tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post3041234536173858865..comments2024-03-28T09:08:18.131-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: Inside the Modern Jail Jim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-38209726009098926142013-04-17T18:12:33.935-04:002013-04-17T18:12:33.935-04:00Thanks for the glimpse inside a place I, along wit...Thanks for the glimpse inside a place I, along with Jim, have no desire to be. BUT, we do have to write about them occasionally. The comments were enlightening, too. Great post!Kaye Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05596677617002735674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-76494322881167547392013-04-15T19:46:11.700-04:002013-04-15T19:46:11.700-04:00I'm a retired probation officer. I spent thous...I'm a retired probation officer. I spent thousands of hours inside San Francisco jails during my long career. I also visited jails in neighboring counties and San Quentin and Vacaville prisons. Each jail has it's own procedures.If writing about the jails, I'd rcommend contacting the Sheriff Dept. or whoever is in charge, and see if you can ask specific questions.Patricianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-16121286013262782482013-04-15T13:06:28.474-04:002013-04-15T13:06:28.474-04:00In my capacity as a handwriting expert I visited t...In my capacity as a handwriting expert I visited the Chowchilla Women's Prison with some attorneys to depose a prisoner who had been convicted of embezzlement. Our meeting took place in the cafeteria. <br /><br />We passed several signs warning visitors not to touch prisoners or give them money, but we had to pay for the prisoner's lunch because the deposition made her unavailable for her regular scheduled lunch. <br /><br />One of the (several) creepy parts was having a full body x-ray (like they do now in airports!), then having to go through an outside corridor that connected the guardhouse to the grounds--rolls of barbed wire along the tops of the chain link fence, knowing I was now stuck until someone said I could leave. Sheila Lowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02444737798319597136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-12822766937110211002013-04-15T11:52:07.110-04:002013-04-15T11:52:07.110-04:00Regarding visitor booths, I'm not sure since a...Regarding visitor booths, I'm not sure since as a chaplain I didn't use the booths. I met with the inmate in a closed room (no survelliance camera or windows, so I really had the trust the inmate! No problems though). One time I talked with an inmate in a booth where I used a telephone and looked at the man through a glass window. I don't know why the deputies had me talk to the inmate that way--maybe he was deemed too dangerous to be with me alone.<br /><br />Regarding the lack of sunshine and privacy, perahps for some inmates that was a wake-up call for them to take a different path so they didn't end up in the jail again. As the saying goes, "don't do the crime if you can't do the crime."<br /><br />However, the deputies told me of some criminals who would commit a petty crime in late fall so they could spend the cold winter inside the warm jail and not pay heat or housing costs. Go figure!Sally Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00068827626295000653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-7931236256193295802013-04-14T05:37:28.677-04:002013-04-14T05:37:28.677-04:00I see I have a lot more information to find out, K...I see I have a lot more information to find out, KM. Thanks for pointing me in the right directions by letting me know what questions to ask.E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-44131401021610556772013-04-13T15:11:50.564-04:002013-04-13T15:11:50.564-04:00Interesting blog. Once I took my Cub Scout troop t...Interesting blog. Once I took my Cub Scout troop to a county jail, and another time the two third grades in my school went on a field trip to a different county jail, but neither was anything what you described. A good friend of mine had a son, who got hooked on drugs and ended up in a prison in S.C. She took me with her one Sunday when we when to visit. It was a little intimidating to go through all the different check points and doors that were locked behind us before we met him in a large communal room for lunch. Obviously, he wasn't in a maximum security area of the prison. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-32894934121863725192013-04-13T12:32:31.089-04:002013-04-13T12:32:31.089-04:00Thanks for the information. I once attended a sem...Thanks for the information. I once attended a seminar held in a prison. The door shutting was a lonely sound.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-45440871127627062972013-04-13T12:25:46.713-04:002013-04-13T12:25:46.713-04:00I'm sure Sally has some answers, but if I can ...I'm sure Sally has some answers, but if I can help,too,I'd be happy to. I've worked in a number of correctional facilities (and visited more) so while I certainly not familiar with all situations, I can describe some.<br /><br />First a few questions: prison or county lockup? Has the inmate been convicted of a crime, either this one or another, or is this completely pre-conviction? How many inmates (a few or thousands)? What area of the country (most of my experience in East Coast US, and I really don't know much about other countries, but I have been in a few facilities further west) Specific security level or all levels? This is a non-contact visit situation; is that the norm for this facility, or are some inmates permitted contact visits? All male, all female or both? Are only the professional visits held in the booths, and personal visits contact? What kind of professional visitors? Lawyers (esp. defense attorneys) will be given much more leeway than, say, ministers or accountants or special education teachers. Medical (including psychiatric)visits are usually in the institution's medical facility, although for some specialized treatment, an inmate will be transported to a medical facility.<br /><br />If this would get too lengthy for this forum but you'd like to discuss it further, let me know & we can exchange private e-mails if you'd like.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-6924351842995633462013-04-13T12:08:20.814-04:002013-04-13T12:08:20.814-04:00Do you remember what the visitor areas looked like...Do you remember what the visitor areas looked like? The correctional facility where my suspects is parked has something called Visiting Booths where the suspect can see professionals about his case. I haven't been able to get any information on these booths to write the scene. Ideas? E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-87727425850154945632013-04-13T08:25:45.129-04:002013-04-13T08:25:45.129-04:00I suspect I could learn to accommodate the extreme...I suspect I could learn to accommodate the extreme structure of jails, but the lack of privacy would surely get to me.<br /><br />The lack of natural sunlight would likely drive me to depression (of getting caught or being falsely charged hadn't already driven me there!)<br /><br />~ Jim Jim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-22840703177697546222013-04-13T07:43:30.625-04:002013-04-13T07:43:30.625-04:00I like your description! I know that there are man...I like your description! I know that there are many people in corrections who think the pod system is one of the worst developments in jail construction for the psychological well being of inmates (and staff), and in many places it is not used because of the ill effects.<br /><br />There's a real reason why one of the prominent lines in Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison is "I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when." And why "Prison pallor" is a common term.<br /><br />I worked part-time in a county lockup constructed on the pod system. Once I got to know the inmates I was working with, the first thing they asked when they saw me was, "What's the weather like out there?"<br /><br />One of my most harrowing experiences was when I was delivering legal reference material to an inmate on disciplinary segregation in a prison, and I was caught in the background during a cell extraction of another inmate at the other end of the tier. They didn't have time to let me get off the cellblock. Of course I had seen the training videos and knew in general what would happen, and I had enough sense (and training) to back into a corner and just stay out of the way, but it was scary.<br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com