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

You can write him through InmateAid, the letters will get there in one day as we are headquartered in Palm Beach County Florida only one county away from Broward County where he is locked up. You can send him magazines or books - with his situation, he is completely walled off from contact with other inmates. I've been in soitary and it is no joke. Reading was my only escape.  There are other enlightenment opportunites down the road through college correspondence courses, but that...

If you do not pick up your boyfriend's belongings within the 30-day window, they will most likely be boxed up and placed in storage at the facility rather than discarded or donated immediately. Correctional facilities keep inmate property in storage for a reasonable period because they understand that circumstances sometimes prevent timely pickup and because the property belongs to the inmate who will eventually need it. The storage arrangement is not indefinite and facilities do prefer that family members collect belongings...

The Clerk of the Court in the county where his case was tried is your best starting point and the information is public record. Call the clerk's office directly and ask about the case by your boyfriend's full name and date of birth. They maintain all case records including charging documents, plea agreements, trial transcripts, and sentencing orders. Most clerk's offices can tell you over the phone what sentence was imposed, and many county court systems also have online case search...

The six months he served in county from August 2017 counts toward the 30-month sentence and should be credited against the total. That credit does not disappear because he was in county rather than a state or federal facility. Every day in custody from the date of arrest applies. Here is the math. A 30-month sentence at 85% works out to 25.5 months. Subtract the six months already served in county and he has about 19.5 months remaining from the point...

What you are describing is a contract prison arrangement, which is more common than most people realize. California and Arizona both periodically house state inmates in out-of-state facilities, including private contract prisons in Mississippi, when their own facilities are overcrowded or when population management requires it. There are several reasons an inmate in that situation would be moved back to their home state. Overcrowding relief works in both directions. If the home state facility has created space or if the contract arrangement...

Being moved back to prison from a transitional center this close to a release date almost always means something happened that violated the conditions of the placement. Transitional centers and residential reentry facilities operate under strict rules specifically because the people there are in the final stage before full release. The conditions are more relaxed than prison but the expectations are non-negotiable. A violation of those conditions, whether a failed drug test, missing a curfew, unauthorized contact with someone prohibited by...

Pushing people away during incarceration is more common than most people admit, and the reasons are usually understandable even when the outcome is painful. Shame, pride, a desire to protect loved ones from the reality of the situation, or simply the emotional difficulty of maintaining relationships under those circumstances can all create distance that feels permanent but often is not. A letter is the right first move for a reason. A phone call puts the other person on the spot and...

Inmates are not permitted direct internet access and cannot personally operate a Facebook or any other social media account from inside a correctional facility. What is happening is one of two things. Either someone on the outside is managing the account and posting or messaging on the inmate's behalf, or the inmate has access to a contraband device and is operating it themselves in violation of facility rules. Both situations are serious and both give you a path to address it. Start...

Without knowing all the facts, giving a precise timeline is not possible, but understanding what is working against him helps set realistic expectations. Missing court dates, regardless of the reason, is viewed negatively by judges. The court's perspective is straightforward. A court date is a legal obligation and failing to appear, even unintentionally, signals unreliability to the judge who will eventually handle the case. In domestic violence matters specifically, courts tend to be less forgiving about procedural failures because of the...

Surprise visits sound like a sweet idea but calling ahead first is always worth the few minutes it takes. Even if you are on the approved visitor list, several things can prevent a visit from happening on any given day. The facility may be on lockdown, visitation hours may have changed, your inmate may have lost visitation privileges due to a disciplinary issue, or the visiting room may be at capacity. Showing up with children after a long drive only to...

Prison has its own social hierarchy and moral code, and certain offenses sit at the bottom of it regardless of how the outside world views them. Crimes against women and children consistently rank among the most looked down upon within the inmate population. Domestic violence cases vary in how they are received depending on the specific circumstances. A situation involving a mutual altercation between adults is viewed differently from one involving severe abuse, serious injury, or children being present. The inmate...