Unknown, at this time. But he did have a criminal record in the county from four years ago, and he had just posted bond in a criminal case in the county neighboring to the south. Presumably he’s been in the area for a period of time.
There’s a shelter less than two blocks from the detention center. In fact, one can see the sign from the front of the building that houses the detention center. That shelter serves meals twice a day. There’s an overnight shelter about 2 miles away, maybe a 45 minute walk.
There were better options open to him than walking 20 minutes to Walgreen’s and robbing the place.
I expect most people would have better options. I was just pointing out that if they had put him out the door with no money and no place to go, that would have been asking for trouble. If there was a place within sight that people being released could go to, or for that matter if the jail makes sure people have somewhere to go in some other fashion, that does put a different perspective on it.
Isn’t that why there are halfway houses in most places? They’re specifically to help people transition from life on the inside to life on the outside. In particular, if you’ve been in for a long time, things change on the outside that may be mystifying to you.
Maybe. But I would conjecture that a fair number of folks across the country are released in that fashion. And very few of them rob a store within the hour.
It was a jail. Most folks would be released with whatever cash (if it wasn’t seized) identification and credit cards and other personal possessions they had with them when booked, which wouldn’t have been that long ago.
Granted, some wouldn’t have anything when released and nobody to call, but that wouldn’t be the most common situation, either.
At my local lock-up you might get fed if you’re in there for more than a few hours but soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. all have to be paid for at the commissary. If you came in with little you’re likely to leave with none.
Even if it’s “just” a few days, releasing someone with zero money and possibly zero support system or place to go may not end well.
“So, when I get out, I’m gonna get a tall cold beer!”
“Not me, I’m gonna jump on my girlfriend.”
“Me, I’m just gonna enjoy the sun on my face and the breeze in my hair…”
“Oh, none o’ that stuff for me. I’ve been dreaming about frightening a bodega clerk half to death…”
Many people practice a life of brinkmanship that can be tenuous enough that a small gap in its progression would cause the whole thing to fall apart. Sometimes just a week in jail will be too much for one’s apparent stability. If they live alone or are vital for the persistence of a small household, homelessness ensues quite rapidly, the landlord evicts them and puts their stuff on the sidewalk and suddenly a somewhat comfortable person becomes a vagrant with diminishing prospects. But, at least, if they are caught robbing a store, they will have a place to stay for a while.
There was an Adam-12 about a guy who had basically spent most of his life in and out of prison. He was out at 60-something and he couldn’t cope. He committed another crime so he could go “home”.
I had a patient who did just that. He’d spent over 4 decades in prison in NY and NJ, got released and couldn’t cope. But he’d heard the medical care was better in Wisconsin, so came to Wisconsin and robbed a bank, and waited patiently until police came. He was disappointed that the judge wouldn’t give him as much time in prison as he desired.
He was quite interesting to talk to, and discuss how he viewed life in and out of prison.
It’s an interesting idea; some sort of voluntary social service where people could simply go to exist but have everything done for them and every minute of the day dictated by others, but not because a crime was committed or any punishment has to be given.
These aren’t the first stories I hear of people simply preferring prison life to anything else they can manage on the outside. What if people could just do something like that?
I do not have the creative writing skills to explore this idea (nor contemplate the financial side of this) but it’s interesting to consider!
Seems to me that in Brubaker, they spoke of “trustees”, who were prison residents who lived there because they could not manage outside. Not actual prisoners per se, but they had no other options.
I’d originally heard the term “trusty” while watching the original The Longest Yard: one of the supporting characters, “Caretaker” Farrell (played by James Hampton) was a trusty. My understanding of the trusty system is that the trusties were, in fact, currently-incarcerated prisoners, but they had earned the trust of the guards, due to good behavior, and were sometimes given special privileges, as well as, often, some control over other prisoners (including, sometimes, being armed).
(I suppose there might have been some “trusties” who were not currently serving time, as you note, but I’d not heard of that before.)
I had not known, until reading the Wikipedia article below, that the trusty system (which existed in a number of Southern states) was abolished in the 1970s, after a Federal court case.