Subject: Visitation
You can visit as long as you are on the normal visitation list and there are no issues with your approval. Special visits are for people that travel a long distance and would like to request more visitation time due to the expense and limitations on the visitor. Most prison staff will approve a special visit if you are coming to the jail from 100 miles away or more.
Subject: Inmate services & supplies
First, take a breath. This is one of the most common questions families have in the first days after someone they love gets locked up and there is a clear path forward.
Getting money on an inmate's books is one of the most direct and meaningful things you can do right away. Commissary funds give your loved one access to food to supplement meals, hygiene items, phone credits, and other basics that make daily life inside more manageable. It is a...
Read moreSubject: Sentencing questions
One thing that doesn't make sense is if he was to be there on September 2, what is he doing driving around 10 days later "miles and miles away" instead of at the Wasatch Jail? It doesn't look good, like he had no intention of reporting. A 30 day sentence is not a big deal, but not reporting and then placing all the blame on a calamity of circumstances out of your control might turn it into something much bigger....
Read moreSubject: Relationship issues
It's not that they are inmates, it that they are cheaters - period. Jail has nothing to do with it. If you cannot trust them on the outside, there is nothing that will change while on the inside. Inmates are experts at getting women to send them money.
Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release
Yes, it is legally possible to be on state parole and federal probation simultaneously. The two supervision systems operate independently of each other and one does not automatically preclude the other.
What it means in practice is that the person is answering to two separate supervising authorities at the same time. A state parole officer oversees compliance with state parole conditions, while a federal probation officer monitors the federal probation terms. The conditions imposed by each may overlap in some areas...
Read moreSubject: Visitation
You will not have to put your newborn on the visitation list, but check with the staff before you go to be sure that you are not bringing something that they will not allow in the facility visitation. Most of the staff will have no problem with your husband holding the baby, just ask them nicely - it's always better to ask permission as it shows them respect.
Subject: Send inmate mail
The rules around photos and magazines sent to inmates are set by the facility rather than by InmateAid, and those rules vary considerably from one institution to another. Understanding both what the facility allows and what InmateAid can process helps set the right expectations.
On the magazines, most correctional facilities draw a clear line at full nudity. Publications that contain explicit nudity are rejected at the mailroom across virtually every federal and state facility in the country. Some facilities allow magazines...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
No big deal, it'll be over before you know it.
Subject: Survive prison
Reading is the great escape. Concentrating on things you can
control, not worry about things you can't - it is where the focus must lie.
Inmates need to get into a routine which will make their time go by smoothly.
They need to make a goal list of things to accomplish with all of this time on
their hands, to not just waste it playing cards and bullshitting. If they are
inclined, anyone can come out better than when they went in.
Subject: Family services
There is nothing a parent can do to protect their child from doing stupid things. No matter how much you try and shield them from wrongdoing, you can't be there all the time. The best you can do is teach them, love them and show them by example the way to steer clear of the pitfalls that exist.
