Have you ever been in prison?

Topper Harley01

As a follow on from the 'Executioner' thread yesterday, I started to think about prison and what it means to be locked up.

Has anyone here ever spent time behind bars? I'm curious as to what the structure is like in prison. Is it like the movies where there is a rigid social structure than operates on fear and strength, and you must join a gang to survive?

Or is it more like an average boring day at school, except you are locked in permanently? You hear so many stories these days about how criminals are not afraid of prison, and that it is practically a holiday camp, but how many have actual experience?

Even if you only know someone who has been in prison and would like to offer their story, please do...

Snakeblood

Topper Harley01 wrote: »

As a follow on from the 'Executioner' thread yesterday, I started to think about prison and what it means to be locked up.

Has anyone here ever spent time behind bars? I'm curious as to what the structure is like in prison. Is it like the movies where there is a rigid social structure than operates on fear and strength, and you must join a gang to survive?

Or is it more like an average boring day at school, except you are locked in permanently? You hear so many stories these days about how criminals are not afraid of prison, and that it is practically a holiday camp, but how many have actual experience?

Even if you only know someone who has been in prison and would like to offer their story, please do...

They'd buy and sell you for a pack of cigarettes in the big house.

orourkeda

Topper Harley01 wrote: »

As a follow on from the 'Executioner' thread yesterday, I started to think about prison and what it means to be locked up.

Has anyone here ever spent time behind bars? I'm curious as to what the structure is like in prison. Is it like the movies where there is a rigid social structure than operates on fear and strength, and you must join a gang to survive?

Or is it more like an average boring day at school, except you are locked in permanently? You hear so many stories these days about how criminals are not afraid of prison, and that it is practically a holiday camp, but how many have actual experience?

Even if you only know someone who has been in prison and would like to offer their story, please do...

I've spent plenty of time inside bars alright

Jesus Wept

I'd never done a crazy thing in my life before that night. Why is it, that if a man kills another man in battle it's called heroic; yet if he kills a man in the heat of passion, it's called murder?

Snakeblood

The-Rigger wrote: »

I'd never done a crazy thing in my life before that night. Why is it, that if a man kills another man in battle it's called heroic; yet if he kills a man in the heat of passion, it's called murder?

I'm revoking your modship of sunshine lollipops and rainbows.

SEPT 23 1989

A mate of mine did a bit of time and said it was unpleasant to say the least,you have to be real scum to feel at home in there

Oranage2

In the drunk tank a few times and its not pleasant!

Jimmy the Wheel

Topper Harley01 wrote: »

Has anyone here ever spent time behind bars?

Yes. A couple of years, on the continent.

Is it like the movies where there is a rigid social structure than operates on fear and strength,

There is a pecking order according to the crime you've committed, how much money you have, how crazy you are etc.

and you must join a gang to survive?

That depends on the prison, but in most Western European places it's not really a necessity. Mountjoy is probably one of the worst in Europe, but, on average, most places are habitable.

Or is it more like an average boring day at school, except you are locked in permanently?

It's long periods of boredom, interspersed with some incident or other, but mostly boredom.

Jesus Wept

Snakeblood wrote: »

I'm revoking your modship of sunshine lollipops and rainbows.

At your own peril.

CrazyRabbit

I've spent time in Garda station holding cells. First time when I was 11, and the last when I was 19. All minor, stupid stuff. The last time, it was 24 hours, due to being held for questioning.

Not much fun spending 24 hours in a small cold room, with a 'hole in the ground' as a toilet that smelt like an open sewer (it practically was).

In prison, I'd probably go nuts.

iPlop

Jimmy the Wheel wrote: »

Yes. A couple of years, on the continent.

Oooh please do tell!

nyarlothothep

The-Rigger wrote: »

I'd never done a crazy thing in my life before that night. Why is it, that if a man kills another man in battle it's called heroic; yet if he kills a man in the heat of passion, it's called murder?

Waynesworld?

Jimmy the Wheel

Sink The Banana wrote: »

Oooh please do tell!

