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34 Ex-Prisoners Share Misconceptions That Hollywood Movies Spread About Prison
Movies and TV shows have a huge influence on us. It's easy to believe what we see on screen. And while it's easy to dismiss superheroes as nothing but Hollywood fantasy, some of the misconceptions and myths they perpetuate aren't that easy to identify and dismantle.
A few days ago, Reddit user u/Warlock1509 posted a question to the platform, asking people who have been in a penitentiary what's something movies get wrong about them. Interestingly, they have received over 500 comments and the ex-inmates have provided an eye-opening perspective that you don't often get to hear.
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#1
I went to jail and didn't get raped. My cellmates were really chill and we all respected each other.
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
Hollywood loves prison rape because it's an easy way to manipulate the audiences emotions.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
I cannot understand why prison rape is still considered not only an acceptable subject to joke about, but often an acceptable thing to wish on someone. I don't care what crime someone has committed or how 'evil' a person they are.
Sergio Bicerra Descalzi 4 years ago
I get where you come from, but there are some individuals that deserve all the hate and punishment they can face. If a multiple child murderer and molester is caught, sure enough I want him to suffer every way possible, even rape. You have a bigger heart than me.
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Lion's Stare 4 years ago
Rape in prison is real. In fact there are more incidents of rape against men in the US than women because of the prison system. Here is an article https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html
Dale 4 years ago
Absolutely real, per capita more men are raped in prison than women in the us. (Obviously there are certain definitions of rape applied here that exclude rape through coercion)
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Requiem 4 years ago
being Remanded in Canada for short term is worse than being in a max prison with Lifers who dont have anything to prove to anyone
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Mo Poppins 4 years ago
But it DOES happen. Maybe you just got lucky, and that they select inmates who aren't rapey for that particular prison.
RELATED:
#2
The sheer boredom....and everyone there actually pretty nice, but damn it was boring as hell.
Tiny Dog 4 years ago (edited)
Depends upon the state. In some states, it’s only if you have the money for a correspondence course or if the prison offers such programs. I have a former classmate I write to in prison, and his state offers no free programs, and only a few Pay-to-Attend GED or vocational programs for those with the funds in their account. If the prisoners want to be educated via outside institutions, they must find one that agrees to snail mail as opposed to online instruction (a lot of prisons severely restrict or ban internet).
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Ladislav Pollo 4 years ago
,,and everyone there actually pretty nice" yeah, thats reason why they are in damn jail!!! :D
Bobert Robertson 4 years ago (edited)
When did House go to jail? Jk does anyone know what show/movie that is thought?
Merino 4 years ago
That is House. He was in jail during season 8 episode one, for his actions in the previous season finale.
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#3
Most of them aren't hardened criminals. They simply made a mistake, or came from a bad situation, and are genuinely trying to assimilate back into society.
Also, some of these dudes are hella smart. Trying to get a job as an ex-con is very difficult. If they never got involved with drugs or gangs they'd be major contributors.
James016 4 years ago
There is a company in the UK called Timpsons, they do shoe repair, key cutting, etc. Most of their employees have been in prison. They give these people a chance and as far as I know, none of them have re-offended as they now have a stable life, a job.
Moondrop 4 years ago
We have a similar company called TROSA in the US (Or maybe just where I live), they sell Christmas trees and do moving operations I think.
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Dave P 4 years ago
There is an organization in the US called the Woodson Institute (Formerly known as the Center for Neighborhood enterprise), a Black founded and run organization which works to help black communities build themselves up and fix their communities (helping create neighborhood clean up programs, college and technical school scholarships, helping black people start small businesses, creating community civic orgs, and much more). One of their initives is to help ex-cons start businesses to help other ex-cons get jobs and then start their own businesses, as well as work with major corporations to give ex-cons a second chance. Over 50,000 ex-cons have gotten jobs through their initiatives, of which over 700 started their own businesses. I have met Robert Woodson, and he has done amazing things. https://woodsoncenter.org/how-we-help/programs/
V33333P 4 years ago
This is wonderful, I wish more people were open to starting something like this, and actually SUPPORTING those people to reintegrate into society rather than ostracizing them and basically guaranteeing recidivism
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Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
Oftentimes potential employers need to be reminded that we are ALL human, we ALL make mistakes, and THE GOLDEN RULE still applies.
M Calad 4 years ago
Thank you! Yes. I think society judges mistakes too harsh. Instead of focusing on punishment, society should focus on rehabilitation, opportunities, self-forgiveness and integration. Yes, I am too naive.
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Jro308 4 years ago
a place I worked for hired ex-cons while they were still in the halfway house. About 80% worked until they were released from the halfway house then they just quit showing up for work, no notice, no communication just stop showing up...weeks later they file for unemployment. The other 20% stay, work their way up and usually do a kick ass job.
#4
I've worked with a lot of inmates from different parts of the world:
Inmates love to work, fights even break out for jobs because people are so bored.
Rape isn't as common as people think in Western Prisons.
There is a problem where some new comers think they have to start a fight with the biggest guy, if you mind your own business people usually leave you alone.
Never ever show off or act tough. Defend yourself if needed and eat humble pie if needed.
Drugs are a massive problem inside.
Prisoners can buy things inside.
Don't ever deal or carry drugs in Asia, sentences are no joke.
There are different forms of currency inside, some prisons even have their own minted currency.
