Jennifer Horat maintains pen pals with people on death row.Image: Benjamin Schmid
From the idyllic Lengwil-Oberhofen, Jennifer Horat has been writing to people on US death rows for decades. Their goal is to give the prisoners a piece of normality and inviolable human dignity.
July 26, 2026, 4:50 p.mJuly 26, 2026, 4:50 p.m
Benjamin Schmid / ch media
That’s what it’s about
Jennifer Horat from Oberhofen has been writing letters to people on US death row for years. She maintains two pen pal relationships in Texas and Arizona through the Lifespark organization. With her letters she wants to convey normality and dignity to the prisoners.
The kitchen table in Oberhofen, Thurgau is the starting point for journeys into a completely different world. Every Sunday morning, the same ritual begins for Jennifer Horat: she makes herself an espresso, picks up some good stationery and reaches for the ink. She writes lines by hand that soon break through the thick walls of American maximum security prisons.
The now 74-year-old pensioner, who originally comes from South Africa, has been living in the region for almost 45 years. She is married, mother of four children and grandmother of eight grandchildren. A normal, full life in the countryside and yet one thing fundamentally sets her apart from her neighbors: Since the 1990s, Jennifer has maintained pen pals through the Lifespark organization with inmates who have been awaiting execution on death row for decades.
The impetus for this profound volunteer work came from a tip from a friend. “A friend told me about it, and since I like writing, I was immediately interested,” remembers Horat. She currently has two such pen pals in parallel: one contact leads to Texas, the other to Arizona. There are worlds that collide in these envelopes. While her own everyday life in rural Thurgau is characterized by peaceful freedom, her correspondents vegetate in tiny, windowless concrete cells. The pensioner consciously uses this extreme contrast to give the prisoners comfort.
A window to the world
In her letters she describes the small, beautiful things in her life. «I write about my everyday life. “They are less so because their everyday lives are very stressful and they have little variety,” explains the Oberhofen native. With her written words she tries to make people forget the barren prison cells for brief moments. “I, on the other hand, have a diverse life, and I tell them about it: what grows in the garden, what my house smells like when I bake bread, what I cook, knit, read, do, see, about my family.”
I try to make them feel like they are part of my normal life.
For Jennifer Horat, this commitment is an obligation that she has carefully considered in advance. She doesn’t see the constant confrontation with death row as a psychological burden, but rather as an act of pure humanity. That’s why she writes: “To make the remaining time that person has more bearable.”
When a letter with the official censorship stamp from the US judicial authorities lands in her mailbox, she doesn’t feel any anxiety, but rather simply anticipation of the sign of life from the other side of the world. The fact that guards and officers read every line doesn’t limit her because she has nothing to hide and is meticulous about never getting the inmates into trouble through thoughtless comments.
Over the years, emotional bonds develop that, despite the enormous distance, become as deep as any other friendship in real life. Horat also had to go through the most painful experience that this voluntary work entails: her very first pen pal was executed after years of exchange. «I was deeply connected to my first pen pal, who was executed after many years of writing, and I still miss him to this day. His life and our friendship meant a lot to me.”
In the difficult hours before the execution date, they looked together for support and in the end it was the doomed man himself who comforted the Swiss woman. There is no fixed farewell ritual for day X, just one last, incredibly difficult letter.
The crime remains hidden
A central secret behind the stability of these pen pal relationships lies in a deliberate omission: Jennifer Horat does not know the men’s crimes. “I don’t know why my pen pals are in prison,” says Jennifer, adding: “It’s not important to me to know why they’re on death row. That is not the basis of our friendship.”
Those who are open to each other are allowed to ask anything, but for them the focus is on the person’s presence, not their legal acts. They are not burdened by remorse towards the victims and their relatives. However, your compassion remains unlimited and excludes no one.
Since many people react to such a pen pal relationship with pure curiosity, she doesn’t tell everyone about it. “And if I do, then I’ll just be asked about the crime, which I can’t answer.” The retiree is driven by an unshakable belief in the inherent value of life and the dignity that everyone is entitled to. “Dignity is what we demand for ourselves.”
Jennifer Horat does not have to recharge her batteries for her everyday life because of the letters, as the exchange is an enrichment for her and not a burden. Nevertheless, she passionately devotes her free time to creative hobbies such as sewing, reading or knitting for charitable purposes.
When Jennifer Horat puts pen to paper on Sunday morning, it’s about nothing less than the foundation of our coexistence. Her greatest wish for the future remains peace – on a small and large scale. Your letters are not an acquittal, but an unmistakable spark of light in the darkest night of justice. “I would be happy if it inspired someone to become a pen pal with a person on death row.”
If you are interested in joining Lifespark and becoming a pen pal with someone on death row, you can find contact details at www.lifespark.org or email contactus@lifespark.org. (schweiztoday.ch)