Todd Chrisley and his wife, Julie, have officially entered prison, where they will serve a combined 19 years behind bars after being convicted on federal charges that included tax fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Although the two federal penitentiaries are far from each other — Todd, 53, was sentenced to 12 years in a Pensacola, Florida, prison while Julie, 49, was given 7 years in a Lexington, Kentucky, prison– day one for each of them was very similar. HollywoodLife has obtained official documents from the Bureau of Prisons, which revealed that they were both obligated to get a “thorough strip search” and “full body X-Ray” as soon as they arrived. And that was just the intro to their first day.
According to the BOP intake manual, their initial steps involved “getting scanned, searched, and photographed,” as well as being given “a brown bag meal or a meal tray from the dining hall.” In addition, “All new arrivals receive a full-body X-Ray scan, a strip search, fingerprints, and photographs.” The handbook also revealed that Todd and Julie had to also undergo a “thorough strip search, including a visual inspection of the mouth, hair, ears, and genitals” — and added, “this may be a person’s first experience with the squat and cough.”
Todd and Julie once boasted that they spent $300,000 on clothes in one year, which gave them both a massive wardrobe of designer clothes. Their new attire is not so fancy, though. “Next, new arrivals receive their R&D clothes, which include a white or brown t-shirt, socks, elastic-waist bus pants, and a pair of slip-on shoes. People wear their R&D clothes until they get a complete set of institutional clothing, usually from the Laundry Department,” the manual stated.
After they were done getting their fresh new attire to wear, they had to undergo “fingerprinting and photographing procedures to receive their prison ID,” which is a plastic photo identification card with their name and registration number, as well as eye color, height, and weight. They must both carry their ID cards on them at all times for their entire stay.
The next phase of their intake process involved their initial interviews with medical and psychological staff members. “Medical staff (usually a nurse or physician’s assistant) from the Health Services Unit conducts a brief interview of each new arrival to document the person’s overall physical health status,” the intake documents revealed. “Psychology staff member conducts a brief interview of each new arrival to ascertain their general mental health status.”
Following the health-related portion of their intake, they each were assigned a counselor, or Case Manager, who will provide them with a brief description of what to expect while locked up. They were also told by this staff member “what the prison offers in terms of education, programming, work assignments, and recreation,” according to the intake document. “At intake, staff from Special Investigative Supervisor (SIS) should determine if there is any reason (other than medical or psychological) why a person should not be in the general population.” the forms stated.
For the final phase of their intake, known as the “reception process,” Todd and Julie were given their initial housing assignment, “Most new arrivals will go into the general population once done with the intake process,” the document concluded. As fans know, their housing arrangement behind bars will be much different than the massive Nashville, Tennesse, mansion that they lived in, which was also used as the set for their now-canceled USA Network show, Chrisley Knows Best.
Todd and Julie have five children, all of which have spoken out about their parent’s unfortunate situation. — Savannah, 25, Grayson, 16, and Chase, 26, Lindsie, 33, and Kyle 31. They have appealed the court’s ruling and were hoping to avoid jail while they attempt to overturn their conviction, but were denied one week prior to their check-in.