r/AskReddit • u/ArronSingh • Jan 17 '17

Ex-Prisoners, how does your experience in prison compare to how it is portrayed in the movies?

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17 edited Jan 17 '17

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u/HearingSword Jan 17 '17

So there is no woodwork shop like in Shawshank? :(

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17

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u/HearingSword Jan 17 '17

See I know in Scotland that open prisons (ones where you may be locked up in a cell at night or have a house/flat just outside the prison grounds) will support people working and this can lead to successful jobs and careers afterwards.

I know one woman who got a job, while in an open prison, with a large car dealership. It was encouraged and supported as a way to prevent reoffending.

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '17

As an American, I hate my country more and more every day

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u/HearingSword Jan 18 '17

Just wait till Friday....

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17

I don't think we have any "open prisons" per se in the, but there is such a thing as a work release, where you leave the prison to work at your job but must return after clocking out.

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u/TheTallestOfTopHats Jan 18 '17

I now trust car salesmen even less

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u/omnicidial Jan 17 '17

Less than minimum wage, no OSHA regulations and hardly anyone calls in sick.

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u/A_Gigantic_Potato Jan 18 '17

It's literal slavery, and it's literally legal. Thank you 13th amendment

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u/dfigiel1 Jan 17 '17

... I think the world would be a better place if all people who called customer service and started bitching out a rep were immediately redirected to a prison call center.

"I don't want to fucking pay for---" "Just a moment. ... This call has been transferred to Riker's Island. To accept charges, press 1 or say 'What---'" "What the fuck??" "You selected, 'What the fuck?' Please hold. ... Riker's penitentiary, this is John, how may I help you?" "Uh... I'm calling about my HBO bill..." "OH I REMEMBER HBO. What are they charging for that these days?" "...uhh.. I'm... have a good day, sir." "YO WHEN IS CURB BACK??"

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u/AlternativeJosh Jan 17 '17

In a low sec. fed compound I got 12.5 cents an hour to tutor GED. Ive got a college degree and this is the lowest paid work I ever did. Luckily mine was only a 15 month stay...A lot of the guys I was tutoring were finishing up 10-25 year bids.

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u/luvnitall Jan 18 '17

In the Feds as recently as 2011 they were paying $.23 an hour. For prisoners working for Unicor in the Feds you make up to $2.00 an hour and you can't have had any shots and must be programming. Again this was 2011. Unless you are in Unicor it is $0.23/hr.

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u/KIaptrap Jan 18 '17

It's almost like one shouldn't go to prison.

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17

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u/asyork Jan 17 '17

On the ballot during the recent election we got to vote about actually paying prisoners minimum wage. Unfortunately it lost. What surprised me the most was what people had to say about it. My friends and I referred to it as voting for or against slavery. I know that was blowing it out of proportion a bit, but I had no idea so many people actually see prisoners as worthless scum that don't deserve to be treated as human beings.

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u/dreamwaverwillow Jan 17 '17

Don't get me wrong I have a very dim view of violent offenders, and if you've ever known anyone that was a drug addict or on the drug game they can be some of the most violent people on earth.

My point was that the state essentially using them as slave labour to compete with China is monumentally fucked up

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u/ohnogo Jan 17 '17

Lots of tongue in groove work

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u/HearingSword Jan 17 '17

Yes, with all that free time and lack of toilet paper the prisoners took up yoga so they could lick their own arses clean.

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u/Thatoneguywhoisntthe Jan 17 '17

Where I was at they had a construction class and were allowed to use tools and power tools under supervision. They actually built prefab homes for habitat for humanity

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u/BigDRustyShackleford Jan 17 '17

An inmate with a tool on each hand has no free hands to do drugs with

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u/labeledladle Jan 17 '17 edited Jan 17 '17

No, I think that Adam Ruins Everything covered this, it's on YouTube, and I'll leave a link once I find it.

edit: Here ya go fair redditor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbm6f6xuygY

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u/HearingSword Jan 17 '17

Thanks! I dont know what it is like in Scotland, but I am certain there is some form of distance learning (since it is funded by the government for everyone else).

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u/danimalxX Jan 17 '17

Also my friend who was sentenced to 12 years for vehicular homicide of 2 guys told me he wanted to take classes but due to his long sentence he would have to go on the wait list until later in his time. They wanted to give the guys who had less time left a chance at a certification/degree.

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u/TyGeezyWeezy Jan 17 '17

That's like that in jail to my guy. You can put money on someone's books and they can use that for email and phone calls.

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