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

Release and parole eligibility dates depend on several factors and the answer is different depending on where your loved one is incarcerated and what they were convicted of. For federal inmates, there is no parole. The federal system abolished parole in 1987. Federal inmates serve a determinate sentence and are required to serve at least 85% of their sentence before release. The remaining time is served on supervised release in the community. The Bureau of Prisons publishes each federal inmate's projected...

This is one of the most confusing aspects of concurrent sentencing and you are not alone in struggling to understand it. The answer lies in how jail time credits interact with the actual time that needs to be served in prison. Here is what is happening in your husband's situation. Your husband has two concurrent sentences. A 36 month sentence with 503 days of jail credit already applied, and a 33 month sentence with 284 days of jail credit applied. Concurrent means...

This is a common misunderstanding and the short answer is that the facility is mistaken about what InmateAid actually does. InmateAid has no direct relationship with any jail, prison, or correctional facility in the United States. We are not a service that operates inside facilities, interfaces with their phone systems, or requires their approval or cooperation. The facility cannot block InmateAid because InmateAid does not interact with them in any way. Here is what InmateAid's discount phone service actually does. When your inmate...

No preamble needed on this one. She doesn't need setup. She needs help right now. Slug: i-cant-find-my-son-who-is-incarcerated FAQ Heading: I Cannot Find My Incarcerated Son. Here Is Where to Look. Answer: We understand how frightening this is. Here is where to start right now. If he is in the federal system, search the Bureau of Prisons free inmate locator at bop.gov/inmateloc. Enter his first and last name or his BOP inmate ID number if you have it. This database is updated regularly and covers...

Transfers happen for several reasons and without knowing the specific circumstances, it is difficult to say with certainty which applies to your son. Here is an honest breakdown of the possibilities so you can better assess the situation. The positive reasons for a transfer close to release include a reduction in custody classification. As inmates approach their release date their security level is often reviewed and reduced, resulting in a move to a facility that better matches their lower risk level....

Entendemos la angustia de no saber cuándo regresará su ser querido a casa. La respuesta depende de dónde está encarcelado y el tipo de condena que recibió. Para presos federales, el Sistema Federal de Prisiones publica la fecha proyectada de liberación de cada preso en su buscador en línea en bop.gov/inmateloc. Puede buscar por nombre o por número de identificación del preso. Esta fecha ya incluye los créditos de buen comportamiento aplicados. Para presos estatales, cada estado tiene su propio sistema para...

Yes. In almost every case InmateAid is happy to provide a refund if you are not satisfied with your experience. We understand that things do not always go as planned. Mail occasionally gets delayed or lost in transit. Magazines sometimes go missing, which unfortunately does happen. Phone lines do not always produce the savings we hoped for in every situation. Whatever the reason, we would rather make it right than leave a customer frustrated. To request a refund simply email us at...

InmateAid processes all payments through Stripe, one of the most widely used and trusted payment processors in the world. Like most international payment platforms, Stripe operates under financial regulations and sanctions guidelines that govern which cards and countries can transact on their network. Russian issued bank cards are currently restricted from processing through Stripe due to international sanctions and banking regulations that are outside of InmateAid's control. This is not a decision InmateAid made and unfortunately it is not something we...

Whether your postcards reach him depends on where he went after release and whether he left a forwarding address with the facility. If he was released directly to the community, meaning he went home or to a family member's address, the facility will not automatically forward his mail. Most correctional facilities do not maintain forwarding systems for released inmates unless the inmate specifically requested mail forwarding and provided a home address before leaving. In that case your postcards will likely be...

First, know that what your friend is feeling is real and it is one of the hardest parts of incarceration that nobody talks about openly enough. Being inside can feel like you have actually died while the world keeps moving without you. Watching family and friends go on with their lives through phone calls and letters while you are frozen in place carries a specific kind of loneliness that is difficult to describe to someone who has not experienced it. That...

The halfway house experience looks different for everyone and the path through it depends on individual circumstances that vary widely. Here is an honest picture of how it works. When you arrive you are assigned a room and meet with your case manager who lays out the rules and explains the pathway forward. For many people the goal is home confinement, which allows you to serve the remainder of your time at an approved residence rather than at the facility. For...

Writing to an incarcerated person you do not personally know is entirely possible and more common than most people realize. People write to inmates for many reasons including offering support, satisfying curiosity about the criminal justice system, or simply providing human connection to someone who has very little of it. The most established platforms for finding incarcerated pen pals include Write A Prisoner at writeaprisoner.com and Meet An Inmate at meetaninmate.com. Both maintain directories of inmates who have opted in to...

Being transferred to a new facility always creates a temporary communication gap and it is one of the most stressful periods for families waiting to hear from their loved one. After transfer the inmate goes through an intake and processing period at the new facility before phone access is restored. During this time they are being assessed, assigned to a housing unit, and set up in the new facility's systems including their phone account. The approved call list from their previous facility...

Receiving your new InmateAid discount phone number means your account is set up and ready. That is great news. However there is one more step before your inmate can actually call you on it. Your inmate needs to add the new number to their approved call list at the facility before any calls can go through. Until that number is approved by the facility it will not connect even if your inmate tries to dial it. Here is how to make that...

You will receive it in two ways simultaneously. A text message to the mobile number you provided during signup and an email to the address on your account. The number is also placed automatically in your Account Dashboard under your phone lines section so you always have access to it in one place. If two hours have passed and you have not received your number here is what to check. Look in your spam or junk folder. Automated emails from new services...