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Leisure Time

Interview with Sarah, Drew and Paul

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Sarah: We did have TV, but no cable. We got about 3 channels. You could buy cards, buy dominoes, and that was about it.
Drew: There is a twenty by twenty concert walls were we are allowed to play handball and that is it we have a tv in day room but you have to team up to gather enough votes to watch what you want we plays card games most the time or chess or
Paul: i read alot so the library, recreation area which depending on where you go will have some workout machines, basketball, handball, track. Inside there are tv's and games. Dominoes, chess, checkers, scrabble.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Sarah: A lot of people would fight over the TV especially over the language on the TV(English vs Spanish). Whoever did the chores for the day got more say on what everyone watched.
Drew: I got along wit every one so I always had acces to whatever I wanted tags all, I have to say about that why are the responses so long like I don't need fifty words to explain this so here I am wasting time I could be wit my kids
Paul: There is allways access to the library, at times all the board games would be taken in which case you would find what it is you wanted to play and just call next. Same goes with the basketball or workout equipment, as long as you call next and wait your turn everything is ok.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Sarah: I gained 65 lbs in 3 months. I kind of needed it. I was abusing drugs so I was really really skinny when I went in. I went in weighing 75 lbs and left looking a lot better.
Drew: Not really I worked out in my cell daily , push-ups sit ups and up downs and filling up mattress cover with water bottles
Paul: staying in shape is the easiest thing to do while in jail, you have nothing but time. Pushups are the main workout but there are all kinds of equipment to workout on. Everyone tends to workout at least once a day if anything just to realease energy from being locked inside most of the day.

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?
Sarah: Two times a week, but it wasn't really outside. There were 3 walls and the roof was gated so you could see the sky. There was nothing to do out there.
Drew: We we re allowed to go outside mabe once a week for twenty minutes we played hand ball and worked out and pass messages to other dorm
Paul: it depends on where you are at but where i was at which was a maximum security they had recreation three times a day. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once at night, and that was only if they had the manpower to take us out to rec.I usually worked out on the gym equipment, pull ups, bench press, leg press or the occasional hand ball game. On days that we were not allowed outsied i would do pushups, sit ups, jumping jacks anything to get the heart pumping.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Sarah: The whole time I was there they only offered spanish church services.
Drew: I think they had services I am not into religion so I never paid attention if they offered it but I'm sure they passed out bible
Paul: yes they offered all kinds of services for christian, catholic, indian, muslum etc. Im christain so usually those services were on sunday morning and night and wednsdays. Other services were held on different days, they all had there own speakers and ways of doing things. They would play worship music and then either have a speaker speak to us or sometimes an inmate would speak. But mostly the chaplain

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