FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions): Why must books to inmates be sent from a vendor?
Books are a great way to smuggle in things like drugs, money etc. Vendor books are sealed in plastic.

My Pen Friend asks for money. How should I respond?
Men and women in prison have a hard time making money and if they work, they�re paid very little. We suggest a small amount every quarter if you can afford it. Your gift must be in the form of a money order made to The Account of [inmate�s name and number]

Someone Cares often asks for money?
Folks, we are a non-profit organization 501C. If we do not get donations, we cannot operate. When donations are slim, we use our own funds. It is very difficult to do what we do, a reason many try and quit. Just our postage runs over $1000 /month. We are good stewards and make what we get last.

Why is the mail sometimes so slow?
We get a massive amount of mail and often that is the reason. But it takes an average of ten days from the time your friend writes to our getting it. We turn it in 48 hours. When we go out of town to speak, it may be a bit longer.

My letter was returned because it had stickers on it.
Another way to get drugs in is in the glue of stamps and stickers.

If You have a question please ask and we will answer all in print.

YVONNE�S CORNER

We want to thank each and every one of you who is involved with Someone Cares, and it is very true that because of YOU Someone Cares keeps going forward. We need and appreciate all your prayers, your faithful-ness in writing, and your donations. We do believe that Jesus is coming soon, so we do want people to know that Jesus loves them no matter what their past may be. I am so thankful that Jesus does not see me as I was, He does not see me as I am, but He does see me as I can and will be! I am so happy that through the shed blood of Jesus there is hope for all. God in His wisdom knows what is best for all of us, and we praise Him daily for that.

We are so blessed to be on Voice of Prophecy once a year. This year it will be aired July 7 through 11. You need to check your local radio station listings for when it comes to your area. It is a wonderful Christian program. I have grown up listening to it all my life, now I am getting older and still listen to it. For me, it's the Best! We Pray that God Blesses each of you.

WE BOTH BENEFIT

Those of you who get the newsletter and use Avon products can support this ministry by buying Avon on line, shipped to you. Go to www.youravon.com/ymcclure.

You can browse, you can order, and you can send this message to your address book.

All funds from this will go to Someone Cares. If you have a question, contact ymeavon.com and Yvonne will answer.

SIN NOT, BUT IF YOU DO...

Or, the rich get richer and the poor get prison. I would like to take the time to clear up some things.

First, Yvonne and I do not in any way want to protect the criminal. If you commit the crime, you must do the time. There are estimates, though, that 30% of those in prison are not guilty of the crime sentenced for. How? Corrupt police. Public defenders. The jury system itself. Then there is plea bargaining. The corruption in the Los Angles Police Dept is going to cause many an inmate to be retried, or released. There�s the corruption of policemen who have stacked the deck to get convictions for personal advancement. The legal system says if you cannot afford an attorney, the state will provide one. There are mayors who want convic-tions for their elections. Most public defenders don�t have much of a budget to provide a good defense. 37 convicted murderers, sentenced to death, have been found not guilty and set free. A whole bunch who have been executed have also now been found not guilty!!! Juries are made up of all kinds of folks, and a lot of men and women have been sent to prison not because of guilt but because someone took control and manipulated the jury. Many do not believe in rehabilitation, but if that is your thinking, put this thought in your mind: 80% of the 1 million inmates are going to get out some day. Because prison, as it is today, is so over-crowded only the tough survive. Without rehabilitation or better yet, regeneration, do you want these prison-educated folks returned to your town?

AN EXAMPLE

We spent a lot of time talking of Don Hawkins and this upset some of you. Don and a cousin kidnapped a woman and her two young daughters for ransom. Don insisted the children be released.

They were. Don�s cousin raped the woman, not Don. They had tied up the woman and then tied her to a tree. While Don went to arrange the ransom, the woman got loose from the tree but was still tied. As Don returned from his call. the woman had rolled into a river. Don jumped in and tried to save her but could not. When arrested, his cousin cut a deal, done often. They were both found guilty and the cousin was sentenced to life, Don to death. Don did not want to die, but he knew he would spend life in prison. By the way, life in prison is much cheaper that killing a man. The eighteen years spent in prison, then execution, cost five times more than life in prison.

Don had a public defender and, I must admit, a pretty good one. During the trial the prosecutor had one of the children on the stand. Don, seeing and hearing the child cry and knowing the other would go through the same, stopped the trail and changed his plea. He died for that choice.

SNITCH

A man waiting for trail for a series of armed robberies was in jail, awaiting trail. Another man accused of child molesting was also in the same jail, awaiting trail. The robber told police the other man told him he did it to a little girl. The only evidence the police had the only evidence at all -- was the testimony of a real criminal. The robber got 2 years, a deal for his testimony. The other man: 30 years for a crime we believe he did not commit.

MY DADDY DID IT

George met Mary, a divorced woman with two daughters. George a solid Christian, married Mary. He brought into the home Christian values and a Christian life. Church, Prayer Meeting and discipline. The girls, teenagers, cooked up a story that their stepfather molested them. No proof, no medical exam to prove charges. Only the testimony of these girls. George got twenty years in prison. The mother of the girls finally got the girls to tell the truth, and after 4-1/2 years George was set free. It took over a year to convince the state the girls were now telling the truth.

