Prison Discipline Questions — Ask The Inmate

Getting caught with a cell phone in prison is one of the worst disciplinary situations an inmate can land in, and the consequences stack on multiple levels. At the facility level it is an immediate major infraction. That means disciplinary segregation, loss of privileges, and a serious entry in the inmate's record that follows them to every subsequent review. When that person sits in front of a parole board, the board sees everything, and a cell phone infraction signals exactly the...

Possibly, but that is not the most pressing issue right now. Your son is the one sitting inside with a dirty UA, a fresh set of charges, and fines stacking up. That is where the focus needs to be. Whatever happens to the person who brought the drugs in is largely out of his hands and out of yours, and spending energy on that question right now is a distraction from what actually matters. Here is the reality. Facilities do investigate the...

Administrative segregation refers to both a classification and a type of unit. There are at least three distinct types of segregation: administrative segregation, disciplinary segregation, and protective … Any of these types of segregation might involve a regimen of solitary (or near solitary) confinement. Administrative segregation (ad seg) is when an inmate is housed separately from the main prison population. In most prisons, ad seg is another term for solitary confinement. Typically, inmates get "put in the hole" if they violate prison rules,...

Yes, but the access is significantly reduced compared to general population. Inmates in disciplinary segregation, the SHU, or the hole at most facilities are limited to one 15-minute phone call per week. That is not a lot, and it requires some planning on both ends to make the most of it. Make sure your number is on his approved call list before he tries to use that one weekly call, because a failed attempt due to a registration issue is a...

Almost certainly yes, at least temporarily. Getting caught with tobacco in a facility where it is prohibited is treated as a contraband infraction, and work release is a privilege that gets pulled when an inmate demonstrates they are not following the rules. The whole premise of a work release program is that the facility trusts the inmate enough to send them outside the walls. A contraband write-up puts that trust directly in question. How long he stays in the hole is...

No, and here is exactly why. When you go before a disciplinary hearing board, you are allowed to bring two people as defense witnesses. That sounds like an opportunity, and it is, but who you choose matters as much as what they say. Bringing another inmate into that room is almost always a mistake. The board is made up of staff, and staff view inmate testimony through a lens of suspicion that is hard to overcome regardless of what is actually said....

It might be on your end or on the inmate's end. If you were on a call and said something that caught the ear of a CO and reported you. If you attempted to add another person to the call while it was going (third-party calls are a no-no), that might do it. Or, the inmate is on some disciplinary period for violations inside. Regardless, you can call or write the warden and ask what specific rule was broken to...

An RVR, or Rules Violation Report, is an internal disciplinary document generated when an inmate is found to have violated facility rules. It becomes part of the inmate's institutional record and is treated as protected information under federal and state privacy statutes. As a family member or partner on the outside, you have no legal right to access that record without the inmate's consent. The facility will not disclose disciplinary information to outside parties, and there is no public database or...

Yes, both are significantly restricted the moment someone goes into the SHU, and the limitations are more severe than most families expect going in. Phone access drops to one 15-minute call per week. That is it. Whatever frequency of calls you were used to before the hole is gone, replaced by a single weekly window that has to count for everything. Make sure your number is active and you are available when that call comes because there is no rescheduling it...

Yes, mail continues to reach inmates in disciplinary custody. That channel stays open even when almost everything else gets restricted, which makes letters and postcards the most reliable way to stay connected during this stretch. Phone access drops sharply once someone goes into the SHU. The standard limitation is one 15-minute call per week, and depending on the severity of the infraction it could be less than that or suspended entirely for a period. Commissary choices also get reduced, typically to...