# Just got out of prison **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 1999, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745 "1999-05-01T02:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 1999, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/1 "1999-05-01T02:31:00Z")
Well, that’s not exactly true, but I just got out of the hospital (yes, I’m fine, in case you cared) after 5 days in. I damn near went stir-crazy, and I had TV, a pile of books, constant visits from family and friends, and two nice roommates. Had I had Internet access, I certainly would have used it to kill a lot of time. My question is: How many real prisoners have Internet access? I bet a lot of the guys in those minimum-security Danbury-type prisons do. And what percentage of heavy Internet users are prisoners? Damn, if I was in there and had access, I’d be on-line all the time. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 1999, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/2 "1999-05-01T04:15:00Z")
So how is daytime tv in Barcelona?soaps? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 1999, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/3 "1999-05-01T07:19:00Z")
I’ve spent the last seventeen years working in prisons and I’ve never heard of any prisoners having internet access. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 1999, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/4 "1999-05-02T05:44:00Z")
## Mike King posted 05-01-99 02:19 AM CT (US) ## I’ve spent the last seventeen years working in prisons and I’ve never heard of any prisoners having internet access. Careful there, Mike. You don’t want to debunk that old UL about prisoners living in the lap of luxury. Peace, mangeorge * * * “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything” Mark Twain 1894 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 1999, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/5 "1999-05-01T23:27:00Z")
\>\>My question is: How many real prisoners have Internet access? I bet a lot of the guys in those minimum-security Danbury-type prisons do. \>\> The Bureau of Prisons (the arm of the Justice Department which runs the system) bans prisoner access to computers in general, let alone the internet. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 1999, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/6 "1999-05-02T19:02:00Z")
Why keep prisoners away from computers? I understand not giving them unrestricted internet access, but why not let them learn some kind of useful job skill, like word processing, or programming, or something? * * * “I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 1999, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/7 "1999-05-02T19:21:00Z")
Prisoners are not allowed to have computers or any other recording device, such as typewriters with memory, or cassette recorders. According to a prison social worker I know, it’s to prevent secret messages from being relayed. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/8 "1999-08-23T09:41:00Z")
Wouldn’t that vary from state to state? I would find it hard to believe there aren’t some prisoners with tape recorders. Also in some minimum and medium security prisons they let mail go uncensored. What is the difference there? They could send any message through uncensored mail. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/9 "1999-08-23T11:32:00Z")
The idea is to restrict internal communications between prisoners, not external communications with the outside world. The only censorship on outside mail is when a prisoner is writing to a prisoner at another jail. Otherwise, the mail isn’t read. Tape recorders (or other recording devices) are prohibited. Tape players and AM radios are allowed. FM radios are generally prohibited because they can be modified to listen in on the security radios. CD players are also prohibited; I’ll admit I don’t know the reason for this. I’m speaking here specifically of the New York state prison system, but I would imagine most other prison systems in this country have similar rules. ---
**Author:** ![Poto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Poto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poto)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/10 "1999-08-23T11:39:00Z")
How’d you find this April topic? Can you find my Wicca topic from the same period?The search hasn’t worked very well for me. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 1999, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/11 "1999-08-23T16:08:00Z")
Internet access computers can easily be used to call anyone in the world. Especially fun to harrass the victims who put ya in the slammer, eh? Prison is just that, not a fun vacation, at least in the USA. Weird. They hire prisoners to clean the planter areas around here and whenever I go by them they always lookup at me. ALl of them. ---
**Author:** ![CrownedProduct](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@CrownedProduct](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrownedProduct)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/12 "2010-08-26T23:28:57Z")
[QUOTE=;75443] \>\>My question is: How many real prisoners have Internet access? I bet a lot of the guys in those minimum-security Danbury-type prisons do. \>\> The Bureau of Prisons (the arm of the Justice Department which runs the system) bans prisoner access to computers in general, let alone the internet. [/QUOTE] Are you kidding me…? No disrespect to all you that think you know, but you got it all wrong… I did time for the BOP. we had a billiards table, fuzzball table, computers to e-mail our families with, and yes they were monitored. our letters were only read coming into the facility, and we could go online in the Rec Area and order arts and crafts supplies. but it depended on what facility you went to too… ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/13 "2010-08-26T23:31:08Z")
Do they have a zombie ward in most prisons? And more importantly: Do those zombies have internet access? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/14 "2010-08-26T23:33:25Z")
This has to be the most zombified zombie thread I’ve ever seen re-animated. The last post was 11 years and 3 days ago. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/15 "2010-08-26T23:34:53Z")
Shouldn’t ask questions like that. You’ll get disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/16 "2010-08-26T23:36:10Z")
Why do the first 10 posters have no name? ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/17 "2010-08-26T23:47:16Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Why do the first 10 posters have no name? In the dark ages of 1999, when people had these weird plastic devices on their desks called “phones”, names were not yet invented. The only way to hail people was to shout, “Hey, you!” and when referring to others, one had to resort to vague descriptions. And in addition to these horrors, every time you went on the Internet, your computer emitted horrible screeching noises, and porn _images_ took for-fucking-ever to download. Never even mind videos. They were certainly not the best of times. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/18 "2010-08-26T23:48:10Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Why do the first 10 posters have no name? They have names–you just can’t see them. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/19 "2010-08-27T00:00:07Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > They have names–you just can’t see them. Were they bad people? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745/20 "2010-08-27T00:00:49Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > > [@guizot](#): > > > > Why do the first 10 posters have no name? > > They have names–you just can’t see them. Apparently one of them was named Mike King. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-out-of-prison/2745.md?page=2)