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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Subject: Survive prison
Six months in county is manageable if you go in with the right mindset and a clear plan for how you are going to spend your time.
When you show up to self-surrender, the intake process involves booking, a medical screening, property inventory, and being assigned to a housing unit. It is not a fast process and the first few hours are a lot of waiting. Stay calm, be cooperative with staff throughout, and do not make the mistake of coming...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
Maximum security inmates have limited general population time. Child killers are oftentimes in protective custody for their own safety. If they happen to share a cell with another inmate, there is something called "prison justice" that is pervasive throughout the system, there is a good chance the inmate sharing his cell will get a shot at meting out that justice. You'll never hear about it, but the inmate system has a way of punishing child killers and child molesters (CoMos).
Subject: Survive prison
Protective custody is where the inmate is perceived to be in some danger in the general population of inmates. The area where PC takes place is the SHU... in administrative segregation in isolation and completed cut of from other inmates.
Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisons or jails, is the main factor causing the need for these units. Inmates have the opportunity to request protective custody if they get the impression that the...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
Lousy, just like you would imagine. Federal is the best of the bunch, county is the worst. The private prisons and state prisons are similar. In all instances, the menus are designed and created by licensed registered dietitian that uses a baseline of minimum daily standards of calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It lacks taste and volume for sure but you will get three squares.
Subject: Survive prison
Technology is something that I have a passion for. I kept reading journals, magazines and books to keep me up to date on the new things being developed. I was prepared to learn new things, but they took a while to get used to.
Subject: Survive prison
The cells themselves are roughly the same size whether you are in reception or on the mainline. Do not expect a meaningful difference in square footage between the two. What changes is everything around the cell rather than the cell itself.
Reception feels more restrictive because it is. The movement is controlled, the programming is limited, the privileges are reduced, and the population is constantly rotating as new arrivals come in and get processed out to permanent facilities. The environment has...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
This a small facility in the heat of Louisiana. There is nothing to like about jail, it's confinement with limited privileges. There is no air conditioning but the medical staff is compassionate and willing to help. Just have you inmate ask to see the nurse.
Subject: Survive prison
Serving time sucks. It's boring and you are cut off from the world you knew before going in. For me, it felt like i had died but i'm stuck watching my family and friends live on without me. The first year seemed like forever. But, as you point out, the place becomes a home and you adapt to your surroundings. The worst time is when there is something happening outside that you can't attend. For me I missed my mother's...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
The honest answer comes from someone who has been there, and it is yes without qualification. The depression that sets in during incarceration is not the kind that announces itself dramatically. It is a slow, grinding weight that accumulates through the relentless passage of time in an environment that offers almost no stimulation, no privacy, and no control over anything that matters.
The distortion of time is one of the most disorienting aspects. On the outside, a busy day can feel...
Read moreSubject: Survive prison
There is a little of both in there. There is no A/C, that is true and the state issued clothing is also true. Depending on how much money he has received on his commissary account will determine what the state will give him in the way of toiletries. The inmates with no money on their book DEFINITELY get the basic supplies. Inmates with money on their books are able to buy their own personal, upgraded brand name hygiene supplies.
