# Life in Prison



## Wandering Man (Jan 7, 2016)

I am about to review a 59 year old man who was sentenced to Life in Prison when he was 30.  He wasn't a life-long criminal.  He only has one charge with two counts against him.  Before he went to prison he was a high school teacher.  He was pretty socially awkward as an adult, and that contributed to his offense, which I won't reveal here.

This man is really an every-day man, not a psychopath.  He could be any one of us (except for the offending behavior).

The words "life in prison" just really struck me, and I began to wonder how I would readjust myself mentally for such a prison sentence if it were to ever happen to me.

I am just curious, how do you think such a sentence would impact you?



Mods:  If this is not an appropriate topic for the WF, please feel free to remove it.


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## dale (Jan 7, 2016)

it's a really hard question to answer without actually being in that situation. life in prison?
i think i'd write a lot and constantly be figuring out a way to escape. with all that time to think?
my mind would be convinced that there would be a way out, somehow. and the human mind 
when focused can pull off some magic. lol


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## -xXx- (Jan 7, 2016)

I have spent considerable time contemplating this idea and I will suggest it was prompted by what I have seen trending in the last (few) decades.  An incredible number of people are incarcerated, across many walks of life.

The greatest difficulty I have in visualizing how I would use my time is tied to the diversity of experiences I have heard.  Surviving within a brutal inescapable space is quite different than being ostracized from society at large, but being safe/sustained with discretionary time and access to resources of some kind.

any further clarifications on (the/a) scenario?


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## Wandering Man (Jan 7, 2016)

Not regarding the individual I'm reviewing.

I can say that I have interviewed a lot of people in prison over the years.  Once inside, adjustments can be made.  Some have been pretty hard-core bad asses, and felt the only way for them to survive was to fight.  But most go about the business of creating a sense of normalcy for them selves.  They get involved in their work and learn to appreciate the daily routine forced on them: Breakfast at 4 am, lunch at 10, supper at 3, bed time at 9.  Work duties in between, with some leisure time involved as well.

A few say they have made close friends inside, usually their "celly."  But most say they have acquaintances, but should never trust anyone in prison to be a close friend. You can wear anything you want, as long as you like white cotton and don't like jewelry or belts.  

For me, I think the biggest challenge would be wrapping my mind around going directly to prison with no time to set my things in order.  Once the judge pronounces sentence, you are hand cuffed by the bailiff and escorted out.  You will have been sitting at the table with your attorney, and there will be no opportunity for last minute hugs or good byes.  

In most cases you will have already had the last physical contact with loved ones for many years.

That would be hardest for me.

I think that once in prison, I would begin to figure out how to adjust to this new culture.

Hopefully without getting beat up or raped.

I'm older now, so those kinds of pressures would be less likely than on a 20 or 30 something man.


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## -xXx- (Jan 7, 2016)

i'm quite conservative in some ways.
i would prepare for a guilty verdict before sentencing.
as to contact with people i care for on the outside,
that would be part of my presentence prep.
by-and-large i would suggest they move forward with their lives exclusive of my new one.
i would ask that they understand how their initiation of any subsequent communications would be important.
i don't think i would insist on trying to blend the two realities. and would probably articulate some of the difficulties that might come from attempts.

sounds like you've known many interesting folks.


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## Gofa (Jan 7, 2016)

I find it interesting that having written twice here I have deleted both. 
Third
I am pretty sure I would die and another me would take my place. On being released it would a long time before i could or would resurrect my former self if ever.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 7, 2016)

Gofa said:


> I find it interesting that having written twice here I have deleted both.
> Third
> I am pretty sure I would die and another me would take my place. On being released it would a long time before i could or would resurrect my former self if ever.


 
That sounds pretty realistic.  While life is life, there is at least the hope of parole.  I think that's why I'm to look at this guy.  He's hoping to be released on mandatory supervision - parole.  He'll still be under the thumb of his parole officer, but will at least be back in "society" after 33 years in prison.

I would think it would be a bit like Rip Van Winkle waking up in a new society.  There is television, but seeing what's happening in the world and experiencing it is really different.

Imagine what the internet, computers and cell phones were like in 1993 compared with today.  And imagine that you have seen the advertisements on TV, but never actually seen or experienced this stuff.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 7, 2016)

-xXx- said:


> sounds like you've known many interesting folks.




I have!


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## Wandering Man (Jan 7, 2016)

dale said:


> it's a really hard question to answer without actually being in that situation. life in prison?
> i think i'd write a lot and constantly be figuring out a way to escape. with all that time to think?
> my mind would be convinced that there would be a way out, somehow. and the human mind
> when focused can pull off some magic. lol



I think a lot of the magic happens inside your (my) head.  The trick is to not get so magical that they put you in solitary confinement.


