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Interview with Jenna, Mel, Bonnie, Ashley, Aaron, Walter, Shawn, Mimi, Saul, Heather, Ricky, Sterling, Doug and George

JM: How many different blocks were there?
Jenna: There were four blocks to a floor, two upstairs and two down.
Mel: After a week I landed on the 4th floor, the trustee floor. There were 2 sides. West and North. You start on 4West, which is sort of a "waiting" area, cycle through from tank A to F, then you go to 4West where you receive a job.
Bonnie: Not sure.
Ashley: Not sure- several.
Aaron: Many. Kkind of need to be more. Specific. 9 is intake with like 8 pods. That can fit probably 25 people per if not. More. I remember sleeping on the floor one time on. That floor because the jail was so. Overpopulated.
Walter: I believe there are 4-6 per floor in king county. I only saw about that many on my floor.
Shawn: 11 floors with around 4 blocks on most of the floors except for the solitary floors or the medical floors
Mimi: I think, but I am not sure, that there are 4 blocks on each floor.
Saul: I'm not sure. There are about 11 floors in the building with as many as 6 blocks on each floor.
Heather: There is like over ten floors,.
Ricky: At least 20 I believe. They were lettered.
Sterling: I dont know I thought more in terms of floors than blocks because in King each floor is different.
Doug: I can't really remember how many there was.
George: i don't know, at least 5.

JM: Did they have names? If so, what were they?
Jenna: For instance I was on the fifth floor, so if I remember correctly it was A5, B5,C5,D5.
Mel: A,B,C,D,E and F.
Bonnie: Letters and numbers, just like any other warehouse where misc. items and junk tends to be stored. That is what they made you feel like afterall.
Ashley: Yes, 8 A/B/C/D 9 A/B/C/D
Aaron: 9south Upper A. UpperB. LowerA.LowerB. etc. Etc. 4NorthBlockEbunk22=4NE22 and so on.
Walter: They were coded by floor, then level on that floor (upper or lower) and then compass. I was in 9 Lower West, or 9LW
Shawn: They were called by the area such as 8east 8north 8south etc
Mimi: Yes, they called them, North, South, East and West Units.
Saul: Blocks were identified by floor number and directional designation. I was on 7E
Heather: There is the 9th floor which is recieving and where they house women, female trustees too. There is the 4th floor which is visiting..also the west wing which is adjacent to the building males are held there that are trustees. there is the 7th floor which is for crazy and sick people. There is the tenth floor which is maximum and then above that is the sky bridge that connects to the court house and work release. there is also underground tunnels and such that i am not so familiar with
Ricky: They were all letters of the alphabet with a name for each letter like Henry for H Block.
Sterling: Just floor 1-10 I think. There were blocks with letters but they all seemed the same.
Doug: They were letters of the alphabet. like upper a and lowerer a then upper north and upper south.
George: the blocks were named alphabetically. as far as i can remember.

JM: Which types of inmates were housed in the different blocks?
Jenna: Wherever they had room, you could be in with killers, gang member, or j-walkers. I think they separate the crazy people; they are on like the top floor. And people who are sick I believe as well have a special place, but I can't be sure of that.
Mel: On the trustee floor, people with different jobs were housed in different dorms. Intake and release Trustees, barbers, and floor workers stayed in C dorm. Kitchen workers stayed in D & E dorms.
Bonnie: Guys, Girls.
Ashley: not sure, but there was a system to it. IT appeared to be somewhat racial to me. Blacks together, White together, Hispanics together, maybe that was a coincidence, but I noticed it.
Aaron: 9 is intake for basic inmates. 10. Is high violent. 7 is the mentally unstable. 4 is trusty flloor. Where you work in. The kitchen. Or any other job you are given.
Walter: It seemed to be based on crime severity. I was in with other non violent people for small things. There were special blocks for violent and sex offenders but I wasn't in them to know specifics.
Shawn: 8 floor was recieving and 10 was medium security and 7 was medical and 11 was maxium, and 4 was trustees there was also one floor that was for the female inmates
Mimi: There were obviously the mens and womens blocks, then there is the mens and womens psychiatric units for the crazy ones and drug addicts. I think there is also an observation one but im not positive on that.
Saul: As far as I knew the higher up floor numbers the more severe their conviction. Floor Eleven was for violent offenders. The lowest floors were reserved for trustees and kitchen help.
Heather: the 9th floor is medium custody,receiving and low level custody., the tenth floor is max custody the hole is for like murderers and stuff and the 7th floor is for psychos and people detoxing,
Ricky: All mixed offenses and types were mixed. No one was allowed to know another's offense but of course they would ask. I think theft and or drugs were the most common offenses.
Sterling: It wasnt blocks it was floors. You had gen pop, violent, workers, women, crazy people/druggies and fed time. The only people that stood out were a few on violent who were in for serious crimes and the crazy/druggies.
Doug: There was the people that was racist with racist tattoos on one block. then there was the sex offenders on another. then the people who worked in the kitchen on another, then everyone else.
George: there were blocks for people who were a suiside risk, blocks for inmates requiring medical care, and there were minimum security blocks,and mediom, and maximum security holding areas in the jail.

