will give you an idea of how long ago this all took place.
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