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Leisure Time

Interview with mitchell, Stewart, Adam, Jeffrey, Brent and Daryll

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
mitchell: well you could go outside on the concrete slab that had basketball goal it is not very big
Stewart: there was nothing to do, no library, the tv only got 2 channels and the rec yard was supposedo be an hour a day but that was only when as the staff put it "we can only open up the rec yard when there is enough staff". it was literally a dead, non productive environment
Adam: There were two tvs that where way to close and could never hear them because the officers always had control of tvs and volume and if they couldn't hear the significant other on phone they would turn them down more. and other than that nothing...I only left dorm twice in the period of time I was there
Jeffrey: there was nothing to do, no movement at all . we were supposed to be able to to go to the rec yard on a schedule but there was always some excuse by staff on why it was cancelled, blamed it on being short staffed, training, whatever they could think of to not take people outside for rec
Brent: I don't think I could use 50 words to tell you because there was nothing. no library, no chapel, no education services. there was a rec yard but there was always a lot of excuses for why it was cancelled a lot of the time. short staffed, training, theres work being done in the yard
Daryll: the only activity available was the rec yard and that got cancelled more than they had it open always with some excuse about being short staffed or repair crew in the yard or the block was too noisy, but there was no library, no education, no chapel, just a tv that got 2 or 3 stations

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
mitchell: it was if you tried playing ball with everyone
Stewart: I don't know if I can come up with 50 words to explain that there was no type of entertainment. there was a small tv on the block but there was no cable so there was nothing of interest on to me anyway. there was card games and chess but almost all your time was spent on the block doing nothing
Adam: NEVER had control of tv or anything else of sort. books most of the time where hoarded 5 or 6 atleast in there bunks so its hard to even find a good book to read unless you barter or something of sorts to get a book to someone. other than that lay and sleep
Jeffrey: there was no entertainment unless you want to count a tv that only got 2 channels and was forever on jerry springer, there was no library but they were supposed to bring books on a cart and when and if that showed up you would be lucky to get a book with all the pages
Brent: there was no kind of entertainment. it was a joke how this place was and there was nothing to get involved with to stay occupied and because of this the tension in there was so thick you could cut it with a knife. there was a tv but it only got 2 or 3 channels
Daryll: there was no entertainment unless watching the gang members fighting was entertaining or you liked jerry springer because the mentality of most the inmates was childish. there was not even a library to go to, the books were brought around on carts and you had to take whatever you could get to read

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
mitchell: yes
Stewart: I did exercise in my cell twice a day to try to stay active but that was difficult because shower times were very restrictive
Adam: not aloud to do any working out inside and rec area is small are outside on a concrete platform the is shared with a basketball goal so 60 guys there isn't much room
Jeffrey: did as much exorcise as possible on the block but there was absolutely no protein in the food at all
Brent: it was difficult the only real rec was working out on the block but the c/os would tell you that is what the rec yard was for but rec yard was cancelled most the time. it was a real joke
Daryll: the food had no good nutritional value to it at all and we barely got to the rec yard so all you could really do was work out on the block but that was against the rules

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?
mitchell: i think 2 times only if the whole block was good if not they would take that privilege from you
Stewart: very rarely were we able to go outside and the only activity out there was basketball which I do not play but when we were permitted out I would sit in the sun or just walk
Adam: 2 hrs a day on a rotating schedule.. officers where allowed to take rec time if they choose to. only happened once while I was there and if it is raining you can't go outside. and there was a basketball goal and little area to do pushups in. not enough room to be able to get your heart rate up if you tried..
Jeffrey: on average we got to go out about 3 to 5 times a month but we were supposed to go out twice a week but they always had excuses why we couldn't go out
Brent: there was supposed to be rec twice a week but it was cancelled more than we were allowed to go. there was always excuses why it was closed
Daryll: we got to go out about 3 to 4 times a month and the rec yard was a walled in basketball court with just enough room to walk laps around it

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
mitchell: yes i don't know i did not attend them because i did not approve of some of the things they said
Stewart: there were bible studies and the church services were on the blocks themselves. the movement in the jail was kept at an extreme minimum with the staff always siting being short staffed for the reason
Adam: there were three different times during the week when someone would come in and do bible studies which was in a separate room attached to the dorm.
Jeffrey: no church but they had volunteers that would come to the housing unit for some bible study but since I am jewish I never had any type of religious service and I even put in a request about that and was told by the jail chaplain that jewish services nor kosher food was offered
Brent: the only church services were on sunday when volunteers would walk around the jail block to block spending a few minutes on each block but there was no jewish services at all
Daryll: the church services were volunteers walking block to block on sunday and it really was not a service, more like a bible study and only for just a few minutes

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