Guides & Insights
Practical guidance for UK defendants and families facing the American federal prison system. Written by someone who served a federal sentence and now prepares clients for it full time.
37 guides covering extradition, prison preparation, family support, and sentence reduction.
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Extradition & Surrender
Extradited to the United States: The Prison Guide UK Families Need First
What happens between a UK extradition order and a bed in a US federal institution, and where preparation changes the outcome.
Prison Preparation
How to Survive an American Federal Prison: A UK Defendant's Primer
Camps, lows, day one, commissary and the unwritten rules that keep a first-timer out of trouble.
US vs UK System
US Prison vs UK Prison: The Differences That Matter If You're Facing Both
Plea bargaining, guidelines, and parole that no longer exists federally.
Extradition & Surrender
Extradited to the United States: The Prison Guide UK Families Need First
What happens between a UK extradition order and a bed in a US federal institution, and where preparation changes the outcome.
The Treaty Track: How UK-US Extradition Cases Actually Reach a Federal Courtroom
From Home Office certification to surrender, and what happens after arrival.
The 90 Days After Extradition: What Happens When You Reach America
US Marshals custody, arraignment, remand, and the machine that starts turning the day you land.
Bail in America After Extradition: Why It's Rare, and When It Isn't
Why people extradited to the US usually stay in custody until resolution, and the exceptions.
Can You Transfer to a UK Prison? The Honest Answer on Treaty Transfer
The treaty transfer scheme exists. Approval is rare, slow, and usually comes too late to matter.
Family Support
Supporting Someone in an American Prison From the UK: Phone Calls, Visits and Money
The mechanics of staying connected across the Atlantic.
Corrlinks: Emailing a US Federal Prisoner From the UK
The only email system in federal prison. Setup, costs and the rules that get messages blocked.
Planning a Prison Visit From the UK: Approval, ESTA and What It Costs
Getting on the visiting list, getting to a rural American facility, and getting in the door.
Sending Money to Someone in Federal Prison From the UK
The approved channels for funding a commissary account from Britain, and the ones that fail.
Prisoners Abroad: Support for British Nationals in US Prisons
The UK charity that helps Britons imprisoned overseas. What it does, and what it doesn't.
Release, ICE and Coming Home to the UK
What happens at the end of a federal sentence for a British national: ICE, removal and resettlement.
Prison Consulting
Prison Preparation
How to Survive an American Federal Prison: A UK Defendant's Primer
Camps, lows, day one, commissary and the unwritten rules that keep a first-timer out of trouble.
Day One in Federal Prison: What Actually Happens, Hour by Hour
From the parking lot or the Marshals bus to lights-out: processing, the phone list, the first night.
What to Bring When You Surrender to a Federal Prison (and What to Leave)
Almost everyone overpacks. The short list that matters, and the items that cause problems.
Federal Prison Security Levels Explained: Camps, Lows, Mediums
Minimums, FCIs and penitentiaries, and why the differences matter more than the crime does.
Will You Get a Camp? How BOP Designation Scoring Really Works
The BP-337 custody score, public safety factors, and the presentence report that feeds both.
The Unwritten Rules of Federal Prison
The rules nobody posts, that everyone enforces. Mostly about minding your own business.
The Federal Commissary: What Things Cost Inside
The prison shop is the economy. What things cost, what to buy first, and how family funds it.
The SHU, Solitary and Protective Custody: What Rule 43 Means for New Arrivals
What special housing units are, why people end up there, and how a new arrival avoids it.
Sentence Reduction & Clemency
Sentence Reduction From Inside the US System: Compassionate Release, FSA Credits and Clemency
The mechanisms that actually shorten a US federal sentence.
What to Know About Compassionate Release in the US Federal System
The motion that lets a judge release someone early. The qualifying reasons, and the ones that fail.
What to Know About Clemency in the US Prison System
How presidential clemency actually works: the Office of the Pardon Attorney, petitions and realistic odds.
Commutation vs Pardon: Which One Applies to a US Federal Sentence
One shortens a sentence, one forgives the offence. Different tools, different moments.
The First Step Act, Explained for UK Families
The 2018 law that lets federal prisoners earn early release to halfway houses. What it gives, and its limits.
What to Know About RDAP: The Program That Cuts Up to 12 Months
The Residential Drug Abuse Program: who genuinely qualifies, and the documentation that proves it.
Good Conduct Time: How the 85 Per Cent Rule Works in Federal Prison
The 15 per cent that comes off every federal sentence, and the discipline that protects it.
How Federal Halfway House and Home Confinement Actually Work
The last months of a federal sentence in a Residential Reentry Center, and the home-confinement alternative.
US vs UK System
US Prison vs UK Prison: The Differences That Matter If You're Facing Both
Plea bargaining, guidelines, and parole that no longer exists federally.
Plea Bargains in America: What British Defendants Don't Expect
Over 95 per cent of federal cases end in a plea. The trial penalty is the engine.
US Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Explained Without Jargon
The arithmetic that turns a case into a number of months.
Why There Is No Parole in the US Federal System
Parole was abolished in 1987. What replaced it, and what that means for release planning.
The Presentence Report: The Document That Decides Your Prison Life
The PSR sets the guideline range, scores your custody level, and follows you into the BOP.
White Collar Cases
White Collar Crime and US Federal Prison: The Guide for UK Professionals
Fraud, FCPA, sanctions and securities cases that reach US courts from London.
FCPA Explained: How US Law Reaches Business Conduct in the UK
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act reaches British companies through dollars, listings and emails.
US Sanctions Violations: Jurisdiction, Charges and What Happens Next
OFAC enforcement reaches UK conduct through dollar clearing. Here's what follows.
Fraud and Securities Cases: What UK Defendants Face in a US Courtroom
Wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering charges brought against people in Britain.