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..

Nine Months behind the iron curtain for trying to leave east Germany to live in freedom.

Song came three years later. Isn’t their accent curious?

I was in Alcatraz... for about two or three hours.

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I dropped the soap........I’ll never be the same again.

Prison and jail are two way different things. I'd much rather do federal prison time than be in a county jail. Generally speaking higher IQ in prison equals less fights. County jail can ignite quickly. Federal system can put you in county jails as they transport you across the country. I've been an inmate inside 5 different federal prisons. I was indicted for Conspiracy with Possession with intent to Distribute Marijuana and Money Laundering. Never laundered any money. I transported money across states lines, not transporting into Mexico as I was charged. No white person takes millions of dollars into Mexico. I eventually made a 500,000 bond in 1994 and was released. I was then indicted by the organized crime division of FBI, eastern district of Pennsylvania for the same marijuana. Charged with Possession with intent to Distribute Marijuana. Double fuckn jeopardy? Not in the federal system as I was indicted by two different jurisdictions and the word conspiracy was taken out. They don't do it often. I settled for 70 months for a plea, but had to take a money laundering conviction for something I didn't do. The US attorney looked at my attorney and said they knew I didn't take money into Mexico, but that my brothers are smart, and they didn't want me to get out and do financial crimes. WTF. I took plea as it saved me 50 months. I worked hard at my education and finished my bachelors degree. I co founded a state approved mortgage school. My partner and I were the only 2 people to own a mortgage school, and do mortgage loans in CA. We closed the school after properly training out the last student due to financial crises in 2008. Soon thereafter I was unable to do mortgage loans as the jerks from wall street screwed us all (financial crises) and if you have a money laundering charge, you will no longer be able to quote loan prices (there are 1000's of different money laundering charges at fed disposal). Meanwhile an illegal rump University is closed, sued for 25 million, and its owner elected pres. And he's now sending federal troops to cities. Federal law is way, way different than state law. I was put on "diesel therapy" more than once as my brother was my attorney of record. They can lose you in their system when you have been arrested and can send you on a bus without a true destination. The federal system is so different. Many people are in federal prison on misdemeanor charges. I don't believe anyone is in state prison on a misdemeanor. If the average citizen understood federal law as a federal criminal attorney or I do, they would be as scared as I am about the lack of due process and what's happened in Portland, and now heading to other cities. Its unconstitutional period. To be clear, I respect the FBI agents who arrested me. I don't respect US attorneys who abuse their power. Or Atty General Barr. Law, order, AND JUSTICE, not just law and disorder. Sorry for rant, but I'm experiencing a form of PTSD watching and knowing what powers the feds have, how few people understand these powers, and worrying that this could escalate into something really bad. I pray that it doesn't.

One time in the drunk tank . There were some hooligans in there for sure . Luckily no permanent record stuff

I was in Pinside Prison for three days. Does that count?

Coming from the former East Germany and now with a collection of 67 pins, I went to your profile hoping you had posted a story. I am sure it would be a very interesting read.

Never been to prison/jail. Had to sit in the "Cop Shop" once waiting for the parents to pick me up as a child. Thankful things were handled differently back then.

I worked in a small juvenile jail one summer during college. It was sad, they were just a few years younger than me but you could see the course of their lives.

One kid tried to escape when I was on duty. He pried his desk apart and had a weapon, a 3-foot piece of wood with nails sticking out at the end. Right before lights out he ran out of his cell, hit the guard at the control desk with the wood, and then turned toward me. The other kids started screaming b/c they were scared. I picked up a chair and held it between us, then gave him a good poke and he went down and the lead guard jumped on him and cuffed him. His buddy was supposed to help but made the good decision not to join in.

I spent some time in the Cocopah and Cheyenne minimum-security units of the AZ state prison complex in Yuma back in the mid 90's. You were looking for good stories?

Isn't Prison Mike a pinsider?

