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

The line is nudity. Anything that crosses into exposed private areas will be rejected by the mail room. Everything short of that is generally acceptable. Bikini photos, lingerie, and suggestive poses are fine as long as nothing is explicitly exposed. Facilities inspect all incoming mail and photos, and images containing nudity will be confiscated before they ever reach your boyfriend. In some cases a facility may flag the sender's account for future scrutiny if explicit content is found, so it is...

Phone access varies by facility type, but most prisons and jails allow calls during waking hours, generally from 6:00 AM to 9:30 PM. Breaks throughout the day are common, and access can be restricted at any time at the facility's discretion. County jails operate a little differently. Some have phones directly in the cells or housing units, which means calling can happen around the clock without a set schedule. Others follow the same structured hours as larger facilities. If you are...

No to all three parts of that question, and here is why. Letters do not reach an inmate the same day they are sent, regardless of how they are delivered. All incoming mail goes through the facility mail room first, where staff inspect each piece for contraband before it gets to mail call. That process adds at least a day, and often more depending on mail volume and the facility's schedule. Writing back the same day is not possible either, for the...

No. You do not need to provide your personal mailing address anywhere on InmateAid for your inmate to write back to you. All letters sent through InmateAid go out with InmateAid's return address on the envelope, not yours. When your inmate wants to reply, they write back to that address. When the letter arrives, we scan it and post it directly to your account. You receive an email notification and read the reply by logging into the site. This setup also means...

When a correctional facility is dealing with a health crisis and families are not being notified, the burden of finding information falls entirely on the people on the outside. That is not acceptable, but it is the reality, and persistence is the only tool available. Here is how to approach it systematically. Contact the facility directly and go up the chain. Do not stop at the general information line. Get the names and direct contact information for the warden, assistant warden, and...

There are too many variables in the information provided to give you an reliable answer. Usually, the release statement is what you can rely on and if he has to be in a treatment center, then that is where the bus ticket will take him. In residential treatment, they often times will allow a portion of the time on home confinement but again, there is no way to give you an answer that we would be comfortable telling you is...

Mandatory Supervised Release, commonly referred to as MSR, is a term used primarily in the federal system and in some state systems to describe the period of supervision that follows release from prison. The concept exists in state systems as well, but it typically goes by a different name: probation or parole. For your brother's purposes, the answer is yes, the same general principle applies. State inmates serve a supervision period after release that functions essentially the same way MSR does...

“MSR” can be confusing because it means different things depending on the system. In the federal system, the correct term is Supervised Release, not MSR. Federal inmates: Serve about 85 percent of their sentence in custody May spend the last portion of that time in a halfway house or home confinement Then begin Supervised Release, which is ordered by the judge and happens after they are fully released In this context: There is no parole in the federal system Halfway house time is part of the sentence, not early release Supervised Release begins only...

Inmates do not have internet access and they do not respond directly on the site. That is a reasonable thing to wonder about, and the answer is simpler than it might seem. When an inmate wants to write back through InmateAid, they do it the old-fashioned way: pen and paper, addressed to InmateAid's mailing address. When that letter arrives, we scan it and post it directly to your account. You receive an email notification letting you know there is a letter...

Finding pro bono representation for a DUI case is difficult. Most law firms and legal aid organizations that take cases for free focus on serious felonies, civil rights violations, or cases that carry significant public interest. A DUI, even one with serious consequences for your family, generally does not meet the threshold that motivates unpaid legal work. That does not mean you are out of options. The most direct step is to go above your husband's public defender. Contact the supervising attorney...

Unfortunately, if Global Tel Link has the contract at your inmate’s facility, there is no way to completely avoid them. These companies operate as exclusive providers, which means all inmate calls must go through their system. That said, there are ways to reduce the cost significantly, even if you cannot eliminate them entirely. What you are already doing with Google Voice is a good start. The most effective additional step is: Use a local number setup (like InmateAid) that matches the facility’s area code This works because: Your inmate dials a local...

The two things that determine whether a letter reaches the right person are the inmate ID number and the facility address. Get both of those right and the letter will find its way to your inmate. Get either one wrong and it will not. Inmate names alone are not enough. Facilities process a high volume of mail and route it by ID number, not by name. A common name with a wrong or missing ID number creates real risk of the...

When a facility goes silent after an inmate is injured, the frustration for families is compounded by the fact that the people who are supposed to be responsible for your loved one's safety are the same ones refusing to communicate. Here is what you can actually do. Contact the chaplain. This is often the most overlooked and most effective channel available to families. Prison and jail chaplains operate somewhat outside the standard chain of command and are generally more willing to...