JM: What do you remember being the nicest and worst parts about the different blocks?
Jenna: It all depends on who is in there; they come around every morning with cleaning supplies. We usually take turns on cleaning, but you're not forced to clean. So some people leave nasty stuff all over the place, and you're not really forced to clean your room either. So it all depends on your home training and your need to be human.
Mel: 4 West had more extra activities (AA, Church services) than 4 North.
Bonnie: It was all miserable, mostly the officers were the worst, then the cells and food.
Ashley: Some had TV some did not, better books in some than others.
Aaron: The nicest part about the. 4North iss the ability to make that. Little bit of money each week for commisary even if its only a dollar or two. It also helps the time go by. Anything. To keep your. Mind. From standing still and. Stresssing. Aboit your. Time you have left helps.
Walter: I remember the nicest thing about the west blocks was being a able to look out the window at the freeway an have something to see. The worst part was the food by far. Really low grade and small portions. The beds and blankets were fine, as was the temp and lighting.
Shawn: Trustees and minimum had vending machines, also a ping pong table for the trustees and the recieving floor was very dirty and noisy. The trustees got extra food for working because if you didn't work as a trustee the meals didn't fill you up at all so you were hungry all the time
Mimi: Well they put me in the psychiatric unit once and it was crazy. There was no TV, you couldn't have socks or underwear either, or a bra because some inmates know how to remove the elastic and try to hang themselves or something. The regular unit was a lot more comfortable.
Saul: I don't remember much that was nice. The worst part was the lack of any kind of privacy to the toilet. Fresh laundry was handed out only once a week and when I came in I had just missed the day so I had to wait 4 or 5 days in the same set of clothes.
Heather: There really isnt nothing nice aboiut that whole jail. the 9th floor is super dirty because thats where they do receiving for all the inmates. the upper level where the sky bridge is is alot cleaner. the west wring is pretty tore up especially the visiting area. the fourth floor is remodeled and nice though..and when you walk in the entrance to the jail is okay
Ricky: The PC blocks were smaller as I'm sure was segregation and disciplinary blocks. All sound reverberated and we were only allowed out one hour per day. Regular blocks had carpeting, multiple TVs, vending machines, book and magazine racks, microwaves, and hot water dispensers. We were also allowed to go outside daily and exercise in the carpeted areas inside.
Sterling: I snuck some sleeping pills and found some good books. A good book and good sleep everything else is hell. The King County jail is filthy, people get infections all the time. The worst part is all the people that dont need to be there. Mandatory arrest laws and VAWA are to be blamed for much of it. 75% of the people dont need to be there. They are not a threat. They are just walking around in flip flops burning tax dollars playing spades. You know the dude that stabbed Monica Seles in the back did less time than me?
Doug: I liked how everyone is seperated because it really helps keep the peace in the jail. that way the racist people arent around people that they dont like and would cause problems with. and the sex offenders arent with everyone else cause no one like s sex offenders. i found the worst thing is everything about jail.
George: the worst blocks were the medium, and the blocks that held the people that were addicted, and using drugs prior to their arrest. i was not in the blocks that were maximum security. The blocks that held the addicts were plaged by violence. The best blocks were the blocks where you worked for the jail in the kitchen.

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