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Ask a former inmate questions at no charge. The inmate answering has spent considerable time in the federal prison system, state and county jails, and in a prison that was run by the private prison entity CCA.

Ask your question or browse previous questions in response to comments or further questions of members of the InmateAid community.

Subject: Inmate search

It depends on how their case was resolved, and the difference between the two paths is significant. If the person went to trial and was convicted, they were already in the federal system before sentencing ever happened. The case was active, the paperwork was moving, and updating their designation to reflect a new facility assignment is relatively quick. You might see them appear in the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator within a few days of their arrival at the

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Subject: Release questions

A detainer is a formal legal hold placed on an inmate by a jurisdiction that has separate pending charges or unresolved business with that person. Finding one on parole paperwork means that even though she has been granted parole on the current sentence, she is not walking out the door into freedom. She is walking out of one legal situation and directly into another. Here is what is actually happening. The county that issued the detainer has charges against

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Subject: Ice-immigration enforcement

This is a very tough area to get good representation. We do not refer lawyers (most are only experts at taking your money). People with a lot of money cannot seem to get results either, which makes it hard for us to help. Actually, you can start with the Public Defender's Office, they are lawyers getting paid by the government and the only make a name for themselves by winning a hard case. Take your chances with one of them.

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Send mail to wherever the BOP inmate locator currently shows him. That database reflects the most current official record of where an inmate is housed, and it is the most reliable source available to the public. If it shows FCI Pollock, send it to Pollock. If it shows FTC Oklahoma City, send it there. Federal transfer centers are used to handle mail during transitions. If you send mail to the transfer center while he is still physically there, the

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

If you think you are paying too much for the calls, you should definitely look into an InmateAid Discount Line. If we cannot save you money, we refund the fee - no questions asked. Or, email us your phone number and the prison or jail where your loved one is incarcerated and we will give you an honest estimate before you buy. 

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Subject: Inmate search

Your son almost certainly has an inmate number already assigned, even though he just arrived yesterday. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction assigns identification numbers during the intake and booking process, which happens on arrival. The number may just not be showing up yet in the places you have been searching. The most reliable place to find it is the Ohio DRC offender search tool at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch. Search by his name and the results will show his inmate

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Subject: Inmateaid website questions

Only the price of a stamp.

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Yes, per line for the county, state and ICE facilities ($19.95), and only $5.00 for a federal line (300 minutes)

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Subject: Bail & bond questions

Yes, and the decision not to let the police in that night complicated things significantly. Self-defense is a legal defense, not a shield against arrest. When police respond to a call involving a physical altercation and someone has been injured, they are going to detain the person identified as the aggressor regardless of what actually happened. Sorting out who was defending themselves and who threw the first punch is a question for the courts, not the officers on the

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