You may have a family member who is incarcerated. However, the prison where he or she is incarcerated is far enough from your home. Is it possible to get an inmate transferred closer to home? Yes, it is possible to get an inmate transferred closer to a prison near your home. How do we get an inmate transferred closer to home?
According to the How To Justice site, if you have a medical problem which makes it difficult for you to visit your loved one in prison, you are able to ask for a transfer. In most states, the inmate needs to request the transfer. The request is called a hardship transfer request where it is a letter which asks for an inmate to move to a closer prison. However, it is important for you to note that there are rules for state and federal prisons. Before the staff of the prison decide to transfer an inmate, they need to think about a lot of things. Since all inmates have a security level, inmates need to stay in a prison that matches their level. Not only that, staff also need to look at the programs that an inmate needs. Let’s say that the jail closest to you does not have the right programs. If so, the staff may not permit the inmate to be transferred.
The BOP usually tries to house all inmates within 500 miles from their loved ones. However, sometimes it is not always possible. So, the inmates or the family can ask for transfers, but of course they need a good reason so that their request is granted. If the reason is medical hardships, usually it can be granted. If a close relative of the inmate has a medical issue that can stop them from visiting, usually BOP and other prisons will look for a way to be able to move the inmate closer.
Writing a Good Hardship Request Letter
If you want to write a good hardship transfer request letter, of course you need to know the rules for the prison where the inmate is incarcerated. The prison needs to know what your hardship is and how long it will last. According to the How to Justice site, in the hardship transfer request letter, several things that you have to include are medical issue, proof of issue, relationship, current distance to prison, and closer prison option. The staff of the prison need proof that your medical issue prevents you from visiting the inmate and the proof should be from your doctor. In the proof, there must be the name of the doctor and on the doctor’s letterhead. In addition, you also have to show that the inmate is more than 200 miles away. It is important for you to note that the one who can make a hardship transfer request is only the immediate family. So, if you want to make this request, you have to show that you are parent, sibling, spouse, child or grandparent of the inmate.
The Reasons Why The Prison Denies Your Transfer Request
If you find that your hardship transfer request is denied by the prison, there must be a reason. The biggest reason why the prison denies your transfer request is because the inmate has major disciplinary problems. Transferring an inmate will not be done by prisons if the inmate gets in trouble or often breaks the rules. Some inmates also have higher security restrictions. In addition, the prison staff may have other reasons why they deny your request for example, you may not show proof of your hardship or the request comes from inmates. It is because the proof is needed and hardship transfer must come from an immediate family member.
The Rules of Hardship Transfers
According to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition PDF which can be accessed at here, an inmate is able to be transferred closer to an immediate family member if that family member has a medical condition that makes it impossible to travel a long way and here are the rules for hardship transfer.
- A family member has a medical condition which makes it impossible for her or him to travel long distances.
- The family member needs to get a doctor’s note that explicitly says that they have an ‘inability to travel long distances because of a medical condition.’
- The family member needs to be an immediate family member such as sibling, parent, child, grandparent, step-family, or foster family.
- The inmate is now in a permanent unit at least 200 miles away from the family member.
- The inmate has not had any disciplinary reports in the past twelve months.
- The custody level of the inmate is G1, G2, or G3.
- The family member is not the victim of the offense of the inmate.
- In case the inmate is in jail for a violent offense, the inmate is not permitted to be transferred to the county where the victim lives.
- Let’s say that the request is approved. If so, the inmate will be told and the transfer will be scheduled.
- In case the request is rejected, the family member will get a letter with the reason it was rejected.
How Long Does It Take For an Inmate to Transfer?
According to the Prison Insight site, the process of request usually takes about a week to get response from the classification committee or the warden. However, sometimes, it can also take longer. If the request is approved, then the transfer can take hours or weeks depending on the situation such as transportation arrangements and bed availability at the new facility.
At here, it is explained that an application of inmate transfer does not have a specific response time and it can take one or several weeks. On that site, it is also explained that the transfer is also not tied to a specific time frame and it can take long owing to factors such as transport arrangements and bed availability in the destined facility.
That’s all the information about getting an inmate transferred closer to home according to some online sources. If you need more information about it, you can read the other sources.
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