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

Federal prison camp is not like anything you'd see on television, it's not like "Orange is the New Black". There are no cells, it is an army barracks-like sleeping arrangement. Large dorm with rows of bunk beds separated by lockers. The basic inmate profile consists of low threat, shorter term inmates with non-violent pasts. All inmates must have a job whether it be in the kitchen, cleaning the dorms or bathrooms, working in commissary, the library, in education or landscaping...

Whichever phone company has the contract with the prison/jail your inmate is in, you will HAVE to use them. Getting the local number is good if Global Tel*Link is the provider. If it is Securus, then we need to check their published rates to see which number will work best. Securus' rates are sometimes worse for local numbers and better for long distance numbers. The only way to know for sure, and to get an honest assessment of whether getting...

Inmates who are serving less than a year will usually have their application for marriage denied with the presumption being that such a short wait will not harm the prisoner or prospective spouse. Each partner must be legally eligible and mentally competent to marry. Marriages may be blocked for security or disciplinary reasons; solitary confinement can block access to marriage. Most states do not allow marriage for inmates on death row; California is at least one exception to that rule....

The county jail system is the worst because there is nothing for the inmates to do. That lack of activity sometimes causes temperatures to boil as personality clashes manifest themselves in this environment. She will have an easier time in the prison environment because it is easier to get into a routine that consumes more of her day. The biggest issue for inmates is keeping their mouths shut and respecting the space and privacy of the other inmates. This is not like...

Depending on the classification and security level, most detention facilities have "pods" comprised of two levels of individual two-person cells. The general population area has tables with attached seating, a television and 3-5 telephones. There is a guard station overseeing the entire pod. Inmates are allowed to remain in the main area except for when they conduct count and when it's "lights out" time. The phone is available as long as the general population is open. Inmates will also be...