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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: Education & vocational training

We do not have access to internal programming schedules. We have found the ASPC counselors to be very helpful, we recommend calling there and asking nicely what the current schedules are (and is my inmate eligible?). It makes your request more personal.

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Subject: Sentencing questions

Not automatically, but the odds are stacked in a way that most people outside the system do not fully appreciate until they are inside it. Federal prosecution is not like what you see at the state level. The resources are different, the preparation is different, and the conviction rate reflects both. Federal prosecutors win roughly 97 percent of the cases they bring to trial. That number exists because federal agencies, whether the FBI, DEA, ATF, or any of the

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Subject: Sentencing questions

A mandatory minimum means exactly what it sounds like. It is a floor on sentencing that the judge is legally required to impose regardless of any mitigating circumstances, personal history, or preference for leniency. When a charge carries a mandatory minimum, the judge loses the discretion they would normally have to craft a sentence based on the individual circumstances of the case. The legislature has effectively made that decision for them by writing the minimum into the statute. A

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Subject: Release questions

Release dates are not always published publicly and the availability of that information online depends entirely on which state and facility she is in. Many state departments of corrections do maintain public inmate search tools on their websites that display projected release dates. If you know which state she is incarcerated in, searching for that state's department of corrections inmate locator is the fastest starting point. Most of these tools are free and searchable by name. The BOP inmate

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Phone and commissary accounts remain active and functional right up until the moment of release. There is no early shutdown or wind-down period in the days leading up to a release date. Whatever balance remains in the account continues to be available for calls, commissary purchases, and other approved uses until the inmate actually walks out. On the day of release, any remaining balance in the trust or commissary account is returned to the inmate in the form of

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Subject: Inmateaid website questions

of course. why would you think the services offered wouldn't be helpful. most people dont know how to navigate through the various ways around the prison/jail "thing". most would have to seek out how to help an inmate in need. we can't make it better, just easier and super-convenient. you can get a coupon for almost anything on here to try if for free or a deep discount in some cases. if you have smomething specific you are concerned about,

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Subject: Inmateaid website questions

InmateAid costs your inmate nothing. The service is entirely free on their end and always has been. The only thing your inmate needs to write back is a postage stamp and something to write on, both of which are available through the facility's commissary or provided to indigent inmates by the institution. They write their reply on paper, address it to InmateAid's Florida address printed on the envelope you sent them, and mail it out through the facility's regular

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Subject: Relationship issues

Do not stop trying. Letters and pictures are an easy and inexpensive way to keep the faith. Do it for the children for sure.

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

It will take a few days. You wil need to contact the counselor at the facility and explain what you would like them to do. You might have to fax a written and signed letter requesting the block be removed.

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Subject: Commissary

You will need to send money to the inmate's trust account where they will have to purchase the prison-approved radio at the comnmissary. Radios caost about $50. We would recommend sending enough to buy headphones too (about $20) :)

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