Prisons across the world can be very different.
A lot of prisons don't use bars but doors.
Prison in certain places like Brazil are a slaughter house.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Sadly this is just another cry in the desert. Each year stupid young people decide that, contrary to what every sane person knows, smuggling drugs is an excellent way to pay for their holidays. When they get caught, they rely on their government to fix their stupidity and are heavily surprised when that doesn't happen.
DuchessDegu 4 years ago
Some are extremely overcrowded, lots of drugs, rampant disease, sexual assault and inmates kill inmates just for the extra space. Not to mention police/guards brutality. Unless you're rich, then you are unlikely to go to prison in the first place no matter whatever atrocity committed
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Artime Silk 4 years ago
Prison in the Phillipines is basically like a self-quarantine. The prisoners police themselves! It's totally insane
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
YouTube, Netflix and other documentary producers confirm all of these facts and more. From the good to the bad, the scary and safe, it's all in there.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
The US prison model has been exported around the world and is an absolute disgrace. The fact that the US are prepared to push their abusive system in return for profits is a shame on them.
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#5
The guys were actually very nice and gave me life advice. Something about having your freedom stripped away gives people a newfound love for wisdom and giving advice
Vorknkx 4 years ago
To (roughly) translate a verse from a poem in my country: "There in prison you meet some people, and you become human again."
Pervinca 4 years ago
Yes. I think it's from the film "The Shawshank Redemption"
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Artime Silk 4 years ago
Maajid Nawaz was ironically deradicalized in an Egyption prison...and he talked to the guy who had assassinated the British prime minister and who had become a passifist after going to the prison! ...Also the guy who founded IS (I think?) was radicalized in that same prison...so guess anything can happen
#6
Whistling in jail. You will get yelled at by other people, s**t travels through the pipes and sounds awful.
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
As if constant whistling at home or in the workplace isn't bad enough? I couldn't imagine it occurring in a place I was stuck 24/7.
#7
Spent a little over a week in jail a few years ago. Spent the first few days in solitary on suicide watch. (it was not a good point in my life obviously)
The guards checked on me regularly and were genuinely concerned. Not sure if they knew what I was in for was complete bulls**t or if they were just good people. Even though it was complete bulls**t, I didn't let the situation take away my politeness or give them a hard time. I knew where I was and they had a job to do. I wasn't going to be an as***le to another person doing there job just because I was in jail. It wasn't there fault. It was the broken system around it. Shrugs
I would assume they noticed that I wasn't an issue to them. I was an issue to myself. I refused to eat for 5 days due to depression and trying to find anything to kill myself with. They noticed and tried their best to get me to eat. One very sweet CO pulled back the slot in the door and was begging me to eat because she was concerned. You could hear it in her voice. I never gave them issues. Just told her I'm so sick of the situation and I wanted to die due to the situation etc. Bawled my eyes out. She sat there and talked with me for a bit before she had to go back on regular rounds. I felt bad that I made her upset and told her so. She told me that I can tell by how I was speaking to her I was there for bulls**t because nobody was ever nice to her unless they were being f**ked by the system. The ones who would give her issues were the chronic offenders. She was a sweet woman. I hope she's doing well.
I was placed in the psych section of the jail after mandatory solitary was done with for suicide watch. I had no idea that there was a section meant for people with psych issues. Think of a gen pop but on a much smaller scale where they can keep a better eye on you.
The CO'S at this point were ok. Never gave us issues. 5 days in I f**ked up my ankle because I had to get off the top bunk and slipped and rolled it because the dude below me was suffering from some kind of mental issue and would draw on the floor with soap. I slipped, f**ked my ankle and getting up and down from the top bunk was an issue obviously. When we had to do "roll call" every 5 or 6 hours, we had to walk up to the bars and show them our ID bracelet when they called our name. One of the inmates had enough when one CO started getting annoyed I couldn't make it to the bars in time due to my ankle and another inmate spoke up for me. Didn't know him. Come to find out he was there for murder. But he saw what happened when I f**ked my ankle.He yelled at the CO: "WHAT THE F**K IS WRONG WITH YOU. GIVE HIM A MINUTE. YOU KNOW DAMN WELL HIS ANKLE IS F**KED". CO backed down and just said "ok". Lol. Yeah... That inmate got my breakfast every morning after that. I gave it to him out of respect. Not like I was gonna eat it anyway. Unspoken respect and understanding was made that day... This was in an inner city jail too with very high crime rate. Not a "white collar I'll be out in a month to enjoy my yacht" place.
TL;DR: -50/10 still would not recommend. But some humanity can still be found in hell.
Nicola Dimigen 4 years ago
"Would not recommend" Same. I haven't been in prison, but I don't plan on going any time soon.
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
The Golden Rule should be practiced EVERYWHERE. Angels come in many shapes and forms....
Abigail Kreiss 4 years ago
Mental health care anywhere is pretty awful. The drugs used to treat the problems have variable effects and frequently have many undesirable side effects.When you consider that inmates often have a long history of poor coping skills, its no wonder they are depressed and angry. Where I worked in a medium to low security men's prison, inmates would frequently check themselves into the Crisis Unit if they had a debt coming due out in the yard. The day after any big baseball or football series would see a big rise in population as the inmates tried to escape creditors.
