How did jail affect you?

I’ll let you know if I ever get there.—I imagine it to be a pain in the neck. ;)

@lucillelucillelucille Funny, I was thinking it would be a pain in the butt.~

Bastards told me I couldn’t collect £200 & I had to miss a turn :¬(

@chyna You have your ideas,I have mine! XD

This old question of mine about jail might interest you. Go down to Zuma’s long answer. It was a great answer.

@JLeslie wow, that whole thread was a really interesting read. GQ.

@TheOnlyNeffie Thanks. I should have listed it as one of my favorite question in a recent meta question about our best questions asked. I didn’t remember it at the time. I don’t think I got GQ’s on that question? Which seems odd, since the conversation was interesting.

Never been in jail, except in games of Monopoly, but I’ve always loved this Henny Youngman quip:

- “Woman says to a guy, “I haven’t seen you around here.”
- “Yeah, I just got out of jail for killing my wife.”
“So you’re single….”

Never been to jail, either, and I plan to stay out of it. You might face some very difficult choices.

Also, see this.

I went to city jail for a week 20 years ago for an unresolved traffic ticket (warrant). From that mess, I learned to ALWAYS take care of my traffic tickets when I get them, instead of putting it off.

Interestingly, knowing I was in there for only one week, on a TRAFFIC VIOLATION, the cops actually asked me to turn in my friends for a reduced sentence. WTF?

It turned me into a ruthless psychopath and cured my anal retentiveness.

Someone needs to host that ratbastards party.

When I was in 6th grade I stole a $7.00 wallet from a big department store. (I didn’t have quite enough money to pay for it) The police arrested and hand cuffed me and booked me into jail including mug-shots and prints. I totally deserved the harsh treatment. I sat in jail for several hours before my Mom could pick me up. After that I never ever considered shoplifting again.

ha thank you everyone

I spent Nov.-Dec. 2009 and most of Aug. 2010 in county jail. Jail is very boring. I read on average 500 pages of paperback books every day. I learned to play Rook and spades and played frequently. You learn how to improvise things you need out of what is available. Toothpaste can be used to glue pictures of your girl on the wall. We didn’t get issued pillows so you make one with your towel socks and underwear. You are always hungry. They never give you enough food and the food you get is nasty. A lot of the guys locked up can’t read or write very good. I helped these guys write letters to their lawyers, employers, family etc. In exchange for this I gained the jail name of “Teacher.” I didnt do this for free though. I usually go a carton of milk or something off their meal tray for my services. I also receive a psych med called Seroquel at med time. I would break a 300mg tablet into 8 pieces and each piece was worth something off a meal tray. This drug is desired in jail because it helps you sleep which is hard sometimes because it’s so noisy. Everyone is pissed off and bitter all the time. You are always walking on eggshells. Correctional Officers are the laziest people on the face of the earth. You keep yourself and you bunk which is your home clean. Nobody wants to be locked down at night in a four man cell with a dirty stinking motherfucker. You can get your head busted for being dirty. It’s the little things that bother you the most in jail. The cheap Bob Barker toothbrushes they give you are junk. Bob Barker has a foundation that supplies toiletries to a lot of jails.
Not seeing sunlight is really depressing. When you get out you are kind of shellshocked because you have been on edge the whole time you are locked up. You dont cry or show any weakness. You don’t show kindness either because people take that as weakness and can and will take advantage of you anyway they can. I was locked up because I am a victim of the war on drugs. Did it change me or my behavior? Not really. Do I want to go back? Fuck no. Pretty much the key to doing time is having a routine of things you do everyday to stay busy and keep your mind off the outside world.

@buster and the others who have been in jail, I have a question.
Would being in jail for a short time, say a weekend make you never want to do anything to go back?
Right now I am in a position to possibly help put a 17 year old in jail for a period of time. He is probably on his way to a life of crime and prison if he doesn’t change his behavior. As his victim, I am working with the prosecutor and will be asked for my thoughts on his sentencing. I know that I want him to get probation and counseling and have to pay restitution. He could also get up to a year in the county jail. (small rural county, not a real dangerous place) Do you think that a couple of days in jail might help to steer him in a better direction? He is charged with aggravated assault.

Sounds like he needs counseling, not jail time. Obviously, he has no one to talk to (confide in), or else he wouldn’t be aggravatedly assaulting people.
If he serves jail time and nobody tries to talk to him, he might just do it again, and damn the consequences. If he thinks someone might want to hear his story, he might chill and turn himself around.
It would be helpful if the weekend or so in jail was followed by six weeks of seeing a psychologist (try it without a Rx first).