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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: Release questions

This is not an unusual request and it is worth pursuing immediately. With only 23 days remaining on his sentence, there is a reasonable basis for asking for early release or, at a minimum, a supervised temporary release to be at his daughter's bedside. The two people to contact right away are the facility chaplain and his case manager. Start with the chaplain. Chaplains deal with family emergency situations regularly and often have more flexibility and compassion in how

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Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

There is no hard deadline. When an inmate is held on an out-of-state warrant for a probation violation, the holding state can keep them while the issuing state arranges extradition and transport. Mississippi has to formally request the transfer, coordinate logistics, and send transport officers to make the pickup. That process can take weeks, and in some cases a month or more, particularly when the two jurisdictions are far apart. Your husband is not eligible for bail in this

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Subject: Marriage in prison

It is possible but not guaranteed, and the answer depends heavily on why he is there. Not every detention facility allows marriages to take place, and the ones that do have specific rules about who is eligible and how the process works. If he is being held as an ICE detainee, the situation is more complicated. Immigration authorities typically do not permit detained individuals to marry while in immigration custody because it can be viewed as an attempt to

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Subject: Medical treatment

He should not get in trouble for a medical condition he cannot control, but he needs to handle it through the right channel rather than simply not participating. The way to protect himself is to go through the facility's medical process and get the issue formally documented. Inmates at any facility can request medical attention for any ailment. If his foot condition is genuine and limits his mobility, he needs to submit a sick call request and get seen

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Subject: Halfway house

Work release is different than the halfway house. Work release is when you live in the prison but take a bus (Mon - Fri) to a remote location where they work with civilians. When their work day is over, they return to the minimum security camp and sleep. The halfway house means "halfway between in prison and being released from prison." The halfway house is when the inmate is released into the community, they will live in the halfway house

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Subject: Commissary

Roxbury runs a commissary on a weekly schedule. Inmates can place orders once a week for regular items like food, hygiene products, and other approved goods. That part works the way most facilities do. The six-month restriction on big-ticket items like televisions and clothing is a separate policy tied to spending limits. Major purchases like a TV eat up a large portion of the monthly spending allowance in one shot, and facilities manage that by creating longer purchasing windows

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Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

If the violation did not result in any new criminal charges, the most likely outcome is that he is returned to custody to serve out the remainder of his original sentence. No additional time gets tacked on simply for violating transitional leave when no new offense was committed. The worst case in that scenario is finishing what he originally owed. On the other end of the spectrum, depending on the nature of the violation and the discretion of the

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Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

Parole approval is not the same as release, and the gap between the two can be frustratingly long. Two weeks is not unusual at all, and in some cases, the process stretches into months. The most common reason for the delay is housing. Before the parole board will authorize an actual release date, the approved housing situation must be confirmed and accepted by the parole office. The address she listed has to be verified, the parole officer has to

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Subject: Prison discipline

Yes and No. The use of the phone is a privilege and my be taken away for a number of reasons. Mail is considered to be sacred and they NEVER take away the inmate's ability to receive or send mail, even if they are subjected to the SHU for disciplinary reasons. Inmates may not correspond with other inmates unless they are related and have received permission from the warden. The only time mail is restricted is if the inmate is

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Subject: Money transfer

All inmates have a trust account where funds may be deposited from their job wages within the institution. It is also where friends and family may add funds as well. All inmates may make purchases from the commissary once a week, even those in the SHU. If the inmate's status is in adminstrative or disciplinary segregation, the commissary shopping list is abbreviated.

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