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| WRITING FLORIDA STATE INMATES If you choose to write, or already writing, an inmate housed in a Florida Departments of Corrections facility, it would be wise not to mention in your correspondence you made the connection via a pen pal site. Thanks to the Gov. Jeb Bush's reign of terror in that state, the DOC there can be harsh on inmates for having pen pal listings. |
This page is a general guide for when you finally decide you want to open a line of communication with
an inmate.
Inmates, after all, have been adjudicated by the state as criminals. The inmates you see on this site will
be behind bars for the worst violent crimes to those crimes which involve no violence. One of the very
whether you wish to let an inmate share part of you life, even if that part is only by writing one another.
You must also decide just how much of your life you wish to share with the inmate.
After you have made your decision to write a particular inmate, we suggest you write a one-page letter
stating where you viewed his listing, that you found what the inmate had to say was interesting to you,
some personal information like sexual preference, age, physical attributes, your state of residency,
hobbies and interests. We do not suggest you mention that you are seeking a loving or sexual
relationship. We feel that kind of statement is for way down the line when you feel comfortable with the
inmate. Making that statement early on may encourage an unscrupulous inmate to play to those feelings
in his writings to you.
What about my mailing address and contact information? We always suggest using a U.S. Post Office
box or a postal box with one of the private companies. DO NOT PROVIDE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION: Your physical address, home or work telephone number, job location or employer, your
financial situation [i.e., income, stocks, bank accounts, etc], names of relatives, account numbers and
other such personal and vital information. Do not identify your job description in such high profile fields
as medical, legal, government, military, accounting, broker, etc. The reason being that it would probably
not be too difficult for an inmate, or his buddy on the outside, to retrieve personal information about you
using just your name and a job description, lets say, like attorney, doctor or accountant.
Should I send the inmate a photograph of myself? Here again, you have to weigh your individual
circumstances to answer that question. Let's say you are in Podunk, KY. You are an accountant and the
town has a population of, oh say, 20,000. The inmate you are writing is in the Kentucky big house.
Armed with that information, your job type and photo, it would not be too difficult for an accomplice of the
inmate to figure out who you are and put the squeeze on you. Get the idea? Now in New York City,
Chicago, Los Angeles and similar big cities it would be a bit more difficult because of large firms
employing specialties; but not too difficult. Large metro areas have associations and locators for
such specialties as doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, druggists and the like. And of course there is
always the big yellow book of the telephone company.
Any suggestions on sending an inmate money? This is a tough one to answer. Some states have jobs
done by inmates for which they receive a small stipend which is credited to their inmate account to
purchase items at the prison canteen. These coveted jobs are not open to all inmates. Other states do
require inmates to work in the "prison industries," but the state does not pay them any stipend. Each
state and institution is different on how they handle these matters. Our suggestion is that you resist any
request to send an inmate money until you feel secure that the inmate is indeed sincere and forthright.
Most institutions will not allow inmates to receive packages or unused stamps. Please check with the
institution before you waste your time, money and effort.
Can I check on the inmate's background? You can go to this page for a list of links to the various state
departments of corrections GO HERE or to this site for federal prisoners: http://www.bop.gov/
The state information will range from nothing available to detailed information. The federal Bureau of
Prison's information about an individual inmate is limited in scope. Of course, none of that information
will tell you the person's sexual preference.
an inmate.
Inmates, after all, have been adjudicated by the state as criminals. The inmates you see on this site will
be behind bars for the worst violent crimes to those crimes which involve no violence. One of the very
whether you wish to let an inmate share part of you life, even if that part is only by writing one another.
You must also decide just how much of your life you wish to share with the inmate.
After you have made your decision to write a particular inmate, we suggest you write a one-page letter
stating where you viewed his listing, that you found what the inmate had to say was interesting to you,
some personal information like sexual preference, age, physical attributes, your state of residency,
hobbies and interests. We do not suggest you mention that you are seeking a loving or sexual
relationship. We feel that kind of statement is for way down the line when you feel comfortable with the
inmate. Making that statement early on may encourage an unscrupulous inmate to play to those feelings
in his writings to you.
What about my mailing address and contact information? We always suggest using a U.S. Post Office
box or a postal box with one of the private companies. DO NOT PROVIDE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION: Your physical address, home or work telephone number, job location or employer, your
financial situation [i.e., income, stocks, bank accounts, etc], names of relatives, account numbers and
other such personal and vital information. Do not identify your job description in such high profile fields
as medical, legal, government, military, accounting, broker, etc. The reason being that it would probably
not be too difficult for an inmate, or his buddy on the outside, to retrieve personal information about you
using just your name and a job description, lets say, like attorney, doctor or accountant.
Should I send the inmate a photograph of myself? Here again, you have to weigh your individual
circumstances to answer that question. Let's say you are in Podunk, KY. You are an accountant and the
town has a population of, oh say, 20,000. The inmate you are writing is in the Kentucky big house.
Armed with that information, your job type and photo, it would not be too difficult for an accomplice of the
inmate to figure out who you are and put the squeeze on you. Get the idea? Now in New York City,
Chicago, Los Angeles and similar big cities it would be a bit more difficult because of large firms
employing specialties; but not too difficult. Large metro areas have associations and locators for
such specialties as doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, druggists and the like. And of course there is
always the big yellow book of the telephone company.
Any suggestions on sending an inmate money? This is a tough one to answer. Some states have jobs
done by inmates for which they receive a small stipend which is credited to their inmate account to
purchase items at the prison canteen. These coveted jobs are not open to all inmates. Other states do
require inmates to work in the "prison industries," but the state does not pay them any stipend. Each
state and institution is different on how they handle these matters. Our suggestion is that you resist any
request to send an inmate money until you feel secure that the inmate is indeed sincere and forthright.
Most institutions will not allow inmates to receive packages or unused stamps. Please check with the
institution before you waste your time, money and effort.
Can I check on the inmate's background? You can go to this page for a list of links to the various state
departments of corrections GO HERE or to this site for federal prisoners: http://www.bop.gov/
The state information will range from nothing available to detailed information. The federal Bureau of
Prison's information about an individual inmate is limited in scope. Of course, none of that information
will tell you the person's sexual preference.
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