# Have You Ever Done "Hard Time"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202 "2011-11-07T20:54:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/21 "2011-11-12T06:06:13Z")
I once called a cop a “fucking douchebag,” because he was being a fucking douchebag. I was thrown into a holding cell for a few hours, and subjected to verbal abuse and some physical abuse. And I had to go to court, where I was charged $5. Not exactly “hard time,” but it’s all I’ve got. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/22 "2011-11-12T16:40:49Z")
**Hard time** to inmates, generally means time served in a maximum or supermaximum security prison, as opposed to less restrictive medium or minimum security institutions or camps. QtM, nearly 10 years into my stint in a Max security prison, albeit as an employee. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/23 "2011-11-12T17:17:52Z")
I once did 20 minutes in the back of a military police van in Singapore. I don’t like to talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/24 "2011-11-12T17:28:52Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I once did 20 minutes in the back of a military police van in Singapore. > > I don’t like to talk about it. like hell you would :eek: . Singapore! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/25 "2011-11-13T01:38:50Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > like hell you would :eek: . Singapore! Actually they just shouted at me a lot then released me without charge. I was making a (very lame) joke. ---
**Author:** ![G-SE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@G-SE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G-SE)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/26 "2011-11-13T15:31:39Z")
2 weeks in county for being caught with over a pound of pot! not bad, eh? connections. connections. connections. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/27 "2011-11-13T15:38:29Z")
Don’t think I’ve even been inside a police station except for picking up ID papers or filing for same. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/28 "2011-11-13T15:53:43Z")
I’ve never done time, but apparently I look like the type who might. When a stranger approaches me and says I look familiar (it happens all the time for some reason) I look them hard in the eye and say, “you ever done time?” Sometimes the person does one of these :eek: and walks away. Other times they answer honestly and I confess the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/29 "2011-11-13T15:56:06Z")
I once was picked up on a warrant for past-due child support, thanks to an employer who was taking the payments from my paycheck, but not sending them to the state. (I had moved, and not sent a change of address, so the paperwork warning me of my delinquency didn’t make it to me.) This being a civil charge, bond/bail wasn’t available. I sat in county jail for over a month before getting things in order. Most boring month of my life. But I met some surprisingly nice people there. Not that I recommend this method of socializing. ---
**Author:** ![Igrapeape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Igrapeape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igrapeape)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/30 "2011-11-14T00:56:38Z")
What were you charged with, there is no law against that, just as there is no law against “birding” the cops as they drive by you to show them that they are #1 in your book. > [@panache45](#): > > I once called a cop a “fucking douchebag,” because he was being a fucking douchebag. I was thrown into a holding cell for a few hours, and subjected to verbal abuse and some physical abuse. And I had to go to court, where I was charged $5. > > Not exactly “hard time,” but it’s all I’ve got. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/31 "2011-11-14T01:08:02Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I once called a cop a “fucking douchebag,” because he was being a fucking douchebag. I was thrown into a holding cell for a few hours, and subjected to verbal abuse and some physical abuse. And I had to go to court, where I was charged $5. > > Not exactly “hard time,” but it’s all I’ve got. Have you rehabilitated yourself, kid? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/32 "2011-11-18T03:09:14Z")
Never did any jail or prison time, but as prosecutor and now as a magistrate, I’ve helped send some deserving people there. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/33 "2011-11-18T12:55:38Z")
> [@Igrapeape](#): > > What were you charged with, there is no law against that, just as there is no law against “birding” the cops as they drive by you to show them that they are #1 in your book. In the UK police have traditionally used public order legislation to arrest people who swear at them (Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which prohibits anyone causing “harassment, alarm or distress” in a public place). Although this summer it was reported that courts tend not to convict if that’s the only offence, and police have now been given guidance that they should expect some verbal abuse which on its own is not enough to lock someone up. If there are other bystanders near you then Section 5 would probably still apply. ---
**Author:** ![slm2955](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@slm2955](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slm2955)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/34 "2011-11-20T23:59:16Z")
Nope. and don’t plan on it either. ---
**Author:** ![Vicullum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/6de8d8/32.png) [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/35 "2011-11-21T00:29:34Z")
I spent 36 hours in county jail because I had 2 outstanding warrants for driving without insurance and then failing to appear. I refused to pay the fines, which were at about $1000, or have anyone bail me out. As I was unemployed at the time it made fiscal sense to me–I was making essentially $27 an hour to sit in jail, and by the end of it my debt would be wiped clean. Really the worst part of it was the crushing boredom. I was in a holding cell with 3 others. I chatted with them, learned some interesting details on how to hide your marijuana crops or where to score the best acid (jail really is a school for criminals!). When they served us tv dinners I carefully ripped the cardboard box apart and folded it into a crane, origami style. I took some toilet paper, twisted it into a cord, and did some macrame with it, until a guard spotted me and confiscated it. Then I did it again underneath a bed sheet. Mostly I just daydreamed or slept. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/36 "2011-11-21T03:38:25Z")
Any access to books? ---
**Author:** ![Vicullum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/6de8d8/32.png) [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/37 "2011-11-21T04:33:38Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Any access to books? If you’re asking me, then nope, nothing. Just a shared cell with a toilet. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/38 "2011-11-21T05:05:24Z")
> [@Vicullum](#): > > Really the worst part of it was the crushing boredom. I was in a holding cell with 3 others. I chatted with them, learned some interesting details on how to hide your marijuana crops or where to score the best acid (jail really is a school for criminals!). When they served us tv dinners I carefully ripped the cardboard box apart and folded it into a crane, origami style. I took some toilet paper, twisted it into a cord, and did some macrame with it, until a guard spotted me and confiscated it. Then I did it again underneath a bed sheet. Mostly I just daydreamed or slept. I agree. People who’ve never been in prison don’t realize how incredibly boring it is. Picture being in a doctor’s waiting room - a bad one with no TV and nothing good to read. Imagine how bored out of your mind you’d be after sitting there for three hours. Now imagine sitting there for three years - that’s what prison is like. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/39 "2011-11-21T11:24:02Z")
I remember from “The Executioner’s Song” that it was loud. Yelling all the time. I thought prisoners doing lengthy stretches had access to books and even TVs though. QtM or schwartz? ---
**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:** [November 21, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202/40 "2011-11-21T14:06:01Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I remember from “The Executioner’s Song” that it was loud. Yelling all the time. I thought prisoners doing lengthy stretches had access to books and even TVs though. QtM or schwartz? Inmates in prison have some access to reading materials and prison libraries at certain times and limited by variable restrictions. Jails however don’t always provide such options. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-done-hard-time/602202.md?page=3)