I am the creator of Cyberspace Inmates. I would like to take a moment of your time every so often to update you on current events and things of importance.
I will start this note off by saying that I would like to thank each and everyone of you who have taken the time to write to the men and women on the site. A kind word or thought, just to let them know that someone is thinking of them, makes a big difference to each individual. I truly believe writing will help them adjust to the outside world if they get the opportunity.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could find it within your heart to write a couple of guys or gals, your mail is appreciated and there is no limit on how many of the inmates you are allowed to e-mail. You may want to join our mailing list and I will send you a list of new inmates once a week, as I add new inmates on a daily basis.
This site has been successful due to all of you! Every inmate on this site gets mail. As a matter of fact the site has grown to the point that we are able to make a difference in the lives of many. Currently the mailing list goes out to approx. 8,700 people. The site has won several awards, and has been featured on TV, talk shows, in many local and regional papers, talk radio and several magazines.
Several inmates have been visited by people they met on this site, and one or two even got marriage proposals, I try to send Birthday cards to as many as I can, (I don't know all their birthdays). Another found out he had cancer and was swamped with get well cards, many people prayed for him. His cancer is now in remission, but just as importantly he felt somebody cared. A few inmates have received help with legal funds. There seems to be no end to the kindness you have demonstrated. Many people have contributed goods and money to the site and enabled me to help inmates in need. Thank you all.
I have been criticized for trying to help inmates, by some. I would like to say that inmates are people too, there is no category they fall in except most were poor. People have a right to humane treatment, read the United Nations Standards and Guidelines Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. One thing many people don't think about is the courts make mistakes, there are innocent people in prison. If you will grant me the fact that there is at least one innocent man in prison somewhere, shouldn't we make sure conditions are humane everywhere? There are many prisons in the U.S. that are over 200% occupied. I know for a fact many prisons are below what most people would consider minimum requirements for humane treatment.
Many inmates get out one day and most go back. The system does not work! One thing that did work was PELL grants, this was a system that supplied college courses to inmates. The results were staggering it seems if some one has a chance at the American dream they stick by the rules. 90% of the grads stayed out of prison. The public outcry was also a shock, many voters disliked paying for criminals education. So the program was ended. To me it made good financial sense, the cost of keeping an inmate, the court costs, the property damage etc involved with a crime add up to a lot more than PELL grants. In the long run it would be much better to have a tax payer than an inmate. I am going to start a project to get selected inmates correspondence courses. I believe there is no greater cause than to try and rehabilitate prisoners. Many of these people could be productive citizens given half a chance. I hope to lower the number of crimes and increase the number of tax payers.
I have never seen a job application that did not ask for a criminal record. The police of course check a persons record every time they check your drivers license or plate. Someone convicted of a felony looses the right to vote and are denied passports. If you have not carried car insurance for a period of years you are automatically high risk. If you have not had credit for a period of years it is hard to get. The I.R.S., the drivers license bureau, and a few others all have access to criminal records and I am not saying they should not. What I am saying is once you serve time in prison you are marked in many ways and there is open prejudice against inmates when they get out. Of course there are other reasons not to give an ex inmate a job, I would like to balance this out by allowing them to earn a college degree.
If you know of anyone incarcerated that would like to be listed among our inmates please feel free to e-mail me their name, #, and address. If you have any comments or suggestions also feel free to send them.
I would like you to know I work at this full time ten hours a day seven days a week. I enjoy this more than anything I have ever done in my life. Thank you for making my site a success.
Sincerely, Rene
