[Derferman]

After reading the article, I looked into similar services available online. While I couldn't find any blogging sites, both WriteAPrisoner[1] and PrisonPenPals[2], while dated, offer to connect visitors with incarcerated pen pals.

Even more interesting, however, is that the State of Arizona banned these types of interactions in 2000[3], only to have to the law struck down as unconstitutional four years later. Specifically, the law banned any "attempts to correspond with a communication service provider or remote computing service" such as the sites listed above.

[1]: http://www.writeaprisoner.com [2]: http://www.prisonpenpals.com [3]: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/law/1082592378.php

[araneae]

Arizona is notorious for all kinds of crap like this. For instance, they regularly use exposure - putting people out in the sun - as punishment. One women died as a result of this treatment, and no one was prosecuted: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2010/09/marcia_powe...

[vdm]

I think the fact that this uses blogs to make the communication one-to-many, rather than connect individuals outside to individuals inside (one-to-one), is a crucial distinction.

When internet access becomes a human right, will prisoners ever be able to get it? This has become an issue since media companies wanted to cut individuals off for breaching copyright, with extensive collateral damage, but I think it has big implications for prisoners rights as well.

[vdm]

Meta HN: Why can't HN allow us to create text anchors, like the rest of the web, reddit, etc. These in-line URLs are getting old, at least to my eyes. HN readers know how to create anchors; this isn't Facebook.