2 Years in an American Prison - A Man's Story [Warning: Graphic]

read half. It's very interesting. I will have to come back and finish this later.

 

what a great post zerker! i read the whole thing; amazing...

 

Wow, I read the whole thing...
That was impressive, and scary to be honest.

 

Absolutely enticing. Thanks for posting this, was worth every word read.

 

The guy is an idiot. Needs to be in jail AGAIN

 

Maybe I will. It's not as graphic as his, but more on the juvenile system instead of the adult jails. You'd be surprised to hear about some of the things that go on inside them.

 

Holy shit, This had me tearing up...Life changing read..

 

Very long, yet very interesting. Read about half though rest for tomorrow.

 

I know what you mean man. Like I said earlier, there is something about his story and his experience that is very easy to relate to. Not necessarily his actual prison experience, but the fact that a normal, highly educated suburban kid could make such a life changing decision and ruin his life so fast. It could happen to any one of us at anytime, and there is something about that fact that makes it easy to identify with him.

Also, like the guy in the post mentioned, I would totally want to take him out for a couple of beers if he was ever in the area. I think he would be a fascinating character to meet up with ^_^

That is really cool man, good luck with that! I am quite fascinated with Criminal Justice myself, and I originally thought that was what I might want to do for a career. I took a bunch of CJ classes last year during my first year in college, and they were completely fascinating. Even though I am no longer taking those classes, I still follow a lot of high profile crimes and cases, and study CJS and law wherever I can.

You're an idiot for being so closed-minded. I'd love to see you survive 2 years in prison and experience the same kind of change and personal growth that he did.

I've actually read articles & watched a lot of shows about juvenile detention centers, and I've had multiple friends over the years who have done anywhere from a few months to a few years in a juvie. I used to work with a guy at a grocery store when I was 14 or 15 who was sentenced to 6 years for a manslaughter he was involved in when he was 16. He did 3 or 4 years in a juvenile center before being transferred to an adult prison, and the stories he used to tell me were absolutely horrific.

He also refused to wear the toolbelt that he was to wear, because he had a spot along his abdomen where he had been stabbed multiple times in an attach that happened inside the juvie, and so the belt irritated the skin when he wore it.

If you ever felt like sharing your story, I would be very interested in hearing what you have to say



Thanks to everybody else who has posted. If you know somebody who might enjoy this story, please refer them to this thread. I want to make sure as many people see it as possible

 

someone i know, or did know never really spoke to him much was a pretty good friend, then he seemed to get well to arrogant is now going to prison for armed robbery, so this really interested me.

nice find

 

Good read, actually did read it all as well. Hope I never go to prison but i think they're a lot different in the uk so wouldn't have to worry about half the shit that goes on.

 

I read some of it, very interesting. I have been fascinated with life in prison for some time. Not saying i want to go but just the aspect of prison life. Makes me want to go watch the show prison break again.

 

I guess it's bad. But prison is supposed to be like that: Horrible.

Like Chris Rock said, "Jails are so nice, they come back twice."

Jails are supposed to scare away repeat offenders. I bet that this guy will think twice before doing a crime that could end him up in jail again.

 

I know what you mean man. I have been fascinated with prison life for a couple of years since I began taking some Criminology courses and I had a professor who has worked in & out of jails and prisons for years. When you think about it, the inside of a prison is like a whole other functioning society, locked away in a corner of OUR society. They have their own rules, regulations, and way of life, and it is a brutal and violent place. Very fascinating haha.

And yeah prison break rules I finished that a couple of months ago so I've now started watching the old TV show "Oz" about an experimental prison cell block nicknamed Emerald City. It is good shit.

I agree that prisons aren't supposed to be luxurious, as the majority of people who get sent there are in there for good reasons. But I still don't believe that people should be subjected to violence, rape, and inhumane treatment just because they are in prison.

Also - in regards to what you are saying about repeat offenders, you should actually have a read about that. I think you would find it very interesting. People who go to prison in America and other Western countries, actually have a much, much higher rate of reoffending after leaving prison. The prison lifestyle, the violence, and the things people learn from being shacked up with hardened criminals 24/7, as well as the difficulty they have adjusting back to normal life and reintegrating back into society, cause most cons who are released from prison to reoffend and be sent back. Once you enter the prison system, it is almost impossible to stay out of it. Some people refer to it as the "revolving door" system, because once you go in it is a constant in-and-out thing.

