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

Yes. Inmates have the right to refuse incoming mail, and if they choose to do so the letter gets returned to the sender rather than delivered. It is not something that happens often, but it does happen. An inmate may refuse mail from a specific person for any number of reasons, whether they want to cut off contact, are trying to avoid conflict inside, or simply do not want the correspondence. In some cases a facility can also flag or restrict...

Going to jail does not automatically change a child support order. Only a judge can change or modify a child support order. If a parent that is in jail has income or assets that can be used to pay for your child's support, he or she has to continue to pay child support. If there already is a child support order, and the parent who was ordered to pay child support goes to jail (is incarcerated), the child support order does...

The highest prison wage in the prison is paid by a joint venture program. It is a private company that operates using inmate labor. Their wages are minimum wage with the payments going to three different places. The prisoner has to pay room and board, a share goes to a bank account to assist the inmate upon release from prison. As well as a portion of the prisoners pay check goes to a family member if desired and some to...

Inmates who have not completed high school are required to study for and pass their GED. This is a service provided at no cost. If an inmate would like to take college courses and pursue a degree, they are encouraged to do so but the courses are offered by various accredited university like LSU and others through their "distance learning" programs. These courses are just like regular college with a price on each hour of credit. The courses are proxied...

Generally, it is easier to get a furlough from the halfway house than from the prison itself. halfway house is a transitional time where the inmate is given small time periods to go home and be with their family, find a job or go to religious services. A furlough is an authorized absence from an institution by an inmate who is not under escort of a staff member, a US Marshal, other federal or state agent. Furloughs are a privilege, not...

Orange might seem more pervasive than it is because prisoners often change into orange when they go out in public. Sheriffs sometimes put prisoners in orange during perp walks in front of reporters, and prisoners often wear orange in court. The Federal Bureau of Prisons issues khaki trousers and shirts. New York state actually bans the color orange among prisoners: It issues uniforms that are "hunter green," and lets them wear their own T-shirts, as long as they're not blue...