Has anyone worked in a federal prison? Or know in another way what happens when someone is sent to prison?
I found one site a year or so ago that described what happens. It described new inmates were seperated for a month to acclimate, but that’s about all I could find.
Never having been there, and reading many articles about gangs (these seem all that are avail to the public), I’m wondering what exactly happens when the judge/jury says “You’re screwed”.
Any sites that take you through step-by-step? If you’ve been there, just wing it, we ain’t gonna know.
The closest I’ve been was nabbed for expired license and sat in holding for 20 minutes before making $50 bail.
After the federal judge announces your sentence, the U.S. Marshals escort you from the courtroom and place you back in holding. At the end of the day you will be placed back on the Marshal’s bus and driven back to the federal detention facility (or state facility the U.S. is leasing space from if no federal facility was available) that you were being housed in while awaiting trial. As soon as practicable you’ll be shuttled, bussed or flown (Con Air!) to the federal prison that you’ll be doing your time in and custody will be transferred from the U.S. Marshals to the U.S. Buearu of Prisons full time.
After you arrive, you will be given a social evaluation and interview where the staff will evaluate your general physical appearance and emotional state, review your file, and determine if there is any non-medical reason to segregate you from the general population. If they can’t do this immediately they’ll segregate you until they can unless conditions make it impossible to do so. A full medical evaluation takes place within 24 hours. When all this is done, if there is no reason to segregate you you’ll be placed into general population. Welcome to your new home!
I worked on Death Row in Texas, as a guard, about seven years ago when it was still in Huntsville. As far as I recall we would get notified of a new addition about two hours before the inmate arrived by bus. We would take him off the bus while he was still in belly chains and leg irons and take him to an area where he would be strip searched. The next stop would be to the infirmary to get checked out physically. Then we would take him to see the Captain who would ask him various questions such as what his crime was (for our records) and explain to him the way Death Row was run, in other words he would tell him to get his “heart right.” From there we would take him to an observation cell where he would stay for a day or two. His interactions with guards and other inmates were monitored and soon after that he would be housed. That was pretty much it. Some of the new guys were visibly frightened but most of them took the process in stride like they didn’t really care. Probably just putting on that “tough guy” front. Anyway, that’s how I remember it. I might have left out a few steps so I’ll come back if I remember anything else.
Photographs. In the prison in which my husband works (medium security) they always take photographs of the inmate.
They also issue them their “blues” or prison clothing, and their toiletries. In some prisons, they’re also given lock-boxes in which to keep their personal items. In the prison in which my husband works, all housing is dormitary-style. (Like a giant gymnasium with bunk beds.) They’re assigned a bed, and their meal times.
Prison staff also sign the inmate up for whatever programs it is determined that he needs: drug/alcohol counseling, anger management, etc.
You mean to tell me that when a prisoner arrives to begin his or her sentence, the authorities at the prison have no record of what crime/s the person has committed, and have to interview the prisoner to find out? This seems a little unlikely to me.
Of course they know what crime he committed. All the paperwork, the inmate’s “jacket”, is presented when he arrives. The Captain hears the inmate’s version of the crime which allows the Captain (speculation on my part, forgive me) to determine the inmate’s “state of mind” and also allows the inmate a chance to start the “It wasn’t me, I was framed” bit or the “Screw you, yeah ,I’m a bad MF” line. We would get some in that were hard heads and we would get a head’s up on how to handle them.
You’re right Lissa, I forgot about the photographs and I’m sure loads of other stuff. Like I said it’s been about 7 years since I worked there.