CountyJail.net

        USA  /  South Carolina  /  Greenville County Jail    CountyJail.net has 1,420 interviews from ex-inmates. Share your story
Find Greenville County Jail inmates...

Greenville County Jail

20 McGee Street
Greenville, SC 29601-2210
(864) 467-2321

Interview with Chris

JM: How long was your sentencing for?
Chris: I was sentenced to 6 months per case, but they ran consecutive. I was not able to receive work credits, but could participate in the work release program according to the judgment at the time I was sentenced.

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?
Chris: I was placed in a holding cell after being sentenced, while waiting to go back to the jail. It was cold and there was so many of us in there that a lot of us ended up having to sit on the floor, which was not much different than the bench the others was able to sit on, cause it was made of concrete blocks. Seemed like we was in there forever. All of us got along cause we was all charged with the same thing.

Life On The Inside
Recently a bank robber made the news because he freely admitted to robbing a bank in order to go to jail to get health care. Unfortunately for him, the small amount of money he stole was only enough for a misdemeanor charge and he was soon released. One of the benefits of inmates who have a longer stay at the Greenville County Jail is that medical and psychological services are provided 24 hours a day.

There is a $5 co-pay and inmates need to fill out the appropriate request forms but then they should be able to see a doctor. That's a welcome relief to any family member on the outside who might be concerned as to whether or not their loved one is getting the proper care or their prescription medicine.

As for the rest of the time, a former inmate found that conditions weren't as dire as he thought they would be. Most of the inmate population seemed to get along with one another. Inmates were allowed to go out to the rec yard at least once a week. If they were one work release program then they would be seeing the outside every day in their travels back and forth between their jobs.

Although the inmates might be friendly, there apparently isn't anything welcoming about the food. The former inmate rated it 10 and had some horror stories about the condition of the food served to the inmates.

Good Behavior Policy
Inmates at Greenville County Jail are eligible for good time at the rate of 20 days for each month served. In other words, if they are sentenced to two months they could get out in 40 days if they behave. The maximum credit for any inmate is 180 days per year which is about 1/3 of a year sentence. An inmate can earn good time by participating in programs like vocational training or GED.

Visitor and Phone Policy
To receive a visitor, an inmate must first put their names on a list. They are only allowed three adult visitors on that list and that list can only chance once a month. The inmates are granted two 30 minutes visits each week. All visitors have to provide a valid photo ID and wear their visitor's badge so it can be seen at all times. Word of caution: Any visitor who is caught smuggling in contraband will be arrested and charged with a felony.

As for the telephone policy, inmates are allowed to make outgoing calls but can't receive incoming calls. Each call is only 15 minutes. Inmates are advised to set up a collect call account to make the connections. Money is deducted off of these accounts when the inmate enters in their pin ID before the start of the call.


Continue to the interview