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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: Parole, probation & supervised release

The violation is related to the original sentence. DUI is looked at differently that most violations but the penalty still might result in doing all or a part of the sentence that he's working off

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Written explicit content generally makes it through. Mailroom staff are primarily looking for specific types of problematic content, not adult material between consenting parties. The things that get flagged and confiscated are communications related to the inmate's current criminal case, anything that looks like running a business from inside the facility, threatening or violent language, anything that mentions contraband, escape-related content, or material that reads like terrorist or extremist communication. Sexually explicit written stories between adults are not on

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Subject: Sentencing questions

We are not sure that the new early release will benefit offenders that have violence in their case (a gun constitutes violence), sorry to say. The issue with having a prior incarceration is that the judges are harder on repeat offenders. Your fiance has all the elements (repeat, gang, firearm, ex-con) of someone that is not a great candidate for leniency. 

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Subject: Relationship issues

Really?? Do you think prison is a dating service? There is zero contact with female inmates by male inmates. Unless they are in a building with windows facing the interior, where they might catch a glimpse of a female inmate, there is no interaction. Inmates do not have access to the internet; there is no inter-communication between inmates online - if they use email (some places have it), it is a closed system with a very strict analytical keyword surveillance. 

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Subject: Send books and magazines

They should be delivered to him at the next mail call if they are sitting in the mail room. You might try calling the facility and ask to speak to the officer in charge of the mail room. Tell them in the most respectful way what you know, what Amazon told you and see if you can get somewhere with a little kindness - it always helps

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Subject: Pending criminal charges

He is probably not looking at more time, unless what he brought in is either a weapon or a cellphone. The more likely outcome is that he will lose his accrued good time, he will be relegated to the SHU for several weeks or more. He will lose most privileges like phone, visitation and commissary. And finally, he is very likely going to be shipped to a higher security prison to finish out his sentence.

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Subject: Money transfer

The key question is whether his state DOC inmate number has been assigned yet. Once a person is sentenced to state prison, they are typically assigned a DOC number even before the physical transfer happens. If he has that number, you can deposit money directly into his state DOC account through the state's official deposit platform, and those funds will be waiting for him when he arrives at his assigned facility. To find the right deposit method, go to

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Subject: Medical treatment

Whomever is standing for him in court needs to make the judge aware of his mental state - this is one of his defenses. The judge should order a mental health evaluation if properly noticed. The results will give the judge some idea of how to proceed. If he was indeed involved in a serious crime the better alternative to incarceration for him would be in a mental health facility to help treat his illness.

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

The short answer is yes, and the math makes it clear quickly. InmateAid does not replace the phone system at the jail or prison. Your family member still calls out through the facility's phone service the same way they always have. What InmateAid does is give you a local phone number to receive those calls on. That single change drops the per-call rate from long distance to local, and the difference between those two rates is where the savings

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Subject: Prison violence

Any of the state SCI facilities in Pennsylvania are serious institutions. It is possible that your son has been in a few fights or so if he's been in the RHU a few times. But we are not wanting to alarm you becasue it is also possible he beat up someone, instead. The RHU is either for disciplinary reasons or adminstrative reasons. The latter could be protective custody, but we do not think that is the case or he would

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