A statutory, non-common law crime.

Or a crime malum prohibitum, as opposed to malum in se, if you prefer.

It's bad prison etiquette to ask, by the way.


.

Mr. Manager

Spent a night in Store St. Garda station, that's about the height of my criminal activity.

It was boring to say the least. Had nothing but a €2 coin to play with. They took my belt, phone, wallet, bag, shoe laces and even my glasses!

Etched my initials on the wall along with about 60 other people who had shared that cell previously.

Jesus Wept

Yet they left you with a €2 coin which you could have swallowed.

Pauleta

Was in Kilmainham Jail before. It wasnt as bad as people make it out to be. We had a lot of freedom to roam and they let us out when we wanted.

-Corkie-

I was in it for a month...

Zaph left me out then. It was for sending an abusive pm.....

Mr. Manager

The-Rigger wrote: »

Yet they left you with a €2 coin which you could have swallowed.

They actually left me with a €2 coin and a Micro SD card from my camera, not on purpose obviously.

I was wearing a Spitfire hoody and any old skater will back me up here, they had a "stash" pocket in the sleeve. I was out painting in town and was planning on taking photos, hence the Micro SD card. Didn't want them finding that. Was bad enough my sketch pad was in my bag...

Cereal Rapist

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

They actually left me with a €2 coin and a Micro SD card from my camera, not on purpose obviously.

I was wearing a Spitfire hoody and any old skater will back me up here, they had a "stash" pocket in the sleeve. I was out painting in town and was planning on taking photos, hence the Micro SD card. Didn't want them finding that. Was bad enough my sketch pad was in my bag...

What did you get arrested for?

Teangalad

Hamza Hissing Gnu wrote: »

What did you get arrested for?

Grafitti??

HooterSnout

I was before but I escaped Catwoman style by squeezing my body through the bars.

Seriously I was once though. Voluntarily mind you. I was langerated and asked to sleep in a cell for the night.

bonerm

When I was younger I hung out with the wrong crowd, made the wrong move and ended up in jail for a time. Fortunately on my next turn I got a useful card that pardoned me completely. I'm now a successful hotelier.

Mr. Manager

Hamza Hissing Gnu wrote: »

What did you get arrested for?

Figured it was a bit obvious when I said I was out painting in town... Was hardly talking about doing some interior design.

It was actually my mates fault. Useless turd. I was on to keep sketch while he painted first and then he'd keep look for me. Just before he started I needed to take a leak and told him to hang on a sec but no, he went ahead anyways. The smell of fresh paint at the Abbey Street bus stop on Good Friday was a bit of an alarm for the 2 Garda walking by.

Solnskaya

Only been in visiting, I'd say it depends on what you are in for and how high up the pecking order you are as to wether its cushy or not. Lad I was visiting was the man in there, pretty much called the shots - for the guards too, as far as I could see. Would be ****ty if you were just a pleb in there though.

Asphyxia

Nope.. I'm a good girl :rolleyes:

cml387

Prison doesn't seem too bad.You get to chat to the moderators.

Oh.Sorry.

HooterSnout

bonerm wrote: »

When I was younger I hung out with the wrong crowd, made the wrong move and ended up in jail for a time. Fortunately on my next turn I got a useful card that pardoned me completely. I'm now a successful hotelier.

Very good.

suicide_circus

In AH, it's shank or be shanked.

Ricardo G

1 nite in a cell was enough for me !!
Caught urinating on a wall in Amsterdam due to too much alcohol...
What made it worse was the wall i was p!ssing on was the front of the royal palace in Dam Square

LETHAL LADY

Never for I am the great houdini.

twowheelsonly

Solnskaya wrote: »

Only been in visiting, I'd say it depends on what you are in for and how high up the pecking order you are as to wether its cushy or not. Lad I was visiting was the man in there, pretty much called the shots - for the guards too, as far as I could see. Would be ****ty if you were just a pleb in there though.

