# Ever done time in prison? And what keeps you from going back? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497 "2005-07-28T01:09:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/1 "2005-07-28T01:09:32Z")
Inspired by the [“ever been arrested?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=327446) thread. I guess I’m curious because after working inside a max security prison for nearly 3 and a half years now, I’d like to hear some success stories about life after prison. I just see the lifers and the repeaters. I figure if you’ve been in prison, and you’re out now and you’re managing to post here regularly, that’s at least somewhat indicative of an improvement in circumstances. So help me out. Tell me of life after time in the Big House. And what’s keeping you from going back. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/2 "2005-07-28T02:08:11Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Inspired by the [“ever been arrested?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=327446) thread. > > I guess I’m curious because after working inside a max security prison for nearly 3 and a half years now, I’d like to hear some success stories about life after prison. I just see the lifers and the repeaters. I figure if you’ve been in prison, and you’re out now and you’re managing to post here regularly, that’s at least somewhat indicative of an improvement in circumstances. > > So help me out. Tell me of life after time in the Big House. And what’s keeping you from going back. Nope, never been to prison, except to conduct studies on cell set-up and design. However, you’d have some novel material if you were actually able to get verifiable data on the subject. Great topic by the way, let’s see what the response will be… ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/3 "2005-07-28T02:33:08Z")
I went to visit my brother at McNeil Island. It is an old former US penitentiary that is now a state prison. Just being in the guest area gave me a serious case of the willies, I couldn’t imagine having to live there. ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/4 "2005-07-28T02:49:04Z")
I can relate a secondhand story, from someone close to me: He served 5 years of a 19-year sentence. He got on work release after that, and worked his ass off to be at work every day. He dutifully did everything, and when he was released from work release, he moved into the Salvation Army place where one could stay for 30 days. He saved every penny that he didn’t send for child support. And then he rented a one-room efficiency apartment, and worked the same job he’d had on work release, as a clerk at a convenience store. He worked 48 hour shifts, sometimes, sleeping in the bathroom during the five hours a night that the store was closed so he didn’t have to take the bus back to the town where he lived. Within a year, the owner of the business approached him about a business venture. So they started a company, which prospered for a while. Then, it didn’t so much, so they sold it. Now he owns his own successful business, all by himself, and makes more in one day than he used to in a week. He’s sober, drug-free, and has been for years. His stint in prison beat his drug and alcohol addictions (although it _did_ bring on his nicotine addiction.) He has a family, and they’re happy and comfortable. Does that count as a success story? It sounds like one to me. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/5 "2005-07-28T03:00:52Z")
Nothing. I keep going back time after time. Of course, I work there. But my cousin’s husband, on the other hand, did eighteen months following a DUI. He’s been out for several years, stopped drinking, has a steady job, a house, a wife, and three kids. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/6 "2005-07-28T03:03:09Z")
Never used it before, but I’m going to be Subscribing to this thread. Plus, opening a new Word document… ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/7 "2005-07-28T03:08:10Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Inspired by the [“ever been arrested?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=327446) thread. Wow! First time I’ve ever inspired another thread, and by **Qadgop the Mercotan** , our resident doctor no less! I feel so special! ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/8 "2005-07-28T03:15:48Z")
A reminder . . . from the rules . . . > [@](#): > > \*\*Please remember that postings on this board are visible to anyone with access to the Internet, and are retained in a database indefinitely. Please do not post personal revelations or other information that may come back to haunt you. \*\* your humble TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/9 "2005-07-28T03:42:56Z")
Reason I shut this one down----I’m not trying to be a censor, just trying to head off someone coming in and posting something they’ll be sorry for after they post it. This happens all too often. **samclem** ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/10 "2005-07-28T16:05:49Z")
Upon discussion with the staff, the consensus we’ve come to is this: It’s your nickel, Sidney, and your butt in the sling for what you say, and we really shouldn’t try to save you from yourself. If you regret what you do later, you’re going to have to bear up under whatever consequences that come from whatever source. All emails asking to save your job, your marriage, your standing with your friends, your political career, etc., by removal of incriminating/compromising material you have placed here will be answered with a smile and “nope.” So in that spirit, we will reopen these threads. We still reserve the right to remove material that really does go too far, but your right to confession and TMI is largely unfettered. Have fun. your humble TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/11 "2005-07-28T16:27:21Z")
Now see? That’s nice. Isn’t she sweet? Back to the thread…I don’t have first-hand information, but I knew a guy who murdered a guy in the heat of the moment. He did six years, I believe. He got out and went on to get his life together, have a family, and live a normal existence. On the other hand, I also know a guy who did 20 years for murder. He got out, moved in with his brother, and has been threatening the poor guy and guilting him to the point that he’s paralyzed. It’s utterly pathetic. And there’s nothing he can really do about it. Depending on the criminal, I think many can be rehabilitated. Of course, there are those who are untrainable and will be a burden on society their entire lives. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/12 "2005-07-28T16:31:47Z")
