Prison Pen Pals: Still Human

Prison Pen Pals, defined as prison inmates who write letters to people on the outside, may be incarcerated for doing really bad things, but they're STILL HUMAN. That's the belief of Salena in Indiana, a 22-year-old student (and soon to be school teacher) who has written over 30 prisoners in the past two years. "You think they're bad, but they're actually really sweet," Salena noted on this episode, adding that prison inmates (and her prison pen pals) are still human and still deserving of human interaction.

Hear her entire story, including who her very first prison pen pal was, what got her started writing to inmates in 2023, and how she deals with the pen pals who ask her for money. Then, we speak with penpals.buzz member Angelina Omara, a female prison inmate convicted of two murders and currently seeking a pen pal companion. Finally, we briefly check in with federal prison inmate Victoria Guerrero, as she describes how prison conditions have worsened since the government shutdown.