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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: Sentence reduction

The specific formula you are describing, where every six months served after five years counts as a full year, does not reflect any standard federal or state sentencing policy that exists in writing. It is likely a version of prison yard math, the informal calculations and rumors that circulate inside facilities and get passed along as fact. Inmates spend a lot of time thinking about their release dates and informal theories about how time works tend to spread and evolve

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Subject: Sentencing questions

The starting point for understanding any sentence is the 85 percent rule, which applies to most felony sentences in both the federal system and many state systems that have abolished parole. On a 20-year sentence that works out to 17 years of actual time served before release becomes possible, assuming no additional reductions apply and no disciplinary issues extend the timeline. The breakdown of how that time actually gets structured looks different from how time works on the outside

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Whether the discount service makes sense for a prepaid phone depends on how the calls are being billed and what the per minute rate is between your current number and the facility. Here is the core issue. Calls from correctional facilities are billed based on the rate associated with the number being called rather than the caller's actual location. A prepaid Virgin Mobile number with a Daytona area code calling Quincy Correctional in northern Florida may or may not

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Family and friends with questions regarding receiving international calls from an inmate, they may contact Securus Correctional Billing Services via the web at www.securustech.net.

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

Yes, the site is designed to be easy to use. If you are in need of assistance please email (aid@inmateaid.com) your concern or call **866-966-7100** - we would be happy to help.

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Subject: Visitation

When your fiancé first arrives at a reception and diagnostic center like Fulton, there is a short waiting period before visits are allowed. What happens first: He must go through intake and orientation (A&O) This includes medical checks, classification, and interviews During this time, visitation is usually not permitted yet When visits become possible: After orientation is completed He will need to submit a visitor list that includes your name You may also need to complete and

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

You can use the inmate locator that can be found on every one of the prison facility pages. Click the link and enter your inmate's name.

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Subject: Send inmate mail

There is a card that is sent to the inmate informing them that there was a subscription purchased for them, that it is on the way (within 8-12 weeks) and by whom.

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Subject: Survive prison

Jail seems like the movie "Groundhog Day". Every day is exactly like the day before and the day before that. Even holidays lack any substantive change. Inmates with a long sentence has a sense of hopelessness and will find it hard to see optimism in anything. Make no mistake, jail is lonely. Inmates are isolated and have to cope with boredom. The longer they are locked up, the easier it becomes to deal with - you get used

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Subject: Pending criminal charges

When someone is picked up by the FBI, they leave the county system and enter federal custody, which means they will no longer appear in the county jail's records. That explains why the facility is telling you he is not there even though the same location keeps coming up in searches. He has been moved and the databases have not caught up or are simply not showing his new location. Here is how to track him down. Search

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