You should contact the visitation staff at the facility to get the exact procedure, but in almost all cases, you do NOT need to be a family member. But there is an approval process and as long as you do not have a felony on your record, you will get permission to see them.

To be honest, there are no "signs" pointing to success or failure in a parole hearing. They all take time to process and nothing speeds up the decision. Parole is a waiting game, but on a 20 year sentence, we would err on the side of caution and ask you to be patient.

InmateAid's services work for families and friends of inmates in every prison, jail and detention center in the United States. Some of the value and benefit varies from facility to facility, if you have a more specific question about a service feel free to email us at aid@inmateaid.com

We do not know the mandatory minimums for these charges. There charges are very serious - smuggling weapons into a facility is going to cost him big time in our opinion

He could be facing an additional five years, maybe ten. It will depend on his cooperation and what his record is. Work release is so close to the door, WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!?!?

The short answer is that all felons know that they can NEVER be around a firearm, regardless of whose it is. If he was arrested and they found firearms, there is not going to be much of a chance to get that dismissed unless the warrant was dirty. We have seen felons get minimum of five years for as little as an empty shell casing in their garage from 30 years ago. It is a very serious offense

You will have to be accompanied by an adult, preferably a relative.

You may write him at the address you have. You will need his eight digit inmate ID number (xxxxx-xxx). You can use our letter service, it is reliable and convenient. Once you get in touch with him, they use an email system called CorrLinks. It is an internal, closed program that you can login to from corrlinks.com, but he will have to invite you.

The letter means that "when he is released", he is to report to the probation Office (by web portal) within 30 days of that. He will most likely not be released earlier than his out-date. That pretty much never happens. One small bit of advice, please tell him that once is is out, that he cannot take the probation officer lightly. He knows what he can and cannot do, where he can and cannot go... and just lay low.

If he is granted parole, the release comes pretty soon thereafter. Every case is a little different depending on where the parolee is going to live, work and what were the conditions of his release.