Category: Tips
-
Clemencies In 2025 Kyle from Federal Prison Tips is back in Washington, meeting with officials about clemency applications. First things first – back on June 5th, 2025, the Director of the Federal Prison System, Billy Marshall, updated the BOP programming statement around clemency. It clarifies that an inmate’s case manager must submit clemency applications for…
-
Visits & Searches We recently had a question come across our desk. The question was, do BOP employees check you every time you go to visitation? The answer is yes. Absolutely. Across security levels, from minimum security to maximum, every federal prison in the BOP checks inmates and visitors before face-to-face time begins. Inmates are…
-
What Can You Do If Your Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) Is Incorrect? As a defendant in federal court facing a federal prison sentence, you have a right to dispute or challenge what probation officers place on your pre-sentence report. A lot of people don’t understand the consequences of what’s written, or recognize it too late. We’ve…
-
Asking For Your Prison Of Choice Might Not Get You Where You Want When you’re being sentenced, most clients and defendants want to be prepared to make their preference known to the judge. They want to spend hours researching different prisons to make the best choice for the next several years in their life. The…
-
3 Federal Prison Tips Clients We Helped Minimize Their Federal Prison Sentence without snitching Now that you’ve been charged with a federal crime the first thing you’re thinking about is minimizing your exposure, minimizing your time in federal prison. We take calls all the time from clients and potential clients who have attorneys tell them…
-
What’s A Strong Personal Narrative Worth? First of all, there’s no reason to pay someone $7,000 – $10,000 to do your personal narrative. You could write this on your own. What you want to include is your life story in an abbreviated format. Include, for example, what possibly made you commit your crime, what you’ve…
-
Can I Just Use My BOP ID? In short – yes. If you’re boarding a plane as a regular citizen, after May 7th of 2025, you need a Real ID. We got this question in our Facebook Group, also called Federal Prison Tips. As an inmate just leaving your former place of incarceration, you can…
-
Or are they just a myth? Actually, there are good case managers in federal prison. Most think by the nature of the job, they can only be somewhere between okay and bad. And most will confirm this through their experience – the vast majority of case managers don’t seem to act with inmates best interests…
-
Are you currently on supervised release after finishing your sentence in federal prison? Now, there’s talk that the supervised release statute will see changes in November 2025. But, if you’ve been on supervised release for a year or more on a Class C felony or two years or more on a class A or B…
-
Where To Best Report Prison Issues We get hundreds of emails, DMs, voicemails, and messages about ongoing issues happening to loved ones in the federal prison system. I was asked to use my platform to convey to our community that there’s places to go when you have complaints and concerns about the safety and security…
-
How Can You Maximize Your Pay In Federal Prison? Many federal prisons require their inmate population to work. This is especially relevant at federal prison camps. At all federal prisons, if you’re working a regular job outside of UNICOR, you’re working on a pay scale starting at Grade A, which is 12 cents per hour,…
-
Eating Good In The Clink There are a lot of prison cooking creators on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Some of the recipes look interesting, others actually look really good. How do you make them? Well, a lot of videos will show you step-by-step. You can also find a lot of cookbooks. One of the best…
-
What Is The RRM Responsible For In My Situation? If you have an inmate in federal prison who is First Step Act or Second Chance Act Eligible, you need to read this. The RRM in the federal prison system, or Bureau of Prisons, is the regional reentry manager. That person is tasked with placing inmates…
-
No Surprise: Case Managers Are Creating Confusion The technical and legal fact is that yes, undocumented inmates should receive benefits from the First Step Act and Second Chance Act, and can be placed in community confinement like a Halfway House. Assuming, of course, that the undocumented inmate’s offense allows qualification. However, case managers in the…
-
Are Judge’s Choices In Accepting Recommendations Limited? When you’re in federal court facing time in federal prison, is it possible for your judge to go below a jointly recommended sentence from the U.S. attorney and your defense attorney? This question comes from an ongoing discussion in our Facebook Group, which is also called Federal Prison…
-
What’s A Normal Monthly Spend Look Like? Under normal circumstances, without facing any kind of restrictions, an inmate is allowed to spend up to $360 per month within the BOP. However, many federal prisons are experiencing limits right now where inmates can only spend up to $25 per month on hygiene products. During an inmate’s…
-
What is a Federal Prison Camp, Anyway? A federal prison camp (FPC) is also known as a minimum security facility. Generally, they have the most relaxed enforcement of rules, and the easiest prison culture for all walks of life to integrate into. Still, there are a few things to always keep in mind. Stay away…
-
924(c)s And FSA: What About Revocation Of Supervised Release? If you’re a regular consumer of Federal Prison Tips content, you probably already know the answer: Nope. If you’re on a violation or revocation of supervised release and the original charge was a 924(c), you cannot get First Step Act credit. The BOP is not to…
-
Leaving In Style Normally, when you’re released from federal prison, you get on the bus in a gray sweatsuit and a mesh bag hanging over your shoulder. We recently had someone ask – can you send your loved one some different clothes to wear when they’re released? The answer is yes! But, you can’t just…
-
If Your Loved One’s Case Manager Isn’t Doing Their Job, Should You Call? Calling your loved one’s case manager in federal prison is a horrible idea. We understand that when you have a loved one in federal prison, you want to advocate for them. Most men in federal prison go to their loved ones on…