Inmates are going to receive mail from whomever wants to take the time to write. I was married and yet an old girlfriend or two who I'd not spoken to in years reached out. I told my wife about it. I'm sure she didn't think it was innocent, but I was thrilled that they sent me magazines and books. It was kindness on their part, and it didn't lead to anything, I'm still happily married to my wife. If an ex is...

Yes. Federal inmate information is publicly available through the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator at bop.gov/inmateloc. Anyone can search for a federal inmate by name or register number without the inmate's knowledge or consent. The locator returns the inmate's current facility, projected release date, and other basic information. There is no requirement to identify yourself or have any relationship to the inmate to conduct a search. This is intentional. The federal system treats basic custody information as public record, and families,...

Congratulations on the approval. Here is what to expect from this point forward. Your husband will be notified of his parole approval through official paperwork delivered at the facility. That notification does not happen instantly after the board meeting. There is typically a processing lag of a week or two before the formal papers reach him, so do not be alarmed if he does not have documents in hand immediately after your call with the board. The home visit happens separately and...

A letter marked refused can mean one of two things, and figuring out which applies here matters before drawing conclusions. The first possibility is that your cousin actively refused the letter. Inmates do have the right to reject incoming mail without opening it. If there are unresolved feelings, embarrassment about the incarceration, or a desire to cut off contact with certain people during this period, refusing mail is one of the few things entirely within their control. A recent incarceration in...

The math works in his favor and the eight months in county is already money in the bank. A four-year sentence is 48 months total. With the standard 85% good time calculation applied, he needs to serve about 40.8 months assuming a clean disciplinary record throughout. Subtract the eight months already served in county and he has roughly 32.8 months remaining from this point forward, just under two years and nine months. That calculation assumes two things. First, that the eight months...

Failing to appear in court after being released on bail creates several serious problems that compound whatever the original charges were. The first immediate consequence is that the bail bond is forfeited. Any money posted as bail is gone, whether it was paid in cash or through a bondsman. The bondsman, if one was used, will also send a bounty hunter to locate and return your brother to custody. The second consequence is a new charge. Failure to appear, also called bail...

This is a common frustration and it almost always comes down to pressing the wrong option on the automated prompt. Every inmate phone carrier runs an automated recording before connecting the call. That recording walks through several options, typically something along the lines of press one to accept, press two to hear rates, press five to block future calls, and similar choices depending on the carrier. The exact prompts and numbers vary between carriers, and pressing the wrong one, particularly a...

We set up InmateAid to centralize everything that can be done for an inmate by a loved one on the outside. Inmates are lonely and somewhat scared when they first go in. Having someone on the outside they can communicate with gives them the connection to hope and the prospect of a better future when they get out. Inmates who have no one, it does the opposite. We are big fans of reading. Reading for an inmate is a virtual escape...