WOMAN ENGAGED TO A PRISONER DUE FOR RELEASE IN 2032

A woman from the Netherlands is engaged to a prisoner in the United States whom she’s never met — and who won’t be released until 2032. (* Save the date!) Kelly Jacobs, 28, has been writing to inmate Wyatt Dentel, 32, since 2019. Dentel is currently serving a 20-year sentence at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Oregon for assault and unlawful use of a firearm during a bar brawl in 2012, in which he allegedly shot four men, though none of them died. The romance began two years ago when Jacobs, 28, joined an inmate correspondence service called Writeaprisoner.com so she could find out more about “what it’s like to be an inmate.” She chose Dentel because he “looked friendly” and the two quickly hit it off. They talk by phone, have video calls, and use direct messenger. Jacobs found that she could talk about “pretty much anything” with Dentel and share many mutual interests, including Italian food and even “Game Of Thrones.” Dentel proposed during a video call, and the two plan to tie the knot in his correctional facility in October — over a decade before his release date. Jacobs says: “Being a man in prison doesn’t always make someone a bad person. Just like being a free man doesn’t always make him a good one.”
* Wait – wasn’t that a Morgan Freeman line from The Shawshank Redemption?
* If you find someone who shares an incredibly rare interest with you – like Italian food – they must be the one.
* They both like Game of Thrones, and when Dentel gets out in 2032, George R.R. Martin might just about be ready to put out the next book.
* Video conferencing and direct messenger? That’s not the prison I remember. From my mom.
* If they can videoconference, did she show him her Netherlands?