# My boyfriend might go to jail for up to sixty days **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916 "2011-04-19T02:14:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/61 "2011-04-20T02:16:33Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Well I spent an hour in jail 10 years ago because of an unpaid parking ticket I never knew about. > > On what level of douchebag am I? > > Inquiring minds want to know. Level of douchbaggery is inversely proportional to length of sentence, beginning with sentences of one day. Also, putting someone in jail on account of one parking taicket might be considered a miscarriage of justice. Since you were only in for one hour your jail time does not make you a douchebag, although defending people like that subject of the OP might land you in douchebag territory. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/62 "2011-04-20T02:21:22Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Wow, that screams “pit me” pretty loud. > > Let’s see. People can go to jail for things like protesting the removal of an old tree or a sit down protest in front of city hall at noon. Hardly qualifies them as a “douche bag.” Although there may be a few (very few) civil disobedience and other exceptions I think it is likely that 99% of the people who go to jail are there because of douchebaggery. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/63 "2011-04-20T02:22:58Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I guess I’m a douchebag. You said it, not me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/64 "2011-04-20T02:34:04Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > Although there may be a few (very few) civil disobedience and other exceptions > I think it is likely that 99% of the people who go to jail are there because of douchebaggery. So you’re claiming less than 1% false conviction rate or that false convicts had it coming? Edit: > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You do know that not all convicts are actually guilty, right? Haha I win! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/65 "2011-04-20T02:34:12Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > Although there may be a few (very few) civil disobedience and other exceptions > I think it is likely that 99% of the people who go to jail are there because of douchebaggery. You do know that not all convicts are actually guilty, right? ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/66 "2011-04-20T02:37:23Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > I have gotten a day for having a glass bottle of apple juice in a public park, I do not believe that is all there was to it, as in you probably smart-assed the cop, which is always a douchebag move. BUT, if you were actually hauled off as you imply above without being given a chance to discard the offending bottle, that would be miscarriage territory. Also, there is that 24-hour grace period before douchebagishness is reached. > [@gurujulp](#): > > and being with lots of people with pot. How any non-bigtime dealer can get busted for pot these days is beyond me. You gotta be some kind of douchebag-level flagrant about it. > [@gurujulp](#): > > Me too. More than once, and the first time was for apple juice. I suck… You said it, not me. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/67 "2011-04-20T02:41:17Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > So you’re claiming less than 1% false conviction rate or that false convicts had it coming? 1% might be an exaggeration, but I would say the overall rate of false conviction is in the single digits, and for offenses such as DUI it might be less than 1%. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/68 "2011-04-20T02:42:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You do know that not all convicts are actually guilty, right? How many times must I say: _miscarriages of justice do not count._ Think you got it now? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/69 "2011-04-20T02:42:58Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Haha I win! Douchebag! 😃 ---
**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:** [April 20, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/70 "2011-04-20T02:47:15Z")
A couple of practical tips. Call up the jail where he’ll be residing. Ask for a copy of their rules on visiting and mailing things to inmates (assuming you plan on visiting or sending packages to him). No sense showing up and then finding out you won’t be allowed in or mailing him soemthing he won’t be allowed to receive. Find out if there are any support groups for family members. These will be people who are going through the same situation you are and can offer you support and helpful advice. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/71 "2011-04-20T12:22:11Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > 1% might be an exaggeration, but I would say the overall rate > of false conviction is in the single digits, and for offenses such > as DUI it might be less than 1%. [False confessions are bigger problem than you think](http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1783918&page=1) > [@](#): > > In a similar study, students were told that they would have to pay hundreds of dollars to replace the computer, and several of them still falsely confessed, said Kassin. > > Pressing a computer key is clearly not in the same category as committing murder, and the students also didn’t face the kind of hostile atmosphere that suspects in criminal investigations often endure. > > But Kassin said the principle for how to get a false confession holds. “Even as you raise the stakes, you’re still going to get a certain percentage of people that get broken down by the process, and when the false evidence is presented, they confess,” he said. Further you make the assumption that every law a is good one, or that every one indiscretion represents someone’s entire being. Something like rape or murder, yea I agree that’s a bad person who has some serious bad karma. Public intoxication, or minor defacement, regrettable, but well not so much. Someone shoplifting food because they don’t have any? Well that’s a problem, but not a bad person so much as a troubled person. **Really Not All That Bright** , I’m not a duachebag until the time police catch me! ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/72 "2011-04-20T12:56:42Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > **Really Not All That Bright** , I’m not a duachebag until the time police catch me! Can’t speak for the time police, but the spelling are already on their way 😉 ---