They all like to give that impression... Not true (un)fortunately

In there every working day BTW...

gdmaestro

HooterSnout wrote: »

Seriously I was once though. Voluntarily mind you. I was langerated and asked to sleep in a cell for the night.

brilliant

Cereal Rapist

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

Figured it was a bit obvious when I said I was out painting in town... Was hardly talking about doing some interior design.

It was actually my mates fault. Useless turd. I was on to keep sketch while he painted first and then he'd keep look for me. Just before he started I needed to take a leak and told him to hang on a sec but no, he went ahead anyways. The smell of fresh paint at the Abbey Street bus stop on Good Friday was a bit of an alarm for the 2 Garda walking by.

Must have been living outside Ireland too long. Nobody gets arrested for graffiti here! Especially if it's artistic stuff and not scrawling offensive slogans. Fairly typical, though. I've seen people kick the sh1t out of someone in front of a guard and had nothing happen and you get arrested for putting a bit of paint on a wall.

yrwhu8jxtni06a

According to inside man+the governor book,prisoners are unlocked from cells around 8 in the morn,if in joy they empty their shít and piss from buckets and wash them,then get their breakfast,go back up to cell,locked up,staff go out to their breakfast at about half 9,around eleven let prisoners out again to go to yard/snooker/classes/sit in cells.

In for lunch,back to cell,then locked up,staff go on their break.come back,prisoners out again,tv,yard,scrub floors,in then for afternoon tae,then locked up at 8 o clock at night.

Prisons are overcrowding so you could be stuck in cell with a psychos/gangsters/addicts,be locked up for 17 hours a day so imagine doing life with that routine everyday.

Topper Harley01

Prisons are overcrowding so you could be stuck in cell with a psychos/gangsters/addicts,be locked up for 17 hours a day so imagine doing life with that routine everyday.

I would imagine some of the people here can relate, having entered into marriage...

Mr. Manager

Hamza Hissing Gnu wrote: »

Must have been living outside Ireland too long. Nobody gets arrested for graffiti here! Especially if it's artistic stuff and not scrawling offensive slogans. Fairly typical, though. I've seen people kick the sh1t out of someone in front of a guard and had nothing happen and you get arrested for putting a bit of paint on a wall.

Yup, it was. Dublin city centre. Not the first time my mate got arrested for graffiti either.

grrrrrrrrrr

I think it was Paul willims that I heard saying that even the toughest criminals crumble in prison. At night youd hear even the toughest scum crying. Good enough for them...

bradlente

I just want to know on a scale of one to ten were one is the furthest,Just how similar is it to Oz the tv show?That show was pure class!

Topper Harley01

grrrrrrrrrr wrote: »

I think it was Paul williams that I heard saying that even the toughest criminals crumble in prison. At night youd hear even the toughest scum crying. Good enough for them...

Yeah there's your problem right there. He's been known to tell a fib or two....

Solnskaya

twowheelsonly wrote: »

They all like to give that impression... Not true (un)fortunately

In there every working day BTW...

Err no, don't think he was giving any impression really, guard took us to private room and was told to wait outside - I was left there with him and a couple of heavies. Can't say it was the most relaxing experience ever, but they didn't seem to be short of anything they wanted. Luckily, cos i'm big and ugly, none of them found me attractive and I did not have to clench up my butt cheeks and rip off their dicks. Seemed pretty much business as usual for them, just not as much travel involved, obviously. This was a good few years back, to be fair(early '90's).

spitfireIRL

bradlente wrote: »

I just want to know on a scale of one to ten were one is the furthest,Just how similar is it to Oz the tv show?That show was pure class!

watching it again, some brilliant show. somehow tho, I reckon most people from mountjoy would get torn apart up in Oz!

Jonniealan

Yeah did 25 mins in the Bolivian state prison san pedro la paz. Did me time and kept me trap shut and avoided any unsavoury shower incidents ( in other words I didnt shower )

I was travelling in Bolivia and you could actually pay the gards to let you in for a tour with bodygaurds and inmate tour guide. It wa sureal to say the least but to be honest I regretted going in.
Anyone finds themselves in La paz dont bother you'll feel like your really taking advantage of people who are already bottom of the food chain.