I never have, and pretty much never want to end up there. But my daughter has placed plenty of people in jail.

Dial up that guy on here who claims to have been one of the first 5 people in the US with COVID and says he is a prison guard...he seems to be good with the stories.

No but my oldest brother did time twice...once in Hawaii and once in Florida. He moved back home to be with my parents before they passed. I thought he had changed. He had not. Haven't spoken to him in years and never want to again.

Been inside many state and federal facilities over the years....putting people in and questioning them about all sorts of things. Never spent a night in one though....lol

No, but everytime I buy a NIB stern I feel like Ive been raped up the ass.

This is quite the story. Glad to hear you turned things around big time, and really made a good run. Sorry to hear you got screwed by the new rules. Smells to me like another way the rich can stay rich.

We appear to fail up in this country. It explains a lot to me about why people think and do what they do. I got an email today about how we’re “all in this together”, but it was followed up with “except those people who aren’t listening and the protesters, etc...”. If we are really in it together, we have to take the good with the bad. I see so many taking advantage in ways that never should be acceptable.

Anyway, that was a good read.

I made some mistakes when I was 18. Spent the night in a holding cell before my bail hearing the next morning. The cops lied on my charges, and stole drugs from me. I ended up with extra charges for “possession of stolen property” (belonged to my roommate) and less pot and mushrooms on my charges of “controlled substance” then were there. I never asked where the rest of the drugs went. But I was from a poor family so I couldn’t fight it properly and I wasn’t educated enough to understand the situation. I made a deal, plead guilty on some of the bullshit charges to get rid of fighting an even longer list. Well over 20 years later, and I filed all my paperwork for a pardon just a week before lockdown. The paperwork process was ridiculous, exponential charges to print off documents from courts and police departments. The cost of a pardon was about $1000. Not a small expense for poor people. Now since covid, my employment of 18 years shutdown. I’d really like that pardon to look for a new job, but he gov doesn’t care about ex-con. I don’t know when it will be processed, their offices are not answering inquires right now.

The Mansfield Reformatory is about half an hour from home.

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I can usually see the tops of the building when driving by on US 30.

It was interesting to walk thru a couple times (I was there before any real restoration had started). You were basically allowed to wander where you wanted -- it was cold, damp, and all I could think of was "Ohhh Andy. . . "

Stallone filmed one of his sequel "Prison Break" movies here -- but it was not that good and definitely did not capture the same atmosphere as Shawshank.

I've also spent a couple hours at Alcatraz -- maybe a couple others that I cannot remember but only as a visitor!

I am married, does that count?

And then this pops up into my news feed:

https://www.click2houston.com/features/2020/07/22/book-a-night-behind-bars-at-this-texas-jail-turned-hotel/

Prison Mike has.

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Jail sux, everyone wants to fight you if you're 6'4" 280. Stear clear

Didn't the family that originally ran the tours end up buying the place for $1? Crazy story.

I have to be honest, I was 100% interested until I saw that was all one big massive-ass paragraph.

In high school I took Criminal Justice as a easy elective. Senior year we took a field trip to the Polunksy unit, where they keep the death row inmates. They also have non-death row inmates there. A guard was giving the tour, and we didn't really see any inmates until we went out to the courtyard. They were coming or going to their jobs. Anyway, they had to stop and line up so we could go through. In high school, I hung out with the stoners, I had long hair. When we were passing these guys, they were giving me the business. It was pretty bad. There was this good looking blonde chick in our class and she was getting it too. When we got back on the bus our teacher named us Mr. & Miss Death Row. So that was funny.

Where else would I go to get tattoos for a cigarette or 2?

I spent a weekend bouncing around jails on the south side of Chicago before ending up at Cook County, before that I thought Night Court was just a show. They let me out at 1:00am in a rough neighborhood. Fun stuff!

Here's a story.

