Supporting your family member or friend while he is in prison is very
important, especially if there are no appeals available and a parole date is far
away. Lawyers cannot always help, although it won't take much searching to
find a lawyer to take your money and file something in court. Hire a lawyer to
help only if there is some chance the assistance will be successful. Your
definition of successful may differ from ours, depending on what kind of
support you feel you need to provide to the incarcerated love one.
Sometimes your resources are better spent supporting your loved one while
in prison. Do these very important things:
important, especially if there are no appeals available and a parole date is far
away. Lawyers cannot always help, although it won't take much searching to
find a lawyer to take your money and file something in court. Hire a lawyer to
help only if there is some chance the assistance will be successful. Your
definition of successful may differ from ours, depending on what kind of
support you feel you need to provide to the incarcerated love one.
Sometimes your resources are better spent supporting your loved one while
in prison. Do these very important things:
Visit as often as you can. Personal
visits are extremely important to the
mental well-being of inmates. DOC
statistics show that inmates get the
most visits during their first year of
incarceration, with visits tapering off
in the following years, sometimes to
no visits for years.
Write letters. Even if your loved one
does not write back right away, your
letters are extremely important to
your loved one. When allowed,
include pictures of family members.
Support your loved one financially.
Even small amounts of money, sent
regularly, are vitally important.
Inmates need money to buy stamps,
pay their medical co-pays, buy
decent hygiene items, buy snack
items, buy personal clothing items,
and buy televisions, radios, and
reading items.
Send books and magazines from
publishers like Amazon or Time.
These materials need to be sent
directly to the inmate from the
publisher or book dealer.
When visiting, be as respectful as
possible to the DOC staff, even if
they don't deserve it. Remember,
they are overworked and underpaid
state employees. But the worst of
them might take it out on your loved
one if you are rude or mean to them.
Accept their collect telephone calls, if
you can, and to the extent it meets your
budget. However, make sure that you
and your incarcerated loved one
understand the costs of these calls, and
that they can't be made too often. (See
the box below about collect calls.)
Join C.U.R.E. and attend its
meetings. This organization is vital
to the inmates and their families. It
is very affordable, and does the
most important work in the State to
watch out for the well-being of your
loved one, and even you. Click here
to go to the C.U.R.E. website and
enroll yourself and your loved one
as C.U.R.E. members, and for more
information about C.U.R.E.
visits are extremely important to the
mental well-being of inmates. DOC
statistics show that inmates get the
most visits during their first year of
incarceration, with visits tapering off
in the following years, sometimes to
no visits for years.
Write letters. Even if your loved one
does not write back right away, your
letters are extremely important to
your loved one. When allowed,
include pictures of family members.
Support your loved one financially.
Even small amounts of money, sent
regularly, are vitally important.
Inmates need money to buy stamps,
pay their medical co-pays, buy
decent hygiene items, buy snack
items, buy personal clothing items,
and buy televisions, radios, and
reading items.
Send books and magazines from
publishers like Amazon or Time.
These materials need to be sent
directly to the inmate from the
publisher or book dealer.
When visiting, be as respectful as
possible to the DOC staff, even if
they don't deserve it. Remember,
they are overworked and underpaid
state employees. But the worst of
them might take it out on your loved
one if you are rude or mean to them.
Accept their collect telephone calls, if
you can, and to the extent it meets your
budget. However, make sure that you
and your incarcerated loved one
understand the costs of these calls, and
that they can't be made too often. (See
the box below about collect calls.)
Join C.U.R.E. and attend its
meetings. This organization is vital
to the inmates and their families. It
is very affordable, and does the
most important work in the State to
watch out for the well-being of your
loved one, and even you. Click here
to go to the C.U.R.E. website and
enroll yourself and your loved one
as C.U.R.E. members, and for more
information about C.U.R.E.
| Collect Phone Calls. The Department of Corrections makes millions of dollars each year from the extremely high surcharges placed on collect calls from prisons. The families pay these collect phone call surcharges - some of the highest connection and per-minute charges in the country. Whether and how often you accept these collect calls is up to you and your budget. But you should join C.U.R.E. and help it fight the unfair and cruel telephone policy. C.U.R.E. works in the Oklahoma Legislature each session to find some relief for this problem. |
Inmate and Family/Friend Support
| Jackson & Presson Attorneys Norman Oklahoma 405.447.6637 |
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