Interview with Kyle, Randy, Tyler, Dave and Melissa
JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time? Kyle: Depends on the floor. But all had at least one
t.v. which everyone
would fight over which channel to watch. Chess,
cards sometimes
dominoes. 2-3 hours a week we went to a very
small rec room to
shoot hoops share a weights machine. There was
also church and
AA some would consider rec. Books were hard to
come by. Randy: THEY HAD TELEVISIONS, THEY OFFERED THE ABILITY
TO PURCHASE RADIO HEADSETS AND THEY HAD MOVIES
ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS. THEY HAD AN
OUTSIDE COURT AREA TO PLAY BALL ETC AND WALK AND
SIT. THEY SOMETIMES BROUGHT IN EXTRA FOOD IF
INMATES AGREED TO WORK AND CLEAN THE POD. BEST
PART WAS THE ACCESS TO THE OUTDOOR COURTYARD
ANYTIME THE POD WAS OPEN Tyler: They had showers, razor time for those who had
court appearences. Some rec time but I didn't
have any. There was mass for those that were
finding God for what they did. Some played cards
others walked but that consisted of maybe 50ft
back and forth. There wasn't that much. Dave: THE FACILITIES INCLUDED TWO TELEVISION SETS, AND
AN OUTSIDE COURTYARD WHERE YOU COULD PLAY BALL,
RELAX OR WALK AROUND ETC. YOU COULD GET BOOKS AND
YOU COULD BUY RADIO HEADSETS TO LISTEN TO MUSIC IF
YOU HAD THE MONEY TO DO SO. ONE OF THE TV'S WAS
ON ENGLISH AND ONE WAS ON SPANISH Melissa: Books and Puzzles on carts, open yard access. I know there are
classes and church, but don't know the details. There is a physical
fitness room where people did aerobics to videos on a tv screen.
JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details. Kyle: The t.v is an issue wherever you are. Not only
having to decide on
what channel but also how loud. Everything is
cement so it echos.
Then guys would talk louder over the t.v. We
would rotate between
what the whites, blacks and spanish inmates
would decide on. More
times than not it would end up in a fight. Randy: THERE WERE TWO TV'S PER POD AND THEY HAD ONE ON
SPANISH AND ONE ON ENGLISH AND THERE DID NOT
SEEM TO BE A LOT OF COMPETITION FOR THE
TELEVISIONS. THE HEADSETS WERE FOR PURCHASE SO
NO COMPETITION FOR THAT EITHER AND THAT WAS
ABOUT ALL THEY HAD AVAILABLE FOR US. Tyler: There really wasn't any competition for
entertainment, we had a TV. The ones who had
been in the longest had the control of the TV.
One just had to watch the history channel. The
other complained all the time but except for
movie night we watched the history channel.
Movies were a proble because we were never out
long enough to see the whole movie Dave: SINCE YOU HAD TO BUY YOUR OWN RADIO HEADSETS, THAT
WAS ACCESSIBLE IF YOU HAD THE MONEY AND THEY HAD
PLENTY OF THEM AVAILABLE. IT DID NOT SEEM THAT
THE COMPETITION FOR THE BOOKS OR THE TELEVISIONS
WAS ALL THAT FIERCE FOR ANYONE NOR DID IT TURN
INTO FIGHTS OVER IT. Melissa: There was plenty for everyone.
JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail? Kyle: Rec time was limited but so were books so you
had to work out in
your cell to stay busy and sane. A lot of guys
got in better shapre
because there's no food, alcohol or drugs. Randy: IF YOU DID NOT JUST DO YOUR OWN EXCERCISING, YOU
WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME AS THERE WAS NOT ANY
EQUIPMENT TO DO THIS. Tyler: Yes. We got very little excersize and the food
was not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. The
average weight gain was 5-15lbs per month. Dave: IF YOU DID NOT DO YOUR OWN WORKOUT SUCH AS SITUPS
AND PUSHUPS, YOU WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME AS THERE
WERE NO EXCERCISE EQUIPMENT Melissa: I was not there long enough.
JM: How often did you get to go outside? What did you do outside if you were allowed to? If you were not allowed to go outside what could you do for exercise? Kyle: No outside ever. The Rec area is a three walled
area with the 4th
being a fence of sort to be able to get fresh
air. Problem is when it
rains or snows then there's no Rec Randy: I WAS ABLE TO GO OUTSIDE ANYTIME THE POD WAS IN
THE OPEN MODE AND YOU COULD PLAY BALL, WALK OR
JUST SIT AND RELAX. Tyler: We never went outside due to the weather. It was
cold and we weren't given outdoor clothes. The
only exercise was walking but the sandals that
we had to wear made that almost impossibe Dave: YOU COULD GO OUTSIDE ANY TIME THAT THE GENERAL POD
WAS OPEN AND YOU COULD WALK AROUND, RELAX OR PLAY
BALL OUT THERE IF YOU WANTED. Melissa: There is open yard access as long as it's not "Lights Out" from
11pm-5:30am. There is a fitness room inside, with videos and
people do aerobics and weights.
JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held? Kyle: Once a week sometimes twice we were able to sign
up for an hour
long service. There was Catholic, Indian,
Buddism. Most of the time
people just went to get out of there cells Randy: YES THEY DID AND THEY WERE HELD ONCE A WEEK.
THEY WERE HELD OUTSIDE THE POD BY PRIVATE
VOLUNTEERS IN A CONFERENCE ROOM. Tyler: Yes I never attended so I really dont know what
they were like. I do know that some just used it
to get out of there cell. Dave: THEY DID OFFER CHURCH SERVICES THROUGH VOLUNTEERS
THAT CAME TO THE JAIL AND THE SERVICES WERE HELD
IN CONFERENCE ROOMS AND WERE DECENT. Melissa: Yes, but I don't know the details.