Ask Lemmy

Been in county jail in Tennessee a couple times. Two different counties.

In the first one there was a guard in the pod of 100ish inmates at all times. It was very boring. I read any books I could get, mostly Western cowboy smut like Slocumb to my dismay. I got a Quran once from some Black Muslims, that was interesting. Worst thing that happened in that jail was getting collaterally teargassed when an old guy wouldn't get off the phone. I was in there during the Super Bowl once though, that was actually pretty fun.

The other jail had smaller pods with no guards. Maybe 30ish people to a pod. No nurse on staff and a busted AC. One dude was withdrawing from heroin and booze and kept having seizures, they'd just move him to a different pod with AC for a bit. I made a paper chess set and we played cards. The bullies ran the TV so I had to watch that godawful American Sniper garbage one night, that annoyed me.

The second jail was where I detoxed from my last drink. It's been like 9 years or so now.

i did a month in county about a year ago. i learned how to play spades and that was always fun and a good time killer.

they gave us all tablets and I'm really quite a "phones are bad for you" type of person. I try to challenge my technology addiction the best I can out here and look up at the world around me ... but I am not the least bit ashamed to admit that I bought (yes bought, for $9.99 I'm pretty sure) subway surfers and spent most of my waking hours in there surfing the subways.

a month is laughable time to most people that I came across in there but it felt like a year. time dragged on. and it was really cold all the time (coming from someone who's from up north and this jail was in the south)

they had chess but I think I only played two games of it with one friend I had made in there (one of those games opening with bongcloud, we both died laughing) I'm not very good at chess tbh. I tried to make a Go board out of paper but I couldn't manage to keep the lines straight enough or spaced well enough.

didn't really have too much excitement other than people pointing out the hatches on the walls that they supposedly would shoot pepper balls out of if there was a riot, never saw that theory in action. i did see the Go Squad tackle one guy who refused to go to his cell but it was not really very dramatic, you could tell they had done it a hundred times before so he couldn't really do anything to stop them... honestly I was pretty impressed at how lighthanded they were with it, like yeah a big guy did tackle him right down to the ground but they weren't trying to rough him up or anything they just did the minimum they had to after talking failed. i got hired (handing out food trays and cleaning up) and fired (coworker didn't like me, started a rumor I wasn't showering and got me fired... not sure what his problem was but I didn't need the two for one I really just liked having something anything to do for part of the day(the US prison system is modern slavery and that is intentionally built into the 13th amendment))

that last part was really drilled into my head. people don't take prison jobs for <$1/hr because they want the money, I'm not even sure how common it is for prisons to offer 2 for 1 for a job (meaning your time goes by twice as fast) I think most people take the job because being locked up is fucking excruciatingly boring and anything to make the time go by quicker is a blessing.

sorry that's really rambly and disjointed, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have

Never got a sentence, it was a wrongful arrest; I was held in the [US] police station for a few hours for self-defence against a bully in highschool. Like wtf, the school admin that sided against me and I bet they are the ones who called.

So these two cops handcuffed me, took me outside, told me to get in the back, they put on the seatbelt thing. There's a divider thing separating the back from the front, its all seems to be glass with a small metal mesh/net thing in the middle of the glass. They made the seats angled at like a very weird way, so fucking uncomfortable. What's that phobia of small spaces called? I basically felt that the entire time.

So they fingerprinted me and took a photo. They put me in this tiny holding cell the size of a college dorm room with like 5 other kids, all of them are male (I say "kids" to indicate they are all minors like me, but they're more like teens than "kids"). These kids all did actual crime like fucking stealing a car or stealing stealing airpods from someone or some crazy shit. All I ever did was self-defence, I felt so out of place, wasn't supposed to be there.

I thought for sure I was gonna get beaten like 5 v 1 or something, but they were kinda chill and nobody touched me.

There was nothing to do, there was a tiny window on the door and one near in the wall where I can glance into the rest of the police station, where I saw the clock one the wall so I can check the time, I think they literally just converted an unused room / office space into a holding cell, and I think they just flipped the lock so it locks from outside.

So again, tiny spaces... that phobia thing sets in again. Honestly can't remember if I felt the phobia at the time, or if its just in hindsight that my brain editorized the events

The other kids was just talking about their crime like: dude wtf, they could have voice recording in here, stop confessing your crimes, dumbass (no I did not call them "dumbass" outloud lol, didn't wanna get beaten)

The other kids just asked what I was in for, and I told them about the fight and the fact that the other kid instigated it, so I'm the victim.

I'm Asian, and was the only Asian in there. Felt so awkward.

I suspect if I was black, I'd probably gotten a rougher treatment by the cops. "Model Minority" stereotype might've came into play, I didn't try to resist arrest or anything like that.

Parents cames to get me, I was released, had to go to the juvenile court the next day, was like an hour away from where I lived, I assigned a public defender, charges dropped after a few months. Statute of limitations should have expired by now.

I never took reddit's "ACAB" seriously until then; but now I get it. They literally just let the actual perpetrators go, but arrest the victims. School admin was at fault too. Wow, what a great way to spend resources, dipshits. They've done great job at radicalizing people. No wonder nobody trust the cops

I think I have PTSD from that incident. It was practically psychological torture. The thought of deportation was just on my mind for like months. (Even tho I later I realized I was already a citizen and theoretically should be safe, but still, fear are fears, hard to just suppress the anxiety) It's probably a major factor for my depression, on top of the bullying in school, and even family was abusive. I never felt like I have a place that is "home" to me. I already have Adverse Childhood Experiences before, this just added to made that list longer.

Why life be so sad? 😕

Edit:

ALSO: I just remembered to say this: THEY NEVER READ THE "MIRANDA WARNING" 💀 (because I was never technically in "custodial interrogation" so they didn't have to, fucking legal loopholes)

Movies and TV lie all the fucking time, they literally don't have to read it to you.

I was in a low security federal prison for a couple years. There was actually a surprising amount of work and leisure activities to keep inmates occupied if they chose. There were maintenance jobs, including electrical and HVAC jobs that you could actually get certification for. There was a full library, education facility, computer lab, chapel, rec center with indoor and outdoor courts, and fully equipped music and art studios.

I worked in the education center, helping other inmates work towards their GED. Inmates who didn’t have a high school education were offered extra good time if they got their GED, and it was rewarding to be a part of. In the evening I usually went to rec and played in bands with other inmates who played.

The housing unit was usually quiet. We were all short timers who just wanted to get their time done and go home. We didn’t have cells. We were in little cubicles just big enough for a bunk, lockers, and a desk, and we generally had free roam around the place. Folks would get together and play board games in the evening. And of course there were your usual hustles…the store guys, guys who’d do your laundry, whatever.

It was a long time ago but I remember it being difficult for me. That door of the cell closes behind you and then it’s just you and your time. My cell was totally empty except for the bed but it was comfortable enough. The slit of light through the window was my only companion for the duration. They gave me enough time to think about what I did and I knew that I when I was finally free, I never wanted to go back again. I vividly remember when I was finally released, my mom opened the door the spare bedroom and said “Your thirty minutes are done.” And I was free to go.