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

He will serve 85% of his sentence unless there are incident reports that take away the 15% good time credits they get automatically.  It is NOT true that most inmates get raped. It does happen but it depends on where they are doing time, what their profile is (their age and size), and if they are unwise as to how to do their time. Inmates must not put themselves in a position where they can be taken advantage of or...

Rikers Island operates as a complex of multiple facilities on the same island rather than a single building, which makes this question more nuanced than a transfer between two separate institutions in different locations. When an inmate moves from one facility to another within the Rikers complex, such as from AMKC to EMTC, the mail handling outcome depends largely on how efficiently the mailroom at the original facility processes forwarding. Because all of the facilities share the same island and the...

The idea that inmates who have been down the longest are the ones most likely to pursue sexual activity with newcomers is a myth that gets perpetuated by movies and television more than reality. Consensual sexual activity between inmates, where it occurs, has nothing to do with how long someone has been incarcerated. It is not a hierarchy based on seniority and new arrivals are not automatically targets simply because they are new. The dynamics inside are more nuanced than that...

On the sentencing question, sex offenses involving child pornography and exploitation are among the most strictly enforced categories in both the federal and state systems. Whether someone serves the full sentence depends on the jurisdiction and the specific charges, but the short answer is that good time reductions are limited and supervision requirements are extensive. In the federal system, sex offenders are subject to the 85 percent rule meaning at minimum 85 percent of the imposed sentence must be served before...

The phone service at a particular correctional center is set up through a bid process. In this case, Global Tel*Link has the contract for all inmate outbound calling and to tape record the calls - essentially a monopoly. Therefore, you have to use them to receive any calls. The choice is whether you pay GTL for a long-distance call (to your number) or a local call (to a number that we get you). If you are already local, we cannot...

This is one of the most common and most misunderstood situations in the criminal justice system and the honest answer is one that many people in your position do not want to hear but need to know. Once domestic violence charges are filed the case belongs to the state or the prosecutor, not to you. You did not file the charges and you cannot drop them. The decision to prosecute, negotiate a plea, or dismiss the case rests entirely with the...

Susquehanna County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania has a capacity of approximately 100 inmate beds. It is a smaller county facility by most standards, which reflects the rural and relatively low-population nature of Susquehanna County itself. The geographic breakdown of where inmates come from within the county or the surrounding areas is not publicly posted. County correctional facilities typically house a mix of people from the immediate county who are awaiting trial, serving short sentences on misdemeanor convictions, or being held on...

Immigration detention is a system that sits in its own category, separate from both criminal incarceration and the experience most people picture when they think of jail or prison. The people held in immigration detention have not necessarily been convicted of any crime. They are being held for civil immigration violations while their cases work through a separate legal process, and that distinction matters when understanding how they are supposed to be treated versus how they often actually are. On paper,...

InmateAid is a support platform built specifically for families and loved ones of incarcerated people. The site was founded by a former federal inmate and is designed to make every aspect of staying connected easier, from finding where someone is held to sending letters, photos, money, books, and setting up affordable phone service. Here is how the basics work. To find a specific person, use InmateAid's facility directory or the inmate search feature. You can search by name and state to locate...

Yes, you can send magazines to an inmate, and it is one of the most appreciated things you can do for someone serving time. Reading material makes a real difference in how slowly or quickly the days pass by. The main restriction across virtually every correctional facility in the country is nudity. Magazines containing explicit or nude content are prohibited and will be rejected at the mailroom before they ever reach your loved one. That means publications like Playboy are off...

Yes, photos are one of the most meaningful things you can send to someone who is incarcerated. Having a picture of family, a partner, or someone they love to keep in their locker or on their wall makes a genuine difference in daily life inside. Most facilities allow photos but the rules around what is acceptable vary. Generally speaking, photos need to be printed on standard photo paper, cannot contain nudity or sexually suggestive content, cannot depict weapons, drugs, or gang-related...