# How are particularly horrific criminals treated by the other inmates? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 19, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329 "2011-08-19T16:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/61 "2026-03-10T16:38:31Z")
As I understand, that’s mainly the USA. Most other countries are like Canada, the most someone can get is 20 to 25 years without chance of parole; although Canada has the option of declaring someone a dangerous offender. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/62 "2026-03-10T16:53:29Z")
Yes, and an example of this is Norway where far‑right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people, including 69 youths at a Labour Party summer camp on the island of Utøya in 2011. Breivik was sentenced to the [maximum civilian criminal penalty in Norway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment_in_Norway), which is 21 years’ imprisonment through [preventive detention](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preventive_detention), allowing the possibility of one or more extensions for as long as he is deemed a danger to society. > **[Anders Behring Breivik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Behring_Breivik)** > > Anders Behring Breivik\[a\] (born 13 February 1979) is a Norwegian neo-Nazi, mass murderer, and domestic terrorist who perpetrated the 2011 Norway Attacks. A believer in the Great Replacement, he sought to fight "Cultural Marxism" by detonating a car bomb in Oslo and committing a mass shooting on the island of Utøya. > After Breivik was found psychologically competent to stand trial, his criminal trial was held in 2012. That year, Breivik was found guilty of mass murder, causing a fatal explosion... He has not suffered from violence from other inmates since he is basically in solitary confinement/administrative segregtion. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/63 "2026-03-10T18:15:49Z")
they survived the Hell’s Angels? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/64 "2026-03-10T19:56:14Z")
We’ve just had a case in the UK (until the full trial we won’t know the motivation behind the attack, though this long after the original event, revenge for it would seem to be unlikely) > **[Inmate charged with murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg8ll4l7d9o)** > > A prison inmate has been charged with the murder of Soham killer Ian Huntley, police say. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/65 "2026-03-11T08:59:11Z")
That’s what prompted this zombie thread bump ..[(post 57)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/57) ---
**Author:** ![ZosterSandstorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e0b2c6/32.png) [@ZosterSandstorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZosterSandstorm)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/66 "2026-03-11T15:15:46Z")
In the U.S., the homicide rate within prisons is actually somewhat lower than the homicide rate in the population as a whole (3 per 100,000 people per year versus 4). Most people in prison are looking to get out of prison, and not willing to do something like murder that will keep them there for life. The rest of the people who are totally unreformable criminals are not at all interested in avenging third parties they’ve never met. There’s a fantasy of a bunch of Punisher types running around who are just so pissed off about the Really Bad Crimes that they are willing to risk starting (and thus losing) a fight to the death, or a life sentence, to kill high-profile felons. In reality this is exceedingly rare, and violence that does happen is due to usual interpersonal beefs. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/67 "2026-03-11T16:34:22Z")
What’s even sadder is the common trope, particularly in America, that inmates will be subject to rape in prison. It’s commonly used in police shows as a means to make the perp talk - “A guy like you will be belle of the ball in prison”. IIRC it was also a bit in Shawshank. The idea that it’s accepted, or perhaps even encouraged as an extra punishment, says a lot about the prison system’s perception in society. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/68 "2026-03-11T16:59:14Z")
Hmm. The guy in _Gangster Redemption_ claimed that when he was in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, “Every day behind the concrete walls of Atlanta crimes such as stabbings, rapes, robberies, drug dealing, extortion, prostitution, gambling, and pretty much any other illegal activity you can think of took place. For inmates found to be a snitch, a child molester, or someone not accepted in the minds of the inmates, the likelihood of a stabbing, a severe beating, or even murder was inevitable.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/69 "2026-03-11T22:00:57Z")
I suspect that if you’re a scary guy or a guy with scary friends, people will leave you alone in prison - no matter what you did. If you aren’t, people will pick on you. That’s how hierarchical systems work. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/70 "2026-03-12T02:39:03Z")
> [@ZosterSandstorm](#): > > The rest of the people who are totally unreformable criminals are not at all interested in avenging third parties they’ve never met. They are however interested in finding ways to make themselves feel better about themselves. When I interviewed a bunch of inmates many decades ago and asked them how they felt about themselves in light of what they had done, a common answer was “At least I’m not a rock spider”. A “rock spider”, they explained, was a child abuser - because they are the lowest of the low. They were keen to “white knight” themselves by talking up how much they hated and mistreated rock spiders. Whether that extended to violence or just sneering and abuse I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/71 "2026-03-12T09:24:33Z")
Or maybe they were just telling you what they thought you wanted to hear, and didn’t actually care one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/72 "2026-03-12T09:55:52Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > When I interviewed a bunch of inmates many decades ago and asked them how they felt about themselves in light of what they had done, a common answer was “At least I’m not a rock spider”. > > A “rock spider”, they explained, was a child abuser - because they are the lowest of the low. As a lawyer, I’ve been in the local jail many times, to see clients. Hereabouts, what you would refer to as a “rock spider” is known as a “goof.” To be called a “goof” is not a simple playground taunt; it is the worst insult one inmate can bestow upon another, for the reason you state. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/73 "2026-03-12T10:35:05Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > A “rock spider”, they explained, was a child abuser In Southern Africa, this is an ethnic slur against Afrikaans people, although useage is fading. It was used by English speakers. Kind of a weird insult. Just yesterday I rescued a young lady from a (harmless) rain spider - Palystes superciliosus. The spider was probably delighted, in as much as spiders feel emotion, to be out of that room and back in nature. Like, who would not be a spider? They have 8 eyes. Even that is cool enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/74 "2026-03-12T10:51:27Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Hereabouts, what you would refer to as a “rock spider” is known as a “goof.” And where I’ve practiced law they are referred to as “ChoMo” (child molester). At the jails I’ve visited the sex offenders are kept in their own separate wing. I recall a client who told me that whenever a new person would come to their pod, somebody would yell out “better not be a sex offender” just to see the fear in their eyes. “Of course, we’re all sex offenders” he told me “it’s all fun and games around here.” That comment has stuck with me. Weird, right? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329/75 "2026-03-12T12:31:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Or maybe they were just telling you what they thought you wanted to hear, and didn’t actually care one way or the other. Maybe although that in itself implies they cared enough about what I thought to bother pretending to care. I was just a university student working on a paper so there was no reason to try to impress me other than for the sake of their own ego. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-particularly-horrific-criminals-treated-by-the-other-inmates/593329.md?page=3)