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## dale (Jan 7, 2016)

Wandering Man said:


> Not regarding the individual I'm reviewing.
> 
> I can say that I have interviewed a lot of people in prison over the years.  Once inside, adjustments can be made.  Some have been pretty hard-core bad asses, and felt the only way for them to survive was to fight.  But most go about the business of creating a sense of normalcy for them selves.  They get involved in their work and learn to appreciate the daily routine forced on them: Breakfast at 4 am, lunch at 10, supper at 3, bed time at 9.  Work duties in between, with some leisure time involved as well.
> 
> ...



i spent about 6 years in the pen. and i was a young man. and a very pretty young man. lol. but...no one
ever messed with me like that. a black guy even told me once. he said..."possum slim (he called me "possum slim" 
for some unknown reason to me), ain't no one ever gonna fuck wit you. it's in your eyes. this is a walk in da
park to you. dis ain't nothin to you." and to be honest, it really wasn't quite like that to me. shit. i was nervous
walking in that place. but thankfully...i guess i handled it well, somehow. but yeah..."adjusting" is a matter of
your mind. you either do it or you don't.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 7, 2016)

dale said:


> i spent about 6 years in the pen. and i was a young man. and a very pretty young man. lol. but...no one
> ever messed with me like that. a black guy even told me once. he said..."possum slim (he called me "possum slim"
> for some unknown reason to me), ain't no one ever gonna fuck wit you. it's in your eyes. this is a walk in da
> park to you. dis ain't nothin to you." and to be honest, it really wasn't quite like that to me. shit. i was nervous
> ...



Surprisingly few (to me, anyway) of the people that I interview in prison have been "messed with."  Or at least they haven't been willing to confess to it.  And not many of them have had rule violations for fighting or for sexual misconduct.  Those with sexual misconduct charges tend to have been caught masturbating in their cells, rather than raping other offenders.


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## BobtailCon (Jan 7, 2016)

Martin Luther King Junior wrote a lot in his brief time in jail. I would think that I'd do the same.


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## Blade (Jan 7, 2016)

BobtailCon said:


> Martin Luther King Junior wrote a lot in his brief time in jail. I would think that I'd do the same.



So did Adolph Hitler. (Mein Kampf) I don't know that I feel comfortable with this kind of company but on the other hand my chances of ever going to jail are rather remote.:cookie:


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## BobtailCon (Jan 7, 2016)

Blade said:


> So did Adolph Hitler. (Mein Kampf) I don't know that I feel comfortable with this kind of company but on the other hand my chances of ever going to jail are rather remote.:cookie:



Well, it just proves that writing makes you great. Whether greatly terrible or greatly progressive is beside the point!


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## Gofa (Jan 7, 2016)

Not sure what a review is or its context. With this noted.
People are given life in prison because their continued life poses a threat to the weak in our society. That is, if they stay amongst us. Its not rocket science to deduce the crime that gave a high school teacher life in prison. 
Like cancer sufferers we have a case here where it appears the patient is adjudged as being in remission. 29 years ago good men said you are gone for the rest of your life. By this we protect. By this act we know that this will not happen again.
On the basis that rehabilitation is not the function of a life sentence what good is served to society in this man's release. We are not reviewing release rather the ending of restraint.
I might have to resit forgiveness 101 as I am sensing here unreolved conflict issues.
My point i guess is before your review of this man perhaps a review of the party or parties offended against might bring balance and perspective. How has their life sentence gone so far.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 7, 2016)

What he is being reviewed for and how the review proceeds would be a topic for a different thread (one that I'm not going to start).  The question here isn't intended to be about him or his actions.  There is no sympathy to be had for him in this thread.  This man is guilty.  

Setting aside what offense might have happened, I am struck with the enormity of such a sentence.  I'm just pondering the what-if's of life.


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## Gofa (Jan 8, 2016)

I am in agreement on all points. Its like looking at a train wreck or a plane crash site 

theres a special branch of mathematics that looks at the behavior of very large numbers

we are talking here of a very large number


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## dale (Jan 8, 2016)

BobtailCon said:


> Well, it just proves that writing makes you great. Whether greatly terrible or greatly progressive is beside the point!



are you trying to pretend like hitler wasn't "progressive"?


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## BobtailCon (Jan 8, 2016)

dale said:


> are you trying to pretend like hitler wasn't "progressive"?



Not really, he was progressive by repairing Germany's economy and bringing them to the forefront of technology (well, his advisors did, Hitler kind of just had meth parties while building his super mansion). Once he started the extermination campaigns, and encroaching on other nation's soils, the progressivism halted.


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## dale (Jan 8, 2016)

BobtailCon said:


> Not really, he was progressive by repairing Germany's economy and bringing them to the forefront of technology (well, his advisors did, Hitler kind of just had meth parties while building his super mansion). Once he started the extermination campaigns, and encroaching on other nation's soils, the progressivism halted.



lol. have you even ever read "mein kampf"? i'll ask that question 1st. because if not? you'll just be a bumbling buffon in this conversation.


