Jodi Arias , reality TV celebrity?

Jodi Arias is being tried for slaying her ex boyfriend Travis Alexander.

Since the Jodi Arias trial began in January, a cult following of trial watchers are fixed to their cell phones, televisions and virtually any other wireless device to make sure they don’t miss one minute of the trial. Many have created pages, such as “Jodi is Innocent” and adversely, “Fry Jodi Arias” on Facebook and other social media hotspots. She reportedly has her own Twitter account run by someone on the “outs” who speaks with her nightly on the telephone. One of her tweets stated that “no one should pay to write her, when she would write to them for free” hinting that prison pen pals websites were trying to entice her to appear as a guest star on their sites. Exclusiveprisoner.com’s philosophy on this topic is that it would be counterproductive to our goal of providing pen pals for inmates in need. Prison pen pals websites are designed to attract those who sincerely want to write to prisoners, not to draw the attention of the curious or those who want to send hate mail to publicly tried felons.
Everyone is going to have an opinion and everyone is going to choose a side in any trial that has saturated the public thanks to the media. These trial followers are as dedicated to their judgment of the individual as they would be dedicated to their favorite sports team. Most have already tried, convicted and sentenced the defendant long before closing arguments have begun.
On Friday May 3rd, 2013 the HLN channel introduced a stopwatch called “verdict watch”. Is it about ratings or is it about the outcome? There will be thousands, if not millions on the edge of their seats until the verdict comes in. Jodi Arias has become a celebrity, and her fate has officially become reality entertainment!

High Profile Inmates and Prison Pen Pal sites

Convicted Murderer, Susan Smith

One of the first high profile inmates to join a prison pen pal websites was murderer Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother who was convicted of murdering her two young boys.  Because of the media coverage of the story, the public was acutely aware of the event.  Susan became one of the “most despised” or “most pitied” women alive.  For every inmate who is convicted of a horrific crime there is a divide of those who are against them and those who support them and whatever cause they represent.  Because of the hype created by the media, Susan Smith’s profile created an overwhelming influx of mail to the correctional facility where she was incarcerated.  The prison mailroom reportedly complained that they were not adequately staffed to sort through and inspect the flow of mail that arrived for Susan daily.  Subsequently, the profile was removed with an apology stating the reason for the removal. 

With the introduction of crime T.V., specifically the Oxygen Channel’s airing of “Snapped” more and more inmates have achieved infamy and public recognition.  One prison inmate whose story was portrayed on “Snapped” was Christine Paolilla.  She was convicted in connection with four murders.  Today she seeks emotional support and friendship while behind bars.  Her profile, photos and of course her prison address can be found on http://ExclusivePrisoner.com. 

Though inmates are claiming that their right to communicate is violated when correctional facilities deny them access to prison pen pals, there are a few states that forbid it.  Other states have specific rules and regulations regarding posting inmates and pen pals for prisoners.