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

Six months is a relatively short sentence and how much of it she actually serves depends on a couple of factors specific to county jails in Georgia. The standard expectation going in is that she will serve the full six months. County jails do not have the same good time credit structures that state prisons operate under, and short sentences at the county level are generally served as imposed without the kind of systematic early release mechanisms that exist in longer-term...

The discrepancy you are seeing is almost certainly a data entry issue rather than anything reflecting his actual legal situation. InmateAid's inmate profiles are populated in part by information submitted by members of the community. When someone adds an inmate to the database, they enter what information they have at the time, and that information is not always accurate or up to date. A well-meaning person may have entered an incorrect release date, a date from a previous sentence, or simply...

Yes, phone access is available during a short sentence the same way it is for longer ones. Most jails allow calls during designated hours, typically from early morning through late evening, with brief breaks throughout the day. For a 10-day stay, the practical considerations are straightforward. You will need to have a funded account set up with the jail's phone provider before you can make calls, or have someone on the outside set up a prepaid account that you can draw...

It is worth trying, though a cash-only bond designation complicates the bondsman route. When a judge orders a cash-only bond, it typically means the full $2,000 must be paid directly to the court in cash rather than being secured through a bondsman. That designation exists specifically to prevent the use of a surety bond, which is what a bondsman provides. In those cases, the bondsman cannot post bond regardless of how willing they are to help. If the bond does not have...

The math works out more favorably than the full two years suggest, and here is how to read it. The starting point is 85 percent of the 24-month sentence, which is the standard minimum time served requirement in California and several other states for most offenses. Eighty-five percent of 24 months equals 20.4 months as the total time that needs to be served. From that 20.4 months, you subtract the 96 days of presentence credit he has already earned. Ninety-six days converts...

This is one of the hardest situations a family member can face, and the instinct to do something is completely understandable. The challenge is that acting from the outside without knowing exactly what is happening inside can sometimes make things worse before they get better. On the complaint question, it depends heavily on the nature and severity of what is happening. If the mistreatment involves serious physical abuse by correctional officers, that is a civil rights issue and should be reported....

It depends on the facility and the officer handling the visit, and there is no consistent rule across all county jails. In many county jails, when a visitor arrives and checks in, the corrections officer will contact the housing unit to let the inmate know they have a visitor. Whether that officer volunteers your name or waits for the inmate to ask varies. Some officers announce who is there as a matter of routine. Others simply tell the inmate they have...

The hardest part of this answer is that your ability to influence his physical placement from the outside is extremely limited, and calling the classification center to request a move is not something that carries weight in the way you might hope. Facility placement decisions belong entirely to the corrections department, and outside requests from family members do not typically move that needle. What can actually help him is action on his end, and he needs to take it now. If he...