No. That is one of the most persistent myths about prison and it comes almost entirely from television and movies that need conflict to fill airtime. The reality is that most days inside look nothing like what gets portrayed on screen. Inmates wake up, eat, go to work assignments or programming, exercise, watch television, read, and go to sleep. That routine repeats itself day after day and for the majority of people serving time it passes without physical confrontation. Prison does have...

Yes, and the answer is more absolute than most people expect. If a judge has issued a bench warrant for any reason, including an unpaid traffic ticket, that warrant is a legal hold that the releasing facility is obligated to honor regardless of the circumstances surrounding it. Medical condition, upcoming surgery, length of time served, none of those factors automatically override an active warrant. When an inmate is released from one facility with an active hold from another jurisdiction, the releasing...

Was he granted a bail hearing or is he held without a bond? Even with the "no prior history" on his record, the charges are very serious and the likelihood he receives straight probation is dubious. But, please understand that we are not lawyers and also do not have access to the complete record so we are giving a general response based on years of experience but in no way should you rely on our answer in making any decisions....

This is a serious situation and there are concrete steps you can take immediately to make the calls stop and protect yourself legally. The most direct action is to contact the facility where he is incarcerated and report the calls to the warden's office or the facility's compliance department. Every call made from a correctional facility is recorded and monitored. The facility has the ability to pull the call logs, verify the contact occurred in violation of the court order, and...

Inmates that have money on their inmate trust accounts can purchase stamps and envelopes at the weekly commissary. If they do not have money on their books, the prison will provide indigent inmates with all the materials necessary to send out mail to their loved ones. If your inmate writes to you directly, using your address, the cost of the mailing is a 49 cent stamp. Many of our members use the Inmate Response Mail service through InmateAid. Your inmate...

Yes, absolutely. This is one of the most important things anyone with an active warrant needs to understand before walking into a correctional facility for any reason. Jails and prisons are law enforcement environments. Every visitor goes through an identification check before being allowed in and that check runs your information against warrant databases. It does not matter whether the warrant is from another county, whether it is for a misdemeanor, or whether you have made repeated good faith efforts to...

Maximum security is the grade of high security level used by prison systems in various states and counties.  In a maximum security prison or area, all prisoners have individual cells with sliding doors controlled from a secure remote control station. Often prisoners are confined in their cells 23 hours per day, but in some institutions, prisoners are allowed out of their cells for part of the day (recreation, education or medical). General population areas are limited with timed movements and escorts. Maximum...

Both phone access and visitation get significantly restricted when someone is placed in segregation, but the specifics depend on why they are there. On the phone side, inmates in seg are typically limited to one 15-minute call per week. That is the standard across most federal and state facilities and it applies whether the placement is administrative or disciplinary in nature. However, if the reason for the segregation placement is a disciplinary infraction and a phone restriction was issued as part...