The checklists

Thirty things, ranked

Ten for each stage, ordered by what getting them wrong actually costs you.

Two patterns worth noticing before you start. Almost none of this is about danger — it is about paperwork, sequencing, and asking. And nearly all of it is free, which means the expensive mistakes in this system are the ones nobody charges you to avoid.

Start with before you go See all three

Scope

Who this is from

Men's facilities. I did eighteen months at a low. The longer version of every item here is in the guides, and each list links back to the chapter it came from.

If you only have five minutes, read the one for the stage you are actually in. These are deliberately not a curriculum.

The three

Exhibit A

Pick your stage

1. Before you go

Ten things, ranked by what getting them wrong costs you. Every one of these has a deadline, and none of them can be done from inside.

2. While you're in

Ten things. Notice how few of them are about danger and how many are about paperwork.

3. After you get out

Ten things. The first month is where most of the damage gets done, and almost all of it is sequencing.

Thirty items is the short form. The FAQ answers the other hundred and fifty questions one at a time, and the guides — before you go in, while you're in, getting out — are where the reasoning lives.

Need help with this? Just ask.

These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. Answers are free, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.

josh@federalprisondude.com

I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.

Pass it on

Somebody has a report date and none of this. Pass it on.