Letters to Hell: Correspondence with death row inmates

Abstract

Death row inmates are sentenced to long periods of isolation before their execution. These individuals, however, often acquire pen pals who write on a regular basis. Anecdotal writings on correspondence with death row inmates have been studied, though usually focusing only on a set of letters between pen pals. This project uses a mixed‐methods approach to examine individuals who corresponded with death row inmates. A qualitative analysis explores multiple facets of why a person chose to write to a death row inmate and the effects of this letter writing. A quantitative analysis of the data explores which aspects of letter writing are more likely to result in the correspondent engaging in activities relating to the death penalty. Results from the study reveal that letter writing has positive effects on the letter writers. Letter writing may pose a way to humanise death row inmates and encourage advocacy work towards the death penalty.