Sarah Grape 4 years ago
why were you in jail for suicide watch and not a hospital.....lack of space? a hospital doesn't have rooms set up for that? did the prisons have doctors to keep an eye out?
#8
No guns or cell phones. On TV whenever a cop goes to the jail when they are interviewing the suspect they have a gun and cell phone on their hip. Both items are turned in at the front gate
Bobert Robertson 4 years ago
Well, how else are the prisoners supposed to take over the prison in the movies if the careless cop doesn't give up his gun?
nunya bussiness 4 years ago
obviously no guns. who would be dumb enough to give a criminal a gun??
Donkey boi 4 years ago
My Cousin calls from his mobile phone all the time, and he's been inside for about 18 months now. He says everyone's got one!
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Because bringing a gun into a place with murderers and psychopaths isn't smart. We all know that.
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
This should be rephrased as "No guns or cell phones IN PLAIN VIEW". Do I really need to explain the concept of the Butt Bell??
Allmeow-err 4 years ago
This is only true for certain places. Many prisons now a days allow the inmates to have phones.
V Martinez 4 years ago
And some of the scams we hear about partially come from prisons. Not a lot, I'm sure, but on occasion. There was one guy who committed suicide because he thought he was going to jail. All because of a scam. A couple of prisoners had a phone, made a fb post, made this guy think he met a girl online. Then the same bad guys "took over" the acct and pretended to be the parents of the fake girl and told the guy she was underage. They sent fake pics and said they were going to have him arrested unless he sent them a specific amount of money. He did. They asked again for more money, he said he was broke, they had a third friend pose as police and call him to say he'd be going to jail. The guy was so scared, all he did was talk online to a female- so he thought. He committed suicide. It was later discovered that it was prisoners that scammed him and caused him to kill himself
Load More Replies... #9
I volunteered in our county jail when I was in high school. One thing they don't show in movies is that they smell like BO and piss.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
That's what you get when private parties run prisons. Imagine a country where running prisons is a profitable business plan....
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TTorrest Author 4 years ago
Can confirm. I exchanged letters with a friend who went to county. All his letters reeked of B.O. and piss.
Stormapotamus 4 years ago
I've worked in a jail for the last 4 years and it definitely doesn't smell like piss and BO. I guess it depends on where you're at.
John Stotesbery 4 years ago
Strange? One of the things I heard from friends is "keep your ass clean" "NO ONE want to smell your stinky ass and B.O."
#10
Half the inmates are mentally ill - not only a few crazy ppl that the movies use to add color and character, but crazy ppl everywhere
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago (edited)
Because prisons aren't equipped to deal with mental health, nor are courts, in general terms. Im not saying mental health means no prison by any means: they just aren't getting the kind of help they need. Mental health is as vital as physical health and there can be a link between unmanaged mental health and antisocial behaviour
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago (edited)
In the Netherlands we see an increase in people with mental problems being incarcerated, due to budget cuts in mental health care. There is an increasing number of people with mental health problems getting into trouble with the police because there's no adequate help for them anymore. The police isn't equipped and willing to deal with disturbed people, mental health professionals can't handle the number of people they should be helping. As a result "the madman" goes behind bars.
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Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
We shut down mental hospitals. Then they had to go somewhere. And... it was prison. *sigh* Los Angeles has the biggest psych treatment facility in the US ---- in its County Prison. (Biggest dispenser of mental health meds in the country)
Russian Otaku 4 years ago
Not being allowed to do anything aside from existing also drives people nuts
#11
There aren’t always actual toilets. Like a toilet with a bowl, lever, cistern etc. Sometimes there’s just what looks like a kitchen draining board with a large hole.
#12
Not me but my sister. The boredom, and for her the lack of cigarettes. The jail was smoke-free and you got a smoke break twice a day.
A friend, the boredom and lack of decent reading material. Most inmates are illiterate and had no interests beyond what they knew, the ignorance was breathtakingly depressing. He said he had one intelligent conversation in three months. He was in the local jail fighting drug charges and managed to get house arrest and was very happy to come home and take a long hot shower with real soap.
*me* 4 years ago
I wish they still had prison as punishment, but made it worthwhile, so you’re not wasting years of your life in some small cell
Sue Hazlewood 4 years ago
I am involved with a bookfest in my town, which also has a large prison. During our Covid lockdown last year the prison management asked if they could get some books for the inmates. We gave books, jigsaws, DVD's etc and are giving more now we have had our sale for the year. If other groups could do the same it would be great.
Easily Excitable Panda 4 years ago
Totally OT, but that still is taken from one of the finest movies ever made, Hunger. It's about the 1981 hunger strike by Northern Irish prisoners in The Maze Prison.
Stannous Flouride 4 years ago
A book store near me collects books for prisoners and many jurisdictions probably have some way for people to donate books and other reading materials. Contact your local sheriff's department to find out how. Especially desired are non-fiction books.
#13
Drugs are crazy easy to get. At least where i was.
Bobert Robertson 4 years ago
Drugged out prisoners are less likely to riot or cause problems. The wardens encourage this in many jails.
#14
They always show the food as more akin to regular food than it really is. I've never been in jail as an inmate, but I was a Criminology student in college and my Penology class toured various facilities throughout the state and I visited a friend in a a county jail once. The food looks practically like pastel play doh and mash. It's no wonder sometimes even McDonalds is too rich for inmates to eat when they get out after being in for an extended stay. Honestly, it makes the whole idea of a last meal before execution seem like a cruel joke to me when you think of how long a lot of death row inmates are in for before they actually get executed. Just for added context I live in Kentucky.
