JM: Did you find it difficult to get along with other inmates? Please give examples to explain why you did or didn't. Sam: No I got along with inmates. If you mind your own
business no one bothers you. Ron: Not for the most part. One guy in particular liked
to run his mouth a lot and sound like a bigshot
but everyone pretty much ignored him. I told him
to piss off and he later dropped a kite (anonymous
notice to the guards) saying I had threatened him
and because of that I was placed in solitary which
is probably the worst experience of my life. Other
than that asshole it was pretty chill. Scott: Their is segregation inside the cell houses between
various gang factions but I found you weren't preyed
upon unless you looked vulnerable. I played dominoes
and cards to get along. Michael: The Bull pin that i was put in at first until they
could assign a cell was crowded, dirty, and the
toilet was overflowing. I could only find room to
sit on the floor for 2-3 hrs. waiting to be
processed. I had sat on a concrete seating area
for awhile then a belligerent inmate who was
probably drunk said that was his seating area and
started making a scene, so i didn't want to argue
and found a small space on the floor to sit and
actually lay down/stretch out. Once processed i
was put in solitary by myself for 2 days, then a
single cell opened upstairs for the remainder of
my sentence. Bruce: it was easy at time but there were people who wanted
to fight and gamble most of the fights were over if
you owed them somthing for gambling so i stayed out
of it
JM: What types of things did you have to do to avoid problems or fights with other inmates? Sam: Mind your own business. Ron: Nothing really. Mind your own business and keep
your ego in check is pretty much all. Dupage is
not as overrun by gangs as Cook is so violence is
pretty low. Just dont go running your mouth
thinking your something special cause somebody
else might decide to take you down a peg. Scott: Respect the seating arrangement because Hispanics
and Blacks usually eat together. Be respectful of
others TV viewing habits because their is only one
TV within each cell pod which houses about 24
inmates. Get along by learning to play cards or
Chess and don't talk so much. Go sit in your cell
and sleep or read a book. Michael: I had to remain calm while in the bull-pin because
of the inmate mentioned above and the obvious
issues of stress from an overcrowded bull-pin.
Once upstairs in my own cell i was fine. I did see
two inmates who started fighting a little bit
after one threw a cup of water on the other in the
common area of our pod. I wasn't near it and it
ended quickly with the one who started it being
moved to a private cell. Bruce: i would have to give thing to them or pay them or
let them use my phone card because every deck has a
pod boss and if you are not liked or or not a big
guy you will end up in some way having to pay up to
the pod boss
JM: Were you able to choose an inmate as your cellmate if you knew one? How often would your cellmate(s) change? Sam: No, not at first but when you are on the pod you
can switch cells. Ron: I was on R pod (psych unit) so for safety sake
everyone was single celled (no cell mates). This
was great in retrospect compared to Cook cause I
had my own personal space to keep how I wanted it.
I consider myself lucky to have been placed on R pod. Scott: No, your unable to choose inmates but you can
request a job in same area as one of your buddies.
If you have a job in the kitchen area or deliver
the food trays they house them together. I was put
in a cell pod with 23 other individuals I didn't
know. if you get housed with a friend it's only
by pure luck. In addition, the ID bracelets gives
an indication of your crime class and how was an
accesory with your crime. So no, it's almost
impossible. Michael: I was alone in my cell, and everyone else in the pod
area was alone as they were single person cells i
guess. I did have to be in the bullpen with about
10-15 other people awaiting to get a cell for about
3 hours in the beginning. Bruce: no you don't the just classify you and send you on
to your pod im not shur on how many times you can
move cells i just know once you get a cellmate they
stay unless the get a job