**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:** [April 20, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/73 "2011-04-20T13:20:57Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > [False confessions are bigger problem than you think](http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1783918&page=1) That seems like a pretty flawed study. For those who didn’t read the link, students were told they were going to be tested on how fast they could type. But they were told that there was a bug in the computer and they shouldn’t hit the alt key. None of this was true. The actual test was when the monitor came in and said the student had hit the alt key while they were typing fast (which was also not true). The student they used as an example didn’t flat out deny it - he said he didn’t think he had. But when the monitor insisted he had witnessed the student hit the key, the student agreed. But that doesn’t seem like a false confession to me. Most people in that situation wouldn’t be sure whether or not they had accidentally hit the alt key. So they’re not really agreeing to something they know is untrue as much as they are conceding they don’t know what the truth is. Obviously that’s not usually going to be the case if somebody’s being questioned about a murder - most suspects aren’t going to be in a situation where they think it’s possible they may have killed somebody and they’re just not sure. Essentially the model doesn’t scale up. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/74 "2011-04-20T13:29:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That seems like a pretty flawed study. > > For those who didn’t read the link, students were told they were going to be tested on how fast they could type. But they were told that there was a bug in the computer and they shouldn’t hit the alt key. None of this was true. > > The actual test was when the monitor came in and said the student had hit the alt key while they were typing fast (which was also not true). The student they used as an example didn’t flat out deny it - he said he didn’t think he had. But when the monitor insisted he had witnessed the student hit the key, the student agreed. > > But that doesn’t seem like a false confession to me. Most people in that situation wouldn’t be sure whether or not they had accidentally hit the alt key. So they’re not really agreeing to something they know is untrue as much as they are conceding they don’t know what the truth is. Obviously that’s not usually going to be the case if somebody’s being questioned about a murder - most suspects aren’t going to be in a situation where they think it’s possible they may have killed somebody and they’re just not sure. > > Essentially the model doesn’t scale up. The telling thing, which I quoted, was they confessed even when faced with harsh penalties. Further you have to bend your fingers in some pretty odd poses to accidentally hit the alt key while touch typing. I think most people would know if they hit the alt key. When was the last time you accidentally hit the alt key? How computer naive do think college freshmen are these days? If an interrogator lies to your face, angrily yelling at you he has witnesses, evidence, and the like about how you’re going to go to jail for a very long time, unless you make this little deal what do you do? Pretend you’re the naive trusting sort. Do you take a hit for something you didn’t do, or risk going to jail for a very long time? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/75 "2011-04-20T13:35:27Z")
Further a relevant quote: > [@](#): > > “If you look at proven false confessions, in almost every one of the cases you find there was a presentation of false evidence either by falsely claiming to the suspect that he failed a lie detector test, or that the victim’s grasp had his hair in it,” Kassin said. People behave not by truth, but by what they think will bring them the best out come. If they believe false evidence they’ll claim guilt, even if false, to try to get a better outcome. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/76 "2011-04-20T13:41:25Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > If an interrogator lies to your face, angrily yelling at you he has witnesses, evidence, and the like about how you’re going to go to jail for a very long time, unless you make this little deal what do you do? Pretend you’re the naive trusting sort. Do you take a hit for something you didn’t do, or risk going to jail for a very long time? The author Matthew Dicks (Something Missing) has a blog which I unfortunately cannot link to here at work. If you search his name online, though, you will find it. In his blog, he writes about his experience being wrongly accused of something and how the events of his interrogations led him to almost confess, despite knowing full well that he was innocent. Yes, it is anecdote and not data, but very interesting reading. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/77 "2011-04-20T14:32:02Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > How many times must I say: _miscarriages of justice do not count._ One might argue that not all mistaken convictions of an innocent person necessarily constitute miscarriages of justice. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/78 "2011-04-20T14:57:25Z")
So the OP’s boyfriend hit the alt key? So to speak? ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/79 "2011-04-20T23:45:13Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > I do not believe that is all there was to it, as in you probably smart-assed > the cop, which is always a douchebag move. > > BUT, if you were actually hauled off as you imply above without being given > a chance to discard the offending bottle, that would be miscarriage territory. > Also, there is that 24-hour grace period before douchebagishness is reached. > > How any non-bigtime dealer can get busted for pot these days is beyond me. > You gotta be some kind of douchebag-level flagrant about it. > > You said it, not me. I refused to tell him who owned some pot that was in a communal area, so he took back the ticket he gave me for $250 that I got because _he walked me into the park to discard the glass bottle_! I was infuriated, and I had more than enough money in my wallet to pay the ticket, but could not as there were ‘unspecified charges’ that disappeared the next day. I was all self-righteous for the first fifteen hours, but it was cold, smelly, and disgusting. So- yeah, I suck… :dubious: The only bright side is that by pleading no contest to an ‘infraction’ they waived the fine for time served, so I didn’t have to pay the ticket. And it was interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916/80 "2011-04-21T02:32:39Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > From what I’ve seen in the movies, the smartest thing to do when you get inside is to pick out the biggest, meanest dude in the jail and kick his ass. The OP should probably pass that advice along to her boyfriend. I bet it would help him out a lot. Unless the biggest, meanest dude is one of the guards. Don’t hit guards. Bad juju. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-boyfriend-might-go-to-jail-for-up-to-sixty-days/578916.md?page=5)