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Leisure Time

Interview with Bill, Rochelle, Joyce, Mikey, Eric, Kirk, Janelle and Claudia

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Bill: Books were sometimes available, however there is no TV, no radios, or any other facilities provided for Leisure. Chess/Checker boards and cards were available for purchase from commissary, if you are able to purchase anything in the first place.
Rochelle: Gym, Recreation Center, Library, warehouse, sewing factory.
Joyce: We had a cart that had a about 20-30 books on it that was called the library. We went outside (not really outside but a closed in area where there was fresh air blowing through it) and played basketball. We did not have access to church services. We did not have tv access either
Mikey: none at all that is the worst part about the duval county jail is that you are only present with 2 hours of rec time a week and no tv's no radio hardley any reading material so the stimulation ther is very lacked in my personal oppinion i have nothing else to say about this
Eric: Jail is supposed to be boring punishment, not some place where it's pleasant. Passing the time is meant to be slow and believe me, it is. Some jails still have TV but people fight over what to watch. Some have checkers or dominoes. Almost all jails have a set of cards you can use.
Kirk: There was no facilities to pass time. You could have books sent to you but they had to be sent from a book store. They had cards you could buy from commissary but that was about the extent of what you could have. Unfortunatley time goes very slow in county jail.
Janelle: Books, religious groups and material, and an hour a day at the gym. Inmate are allowed to buy cards, and certain games on commissary, other wise there were no tvs or radio. You have to be creative in entertaining yourself. Unless you buy the games, or get with someone who has them
Claudia: At the Duval County Pre-Trial Detention facility, there were no separate facilities to help pass the time. Passing the time consisted of reading, playing cards, writing and talking on the telephone whenever we could get to the phones, and sleeping as much as possible. If there were classes offered or access to the law library, that helped.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Bill: Since everything is owned by the individual inmate who purchased it, it was really up to them to decide who had access to it and when.
Rochelle: I had access to it all.
Joyce: I was there 3 weeks and we went outside once! There were no chairs so if you were not playing basketball you just stood off to the side and hoped that no one was out to get you and threw the basket ball at you and hit you with it.
Mikey: there was no entertainment at all i said this in the last paragraph and what little there is of course there is competition with it because there is never a chance to entertain yourself anyother way .... you ppl made this section far to lenthy there is not enough info to fill this with 50 words
Eric: We had no entertainment in the Duval County jail other than playing cards or reading books. People would joke around to create a bit of humor. Other than cards, dominoes, reading and telling jokes - or picking on the weakest guys - there simply wasn't much in the way of entertainment. If there's a TV, people are always arguing over what to watch.
Kirk: There is no access to any entertainment.They removed all t.v. and newspapers from the jail over twenty years ago so there is no way to know exactly whats going on in the outside world. I have been told by other inmates that this is the worst jail in all of florida.
Janelle: Like I said, if you buy cards or dominoes, you have regular access to them. Books were plenty. Competition I wouldn't call fierce though. I happened to be around some pretty cool inmates, there were no problems, and if there were you can always read the bible or a book
Claudia: There was no entertainment at this facility. The facility is housed in a tall tower. Everything is down in the building. When we opted to attend an event, most times church, it was held in a classroom.Yes, the competition was fierce. When they announced an event, we had to run and get in line. Sometimes if there was a parade in downtown Jacksonville, we could see it through the cell window.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Bill: No, there is plenty of exercises you can do either in your cell or behind the stairs to the upper tier. You could also use trash bags filled with water as weights.
Rochelle: No
Joyce: Well there was no exercise equipment or if it was I was not aware of it. Some people just walked the length of the pod all day
Mikey: not really but i wasnt really in there long enough to get put of shape either nothing else to say
Eric: YES! To be honest, I wasn't in shape when I went to jail in the first place. Take advantage of the day room if they offer one. Use weights if you can. At least play some hoops. You can also do pushups and sit-ups on the floor by your bunk.
Kirk: I had no problems because I exercised daily and the food tasted so bad that I did not eat very much of it.
Janelle: Yes. There is not a lot of opportunity for excersise unless you walk around the block, not much motivation either
Claudia: Yes, at this facility because for weeks we could get no exercise, except to walk around the block several times a day.

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?
Bill: Maximum of 1 hour a day, and only of there is no water on the ground. Because this is Florida, and it rains every other day at least, you were lucky to go outside 3 times a week.
Rochelle: Daily
Joyce: The pod I was housed in went outside once while I was there and that was only for about 15-30 minutes. For exercise, I would just walk around
Mikey: we went out twice a week for an hour each time and pretty much all you can do there is either walk around in a circle or play basketball
Eric: In the Duval County Jail we were allowed to go out for 30 minutes (or was it 60 minutes) once each day, but only on the roof. There were basketball courts and games up there and most everybody, including myself, participated.
Kirk: Normally we got to go to the rec yard for an hour a day but it was not truly outside. For exercise I wouland walk around the cell.d do pushups
Janelle: There was a gym like room with ventilation to the outside. They gave us a ball, but most people just walked laps around it. You could make your own excersise
Claudia: We didn't go outside. We went to an enclosed floor. We played basketball and volleyball. Most often, the inmates would walk around the court and talk to people who they knew.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Bill: Church services were offered every Sunday, "Most of the time" by volunteers in the community. There was occasional unexplained cancellations that inmates are never told of as to why. Services are held in the outdoor recreation area and are subject to the same weather restrictions as recreation time.
Rochelle: Yes, every Wednesday Night Bible study, and Sunday morning worship service.
Joyce: I do not recall any religious services being offered while I was there. That would have been a great help
Mikey: they did and i will admit that out of the few services they offered that was the best one for me anyways
Eric: The jail did offer church services, but I did not attend the one time I was in there for 10 days. I heard from others that it was an uplifting experience. Many turned to God while incarcerated. If you do go to jail, BRING YOUR BIBLE! You'll need the encouragement.
Kirk: Yes they held services. They were normally on wed. night and were geared more towards trying to lift the inmates spirits.
Janelle: Yes. It was usually held in the evening. They were nice, and sometimes the inmates formed their own prayer groups
Claudia: Yes, in a classroom or on the basketball court. The services that were held in the classroom covered aspects of the bible or sometimes, was interactive. They brought materials in for us to discuss. Other times when the service was held on the basketball court, we sang, prayed and listened to the preacher. Services were held weekly or bi-weekly.

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