Contacting an inmate doesn’t always have to be for people simply looking for an old friend or family member. There are often times when finding an inmate can be very beneficial, even if you don’t know them personally.
Something that will immediately come to mind is finding someone who has been through something similar to yourself. This could be court related or simply life related. People struggling through a circumstance that seems just like something you’ve read about or seen before can often get valuable insight from an inmate whether still incarcerated or already released.
An inmate who believes they’ve been wrongly prosecuted can sometimes get help from someone who had the same thing happen to them. This happens more than we’d like in today’s legal system due to lack of evidence or false testimony. Luckily, with better technology at hand, it can be easier to get out of a bad situation if you can know what to do.
This is a common practice among attorneys. If their client is being charged with something that many others have been accused of and ultimately aquitted, by finding those inmates and learning what happened, the attorney can build a stronger case.
Education
Sometimes young people can learn a lot after speaking with inmates who have done time or are currently in jail. This has actually led to numerous television programs but is often done quietly at schools or other programs. People can learn what happened from an inmate first hand and make sure they don’t get themselves in a similar situation.
Some schools even have a “write an inmate” program that matches up troubled young people with an inmate that doesn’t have any family so they can learn how the inmate got in trouble and see the consequences firsthand.
Family Matters
Sometimes members of a family will end up incarcerated and things at home will be difficult to manage. If you lose track of someone and you need their signatures on things and to sign release forms so other family members can handle them until the inmate gets out. This could be small things like the ability to pay bills or major things like shifting custody of children and finances.
This can seriously effect a household especially if the main income provider ends up having to serve even just a couple months in jail or prison. Longer sentences compound these problems even more.
Peace Of Mind
Something people need to know is simply how someone is doing while in jail or prison. An inmate search can get you in touch with them so you can speak or write back and forth on a regular basis. It’s good for an inmate as well as whoever is talking to them. It can be a long ordeal if an inmate is locked up with very little contact with people they used to know and it can help families adjust if they can at least get in touch with them once in a while.