Just thought of a question?

Have a question?

Ask The Inmate

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.

Ask your question or browse previous questions in response to comments or further questions of members of the InmateAid community.

Subject: Sentencing questions

A post-conviction petition challenges a sentence or conviction after all appeals are exhausted, typically on grounds like new evidence, ineffective counsel, or constitutional violations. Success rates are low and a 63-year sentence does not shorten significantly without extraordinary legal grounds

Read more
Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

Whether parole is even a possibility on this sentence depends entirely on what the judge wrote in the Judgment and Commitment Order at the time of sentencing. That document is the controlling authority on parole eligibility. If the judge included a parole provision, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has jurisdiction to consider release before the full sentence is served. If parole is not written into the order, it is not available regardless of conduct or programming. Two-year

Read more
Subject: Relationship issues

It is possible, but the answer depends on why you were gate-locked at the prison and whether that information has been shared with the county jail. Gate locking at a state or federal facility creates a record within that institution's system. County jails operate their own separate visitor approval processes and do not always have access to or share information with the state prison system. If the county jail runs its own independent background check and your denial at

Read more
Subject: Visitation

They might, every county is different. If you suspect that you have a warrant, we would not risk it. You could send someone you know to visit first and then ask them the procedure. Just a thought, why not clear up the warrant with a phone call and arrange to clear your name?

Read more
Subject: Prison discipline

This situation carries serious consequences on multiple levels and the assault of a corrections officer is what transforms a manageable problem into a potentially devastating one. Cell phone possession in a California state prison is already a significant infraction. Under federal law the Contraband Cell Phone Act carries up to five years of additional prison time, though in practice California state facilities typically handle phone possession through the institutional disciplinary system rather than new federal charges. The standard response

Read more
Subject: Send inmate mail

Federal inmates do have access to a limited email system called CorrLinks, and it works differently from standard email in a few important ways. The key thing to understand is that your boyfriend has to initiate the connection, not you. He submits a request through the TRULINCS system at the facility, which sends you an invitation to your email address. Once you receive that invitation, you go to CorrLinks.com, create an account, and accept the connection. From that point

Read more
Subject: Law & court questions - legal terms

Depends on who he pissed off. They could see him the next day or he could sit for weeks if he did comething that really made the judge or the prosecutor angry.

Read more
Subject: Parole, probation & supervised release

Missing the final check-in when parole is essentially complete is one of the more frustrating situations that comes up, and the consequences are disproportionate to how close the person was to being fully done. A blue warrant is a parole violation warrant, and once it is issued, the person is considered an absconder regardless of how little supervision remains. The warrant does not expire and does not get dismissed simply because the original parole term was nearly finished. Until

Read more
Subject: Visitation

The physical contact rules in a prison visiting room apply equally to all approved visitors regardless of their relationship to the inmate. The standard policy at most correctional facilities permits one brief hug and kiss at the start of the visit and one at the end. That rule does not distinguish between a spouse, a family member, a friend, or any other approved visitor on the list. Correctional facilities are not in the business of policing the personal relationships

Read more
Subject: Arrest record search

The Supervision with Immediate Enforcement (SWIFT) Court is a specialty court to address the needs of offenders to divert them from the full criminal justice process.This court was designed to reduce recidivism rates of drug participants. This was later applied to probation violators, especially those testing positive for illicit drugs. If the failed drug test is their only violation, it's possible the judge will extend their probation, add some additional sanctions (community service) or counseling. However, they have probably

Read more
Search Arrest Records