Hi all!
Say, I just got out of prison after a 40 year sentence, no probation. (Don’t need answer fast)
State of Maine specifically! I would like to hear about other states.
What do they give you? New clothes, shoes, A one way buss ticket to anywhere buss’s run?
in the past some states would give you a little money and a bus ticket but I don’t think that is true now from what I’ve seen. I guess they might give you a ride to a bus station but a lot of prisons are in rural areas not near bus lines. You have to rely on friends or family for a ride and new clothes.
*Is that Elwood?
Yeah.
Did you tell him Jake died?
I thought you did.*
“Wow. This is really a surprise for me. As a warden, I had no idea his time was almost up. I just figured we give him his ratty ol’ blues suit back, and send him out the door.” Said nobody, ever.
Prisoner release services vary widely across municipalities. But yeah, beginning several months before some steps are taken to secure what’s needed for release. That can include a bus ticket, if its in the budget, and if the prisoner needs one – they have a place to go, and a reason to go there. New clothes may be in the budget, or not, and also depend on need – does the individual need new clothes for their new life?
The municipality has spent lots of money housing, feeding, and guarding the prisoner. Those expenses don’t cease the instant of release, the prisoner release services are factored into the cost of imprisonment.
Here’s a listing of services state by state: https://lionheart.org/prison/state-by-state-listing-of-re-entry-programs-for-prisoners/
I think Texas give you a coffin and an unmarked grave.
What a difference one comma makes!
Does anyone really serve a lengthy sentence and not get out with parole/probation?
I knew a guy who received three years for his umpteenth DUI. While in prison he was repeatedly offered sentence reductions in exchange for various things (alcohol awareness classes, early release with monitoring and piss testing). He was hardcore and turned down each offer. He served every day of his sentence, but as I understand it that’s a rarity.
When he was released he went out to celebrate at a bar before the stink was even washed off. Drove home drunk, but wasn’t caught.
In Alabama, they give you a set of clothes if you need them, a bus ticket to anywhere in the state (prison staff will drive you to the nearest bus station), and a temporary photo ID. They also give you a prepaid debit card with a stipend. The amount of the stipend depends on several factors including how long of a term you served.
I believe if you were paid for working in prison, or somebody put money into your commissary account, you get that money when you are released. It’s less than MW, but it is something.
A forty year sentence means you are probably in your sixties, and your parents are dead. No work history, a felony record, no Social Security - this is going to be a tough row to hoe no matter what.
Regards,
Shodan
I have edited the title to better indicate the subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
**I did some research on the Maine state prison system **and read that released prisoners are given $50 and, if on medication in prison, thirty days worth of medication. That’s it. The article was written on July 23, 2018, so it is pretty current.
Pretty sure we give you a marker too, if that’s how you’re leaving prison…
Spending 40 years in prison working a prison job you are paid to do doesn’t count toward social security? Are your prison wages taxed? (I do not know. Anybody?)
Even if social security taxes are taken out of it, the amount, and hence the eventual payments, would be miniscule.
A job bagging groceries until you hang yourself.
Brooks was here
Prison wages are not taxed or counted towards social security. As yabob noted, they’re miniscule. (But on the positive side they include room and board and a comprehensive health plan.)
After forty years in prison, do you actually have any family or friends at all or a place to go? I think I would destroy some sinks in the washroom and get my sentence extended. That seems like a much better option than going out into a world that you don’t know with nothing and nowhere to go.
I presume you’d have the same eligibility for welfare as anyone who had not worked in 40 years.
They obviously can’t toss you out in a prison uniform or with on clothes on, so there would be some form of clothing process. They may or may not have your clothes from 40 years ago, but those may not fit. (or are buried in the evidence archive in the courthouse)
Thank you.
My son is a corrections officer at a prison in Florida. He loves his job. I used to ask if “anything interesting happened at work today” but I stopped because what he told me freaked me out.