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

Thank you for the kind words. If she does not have money to get writing material to send letters, the prison has a program for indigent inmates. They supply the paper, pencil, stamps and envelopes. Commissary is available to inmates, once a week. If your inmate has a job in the prison, they get paid a nominal amount that may be used to purchase items at the commissary.  Inmates receive an incentive wage in the amount of $.40, $.70, or...

It is very unlikely that repeated requests for large amounts of money several times a week are only for basic commissary. In most facilities, there are spending limits on commissary, either weekly or monthly. That alone usually prevents someone from legitimately needing frequent large deposits just for food or hygiene items. When you see requests happening that often, especially asking for money to be sent to another inmate’s account, it usually points to something else going on. Common reasons include: Owing money to...

There is a chance he could still receive it, but it is not guaranteed. Mailrooms rely heavily on the inmate’s name and ID number to make sure the letter goes to the right person. If the ID number is incorrect, the usual procedure is to return the mail to the sender. That said, some mailroom staff will still deliver it if the name is correct and they can clearly identify who it belongs to. So realistically, it depends on the facility and...

Once an InmateAid local number is requested and payment is processed, the number is typically assigned and ready to send to your inmate within an hour. That is fast enough that you can include it in a letter the same day or pass it along through the next available phone call. The setup fee for the local number service is $19.95. Whether that cost makes sense depends on how much the number actually saves per call and how frequently your inmate...

Parole is the serving of part of your sentence under supervision in the community. The law says that the Parole Commission may grant parole if (a) the inmate has substantially observed the rules of the institution; (b) release would not depreciate the seriousness of the offense or promote disrespect for the law; and (c) release would not jeopardize the public welfare. Parole has a three-fold purpose: (1) through the assistance of the Probation Officer, a parolee may obtain help with problems...

Yes, your wife can call your cell phone from TDCJ, but there are a few steps you need to take to make sure everything is set up correctly. First, you will need to set up an account with the prison’s phone provider. TDCJ uses a contracted phone system, and all inmate calls must go through that provider. Once your account is set up and funded if required, your wife can add your number to her approved call list. After your number is...

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 at the facility is out of our control. We make no guarantees as to how long it will take as there are thousands of facilities and none of them do things the same way.Please be patient, if the ID number and facility are correct we are 100% reliable. Mail call is Monday...

There is no maximum limit on how much money you can send to an inmate's commissary account at Cuyahoga County. The practical minimum is around $10, though the transfer fees associated with sending money mean the actual amount received will be slightly less than what you send depending on the service used. Most transfer services, whether Western Union, JPay, or the facility's own deposit system, charge a transaction fee that comes out of the total. Factor that in when deciding how...

If your inmate is moved to a different prison, you do not lose the phone service you already paid for. All you need to do is contact InmateAid with the new facility information. Once they have the updated location, they will assign you a new local number that matches the rate center for that facility. This is what keeps the calls at the lower local rate. There is no additional charge to switch the number when your inmate transfers. The update is...

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 for this service. The people that use this service like the security and privacy...

The phone system should be the same in Allenwood as in almost all of the federal facilities. The inmates use Trulinks which is monitored and maintained by the BOP. Inmates have an internal, closed computer system that controls the inmate accounts: commissary, Corrlinks email and the telephone system. Loved ones from the outside fund this account centrally through Western Union. The inmate moves the money between the services at their discretion. During the holiday time (Nov & Dec) inmate get...

No. Inmates are released when their sentence is served, and that date falls on whatever day the calculation lands on. There is no policy at Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center or at any other facility that holds inmates until the first of the month if their actual release date falls earlier. The release date is calculated based on the sentence length minus applicable good time credits, and that result is a specific calendar date. If that date is the 14th of...

Happy Holidays Teri! Your letter had to have a corresponding inmate for the services (letter or phone) to work. Just having their name and facility is enough for the whole system to sync together. There is no definite way to know if the letter is received. We do not have a verification system in place but we do know if it gets returned to us. In that event, we investigate the reason and notify you of your options going forward. ...

You pay $19.95 for the local telephone number that comes with 300 long distance minutes or 1000 long distance minutes. There is nothing on the site that mentions "unlimited minutes" and any site that does, usually has other fees for things you won;t know about until you are billed for them. There are no complaints about InmateAid andthis service and as long as you know that you have to use the prison telephone company with your local line, you will...