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

Yes, you can send a letter from your phone using InmateAid's letter and photo service. It works from any smartphone or computer, and you do not need to print, stamp, or mail anything yourself. InmateAid handles the physical delivery. That is a practical way to send him a quick note letting him know the phone account has been funded so he knows to try calling. If you want to try the service, send an email to aid@inmateaid.com and they will send...

The timing is brutal, but the situation he is in is serious regardless of how close he was to finishing. Two days before probation ends does not create any special leniency. The new charges stand on their own, and the probation violation that comes with them adds to the picture the judge will see. The habitual offender designation is the part that matters most here. In Indiana, habitual offender status is a sentence enhancer, meaning it can add significant additional time...

The letter and photo service from InmateAid is straightforward. You create a User account and then an Inmate Profile - you then type up your letter and upload photos from your smartphone, go to the Pay Now page and complete the transaction. Letters are processed immediately upon entry unless it is after 4pm on Saturday, then the letters do not go through the process until Monday morning. You may check in your My Account area to see the status of your...

For general population inmates, phone access typically runs from around 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. That window is a standard range across most facilities and applies to inmates housed in open dormitory or unit settings where phones are shared and access is regulated by schedule. The exception is inmates who have a phone available in their cell, which some housing classifications allow. Those inmates generally have 24-hour access and are not subject to the same scheduled windows. Since Crowley County is a...

Inmates that 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...

Yes, you ship directly to the facility address. When you order on Amazon, use the facility's mailing address as the shipping destination, and include your sister's full name and inmate ID number in the address field so the mailroom can route it to her correctly. There is one critical rule with Amazon book orders for inmates: you must buy new paperback books sold directly by Amazon, not used books or books sold by third-party sellers through the Amazon marketplace. Facilities require...

The most direct way is to ask him. He can get his projected release date from his case manager or unit counselor at any time, and he can pass it along to you during a call or in a letter. If you want to look it up yourself, start with the state Department of Corrections offender search for whatever state he is in. Most state DOC websites have a public inmate locator that shows the current facility and, in most cases,...

Yes, InmateAid can still help reduce your call costs even at a federal facility, just through a different mechanism than state and county jails. The federal Bureau of Prisons operates its own self-contained phone system called TruLinks. No outside phone providers are competing for BOP contracts the way there are at state and county facilities. Instead, inmates fund their TruLinks account through Western Union deposits, and they move money between telephone, commissary, and email from that single account. Calls are paid...

The trespassing charge is the easier one. Criminal trespass in Georgia is typically a misdemeanor that can often be negotiated down to community service, a fine, or probation, particularly with a competent defense attorney working the case. That charge alone is unlikely to produce serious jail time for a first offense. The theft charge is where the outcome gets determined. Georgia classifies theft by the value of what was taken. Theft under $1,500 is generally a misdemeanor, while anything above that...

Yes. Most detention facilities, including Tucumcari, accept credit and debit cards for inmate account deposits. You can typically make a deposit online through the facility's contracted money service provider, or by phone using a card. The funds go into his commissary or phone account, depending on which service you use. To make sure the money reaches the right account, you will need his full legal name, inmate ID number, and the facility name when completing the transaction. Check which payment platform...