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| Web Site Caters To Prison Inmates Seeking Pen Pals |
| By KMBC |
| Published: 11/25/2002 |
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Prison inmates are not completely out of touch once they're put behind bars. They write to and receive letters from people they already know. But the Internet has changed that, KMBC's Martin Augustine reported. Augustine reported that a Web site, Cyberspace-Inmates.com, is helping prison inmates communicate with the outside world. 'We started off with three and now, there are, give or take, about 1,800 men on the Web site,' said Rene Mulkey, who built and maintains the Web site. With inmates from more than 40 states, Mulkey said that she keeps the Web site to give prisoners some human interaction -- rehabilitation through correspondence. 'If you put somebody away from society, and if you cage them, don't let them have any contact, what are they going to be when they get out?' Mulkey said. Augustine said the Web site works like this: Mulkey receives letters from inmates, often with a photo, and she posts it on the Web site. Online visitors then e-mail with a message for an inmate. Mulkey either retypes or prints out the message and sends it off to the inmate through the postal service. Augustine reported that prison inmates across the country do not have direct access to the Internet. They cannot get on this Web site. Mulkey acts as a middleman through the use of the mail. As you might imagine, though, not everyone finds this such a great idea. 'I just think he's setting up another victim,' said Athena Mousseau, whose friend was murdered. Augustine reported that Scott Geddes, whose picture is on the Web site, was convicted of raping and killing Mousseau's best friend in New York. 'I have visions of him meeting somebody on the 'Net and marrying them, and harming them,' Mousseau said. Johnson County, Kan., prosecutor Paul Morrison told Augustine that he is concerned that some of the convicts are using the Web site to keep criminal or financial schemes alive. 'It is very naive to think that they're not out there trying to figure out ways to continue to victimize people even when they're incarcerated,' Morrison said. Mulkey points to the site's popularity in debunking the criticism. She said that the Web site gets 5,000 to 10,000 hits a week. Yet even with police agencies coast to coast well aware of the site. In the seven years she has run the Web site, Mulkey said that she has not heard of one of her inmates causing a problem upon their release. 'If one of them got out and harmed someone, harmed one of the pen pals, I think I would be the first to know it,' Mulkey said. Mulkey said that she drops inmates and pen pals from the Web site if she gets a whiff of a scam or anything that she finds offensive or potentially criminal. Augustine reported that the only money Mulkey receives is a small fee she charges inmates to cover postage. |
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