it is surprisingly common for some types of first time offenders To struggle with the fact they are now a convicted felon .Often people who have never been in this kind of trouble find them selves afraid and are unable to accept at first what is happening to them .

It is normal for a person like her to be afraid ..Sowing that fear is another matter .

Being transported in shackles and cuffs really is not all that big of a deal . It is for every ones safety . You have no idea who you are on the chain bus with . One or more could very dangerous and or escape prone . Much better every one is in restraints .

At some point she is going to have to accept what has gone on and accept what she did was illegal and a felony . Along with accepting responsibility for it .

Look at it this way if the genders were reversed, There would be calls for the male teachers head and he would be doing a lot more than two years . I don't know if you can explain this to her . She is very lucky in TX and Harris county all she caught was 2 years .


That she caught a case for masturbation and is a sex offender is not good , TDCJ will know and this will effect where on her unit she is housed . TDCJ will simply think she will be a problem and place her in more restrictive housing on her unit at first . TDCJ does take your behavior while in jail into consideration.


If she does masturbate in jail do so at night under covers . it goes on in every jail and prison .

Skye Usually in these kind of cases a full psych exam is done by both the state and defense . Often a judge will order one.

If she does become depressed or highly anxious there is some mental health help available on every TDCJ unit . It might not be top notch and simply be medication but it is better than nothing .


Sunray is right the more outside support she has the less of a target she will be for both convicts and bosses and rank

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Hello TXman. I just wanted to jump in on your thread with a couple of thought I had about all this. First, like everyone else I am sorry to hear about your friend and the trouble she got herself into. The sooner she realizes that she did in fact commit a crime, the better off she is going to be. Second, the people who have posted here KNOW what they are talking about. They have very real experience with the Texas prison system and their advice and suggestions are invaluable. I live in New York but have a female pp in Texas and the advice from ASE, ShowyourPride, Skye and many other taught me more than I could ever realize about how things work in Texas.
Years ago I did a long prison sentence in California and the one thing I want to share with you and your friend is the fact that the one thing your friend must learn quickly is RESPECT. It is absolutely mandatory as a convict to learn to respect another convict. Not like or be life long buddies with but a basic level of respect is what everyone is measured by. If you "dis" or bad mouth someone, you are headed for big trouble. Your friend must also respect the system, the bosses, and the administration. She may not like it but she better show respect or they will make her life miserable. Starting right now the fact that she WAS a teacher and all that means nothing. As a matter of fact the higher the social status when she was on the street, the harder it will be for her to adjust to prison life.
She will come out a different lady than she is today. Guaranteed. But she will come out someday. Keep supporting her and be her eyes and ears on the street.
Best of luck.

Hello Txman. While a lot of good info has all ready been provided to you I just wanted to add my two cents. I may repeat a few things that have all ready been said but I guess that would just mean it is important and true.

JPAY was mentioned earlier. It is a Godsend. Make sure she is on that once you know her unit. You will be able to look her up by her TDOC number on that site. If nothing comes up with the number then try putting two zeros in front of it. But JPAY is great. It is a fast and easy way to get money on her books. Having a little extra change will be a good thing for her. The TDOC provides her with the basics... and I do mean basics. There are the little things in life that you and I take for granted that will mean a lot. Like extra clothes, candy, coffee, hot pot, and radio. With some money on her books she can get those things. Make sure you find out when her scheduled time is to go to the store. That way if you do send her some support she will have it in time. It is very embarrasing for them to wait in line at the store only to find out there is no money on the books when they thought they had some.

Write to her and keep in contact. She is about to enter a lonely world. Share with her your activities and be her outside place.

On the topic of keeping in contact... Learn the rules of the mail system. Do not break them. Another thing that would be embarrasing for her is to be woken up and called to the mail room to be shown a letter in a plastic bag that she will not be allowed to read. Then sign a piece of paper showing she was made aware she got something in the mail that is not allowed. Then she can either have it sent back at her expense or destroyed. At which point whoever the letter is from , that person can be banned from writing letters.

Have her put you on the visitation list. This way you will be approved for her to call you on the phone. You will need a land line. Also if you are on the visitation list you can call to check up on her. Granted the info they give you is very limited at best. But they can always tell you whether or not she is up for visitation. If she is allowed visitation that is usually a good sign. Keep in mind when calling the prison it is always how you ask and not what you ask. I have learned verbage is very important. I have asked questions and they could not give me answers. In the very same phone call I just worded the question differently and they told me all I wanted to know and then some.

As for working the fields on the hoe squad. I do not mean to worry you. I am just being honest with this one. My PP's friend... and I use that word very loosely had medical problems with her hand and had troubles holding the tool all day in the field. This meant nothing. She still had to work the field. Nobody is above work. All though have heard that the laundry room is a good gig to have.

Never snitch and just because someone is your friend does not mean they are your friend. At least that is what I have gained from my PP.

They do love to write the females up on cases a lot. She can get a case for something as simple as cell / bunk refusal. I know with mine one time she was made to bunk with someone she did not feel safe around. She told the law she wanted another bunk. The only way she could get one was to do what is known as bunk refusal and take a major case for it.

Cases can result in different things. She could have her visitation taken away for a little bit. She could be sent to Seg. Or she could go on store restriction.

Lastly. Stick around here. There are really good people on this site. This is a great community. A lot of them as you see are willing to help. Some , like the all knowing Professor ASE will be a huge help to you. I know he along with Skye have been very helpful to me. You will learn a lot in the next year about a world you did not know existed before. Both from here and from letters from your friend.

There are times it is hard. But just do the time with her and be supportive and continue to be a good friend to her. The most important thing to her now is that she does not become out of site out of mind. Mail call can be the best or the worst part of her day.

But that is just my two cents.

Thanks, we wait, she is always in county jail.

I saw today on Vinelink that she was transferred to "Texas Department Criminal Justice", but I cant't find her neither among Harris County Jail inmates (where she was registered) nor on the TDCJ site. In fact, I don't know where she is locked up now. I thought she'll stay longer in Harris County Jail.

She is probably going through the intake process. Once she is assigned a tdcj# you should be able to locate her.

If you visit the tdc web page there is an 800 number listed under offender information, they can also help you.

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She's in Plane. It's written Projected Release Date 2010.08.30, parole eligibility date 2009.12.21. Is it possible she'll be released before the end of the year, though she was sentenced to two years ? Is Plane a good place ?

I am not sure about Plane, but I am familiar with parole in TX. Sadly most offenders do not make parole the first time they are up for review. It is best to start having family and friends write support letters and send to the parole board.

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William Jennings Bryan

That's good news Txman, because if she keeps her nose clean, she would be out by Projected Release Date then. If I'm not mistaken August 2010 is when she will get out UNLESS she does something to mess that up. ASE or Skye could correct me on this (I fear giving misinformation), but she's in good shape then.

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Projected Release Date 2010.08.30 is the date she will be released if she does not get parole. On a sentence this short, I very much doubt that she will get parole, she will almost certainly get a "serve-all" - its posible, but really not likely.

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