My question is predicated on the assumption that the wrongfully convicted isn’t a street-smart thug but is a male, joe-blow office dweeb who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m talking about someone who probably last had a physical fight in public school some 30 years earlier, is physically fit “enough” (eg isn’t a trained boxer or martial artist, maybe runs 10 km every few days etc at the most) but not at the level of a professional athlete, particularly in the area of upper body strength, may be 10 lbs overweight but not obese etc.
In a maximum security prison, how the hell does someone like that survive?
My plan in that situation is to let everyone know that I can fix anything.
No one is gonna mess with the guy that fixed the big guy’s stereo.
But, anyway, prison isn’t some grand melee where everyone is getting in fights all the time. Getting caught perpetuating violence can get you sanctioned or add to your sentence, so while it may seem intimidating to us on the outside, it’s not like every single person that goes to prison is in a cage match.
So, best advice, keep your head down, and don’t piss off anybody.
You have a skill as an educated office guy and that is to become a Teacher. You help people get their GEDs, write letters to their loved ones and to their lawyers, etc. Teachers are valuable and respected. That doesn’t mean that you can act like a dick. If you piss someone off, you’re still going to take a beating.
Unless the guards are corrupt then maximum security should be pretty safe. Individual cells, close observation at all times. It’s the lower levels of security that are the most dangerous.
They have DNA testing. They also have better ways to track crimminals. Also the fact that there are LAWS and Cameras (hidden ones) now installed in every prison in the USA. So you may be surprised at how different the system really is today. Mr. AVERAGE JOE can find himself in the company of the OLDER inmates that have been there for awhile and make friends with them. He or she can be taught all of the stuff you need to know to survive the BS of prison. In a maximum security prison, how the hell does someone like that survive?
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Hidden cameras. … they are everywhere now in the prisons. Also, the older inmates who have been there can teach him how to pass the time…and be safe as well.
First off, being wrongfully committed has nothing to do with how your life in prison will be. Nobody cares whether you were guilty or innocent. All people care about is how you act inside the prison.
If you’re an older white guy who isn’t a career criminal, tell people you’re in prison for killing somebody while you were driving drunk. Because there’s a perception in prison that older white guys who aren’t career criminals only end up in maximum security for two reasons: DUI’s and child molesting.
Be polite and unassuming. Never borrow anything from another prisoner, even if he says it’s okay. Never ever touch anything that doesn’t belong to you. Don’t talk to the guards.
Tell people you’re Jewish and sign up for the kosher meals.
I read a book from a guy who was… well, not necessarily wrongfully convicted (he admits he did it), but definitely got way more time than he deserved (You Got Nothing Coming: Notes From A Prison Fish, by Jimmy Lerner). He made a few mistakes along the way, but his general advice seems to be:
[ul]
[li]Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.[/li][li]Be Jewish (or say you are).[/li][li]Don’t borrow anything, ever, for any reason.[/li][li]No matter how much is in your commissary account, don’t spend wildly in commissary and keep the amount of commissary goods in your cell to a minimum, lest word get around that you’re rich.[/li][li]Don’t gamble.[/li][li]Don’t go anywhere near the drug trade.[/li][li]Don’t stare.[/li][li]Be able to read and write. Knowing about the law will help even more.[/li][/ul]
This suggestion has come up twice in this thread already. What is the reasoning behind it? Is it just getting better food like special request airline meals or is there more to it than that?
I have two friends doing life in prison right now and know many others that have completed their time. They all say just keep your head down and try to be a model prisoner so that you can build up perks. One of my lifer friends gets to work outside the prison doing some type of clerical work during the day and even gets to interact with the general public. He still has to go back to prison at night but it is a lot better than being locked in solitary confinement for habitual offenses.
I read that. Great book! He was fortunate also that his cellmate was an influential white gang member who found Lerner useful and amusing. I’d add that to the list above, get to know the guys you need to know. Unfortunately that might mean hanging with a gang, but then everybody associates with a gang of their own race or color in prison, it’s a matter of self-preservation.
I heard a story of a certain guy who was very much a white collar guy and owner of some small time food manufacturing business. He apparently authorized some of his employees/henchmen to hijack a truck belonging to some rival manufacturer, and as a result got sent to a maximum security prison, but he himself was nothing at all like the typical maximum security type guy.
Supposedly, on his first day in prison he scouted out who was the leader of the roughest toughest gang in that prison, and approached the guy with an offer. You protect me while I’m in here and I’ll pay you $X once I get out. Supposedly worked. (Although the whole story could be baloney, for all I know.)
Yes, it’s for the meals. No prison is going to be set up to make kosher meals. So they do it the easy way and just order pre-made frozen kosher meals from a commercial vendor and every meal they heat and serve those to the “Jewish” prisoners. The meals are generally much better than the meals made inside the prison.
That could very easily backfire. You’re basically telling somebody you’re vulnerable and have money. The guy you approach is likely to figure why should he go to the trouble of protecting you in exchange for some of your money when he can just threaten to kill you if you don’t give him all of your money.
