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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.

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

Avenal State Prison (ASP) is the largest male-only prison in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) state prison system. The structures on ASP's 640 acres include 17 open dorm buildings, six 200-bed open dorm E-bed buildings, six converted gymnasiums, a 100-cell administrative segregation unit, and a 10-bed firehouse. It is a low-medium security or Level 2 prison with open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage.  Inmate programs include Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics anonymous, SAP, auto body, metal fabrication, plumbing and electrical, PIA furniture, warehouse and

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Subject: Inmate transfer

It is a good sign when an inmate's custody level is reduced. It means that the sentence is getting shorter and the inmate's behavior and programming has been exemplary. The system is saying they trust this person more than when they began their sentence. The inmate gets more freedom in the new setting, more privileges (and in prison, it means a lot). 

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Subject: Relationship issues

There is no way to know without asking, and the only way to ask is to reach out. Five years is a long time in either direction. It is long enough for real hurt to have settled in, and it is also long enough for perspective to develop in ways that are hard to predict from the outside. People in long sentences do a lot of thinking, and that thinking does not always land where you might expect. Some

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Subject: Release questions

Generally yes, particularly if there is a supervised release component to the sentence. When parole or probation is part of the release, the supervising jurisdiction is almost always the county where the conviction occurred. That is where the case originated, where the judge issued the sentence, and where the probation or parole office has jurisdiction over the case. Your inmate will typically be required to report to that county's supervision office and establish themselves there as the starting point

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Subject: Inmateaid website questions

When your letter arrives at the facility it goes through the standard mailroom inspection and gets distributed to your inmate at mail call, the same as any other piece of physical mail. The envelope has InmateAid's return address on it, which is the address your inmate uses to write back. To respond, your inmate simply writes a letter by hand, addresses it to the InmateAid return address printed on the envelope you sent, adds a stamp, and drops it

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Subject: Send inmate mail

They will either tell you with a return letter or a phone call. 

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Subject: Visitation

It depends on what type of facility you are visiting. The security level varies, therefore the visitation varies. You might visit through Plexiglas or you might get to visit for hours on a picnic table. Where your inmate is matters.

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Subject: Survive prison

Officially, no. Inmates at Leath Correctional Institution in South Carolina, like inmates at virtually every correctional facility in the country, are not permitted to access the internet or social media platforms. Facebook accounts, Instagram, and similar platforms are explicitly prohibited, and maintaining an active social media presence while incarcerated violates both facility rules and in some cases the terms of service of the platforms themselves. The unofficial reality is more complicated. Smartphones are smuggled into facilities every day across

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

No. if they have access, they are looking for more charges added to their case.

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Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

Anything is possible, but without knowing the specifics of his situation it is genuinely impossible to give you a realistic answer. The outcome of a meeting with a probation officer after a violation and transfer depends entirely on details that matter enormously. The key information that shapes what happens next includes what his original charges were, what the violation was that triggered the hold, how long his original sentence or probation term was, and what his overall record looks

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