Federal Prison

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tbone190

Bluelighter
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Jun 12, 2002
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A friend of mine will be entering a Federal Prison in about a month. He will be doing his first 30-60 days is a medium security facility and then he hopes to get into an alcohol rehabilitation program for the next 10 months. By then he should be eligible for parole.
I would like to know anyone's experiences in Federal prisons. SPecifically in a medium security facility and an alcohol treatment center. What was it like inside, what was visitation like, what were you allowed to be mailed, how much could you receive for your commissary account, etc. Also, do you get treated differently if you are in there for a particular crime. My friend is going in for racketeering.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
I hope my experience can ease your bud's mind some. This sounds like a cakewalk. Is it a misemeanor or a felony? From your description it could have been either. Anyway, no more than 60 days in even a federal medium security facility is not bad. Is it a Federal Correctional Institution or a Federal Prison Camp? You'll know by the designation, like "FCI LaTuna" or "FPC Talladega". You bud's sentence sounds awful small to be going even to a medium security place like an FCI. The truly badass places are the "USPs" the United States Penitentiaries, like USP Leavenworth. But don't worry, sounds like it's possible you bud could be going to a camp. Even if it's an FCI, it's like a junior college with razor wire around it. He'll be safe. The rehab facility I assume is "custodial", but it'll be like a dorm, except you can't leave and you do everything when somebody tells you. All in all this is a VERY light sentence, and he'll be out in no time, and actually a lot healthier than he's been in years.
 
His time will be easier there then if he had to stay in the local detetion center. There will be drugs and anything else he wants there.
 
Hmmm, I overlooked the racketeering conviction. RICO? Jeez, that's an awful low sentence if he took a hit on that.
 
Originally posted by Jumbo:
Hmmm, I overlooked the racketeering conviction. RICO? Jeez, that's an awful low sentence if he took a hit on that.
Downward departure under 5k1.1 most likely.
[ 04 February 2003: Message edited by: Mahan Atma ]
Click to expand...
 
I gave the summed up version. He was looking at a range of 32-44 months. He was sentenced to 32 months. However, he is eligible for an alcohol treatment center which takes off 12 months, leaving 20. In the end, when you add in good time, the attorneys were telling me that he would do a total of about 12-14 months.
[ 04 February 2003: Message edited by: tbone190 ]
 
32 months for racketeering? He will get treated differently if he tells people what he is in for and how long. Other inmates don't like people who cooperated. Even though 85% of the people in federal custody have cooperated, they all act like they didn't and treat others bad if they think they did. The only way to get a sentence like that is a 5k1 downward departure and the only time a judge will honor that is if there is considerable amount of cooperation and a recommendation from not only the prosecutor, but also from the field agents working his case (FBI, DEA agents)
There is no parole in federal prison. If you do the drug / alcohol programs, you are right-- you will take off 12 months. Other than that, you have to 80% of your time, but sometimes on a short sentence, depending on the institution, it is hard to get into the drug programs.
if he has 32 months and gets into the drug program in 6, it will knock it down to 20 months- he has to do 80% of that, so the shortest he will be in is 16 months. If he is non-viloent and has no problems, he will qualify for a halfway house when he has 6 months left of his sentence. So, the time in the institution will be 10 months- then 6 months in a halfway house. After four months of halfway house, he will be eligible for home confinement through the halfway house, but still in the custody of the BOP. BTW-- halfway houses are soemtimes worse than prison. ALl that is best case scenario-- considering he doesn't fuck up in the joint and he gets into the program ASAP.
If I had to do it over, I would have stayed in prison and not gone to the halfway house.
[ 04 February 2003: Message edited by: klmal ]
 
BTW, if he has such a short sentence, why didn't he do the boot camp?
 
Halfway houses suck because you have less freedom than you do when you are in prison.. You have more interaction with the corrupt staff members. When I was there, it was a game the staff members would play to see how many people they could send back to prison. They would steal the shit out of our rooms. The director was having sex with my roomate and then she sent him back to prison because she got paranoid he was telling someone. You don't have any exercise time-- in prison, you can go out in the yard almost all day. The staff people at the halfway houses are the worst part about them. I was in two and they were both the same.
 
klmal - He had to start his time in a medium facility because he pled guilty to extortion, as well as racketeering. Apparently, if it is a violent crime, you are not able to do a boot camp or minimum. Anyway, my friend is in his early fifties, not really boot camp material.
 
yeah. if you have a violent record at all, you are not eligible for the boot camp program. The boot camp program is supposedly real tough. I was in prison with a few guy shwo did the boot camp and they said it really, truly made them have full hate for the American Government-- that the government would sponsor such a corrupt, abusive program.
On a thirty two month sentence, I would bet your friend will do a little more than half of it-- provided he gets into the alcohol program(s).
It will fly by for him-- the first 6 months suck real bad- counting the days is almost impossible not to do. But, after that-- he will make some friends, go to work, and the time flies by so fast. It seems like yesterday I started and I have been out for a while now.
 
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