# What would happen to prisoners during a nuclear war and its aftermath? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 28, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205 "2023-10-28T01:47:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/1 "2023-10-28T01:47:20Z")
In the event of a modern full scale nuclear war (bolt out of the blue or a gradual buildup) between the US and Russia what would happen to the nearly two million prisoners incarcerated in the thousands of jails and prisons across the US? How many would survive the initial exchange? How many would end up trapped inside their cells compared to those who successfully escape? How much of a problem would they prove to be in the ensuing wasteland? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/2 "2023-10-28T01:55:31Z")
Probably somewhat comparable to what happened to jail prisoners in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina: > **[New Orleans: Prisoners Abandoned to Floodwaters](https://www.hrw.org/news/2005/09/21/new-orleans-prisoners-abandoned-floodwaters)** > > As Hurricane Katrina began pounding New Orleans, the sheriff's department abandoned hundreds of inmates imprisoned in the city’s jail, Human Rights Watch said today. > **[Hurricane Katrina Was a Nightmare for Inmates in New Orleans](https://www.vice.com/en/article/5gjdxn/hurricane-katrina-was-a-nightmare-for-inmates-in-new-orleans-829)** > > Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, we revisited the horrific story of the inmates who were stuck in the hellish Orleans Parish Prison. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/3 "2023-10-28T02:06:29Z")
My… _God._ ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/4 "2023-10-28T02:46:53Z")
In a general breakdown of society there would be nowhere to evacuate prisoners to, and probably no means of evacuating them even if there were. Probable outcome, the prisoners stay locked where they are until either they die there or break out after the guards desert. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/5 "2023-10-28T05:44:57Z")
“Wandering survivors find an abandoned prison whose cells are full of the dead” is evidently a trope in apocalyptic fiction because I know I’ve come across it at least a couple of times (e.g. _The Stand_). I see no reason to doubt this. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/6 "2023-10-28T07:15:18Z")
Prisoners like most other people will die horrible deaths immediately or over a relatively short period of time from the effects of fallout and no food. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/7 "2023-10-28T12:54:07Z")
Yep, the prisons would go on lockdown as guards left work and never came back. Perhaps the last one to leave (or die) might let some out, but then it becomes a Lord of the Flies senario. Basically payback time. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/8 "2023-10-28T13:15:55Z")
“We’ll all fry together when we fry” ©Tom Lehrer ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/9 "2023-10-28T14:13:46Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Yep, the prisons would go on lockdown as guards left work and never came back. Perhaps the last one to leave (or die) might let some out, but then it becomes a Lord of the Flies senario. Basically payback time. That is likely the case if no plans are made ahead of time. National emergency planning should mandate the prisoners be let out based on a high level decision at either the state or federal level. Perhaps moving prisoners to a military facility is possible, but the military would likely be very busy in an event like this. Even if the prisoners are just let loose the decision may come too late to make a difference, if it could make a difference at all. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/10 "2023-10-28T14:18:21Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > National emergency planning should mandate the prisoners be let out based on a high level decision at either the state or federal level. Those plans would be in effect…right up to the time the first bomb hits. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/11 "2023-10-28T14:24:05Z")
Let me join the conversation with an informed opinion. Prisoners would remain in prison as long as they could be kept there. If the prison authorities are no longer able to maintain basic services, they will release the prisoners. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/12 "2023-10-28T14:28:36Z")
Did you see the links @PastTense provided a few posts back? If officials are of a mind to help people while hellfire rains down, they will be helped in this order: 1. The privileged 2. The general public 3. The homeless 4. Dead heat between prisoners and pets. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2023, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/13 "2023-10-28T14:37:52Z")
That was jails. I’m talking about prisons. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/14 "2023-10-28T15:16:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Dead heat between prisoners and pets. I thinks that pets may rank higher. Probably a dead heat with the homeless. And you can eat pets when things get tougher. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/15 "2023-10-28T15:28:29Z")
Reminds me of the prisoner who was one of the few survivors of the 1902 eruption in Martinique. Apparently he was in an underground cell when the pyroclastic flow from St Pierre obliterated the town. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/16 "2023-10-28T15:31:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That was jails. I’m talking about prisons. In a situation like a nuclear war, it seems likely that that would be a meaningless distinction. If detainees in the New Orleans Jail (many of whom may have been innocent of a crime) were left locked up and abandoned during Katrina, actual convicted criminals in a prison would likely fare no better. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/17 "2023-10-28T15:41:56Z")
I could explain why the distinctions are important but I sense it would be a wasted effort. The prejudice against prison employees runs deep. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/18 "2023-10-28T15:47:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I could explain why the distinctions are important but I sense it would be a wasted effort. Are you trying to say that prison employees are going to be more responsible than jail employees? Either way, if nuclear war occurs, society is likely to break down. I’m not saying that prison employees are irresponsible; I’m saying that the vast majority of _all people_ are likely to be choosing to act to save themselves and their loved ones, and nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/19 "2023-10-28T15:57:14Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > vast majority of _all people_ are likely to be choosing to act to save themselves and their loved ones, and nothing more. And prison employees, if they are aware of what is happening would definitely not want to fight for limited resources with organized prison gangs. They most likely live near the prison and would be putting their families at an increased risk. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205/20 "2023-10-28T17:15:02Z")
Even the for-profit prisons? 🤨 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-prisoners-during-a-nuclear-war-and-its-aftermath/992205.md?page=2)