Okay, you all know the format: Ask me any questions you might have of a (first and last time) convicted felon.
I’ll answer the obvious ones right of the bat:
I was conviced of “Robbery by sudden snatching” (purse snatching) in Jacksonville, FL on Nov 9, 2001. I was sentenced to 10 months in Duval County jail, of which I served 267 days–I was released on Aug 2, 2002.
I never saw or heard of anyone being analy raped, nor was I raped myself. Although, there was quite a bit of consentual sex (of which I did not partake)
I did see a man killed. He was stabbed in the neck three times for refusing to give up his bread. He bled to death in the center of the dorm, right before my eyes. This man was to be released only a few days later.
I saw many instances of brutality by the guards (or corrections officers as they like to be called) I’ll post more on that later, as my wife wants me to come to bed now.
I’ve always been fascinated by three things: prison, prostitution, and war. I think it’s because they are such reversals, or at least upheavals, of conventional morality. County jail may not be prison, but 267 days is still a long time to be locked up.
My main question is related to why I am fascinated by those things. In what ways were the concepts of right and wrong distorted in jail? I mean, was there any instance in which you had to (temporarily) alter your view of right and wrong to get by?
I would also be interested in the circumsances under which you snatched a purse in the first place, and what you thought about during your stretch.
Finally, why does the name Guy Montag seem familiar to me? I used to be a fireman too–does that have something to do with it?
I am also a convicted felon.
Same year actually.
Mens prisons must be worse than womens.
I saw no violence (but I was only in 4 days).
There was comraderie among the inmates.
The guards, they didn’t care; if you said you were sick, they said wait 2 days til the visiting nurse comes in.
But i can answer that last question. The worst thing about being in prison is not being able to go out.
And I didn’t know when or if I would be out.
People go to jail all the time. I’m much more interested in how you got to that place than what happened inside. Why did it seem like a good or necessary idea at the time to steal a woman’s purse? To get to the point where respect of another person’s personal property is less important than your desire for it is an interesting place to have arrived, well outside the usual ethical and moral boundaries most people internalize as social actors.
You are a seemingly intelligent and literate person with the potential to make a hell of a lot more money in gainful employment than occasional petty theft, and with lower risk as well. Looking at it from a detached, analytical perspective (which may be impossible), how did you get to the point petty theft seemed like the best choice of available options in your situation at the time?
Would you snatch a purse again if you knew you wouldn’t get caught? Is the threat of jail for 297 day enough of a deterrent to crime?
What was your typical day like in jail? What did you do to pass the time? Did you make any friends? Did your family/friends from the outside keep in contact with you?
Purse snatching a felony… in Ohio, and I assume everywhere, felonies have degrees. For instance, concealed carry of a gun is a fourth degree felony. Breaking and entering is a fifth (or so I was told by someone in jail for B&E). Murder, of course, is a first. Do you feel the label of your crime was appropriate?
Did you hurt the lady (I’ll assume it was a lady) to get it? If you never want to go back to prison again, do you feel it is because of the conditions there, not because you miraculously accepted society’s ways?
You know the thing where people say that when you get ‘sent down’ the first thing you should do is walk up to the hardest , meanest looking con in the prison canteen and smash him right in the face?
Supposedly this is supposed to mark you out as a guy whos a little bit crazy and wont take any shit, and this keeps most of the lags off your back
Do you see any application for this type of thing in a non-jail type situation?
The reason I ask is because I am starting a new job soon, and I want to rise to the top asap.