Red Hair Blue Soul 4 years ago
This is why we need to stop privatization of prisons. They are allowed to pay the lowest amount of $ for everything in the prison system, including food and Healthcare.
Artime Silk 4 years ago
Privatized prisons. They're making MILLIONS but can't spend a bit to help prisoners NOT offend!
Abigail Kreiss 4 years ago
I was an RN in a California prison. The food wasn't Beverly Hills quality but it was fine. The CO''s used to occasionally eat the extra trays.
Samuel Zhao 4 years ago
Once for Boy Scouts, we spent 24 hr. In jail. I’m 100% Chinese, and the inmates seemed suprised to see a Chinese boy in jail
Brian Beets 4 years ago
Yeah, no, the jail food isn't that bad at all. Most all of the guards eat the same food, so it's around the same as what is given in schools. They have a mandatory calorie intake per day, and it's usually less than what they eat outside of jail so they all tend to lose weight. I was a guard for years, and the food was decent.
John Stotesbery 4 years ago
I heard it's Roman Noodle all the time. That's why it's nickname is "jail food".
Marvin HeartofGold 4 years ago
I went on a scared straight program in high school and my only take-away from it was "HOT FOOD* ie if an inmate was working in the kitchen and feeling the loss of physical contact with their preferred sexual partner and the mashed potatoes were feeling particularly warm that evening everyone would be warned that the potatoes were "hot food" and to eat at their own discretion. I left that day hoping the story was BS but the guy told it with a little too much enthusiasm.
Requiem 4 years ago
I delivered food for Remand centres in my province, they got dried ramen noodles, and chocolate wagon wheels, and other normal food.
Mad Dragon 4 years ago (edited)
I’m pretty sure this entire thread is about the conditions inside prisons in the USA.
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#15
I once dropped the famous soap and everyone just started laughing. No rape.
WolfGirl23 4 years ago
You probably don't want to drop the soap though. Who knows how dirty those floors are
#16
There really aren't bars on windows and doors anymore. It's mostly plexiglass nowadays. The noisy guy in movies/TV who whistles, sings, talks, etc. He will be frequently be told/threatened to shut up. It's boring as hell! In fact, lots of guards hate being there as well. Speaking of guards, not all of them are meatheads/"beefcakes". Too many of them are fat and out of shape slobs. Inmates are friendlier than you think. As long as you mind your business, you'll be ok. (At least in the units where I was at in the jail I was in) not every white guy with tattoos is a white supremacist, not every Hispanic is a cholo/gangbanger, not every black person is a drug dealer.
nerdify 4 years ago
All the stereotypes given to inmates shows that there's more respect on the inside than out.
Talie Bocci 4 years ago
Rather the point, isn't it? You get incarcerated, you lose the respect of society.
Load More Replies... LivingTheDream 4 years ago
but the f*****g domino games that are loud AF. Is it really necessary to slam them like you've just seen the largest spider in your life?
Anthony Mann 4 years ago
Not just prison... I've seen domino games like that in the Military, too. Slapping the dominos down like you're trying to put a hole in the table! All done with a crazy-wide-eyed look of "take THAT!"
Load More Replies... #17
There are typically a few actual gay men in prison who want to bottom, so it is very rare for straight men to be sexually abused unless that sexual abuse is some kind of of revenge or punishment. Besides that, there are a lot of literally crazy, unhinged people in jail, people who behave so abnormal that it leaves you dumbstruck and you ask yourself "why would anyone in their right mind act like that?" They just pick fight constantly or they are paranoid and schizophrenic... It's a bit frightening sometimes. There's no rhyme or reason to their behaviour. It's the kind of people who when not locked up would do terrible things in society just because they are nuts:. Beat up children, murder innocent people because they think those people were out to get them, torture animals, etc. Really, prison keeps lots of literal loonies off the street.
Aliquid A 4 years ago (edited)
I have two problems with this post. (1) it implies that rape is something done by a "gay" man. A rapist rapes another person because they get a thrill off the power and intimidation, not because they are attracted to their victim. (2) It implies that people with mental health issues belong in jail, which is a horrible thought. It is in no way someone's fault if their brain is damaged or not working properly. If they are a threat to society, they need to be isolated, but in a mental institution and not a jail (although those have a bad reputation too)
Vicky Zar 4 years ago
I understood it as "there is not that much rape because there are gay men who let them do it voluntarily" and "if there is rape, then it is meant as punishment for something". They did not say that gay men committed the rape
Load More Replies... Andy Acceber 4 years ago
I don't know about other countries, but in the U.S., people with mental illness are much much more likely to be the victims of violent crimes than the perpetrators. The idea of violent people with paranoid schizophrenia is amplified by tv. There are many in jails and prisons because of a shortage of mental health facilities and a lack of affordable healthcare. Some people with mental health conditions wind up in prisons not because they're particularly violent or prone to breaking laws but because there's simply nowhere else for them to go.
Jeanne d'Arc 4 years ago
Please provide the source of your information. I would like to see the statistics on this issue.
Load More Replies... WolfGirl23 4 years ago
K it's not exactly the prisoners fualt they have mental problems. They just dident get the right help in time.
