Path A · Start here
How to begin
Most people who feel called to this practice don't know how to begin. They don't know the platforms, the rhythms, or the realities of writing into a correctional institution now that nearly all of it happens on a screen. We do — and we walk alongside you from the first message forward.
Eight steps to a first message
The beginner's path
Decide that you are actually going to do this
Before names and account numbers, make one honest commitment: you will write consistently for at least a year. A message that arrives once and never again can do harm. The practice is built on consistency, not intensity.
Find someone to write
You can be matched by the Institute, or you can find a correspondent through established pen pal registries, state-specific abolition groups, faith communities with prison ministries, or by asking an attorney or spiritual adviser who already works with people on the row.
Set up an account on that state's messaging platform
Prisons are largely digital now. Almost every death row in the country runs correspondence through a tablet or kiosk system — Securus / eMessaging, ViaPath (GTL) GettingOut, JPay, or Corrlinks. Create a free account, confirm which platform that department of corrections uses, and buy the message credits or 'stamps' the vendor requires.
Add your person exactly as the system lists them
Search by full committed name and ID / DOC number, and confirm the facility. A wrong number is the most common reason a first message never reaches anyone. Some states also require you to be approved on a contact list before messages go through.
Write the first message — short, plain, and honest
Introduce yourself. Say why you are writing. Say what you can offer: messages, and only messages, for now. Do not promise money, visits, publicity, or legal help. Ask one or two open questions. A few short paragraphs is plenty.
Wait well
Digital does not mean instant. Messages are screened before delivery, tablets get restricted, and units go on lockdown. Replies can take days, weeks, or not come at all. A silence is not a verdict on you. Keep writing on your rhythm rather than reacting to theirs.
Build a rhythm you can sustain for years
Pick an interval you can keep on your worst month — every two weeks, or weekly. Put it on a calendar. Keep credits loaded on the account so nothing stops you mid-month. The person on the other end will learn your rhythm and count on it.
Get into community before it gets hard
It will get hard. Join a support group at the beginning, not at the crisis. When a date is set, you want people already around you.
The thing about starting is that it turns out not to be a mysterious skill. It is just putting one sentence after another.
Do
- ✓Use your full legal name on the account — the platforms verify identity and reject aliases.
- ✓Write about ordinary life: weather, food, work, music, the dog, what you read this week.
- ✓Ask questions and then actually listen to the answers.
- ✓Save copies of what you sent — most platforms keep a thread you can scroll back through.
- ✓Number your messages so both of you know when one is withheld or lost.
- ✓Be plain about what you can and cannot do.
Don't
- ✕Do not ask about the crime in your first messages. If they want to tell you, they will.
- ✕Do not send anything the platform prohibits — it can get their tablet privileges pulled.
- ✕Do not promise what you cannot deliver: money, calls, visits, a lawyer, a campaign.
- ✕Do not disappear without a word. If you must stop, say so in writing.
- ✕Do not treat the person as a project, a cause, or a story you are collecting.
- ✕Do not send only heavy messages. People in cells need normalcy more than sympathy.
Model first message
You do not need to be eloquent
Dear ______,
My name is ______. I live in ______. I got your name through the Institute for Death Row Correspondence, and I am writing because I would like to be someone who writes to you regularly.
I want to be honest about what I can offer. I can write you messages, and I intend to keep writing them. I am not a lawyer and I am not able to send money right now. What I can do is show up on your tablet, about every two weeks, for as long as you want to hear from me.
A little about me: ______. If you write back, I would like to know what your days are like, and what you would rather talk about than that.
Take care of yourself. I will write again soon either way.
— ______
Read this practice worked out at length in Chapter 12: How to Begin and Chapter 13: What to Write About.
Ready for a name?
Email Dr. Wendy Ramage, Dean of the Institute, and we will begin.
deanramage@executionintervention.org