# Have you been to the big house? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991 "2011-04-19T19:24:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RainGrowsBrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RainGrowsBrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainGrowsBrite)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/1 "2011-04-19T19:24:19Z")
Inspired by this thread… > **[My boyfriend might go to jail for up to sixty days](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=605257)** > > I don’t want to type out the details, because it’s a long story and if I abridge it you may be tempted to pass judgment. And the details aren’t the point anyways. He’s stressing out about it. I’m stressing too, though not as badly as he is. I... Have you ever done a stint in Jail/Prison? I’m not talking a night or two for drunk driving, but something longer. If so, what was your experience? Was it as bad as you expected? Worse? What did you do? Any details you found shocking or interesting? This thread is not for judgement on crimes commited. I’d like to hear what you were charged with of course, but I dont want anyone harshly judged after sharing their story. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/2 "2011-04-19T19:31:06Z")
> [@RainGrowsBrite](#): > > I dont want anyone harshly judged after sharing their story. That’s asking a lot from this crowd. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/3 "2011-04-19T19:39:26Z")
I won’t be the one to mention who, or the name of the thread, but one poster started an “Ask the” thread about this a few years ago. It was pretty compelling reading. The take-away from that thread for me was that it’s far better to go to prison than to jail. ---
**Author:** ![RainGrowsBrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RainGrowsBrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainGrowsBrite)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/4 "2011-04-19T19:55:39Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > That’s asking a lot from this crowd. :smack: What was I thinking?? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/5 "2011-04-20T02:40:58Z")
I think a poll would be a better way of getting yes/no answers. And yeah, some people are _very_ quick to condemn others without knowing that person’s story or _any_ actual facts related to the case. (Haven’t done time myself, by the way, but I know people who have and I’ve been to several prisons as a visitor, so I do know a bit about the subject.) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/6 "2011-04-20T02:58:12Z")
Paging Qadgop the Mercotan - he’s doing time right now. 😉 ---
**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:** [April 20, 2011, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/7 "2011-04-20T03:16:27Z")
I bet I’ve spent more time in prison than anyone else posting here. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/8 "2011-04-20T13:28:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I bet I’ve spent more time in prison than anyone else posting here. How often do riots break out? ---
**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:** [April 20, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/9 "2011-04-20T22:47:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I bet I’ve spent more time in prison than anyone else posting here. howmany different prisons have you been in? i’ve been in a dozen so far. I might have forgotten a few.. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/10 "2011-04-21T02:53:25Z")
Well, I’ll get the ball rolling. Apparently I bounced a check in college and nothing happened for 7 years or so. Until I got pulled over for speeding and earned myself a ride in the back of a large American car. It was a strange experience. I had to follow the cop around the office while he talked to people, and no one acknowledged my presence. I then signed something above a line saying “Prisoner,” which really made my place in the pecking order sink in. And then I hung out in the holding cell area with the cop running the show back there, but at some point he had to go do something, so I was put into an actual holding cell (i.e., concrete bench on the wall, metal toilet, blanket I didn’t get anywhere near). Meanwhile, my wife ran over to someplace downtown to pay the fine and bounced check (something like $100). Once she got it paid, she called me (I still had my cell phone on me), and I pounded on the door to be let out. No one answered, so I called the cops and told them what was up. 🙂 A couple of guys came and let me out (laughing because I still had the cell phone on me), and I waited in the front waiting area for my wife to pick me up. All told I was in custody for a couple of hours and in a cell for about a half hour. Here’s hoping it’s my longest stint ever. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/11 "2011-04-21T03:02:10Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > How often do riots break out? Very rarely. I was only in a couple in twenty-seven years. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/12 "2011-04-21T03:03:15Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > howmany different prisons have you been in? > > i’ve been in a dozen so far. I might have forgotten a few.. Ten, if I counted them right. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/13 "2011-04-21T03:15:37Z")
