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Ask a former inmate questions at no charge. The inmate answering has spent considerable time in the federal prison system, state and county jails, and in a prison that was run by the private prison entity CCA.

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Subject: Medical treatment

Inmates have the right to receive health care while in custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons or any other penal system in the United States. Urgent and emergency medical care is available on-site 24-hours a day and seven days a week. Inmate must contact their unit officer or detail supervisor if they feel emergency care is necessary. All emergencies or injuries will be given priority for treatment. Appropriate medical care will be provided by institution hospital staff. Medical

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Subject: Inmate transfer

There is no set time for an inmate to get transferred from county to state or federal prison. It sometimes has to do with bed space at the designated location, or it could be the transport detail is coordinated for the best budgetary concerns. If it's a few days or a few weeks, one morning, an officer will come to the inmate's cell unannounced and say, "Pack your stuff"... and then you're gone.

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Subject: Law & court questions - legal terms

Restraining orders can only be dissolved by a court order. Even if a separated couple reconciles, the restraining order still is enforceable. Moreover, it is not automatic that a court will dissolve a restraining order even if the parties reconcile. It is important to emphasize that the apparent reconciliation between people with a long history of domestic violence seldom marks the end of difficulties. It would be unwise and improper to reconcile if a restraining order is still in force.

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Subject: Bail & bond questions

Unfortunately we do not think they will set a bail if previously the prosecution has asked for no bail. When a magistrate says, "no bail" there are a couple of reasons. If they think the inmate is a danger to the public or a flight risk. Unless there is something new discovered in the charges, we think there is not much of a chance there will be a bail amount.

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Subject: Inmate search

Some of the jurisdiction websites have the information posted and others do not. The websites that charge for the information are getting their data at a cost to them. If it were indeed "free", then the pay sites would not be in business at all.

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Subject: Prison discipline

It depends on what the restriction is for and how the facility structures its disciplinary consequences. Not all restrictions are the same. An inmate can be restricted from specific privileges while others remain intact. Phone access is often one of the first things pulled when someone receives a disciplinary infraction, but it is not automatic in every case. A minor infraction might result in limited commissary access or loss of recreation time without touching phone privileges at all.

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Subject: Prison discipline

Punitive segregation allows only one 15-minute call per week, however, they may write as many letters that they want.

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Subject: Sentence reduction

Yes, there is a program called RDAP (Residential Drug Abuse Program), that if qualified will cut one year (plus a guaranteed 6 months of halfway house) off the inmate's sentence. There are other opportunities which require substantial assistance in helping authorities prosecute other crimes. Inmate's reward is a sentence reduction (AKA snitching, but it's effective). Also, there have been recent changes to the sentencing guidelines for non-violent drug crimes. When an inmate's profile fits the new

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Remember, InmateAid's Discount Telephone Service is not a replacement for the service at the jail (GTL), but we get you a local telephone number to make their calls the cheapest they offer. Local calls are about $4.00 less than an in-state long distance call. You still pay the local rate, but the savings of $4.00+ per call justifies the $19.95/month fee in only five calls.

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Subject: Commissary

Yes, that is what the commissary is for.

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