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