Supporting Anthony by writing to him is very important. However, recently Anthony has been very let down by people who started off writing to him and then were unable – for whatever reasons – to keep in touch with him.
Imagine being incarcerated on death row for a crime you have not committed. Then imagine how wonderful it must feel to get a letter – out of the blue – from someone who has heard about you and wants to correspond with you. This person tells you all about their life, tells you jokes, seems to really CARE about you. And then for whatever reason, you don’t hear from this person again. Remember how it feels to be rejected by someone? Well, magnify that feeling ten times – and that’s how it feels to Anthony when someone promises to keep in touch or to help him, and it doesn’t happen. We all have things that happen to us in our lives – new job, relationship changes, starting a family, moving house, illness etc – so if you are thinking of writing to Anthony PLEASE consider this first:
- Are you the kind of person who has the best of intentions and who says you will do something but seems to have difficulty in following through?
- Do you seem to have a tonne of ‘unfinished business’ hanging around your life?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to either of these questions, then writing to Anthony might not be such a great idea as it sounds. Being a pen pal to someone on death row – especially someone like Anthony who is a very sensitive and caring person – is a big commitment. Your letters to Anthony – living in appalling conditions, with no contact with other prisoners and only an hour out of his cell a day – mean, literally, ‘the world’. Writing to someone on death row is NOT exciting. It can be hard work and can make you very sad and angry at times.
But Anthony is a very faithful correspondent and if you feel that you can ‘match’ this then maybe you should write to him. Do think about joining the UK organisation ‘Lifelines’ if you would like to write to someone on death row – and certainly check out their advice on writing to a prisoner at their website – www.lifelines.org
If you decide to write to Anthony – please remember that he has no money and it would only be fair for you to help him out with a few dollars from time to time, so he can write back (you can find out how to send money to Anthony - see Helping Anthony Practically)
PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANTHONY GIFTS – ONLY LETTERS OR CARDS!! NOT EVEN STAMPS! Texas prisons do not allow ANY parcels other than books from Amazon.com or the new London-based ‘Vision Paperbacks’ scheme to be received! (see Helping Anthony Practically). Anthony would actually have to pay to send the items back to you if you did send such a parcel!!
You MUST put your postal address on the top left hand side of the envelope and remember that Texas prisons state that nothing metal (like staples) should ever be included in the envelopes.
Charles Anthony Nealy, # 999289,
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston
Texas 77351
USA
Writing to Claude
Those of you who have been reading about Anthony’s case will also be aware that his nephew, Claude has also been wrongly imprisoned under a Life sentence since 2000. Claude desperately needs people to write to him. If you decide to write to Claude (or to help him with money or books) – all of the guidelines for contacting Anthony apply.
Claude Anthony Nealy #875201
HC 67, Box 115. Kennedy
Texas 78119
USA
