InmateAid is not a replacement for GTL or a portal into their system. What it provides is a local phone number matched to the same rate center as the jail, which triggers GTL's lower local calling rate rather than the more expensive long-distance rate applied to numbers outside the area. To activate the savings, you need to add the InmateAid local number to your GTL account rather than keeping your original number as the contact number. You can do this by...

Without knowing the state, it is hard to evaluate the specific provision he is referring to. What he is likely describing is a parole eligibility window rather than an automatic sentence reduction. Some states do have provisions where inmates serving life sentences for certain offenses become eligible to apply for parole after serving a minimum number of years, often 10 to 15 depending on the offense and the sentencing structure. The critical piece is whether the judge included a parole provision...

Yes, this might help slow down the introduction of drugs into the prison system. But they are in a union and getting "strip searches" approved as a daily function of their job is VERY unlikely to happen. The inmates that keep them in business are equally to blame. We would rather promote how an inmate can use their time of incarceration to lift themselves above what got them in there in the first place. Staying in the drug game is...

VINELink is the tool built exactly for this situation. It stands for Victim Information and Notification Everyday, and it is a free service available at vinelink.com that allows victims and concerned parties to register for automatic notifications when an offender's custody status changes, including when they are released, transferred, or escape. You can sign up to receive alerts by email, phone, or text. This is the most reliable way to make sure you are not the last person to know. Beyond...

County jail meals are not going to impress anyone. A plate of rice, peas, and a roll is a real meal by institutional standards, even if it would not pass muster anywhere else. Jails operate on tight budgets and nutrition is managed to minimum standards, not maximum enjoyment. Meat appears on the menu with some regularity but not at every meal, and there will be days that feel very lean. That is the reality of county jail food across the...

The options are more limited than most people expect. For the vast majority of state inmates, programming does not directly reduce the release date. Good time is calculated upfront and built into the first projected release date the inmate sees. Completing programs does not add more time off, though it can prevent the loss of good time credits already granted. The major exception is RDAP, the Residential Drug Abuse Program, which is available only in the federal Bureau of Prisons system....