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Interview with Victor and Mike

JM: Did you find it difficult to get along with other inmates? Please give examples to explain why you did or didn't.
Victor: I found it very difficult. I wasn't from the area, and was not aware of the ignorant rules that these morons lived by. I found that 90% of inmates are incorrigible scumbags. I had problems with a lot of people until I gave someone a serious concussion, then immediately afterward everyone who disliked me was suddenly my friend.
Mike: Because I was an older guy, in jail for the first time, not a member of a gang, well educated and made no show of trying to act like i wanted to be tough or intimidating, most of the inmates left me alone. There were some older inmates who befriended me and most of my cell mates were okay. There were a couple of young kids who stole some of my food and various other stupid pranks but I just let it slide. I was only challenged to fight once and the challenger was stopped by an ally of mine. There was also some young guys who wanted to learn from so I spent time talking to them. There was a leader of the tier who befriended me and made sure no one screwed with me too badly. He played one or two practical jokes on me to test me in the beginning, but after that we became friends and everyone knew it so there was very little harassment.

JM: What types of things did you have to do to avoid problems or fights with other inmates?
Victor: I tried to keep to myself. To read, write, play chess, better myself, and to not be involved with what was on the television (because that was a big source of conflict). I had commissary stolen from me at one point, which eventually led to me beaten the living shit out of an inmate and then suddenly it was easy to avoid problems and fights. They were simply testing me.
Mike: Most of the time I just stayed out of the way of the guys who had something to prove. I am not a violent or particularly strong man so I just walked away when I needed to and hung out with the group of inmate friends I had made. Plus, as I said above I was friends with the guy who was the unquestioned leader of the tier so I was generally not harassed.

JM: Were you able to choose an inmate as your cellmate if you knew one? How often would your cellmate(s) change?
Victor: The jail was overcrowded, so they start you on the floor of the cell. They call it a "boat." There are 3 people crammed in a tiny cell and eventually if one of the bunks opens up they give you an option to usually go to the top bunk, unless the guy on the bottom bunk wants the top for some reason. Eventually I had the bunk I wanted and could request another inmate to move into my cell, and they would ask also. Cell mates could change quite a bit, depending on who was in your cell. I preferred someone who was going to do a lot of time and would be my bunky for a while. I was not on good terms with some corrections officers and they would often put pedophiles in my cell, and I would force them to check into protective custody. Out of fear, they never co-operated with the cops and after I "checked in" a few people in one month, they stopped doing this.
Mike: I was never able to choose a cell mate. I was pretty lucky with cell mates. There were many of them and they changed pretty often. I don't remember having an adversarial relationship with any of my cell mates. We played cards and one cell mate and I made a game like ping pong by using our sandals and a balled up piece of paper.

Read about time off for good behavior in the Sussex County Jail