I’m curious about getting a prison pen pal and would like to learn more about that world. I’ve found tons of books about wrongful convictions, but none by someone who was truly guilty and admitted so. It is sort of nerve wracking to consider somewhat of a friendship with someone who has been convicted of something, so I’d like to build empathy and understand if my trepidation is warranted or an ignorant fear.
by Tiny_Sandwich_959
3 Comments
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is the only book I’ve read that fits these requirements but it’s from the perspective of an inmate’s son who lives there. Unfortunately, it’s for kids and probably not very realistic… However, I have met a couple of ex-inmates, and it might be interesting to talk to some ex-inmates online or in-person.
*The Outlaws* by Ernst von Salomon. Von Salomon was involved in the assassination of German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau (a Jew) in 1922. About a third of his book deals with the time he spent in prison for that crime. It was disturbing to read his account and follow how prison hammered him into a selfish creature who gave no thought for others and in no way served to rehabilitate him as a human being. Ultimately he was released, and it’s notable that despite his right-wing pursuits in the post-WWI period, he married a Jewish woman and ultimately rejected Nazism.
Corrections in Ink by Keri Blakinger. Arrested for possessing quite a lot of heroin. Now covers criminal justice, police, and prisons for the LA Times.