Andrew Gibb 4 years ago
Prisons have double the number of people who have had traumatic head injuries in comparison to the general population.
Kevin C 4 years ago
This one sounds so dumb he’s not even aware he’s being cruel to people who have no actual control over some of their actions, (mental health issues, etc) imagine that’s your son, or brother, dad, mum, sister, being called a loonie, and kept in prison because it’s easier than actually trying to help the person suffering.
#18
I worked in a military prison for 3 years, some of our procedures might be different but these are some of the things that I noticed: boredom, they are all so bored all the time. Most of them just want to do their time and go home. Not a lot of them are trying to act out and misbehave for whatever reason. That Good behavior time off their sentence is like gold to them. Suicide watch is a real thing, 24 / 7 there is guard sitting outside the cell watching them do everything.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Didn't work with Jeffrey, though. He was suicided and the guards were too busy ordering stuff on Amazon to notice.
Cheri Aline Sydney 4 years ago
If you believe he really killed himself.....
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Dale 4 years ago
WRONG!!!!! In the military prison system "good time" doeant mean a thing, there is mandatory supervised release, another words forced parole. When you go out on parole/MSR you forfeit all good time and serve the remainder on parole to you're actual release date, if you refuse MSR they take your good time and you stay the duration of your sentence, military inmates are less aggressive simply bc of the type of inmates houses in their facilities
#19
The movies get a lot of it wrong but I was surprised to learn that most of the old timers sound like Morgan Freeman.
V33333P 4 years ago
Well, Ed Kemper did audio books so it's not out of left field as an idea actually XD
Load More Replies... #20
Every morning, they'd come in to ask 2 inmates to take out the trash. You roll a couple giant bins full of bags out to the dumpster. Just that little bit of something to do that involved going outside, even though it was just 10 minutes tossing nasty trash bags into a dumpster, was so popular one guy threatened to kick my ass because he thought he should have been picked before me.
Dodo 4 years ago
Anyone else think prison should have classes, like school? Give the inmates some structure to their day, and let them learn stuff. Don't force them into classes, let them pick what they want to learn.
Eunice Bentley 4 years ago
some do, with actual teacher who come in. Other teachers may be inmates themselves but they have knowledge of some sort and are able to teach others.
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Mad Dragon 4 years ago
If you spend 23 hours a day 7 days a week in what is basically a basement with very few windows, then going outside in the fresh air and sunlight can be something worth fighting over.
Load More Replies... #21
I know its hard to imagine, but movies can't replicate the smell inside the jail. It is a smell that can't be described. The stench is something between bad body odor and garbage along with not sufficient ventilation and something else. It is truly disgusting.
Ms.GB 4 years ago
Doesn't sound very sanitary...I wonder what they do for covid? How would you stop the spread of something like that in prison?
Easily Excitable Panda 4 years ago
Covid infection *is* a massive problem, at least in U.S. prisons, both because of the quick spreading and the fact that prison hospitals aren't equipped to handle that many prisoners with serious a disease.
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Mo Poppins 4 years ago
Keeping the prison clean could become part of serving the sentence. It'd be a win-win for all. Then again, after reading some of the previous items above, many of the inmates are mentally-ill, and having a schizo brother myself, I know firsthand that hygiene is NEVER a priority for them--they don't even acknowledge reality, so why would they care or notice their surroundings?
Sherri Johnstone 4 years ago
Worked in a small county jail on the US and or jail smelled like canned corn and B.O.
Bettie-Jean Neal 4 years ago
Sounds like it smells like a nursing home. Those things are awful.
Annawake Smith 4 years ago
It has a unique and distinctive smell, but in my opinion not like a nursing home. Most of my experience comes from working inside a dorm that had common space, a bunk section divided by a half wall, a bathroom with a few toilets and sinks, and 2 shower stalls. Now add 30+ men who spend the majority of their time in there. Stale body odor, unbrushed teeth, "natural gas", clothing worn for multiple days at a time. It's a distinctive aroma that would cling to papers or notebooks that spent time in there (more than a day or so).
Load More Replies... #22
You're only going to catch s**t, get beat up or shanked if you're a pedophile, member of a rival gang, or you're just otherwise a piece of s**t that causes other people grief. Mind your own business and be respectful when you do interact and things will be pretty boring. It's not the "Everyone is fair play." trope media makes jail and prison out to be.
Jaehyun brides 4 years ago
May God forgive me but as a victim i feel happy too :')
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Renata Davies 4 years ago
im glad that there is hate toward evil people like pedophiles in jail
#23
dropping the soap will not get you rampantly taken from behind. source: a friend with soap on a bungee.
Mysterious Panda 4 years ago
If you drop the soap in the communal shower, you have to bend over to pick it up, right?
Load More Replies... #24
There are no underground fight tournaments
Bobert Robertson 4 years ago
This seems to follow the first rule of fight club. You never talk about fight club. This makes me believe there is a fight club.
Ms.GB 4 years ago
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people he doesn't exist.
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Honu 4 years ago
There actually was a big scandal at a California prison back in the 90s regarding the guards setting up prisoner fights for their own amusement. I don't think that's a common thing, though.
