Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

Inmates who are serving less than a year will usually have their application for marriage denied with the presumption being that such a short wait will not harm the prisoner or prospective spouse. Each partner must be legally eligible and mentally competent to marry. Marriages may be blocked for security or disciplinary reasons; solitary confinement can block access to marriage. Most states do not allow marriage for inmates on death row; California is at least one exception to that rule. Some jurisdictions, such as the state...

Once a letter has been submitted and moves into the automated processing queue, there is no mechanism to intercept or cancel it. The system is designed for speed and efficiency, which means letters move quickly from submission to print to dispatch. By the time a cancellation request reaches anyone, the letter has typically already been processed. What you can do is log into your InmateAid account, navigate to Letters to Inmates, and open the letter to see exactly what was printed...

That situation is frustrating, but it does happen more than it should. Running out of forms or having phones down is usually a staffing or administrative issue, not a policy. Visitation is considered important in every facility, so being “out of forms” for an extended time is not normal. Here is what you can do to move this forward: 1. Contact the facility directly Call and ask for: The visitation department The warden’s office or secretary The chaplain’s office (they often help with family communication issues) Explain clearly that your husband has been...

Call the facility, or give us as much information as you have and we can try and locate them for you. The inmate profiles are set up by the member/users of the website. We do not monitor, verify or update the profiles unless requested by the member/user. If you would like to create an inmate profile, we would be happy to do it for you. Please send us the inmate's name, their ID number and the facility where they are...

Once a reentry program or class is completed, the credit calculation is not handled at the facility level. It goes to the Bureau of Prisons regional or central office for processing, which adds time to the timeline that many families and inmates do not anticipate. The typical range is anywhere from a couple of weeks to more than a month before the credit is officially calculated, verified, and posted to the inmate's record. In some cases it takes longer if there...

We estimate that it takes 2-3 business days to make it to the jail. Once there, the staff opens and reads each piece of mail and inspects it for contraband. Once they decide the mail is fit to be handed out at mail call, your inmate will receive it. Any delay that occurs at the facility is out of our control. We make no guarantees as to how long it will take as there are thousands of facilities and none...

Sending books to someone in prison is one of the most meaningful things you can do, but there is an important rule that trips up a lot of people. Most correctional facilities, including county prisons, require that all books and magazines come directly from the publisher or an approved vendor. You cannot simply grab a book off your shelf, wrap it up, and mail it. It will get rejected at the mailroom. The reason behind the rule is contraband prevention. Books...

The multi-state situation you are describing is confusing but follows a logical process once the pieces are laid out. When your boyfriend was arrested in Alabama, his fingerprints were automatically run through the NCIC, the National Crime Information Center, which is a federal database that tracks outstanding warrants across all 50 states. That search flagged an active Florida matter, which was serious enough for Florida to request that he be held and transferred back to face it. The arrest in Alabama...

Yes, it is possible in some cases, but international calling from federal prison is complicated and the rules vary by facility. Most federal facilities use a contracted phone provider, typically Securus or ICSolutions, and international calls are not automatically enabled on every account. The number you want to reach has to be on the inmate's approved call list first, and not all providers support international numbers in every country. Getting an international number approved requires submitting it through the proper channels...