Prison Survival

I haven't seen any comments on surviving prison-life. I was wondering if anyone has served time in prison, and what they did to survive?

If any of you were wrongly imprisoned, would you seek out the ethnic gangs for protection, or try and go in alone and hope and pray to be spared from prison politics and attacks?

Would you request isolation to protect yourself?

What kind of rudimentary weapons do you think you could produce?

As for me, I don't think I could tolerate the hazards of prison, I would probably request isolation and avoid as much contact with other prisoners as much as possible.

The best way to survive prison is not to get imprisoned in the first place. Being in prison means that you have not survived in the world. Don't do anything stupid and stay out of Jail.

But if you DO happen to get into jail, then what then?

I found this article ages ago on how to survive in the NYC prison system. It's on a site devoted to urban exploration, and so pretty much everything those guys/girls do is illegal, so there is a huge chance of them getting locked up.

www.jinxmagazine.com/system.html

well, I work with the prison on a daily basis and I noticed that if you dont come off like a punk you will have a good chance to get by. Being anti-social or request SEG, you will be percieved as a snitch and probably beaten due to mistrust.

The whole deal is respect. Respect others and their 'home' and you will eventually gain their respect. Punks dont last long in the system.

On the note of weapons, all weapons will be found eventually, and for that you pay a price. Aside from that, anything can become a weapon. Many sharpen bones taken from chow, others learn how to roll plastic wrap and temper it with heat/cold water. Obvious stuff is hoarding disposable razors and popping out the little blades and affixing them to a piece of hard plastic, like a tooth brush. Watch an episode or two of 'life in the shoe' it's a super-max prison.

[edit on 27/2/07 by shadow watcher]

Originally posted by Zhenyghi
I haven't seen any comments on surviving prison-life. I was wondering if anyone has served time in prison, and what they did to survive?

If any of you were wrongly imprisoned, would you seek out the ethnic gangs for protection, or try and go in alone and hope and pray to be spared from prison politics and attacks?

Would you request isolation to protect yourself?

What kind of rudimentary weapons do you think you could produce?

As for me, I don't think I could tolerate the hazards of prison, I would probably request isolation and avoid as much contact with other prisoners as much as possible.

OMG I'm glad i don't live in America no offence, being in prison in any country is a bad result. But why is it a nightmare to be in prison in America. I've known a handfull of people I was brought up with who ended up in jail, most will talk about it openly and all of them with no exception dismiss sexual assault as prevelent in UK prisons. They say it does go on, but the atagonists and victims in their opinion were gay anyway so they leave them to their own devices.

One story that sums it up for them and their attitude towards it happened like this. This guy I know is in prison for fraud(3 years), 6 months into his sentence gets moved to a prison closer to home, gets a nice empty cell all to his own. A week later they put a new guy in with him, as it turns out this guys alright, hes done time before so he lays down the rules, simply put its a 'don't mess with me and I won't mess with you and we'll get along real nice'. The guy I know is like 'thats cool with me' especially after looking him in the eye and realising that the guy is a complete mentalist.

Two months later a big tough guy turns up on the wing/block starts offering threats including an ass raping for anyone not accepting his authority starts to gather hangers on, gets himself a crew. At this point tough guy seems to realise the only opposition he faces is from the 'mentalist', he makes threats against him, lets cut to the quick. The 'mentalist' is in the shower tough guy goes in to do the deed only five minutes later the 'mentalist' comes out the showers whistling like he has'nt got a care in the world. Tough guy is taken out by paramedics having had one eyeball totally removed from his head and part of his nose and his ear bitten off. It doesn't end there, two years later so the story goes the 'mentalist' sees the tough guy on the street while driving, he then procedes to run him over breaking his back and his neck. Whats the moral to that story then? take your pick, either way the cons I know say prison is a place to do time when you get caught out, its not a place to get AIDS. So why is gayness more common in US prisons? Are some American men so sexually retarded if they don't see a women evry 6 hours they go gay.



.

I may be 46 years old but I still have to say that I am too young and too pretty to go to prison.

I'm with Terapin on this one. The best thing to do is avoid prison at all costs. Start by being a decent person and don't steal other peoples stuff. Or kill anybody or anything else along those lines.

Just my thoughts on it...

Rape isn't a sex thing, it's a show of power. Domination and degredation are easy ways to instill fear. Everyone fears the rape and knows it is a reality so it carries a certain power. It's the fear that gets those guys off, not the butt.

If I were stuck in jail, I'd probably get into a white gang just for safety. Although I'm not racist, the enviroment usually is. Adaption.

In my expeience with prisoners, I have noticed that the Max guys are more polite than the punks in medium. The max guys just want their routine without losing any privileges. Punks tend to want to prove themselves by starting crap. I know this one guy in max, big big guy, he is a scary lookin dude on a good day. This punk goes after him to show how bad he is. The big guy doesn't want to lose his tv time over this so he backs off, the guy hits him and the big guy gets seg for fighting. He was pissed and had to make it right after. Sounds like a tv show, but this stuff happens.

