CountyJail.net

Find Dakota County Jail inmates...

Leisure Time

Interview with Shawanda Miller, Jeremy, Chuck, Charles and Josh

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Shawanda Miller: Different classes - GED, Anger Management, Church, AA, Gym, Library, another one by the jail counselor, STS and one held in the women's unit but can't remember the names of the classes
Jeremy: Dont know, i was there only one night.
Chuck: Not much really. They had a cart with maybe fifteen books. TV is going all day which is kind of annoying. They have classes you can sign up for like paretninging classes and AA and math class and GED class. Only one place in jail with weights and that was the little gym.
Charles: A television, a few books, a couple games like cards or dominos maybe. There is a gym at Dakota County and you can earn the privilege to go there for 1 hour a day Monday through Friday. There is a library where you can earn the privilege to go to like once or twice a week.
Josh: To pass the time you can go to church on sundays. The unit I was in didn't offer any programs besides church and bible study but the well behaved units had a program or two every day. Like anger management cognitive thinking drug treatment. They had a few other programs but I never got to go to them because I went to the hole.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Shawanda Miller: Guards would come and get the inmates for what class each individual signed up for. Gym, Library, Church, AA anyone could go, the rest the individual had to sign up for.
Jeremy: Dont know
Chuck: It was really sporadic, they don't want you to have a routine, the rules are always changing and that way they keep you in control.
Charles: When your in a group of 50 or 60 men there will always be competition for the tv channel we watch or what game we play in the gym. There was actually two TV's in my unit and I never in the 6 months I was there did I ever watch one thing that I wanted to.
Josh: There is a TV but only a few channels are allowed and everybody is really loud so you can't hear it and you have to read the subtitles. There is a book cart but all of the books suck and you never get a quiet moment to read you can hear the people in the cell next to you talking about stupid shit all day.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Shawanda Miller: No because you had gym everyday and you could always walk inside the unit if you chose too.
Jeremy: No
Chuck: Not at all cause guys are always doing situps and pushups in room, on the stairs or lifting books.
Charles: Yes. In Dakota county there isn't much to do and I did gain some weight while I was there a couple of years ago.
Josh: I didn't have a hard time staying in shape in jail I would usually work out until I could be tired enough to go back to sleep.

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?
Shawanda Miller: Unless it was nice Dakota had an area that was fenced in. Otherwise never unless you had to be transported somewhere.
Chuck: Never.
Charles: Dakota County has these outside areas that are in the middle of buildings so you cant see anything but the sky because the walls are 30 feet high.
Josh: There was about an hour a day when you can go outside. Everybody just walks around in a counter clockwise circle and talks about crime. There was a hackey sack we could use but its really hard to play hackey sack with sandals.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Shawanda Miller: Yes the jail did. I believe it was a Christian church. It was held over in the Library area, but in a separate room. It was good sometimes Pastor Jim would have a different speaker.
Chuck: Every Sunday they held services in the center of the jail classroom. Mainly Christian type where you sing a song and read a few sermons.
Charles: yes. Church was usually held a couple times a week and always on sunday mornings. They were enjoyable group events.
Josh: There was a church service sundays at 8am. There's usually music and almost everybody goes to church. If you don't go to church you can just sit in your cell. Almost everybody goes to church.

Read about visitor policies in the Dakota County Jail