No, there must be funds on the account. If you choose to accept a collect-call, the per-minute rate is at the highest allowed by law so we encourage folks to avoid this route.
Read moreThe honest answer is that your ability to influence a transfer from the outside is very limited, and going in with realistic expectations saves a lot of frustration. Transfers in the federal system are driven by the Bureau of Prisons based on bed availability, security classification, programming needs, and institutional management decisions. Requests from family members carry very little weight in that process. The BOP is not structured to respond to outside pressure on placement decisions, and in most
Read moreThere is no public timetable for TDCJ transfers, and that is by design. When a transfer order is in the system, the general window you will hear is somewhere between 30 and 60 days. But that range is not a guarantee and it is not a schedule. It is simply the approximate timeframe within which the transfer is likely to happen based on available transport and bed space at the receiving unit. The secrecy around the specifics is
Read morePhone access in prison is generally manageable. Phones are busiest first thing in the morning and before lights out. Most calls are limited to 15 minutes, so even during peak times the line moves steadily and inmates typically get their turn without much difficulty.
Read moreCounty jails generally have a more straightforward phone access process than state or federal facilities. The primary requirement is that the inmate has money available on their account to cover the cost of the call. Once that is in place and the basic intake process is complete, which typically takes up to 24 hours, phone access is available during the facility's designated calling hours. The call list question is worth clarifying. At many county facilities, inmates can dial any
Read moreWest Memphis, Arkansas, has two separate facilities that serve different functions, which is why you are finding two different addresses. The West Memphis City Jail on Broadway is a municipal facility that typically holds people arrested by West Memphis city police for local offenses. It is a short-term holding facility for people awaiting arraignment or serving brief sentences on city charges. The Crittenden County facility on Tyler Road handles county-level arrests and longer-term detention for people charged with
Read moreLosing a 34-year-old with no cardiac history to a sudden death in custody is something any family has the right to question and investigate. Here is what the family can do. Request the official autopsy report. The medical examiner's report is the starting point for any independent investigation. The family has the right to request a copy of the official autopsy and all associated medical records. Make this request in writing to both the facility and the medical examiner's
Read moreYour inmate does not need any credits or an InmateAid account to write back to you. The process on their end is simple and costs nothing beyond a postage stamp. When you send a letter through InmateAid, the return address on the envelope is InmateAid's Florida address. Your inmate writes their reply on paper, addresses it to that InmateAid address, and mails it out through the facility's regular outgoing mail. That is all they need to do. On
Read moreYES, the InmateAid Letter Service sends YOUR actual postage mail and photos to the prisons and jails using OUR return address. It is super-easy to use, convenient and reliable since 2012. Robust packages start at only $8.00.
Read moreKeep writing. That is the most useful thing you can do right now, even without knowing whether she has received anything yet. There are several reasons an inmate goes quiet that have nothing to do with you or the friendship. Newly incarcerated people in particular often go through a period of withdrawal where they are not ready to communicate with anyone on the outside. The disconnection from normal life hits hard, especially in the early months, and some people
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