Another second hand story (I can’t even get arrested, as posted in the referenced thread) but there seems to be a theme. My cousin chased someone down the street with a gun while he was high and did 3 years. When he got out he stated he was never going back there again. He then proceeded to clean up his act, marry the mother of his children, get a good job and become a respectable citizen. Drugs and alcohol seem to be a factor in the success stories. Getting off of them, I mean ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/13 "2005-07-28T16:40:05Z")
I know a guy who was in and out of prison for several years for gang related burglary, drug possesion, etc. After the last stint he went to AA and got off alcohol and drugs. That was about four years ago. He’s a productive citizen now, and I have a lot of respect for him. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/14 "2005-07-28T16:53:37Z")
sheeet, this thread is starting to make prohibition sound like a good idea. Please carry on and don’t follow this up as a hyjack. Myself I have never been to prison. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/15 "2005-07-28T16:54:05Z")
i posted my prison story in the arrested thread already and i’m far too busy partaking of illegal internet activities to copy & paste it here. so there. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/16 "2005-07-28T17:00:04Z")
I’ve once met a guy who served time for distribution, and I getthe impression that he was a user as well. Apparently, he was high enough up the food chain that one bothered him while he was in jail. I don’t know much about his story, but somewhere along the way he found a few good friends, turned his life around, went to school, etc., etc… Last I heard, he had carved his own niche in middle management and was well respected by all. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/17 "2005-07-31T21:24:25Z")
Just saw this thread. I have never been in prison, but I believe **Qadcop** is currently providing medical services to a childhood friend of mine. This is, IIRC, the third time said friend is serving time. So, not a success story. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/18 "2005-08-01T02:31:08Z")
Again, not me, but: A buddy I used to go to church home groups with did 11 months in the state pen for his second meth bust. His gf told people they were taking a break, and they’re married with a daughter now. He still does I think 3 NA meetings a week and hasn’t had anything, even beer, for over 2 years. Now he has the unofficial position of contact point for people in the church who have their own problems they need to get started on fixing. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/19 "2005-08-01T02:40:47Z")
Again, only second-hand information i’m afraid. During my childhood, my mother, my younger sister and i spent every Saturday morning for two and a half years making the journey in to Sydney’s Long Bay Jail to visit my stepfather. He and a few friends had been busting growing a rather huge quantity of marijuana on a farm at a place called Mullumbimby, in the far north of New South Wales. I remember the day he got busted. We were all sitting around watching the TV when suddenly five or six cop cars descended on the place. The cops turned the place upside down searching for more stuff (drugs, seeds, etc.), and then arrested my mother and stepfather and took them away. We were left to stay with friends. The cops, by the way, were all extremely nice. No strongarm tactics, and they were joking around with us kids, and with our parents. Just doing their job. My mother was bailed out the next day, and in the end she was not charged. As far as i know, she never knew about the dope until the raid. We were on a 200 acre farm in the rainforest, and she never went more than about 10 yards from the house because she was scared of snakes. I remember the look of shock on her face the day the cops turned up, and seeing the blood drain from her face when they said why they were there. Anyhow, he was sentenced to 8 years, with a non-parole period of two and a half. As i said, we went to visit him every Saturday. For the first few months he was in the maximum security wing, and all visits were carried out under close supervision, with glass and wire mesh separating the visitors from the prisoners. Then he was moved to the medium security section, and while there was still a glass partition, visits were not so closely monitored. And for the last year and a half, he was in the minimum security section, where visits were held in a courtyard on benches. Much more civilised. In the last few months of his sentence, he was allowed a few day releases to come and see us at home. After he got out, he never really settled into a real job, and he and my mother divorced a few years later. She then married a cop. 🙂 The last time i saw him, i was about 18. Then he just disappeared, and i had no idea where he had gone. A few months later, the Drug Squad turned up on my doorstep asking when i had last seen him. I told them that i hadn’t seen him for about three months. They said he was wanted for growing a large crop of marijuana, and they thought he might have left the country. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497/20 "2005-08-01T03:55:55Z")
[hijack] Not directly relevant to the issue at hand, but something that some Dopers (especially the OP) might find interesting: A [story](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/01/national/01prison.html?ex=1280548800&en=6e2a1f080982d0a0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) in the _New York Times_ (may require registration) about the state of the nation’s largest commercial healthcare provider for prison systems, Prison Health Services. Makes for pretty grim reading. [/hijack] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-time-in-prison-and-what-keeps-you-from-going-back/314497.md?page=2)