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

Changes to federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws apply only to federal inmates. They do not automatically extend to state systems, including Texas state jails and prisons. Federal and state criminal justice systems operate independently of each other. When Congress or the federal courts modify sentencing guidelines, those changes affect people convicted of federal crimes sentenced in federal court. Someone in a Texas state jail is serving time under Texas state law, and only changes made by the Texas Legislature or Texas...

Do not bring legal paperwork to a visitation without confirming the facility's policy first. Many facilities prohibit any documents from being passed between visitors and inmates during visitation, regardless of the purpose or content. Attempting to have papers signed during a visit without prior approval can result in the visit being terminated and potentially affect future visitation privileges. The right first step is to call Clay County Detention Center and speak with your boyfriend's counselor or case manager before you do...

It depends entirely on the facility. Some jails and prisons require visitors to schedule visits in advance, while others operate on a walk-in basis during designated visiting hours. There is no universal standard across the thousands of correctional facilities in the United States. Federal facilities generally have more structured visitation processes and may require advance scheduling or at minimum advance approval to be on the visiting list before showing up. Many state facilities operate on set visiting days and hours where...

Tulare County Men's Correctional Facility in Visalia, California does not always maintain up to date visitation information on their public website, which is a common frustration with county-level facilities across California. The most reliable way to get current visitation rules is to call the facility directly. Ask specifically for the visitation department or a staff member who can walk you through the current visiting schedule, what identification you need to bring, whether you need to be on an approved list in...

Most correctional facilities only accept packages shipped via the United States Postal Service. FedEx and UPS deliveries are routinely rejected at prison mail rooms, and Amazon does not give customers the option to choose their shipping carrier directly. There is a practical workaround that solves this problem. If a facility has a PO Box address, use that as the shipping address instead of the street address. FedEx and UPS do not deliver to PO Boxes, which means Amazon's fulfillment system will...

Buenas tardes, Para poder verificar su linea necesito que me mande su nombre, apellido y el numero de telefono asignado por InmateAid. De todos modos queria clarificarle que nosotros ofrecemos unicamente la línea local, que es la forma en que se reduce el precio de la comunicacion. Usted todavía tiene que seguir abonando a la compañía de teléfono de la prisión para que el recluso pueda usar las instalaciones de telefono. Por favor register el numero asignado por Inmateaid en...

Felony domestic violence sentencing varies considerably by state, the specific facts of the incident, and how aggressively the prosecution decides to pursue the case. There is no single answer that applies everywhere, but here is a realistic range. At the low end, a skilled defense attorney negotiating a first felony conviction with mitigating circumstances can sometimes achieve a result of probation, time served, or a suspended sentence with no incarceration. That outcome is more likely when the facts are contested, the...

Go to your My Account area on the website. Click on Discount Telephone Service, click Add a Local Line, then select the state, the facility name, your telephone number and the calling plan you wish to buy. Go to checkout and then the pay page. Enter your debit card or credit card and pay. You will get an email confirmation of your purchase and in about an hour, you will get your new local telephone number emailed to you to...

Putting money on an inmate’s commissary account can allow them to make phone calls, but it depends on how that facility’s phone system is set up. There are two common ways calls are paid for: 1. Inmate pays from commissary funds: Money you send goes into their account They can use it to buy phone time or calling cards Downside: they can also spend it on other items, not just calls 2. You set up a phone account: You create and fund an account with the facility’s phone provider Calls...

Facility mailrooms process incoming mail by cross-referencing the inmate ID number against their records, not just the name. Even a one-digit error in the ID number is enough to prevent the letter from being matched to the correct inmate, and in most cases the letter will be returned to the sender rather than delivered. The name and facility being correct does not override an incorrect ID in most mailroom processing systems. The good news is that this is a fixable situation...

No. A release date cannot be calculated until a sentence has been imposed. The release date is derived directly from the length of the sentence. Without knowing how many months or years a judge has ordered, there is no number to work from. Good time credits, which reduce the time served, are also calculated as a percentage of the sentence length, so those cannot be determined in advance either. What you can do before sentencing is understand the range of possible outcomes....

When someone has been arrested on a contempt charge with bail set, their release depends entirely on whether that bail gets posted. Until the $11,000 bail is paid or bonded, your boyfriend will remain in custody regardless of any other timeline. To find out the current status of the case, what hearings are scheduled, and what the exact conditions of release are, contact the Clerk of the Court in the jurisdiction where he was charged. The clerk's office maintains the official...

The most accurate and complete source of information about an inmate's charges, case history, and conviction is the official court record. Everything else, whether it is news coverage, online databases, or secondhand accounts, is either incomplete or filtered through someone else's interpretation. The Clerk of the Court in the jurisdiction where the case was tried is where to start. Call or visit the clerk's office and ask for the case file associated with the person's name and approximate date of arrest...

If your family member was involved with a gang on the outside, the likelihood of that affiliation continuing inside is significant, particularly at higher security state facilities. Prison gang structures are largely extensions of street gang networks, and many of the major prison gangs have direct organizational ties to their street counterparts. Someone arriving with a known affiliation will almost certainly be recognized by people already inside who share that history. In practice this means the expectation of continued affiliation often...

No one is forced into a gang in the sense that they have no choice. Every inmate ultimately makes their own decision about affiliation. That said, the social dynamics inside certain facilities, particularly higher-security state prisons, create pressure that can make that decision feel less free than it sounds from the outside. Here is how it actually works. Prison gangs, also called security threat groups by facility administrators, are organized along racial, geographic, and ideological lines. They provide members with protection,...