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

The person is not notified when you make an InmateAid account, inmates do not have access to the Internet. People have have been in your husband's situation are answering this questions. They are no longer incarcerated. The answer to your third question has many potential answers. Depending on his probation length and the stipulations to their release (set by the courts) will dictate how well this will go. If your loved one has a solid and honest plan when they...

You can send a letter to an inmate but before you do it is worth thinking carefully about what you write and what effect it might have. All incoming mail at correctional facilities is read and monitored by staff. Nothing you send is private from the facility's perspective. That means anything you write about your daughter's injuries, the relationship, or your concerns becomes part of the record at that institution. In some cases that information can be flagged and passed along...

Yes, unfortunately the answer is that significant federal prison time for alien smuggling is very real even for a first time offender and even when the person claims they did not know the full circumstances of what they were involved in. The harsh sentencing reality around this offense comes directly from the post September 11 legal landscape. The Patriot Act and the expanded authority given to the Department of Homeland Security dramatically increased the penalties associated with smuggling people across the...

Release from a CCA facility, now operating under the name CoreCivic, generally happens in the morning with most releases processed between 7 and 9 a.m. The exact time on any given day depends on how many inmates are being released at once and how smoothly the discharge paperwork and processing moves through the system. Release day involves more administrative steps than most people anticipate. The facility has to complete final paperwork, return personal property, issue any gate money the inmate is...

Fort Dix is one of the largest federal correctional complexes in the country and it operates both a low security facility and a minimum security satellite camp on the same grounds. Understanding how the assignment process works before you arrive takes a lot of the uncertainty out of what is already a stressful experience. When you surrender, you will be processed through the intake area, which is located in the low security facility. Everyone goes through this initial processing regardless of...

This is a situation worth taking seriously before showing up at the facility. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice runs background checks on visitors as part of the visitation approval process. If a warrant shows up during that screening it can result in denial of visitation privileges. More importantly, showing up at a correctional facility with an active warrant is a real risk to you personally. Correctional facilities are law enforcement environments and staff have access to the same databases that...

When someone you believe is innocent is facing a murder charge, the urgency is real and the instinct to do everything possible is exactly right. But everything possible has to be channeled in the right direction, and that starts with legal representation. The distinction between a trial lawyer and a lawyer who primarily handles plea negotiations is not a minor one. A murder trial in Texas is a serious undertaking that requires someone with courtroom experience, jury selection skills, cross-examination ability,...

At low security federal facilities, the housing terms can be confusing because different facilities use different setups and sometimes different language for similar arrangements. Dorms and cubicles are open housing areas where inmates sleep in bunks within a large shared space. Cubicles are partial partitions that create a small defined area around a bunk without full walls or a door. They offer a degree of personal space without being an enclosed room. This is the most common setup at federal camps...

Once an inmate is settled into their routine, the time goes by pretty quickly, all things considered. But, if you are close with your family, you will witness the time dragging on for them as there are greater hardships on your loved ones on the outside. The loss of income that is caused by the incarceration creates huge issues for the family trying to pay bills. That is tough on an inmate mentally carrying that baggage knowing what they did...

Yes, an inmate does not have to wait for a scheduled court date to request a bail reduction. There are ways to pursue it proactively through the court system without sitting on the calendar and hoping the next appearance comes quickly. The most direct path is filing a motion for bail reduction or bond modification through the court. This is typically done through an attorney who drafts and submits the motion to the judge handling the case. The motion lays out...

The phone service at the California State Prison - Sacramento is GlobalTel (GTL). Unless there is a disciplinary hold on your inmate, he should be able to make all the calls he wants provided he has funds on his books or in an Advanced Pay account. If you are long distance to Sacramento, the InmateAid Discount Phone Service is something you should look into. We can save about $4.50 per call instate and more if your are out of state....

Reading is the great escape. Concentrating on things you can control, not worry about things you can't - it is where the focus must lie. Inmates need to get into a routine which will make their time go by smoothly. They need to make a goal list of things to accomplish with all of this time on their hands, to not just waste it playing cards and bullshitting. If they are inclined, anyone can come out better than when they...