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Net Gains (Nov 13, 98) |
While a lot of the above is not true, the part about being lonely
still holds true today. Having done time himself, 27 year old
Alejandro Antonio Alonso, from Los Angeles realised how prisoners
are totally isolated from the rest of society. Now reformed, he
uses the Internet to help other prisoners and prepare them for
re-entry into society. He has put up a mini-site called Prison
Connection (http://members.xoom.com/jailinmates/) as a free service
for prisoners who'd like to make pen-pals. Since prisoners don't
have Internet access, he puts up their details on this site, and
people from the outside world can browse through the listings
there and start corresponding with them via snail mail (post)
at the addresses given there. The listings are split into the
basic male-female category and the handful of names in each section
are clickable for more detailed information about the prisoners
- complete with a snapshot!
This is a good example of how someone goes through an experience
and then uses the Net to reach out and help others going through
a similar experience. While Alejandro is doing this for free out
of the goodness of his heart, someone else saw a money-making
opportunity in the service. That resulted in the birth of Jailbabes.com
(http://www.jailbabes.com/) - "a pen-pal and singles introduction
service" that specialises in introducing women in jail.
When you log on to the site, you are greeted with the strains
of "Jailhouse Rock" playing in the background, reminding
you that you're in for a rocking time with some jailbirds, confined
in prisons and correctional institutions all over America. The
nice thing about this site is that it is organised. The women
listed there are classified into white / black / other categories,
and even by age group to help surfers to easily find a close match.
You can then narrow your search and browser through each of the
prisoners listed there, see their snapshots, get the usual details
- name, age, other vital details, and most importantly their release
date! As you go along you note down the ID numbers of the women
you'd like to correspond with. Now comes the tough part - you
have to pay US$ 7 per person you'd like to get in touch with,
and the addresses will be sent to you for you to make contact
with them.
Who knows? Ten years down the line, Bollywood's depiction of a
prisoner's sentence in jail may change thanks to services like
these on the Internet …