The attorney: a public defender.

CALIFORNIA DOES IT ALL

In the California prison system there was a program that gave good time credit if you went to school, learned to read or got a job, and no write ups. This program worked. But prison being big business, this program changed. California now has one of the dumbest laws in the country. You must parole to the county of commitment, where you did the crime.

Tony, from Southern California, was in Redlands and committed a crime. He got a fair trail and a fair sentence. He also got a lot of press for his crime. He served his time and was paroled to a town who did not want him. As hard as he tried, he could not get a job, a place to live, nothing. He went home and was picked up for violating parole. By the way, in Southern California he had a place to stay and a job. Back to prison for another two years at a cost to tax payers of $70,000 or more.

IS YOUR DOCTRINE...

A barrier or a bridge to Jesus? Don wrote and we put in our news letter the conditions and what he believes happens when we die. He used a lot of the Bible to explain. We all have different ideas of what the Bible says. Our job in prison is to lead as many men and women to Jesus, not to our or your church.

This is a problem in prison also. Chaplains often allow members of their churches in as volunteers, and put heavy restrictions on others. Often Chaplains are more cop than minister.

Our God is a forgiving God and allowed HIS innocent son to go to Death Row.

WHAT A JOY DIVINE
Here in Indiana there are three prisons we can go into:

1. A Maxium Security prison like San Quentin with a Death Row.

2. A super Maxium Security

3. A prison for youth who commit violent crimes.

We are praying for a direction. Due to the fact that the Pen Friend Program has become so big, we need to make some cuts. We can no longer manage the dress-out program. We will expand the Two Care visitation program.

We also again ask those of you who wrote and got no answer to write again, and then if there is no answer, let us rematch you. Due to a lot of reasons, we have received a massive amount of requests from other prison ministries to supply inmates with Pen Friends. Please do not do this to us. We have over 300 inmates waiting for pen friends!!

Please also remember that Someone Cares is not writing your Pen Friend, you are. Use YOUR name or Pen Name on all mail to your inmate, and our address.

ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE

We are always thinking of ways to expand this ministry. Instead of cutting out the Dress Out program, put it in every state in the U.S. There are 600 folks who get our newsletter every month who have never supported this ministry or written an inmate, or visited.

We ask 400 of these to give a one-time donation of $25.00. The rest we ask to pray for the 400 and God will grant the increase. We are headed into tough times and the crime rate is exploding. We would like to produce a video of what we do how we do it and how others can do it. It can be played in many churches and, I am sure, on many Christian TV stations.

Yvonne and I and a hand full of volunteers have Fought the Good Fight and Satan has been rebuked. You all know that Because of You Someone Cares. We pray you also know you do not have to support this ministry to be a part of it, but it sure helps. Two quality USED cars would help a bit. All Donations are Tax deductible.

JEAN�s JOTTINGS

Some issues in this month�s newsletter might sound whiny to the average person, but the paragraph about the Chaplains is so true. My prison ministry partner and I have had some experience with both kinds, and truly appreciate the one (of two) who is also pastor of his own church and shows us kindness. He cooperates in bringing in materials that we need, like study guides and inspirational books. We had a box of tracts, books, and other essentials vanish on the other man�s watch, and only recently did part of it appear. We still treated him with respect, however. We learned with regret that he died while visiting his family last week.

Guards are not there to just keep people locked up. My observation has been that some are either instructed, or allowed to demean inmates to get them to answer back and then write them a �ticket.� How does that make a better person of the inmate? Think about how you would feel if you were made to feel like a non person everywhere you turn. If you�ve ever had a parent like that, you will understand the anger generated. Some children manage to escape their environments The inmate isn�t allowed to leave the situation, but is under the control of the guard and possibly other inmates who need to control others.

Another issue is the number of men convicted of molesting their children, relatives, and strangers, with no evidence. There is little effort on the part of prosecutors to seek truth, only that notch in the belt. The laws need to be tightened up. I have been present in the courtroom during one of these fiascos, and will never again believe a man is truly guilty of that kind of crime without DNA evidence. Too many girls have learned to �get even� for being disciplined, or dumped by a boyfriend, and ruin many lives. Yes, there are child molesters out there, sometimes at home. Just be careful to teach your daughters not to �bear false witness.�

If your church has a Community Services organization, encourage them to understand that prisoners getting out may not have adequate clothing to start over. Prison food tends to change one�s shape, and clothing left in the closet may not fit when the inmate is released. By meeting the needs of these families, you can use that friendship to lead them to Christ. If you don�t have a facility, seriously consider starting one in your church.

On a positive note, it�s spring and �our� prison campus is planted to flowers and gardens. We will have three church services to do now, when we go in, since a new level has been added. I challenge more men to be active in this ministry. Paul says women should be quiet, but when men shirk their duties, there�s no one else to nurture prisoners. God doesn�t call the qualified, He qualifies the called! Our blessings have been endless.