Blithe Ignorance

I was wondering if anyone knows what's it like to be in prison. What kinds of things are you allowed to have in your cell? Do you have your own cell? What kinds of things do people in there do during the day?

Here are some topics that might be helpful for me:

1.) The food.
2.) Buildings (What buildings do they have).
3.) Schedule for prisoners.
4.) Is there free roam? And to what extent?
5.) Phone calls?
6.) Internet blogging?
7.) Emailing?
8.) Churches within the prison.
9.) School or colleges.

And maybe even into the mindset of a prisoner; digging deep inside the thoughts of someone trapped for life. I can imagine their outlook on life to be bleak. But what else is there besides that?

I know that different prisons have different policies, so I'm not too sure of what type of prison I'm looking for. But I'm more in favor of a mellow prison, and not those horror, gang rape ones you see on Lifetime. Not that I watch Lifetime.

Anything from a detailed answer to a general one will be appreciated.

Thanks!

__________________
"Asking a writer what he thinks about criticism is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs."
--John Osborne

Rayhi

There are hundreds upon hundreds of books written about your questions. There are at least a million websites that deal with your questions.

Do some research!!

Dig deep and you'll find it. Dig some more an you'll have a story!

Search yahoo, google etc.

When your done with those, dig into the federal jail system and the government documents......just dig dig dig!!!

No one here is going to provide a two-sentence answer for you. The work is yours....!!!

To help us start....tell us what resources you have found on your own. Why did they help and why didn't they? Tell us who you have talked to and why they have helped and why not. Do you have contacts within the system that maybe you aren't utilizing and maybe we can help?

You almost need to be an investigative reporter to get answers! But it's kind of fun too when your writing! Try everything you can think of!!

(Sorry, not much help eh?),
Bruce

Blithe Ignorance

I always thought that this subject wouldn't have much information on the internet. I don't know why. But right after I posted this, I typed in, "What's prison like" on google, and it came up with a bunch of sites.

And then I came back here to check my responses and there you are telling me that there are lots and lots of sites on this topic, haha.

So I guess I'll read some of the stuff and come back here if I have any more questions. Thanks .

__________________
"Asking a writer what he thinks about criticism is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs."
--John Osborne

Drzava

Check out the Stanford Prison Experiment, good info there. A movie was made in Germany about it, Das Experiment.

Blithe Ignorance

Wow, neat stuff there! I will definitely spend some time reading that.

Thanks a bunch!

__________________
"Asking a writer what he thinks about criticism is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs."
--John Osborne

pfunktion

Watch a couple episodes of HBO's 'Oz'. Be forwarned, it extremely heavy, violent stuff. I think the violence is a bit amped up in the series, but it could still give you a idea of what things must be like.

I knew one guy who went to prison for a year (selling weed). when he came out he said it was simply boring, and that he got really freaked out by the bars everywhere. Of course, he was in a minimum security prison..so it depends on what your character did to get in there.

Keep an eye on the History Channel. They have a series called 'the Big House' which talks about the history, construction, etc. of a selected prison.

wudstok77

An item you might also check out is the medical facilities for prisons.

__________________
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest of intentions.

Blithe Ignorance

Alright, thanks guys.

__________________
"Asking a writer what he thinks about criticism is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs."
--John Osborne

mammamaia

there's a vast difference in conditions from prison to prison... first, there are maximum and minimum security prisons and others in between... men's and women's prisons are very different...

you really need to decide what kind of prison you're intending to use and what state/country it's in... that also makes a biiiig difference...

as noted above, when in doubt, GOOGLE!!!

__________________
For 100% free writing help/mentoring:
www.saysmom.com

"You must BE the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

swing_it_away

I don't know if this'll help you at all, but a guy I know told me this about people who are released from prison.
If they're talking to someone who's been to prison before and they want a)say hi and get a little extra respect b)show they know what they're talking about, they sort of "wave" by lifting their hand up, stopping when the fingers outstretched and the back of the hand is parallel to their face. It's what your hand looks like when you press it against the glass at of the glass screen thing you look at when someone comes to visit you (I don't know what the screen thing is called).