Julia Zimina 4 years ago
Look up San Francisco Jail fight club scandal. Yeah, the charges were dropped (supposedly by a settlement) but this isn't Hollywood media, this is real news so you can understand why it's a thing. Not to mention, while I was locked up at Twin Towers, Los Angeles, we had two fights break out and the guard in the "POD" on dusty didn't do anything except spit his chewing tobacco in his paper cup and watch until 10 other officers arrived. Then the one who "lost" (who I considered a friend) and bleeding profusely from a head wound after being slammed into the corner of a bed didn't come back, the guard simply told me "we don't keep losers in this POD". So So if your suggesting fight clubs, intentional or not is unrealistic I have to disagree strongly.
Load More Replies... #25
Strangest one I ever went to was a work release camp where I would pick up my friend to take them to work, and return them later in the day. The place was an abandoned motel converted into a prison compound. You would go into the former front desk area to check out the person and check them back in. Never saw anything like that in the movies.
Robin Virga 4 years ago
I participated in Auburn University's Rural Studio program (architecture major) in Hale County, Alabama. That community, and the school in particular, work with a local work release camp. The guys do a ton for the local community, and AJ and Fred (both inmates) are a genuinely beloved part of the extended school family. They taught us a ton of construction techniques, and AJ even used to patch our torn up work clothes for us (yes, we paid him for this service), and he'd end up making works of art out of simple patches. Expanding this kind of community oriented work-camp type program, in a community which gives the prisoners respect, seems like one path to a better prison system in America on the whole.
Annawake Smith 4 years ago
In Wisconsin, people in the county jail/detention center may be eligible for Huber privileges, which is like work release. Sometimes there's a specific dorm or facility for participants. I think the rules vary by county. Some have to be picked up by the employer while others may have access to their car or bicycle. Some inmates at a women's minimum security prison were also allowed to have jobs outside the facility. When I went to a volunteer orientation we were told that there are probably a lot more inmates working in the community than anyone realized, and often the person transporting them to work is an inmate herself. Not many people walk away while out on work release-most find the consequences aren't worth it, and it is a valuable privilege. A lot of them are also nearing the end of their sentence and don't want to jeopardize their release.
Bear Hall 4 years ago
Heard from my uncle working in a minimum security prison work camp. Fellow walked away from worksite and started to hitchhike. Warden happened to ride his motorcycle enroute to work, stopped, told him to hop on, brought him back.
V33333P 4 years ago
Okay now I need this in a movie coz this is comedy gold
Load More Replies... #26
Uk prison over a decade ago remanded. Im a regular lad, not some dumbass 50 cent wannabe. Reception "right you are in with a Mr so and so" Instantly thought aww for f**k sake, here we go, drama first ten minutes (they think they are helping you by pairing you with a local, but coming from the typical northern town little pond scenario.... Hes an op) Did not know what to expect and as it tuned out we were kept apart after day 2 and we never had an issue on a personal level but its one of those things. Ok to answer your question, i planned and did go in there keeping myself to myself but reading the situation subconsciously a lot because i was expecting people jumped, slashed etc, potentially riots, on the regular but in my experience it must be dependent on who's in at the time because its quite the opposite, f**king monotonous, the days drag and watching day time quiz shows like pensioners in a nursing home. The directors use artistic license adding drama to make prison movies appeal to mainstream audiences. Other than seeing a few fights which is no shock, the only day of drama was watching as i heard a plastic click sound. It was the top being closed on a kettle,hot water and likely sugar. The lad roared out so the target turned to look, and threw it over him, but he didn't cover the whole face, a part but not most but Jesus Christ it melted into his neck, his skin had boils raised out of him instantly and that sticky mixture, your finished, the shrieking was that loud it was deafening. Overall boring travel lodge experience. Good food and the hosts never botherd us. Not intending to return. would give it a 3/5
Beeps 4 years ago
Here in the UK most, if not all, prisons allow inmates to keep an electric kettle in their cell. Why oh why oh why I will never understand, as it just seems to make this sort of thing mandatory.
Emma Byrne 4 years ago
For goodness sake man we're British! Even those doing time deserve a cup of tea. It's a basic human right!
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Becky Samuel 4 years ago
Ah yes. Because rehabilitation is such a terrible idea /s. Numbnuts
Load More Replies... #27
You know those scenes where they clog up a toilet with TP to cause a distraction? There are a few reasons that won't work. First off, those toilets are STRONG. That thing will suck a sock down. If it does get clogged, the pipes usually have valves built in to prevent too much from backing up since it's such a common tactic for people to try. Finally, you never get that much TP to begin with. Unless you take the cleanest s***s ever or are fine with a crusty butthole, you never have enough TP to just do the job it was designed for let alone any sorts of clogging.
Tiffini 4 years ago
I worked in a prison for two years. They don't use TP - that's a precious commodity, but they do use the toilet to flood their cells frequently. I don't know what they stuff in there to do it, but it happens a lot when they are mad about something.
Stormapotamus 4 years ago
Yep, this is accurate. I work in a prison now, and they usually use towels or clothes to clog it up and it's usually cause they are pissed off.
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Monica A. M. 4 years ago
Flooding happens almost daily. Anything they can clog it with. It's when they get upset, not get their way or want to get a cell by themselves, they act out. It's disgusting and dirty.
Shelby Jackson 4 years ago
I've seen those reality shows (scripted I know) that are behind the scenes type in jails and someone usually clogs their toilet.
