How do you find out what an inmate did to be in state prison?

Answer 1

The best way to find out why a person is serving prison time is to ask the person what happened. In many cases you can also look up the person's name in the prison system and see why he or she is there, but not all states allow that, so if the person won't tell you it may be impossible for you to find out.

Answer 2

All court actions and transcripts of trials (including federal trials) are public records. Contact the Clerk of of Court for the US District Court where the defendant was tried and request the information. If you are a legitimate employer or potential employer of this individual, and he is out of prison, you can ask him to deliver a copy of his criminal history record to you.

Answer 3

Arrests are a matter of public record. Some county jails provide this information via an internet web site. Others prefer inquirers contact them directly. Those that require contact may charge for information given under the Freedom of Information Act.

Incidentally, everyone is incarcerated for the same two reasons: either he has been arrested and cannot make bail, or he was convicted of a crime and sentenced to a period of incarceration.

Also incidentally, it is considered bad form to ask why someone was arrested or has been locked up.

Answer 4

If the individual is still incarcerated you can simply call the institution and ask what the charges are and sentence. If not, you need to know what state they resided in (but if you have concerns about someone you may want to check ANY state they lived in for criminal history). Once you have that information you can go the the states website and see if (that information is a public record) they have an accessible database for Department of Corrections and/or the states court records. You can also contact the state court clerk's office to find out their procedure for reading the court file. If the individual is on some court mandated supervision ie. probation or parole, you can just call that office and most states will just tell you what the individual was charged with.

I wouldn't bother with those online background records websites as that information can be in error and they charge one fee for looking and then later hit you for another fee to find out what that information holds only to discover the info is for someone 20 years too old/young or lives in the wrong state. Personally I think it is a racket and they are sure to list a big fat disclaimer on their site.

Answer 5

If they are a resident of your state - go to your local law enforcement agency and request a criminal history check of the person. His last conviction (and what it is for) should show up.

Answer 6

You call their mom