Lawros Tache

Solnskaya wrote: »

Err no, don't think he was giving any impression really, guard took us to private room and was told to wait outside

This wasn't in Ireland obviously.

Fart

I was in prison before, let me tell you, it is not the nicest place in the world. Wrongly accused too.

El Horseboxo

Was in and out of juvenile detention centers for a while in the US just after when my parents died. I went through a rough patch and got in the wrong crowd. Then i got adopted by relatives and came back to Ireland. Even though it was more like a camp in the way it was run it was still dangerous and housed some people who i'm sure are now in prison for serious crimes. Even though i wasn't in for anything serious i do feel my time spent in them set me straight.

Solnskaya

Lawros Tache wrote: »

This wasn't in Ireland obviously.

Gosh no, cough cough, perish the thought, Ireland is incorruptible at all levels.

Dr. Baltar

Grew up in the states in a very gangland city (I'm not going to say which one) and you either joined a gang to survive or you didn't survive at all. Being white, and living a very black neighbourhood I hung around with a lot of bad people. Mostly white supremacists ect.

Anyway, my car was broken into one day and I ended up losing the plot and I was charged with a pretty serious offense. Let me tell you that prison in the states is not a nice place. The Rapes, the beatings. Oh my God.

The worst part was, when I got out my little brother was shot in a bathroom after writing an essay called 'American History X' for his black principal.

charlemont

Iv been inside a few times, mostly only unpaid fines, But I spend ten months on the D Wing in Limerick Prison but this was ten years ago where bullying gang culture and heroin where not at the levels of today, I got on grand with both staff and prisoners, Most prisoners are just normal everyday people, I used to be amazed at how normal some of the murderers were but genuine scum like Gary Campion can be spotted almost immediately as dangerous, It never surprised me to see what he became. And yes, one night I did hear a guy screaming and crying for his mother, he was on remand for murdering her !! Most prisoners just wanted to get on with their time and get out, but some are so used to jail and all their friends are there, its a way of live to them, One guy who was my cell mate for a while was actually in and out of the jail three times in the length of time I was there, I was glad to be there as I know all my trouble would be behind me when I was free, I made use of my time to educate my self in Irish and History and I worked as a cleaner in the Fabric Unit and Iv never been in serious trouble again.:)

I was in St Pats twice but only for a few days each time, I had no problems there, staff are decent people, and before I went to LP, I spent two weeks on remand in Mountjoy, as I had fled jurisdiction and came back and handed myself in, Its a dodgy place, Iv a lot of respect for prison staff who work in those conditions, Its a breeding ground for trouble, This was in 2000 and the overcrowding was crazy, Id never seen a cockroach in Ireland till I was there on the B Base, We were sleeping alternate nights between a holding cell and the showers, then I got into a cell with cleaners and slept on a mattress on the floor..Incidents break out in the blink of an eye there..

Cork Prison is a kip, been there for unpaid fines (only spent 1 night there), Basin as toilet, Very sound staff, lots junkies, my advice is dont ever commit a serious crime anywhere in Cork as that is a scary jail, I went into the Recreation Room and it was like something out of an American film, Couldnt wait to go home..

AskMyChocolate

The-Rigger wrote: »

Yet they left you with a €2 coin which you could have swallowed.

Yeah, but they reckoned by the time he swallowed it, it would only be worth one euro which wouldn't be fatal, although awfully uncomfortable.

MardiB

grrrrrrrrrr wrote: »

I think it was Paul willims that I heard saying that even the toughest criminals crumble in prison. At night youd hear even the toughest scum crying. Good enough for them...

Paul Williams is a tool

Dangerous Man

bonerm wrote: »

When I was younger I hung out with the wrong crowd, made the wrong move and ended up in jail for a time. Fortunately on my next turn I got a useful card that pardoned me completely. I'm now a successful hotelier.

Hotelier eh? You might need another Get out of Jail Free card soon enough.