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

The Smarter Sentencing Act is bipartisan federal legislation that has been introduced and reintroduced in Congress multiple times since 2013. As of April 2026 it has not been signed into law, but the effort continues. The bill's core purpose is to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for certain non-violent federal drug offenses. The most recent version would reduce mandatory minimums for certain drug offenses from 5, 10, and 15 years down to 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively. United States Senate Committee...

Federal prison is not worse than state prison, but it is prison nonetheless. The child pornography charge is not going to make his bit any easier. They send most of these type inmates to a facility in Arizona known for this. They tend to be safer among like-charges inmates. RDAP is a fantastic program if your inmate has put his substance abuse in the record with the Pre-Sentence Report prior to sentencing. This is the ONLY way to qualify. Plus,...

This is a painful situation, and the uncertainty is made worse by getting information filtered through someone who has her own interests in how this plays out. The ex-wife is not a neutral party, and anything she tells you about what he wants, what his paperwork says, or who he has chosen to communicate with should be treated as exactly what it is -- one person's version of events from someone who benefits from you stepping back. Here is what is...

Whether the felony can be reduced and what the actual sentence looks like depends heavily on two factors: whether this is a state or federal case, and what the specific drug quantity thresholds are in that jurisdiction. Eight grams of heroin is meaningful in terms of how the law treats it. Most states and the federal system have weight thresholds that trigger enhanced penalties for possession with intent to deliver. Whether eight grams crosses into a mandatory minimum sentencing tier depends...

CDs are not accepted at Nevada state prisons or virtually any correctional facility in the country. Physical media has been eliminated from approved property lists across most systems due to security concerns around the concealment of contraband. Voice-recorded CDs from home are also not permitted for the same reason, and additionally because facilities have no way to verify the content of a personally recorded disc without extensive review that most mail rooms are not equipped to conduct. The good news is that...

The food is basic, and that is about the most generous way to put it. Every facility is required to meet minimum nutritional standards, typically around 2,000 calories per day, with meals planned by dieticians to ensure a basic balance of protein, carbohydrates, and other nutrients. Meeting the minimum standard and being appetizing are two very different things, and most correctional food achieves the former while falling well short of the latter. The quality varies significantly by facility type. County jail food...

There is no set schedule or guaranteed timeline for when a new inmate will meet with their counselor. It is one of the more frustrating realities of the system for families who expect the process to move on a predictable timetable. Counselors and case managers in correctional facilities carry large caseloads and prioritize their time based on institutional needs rather than any order that makes obvious sense from the outside. New arrivals, classification reviews, release planning, disciplinary matters, and program enrollments...