#28
The showers. I've never been to prison but heard they have group showers but the jail i was in had separate showers with s***ty little curtains. The worst part about showers was hitting the button for water every 15 seconds
Lyn Moffett 4 years ago
You started by saying you were never in prison then said the jail you weee in????
V33333P 4 years ago
I think in certain countries there's a difference; one is higher security than another or jail is minor things and prison for longer terms?
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#29
In actual prison, any sort of electronic item must have a clear shell, something that isn't seen in movies. This is to ensure you're not hiding or smuggling things. Also, any noise making electronic has a max volume that is so low, you have to hold it to your ear to hear it. I've been been to prison, I only watched a youtube video on it
#30
Not an answer to your question, but it's interesting that not many people are as mean or hostile. Many shows on American tv channels portray prisons as these awful places. The media also portrays the same thing. Meanwhile in other countries in Europe prisoners are treated much better and are given many more opportunities to better their life after prison. It's sad that American prisons are portrayed in such a manner and don't offer the same treatment as other countries. If only we had a better view on our prison system maybe we would be more inclined to fix it.
Valisbourne Spiritforge 4 years ago
You can't fix what you don't want to. Many people here think that, if you are in jail you belong there and whatever happens to you is your fault (as if the people running the jail weren't responsible for your health and well being while you had no freedom to take care of either). Just because someone is/has been in jail doesn't mean they are no longer a human being.
nerdify 4 years ago
YESS! I once saw a video where a homeless guy got arrested for drug possession, not dealing, possession. He wasn't homeless at the time but after doing his time he couldn't get a job because no interviewers would accept a felon.
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J. F. 4 years ago (edited)
It's the difference in concpets. US prisons are mainly there to punish while european prisons work for integrating criminals back into society. One of my favourite quotes comes from Fjodor Michailowitsch Dostojewski: "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
SloeLoris 4 years ago
Also, private prisons in the US are immensely profitable businesses, which rely on a large and regular supply of convict labour and public finance contracts. These prisons don't want to rehabilitate people. They want to see them again and again, so they can continue to charge the taxpayer for locking them up.
Load More Replies... #31
Spent a weekend in a "bucket cell" in Hilo, Hawaii a couple years before the decrepit old jail was torn down. Was not strip searched. Cop found mj leaves (from the field) in my jacket. Tossed it out the window. Treated with courtesy and respect by guards and inmates alike. Cell was just a bunk with a bucket of water to use for a toilet. Bedding was gross. Food was great. Arrested Friday night, arraigned Monday morning, only prisoner out of about a dozen who was not released on own recognizance. $50 bail for failure to appear on a parking violation. Bailed out with a court date... Went home and burned the clothes I was wearing. Fought the ticket, saying that I mistakenly paid a different ticket. Prosecutor told judge she "had no reason to doubt my word". Found innocent. The jail was a pretty mellow place. No fights anywhere. I guess it was holding about 20 guys at the time. I had a friend who spent 30 days there, and he'd been in several Mainland jails, and said Hilo was the only one where he could sleep on his stomach.
#32
I worked briefly as a sheriff's deputy and part of the job was to pull a shift at the county jail. This was a smaller suburban county where all the "rich" people lived so not exactly LA County or The Tombs. Anyway I'd spend most of the shift staring at monitors of the cameras inside the dorms and cell blocks. It wasn't uncommon to see guys spend up to 18 hours sleeping. Especially the ones stuck in segregation.
#33
A lot of times Hollywood doesn't know the difference between jail and prison. Jail is a smaller building you stay in for short-ish periods of time, prison is long term. Hollywood also makes prison sound like the worst place on earth, but it's mostly chill unless you're a super junkie or take debt or something stupid like that. But jail is usually far worse and more boring than prison. People sitting in jail usually can't wait to be transferred to prison. Prison has a lot of programs, jobs, etc, while most jails are just concrete holes you sit in with expensive and usually bad choice in commissary and a lot less amenities.
LAWLAWLAW 4 years ago
I did 2 weeks remand (UK)many years ago (joyriding in a stolen car, stupid I know) and the thing that shocked me most was that we got pudding. PUDDING FFS. I was living paycheck to paycheck most months deciding between bills or food and the criminals get pudding. And Sky TV as well. So banged up I got three square meals a day WITH PUDDING and got to watch the latest episodes of Startrek Voyager. Honestly it was like Butlins but they lock the doors at night. PUDDING!!!
Oskar vanZandt 4 years ago
Doesn't say much for the corrective system in the UK, does it? I live near two prisons and a few "holiday camps" out in the countryside for young offenders... I am NOT a proponent of the light touch penal system.
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Till Symon 4 years ago
German prisons are more a nice furnished hell. There are no shops to buy, you have to order in advance for a delivery 2 x month. You can have millions on your account but only allowed to buy for 40,- Euro per month, unless you will work. Forced labor. There are no surveillance cameras in the common areas at all. Whatever is happened to you - there will be no evidence recorded. You have to confess to the prison staff as stated in the verdict ist all true. If not you may face "German waterboarding". You go to a special area with aggressive inmates where you get a special treatment of blast trauma with bangs on the iron door until you confess. Show new evidence that your verdict cant be correct and you will face the hell.
#34
People are generally nice to you. Anything you do to anyone else in jail ends up getting tacked on to charges/sentences. I hear prison is much different
What do you think ?
