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

In general, all inmates must have a job. There are very rare occasions where inmates get off not working. Prison is like a community. The services that make a community run have to be maintained by inmates. There is food service, landscaping maintenance, sanitation and garbage, cleaning of the living quarters, laundry, recreation, education, health and commissary are all areas where labor is needed. This is all done by the inmates and supervised by the corrections officers. After the jobs are...

If your inmate writes to you directly, using your address, the cost of their mailing is a 49 cent stamp. Many of our members use the Inmate Response Mail service through InmateAid. Your inmate would write you back to the return address on the letters which are to the InmateAid corporate offices in Florida. We receive the letters on your behalf, scan them into your My Account section and notify you by email that they are waiting for your review. There is a charge of $1.49...

A parole hearing date disappearing from an online system does not necessarily mean the hearing did not happen or that parole was denied. There are several explanations for why a date would no longer show. The most common reason is that the hearing already occurred and the system has been updated to reflect the completed status. Once a hearing takes place, the scheduled date is removed from the upcoming hearings display and the outcome, whether granted, denied, or deferred, gets processed...

When an inmate is on hospice care, the standard 30-day waiting period for new arrivals to establish a visitor list does not apply in the way it normally would. Facilities understand that hospice situations require a different response, and most will work to expedite the visitor approval process as quickly as the paperwork can be processed. Time matters in these situations and staff generally recognize that. The most important step right now is to contact Elayn Hunt Correctional Center directly and...

A sentence described as 4 and 4 most commonly means one of two things, and which one applies makes a significant difference in how long your son will actually be incarcerated. The first possibility is a split sentence. This means the judge sentenced him to 8 years total but ordered that 4 years be served in custody and the remaining 4 years be served on probation or supervised release in the community. Under this structure, your son would serve the custodial...

A school ID is generally not accepted as valid identification for prison or jail visitation. Facilities require a government-issued photo ID, which means a state-issued driver's license, a state ID card, a US passport, or a military ID. School IDs do not meet that standard because they are not issued by a government agency and do not carry the same verification weight. If you are under 18, you will need to be accompanied by an adult who is on the inmate's...

There are two separate and urgent issues here that need to be addressed at the same time, not sequentially. On the assault and untreated injury. An inmate who was physically attacked and not provided medical treatment has a constitutional right that was violated. Deliberate indifference to a serious medical need by facility staff is an Eighth Amendment issue. Contact the warden's office in writing. State that your spouse was assaulted, that they requested medical treatment, and that treatment was not provided....

The inmate information on this website is self-directed data meaning that the member/user creates and controls that information. We do not create inmate profiles nor do we monitor their accuracy. It is not uncommon for an inmate to be transferred after spending time in solitary confinement, also known as the SHU (special housing unit). This sounds like a method of operation of the federal prison system (BOP), if your inmate is in federal prison (or any other prison, we just...

Inmates do not make an account on InmateAid, they do not have access to the Internet. This site is for you to help them while they are in. Some of the services we offer here are not easy to find. We think we've made the process more convenient for you. We estimate that it takes 2-3 business days to make it to the jail. Once there, the staff opens and reads each piece of mail and inspects it for contraband. Any delay that occurs...

When charges are reduced and there is no longer a legal basis to hold someone, release should happen relatively quickly, often within hours to a couple of days, depending on the facility's processing workload. If your husband has not been released yet after his charges were reduced, there is almost certainly another reason for the delay. A few possibilities worth checking on. Outstanding holds or detainers from another jurisdiction will prevent release even when the current case is resolved. If there is...