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Ask the Inmate

Subject: Inmate Phone Calls

My calls are $0.11 per minute and then it I need to know ASAP can you help get it cheaper than that?

Eleven cents per minute is already a low rate, and the honest answer is that even if InmateAid could shave something off that number, the savings would likely not cover the monthly line rental fee. Here is the math. InmateAid's phone line runs $19.95 per month. To break even on that cost at $0.11 per minute, you would need to save at least $19.95 in per-minute reductions each month. If the best available rate at your facility is, say, $0.06 per minute, the savings of $0.05 per minute would require 399 minutes of calls per month just to break even on the line fee. That is a lot of phone time. The service makes the most financial sense when the current rate is significantly higher, in the range of $0.21 per minute or above, where the per-call savings add up quickly and the monthly fee pays for itself within the first week of calls. At $0.11 per minute, unless you are talking several hours every day, the math is probably not in your favor. InmateAid's goal is to save you money, not to sell you a service that costs you more than it saves. If you want a definitive answer for your specific facility, email aid@inmateaid.com with the facility name and your current number and the team will run the numbers and tell you straight whether it makes sense.

Subject: Post Conviction Appeals

Can someone convicted of bank robbery appeal after 10 years of good behavior?

The short answer is that a traditional appeal is almost certainly not available at this point, but there are other avenues worth understanding. Direct appeals in the federal system, which is where bank robbery cases almost always land since robbing a federally insured bank is a federal crime, have strict filing deadlines. A direct appeal has to be filed within 14 days of sentencing. A motion to vacate, set aside, or correct the sentence under 28 USC Section 2255 has a one-year statute of limitations from the date the conviction becomes final. Ten years out, both of those windows are closed in almost every circumstance. What remains available after that window depends on what the argument would be. If new evidence has emerged that was not available at trial, if there has been a change in the law that applies retroactively to the sentence, or if there are constitutional issues that were not previously raised, there are narrow pathways that courts will sometimes consider even years after conviction. These are difficult to win but they are not impossible, and an attorney who specializes in federal post-conviction relief is the right person to evaluate whether any of those arguments exist. Ten years of clean institutional behavior is genuinely valuable, but it does not by itself create a right to appeal or a mechanism to reduce a sentence. What it does do is build the strongest possible record for any parole or early release consideration that exists within the sentence structure, and for compassionate release consideration if health or other circumstances warrant it. The First Step Act is also worth exploring. If the sentence involved any drug-related enhancements or mandatory minimums, there may be retroactive relief available depending on the specific charges and sentencing guidelines that applied. An attorney with federal post-conviction experience is the essential first step before pursuing any of these options.

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