Yes, an inmate does not have to wait for a scheduled court date to request a bail reduction. There are ways to pursue it proactively through the court system without sitting on the calendar and hoping the next appearance comes quickly. The most direct path is filing a motion for bail reduction or bond modification through the court. This is typically done through an attorney who drafts and submits the motion to the judge handling the case. The motion lays out...

Marrying someone who is incarcerated is entirely possible but requires navigating a process that varies significantly by institution and jurisdiction. The steps below reflect the general framework across most facilities. Step 1 - Contact the facility. Start by calling the prison or jail and asking to speak with the chaplain or a staff member who handles marriage requests. Every institution has its own specific requirements and the chaplain is almost always the right first contact. Ask specifically what their process looks...

The phone service at the California State Prison - Sacramento is GlobalTel (GTL). Unless there is a disciplinary hold on your inmate, he should be able to make all the calls he wants provided he has funds on his books or in an Advanced Pay account. If you are long distance to Sacramento, the InmateAid Discount Phone Service is something you should look into. We can save about $4.50 per call instate and more if your are out of state....

We are uncertain about work release marriages - we do not think they will approve it. Usually inmates with less than a year on their sentence are not eligible to get married. To communicate with a particular prison or jail about information for a particular inmate in that jail, you will have to contact them directly. With so little time left before their actual freedom, other than probation, why are you rushing to get married? Why not wait so that...

The dramatic version of prison farm labor that circulates online and gets portrayed on television does not reflect the day to day reality for most inmates assigned to agricultural or outdoor work details, though the broader conversation about prison labor and fair compensation is a legitimate one worth understanding. Farm duty and outdoor work assignments are generally considered among the better details available inside. Inmates assigned to these jobs are outside, physically active, doing something that feels purposeful, and breaking the...

It depends largely on where you are doing your time. In some facilities and at certain security levels, gang affiliation does provide a form of protection that feels necessary to people who are new and uncertain about their surroundings. But it is not the rule and it is not the only way to survive a long stretch. The vast majority of inmates doing serious time never join a gang and never feel they had to. The decision to join is one...

Arriving one to two hours before your scheduled visit time is the safe approach at most correctional facilities, including Allegheny Valley County Prison. That window might seem excessive but the processing involved in getting cleared for a visit takes more time than most first-timers expect. You have to check in at the front, present your identification, get verified against the approved visitor list, pass through security screening, and wait for staff to be available to process you through. Each of those...