I spent five days in jail for speeding. I was pulled over for going about 105 MPH on 1-81 in Western Virginia where the speed limit was 65 MPH and anything over 80 MPH is considered reckless driving. The officer that pulled me over let me continue on my trip (I have never lived in Virginia) and I showed up for court about three months later. The judge sentenced me to about two weeks in jail, as well as a $500.00 fine, but I was able to stay the sentence for another month or so, when I finally showed up to serve my sentence. I shared a pod with about nine other men, when the pod was only built for eight. As the new guy, I got a sleeping pad and had to find a spot on the floor to stay. I stayed near the shower stall during the day, and moved towards the center at night. The other guys, mostly in there for minor charges like possession, were nice enough to me and I never felt in danger, even when I found out one of the guys was actually serving out the last couple years of his federal sentence for I forget what. I pretty much just kept to myself and read a lot. I was sentenced to 10? 15? days, but only stayed in for five or six, and read for the most part, while everyone else chatted, exercised, watched TV, and did whatever else to pass the time. I don’t want to repeat the experience by any means, but it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve suffered, either. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/14 "2011-04-21T11:42:23Z")
My experience was similar to **Hades’**. I was caught driving with a suspended driver’s license, which netted me a 7-day sentence. My local PD didn’t do weekends, and I had to opt out of the at-home ankle bracelet option due to my living situation at the time. I spent several hours in the courthouse holding cell while the rest of the criminals had their day in court, then we all spent the evening in the local PD city cells. The next morning we got handcuffed in pairs and rode to the nearest prison - which is normally a 3 hour drive, but we were the milk run, picking up court-date prisoners along the way, so it took all day. About half way we picked up a prisoner that apparently everyone knew and welcomed by yelling his name, “Neuman!” in true Cheers/Norm style. He responded by kicking the cages of people he liked and spitting at people he didn’t. Thankfully, he liked the guy I was cuffed to, apparently. We finally arrived at the prison, and after another few hours in a holding cell, my name was called for processing: photos, fingerprints, questions about my health, body cavity search, and my new suit - which was pretty much just hospital scrubs with the prison name on it. At this point, I was allowed some of my previously taken personal items - including my cigarettes. I was a pack a day smoker at the time, and hadn’t had a cigarette in well over 24 hours. I dropped a full pack into my underwear (no pockets) and made my way to the next holding cell. This holding cell only had about five people in it, most I recognized from my court date and bus ride. I realized I had grabbed my smokes, but had nothing to light them with, so I asked if anyone had a light. One guy had a single match, so I coughed up a smoke for everyone and felt like a hero. For about 2 minutes. The door swung open and a guard poked in his head, “You guys aren’t smoking in here are you?” We all shook our heads, “No, boss.” He just laughed through all the smoke and then motioned to the camera in the ceiling. “Put em out, boys.” I arrived at my cell block and was assigned a cell, got the tour from the guard, and settled in. There were about 35 individual cells in the block, with a large common area, plus a side-room that was only open certain hours of the day as it was shared with adjoining cell blocks - this room contained board games, a ping pong table, a pool table, etc. I spent the rest of the day observing the common room, where a group had amassed around one of the tables to watch a card game. I eventually learned that they were playing rubber bridge for cigarettes. (I was so intrigued by this concept - bridge being associated with kanasta in my mind, prior to this - that I later learned taught myself to play bridge at a competitive level.) The next morning I got called by the guard and told I was being transferred to a minimum security campus of the prison. The rest of the cell block actually booed me as I left, but it didn’t feel hostile. The minimum security campus was like being at camp as a child. It was a very large open-concept cabin with about 50 inmates, each to a single bed at floor level with a foot locker. Again, we had access to books, board games, ping pong, pool, as well as a nautilus gym and a movie night every night. In the morning we all went out and picked up garbage off the side of the highway. It took eight hours, but after all the driving to and from and standard breaks, we only really worked about 3 hours in the day. When I was released, I was compensated $1/hour for my efforts. I spent the rest of my time playing a 3-day long game of Risk with three other inmates, which I eventually lost, and wondering how much I would have to make before income taxes to live the way I was living in prison - all I was really missing was the internet. I was only 20 at the time, but I managed to come up with a number around $50k - I later read that it costs taxpayers about $70k per inmate per year in that province. I was released after 5 of my 7 day sentence for good behaviour. Along with my $24, I was issued a voucher for a free bus ticket home. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-to-the-big-house/578991/15 "2011-04-21T13:24:16Z")
I’ve been to the Big House (Indiana State Prison in Michigan City\*), but it was only to interview an imate for a news story, honest. \*most famous inmate, John Dillinger.