Franklin County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Check the sheriff's roster first, then confirm by calling the jail at 256-332-8425. The building sits at 748 Walnut Gate Road, Russellville, AL 35654. Spell the legal name slowly and share the birthday, so staff open the correct file.

Jail staff may not know the bond amount or when a judge will hear it, so ask what charge was entered and which judge has it. Also ask if booking is complete. Someone brought in an hour ago may not appear on the roster yet, and no bond can be posted until that paperwork is done. Keep a notebook with each name, number and time you hear.

The sheriff lists three ways to bond someone out:

1. Cash bond: every dollar is paid at the circuit clerk's window in the courthouse, and a copy of that receipt goes to the jail.
2. Property bond: land worth at least the bond, shown on an assessment printout from the Revenue Commissioner.
3. Bail bondsman: an agent licensed in this county, who keeps a 10 percent fee.

All three need the $35 filing fee too. Now and then a judge releases someone on their signature alone, a written vow to show up for each hearing. Statewide rules are on our Alabama bail laws page. Bond questions go to the jail at 256-332-8425.

The circuit clerk works in the county courthouse at 410 N. Jackson Avenue, Russellville, AL 35653. The phone is 256-332-8861. The office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and shut on weekends and state holidays.

This is where a cash bond is paid in full. The courthouse and the jail are in different buildings, so plan to stop at both. Pay the clerk first, get your receipt, and then drive to Walnut Gate Road. After a Friday night arrest, a cash bond usually waits until the clerk opens again, while a bondsman may move sooner. The clerk's court page repeats the hours and phone.

Every bond in this county carries a $35.00 bond-filing fee. The payee line on the money order must read Franklin County Circuit Clerk. Cash and personal checks get refused for this fee, so pick up the money order at a store, bank or post office before you leave home.

You hand it to an officer at the jail while the person is being bonded out. It sits on top of the bond and is never part of the amount the judge set. Forgetting it is one of the quickest ways to lose a whole day. If you are unsure how to fill it out, call the jail at 256-332-8425 before you buy it.

Yes. A property bond lets relatives pledge land instead of cash. Work through it in this order:

1. Visit the Revenue Commissioner's office inside the courthouse at 410 N. Jackson Avenue, Russellville, AL 35653 and request a property assessment printout.
2. Compare the assessed value with the bond. It must be equal or higher, and two or more assessments may be added together.
3. Carry the printouts to the jail so staff can review them.
4. Bring along every owner named on each assessment, because all of them sign.
5. Have the $35 money order ready for the filing fee.

Since the printout comes from this county's Revenue Commissioner, land inside the county is the safe route. Call the circuit clerk at 256-332-8861 before counting on land elsewhere.

The sheriff's detention center page names the bonding companies licensed here. The agent you hire must hold a county license, and per the sheriff, agents charge 10 percent of the bond. That fee pays for the agent's promise to the court, so you never see it again, dropped charges or not.

Go over the contract line by line. Look at the fee, any collateral such as a car title, and what you would owe should the defendant skip a hearing. You can confirm an agent's license with the Professional Bail Bonding Board. Get paper receipts each time money changes hands, and keep copies until the case and the bond are both closed.

No. Money for a cash bond goes to the circuit clerk at 410 N. Jackson Avenue, Russellville, AL 35653, not to the jail. The single payment handed over at the jail is the $35 money order for the filing fee. With a bondsman, you pay the agent directly.

What you should carry to Walnut Gate Road is a photo ID, the booking number along with the inmate's legal name, your clerk receipt or property printouts, and the money order. Nobody at the jail should ask you for bond cash. If someone does, step aside and call the jail's main number, 256-332-8425, to check before you pay.

Alabama Rule 7.2 gives judges suggested ranges. A judge may set the bond above or below them after weighing the charge, public safety, past convictions and roots in the community:

• Class C misdemeanor: $300 to $1,000
• Class B misdemeanor: $300 to $3,000
• Class A misdemeanor: $300 to $6,000
• DUI: $1,000 to $7,500
• Class D felony: $1,000 to $10,000
• Class C felony: $2,500 to $15,000
• Class B felony: $5,000 to $30,000
• Class A felony: $10,000 to $60,000
• Drug manufacturing or trafficking: $5,000 to $1,500,000

The full Rule 7.2 bail schedule has the rest. Always ask the jail for the real figure on each charge.

The county detention center holds people brought in by town officers as well as deputies. When the charge breaks a city ordinance, though, the town's own court hears it and sets the bond:

• Russellville Municipal Court, 400 N. Jackson Avenue, Russellville, AL 35653, 256-332-8700
• Red Bay Municipal Court, City Hall, 203 Fourth Avenue SE, Red Bay, AL 35582, 256-356-4473
• Phil Campbell Municipal Court, City Hall, 580 Railroad Street, Phil Campbell, AL 35581, 205-993-5313

Ask the arresting department where your person is housed and which court set the amount. A state charge filed by a town officer still runs through the circuit clerk.

Some charges need a bond hearing before any money is accepted. For an arrest made with no warrant, Alabama Rule 4.3 means a judge has two days, or 48 hours, to rule on probable cause. On a warrant, someone who still cannot meet the terms has a 72-hour outer limit for that court appearance. Domestic violence arrests carry a waiting period of up to 24 hours before bond.

Jail staff in Russellville may not know the hearing time. Call the circuit clerk at 256-332-8861 for the next date. If nothing is on the calendar, ask the defense lawyer to request a hearing.

Seeing those words next to a name is scary, but there are a few possible causes. The charge may be capital murder. The prosecutor may be asking a judge to deny bail under Aniah's Law, which reaches kidnapping, murder, first-degree robbery and similar violent counts. Since the May 19, 2026 vote, the list also covers shooting into an occupied house, vehicle or building, plus attempting, conspiring or soliciting a murder.

