You think you know what it’s like from the movies, but you have no idea.
Sure, we’ve all seen movies set behind bars, but are they accurate?
Or just Hollywood’s version of things?
“I served 18 years straight.
I’d say somewhere around the seven or eight-year mark, my view of the situation changed.
It was no longer prison; it was just my life.
Every day was the same.
You get into a never-changing routine, and before you know it, five years go by.
Then 10, then 15.
The real world becomes a fantasy.
Something you see on TV, or pictures in a magazine, but it’s no longer real.
I went in at 18 and came out a 37-year-old man who didn’t know how to do anything.
I’d never used a cellphone or computer.
I’d never driven a car or filed my taxes.
The world was too big, too loud, too fast.”
I didn’t know how to cook, or how to pay a bill.
I sat home by myself for months, afraid to go anywhere or talk to people.
A big part of me wanted to be back in prison where things made sense, where I thrived.
I dream a lot of being in prison.
Where it’s easy.
And believe it or not, less stress and anxiety.
I’ve been in institutions my whole life, since I was a little kid.
Foster homes, group homes, treatment centers, juvenile detentions.
It’s what I know.
It’s where I’m comfortable.
I don’t know if that will ever change."
Ant, Quora
2.
The trip was excruciating.
Fully shackled for more than nine hours and chained to another woman.
We were black-boxed, which caused the handcuffs to painfully dig into our wrists.
A couple of girls got carsick and threw up all over themselves.
Someone else peed on herself.
It was pure hell.
Once we finally arrived, we were processed and treated like a bunch of cattle.
It was intimidating, scary, and overwhelming."
Susan Smith, Quora
3.
“Without exception, the food is terrible.
Mush that has been boiled all day and slopped without a care onto a tray.
The cooks would open bag after bag of whatever and dump it into those vats to be boiled.
Jack Phillips, Quora
4.
“Its always noisy, 24/7.”
“Your body cavities will be searched.
The other inmates will take a stab at steal everything you have.
Communication with loved ones is greatly reduced.
No matter what is cooked, the food tastes the same every day.
Your habits sugar, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine go unsatisfied.
You wont be able to choose your favorite TV show.
You will walk through the prison unit in a single file, looking straight ahead.
You will hear metal gates/doors slamming and clanking inside the building.
If you work in the field, you will be on your feet in the sun all day long.
The guards watching you will be nearby and irritated by the heat, but sitting on their horses.
Many units have no AC.
The commode has no seat; you will sit on metal and share the cell with another.
Some inmates are armed with ‘shanks,’ homemade knives.
You will never have enough money to buy the little goodies you desire at the commissary.”
Ted Olsen, Quora
5.
I watched my late teens, 20s, and 30s vanish as I struggled to survive inside.
I have seen more violence than the vast majority of the planet, and it was my day-to-day life.
The stress can be overwhelming at times, and other times, it is just plain excruciatingly boring.
I hope no one has to experience what I went through for over 25 years.
Joey V., Quora
6.
“This might seem strange, but pay attention do not point.
No pointing with your fingers.
And you will swiftly get your comeuppance, if you will, for that terrible misdeed.”
Allen Peck, Quora
7.
“you might’t sleep.
Lack of heat or air makes it so uncomfortable in both winter and summer.
you could’t have peace due to constant noise and lights.
you could’t think straight because of loud, disrespectful idiots.
you might’t get access to halfway decent meals, so you might’t maintain a healthy weight.
Ashley Shaw, Quora
8.
“Believe it or not, many inmates are just like you and dont want to fight.
During my last incarceration, I made it without fighting once.
Granted, it was only a year, but I still made it without fighting.
Let me be clear, though.
Not fighting is not the same as being willing to fight.
I was well aware that if called out, I must fight.
If I didnt, then I would be considered weak and ostracized by almost everyone.”
J.R. Johnson, Quora
9.
“It’s very hard to do time in prison ESPECIALLY if you are a first-timer.
Staff doesn’t consider you human, and inmates always have a game going.
The strong prey on the weak and ignorant.
Then there is just the time itself.
How long are you in for?
It’s hard, but sit back and really THINK about that amount of time.
Your kids grow up, your spouse might well move on, and people die.
Prison sucks, but in some ways, it’s like being stuck in time.
Inside, nothing major changes from day to day but the world moves on without you.
I don’t see how lifers do it, to be honest.”
Joaquin LeChen, Quora
10.
“To some people, it’s probably pretty hard.
Being away from everything you know and love.
For me, being out is harder than being in.
I have days where I crave the inside.
It’s easier than living out here as a second-class citizen.
So, how hard is it really to do time in prison?
That’s a cakewalk compared to living in society as a convicted felon.
This is how I see it anyway.
Not everybody will have the same opinion.”
Rhonda Heyman, Quora
11.
Related to the above, don’t create debt you could’t pay.
If you don’t pay in money, you’ll pay in blood or worse.
Still related, don’t gamble unless you might pay.
Don’t cheat at cards, someone is gonna notice, and you’ll be sorry.
Don’t disrespect other inmates, especially don’t emasculate another inmate if you’re a guy.
Don’t be dirty.
Wash your hands, brush your teeth, shower, and keep your cell clean.
Don’t steal from another inmate ever.
Better yet, don’t even touch something that isn’t yours.
you’re able to sit on someone’s bunk if invited but don’t sit on their pillow.
Mind your own business.
Don’t see anything and don’t know anything.
Don’t brag about your case or your appeal or your imminent release.
Don’t pry into other’s business or cases.
Listen, but limit asking unless they seek your input.
Don’t talk about anyone else’s business or cases to anyone else.
Don’t hit a CO.
They’ll hit you back, all 12+ of them, repeatedly.
And you’ll likely ‘fall’ a few times on your way to the hole.
Don’t back-to-back your phone calls.
Get to the back of the queue.
Gene Livingston, Quora
12.
“A lot of it has to do with the individual.
The one who goes to prison and accepts that they are in prison will do better.
They get into a prison routine.
They stay busy and focused on things that have to do with their life in prison.
This helps the time go by faster.
The quicker you accept the fact of where you are at, the better it will be.”
Vernie Seidel, Quora
13.
“It is absolutely the most extreme of both ends of the spectrum.
“How can it be both?
Its all easy when things are going well.
Its good when the yard is calm, when things are going as they are routinely done.
Nothing changes; every day is the same.
Nowhere is safe, calm, or convenient.
You might need protection just to hit the head.
Mealtime can be very dangerous.
Ask an inmate from an upper-level joint.
Its all good right up to when its not.
Then it is ugly, scary, and chaotic.
Prison is not a fun place to be.
