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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.

Ask your question or browse previous questions in response to comments or further questions of members of the InmateAid community.

Subject: Visitation

Preparing them before you walk through that door is the most important thing you can do, and you are already thinking about it the right way. At 9 and 11, kids are old enough to understand more than adults sometimes give them credit for, but they still need the information framed in a way that does not frighten them more than necessary. If their dad has visible injuries from the arrest, tell them before they see him. Something simple

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Subject: Release questions

When two sources conflict on something as important as a release date, go with the government source every time. The official state department of corrections or Bureau of Prisons inmate locator pulls directly from the system that actually manages the sentence calculation. That database reflects the official record, including good time credits, any adjustments that have been made, and the current projected release date as calculated by the corrections department itself. It is the most authoritative source available to

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Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

The timing of the violation relative to the end of probation matters here, and the picture is actually more manageable than it might feel right now. When someone violates probation, the standard outcome is revocation and serving the remainder of the original suspended sentence. That is the worst case. But the remainder of the sentence is the key phrase. If his probation runs through March 2019 and he did not pick up a new criminal charge, the remaining time

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Subject: Bail & bond questions

Yes, that is the standard amount required by most bail bondsman

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Subject: Send inmate mail

yes, eyeglasses are permitted

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Subject: Inmateaid website questions

Answers are sometimes redundant or duplicates of what we have previously answered. All of your questions have been answered - and there are several similar answers posted on the site from months and years past.

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Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

Whether it is a new charge or a violation of parole, the destination is the same. SCI Phoenix is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections facility, and both situations can result in someone being sent there to potentially serve out the remainder of their original sentence. The mechanism is different but the landing spot can be identical. To find out which situation applies, there are a few ways to get that information before you talk to him directly. The

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Subject: After prison challenges & services

Inmates have a form they fill out which can transfer money from their commissary account to someone on the outside. In federal prison, the form is called a BP-199.

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Subject: Marriage in prison

It depends on the facility, the inmate's disciplinary history and time left on his sentence. We recommend calling the facility to see what they will allow.

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Subject: Send inmate mail

It is a genuinely reasonable question, and the logic behind the policy is more practical than moral even if the word pornography carries a certain weight. The primary reason is security and facility management rather than any particular stance on nudity itself. Explicit photos become a form of currency inside correctional facilities. They get traded, stolen, used as leverage, bartered for commissary items, and can become a source of conflict between inmates. A facility trying to maintain order cannot

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