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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: Marriage in prison

You can't get married at that facility. The city jails are short term facilities and have no provision for inmate marriages whatsoever. Marriage for an inmate would only happen to long-term offenders in a state or federal facility for an inmate with a clean incident report history.

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

State and federal prison have different rules on calling. In the state prisons, most inmates have unlimited talk time as long as there is money on the account. In federal, there is a 300-minute monthly limit (with an extra 100 in Nov and Dec for the holidays). Dorm housing is like an army barracks with rows of bunk beds and lockers dividing the living space. Federal dorms hold about 100 inmates who share 6 showers, 4 toilets, 4 sinks,

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Subject: Website function questions

Click on this link: https://www.inmateaid.com/members/inmates/new to create an InmateAid Inmate Profile

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Are you using the InmateAid app? All mail pieces we send are prison-jail compliant. If you would like to try our incredible service for free, please email aid@inmateaid.com and we will send you a free coupon to see what your inmate has been missing.

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

Most new inmates go through an orientation period before phone and visitation access is activated. At Florida state facilities, that process typically takes about a week. During that window, the inmate is being classified, assigned to a housing unit, and briefed on facility rules and programs. Phone lists, approved visitor lists, and commissary accounts are all set up as part of that process. There is a way to potentially speed things up. Inmates who are proactive about communicating with

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Subject: Relationship issues

The only way you'll know is if your inmate tells you. You cannot get a copy of or information regarding to any of the inmate's visiting list, call list, commissary spend, or people that send your inmate money or mail. Believe it or not, inmates have a right to privacy just like you.

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Subject: Survive prison

The inmate uses their commissary (and pay others for theirs) to inventory all of the popular items available and then sell to all the other inmates. The other inmates use the inmate's "store" to supplement their needs between commissary visits, or inmates that are on commissary restrictions. The items you buy from the inmate store come at a premium - in most cases, you get one item and pay back with two of the same items.

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Subject: Release questions

Most prison state systems and the federal (BOP) facilities give the inmates their best possible release date which includes good time. That is 15% off the sentence calculation. You cannot get more than 15% without snitching on someone. The good time credit is applied at the beginning to have something to hold over the inmate in their compliance with the rules. All you can do is lose what they've already given you.

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Subject: Relationship issues

Not going to happen. The inmate is entitled to full privacy - their visitation list, call list, commissary money whereabouts, and what was spent are fully protected. 

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Subject: Furloughs

The likelihood of this being approved is very low, and understanding why helps set realistic expectations before investing time in the request. Furloughs are already rare in most state systems. When they are granted, they come with strict conditions including a verified address where the inmate can be reached and monitored at all times, typically a permanent residence rather than a temporary one. A hotel or bed and breakfast in another state does not meet the stability and verifiability

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