WriteAPrisoner.com

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WriteAPrisoner.com
WriteAPrisoner.com, Inc. Logo
Formation	2000
Headquarters	Edgewater, Florida
Membership	5,000 inmate members, 41,000 non-inmate members
Website	http://www.writeaprisoner.com/

WriteAPrisoner.com is an online commercial endeavor that posts personal and legal advertisements for inmates in addition to other prison-related services.

1 Background
2 Major events and controversy
3 Cultural impact
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background

The site has been featured on many programs including 20/20^[1] and E! True Hollywood Story,^[2] and its Books Behind Bars program^[3] was lauded in the July 2006 issue of O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine.^[4] The company maintains a free résumé service for inmates who are being released within the year. Success stories are regularly featured on the site, and the home page frequently posts a "call for stories" when various media agencies are planning television programs, documentaries, and news stories. It has attracted overseas media attention.^[5]

[edit] Major events and controversy

The site received national media coverage in July 2003 when convicted child killer Susan Smith posted an advertisement seeking pen pals.^[6]^[7] The South Carolina Department of Corrections issued a press release related to the incident.^[8] The site pulled the advertisement at the request of Susan Smith.^[9]

The site received criticism when its spokesperson, Jason Roberts, used the term "freak show" to describe the way that the press covered the Susan Smith story.^[10] The site later issued a press release apologizing, and stating that the term had been taken out of context.

The site claims to avoid "shock media" and notorious inmates and has removed inmate advertisements to avoid sensationalism. In March of 2006, the site made national news when it posted an advertisement for Adrian Peeler who was convicted in the killing of an eight-year-old boy and his mother in Connecticut.^[11] The site removed the ad when the story was featured in the Connecticut Post. The site had also featured an advertisement for Peeler's brother, Russell Peeler, who was involved in the murder. Both advertisements were removed by the site.^[12]

When the state of Missouri investigated claims that female inmates were deceiving male pen pals,^{[citation needed]} the proactive response of the site resulted in positive response by the public.^[13]

The site has received negative comment by public officials in some regions. In Iowa, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections indicated that the state had no way to verify that the information that inmates provided to the website was accurate. He further stated "We can't endorse this. It's not a good practice."^[14] A government study conducted by Richard Tewksbury, Ph.D. of the University of Louisville reported that some 14 percent of inmates sampled for the study failed to accurately report their most serious conviction, while almost 19 percent failed to accurately report their release dates. The study further noted that more than 9 percent of men and 47 percent of women asked their pen pals for financial assistance.^[15] However, WriteAPrisoner.com provides a link from each inmate's profile to his or her respective Department of Corrections website so that the public can attempt to verify the information. WriteAPrisoner.com's stated policy is to remove the advertisement of any inmate found misusing the site. ^[16] The site further states that it seeks to collaborate with Departments of Corrections in order to ensure the integrity of inmates' statements with an ultimate goal of reducing recidivism.

[edit] Cultural impact

The site even has gained notoriety in fiction. It is linked to a fictional character in The Memory Artists, a novel by author Jeffrey S. Moore. The character of Dr. Emile Vorta is the novel’s linchpin, and in the preface he cites his affiliation with WriteAPrisoner.com.^[17]^[18] The site has even found itself the subject of parody. ^[19]