When someone accepts a plea deal the reduction in sentence is already baked into the agreement. The plea itself is the trade, an acknowledgment of responsibility in exchange for a lesser charge or a lighter sentence than what a conviction at trial might have produced. That negotiation is finished once the judge accepts the plea and imposes the sentence. That does not mean options are completely exhausted but it does mean the available paths are narrower than they would be for...

This is one of the harder questions to put a number on because the answer depends on factors that vary significantly from case to case and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. When someone violates parole and picks up new charges at the same time, they are typically looking at two separate proceedings running alongside each other. The parole violation is handled by the original sentencing judge or a parole board, while the new charges go through the court system in whatever jurisdiction the...

Patience is genuinely required when someone you love is inside. The timeline and rhythm of life in a correctional facility operate completely differently from the outside world and the gap between what you expect and what actually happens can be jarring, especially early in a sentence. On the phone access question, newly arrived inmates at a state prison typically go through an intake and orientation process before they get full access to facility services, including the phone. Getting assigned to a...

Inmates who 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 would write...

When an inmate is transferred from one facility to another their personal property is supposed to move with them. Clothing, including dress out clothes set aside for release, typically travels with the inmate as part of their property inventory. That said, the process is not always seamless. Transfers happen quickly and sometimes property gets logged, boxed, and shipped separately rather than traveling at the same time as the inmate. There can be a lag between when the inmate arrives at the...