The heart wants what it wants, and if you are both certain this is what you want to do, the chaplain is exactly the right first point of contact. Call Bledsoe County Correctional Complex and ask to speak with the facility chaplain. Explain that you and your fiancé want to get married and ask what the process is for requesting a marriage ceremony. The chaplain handles these requests regularly and can tell you what paperwork needs to be submitted, what approval...

This is one of the more meaningful things someone can do, and the fact that you want to is worth honoring. Whatever his circumstances, a child reaching out is something most incarcerated people receive with more openness than you might expect. The first step is locating him. If you know his name and the state he is in, the state department of corrections offender search tool will tell you which facility he is at. For a life without parole sentence he...

A DR is a Disciplinary Report, also called an incident report, and it means your boyfriend was written up for a rule violation serious enough to be classified at the felony level internally. That classification is significant because it places the infraction in the most serious category the facility's disciplinary system recognizes. The specific language "viol. statute felony crime" typically points to possession of contraband that rises to the level of a criminal offense rather than just a prison rule violation....

This is a situation where calling the facility directly before you make the trip is essential, and the person to ask for specifically is the corrections officer who oversees the visiting room. There are two separate questions wrapped into this one. The first is whether the facility has any policy about service animals in the parking lot or on facility grounds while you are inside visiting. Some facilities are entirely fine with a service animal remaining in a vehicle in the...

On the lying question, the honest answer is that incarceration does not create liars. It reveals them. Someone who lies to a faithful partner from inside a cell is someone who would lie on the outside too. The circumstances changed. The character did not. That said, not every inmate is running a deception operation. Some people are genuinely doing their time, staying focused, and holding onto the relationship they have on the outside because it matters to them. Those inmates exist...

The consequences run on two separate tracks simultaneously, and both are serious in their own way. The internal disciplinary track happens first and fastest. The inmate goes to the SHU while the investigation is underway. A Disciplinary Hearing Officer reviews the incident and determines the punishment, which typically includes time in disciplinary segregation, loss of good time credits, loss of privileges, and potentially a custody level increase that results in transfer to a higher security facility. That transfer is often deliberately...