I had an family member that was in jail (not sure if it was jail or prison) decades ago due to drunk driving. He eventually got arrested for a DUI, and was on a work release program. While in jail he got a small tattoo of a bird on his shoulder. One day his cell mate asked him about the tattoo. My family member said the only thing he saw outside his cell window were birds and it reminded him of the freedom they had and the freedom he lost. His cell mate started crying when told the story. He said that going to prison was the best thing that ever happened to him, it cured his drinking problem. Decades later he went back to the correctional facility as it was the same place (or next to) where you had to register a pistol. While there he told one of the officers "yeah I used to be a resident here" lol. My family member unfortunately passed away 5 years ago but remains one of the most interesting people I ever got to know.

I go all the time. Been going regularly for 14 years now. I'm actually going in tonight.

Fighting is the least of your worries!

I've spent the night in Mansfield Reformatory ghost hunting Pretty active place.

21 days when I was 16....a little over 10 years in the army straightened me out, and now I can retire anytime I decide too after 31 years working in them.

Cool! I've spent a handful of nights there over the last 6 years.

Other than visiting Mansfield Reformatory, last year I had to visit the Michigan prison that makes all of the license plates for the entire state of Michigan, in order to quote some die tooling. In order to get into the prison, I had to strip down and get searched, then be outfitted with a panic button that I could press should something bad happen. Then I had to be escorted by the prison workshop foreman through several yards and areas where we were vastly outnumbered by prisoners who were roaming around on recess or whatever they call it when you're let out into the yard. These prisoners were not max security lifers, but it still felt uncomfortable. Nothing happened though. I left and submitted my quote. After all that, I didn't get the job because my price was too high, LOL.

I've spent 5 nights there doing the same. If you want to have an experience, even if you're a skeptic or a cynic, you should try it.

I think I told you before I did a ghost hunting night in a Museum with a bunch of mannequins once, that's a freaky one.

That wouldn't have happened to be the Dearborn Historical Museum would it? They had a room of mannequins in the basement. I wandered in there in the middle of the night and was like WTF?

Ypsi

Worked at Folsom Prison a couple years ago.
Does that count? Lol

Andrew

I'm a repeat and current inmate in Facebook jail that has to count for something

I haven't. But when I was a kid (this would have been the 90s), my dad was on a slow pitch softball team and they would play on Thursday nights at a local park all throughout summer. Every year, his team volunteered their time to play a softball game against inmates at the local prison. I remember my dad telling me a story about how after one game one of the inmates started walking quickly to the dugout/bench area of my dad's team. The guards start yelling at him to turn around and he snapped back at the guards telling them to calm down, he just wanted to thank them for coming to the prison to play a game and treating them like normal people. I always thought that was cool knowing that both sides seem to appreciate the experience.

So not really a crazy story. But it's the only story I really have to share about prison.

I honestly got a tear in my eye reading this post. People with your background have my utmost respect; you guys endured hardships many of us can scarcely conceive, and are an ongoing source of inspiration.

I was born and bred in the USA and never lived under the tyranny you experienced; the freedom and peace of mind I’ve enjoyed my entire life was only possible because of the immense sacrifice and hardship endured by my ancestors.

You overcame similar, and probably worse, adversity (I’m sure the time behind bars is just the “tip of the iceberg”), but know that your tenacity could potentially pay great dividends for many generations of your descendants to come!

Also, if you enjoy modern Classical music I would HIGHLY recommend the music of Arvo Pärt if you haven’t already discovered him; he has a similar background as yourself (fled religious and other discrimination in Soviet Estonia to W. Berlin, with all the hardship that entailed), and composes deeply emotional and spiritual pieces in a minimalist style where the silence between the notes is just as expressive as the notes themselves. A good place to start is with the ECM releases “Tabula Rasa” and “Alina” (both readily streamable); this is some if the most astonishingly moving and spiritual (NOT religious!) music I have ever heard, and both of those albums bring me to tears, even after hearing them dozens of times.

It’s amazing how a little time behind bars can change your life. It sure changed my life for the better.

A few times:

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