I also read an extremely interesting article recently about these prisons in Norway where they have a COMPLETELY different approach to how they treat prisoners and run prisons. They've got all these hardened cons shacked up in buildings where they get to wear their street clothes, where the rooms are more like hotel rooms (nice beds, TV's, video games, etc), where they have nice gardens and areas outside for sports and working, and where they have these condo-like buildings where the inmates can actually bring their family in for a weekend and just spent time together - cooking, cleaning, hanging out and watching movies, making love etc.

Some people (especially in America) are outraged that the prisoners over there are treated like their stay in prison is like a stay at the Four Seasons. But the amazing thing is that their numbers actually back up their entire approach... they have the lowest reoffending rates in the world, and have more prisoners who are getting proper work experience, and finishing their educations while inside these "prisons". I will try and look around and dig up some articles about these places if I can. The one I read was in The Globe and Mail, and was a very interesting read. I've also seen a prison just like the one I described on one of those Lockup/Lockdown shows.

It has also been proven that America's "tough on crime" approached has failed miserably. Prisons are packed to the brim and overflowing with offenders serving out long sentences, and the reoffending rates are through the roof. Sadly, despite all the data from the last 30 years in the United States, and even despite warnings from the United States themselves, Canada looks like it is beginning to follow in the footsteps on the U.S. with their tough on crime approach.

 

Thanks for posting this Zerker, it was a great read. It took a while, but it had me from the start. I couldn't stop once I had begun!

Amazing to see what other people go through... (not necessarily bad things, just in general.)

Great thread

 

Was a good and interesting read indeed, although I found the death section of the post quite vile.

 

Well it demonstrates the failed prison system that's for sure.

We seem to be in the middle as a country right now. We're not doing enough to help rehabilitate prisoners but at the same time it's not entirely horrible (ie the massive amounts of food they're given).

 

Damn. I thought that prisons in USA had better conditions than prisons in other countries, but it seems to me now that all prisons are the same.

 

That's what I don't get. If jails aren't tough enough, people, such as homeless people, who have life difficult, would rather go the jail. If I were homeless in norway, I'd purposely commit a crime to get into that jail.

But don't get me wrong, I watched those TV show's too, and the prisons that the shows like that feature are a disgrace.

 

You are not the only person who thinks those types of prisons are a disgrace, and that convicted criminals should NEVER be treated like that. A lot of people (particularly victims & victim's families) think that prison should be a living hell, so it is the closest thing to justice or revenge that the families get.

However, the point I was trying to make is that research shows that those types of prisons and environments are actually BETTER for society as a whole in the long run. When convicts are treated like people and not just prisoners or monsters, a lot of the people convicted of less serious crimes actually leave prison and never reoffend, or you get more convicts inside the prison who are spending time educating themselves and trying to make up for their mistakes.

Despite this research and proven results, why does our western society still have such a "tough on crime" approach, even though is have been proven with facts that it does not deter crime statistics or the rates of reoffending? It is like we are trapped in this revolving door system, this circle of crime that will never end. Maybe it is time we at least tried to do it another way, for the betterment of society as a whole?

Also - to address the issue about homeless people, from what I understand, many homeless people will get themselves thrown into even the most vile and dangerous prisons, not necessarily just the luxurious prisons in Norway. The reason for this is simple - because they get 3 hots and a cot - a luxury that they do not get while they are starving and freezing to death on the streets. That is just another problem in our society though.. shouldn't that say something when homeless people will resort to getting themselves thrown in prison just so they have food to eat and a place to rest their head?

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If anybody is interested, here is a picture tour through Norway's famous Halden prison, where living conditions are more like living in a college dormitory than a prison: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-inside-norway-luxurious-halden-jail/20110729.htm

Here is a short and interesting article, that briefly raises some questions about whether people's outrage over the luxurious Halden prison is justified or not (and includes pictures of the prisons amenities): http://www.good.is/post/halden-prison-who-cares-if-it-coddles-criminals/

A quote taken from the article above: