Day Zero

Entering Federal Prison is a very daunting and challenging event emotionally.  You will be spending time on your  own for a long period of time and you will need something to keep your mind active outside of just staring at the wall.

When I was first brought into my cell I was told nothing, not informed of the rules, and was left to spend time to yourself thinking about what you have done and the sentence you have in front of you.  Trying to communicate with staff (at least at Atlanta USP) is near impossible.  If you ask questions, they won’t get answered.  If you need something; other than medical treatment, it won’t be given to you (at least right away).

Getting Started – Don’t Stress

First let me get started by saying this process is not the same for all inmates, pretrial or not.  Everyone will experience the justice system differently.  Many inmates; such as myself will never spend a day behind bars prior to sentencing and even then many won’t see a jail cell until they self-report to their assigned penitentiary/camp.

I was sentenced in July 2012 to a term on three months confinement with three years supervised release (one of which will be served on home confinement).  I left the courthouse defeated, exhausted, and unsure of how life would be with everything falling around me.  I was placed in Pretrial release and told that I had to contact the Probation Office once a week.  I didn’t know it at the time, but I was very lucky.  Individuals who have just entered a plea or are convicted are either immediately placed in custody of the US Marshals Office or placed in a Home Confinement status.

Preparing for Federal Prison

One of the first times I thought I might be going to prison was when federal investigators showed up at my place of employment to ask questions about my former work. Needless to say when I asked them if I was in need of an attorney or if I was in trouble they simply stated, they weren’t sure.

Obviously I didn’t know for sure, for sure, until I was sentenced. Still, as you go through this process, and as things happen, you start to get the idea that you are going to be going to prison. I was lucky to the extent that I remained out on my own recognizance (ROR) and had about three months to prepare for the process of going to prison. There are many that are nowhere near as lucky. Some will never see a free day during the entire pre-trial process. If you are lucky enough to be given a bond or ROR, then you should take the time to do what I did and research all I could about prison. This will prepare you to be as successful as possible while incarcerated. Make sure you read as much information as possible and always look at the date the information was written. Things change so much and very quickly.