Episodes

Camy Matthay co-founded Wisconsin Books to Prisoners in 2006. For 18 years, she and her team of dedicated volunteers have sent over 70,000 books to prison inmates in Wisconsin. It has been proven that inmates who read while incarcerated are significantly less likely to reoffend. Why, then, would Sarah Cooper, administrator for the Division of Adult Institutions in Wisconsin, suddenly decide to ban inmates from receiving these free books? Even though there's never been one instance of contraband entering any of Wisconsin's 20 state prisons from this non-profit group, Cooper believes that bad actors could potentially send drugs into the facility by using a fake return address label, thereby impersonating the Wisconsin Books to Prisoners organization. In this episode, Camy tells her story of why she started this program, how many inmates she has helped, and why she believes that restricting books to inmates will ultimately make society a much more dangerous world. She also discusses t…

Is your prison pen pal genuine, or could he or she be manipulating you for money and commissary? This week, we're joined by Chris from Colorado. Now retired, Chris worked inside of a correctional facility for over 17 years and has some stories to share. You may or may not agree with his opinions about inmates (or offenders as he calls them) but his cautionary tale may prove beneficial to some. Later in the show, we chat with two inmates (and members of PenPals.Buzz). Get to know Terry Spencer from Umatilla, Oregon, and Kristopher Douglas from Tucson, Arizona. Learn more about them at https://penpals.buzz

Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, you'll see and hear people asserting that all inmates are scum, that inmates deserve to rot and die in prison. Big Steve disagrees, reasoning that with 2.3 million incarcerated men and women in America, it's impossible to put them all into a tiny little box labeled "SCUM". While some inmates (like the ones depicted in movies) have committed heinous crimes and may be where they need to be, our mission is to share with the world some more uplifting stories of prison inmates. Redemption is possible. Thousands, just like our guest on this week's episode, have worked tirelessly to change their lives for the better. When we interview Daniel Morris, you won't hear Hannibal Lecter. You won't hear Charles Manson. You'll hear a human being who admits he made some terrible choices in life, but who has worked unbelievably hard to improve himself both mentally and physically. You'll meet a guy who loves the stock market, loves octopuses, loves his daughter, …

Clifford Williams Jr. and his nephew, Nathan Myers, were released from prison in 2019 after 43 years of being wrongfully convicted of murder. Already suffering from early onset dementia, Williams wasn't really able to celebrate his release, nor to enjoy his freedom before his death earlier this year. He was given close to 2 million dollars, but no amount of money could possibly be worth time spent on death row, and an entire lifetime in prison. Now, 48 years after Williams' wrongful conviction in 1976, his son, Clifford Walker, is reliving in his father's footsteps. Walker is more than halfway through a 35-year sentence for murder, a crime he contends he didn't commit. We've reviewed the evidence, and we believe he's telling the truth. Cliff Walker was attempting to buy some marijuana in a parking lot. He was unarmed and got into a car to finalize the deal. But the two men in the car had other plans. They noticed his big wad of cash and attempted to rob him. As he wrestled the gun awa…

Over the course of three months in 2015, PenPals.Buzz member Trent Bouhdida sold undercover officer Ronald Elcock (call me Kev) a total of one ounce of marijuana. Eight months later, he was arrested by two U.S. Marshalls, while attempting to drive his wife (who had recently given birth) to a job interview. He never made it to the job interview, but he did make it to the county jail. And after two mistrials, and a relentless prosecution, Arizona prosecutors finally found a jury who would convict him. Bouhdida received over 16 years in state prison for selling what is, in most states, completely legal. Why would Arizona undercover officers devote months of time to bust a law-abiding 21-year-old father who had a 3-month-old son and was working full time in customer service? Why not go after people committing real crimes? And how is it possible that any judge in any court in any state in America could ever sentence someone to 16 years for selling an ounce of weed, and be able to sleep wel…

