Do You Get To Choose Your Prison?

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Being an American comes with the privilege of having the freedom of choice. It never occurs to you how much prison takes away from you and how terrifying the situation is in the end.

A person loses the choice of where they live, employment, clothing choices, and so much more. You go from controlling every aspect of your life to everything changing around you. So can you exercise your freedom of choice one last time and pick what prison you want?

Let’s take a look at the inmate facility policies available today.

Inmates Can’t Choose Their Prison

You don’t get to pick the prison facility you serve your time in, which is unfortunate. It just doesn’t matter what you want; there’s no escaping doing things their way.

Prison sentences can be frustrating and challenging to endure. You don’t get any say in the location of where your sentence will take place, but that is just part of being incarcerated. Being stuck inside a cell with very little control over what happens around you is hard enough, but it doesn’t begin there. Your freedom of choice is stripped the minute you are found guilty, and nobody asks you where you want to go.

The location of where you are imprisoned is determined by factors such as your institutional level, what state you were charged in, whether they’re federal or state crime, their current prisons, and protective regulations affecting inmates. Personal preference doesn’t play any role in deciding which institution an inmate will serve their time.

For example, a female inmate who went from level five to level one in Missouri has no impact on what prison she will be sent to. There are two women’s prisons with maximum security, and they both rank as level 5 facilities.

To decide which prison to assign an offender, most correctional facilities, such as in the state of Missouri, look at their custody level. Each male offender is assigned to a specific institution with the same or similar custody needs. If there are any changes in authority levels while incarcerated, they are transferred into another facility that matches their new requirements.

Some States Consider Keeping Prisoners Close To Their Families

Keeping prisoners close to family can help facilitate visits from loved ones.

Many prisons try to keep inmates as close as possible to their homes before incarceration to allow visits from friends and family members. Other factors considered along with mental stability concerns are how far away someone might have lived previously or what kind of support system was available at the time.

Some states consider proximity to family a priority when deciding where an inmate will be housed. In other states, the nearness of the inmate’s home can determine where they get housed within a state penitentiary system.

This is recognized as necessary for rehabilitation. It could prevent factors like staff familiarity from coming into play if they’re close with someone who works at the institution, which would prohibit them from staying there.

Inmates Are Often Transferred To Different Prison Facilities

The reason an inmate is transferred from one prison to another depends on their behavior, location of the facility in proximity to family or friends, and work opportunities.

A common reason for prisoners being transferred to different facilities is that their current prison has decided their custody level. For example, a Level 3 inmate becomes a Level 4 once they try to escape or harm someone; and are likely to be moved from their original facility into another. The new facility should have higher security measures since his actions put other inmates and staff members at risk.

If an inmate is in danger from other prisoners for any reason, they get moved to another prison for protection and safety purposes. Another important reason for transfer is when staff members have inappropriate relations, affecting how well rehabilitative efforts are implemented.

In some cases, a person is transferred because their original facility has closed down or been repurposed for something else.

Can An Inmate Get Transferred to a Different Facility if they wish?

Prisoners do not have a legal right to request transfers to other prisons, but many factors are considered when deciding whether the transfer will occur. These include how long the inmate has served and their crimes committed while in prison. The Prison Service also tries its best to ensure that prisoners maintain contact with family members during incarceration by considering location policy for transfers of less than three months duration.

Although a prisoner doesn’t have the legal right to be transferred, they do have some protections. For example, the Prison Service has a location policy that states prisoners should contact their families and shouldn’t experience the harmful effects of being removed from ordinary life. Also, prisons must take reasonable steps to ensure safety, including transferring someone getting bullied to another prison.

Reasons An Inmate Can Get Transferred to Another Prison

There are several reasons why prisoners may need to be transferred from one prison to another. Some examples include:

Their security category has changed. When the prisoner reaches the final weeks of their sentence, they can transfer to a facility near home.

In other cases, the prisoners might have a sentence plan with a course that isn’t available at their current location. If this happens, they will likely have more opportunities for rehabilitation and education while serving time closer to where they live.

Because of their high ranking in the prison system, Category A prisoners are transferred to other prisons for security purposes. This is sometimes due to them being bullied or because a family member has medical problems preventing visits from occurring.

Each Prison Facility Offers a Unique Experience

Wherever you are incarcerated, each place will provide a unique experience where learning and growth are possible.

It can be challenging to have no choice of the correctional institution you’ll serve your time. Still, it’s definitely worth the opportunity for new experiences that may help shape who you become when you’re released from prison.

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