Survive Prison — Ask the Inmate
Surviving prison, mentally, physically, and with your record intact, requires a set of skills and strategies that nobody teaches you before you go in. The adjustment is enormous, and how you handle the first days and weeks sets the tone for everything that follows. This section covers the practical realities of daily life inside a correctional facility, how to navigate the social environment without becoming a target or a participant in activities that will extend your sentence, how to protect your mental health during a long sentence, what the research shows about maintaining family connections and why they matter for survival, how to use the time productively rather than letting it use you, and what the people who come out strongest have in common. The guidance here comes from someone who served 66 months in the federal system and built a business around helping the people left behind. Do the time. Do not let the time do you. See also our sections on Prison Violence, Prison Discipline, and Re-entry and Rehabilitation.
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Read moreNo, smoking has been banned in pretty much at every prison, jail and detention center - for several years. That does not mean there is no smoking. Inmates have somehow figured out a way to get tobacco products inside. There is a huge black market business thriving if you want to smoke and have the wherewithal.
Read moreThis will be the longest day of your life. The reception centers are for admissions and orientation of new inmates. You will have to sit and wait for hours on end as they process you into the system. You will not need clothes, or cell phone (are you kidding?!?!). Your work assignment will come several days later or more. You will be assigned a number, a bunk, and a locker.
Read moreThere is no set time period, it is strictly up to the staff and the pace in which the inmate is prepared and there is space in the program at the time.
Read moreThe inmate uses their commissary (and pay others for theirs) to inventory all of the popular items available and then sell to all the other inmates. The other inmates use the inmate's "store" to supplement their needs between commissary visits, or inmates that are on commissary restrictions. The items you buy from the inmate store come at a premium - in most cases, you get one item and pay back with two of the same items.
Read moreSafe is a relative thing. Only he can make things worse if he misbehaves. If he is able to follow rules without an attitude then he will get through this using his social skills like when he was on the street. Most inmates have to work. The hours are usually not long and you can imagine the pay is tiny, but it'll keep him in a routine (that is very safe) and even buy some extras at the commissary with what that
Read moreIf your husband is a habitual offender or had attempted to flee from arrest or detainment in the past, it is highly unlikely that he will get any home confinement. Being on disability will not get him any leeway or consideration for early release. He can earn work release or early release by being a perfect inmate. No mischief, no incident reports, no problems for the staff would put him in position for consideration IF there is a chance at
Read morethere is definitely sex among inmates. males with other males, especially transgender will have a relationship while having a wife and kids at home. a true double life.
Read morePrison is a ONE, the very worse. There is no better way to spin it. Some days are better than others, but at the end of the day when you put your head on that crappy thin pillow (if you even get one), you are locked up and have no control over your life.
Read moreThis is one of the hardest situations a family member can face, and the instinct to do something is completely understandable. The challenge is that acting from the outside without knowing exactly what is happening inside can sometimes make things worse before they get better. On the complaint question, it depends heavily on the nature and severity of what is happening. If the mistreatment involves serious physical abuse by correctional officers, that is a civil rights issue and should
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