Do convicted felons “brag” to each other about what got them in there, or is it considered taboo to admit what you’ve done amungst other felons?
KnK
There was a VERY short-lived sitcom set in a prison, oh, about 20 years back. The running gag was that whenever anyone, including the all-but-retarded guy (I said is was a short-lived show) was asked what they were in prison for, the answer was ALWAYS “Gross miscarriage of justice”.
Does anyone remember the name of the show?
My guess is that if asked, most of them would claim that they were innocent.
Haj
Haj
All i know is that whatever i got sent in for i would have to make up some story about killing at least 3 people with my bare hands, and spend a lot of time talking to myself, and telling everyone that i have AIDS
…btw i wouldnt ask some random dude why he was in jail, thats almost the equivalent of walking up to someone in the middle of the street and asking them what they had for dinner last night except worse… I know that if i was in jail for 40 years i would want to forget the day that put me in there, and if some new boy came up stirring those feelings i would probably attack him
Let me put it in terms of a proportion
little boy grown man
---------- = ----------------
time out jail
when a little boy is in time out for stealing cookies, there is a high chance that he is crying and very upset. when you ask him why he is in time out he will say “shutup you stupid poopoo head” and most likely throw something at you.
when a grown man is in jail for whatever reason, there is a high chance that he has bottled the emotion inside. when you ask him why he is in jail…he will probably show you a reason that’ll give him 20 more years…
I worked at a prison for 6 months wilst doing a study back in 1994. The really hardcore criminals are usually known before they even step foot on the prison floor. So there is no need to for anyone to ask…even if they did it would be considered an act of submission. So to answer your OP… No. They do not usually ask each other what they are in for. Discovery had a great program on this a few weeks back…America’s toughest prisons. The guys in there were so hardcore, they were kept in a 9x10 cell 23 1/2 hours a day…no contact what-so-ever with other inmates. These guys were the toughest, most dastardly charactors Not to be fucked with. I’m sure no one asked them what they did…
It doesn’t matter how hard they are, or how crazy, there is always always someone who can and will take them out.
That person may not be huge, nor particularly tough, a sharpened handle snapped from a toilet scrubbing brush, or even a felt tip pen can make effective weapons.
I have seen wooden mop handles snapped partly along their length and these are excellent one use only speary type things.
In jail there is a certain level of MAD, if you want a reputation and push too hard, someone will get you, and you are capable of doing another inmate.
Its not size, its opportunity that counts.
Or he might say “I don’t know,” or launch into some long story.
As an attorney, I’m constantly asking people “I realize you have your own version of events, but what does your former employer say you did wrong that got you fired?”
Even though I put it that way, it’s still hard to get a straight and honest answer out of people.
It’s my understanding that in Australian prisons at least, You. Don’t. Ask.
I learned from watching “Cops” that among criminals a child abuser/molesterer is considered lower than even a murderer. So they will probably not be admitting to their crime if queried.
Lawyer fucked 'em.
So how come then they find out who the child molestors are?
WAG: The guards tell them.
Phlosphr probably nailed it when he said “The really hardcore criminals are usually known before they even step foot on the prison floor.”
Child molestation cases, for better or worse, get an awful lot of press, it seems, and the other inmates would already know who he or she is.
There’s a common saying: “Do your own time.” Meaning don’t get involved in other people’s business and don’t talk too much about your own.
And if you do need to talk about such things, it’s considered better to say or ask what someone was accused of or *convicted of[i/] rather than what they did.
The idea that child molesters are abused in prison is exaggerated. My husbad works in a prison. Never, in all of his years of emplyment, has he seen an assault on an inmate based on the nature of the inmate’s crime. Nor has he ever had to put a sex offender into protective custody to keep him from being harmed.
Frankly, most inmates don’t care what you’re “in” for. It may come up in conversation, but unless you’re gang affiliated, it shouldn’t affect your treatment by other inates. Prison is not a place where one commonly sees righteous indignation.
Sometimes, it doesn’t even matter what you were convicted of. Imagine someone giving shit to Al Capone because he was in for tax evasion.
Also, from everything I’ve heard, guys that kill their mothers are the only ones that are held in less esteem than child rapists.
People are people, after all. Some fools like to brag, and face what happens. Prison isn’t like some Turkish dungeon – you get to read the news and watch television – so most inmates know who is on the way if it is a high-profile crime. Even if it isn’t a big news event, well, it ain’t like there is much else to talk about – discussions of the latest developments in Mitgang-Munchausen subanthropic homunculapathy don’t really draw much of an audience.
Some brag, most don’t. We didn’t get there by being model citizens to begin with, but it seems that even the stupid know when to keep their mouth shut, ride the time, and try to stay out of even more trouble.
Gairloch