The person might instead be held for probation, parole or another county. Paying money does not lift a hold. The 34th Circuit district attorney works in the courthouse at 410 N. Jackson Avenue, Russellville, AL 35653, 256-332-8870. Ask a lawyer to explain the written order.

A lawyer can ask. Under Rule 7.4, good cause can justify new terms or a new dollar amount, once the prosecutor is heard. It helps to bring facts the judge can weigh, such as steady work, a place to live, family members who count on the person, and a ride lined up for each hearing.

Once a person has sat 90 days awaiting trial, the circuit court must revisit the terms. That second look does not promise a smaller number. To pull the file, the clerk at 256-332-8861 needs a name and birth date.

Being broke is no reason to face a charge without help. When the defendant first stands before the judge, they can say a private lawyer is out of reach. Next comes a sworn statement about pay, belongings, bills and dependents, which the judge reviews. Rule 6.3 lets that ruling be revisited if money matters change, and getting bonded out does not by itself disqualify anyone.

The local file is kept at the courthouse, 410 N. Jackson Avenue, Russellville, AL 35653, and the clerk answers at 256-332-8861. The state agency behind appointed counsel is the Office of Indigent Defense Services, 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059. Never sign a plea deal before a lawyer has reviewed it.

A skipped hearing puts the bond in danger. Expect a fresh arrest order, and the posted money could be forfeited. Under Rule 7.6, the defendant first gets written notice and a chance to respond, so hand every court letter to the lawyer quickly.

If you posted the bond or co-signed with an agent, you have a stake too. Phone the circuit clerk at 256-332-8861 right away to check the docket, and have the lawyer ask for a new date. Tell the bondsman quickly, since the contract may make you pay if the defendant cannot be found.

The sheriff says cash bond money comes back after sentencing, though the judge may first take out court costs and fines. Under Rule 7.6(e), once the case no longer needs the security, the judge can discharge the bond and send the money back. If you move, tell the clerk your new address so the check can find you.

Two payments never come back: the 10 percent paid to a bondsman and the $35 filing fee. Keep the original clerk receipt somewhere safe, because it proves what you paid. The clerk's office, 256-332-8861, tracks refunds.

Kids skip the adult bond steps. A juvenile judge hears the case behind closed doors, and the file stays private. Start with the county's juvenile probation office at 256-332-8877. Probation officers do intake, can say where the child was placed, and know when court is set. Detention of a youth gets reviewed at a hearing held within 72 hours.

The closest youth lockup on the Alabama Department of Youth Services list is Tennessee Valley Juvenile Detention Center, 2216 Missouri Street, Tuscumbia, AL 35674, 256-381-3520. Ask probation whether the child was taken there. Moms, dads or guardians are expected at each court date.

Plan around the methods the sheriff lists: a cash payment at the clerk, a property printout, or a licensed bondsman. The filing fee has to be a money order. Call the jail at 256-332-8425 and ask whether any card or online choice fits your case before you rely on one.

Money added to a jail phone, commissary or visit account is not a bond payment and will not free anyone. The state's AlaPay service handles traffic tickets and criminal fines, not bonds. A town case may follow its own rules, so ask that city court how it collects.

Fraudsters watch for arrests and phone relatives fast, pushing them to pay within minutes. Real bond agents do not demand gift cards, payment apps or wire transfers, and cash bonds here are settled face to face at the courthouse window on Jackson Avenue.

If a call feels off, hang up. Phone the jail at 256-332-8425 or the circuit clerk at 256-332-8861 to check the bond yourself. Never read a card number or a code to a stranger. Ask any agent for a name and license number, then look it up with the state bonding board before paying a cent.

No. Once a case goes federal, the state price list no longer counts. Federal court for this area is the Florence courthouse of the Northern District, at the federal building, 210 North Seminary Street, Room 202, Florence, AL 35630, 256-760-8415. Staff are not there every day. Expect these steps:

1. Federal officers either arrest the person themselves or take custody from the Walnut Gate Road jail.
2. A magistrate judge handles the first court appearance.
3. Pretrial officers look into work history, relatives and old cases.
4. Prosecutors may push to keep the person locked up.
5. Anyone let out must follow written conditions in place of cash.

Until sentencing, custody belongs to the U.S. Marshals Service, 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203, 205-829-6611.

Sadly, no. An I-247A form lets ICE request a heads-up before release, and it may ask staff to hold the person two extra days, 48 hours at most, for pickup. Any state or city bond still has to be paid before that clock even starts, and paying it settles nothing with immigration.

For this corner of Alabama, the responsible ICE office is in Louisiana: New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. After a transfer to ICE, enter the A-number and birth country in the online detainee locator. A state payment never covers an immigration bond.

These official sources help before anyone turns themselves in:

• The sheriff's most wanted list, which opens after a short notice.
• The ALEA wanted persons search covering fugitives statewide.
• Alacourt Access, where a $9.99 name search shows a case.
• The sheriff's administrative office at 748 Walnut Gate Road, Russellville, AL 35654, 256-332-8811, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Think about a planned surrender at Walnut Gate Road. Bring a lawyer and have the bond money ready. That beats being picked up by surprise.

These free tools cover people who have left the county jail:

• ADOC: the state corrections inmate search searches by name or by AIS number, which has six digits; youthful offender files are left off.
• Federal prison: the federal inmate locator works once a federal sentence begins. During the pretrial stage, the Marshals answer at 205-829-6611.
• Alerts: on VINELink, choose Alabama, locate the record, and ask for a call, text or email whenever that person moves or goes free.

Our Alabama prison guide covers visits and mail after a transfer.