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Madison County Jail

138 N Court St # 7
Wampsville, NY 13163
(315) 366-2289

Interview with Mike

JM: How long was your sentencing for?
Mike: I was sentenced to a county year for second degree criminal tresspassing. 500 dollars restitution and i was sentenced to 3 years probation and 500 dollar fine 185 dollar surcharge and had my licence revoked for my first DWI offence. way to harsh i would say considering there are folks get 3 dwis and dont get half of what i got.

JM: Did you spend time in a holding cell after your sentencing? If so, what was that like? If you didn't where did they they take you instead?
Mike: no because i was already held in the Flex cells my first visit in january 2007 for not doing community service for a Criminal tresspassing charge. so when i did my year they put me right in H block

Going to jail is never fun and if you're headed to the Madison County Jail in New York it is no exception. However, knowing what to expect if you or somebody you know is going can help you pass the time without incident and move on with your life.

Getting along with fellow inmates
Most former inmates agree that the hardest thing about going to jail is learning to get along with other inmates. A lot of inmates (especially the career criminals who have been in and out of jail several times) feel like they have something to prove. The best advice in Madison County is just to keep to yourself and be cautious when choosing which inmates to befriend.

Because of jail overcrowding you will only serve twenty days for every thirty days sentenced if you are a model inmate. Some charges might not be eligible for this time off (ask your attorney), but in general you should only be doing 2/3 of your sentence. This means on a year sentence you only end up serving eight months.

Passing the time
One of the hardest things about jail is just the boredom that sets in after the initial shock of receiving your sentence and being locked up. Madison provides TV's to watch and allows you to go outside an hour a day if the weather is OK. This might not seem like much but compared to other jails it really isn't bad - there are a lot of jails in the US that never allow inmates to go outside.

It's jail, not prison
If you know somebody going to MCJ obviously it isn't a great scenario, but keep in mind that it's jail, not prison. Gang fights, rape, rampant drug use, etc. are almost unheard of in county jails and Madison County Jail is no exception. Try to keep your inmate's spirits up while they serve their time by visiting frequently, putting money on their books for commissary and writing letters when possible. This can be a great time for somebody to focus on what they are doing wrong in their life that put them in jail and even earn their GED if they didn't graduate from high school.

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