JM: Did you find it difficult to get along with other inmates? Please give examples to explain why you did or didn't. Megan: I was deliberately placed in a good cell. Tony (I
believe he is a sergeant) was very kind to me, told
me I was going to be fine and that he was going to
put me in with a good group, and took me back to my
cell. My cellmates for most of the duration were
excellent. I got along very well with them and got
along with some others ok. I avoided a lot of
people, however, staying away from people that were
difficult, rowdy, disrespectful to the COs, etc.
I kept to myself as much as possible, trying to
avoid the drama and the petty fighting that I was
wholly unprepared for.
JM: What types of things did you have to do to avoid problems or fights with other inmates? Megan: Stayed in my cell probably 90% of the time. I read
constantly (more than 30 books in 22 days) and when
I wasn't reading, I was working crossword puzzles.
Attending rec was terrible and I only went to order
commissary. I took my books with me to rec because
that was one of the most common times for conflict
to occur.
Avoidance and isolation were my means of avoiding
problems. So much so that I became talk of the pod
wondering if I was a "snitch."
JM: Were you able to choose an inmate as your cellmate if you knew one? How often would your cellmate(s) change? Megan: Lincoln Co rules do not permit requesting a
cellmate. In fact, formal requests (via Request
Forms) were purposely denied. People were more
successful requesting a cellmate verbally.
For the first 16 days, my cellmates were fairly
constant (started with 4 of us, it got down to two
of us around day 13) and after that, it was a bit
of a revolving door.