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

Having no prior record is helpful but it does not carry as much weight as most people hope in a possession with intent case. The outcome depends heavily on a set of factors that vary significantly from one situation to the next. The drug involved matters enormously. Intent to distribute charges involving methamphetamine, heroin, or fentanyl are prosecuted far more aggressively than marijuana or prescription medications in most jurisdictions. The quantity is equally important. A small amount that could support a...

Mail forwarding between correctional facilities is not reliable and in most cases does not happen at all. When an inmate transfers out of a facility, mail that arrives after their departure typically gets returned to sender rather than forwarded to the new location. The timing in your situation makes it particularly uncertain since the transfer happened the day after you sent the letters and postcard. Whether your mail reaches him depends on where it was in the postal system when the...

A transfer within the same state system, from Bledsoe County Correctional Complex to Northwest Correctional Complex, both Tennessee Department of Correction facilities, is significantly smoother than an interstate or county-to-state transfer in terms of how quickly privileges carry over. Because both facilities operate under the same TDOC system, your boyfriend's existing approvals, account information, and general status transfer with him rather than requiring the full orientation and intake process that a new system entry would trigger. Phone access in this situation...

Prison/jail is a scary place. The worst part is the boredom, not the violence. Every inmate wants to go home, but they know there is time to be served and the ones that can handle boredom the best, are the ones that survive. The magazines and books inmateAID has on the site are there for your convenience of ordering, but staying in touch with the outside world keeps them focused on what they'll do when released. Your son will need to follow some...

First, we are sorry for your family's loss. Losing someone while a loved one is incarcerated and unable to be there is one of the harder aspects of incarceration for everyone involved. The answer is that it is possible but not guaranteed, and the decision rests entirely with the warden. The CDCR has a formal policy for what is called a Temporary Community Release, which covers situations where an inmate needs to leave the facility briefly for a compelling personal reason including...

The phone carrier is CityTeleCoin. All calls are over $5.00 unless you are in Shreveport LA, then the calls are $1.85. Our Discount Phone Service would get you that Shreveport number, it would ring on your regular number (forwarded). You still have to use CityTeleCoin but set the account up with our number to save over $3.00 per call. If you want to try it for a month, let us know and we will email you a coupon code for...

For Sterling Correctional Facility in the Colorado Department of Corrections, the answer is straightforward. OffenderConnect.com is the designated provider for CDOC facilities and it is the only platform you need for this situation. What makes OffenderConnect different from most prison phone carriers is their rate structure. They charge the same flat rate for all calls regardless of whether you are in Colorado or anywhere else in the country. That eliminates the in-state versus out-of-state rate disparity that drives up costs at...

The BOP release date on the website is the real number and it already has the 15% good time credit built in. What you see there assumes clean conduct throughout and no additional credits from programs like RDAP. As long as he avoids incident reports, that date stays intact all the way to the door. Here is how the math breaks down on 78 months. With the standard 15% good time reduction already applied, he is looking at about 66.3 months of...

The most reliable confirmation is hearing back from your inmate directly, but when that response has not come, it does not necessarily mean your mail is not getting through. Inmates receive mail more consistently than most people on the outside realize. Facilities treat incoming mail as a protected form of communication and make genuine effort to ensure it reaches the right person. If you have been sending through InmateAid consistently, the letters and emails are almost certainly arriving. What varies is...

What you can send depends on the facility, but here is a practical rundown of the most common categories and how each one works. Letters. Letters are accepted at virtually every jail, prison, and detention center in the country. They must be addressed with your friend's full legal name, inmate ID number, and the complete facility address. InmateAid prints and mails letters for you, or you can send them directly through the postal service. Photos. Photos are permitted at most facilities as...

TV tends to pick the most extreme situation that could happen. If they were to film a day in a jail, it would put you to sleep. Nothing really goes on... it's wake up, eat, clean your cell, watch tv, eat again, watch tv, play cards, read a book, read a magazine, play basketball, do puzzles, eat a third time, watch tv - read - play chess, go to bed. Tomorrow and tomorrow are all the same... like the movie Groundhog Day. Gotta...

NCDPS stands for the North Carolina Department Public Safety. It is the state agency that oversees all of North Carolina's correctional facilities, including state prisons, community corrections, and juvenile justice operations. For anyone trying to track an inmate's release date in the North Carolina system, the NCDPS offender search is the most reliable and current source available. The database pulls directly from the department's own records and reflects the most up-to-date release date calculation including good time credits and any modifications...

Yes, and it is more common than most people on the outside realize. A significant portion of the incarcerated population does their entire sentence completely alone. No visits, no phone calls, no letters. Nobody putting money on the commissary account, nobody checking in, nobody counting down the days with them. They go in with whatever connections they had and watch those connections quietly disappear over months and years until there is nobody left. It happens for all kinds of reasons. Long sentences...