Skip to main content

Must read Terms of Service & Privacy Policy and be at least 18

Must read Terms of Service & Privacy Policy and be at least 18

 
theelfieamanda

Hello,

I have a few questions about prisoners in department of corrections in MICHIGAN

1. I wonder if they can answer via jpay and if yes, when do they do that (which hours usually) or do they reply via letters?

2. I don't know if an inmate got my jpay email, because it's been like 5 days with a weekend in the middle, but i'm still worried.

I need your help

Thanks in advance


Last post
22 posts / 0 new

 
katjimin

I forgot, he has a tablet (I guess having a tablet would be faster, right?)

 
katjimin

hello, yes the above problem has been fixed, and I thank you for helping me^^. But, more than a week ago I sent him a message, he did not answer, suddenly he replied saying that nothing had reached him and that he thought that his message had not reached me. I wrote him again, (the same letter from more than 2 weeks ago) ... I hope that this time, it has reached him. But why does this happen? He is at Parnall Correctional Facility, and I am writing to him on Jpay.

 
freebird1

I think it's fair to say the delivery of mail is very dependent on each facility. My penpal is in Coldwater MI and we exchange at least 1/2 messages every day. But the last few days has slowed right down, and I'm getting the odd one, and he isn't getting any right now. Jpay have been posting saying ongoing maintenence/updating in the early hours might cause temporary disruption so this could be having an effect too. From what I can gather their equipment and system is not up to the demands put upon it, and regularly fails in many facilities. Those lucky enough to have tablets fair better than the guys having to rely on their 15 minute slots at the kiosks. A couple of weekly phone calls are how we maintain any kind of consistency and keep each other informed that mail is in the system somewhere to avoid each other worrying. We're also really lucky as he works in the dog training unit so possibly gets a bit more leeway than most. He told me last week that despite his place having been cleared of the virus, two guys suffering from it were shipped in ... utter madness!!

 
VioletGrey

Just from a quick look on the MDOC website, there have been about 1500 positive cases and 10 deaths from Coronavirus at Parnall Correctional. 
Taking that into cosideration, there could be extra measures in place to keep inmates physically distanced (staggered meal times, less use of kiosks, staggered shower times etc.) and therefore not the same ease of access for replying to emails. Then there's all the other factors that can affect it, if the email was a long reply, they take longer to be read and approved. The mail room might be understaffed, wifi could be down/stitched off at certain times...the inmate you wrote to might not have stamps to reply or money to use for communication...  there's really a whole list of reasons as to why there could be a hold up. Give it a couple more weeks, be patient. And try not to think of it like outside email, because they still have to go through a screening process and third party (the prison) involvement. 
Hope there's a reply for you soon, happy writing 

 
katjimin

sorry, I forgot to put it on. I wrote to him through jpay.

 
VioletGrey

Hi Katjimin, 

In which way did you send something to this person? Postal letter, JPay, Corrlinks, Write a Prisoner email, Jmail? 
If you could tell us which way you sent your message we could give you a better answer. 

 
katjimin

Hi, I emailed my friend in Michigan who is at Parnall Correctional Facility. I sent it a week ago and I have not received a response, I do not know if it is because they have a problem due to the covid or something ... How long could it take to receive a response?

 
rebekkahmariah

My pen pal is in Michigan Reformatory and I get lots of emails a week as well as a phone call once a week.. he's level 4 as well

 
Hopkins21

MK23: Thank you so much, I have heard sth on 9th the last time and he was in such a bad mood at that time already. I hope they are ok.

 
Mk23

Hopkins21 : I haven't heard anything yet. Last I heard from my friend was the 10th.. I'm thinking maybe they have them on lockdown because of the outbreak. 

 
Hopkins21

Have you heard sth back from Chippewa? I didn´t hear anything since July 12th and I am really concerned.

 
Mk23

I have a friend at Chippewa and last email I got he said they got quarantined and haven't heard back in over a week :( hoping they are ok 

 
Farfromhome

I would also like to point out the Michigan prisons are one of the hardest hit by Covid in the USA. So lots of inmates locked down/ in quarantine 

 
Mogo_

Hello :) did you have an answer since then ? i send a jpay last week to someone in Michigan and i still have no reply.
Thank you :)

 
Mogo_

Hello Teg44, have you had an answer since? If so, how long did it take ? 

Thank you xo

 
Hey0325@@

My name is Lamar Etter #577000. I am at the Saginaw correctional facility in freeland, Michigan. I need help to prove my innocence. I was 'soldier's by the system because I had a court appointed lawyer was did nothing to help me. I have a pay account for all response. I thank God that my family w friends have stayed by my side. Or respond by email at anthonyetter [at] yahoo.comrel="nofollow".

 
mkat99

Hey There!

So it does depend on which facility they're at and what level the prison is. My boyfriend is at Central Michigan Correctional Facility which is a level 1. So there are a few kiosks in the dayroom, and they have to wait in line to use it, and then once they log in they have 15 minutes until it logs them out and their turn is up. They can also buy tablets, so they have to plug the tablet into the kiosk and they can download all of their messages and then take the tablet back to their cube and spend as much time as they want to reply. Some facilities the messages will upload automatically, usually if they are in a lockdown unit where they spend 23 hours in their celI. I have a friend at a different facility and he can only use the kiosk once a week or so because they have a lot locked down because of covid. They are moving a lot of people around and changing some routines so that could be why too. 

Also, jpay can be twitchy sometimes but once you send something on jpay, the facility has to actually look at it and approve it. So if it is a long message, those tend to take longer to go through I have sent my boyfriend two messages back to back and it took him two get the long one and only 30 minutes to get the short one. Sometimes messages will come out of order as well. When you do get the message it will show the date and time that he actually sent it, so that's usually a good way to judge about how long his facility will take. My boyfriend usually gets my messages within 30 minutes to an hour after i send them and same when he sends one but he can check jpay anywhere from about 6am until 12am since he is in a low level facility. Did you attatch a pre paid stamp as well? Also i know you didnt ask about pictues but i figured i would throw this in, if you send them on jpay, sometimes they can print them, my boyfriend cant, so he can only look at them when he logs in, so if you want him to be able to hang them at his bunk you should print them on white copy paper and send them via snail mail. Sending pitures via jpay on weekends means that no one will look at them for approval until Monday, so i always ty to send any pictures before friday so he can se them right away. Hope this helps! If you have any other questions comment back and i can ty to help. 

 
Mapa

Hi, I didn't heard from my friend too since 3weeks ... Idk if it's Jpay or them having troubles....

 
Mapa

Hi, I didn't heard from my friend too since 3weeks ... Idk if it's Jpay or them having troubles....

 
theelfieamanda

Omfg i know right, with me it's now more than one week. I can't believe how much this app sucks and u even have to pay for itindecision

 
teg44

Hey, I communicate with my friend via JPay back and forth, and the times I get replies vary. 
I haven't heard from him in 2 weeks though I'm not sure why or if anyone else is having problems? 

 
ST4s

Hi theelfieamanda, yes, Michigan has 2-way communication via JPay. As far as what time of day someone has access to it, I have no idea. Some places rotate inmates out in small groups throughout the day (e.g. to get to the kiosk, showers, etc.) as a Covid-containment strategy, so, it could be any time.

Re: five days for a reply, it could be anything. I've had to wait longer than that sometimes, and a lot of the time it's been due to faulty equipment on the facility side (e.g. the kiosk not syncing).