What is jail really like?

Answer 1

hell

Answer 2

Are you talking about prison or county jail? I've never been to prison, but i've been in county jail twice. The first time for 30 days and the second for 90. I didn't have too many issues with fighting as many people think. Just mind your own business and don't worry about other people's stuff. Boredom is huge. The jail I was in, you couldn't bring books (even a bible) in. You had to have them shipped directly from the publisher or amazon. Typically, they have commissary available to order once a week. This is where you can order socks, snacks, shampoo, etc. The stuff they give you (shampoo, etc) when you first come in is usually pretty gross. They also have a library list or visits once a week. TV is one of the things that people fight about, so try to avoid being too demanding. Good luck

Answer 3

Upon arrival you go to booking. There you get locked in a little cell with lots of losers who are drunk and the likes. After hours of smelling p i s s and vomit you are moved to population. You take a shower and get deloused. Then you get a 1 inch tooth brush and a plastic 1inch mattress. No deodorant, no pillow. When you walk into your lovely new home lots of losers whistle and make homosexual advances. Hit the first one in the mouth real hard. You get assigned a little cell with no TV or books. Lock down! Small rooms. You get to come out to eat your nasty state dinner. You might be able to take a shower sometimes, Bubba is looking, don't drop the soap. Sound like fun. I didn't mention the rapping's and killings. Kill someone or sell drugs and this wonderful fantasy land can be your new home. Good luck in your endeavors.

Answer 4

I've heard stories how bad it is to be in there.

I has spent 2 weeks in the L.A county jail for unpaid traffic tickets and it was not what I thought it would be. I had no problems with no one but I was prepared for the unexpected.

I know that the mens section is a whole diffrent story.

Answer 5

Horrible.My dad was in jail for 10 years.He said that the rooms were as big as closets and all they get is a small t.v for entertainment.Allot of guys were mean and one time my dad got in a fight.That scares me and I will NEVER go there.

Answer 6

It is mentally depressing because you can no longer hop in the car, turn on the tv, open the frig, sleep with your wife, relax in your chair, sit in your yard, etc... etc..... Many of the inmates are scumbags but not all of them, and that adds to the problem.

Answer 7

jail it is a bad thing to be in i tell you

Answer 8

County jail sucks. Never been to prison. Jail was enough for me.
In a nutshell: Lonely, Boring, Sensory Overload, Without Freedom, Devoid of any comforts of home.
All you can do is listen to the people that are in the outside world (if you are lucky enough to get a visit) or listen to other inmates that have contact with people in the outside world. After a visit, you can only wonder what really is going on out there. You can never be sure because you don't know. Hopefully you have visitors that understand what it's like in there, otherwise you get loaded up with information and problems for which you have no outlet - a living hell. Visitors cannot touch you - there is a glass or plastic wall between you and a phone to talk to them (if it works) or there's a brick wall with a small hole in it and a steel grate to talk through. When visitation is over, they go back to the real world and you go back to pod. Maybe you'll get another visit, maybe you won't.
You always have to watch your back because most of the time you don't know anybody in there and even if you do, it's dog eat dog. People will fight over ANYTHING in there. If you have it and they don't or they do but they want more, they'll try and take it. If you just give in and let them, then everybody will be on you to get whatever you have. It's a daily struggle. Size or numbers are to your advantage, but then you could still be in the minority. Not to be racial (just realistic), but if you're white, you're always in the minority in jail or prison. But you can't count on anyone really to ever have your back, because in the end, it's every person for themselves.
You are a number, nothing else to the powers that be. Your requests for medical attention are only answered if they want to. Other complaints require a form which is usually thrown away the minute that it leaves the pod. Food, medicine, laundry, mail, commissary, church or other meetings, phone calls (outgoing, collect only) -- line up and wait your turn, if you're not on the list for something, too bad, they don't care. Yard call (recreation outside in another sort of cage) is on an "if we feel like it" basis. If they don't, you could stay inside without ever smelling fresh air for a week or more. One hour a day if they do feel like it. Other than that you are always inside an atmosphere that is filled with the smells of other people who have no respect for themselves, much less you. Everything from not brushing their teeth (ever) and having dragon breath, to passing gas right next to you without even a thought, to not bathing for days (if ever) and never turning in their laundry to be cleaned.
It's crowded, sometimes to the point that bedding is scarce and then you have to sleep on a thin, wool blanket directly on the concrete. Sometimes you have to sleep less than a foot from everyone else. If you're lucky, you get "promoted" to a cell (hope you like your cellmate). Otherwise you sleep in the common area (or day room) with the rest of the new people. A lot of them are going cold turkey from a life of drugs and it takes awhile for the to normalize. It's always cool and a lot of times cold in there. This keeps down staff viruses. It's always noisy - sometimes to the point that you feel like jumping off the balcony.
Most of the time the food sucks - it's cold or luke warm and prepared totally without seasoning. You have to buy that from the commissary IF you are lucky enough to have someone sending you money. If not, you WILL be hungry most of the time. There are no seconds on the food. Unless someone gives you something or you can trade for extra, you get one tray for breakfast and one for dinner. Sandwiches and chips for lunch. Milk or juice - one with each meal, other than that, water all the time.
No ice, no napkins, no toothpicks, only plastic eating utensils, no salt or pepper.
Only limited items on the comissary that resemble "real-world" hygiene products and they cost an arm and a leg. So do things like candy, coffee, cookies, etc.
Unless you are already awake, you are woke up at 4am, 3pm, and 10pm for count (to make sure no one escaped).
Some county jails allow smoking, most don't.
Some have TV's, some don't. If they do, then unless you are the biggest person there or are in a group that all wants to watch the same thing, you watch whatever is on or you watch nothing.
If you're lucky, you can get a deck of cards and play endless games of spades, tonk, or other jailhouse card games. Maybe you can make "friends" with someone who has cards and then the same is true. Some people have dominoes, maybe you can play, maybe not. Sometimes there are games like chess or checkers - they last until someone destroys them or uses them to make jailhouse tatoos.
You can get magazines and some books sent in to you. Otherwise you pay for the privelege of reading someone else's and then you have to wait in line to get what's left of it after everyone else is through.
About once a week is shakedown. That's where the guards come in and go through everything you have. If they think you have too much of something, they take it, even if you bought it from the commissary. After filling out a complaint form, you may get it back, you may not.
Need a lawyer? Hopefully, you managed to contact one before you made it that far or else someone on the outside can help get you one, otherwise, you wait for one to contact you and pray that they do, or you can fill out a form to see one and then jump through weeks or months of hoops to get the chance for a very brief encounter which may serve your purpose or may leave you hanging, never knowing whether they'll come back and when.

I could go on forever, but hopefully this sheds some light on what you definitely have not missed.

Answer 9

GO TO A POUND (ANIMAL SHELTER) SEE THE DOGS AND CATS FACES ? SAD LOOKING RIGHT ? THEIR ONLY CRIME IS LOOSING TOUCH WITH THEIR ORIGINAL OWNER,
SEE THE SPACE THEY LIVE IN ? CRAMPED, ISN'T IT ?
NOW PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR CAGE, LOOKS LIKE FUN ?
DIDN'T THINK SO. AND THEY'RE LIKE THAT ALL DAY LONG.

AND THIS IS ONLY THE FREEDOM PART OF IT

Answer 10

i have been to prison on a 8 yr. stretch and let me tell you it is not vacation - it is lonely and tiring.........you miss family and when you get out you are better off staying in there because you cant get a job out here.

Answer 11

Why do you ask? Do you have occasion to plan a visit?

Actually I don't know, I've never been to one.