He wants to go outside… I think it is part of him being trapped in intake… this is not someplace you’re supposed to stay long I think. He was classified months ago but not moved. No room at the inn it seems.
The letters from him are horribly depressing… I want him to get punished enough that he wakes up and learns how to make a life for himself… but not so much that he turns into a career criminal… sigh
Hard to believe we both grew up in Hotel Hell the way our lives have taken such different tracks. I will try and ferret out a little more information and appreciate the advice.
I don’t get to talk to him much because since the move to RI phone calls are a dollar a minute collect… they were just normal collect calls in MA… The dollar seems a prohibitively expensive way to limit their calls. But he can smoke there shrug as you can’t smoke in MA. Kill yourself with nicotine but you can’t call your sister without giving her a triple digit phone bill?!
I wish I could say something here to help, tanookie, but each man is unique. Making some kind of ill informed generalization wouldn’t help. But my sympathies go out to you and I hope everything turns out for the best.
I’m curious about the “Hotel Hell” reference. Can you explain?
This is outrageous. My first thought is that there must be some other way to do it that is cheaper. Maybe you can talk to a prison official about what the restrictions definitely are and what they aren’t, and then figure out if there is way around using collect. You definitely should contactThe Campaign to Promote Equitable Telephone Charges. Their main focus is on eliminating the restriction to collect calls. They may have RI specific info for you.
Hotel Hell is how I refer to my childhood home… To explain would probably take a really long post. Lets just say my parents should never have had children.
That’s a great link… I’ll have to send it to my mother… her phone bill suffers the most.
Didn’t mean to hijack your thread!!! Thank you though… it is an interesting thread…
Never, never, never, never! Some did, but I was much too conscious of the hygiene of some of the kitchen workers to eat their food.
In fact, it got me thinking … what kind of job is an ex-con going to be able to get? Flipping burgers? Washing dishes? I pretty much gave up eating in restaurants back then, too. :dubious: Hmm. Thanks for reminding me about that.
It is quiet as a church at night. Of course, it is an enforced silence. Except in the “hole” where since they’re in their cells 23 hours a day, they sleep when they want and yell when they want. Fine. Let 'em. Part of the punishment is having to listen to all that yelling.
I, too, was wondering about all the dopers in prison. You said in an earlier post that you made no effort to find out why inmates were in prison, but I would think that guys who were in prison for selling and smoking pot (and nothing more) would be different in temperament and outlook than guys who were in for knocking over convenience stores, raping, murdering, etc.?
Ever notice any kind of difference along those lines? Or was it a case that most dopers were in minimum and medium security while the violent inmates were in maximum security, so you had two fairly well segregated populations?
The majority of convicts under drug charges were not there for a first offense and were career criminals. As such, they were typically self-centered, amoral bastards capable of just about anything. Especially the gang-bangers. Those guys had a deep pessimism and no sense of the consequenes of their actions. And as career criminals, more than likely they had actually committed crimes worse than those for which they had been arrested.
Those who had perpetrated extreme crimes like murder, rape or child-molesting were often the least likely to pose any trouble. Their crimes were crimes of passion, or they were driven by a pathological but specific sick fantasy that found no place in prison.
In short, their conviction had little correlation with their behind-bars behavior.
Which status an inmate was assigned was more influenced by their behavior in prison than what brought them there. It was also based on their likelihood to try to escape. To determine that, they had some kind of formula that depended on factors like their crime, time left to serve, age, previous escape attempts, etc.
My wife is the regular poster here, but she brought this to my attention and I felt that some of the answers here were a bit lacking. I have been wokring, and am currently, working in prisons. I have been a social worker, unit manager, investigator, labor relations officer, unit management administrator and an administrative assistant to the warden. I am currently the individual in charge of all inmate activity, programs and behavior. Now, my resume is done, I will answer these questions.
Prison rape is a serious problem. My former colleague pointed out a well established notion that “punking out” is an serious phenomenom. However, he indacted that “punking out” is not rape. Regrettably, I believe he is incorrect in this notion. Rape is the use of force, or coercion, to gain sexual access. In a prison setting, many of the “old cons” who punk out youth are guilty of coercion. I have personally investigated four rape cases in prison and I typically find that a young man was induced into sexual behavior out of fear or concern about their own safety. That, is rape. I would estimate that a significant amount of individuals are raped in prison.
Cigarettes are not always the bribe. It is a common miconception that cigarrettes are the only economy. Indeed they are a part, but do not ever think that cash money is also used. Cash money can be transferred via actual hand-to-hand (yes it is in prisons) or families usually transfer money to the corrupt staff member. An inmate will instruct their family member to send money to a staff member instead of sending it to them. This money will be used to induce corrupt behavior. In my time as investigator, (2 years) I removed 26 staff members. The breakdown is roughly as follows:
10 fell in love with an inmate (yes, men and women)
4 conveyed narcotics or engaged in criminal acts
10 violated rules that did not relate to corruption (or repeatedly violated them)
2 were found guilty of inappropriate supervision of inmates (mistreatment)
Yes, against popular belief we HEAVILY monitor abuse.
Yes, we have screening committees for all incoming mail, periodicals and movies. Anything subversive, dangerous to the community, or deleterious to rehabilitation we ban.
Yes, two. One was a hostage situation in maximum security. Two of my officers were pinned down and I led a team of 4 officers, and L.T. to get em out of the pod. four on one, but we made it. It was intense.
Then, I was caught on the second range of GP dorm (about 120 inmates) with me and another guy. We were scrapping with about 7 inmates when a mass brawl took off. About ten inmates jumped in on my side, ironically enough, and saved my partners life when a 270 pound monstrosity had a locker box over his head preparing to throw it down on my partner when another inmate tackled him. Just because they are in prison, does not make them amoral. Don’t count on it though. I was lucky.
Although they may admit some guilt, most of them have an excuse or reason for their crime. One of the biggest obstacles to rehabilitation is getting them inmate to see the harm he has caused.
The Aryan Brotherhood or other white supremacists are the top gang in all of the prisons. Next, I would have to say are the BGD, Black Gangster disciples and the radical wings of black muslims. this depends on your state. You of course still have the crips, blood, folks, etc…
in prison. You said in an earlier post that you made no effort to find out why inmates were in prison, but I would think that guys who were in prison for selling and smoking pot (and nothing more) would be different in temperament and outlook than guys who were in for knocking over convenience stores, raping, murdering, etc.?