JM: Did you find it difficult to get along with other inmates? Please give examples to explain why you did or didn't. Zach: Yes, yes and yes. The dregs of society are
thrown together while half of them are
withdrawing on drugs or still on them. Tempers
are short from being cooped up inside and
missing your loved ones. Futures are bleak and
life doesn't feel like its worth living.
Everyone want to take it out on the guy standing
next to you on that's what happens. You make
some friends but it isn't real. It is only
gangs forming for mutaul survival.
JM: What types of things did you have to do to avoid problems or fights with other inmates? Zach: As with nature, the strongest win out. I was a
240 pound powerlifter and karate instructor when
I went in. I didn't avoidd fights, I
entertained myself with them. If you were
stupid enough to piss me off, I would smash
you. When I got to prison, I already had a
reputation for choking peoople out for no good
reason. It served me well, for I never got into
an altercation there. I even started a fight
night in jail offering newcomers the right to
challenge. They thought me insane, which served
me as well.
JM: Were you able to choose an inmate as your cellmate if you knew one? How often would your cellmate(s) change? Zach: You could not choose who was in your bloc in
jail and the cells were single man. however,
once you got to prison and did a stint in a four
man cell, you could request certain inmates to
be your cellie. This was important because most
fights were caaused by the wrong people celling
together, like blacks and whites who hated the
others race.