Pre-paid calling and voice messaging services for inmates

A method for processing a call placed by an inmate from a custodial facility using a custodial facility phone, comprising:

• receiving an incoming call from the custodial facility phone, the incoming call being free of charge to the inmate;
• providing the inmate an opportunity to record a voice message for an outside party in a voice mailbox assigned to the inmate;
• and
• providing the outside party with access to the voice mailbox assigned to the inmate in exchange for an access fee.

A system for processing a call placed by an inmate from a custodial facility using a custodial facility phone, comprising:

• means for receiving an incoming call from the custodial facility phone, the incoming call being free of charge to the inmate;
• means for prompting the inmate to choose between accessing a voice mail system and calling an outside party;
• means for providing the inmate access to a voice mailbox assigned to the inmate if the inmate chooses to access the voice mail system;
• means for prompting the inmate to input a phone number for the outside party if the inmate chooses to call the outside party;
• means for placing an outgoing call to the outside party using the phone number input by the inmate;
• means for determining whether the outside party provides a payment to cover charges for being connected to the inmate if the outside party answers the outgoing call;
• and
• means for connecting the inmate to the outgoing call and terminating the incoming call if the outside party provides the payment.