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Pre-sentencing

Interview with Charlie, Don and Pierce

JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process:
Charlie: When you are arrested, the officer, deputy or state trooper brings you into the jail via a sally port. The intake area has several holding cells, two booking desks, and other storage rooms and a “dress out room” (restroom) all in the same area. There is also a small room in the vestibule between the sally port and intake area that is used by state troopers for intoxilizer tests on suspects. When you are brought in, you are searched and turn out all your pockets, and all your personal belongings including jewelry are placed in your “property” (storage) which is returned to you when you leave the jail. You are taken by a jailer to the dress out room at this time. The jailer has a “setup” containing your jail uniform, some hygiene items, a blanket, a mattress pad, and a pair of rubber sandals. The jail does not normally issue underpants, but if you need them an old pair of underpants might be available from those left by other inmates (they are of course washed beforehand). In the dress out room, you remove your street clothes and change into the jail uniform. If you wore a white standard T-shirt and whitey-tighty underpants into the jail, you are allowed to keep those. Otherwise, they are confiscated and placed in your property. Males wear orange tops and bottoms while females wear blue tops/bottoms. Your street clothes are also placed into your property. When you finish dressing out, you are placed into one of the holding cells until you are booked in, which normally happens on the same shift when you were brought in but usually no later than 12 hours after you are brought in. When you are booked in, you are asked a series of questions including your name and address, information about any medical problems you might have, the names and addresses of your next of kin, and other personal information. Your mug shot is taken and you are fingerprinted during book in, and all of your personal belongings are inventoried and placed on a list which you must initial. After signing various papers, you are either returned to your holding cell, taken to a “tank” (8-person cell) with general population, or placed in a close confinement (single) cell. All of the holding cells except the padded cell (see later) have a toilet and metal sink. Some holding cells have a concrete ledge you can sleep on, but most people just sleep on their mattress pad on the cell floor. If you were intoxicated when you were brought in, you are usually allowed to “sleep it off” in a holding cell before being booked in. If you were violent or are on a watch list or have a gang affiliation, you are placed in a single cell after book in. If you have mental problems or are suicidal or combative, you are placed in cell B8 (the padded cell). If you go into the padded cell, you do not receive a jail uniform or any hygiene items, but are placed into the cell naked with only a “suicide smock” to cover you until you are removed from the padded cell. There is no toilet in the padded cell; you eliminate into a slit in the floor.
Don: my lawyer came and talked to me
Pierce: I spoke with a man named Jim and he asked if I was a trouble maker and I told him know. God must of

JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning? If not please give us details on how you came to be arrested.
Charlie: No.
Don: no
Pierce: I was on the run for about 2 years and was finally caught in Kerrville Tx and 11 days later drove to Milam County Jail.

JM: What was court like? Please give as many details as you recall.
Charlie: Court (called magistration) is held in the intake area. Magistration is done by a rotation of judges every 24 hours. The judge sits at one of the booking desks, and you are brought out of your cell (holding or tank) to see him. It is at this time that you are told what charges you are being held on (you are usually told what charges you are being held on by the booking officer at book in, but this is the "formal" advisement of charges). When you finish magistration, you are returned to your cell.
Don: very stressfull
Pierce: It was like anticipating what the verdict is going to be. You see inmates recieving time like 10 or 15 years and you wonder what am I getting. You actually are nervous cause it's like man they are handing out some time to these guys. Time just stands still.

JM: What were your original charges? What did you end up being convicted of?
Pierce: Possession of marijauna over 5 under 50. Class B felony I believe. I was arrested for intent to distribute. My high school sweet heart was driving my car and we got pulled over coming from Houston to Killeen. We split the case and both got 5 yrs defferred adjudacated.

Read about sentencing in the Milam County Jail