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

There is no public timetable for TDCJ transfers, and that is by design. When a transfer order is in the system, the general window you will hear is somewhere between 30 and 60 days. But that range is not a guarantee and it is not a schedule. It is simply the approximate timeframe within which the transfer is likely to happen based on available transport and bed space at the receiving unit. The secrecy around the specifics is deliberate. Transporting inmates between...

Trust your instincts. They are usually pointing at something real. When someone who was calling and writing regularly goes quiet without explanation, that change means something. It does not always mean what you fear most, but it always means something. Maybe he is dealing with something inside he has not told you about. Maybe the relationship has shifted on his end. Maybe your instincts about the ex are accurate. Whatever the reason, the silence itself is information. Here is what experience on...

Yes, magazine subscriptions follow the inmate regardless of where they are transferred within the system. You do not need to cancel and reorder or take any action when a transfer happens. The subscription stays active and issues continue to be delivered to whatever facility your inmate is currently housed at. This is one of the advantages of ordering through a service like InmateAid rather than directly through a publisher. The address on file updates as your inmate moves through the system,...

This is a serious situation and standing up to the people threatening him is not a viable option given his physical condition. That kind of confrontation ends badly for someone who can barely walk, and the people doing the extorting know exactly what they are doing by targeting someone vulnerable. The most immediate protective measure available to him is requesting protective custody. He can make that request directly to any staff member or officer, and the facility is obligated to take...

The Ellen Halbert Unit in Burnet is a female-only substance abuse treatment facility operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It houses about 600 women and functions as a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility, which means the entire environment is structured around recovery rather than standard incarceration. The daily experience at Halbert is centered on the therapeutic community model. Your niece will be living and working within a structured treatment program focused on drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Narcotics Anonymous and...

CDCR has launched limited video visiting to allow friends and family to safely connect with incarcerated people, beginning at five institutions by Nov. 28 with more added through the end of the year. In-person visiting remains canceled statewide until further notice as part of the department’s COVID-19 response. Under the new system, each inmate will have the opportunity for a free 30-minute video visit every 30 days. Visits will take place on weekends and holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The...

Getting caught with a cell phone in prison is one of the worst disciplinary situations an inmate can land in, and the consequences stack on multiple levels. At the facility level it is an immediate major infraction. That means disciplinary segregation, loss of privileges, and a serious entry in the inmate's record that follows them to every subsequent review. When that person sits in front of a parole board, the board sees everything, and a cell phone infraction signals exactly the...

Possibly, but that is not the most pressing issue right now. Your son is the one sitting inside with a dirty UA, a fresh set of charges, and fines stacking up. That is where the focus needs to be. Whatever happens to the person who brought the drugs in is largely out of his hands and out of yours, and spending energy on that question right now is a distraction from what actually matters. Here is the reality. Facilities do investigate the...