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

On good behavior and early release, the honest answer is not likely. A violation of probation sentence is handed down specifically because the original conditions of supervision were not met. The judge already extended leniency once when probation was granted instead of prison time, and the VOP sentence is the response to that trust being broken. Most judges structure VOP time to be served without the same good time credits that apply to standard sentences, though it varies by state...

InmateAid does not replace the prison phone company. Our Discount Phone Service works by using software to compare inmate call prices for all of the 25 or so prison phone carriers against all possible tariff scenarios. In 80% of the cases, a change in phone number will reduce the calls by up to 90% (usually 40-50%).  Some prisons use a system where the LOCAL line is the lowest price. So if you are not local, your calls will be 3-4 times more than a...

Yes, and you are far from alone in dealing with it. What you are experiencing is one of the most common relationship strains that comes with incarceration, and it has very little to do with anything you are actually doing. An inmate sitting in a cell 23 hours a day has one thing in unlimited supply: time. And time without distraction, without purpose, without control over anything in their environment, has a way of turning into anxiety that needs somewhere to...

It depends on how their case was resolved, and the difference between the two paths is significant. If the person went to trial and was convicted, they were already in the federal system before sentencing ever happened. The case was active, the paperwork was moving, and updating their designation to reflect a new facility assignment is relatively quick. You might see them appear in the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator within a few days of their arrival at the designated facility. If...

A detainer is a formal legal hold placed on an inmate by a jurisdiction that has separate pending charges or unresolved business with that person. Finding one on parole paperwork means that even though she has been granted parole on the current sentence, she is not walking out the door into freedom. She is walking out of one legal situation and directly into another. Here is what is actually happening. The county that issued the detainer has charges against her that...

Send mail to wherever the BOP inmate locator currently shows him. That database reflects the most current official record of where an inmate is housed, and it is the most reliable source available to the public. If it shows FCI Pollock, send it to Pollock. If it shows FTC Oklahoma City, send it there. Federal transfer centers are used to handle mail during transitions. If you send mail to the transfer center while he is still physically there, the facility is...

Your son almost certainly has an inmate number already assigned, even though he just arrived yesterday. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction assigns identification numbers during the intake and booking process, which happens on arrival. The number may just not be showing up yet in the places you have been searching. The most reliable place to find it is the Ohio DRC offender search tool at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch. Search by his name and the results will show his inmate number, current...