Christie Schmitz 4 years ago
There is a show on Netflix called the World's Toughest Prisons. It is actually a very good series that explores what prison life is like in other countries. Some of them are real eye openers.
Ramona Rhein 4 years ago
I did volunteer work at a jail in Denver before COVID. Every inmate I met was courteous and respectful to me, even the really hardened ones. We laughed and BS’d like acquaintances do and I enjoyed being there. I am an older woman and never felt threatened. They were mostly good guys who screwed up and just didn’t know how to get their lives straight again.
Aeon Flux 4 years ago
It's important to recognize that these institutions vary widely, from state to state jails to federal prisons to private prisons, different security levels, etc. just in the U.S., and for sure from country to country. People can have almost opposite experiences in different places. I also really, deeply wish Americans as a whole had more empathy for cons and ex-cons.
Kate Jones 2 years ago (edited)
# 17 is very true. My brother was in and out of prison for over 20 years and what I learned from him is that rape is actually very rare. There are enough gay guys in prison who offer it up for nothing so actual rape is incredibly rare. The other thing is how regimented everything is. A part of the reason rape isn't so prevalent is because every minute of your day is planned and there is no privacy. From the minute you wake up your every move is pretty much watched and scheduled. The few times 2 gay inmates wanted to actually have sex consensually, they would have to find a few minutes alone to do that or bribe someone with a commissary purchase to play lookout. Also something else was that you're uniform is usually much cleaner. A lot of shows show guys wearing a wife beater or shirtless...that wouldn't be allowed. You have to wear your full uniform if there is one. In one prison, he had a white uniform with white top and bottom and he was required to have the shirt tucked in.
Laura Frazer 4 years ago
It's different from place to place for sure. The first one to strike me as inaccurate is "the staff NEVER have guns or phones inside jail." My eyewitness account has guns on the hips of pretty much everyone except the nurses and psych. And every staff I saw had their personal phone, the COs were on their phones CONSTANTLY 🤷
Stormapotamus 4 years ago
I've worked as a therapist in a county jail for 4 years and it is NOTHING like on TV. Most of my inmates are cool, there's rarely a fight, and our jail at least is super clean bc the inmates get so bored that they spend a lot of time cleaning. Biggest issue is boredom and the fact that police like to drop of severely mentally ill people instead of taking them to the hospital to get them stabilized. It's honesty sad and extremely overwhelming for those of us actually trying to help them.
Grumble O'Pug 4 years ago
Read the autobiography by Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Catch Me If You Can) and though embellished and changed (he's a raconteur) the episode in the French prison is eye opening.
Hugo A-niro 4 years ago
Recently a man decapited another in his cell and No one noticed ..says it all to me
Christie Schmitz 4 years ago
There is a show on Netflix called the World's Toughest Prisons. It is actually a very good series that explores what prison life is like in other countries. Some of them are real eye openers.
Ramona Rhein 4 years ago
I did volunteer work at a jail in Denver before COVID. Every inmate I met was courteous and respectful to me, even the really hardened ones. We laughed and BS’d like acquaintances do and I enjoyed being there. I am an older woman and never felt threatened. They were mostly good guys who screwed up and just didn’t know how to get their lives straight again.
Aeon Flux 4 years ago
It's important to recognize that these institutions vary widely, from state to state jails to federal prisons to private prisons, different security levels, etc. just in the U.S., and for sure from country to country. People can have almost opposite experiences in different places. I also really, deeply wish Americans as a whole had more empathy for cons and ex-cons.
Kate Jones 2 years ago (edited)
# 17 is very true. My brother was in and out of prison for over 20 years and what I learned from him is that rape is actually very rare. There are enough gay guys in prison who offer it up for nothing so actual rape is incredibly rare. The other thing is how regimented everything is. A part of the reason rape isn't so prevalent is because every minute of your day is planned and there is no privacy. From the minute you wake up your every move is pretty much watched and scheduled. The few times 2 gay inmates wanted to actually have sex consensually, they would have to find a few minutes alone to do that or bribe someone with a commissary purchase to play lookout. Also something else was that you're uniform is usually much cleaner. A lot of shows show guys wearing a wife beater or shirtless...that wouldn't be allowed. You have to wear your full uniform if there is one. In one prison, he had a white uniform with white top and bottom and he was required to have the shirt tucked in.
Laura Frazer 4 years ago
It's different from place to place for sure. The first one to strike me as inaccurate is "the staff NEVER have guns or phones inside jail." My eyewitness account has guns on the hips of pretty much everyone except the nurses and psych. And every staff I saw had their personal phone, the COs were on their phones CONSTANTLY 🤷
Stormapotamus 4 years ago
I've worked as a therapist in a county jail for 4 years and it is NOTHING like on TV. Most of my inmates are cool, there's rarely a fight, and our jail at least is super clean bc the inmates get so bored that they spend a lot of time cleaning. Biggest issue is boredom and the fact that police like to drop of severely mentally ill people instead of taking them to the hospital to get them stabilized. It's honesty sad and extremely overwhelming for those of us actually trying to help them.
Grumble O'Pug 4 years ago
Read the autobiography by Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Catch Me If You Can) and though embellished and changed (he's a raconteur) the episode in the French prison is eye opening.
Hugo A-niro 4 years ago
Recently a man decapited another in his cell and No one noticed ..says it all to me
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