[edit on 27/2/07 by shadow watcher]

I would never wipe my but or shower.nobody would want to come by me

Originally posted by carslake

OMG I'm glad i don't live in America no offence, being in prison in any country is a bad result. But why is it a nightmare to be in prison in America. I've known a handfull of people I was brought up with who ended up in jail, most will talk about it openly and all of them with no exception dismiss sexual assault as prevelent in UK prisons. They say it does go on, but the atagonists and victims in their opinion were gay anyway so they leave them to their own devices.

.

I recall some TV interview with some British personality (can't remember who) saying he'd much rather be in a UK prison than one in France, and a French prison being much better than one in Spain (said he'd kill himself if he got imprisoned in Spain). I couldn't comment on any of these, but would hope even the Spanish prison would be better than a Turkish prison -- anyone see Midnight Express?

Off topic, but other good prison flicks:

The Shawshank Redemption
The Green Mile
Escape from Alcatraz
The Great Escape
American History X

Off-topic PS: how could I forget the movies "Papillion" and "An Innocent Man"?..

More good prison-flicks.

"Birdman of Alcatraz"

This
is
not
a
one
sentence
post.

Originally posted by Zhenyghi
I haven't seen any comments on surviving prison-life. I was wondering if anyone has served time in prison, and what they did to survive?

If any of you were wrongly imprisoned, would you seek out the ethnic gangs for protection, or try and go in alone and hope and pray to be spared from prison politics and attacks?

Would you request isolation to protect yourself?

What kind of rudimentary weapons do you think you could produce?

As for me, I don't think I could tolerate the hazards of prison, I would probably request isolation and avoid as much contact with other prisoners as much as possible.

First off the minuet after you get to your sell for the first time kick the Bajesus out of your new cell mate to show you will not be punked Easley.
Word spreads fast and if you show yourself as weak or an easy target you’re going to be bubbas lil play toy.

Once you get to the yard Go directly to some one of the opposite race and get your fight on. You will have instant respect from the people of your race and protection.

AlBeMeT

Okay, what if that doesn't work and your celly beats you down instead? You've just made a mortal enemy that you must live with.

What if attacking someone of the other race without provokation results in you getting swarmed by the guys cohorts - many against you. You may get killed try to show you aren't a "punk". If you survive you have a gang of mortal enemies and maybe one with a vendetta against you.

I'm not against the idea of fighting/attacking someone in prison, if you need to, but those ideas seem overly rash, and, not too smart.

I thought that respect comes not only from physical toughness, but also from staying out of the business and territory of rival gangs?

Maybe some former prisoner or guard could give me some more clarification as to something I might be missing here?

I am sitting with 4 guards right now.
Starting a fight with no one looking out for you is plain stupid.
Everyone will watch you get killed. Most of that movie stuff is wrong.
Prison life is boring, and you need to just watch the attitude and make some allies and you minimize you chances of becoming dead.

respect is the sole thing you have in the joint. You disrespect a group, you are robbing them. Being a punk just gets you challenged.
Watch Oz on HBO. I think that shows the closest to reality, although they do push the man-love thing a bit too much.

Top 10 Prison Survival Tips

1. Keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open
2. Mind your own business
3. If someone messes with you, win
4. Leave the guards alone, even if there's a disturbance
5. If you must socialize, stick with your race
6. Pay your debts
7. Beware of the hook-up
8. Never snitch
9. Be respectful within reason
10. Exercise

Gravy

11. Read
12. Property and space are important in prison - be mindful of both

Buddy of mine did a few years for assault+ and he said join a gang. He joined the Nazis and got through it OK. Just had to get a big swastika tat on his chest.

Joining a prison gang isn't all that wise. You're compelled to act at the gang's behest. You're asking for more trouble than it's worth.

Originally posted by Creep Thumper
Top 10 Prison Survival Tips

1. Keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open
2. Mind your own business
3. If someone messes with you, win
4. Leave the guards alone, even if there's a disturbance
5. If you must socialize, stick with your race
6. Pay your debts
7. Beware of the hook-up
8. Never snitch
9. Be respectful within reason
10. Exercise

Gravy

11. Read
12. Property and space are important in prison - be mindful of both

Good, sensible advice, thanks!

That sounds more reasonable than trying to jack the first person you meet to get prison-cred.

Z,

I sent you a U2U, but the system ate it because I'm new here and don't have enough posts.

I have 20+ years experience in a state prison environment. If you post your questions here I will answer them if they do not compromise institution security.

CT

CT,

Thanks for the offer. I'll try and come up with some specific questions.

I remember some other advice, via "Red" from The Shawshank Redemption, "...if I were you, I'd grow eyes out of the back of my head.."

One of my brothers-in-law was a prison guard for some time (a year?) before I knew him. Word is he couldn't take the verbal assualts from the prisoners; they'd threaten him, his wife and kids once they got out, or would promise they knew someone on the outside that could get to him.