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## BobtailCon (Jan 8, 2016)

dale said:


> lol. have you even ever read "mein kampf"? i'll ask that question 1st. because if not? you'll just be a bumbling buffon in this conversation.



That's right, I haven't read Hitler's shittily written book, therefore I know nothing about the National Socialist Worker's Party or Hitler's actions during WWII. How about we keep this thread on topic, yeah?


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## dale (Jan 8, 2016)

BobtailCon said:


> That's right, I haven't read Hitler's shittily written book, therefore I know nothing about the National Socialist Worker's Party or Hitler's actions during WWII. How about we keep this thread on topic, yeah?



that's what i figured. peace.


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## patskywriter (Jan 8, 2016)

It’s amazing how one thing can literally lead to another. When I was in my 20s, I knew a man who was a really nice guy, talented musician, intelligent, etc, etc. But he came from an unstable home. The disadvantage of meeting someone as an adult is not knowing his or her home life, family, and history. This guy was sailing along, working a swell-paying job; he had stopped drinking, started working out, and was basically having a nice life. But he couldn’t cut his old friends loose (although he should have). They got stopped by the police one night and drugs were found in the vehicle. My friend was clean and was released the next morning, but he hadn’t been allowed to call in to the office. That unexplained absence cost him his job. Then he had a car accident. Then he lost his apartment. Then he moved in with his mom. When she got tired of him, he moved in with his dad, who was an alcoholic. I swear it was like watching a car roll downhill. He started drinking again … we lost touch, and months later his sister called to tell me that he had killed a man. He's just now getting out of prison. 

I saw how easily life can take a wrong turn—it was like my friend was falling and simply couldn’t right himself. I’ve talked to him a couple of times on the phone, and it’s so weird. It’s like I’m 60 and he’s still 25. We seem to be in a time warp and we can’t connect. Anyway, nice topic—definitely something to think about.


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## -xXx- (Jan 8, 2016)

and then the topic is reintroduced:



Wandering Man said:


> I am about to review a 59 year old man who was sentenced to Life in Prison when he was 30.  He wasn't a life-long criminal.  He only has one charge with two counts against him.  Before he went to prison he was a high school teacher.  He was pretty socially awkward as an adult, and that contributed to his offense, which I won't reveal here.
> 
> This man is really an every-day man, not a psychopath.  He could be any one of us (except for the offending behavior).
> 
> ...



how do you think a life sentence would impact you?
*thinks*


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## bazz cargo (Jan 8, 2016)

I suppose it depends on the prison. Could I use a computer or will I be back to pen and paper? Would it be a decent library with reference books?

What kind of support network would I have? During my incarceration and then afterwards?

From the little I have had to do with the prison system (UK) it seems random whether I would get a place where I can work towards a better life afterwards or just be lucky to survive without becoming a junkie. 

If I can write this as a story I'd be fine, in the real world, who knows?


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## Aquarius (Jan 9, 2016)

Blade said:


> So did Adolph Hitler. (Mein Kampf) I don't know that I feel comfortable with this kind of company but on the other hand my chances of ever going to jail are rather remote.:cookie:



Hitler never came across to me as a very intelligent man and I have always wondered whether he really wrote 'Mein Kampf' himself. Mind you, I have never read the book, so maybe I am just prejudiced.


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## -xXx- (Jan 9, 2016)

bazz cargo said:


> I suppose it depends on the prison. Could I use a computer or will I be back to pen and paper? Would it be a decent library with reference books?
> 
> What kind of support network would I have? During my incarceration and then afterwards?
> 
> ...



this is similar to my quandry.
perhaps the crux of the exercise, for me, has been to assist me with comparison/contrast learning of the "eye of providence" in my immediate surroundings.  i have no illusions regarding so.shall systems.  being a harmless fringe.er, the direction the wind blows carries great weight.  i'm pretty sure kafka and dostoyevsky left good maps, but my compass has been known to misinform.

i believe, regardless of my immediate surroundings, i would devise a system of tracking time, set goals for physical/cognitive/existential well being and create with materials available to me.  exploring the space between theory and application is an ever present theme for me.


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## BobtailCon (Jan 9, 2016)

Aquarius said:


> Hitler never came across to me as a very intelligent man and I have always wondered whether he really wrote 'Mein Kampf' himself. Mind you, I have never read the book, so maybe I am just prejudiced.



The book is written very poorly, he wrote it :icon_cheesygrin:

I'm not sure if Hitler wasn't intelligent, or if he was simply not smart. He was an amazing speaker, and could rally people together like none other. But like I said earlier, he almost never made decisions for Germany, it fell onto his councillors and advisors. He spent most of the war constructing a mansion, and having meth parties with popular guests.


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