Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

In most cases this is not a parole violation, but the answer is not identical for every situation and it is worth getting confirmation before assuming you are in the clear. Parole conditions in Texas are set by the Board of Pardons and Paroles and vary from case to case. Standard conditions typically restrict parolees from associating with people who have criminal records or are under criminal justice supervision, but family relationships are often treated differently than associations with unrelated individuals....

The tablets cost about $140, in some places (NY State) the tablets are actually free to use. Where they get you is there is a steep cost to access the content. Emails are $0.30 - $0.50 each, a simple game like solitaire (free on your phone) is $7.99, song downloads and movie rentals and purchases range from $2 to $25. These rates are at the cheaper end of the market. Just this summer, Florida inmates lost about $11.3 million in music...

The short answer is that there is very little you can do from the outside to change this, and understanding why helps make sense of what feels like an overreaction. Once a flag exists in someone's record indicating a prior suicide risk statement, even something said offhandedly during a stressful arrest years ago, it follows them through the system. Every time they enter a new facility, intake staff reviews that history and makes a precautionary placement decision based on what is...

No. There is no pathway to release or furlough for an inmate who has been inside less than a week, and the birth of a child does not qualify as a furlough-eligible event in any correctional system regardless of how long someone has been incarcerated. Furloughs require an established institutional record built over a significant period of time. An inmate who arrived less than a week ago has no track record, has barely completed intake processing, and has not had any...

A family member or friend can absolutely pick someone up on their release date. There is no requirement to use the bus or train ticket that the facility provides. The ticket is an option, not a mandate, and it exists specifically for people who have nobody coming to get them or no other way to get home. When an inmate is released, the facility typically provides gate money, a small amount of cash, and a bus or train ticket to their...

The inmate's case manager and counselor recommend the amount of halfway house time. Usually, the longer the sentence, the longer the halfway house giving the released have ample time to re-enter the workplace and society in general. The qualifications are that the inmate is within 12 months of release. Normally six months is the longest time period for halfway house residency. Once there, the inmate is almost home. Continue following rules, get a job and start paying one-third of your...

Probation violations do not work like a new arrest, and that distinction matters for understanding what comes next. There is no bail hearing, no bond to post, and no way to get out while waiting. He will stay in county custody until he appears before the magistrate or judge who originally sentenced him. That is the person who has authority over what happens next, and that appearance is the only path forward. What happens at that hearing depends on several factors,...

If you ask an inmate (as you are now), the more the merrier :)... but you as a person on the outside trying to take care of your own expenses you should budget what you can afford to send. If money is no object, you might consider $75/wk for commissary and phone. In the federal system, they can only spend $69/month on phone and $315 on commissary + whatever money the emails are. It can become quite expensive so be careful...

The Florida Department of Corrections makes inmate information available to the public through their official offender search tool. You can look up your friend's record, current facility, and projected release date directly on their website. Use this link to search: http://www.dc.state.fl.us/OffenderSearch/Search.aspx You can search by name or DC number, which is the inmate's Florida DOC identification number. The results will show you their current custody status, the facility where they are housed, their offense information, and their tentative release date if one...

An RVR, or Rules Violation Report, is an internal disciplinary document generated when an inmate is found to have violated facility rules. It becomes part of the inmate's institutional record and is treated as protected information under federal and state privacy statutes. As a family member or partner on the outside, you have no legal right to access that record without the inmate's consent. The facility will not disclose disciplinary information to outside parties, and there is no public database or...