Here's a fairly common scenario: you meet an amazing pen pal, you exchange letters and emails, talk on the phone, and make a genuine connection. But you want something more. You want to see them in person, hug them, hear their laugh, or even eat a meal together. It's time to think about filling out a visiting application. Visiting an inmate, especially if it's your first time at a prison, can cause feelings of stress and anxiety. However, it's not as scary as it probably seems. In this episode, PenPals.Buzz founder, Big Steve, and office manager, Daisy, share their real-life stories and advice to help ensure your first visit goes as smoothly as possible. They also discuss topics such as visiting room food, dress codes, do's and don'ts, and even the people you may meet in the waiting room. Steve also speaks with a PenPals.Buzz member, Jacques Avery, who is incarcerated in Illinois and hoping to meet a woman who will eventually visit him.

In 1998, Benjamin Alverson was sentenced to 22 months in prison. He completed his sentence, paid his debt to society, and at the turn of the millennium he was excited to be released. Why, then, is he still locked up (without having committed any new crimes) 26 years later? It's due to a disturbing, frightening, unconstitutional, and horrific practice known as Civil Commitment, where courts pretend that prisoners are patients. "It's not prison, it's not punishment, it's just mental health treatment," they insist. The "inmates" must be referred to as "clients." And their cell has to be called a "room." That's all the justification most judges need to certify that being locked away, often for one's entire life, against their will and without any jury trial, is really just mental health treatment. How does this happen? In short, a prison clinician (often with a questionable degree from an online college) makes an assessment that an inmate has a mental illness and might pose a risk to soci…

In this week's episode, Big Steve explores the complete history of pen palling. You'll learn when the phrase "pen pal" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary, and what, exactly, was its original definition. Then, find out about a high-tech penpal matching service that was all the rage at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. Later in the episode, Big Steve will talk about some famous pen pal pairs from throughout history, such as Tony Danza and Tupac Shakur. And what about 100-year-old man and woman who have been writing letters to one another for over 80 years? Finally, the inmate spotlight will focus on a former college professor who has been incarcerated since 1981. If you want to become his pen friend, we'll tell you how.

In this episode, Big Steve discusses the differing views in society regarding high-profile inmates and their humanity (or lack thereof). If someone committed a horrific crime, are they still deserving of being treated with kindness and dignity? Or, as many think, are they simply "monsters" that should be discarded and forgotten about forever? Big Steve shares some reasons why starting a pen pal correspondence with high-profile inmates is good for some, and bad for others. He then looks deeper into two high-profile members of PenPals.Buzz. One received a 16-year sentence for selling an ounce of marijuana. The other is better known as the "Yuma Killer," and he was sentenced to 50 years. Learn more about their backgrounds, their life stories, their crimes, and decide for yourself if either of them would make a good pen pal for you.

Big Steve and his wife, Anya, found love on a prison pen pal website. Today they share stories, red flags, and strategies to help other couples succeed during and after incarceration. Learn what to look for in the initial pen pal ad, what red flags to watch for, and when to know to walk away. Hear about what Anya did to keep the relationship fun and exciting. And enjoy a candid conversation, with lots of laughs, between this happily married husband and wife. It's not easy, but the two of them have proven Love After Lockup is, in fact, possible! And it's not always the way it's depicted on reality TV.

Prisons in over 15 states no longer deliver physical mail. Birthday cards, letters, and family photos now all must get scanned and uploaded to an inmate's tablet. Those without a tablet can pay for a printed color copy of the mail. The process is slow and flawed; mail often can take months to arrive, the quality of the scans is abysmal. What's worse, the purported benefit of reducing drugs and dangerous contraband from entering facilities never came to fruition. In fact, Missouri reported more drug overdoses a year after their Mail Scanning Policy was implemented. In this week's episode, Big Steve unveils the real reasons why prisons have implemented these draconian measures. The answer may surprise and sadden you. He will also explore the ways these sadistic policies by prison officials have created more harm than good for everyone involved.

Our very first episode. Not the best sound quality, but a good way to get an introduction to PenPals.Buzz and the Prison Pen Pal Podcast, while learning more about the host, Big Steve, and his journey and ultimate marriage to his pen pal wife, Anya.