The nearest you have come to death

SimonTemplar wrote: »

zenno, what a horrible abuse of power. If that happened to me. I would have marched into the Department of Justice and demanded to see the minister or senior civil servant. I wouldn't have stopped until the Guards in question were dismissed and I would have used the media to keep the pressure on. Crazy stuff.

zenno wrote: »

Well, many years ago, The nearest I have come to death was being arrested/imprisoned and falsely accused of something I never done.

I was a bit drunk while walking home, and a garda car pulled up beside me, there were three gardai in the car. They dragged me into the car and brought me to the station and put me in the cell for the night (they never at this time told me why I was being arrested). When I awoke the following morning, they handcuffed me first, and then brought me out to the main desk, but one particular garda laughed at me saying that I was arrested for attempting to rob a petrol pump station (a petrol station in my area that was not open at the time and closes very early) which was absolutely ridiculous, as I told him I never was near this so-called petrol station, but he again laughed and said to me that he knows this, but will have me done for it anyway while still laughing.

This particular garda I found out was living around the corner from my abode at this time, and seemed to have a problem with me for some reason. Maybe because I was going through a very rough time, as I was drinking too much and drunk all the time, but I never, not once ever bothered any persons, as it is not in my nature to do so. I always kept to myself and was a quiet person.

I was brought into court that morning handcuffed. My case came up, and this garda went up to the judge talking to him in his ear and then the judge said one week remanded in custody in mountjoy prison, that was it, and I didn't even have the right to reply. I was brought back to the garda station and put in a cell again until the garda van came to bring me to prison.

By the way, this particular garda personally went to my solicitor with my family after my downfall (following later) and told my family and the solicitor that he made it all up to have me imprisoned to teach me a lesson for being a pain and a drunk all of the time, and that a spell in prison might wake me up and teach me a lesson, and that he was very sorry for this. I could never understand this approach from the garda, and I still don't because there were problems I had personally that I was trying to deal with, but got drunk a few times to erase them.

Anyway, I was forwarded to mountjoy prison at 6pm handcuffed to another prisoner in the van. When we got to this destination I was processed and taken into a waiting room with 6 other guys sitting in a large room. I was called up and was told to take off all of my clothes and then stand on a weighing scales as they were taking weight measurements. The prison gaurd then put on a pair of blue gloves and I got seriously nervous because I heard that they might do a cavity search and this really freaked me out, but the prison gaurd put me at ease as they just use the gloves to search through your clothes.

After this I was sent to the shower to wash and then was given a prison uniform and forwarded to the cell-block. It was most definitely a strange experience for me that's for sure. I was put into a cell with this one guy for the evening and night and then tried to relax, as they didn't have a bed in this cell I had to sleep on a mattress. Come lights out while looking at a slop bucket only, no toilet obviously, I tried to sleep, but all of a sudden I heard my cell-mate making noises and I just pretended to be asleep. He was masturbating loudly just beside me and I just said feck this I'll pretend to be asleep, and eventually I fell asleep thankfully.

The next day I was informed that I will be moved to a double cell that already held 3 prisoners and of which has a spare bed, as they couldn't have me sleeping on the ground. At this time things went seriously bad.

When I was sent to the new cell that evening, I was given my bed and was told where I need to shave and use a bucket. The three guys that I was now sharing this cell with seemed ok and didn't bother me at this time. One was in for life for murder, the other guy was in for kidnapping miss Ireland (not sure if that was actually true but it probably was as that was what he told me) and the other third guy was in for armed robbery. So I was basically put into a cell with seriously hardened criminals and I was a bit worried.

Two days went by and this prison gaurd kept coming in and talking and whispering to the other 3 prisoners I shared the cell with all the time but I obviously walked out of the cell and walked around for a while, I came back to the cell a few minutes later and there was a news paper on my bed so I picked it up and read it, after that it was lock-down for a while until we were allowed out again into the main hall to watch a crime film of all things. I picked my seat and watched the movie and then we were sent back to the cell for the night with a cup of tea and a scone-bun.

At this stage while the four of us were in the cell, the guy that was in for murder (he was a british guy) showed me his paintings, they were amazing and artistically excellent but they were of demons and devils of apocalypse, but they were astonishingly painted to perfection, he obviously had a talent. After showing me these paintings the other 2 guys sat down at the table and told me that the screw "as they say" (prison officer) that kept coming in all the time lived in the estate where I was from, and that he wanted them to slice my face with the razor blades he gave them. Well at this stage locked in a cell with this information was unnerving to say the least, I felt I was in a very serious situation at this stage.

They all said that the prison officer had it in for me and wanted them to slash me up good, so things got a bit heated as I was getting really afraid at this stage. They said that they once slashed a prisoner like me to bits in the face before and left him lying in a pool of blood. Now I was bricking it but I'm not sure if they were serious or not in relation to this other guy but It got me going. At this stage I just said to them that I cannot do anything either way so just go ahead and get it over with. Luckily for me when I said this, they said no, they won't mess me up, but I was still really freaked out when lights went out that night.

They were on medication and they fell asleep hours later, my brain was going one thousand percent with paranoid thoughts and I needed to get out of there immediately, I already had a problem before I was sent to this kip and so decided out of extreme panic to rip my white bed-sheets in long strips and make a noose and tie it to the ceiling metal light socket and around my neck, when I managed to do this tight and solid, I jumped off the table I had moved and that was it, all I heard was a crack. I only remember being told what happened after that by the prison officer that saved my life. No-one knows how long I was hanging there for. I was in intensive care for many days and was finally released from hospital 4 weeks later.I do remember waking up for a few seconds and saw two priests sitting on chairs beside my bed and then I lost conciousness, it was strange.

All this over a false imprisonment. Well the lesson was learned the wrong way. I never claimed for wrongful imprisonment, Not after death threats. The prison governor said I should never have been put in there in the first place. The garda that falsely claimed I done wrong acknowledged he made it up to my solicitor and to my family. I got a death threat there-after and so just went on with life and forgot about it.

If you have made it this far readin, then fair play to ye.

CathyMoran wrote: »

Diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2006, had the chemo, married and then the surgery a few weeks later. Post surgery I got double pneumonia and mu kidneys ended up failing for a while, was on dialysis and I ended up needing to be ressusitated 3 times. When they told me afterwards that my near death experience was not my imagination but real I was upset for a while but thankfully past the 5 years now and have 2 young children.

Shane-KornSpace wrote: »

For those who have had near death experience and have needed to be resuscitated, did you "see" anything?

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

Nearly got swept out to see one summer's day when I thought it would be a good idea to walk from Bray to Greystones 'the beach way'...

Terrifying!