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

Your son does not need to do anything on his end. InmateAid is a service built entirely for the people on the outside, and inmates do not have internet access to register for anything even if they wanted to. You create the account, set up your son's inmate profile, and handle everything from your side. Once his profile is in the system, you can send letters, photos, postcards, and access any of the other services InmateAid offers. Everything gets processed and...

A cross-state transfer for someone serving 60 to 70 years for murder while in protective custody at a maximum security facility is extremely unlikely, and understanding why helps set realistic expectations. Protective custody exists because the facility has determined the inmate cannot safely be housed in general population. That designation alone signals to any receiving institution that this person comes with significant management considerations. Moving someone in that status is not a simple administrative transfer, it requires coordination between two separate...

An inmate's ability to block contact is more limited than most people assume, and they have zero control over their administrative information. On the administrative side, inmates cannot change their name in the system or alter their booking number under any circumstances. Those designations are assigned by the jurisdiction at intake and are fixed. The facility controls that information entirely, and no inmate request changes it. On communication, the picture is a little more nuanced. An inmate can request that a specific...

Chillicothe Correctional Center is a relatively modern facility housing around 1,300 women. Like all state prisons, the basics are minimal. Meals are institutional, sleeping quarters are sparse, and the schedule is tightly controlled. The hardest part of incarceration for most people is not the physical conditions but the boredom, the relentless sameness of days that blur into one another. What sets Chillicothe apart from harder facilities is its programming. The institution offers a meaningful range of recreational, educational, and vocational options....

Try not to panic. Being handcuffed and removed from a cell happens for a wide range of reasons, most of which are not as serious as they look in the moment. The most common explanations are a routine cell search or shakedown, a transfer to a different housing unit within the facility, a medical situation that requires attention, or a move to segregation pending an investigation into something that may or may not involve your husband directly. Facilities also pull inmates...

Federal visitation is run very much by-the-book, and for an FCI Low facility you will have "contact" with your inmate. Upon arrival you will enter and give your ID (you will have already gone through an approval process beforehand filling out a form your inmate mailed you). Once you are accepted for the visit you will proceed through a metal detector like you'd see at an airport. You may hug and kiss upon greeting and leaving but do not let...

No, absolutely not. However, there are inmates that have illegally obtained smartphones and can get access for a brief time. Inmates caught with a cell phone are subject to harsh disciplinary actions including loss of all privileges (commissary, telephone, visitation and possibly freedom because they will certainly spend the next 6-12 months in segregation in the SHU). There is a chance the inmate will catch another charge which could add upto another FIVE YEARS to their sentence, plus they are...

It is possible, and the mother-son relationship is one of the stronger arguments you can bring to a warden's office. Wardens do grant waivers in situations like this, and family visitation, particularly from a parent, is something many administrators are willing to accommodate when the circumstances are reasonable. The nature of the pending charge is the biggest variable. A minor charge that poses no obvious threat to facility security or the inmate's wellbeing is going to be received very differently than...