#214 Top 3 Prison blogs, chapter 3

Top 3 Prison Blogs, ch 3

This will be kinda misleading, because there are actually 5 blogs on the list…go figure.

Since this is the beginning of a new week, it seemed a good time to look back and see what people are looking for, at least according to my blogs.

As you know, I try to talk about the top issues in prison as I see on my personal blogs. I go by the topics that have been “hit” and see which ones more people are reading. That way, it gives me an idea of what many people are looking for. From those ideas I might be able to see what is important to talk about from one day to the other.

As some of you may also know, I had not blogged too much last week, this was because of a number of things, one being that I was working on some offline projects. I actually completed a few projects that I think might enhance what I am trying to do, and I am also filling orders for my “Grades of Honor” books, as well as a few cards and things.

In addition, I have been answering emails from people with concerns involving prison. I would like to think that there may come a day where I just can’t answer every email, but right now, the ones I get are clearly within my ability to answer within a reasonable amount of time.

So anyway, having said all that, let’s count down my top 3 prison blogs of the week:

TIE at #3: Post #32 Should you send inmates money (retro) and post #73 How much is 33-50 months prison time

These two posts have the same number of “hits” which is interesting. Those of you who have been following my blogs know about the issue of sending inmates money, it is a major question that thousands of people have, and one of most consistent subjects on prison issues.

And I say again, this is a subject that is as different as every inmate. Just as no two inmates have EVER done their time exactly the same way, no two issues of sending inmates money is the same. Lots of folks get the idea that all inmates are con artists, trying to get money from anybody they can. And YES that is true for a lot of those guys, but not everybody. The situation is different for each one, depending on your level of trust in that person.

The other issue is based on people not quite sure about how much time their loved one has to do. It seems to be a very common issue because at the moment your loved one is sentence, people hear the extreme end and worry that their loved one is sentenced to the maximum date that was given.

This is not always true.

So in that blog I took an example, and tried to talk about the difference between the minimum and maximum date on a prison sentence. Many states have what is called a structured sentence, which in effect allows the inmate to serve a lesser sentence IF they meet the qualifications to do so. In the blog I shared, I talked about the fact that just because your loved one has a minimum and maximum date, don’t assume that he will get out on the minimum. He HAS to be there at least the minimum, and can be there as long as the max, but there are things he can do to chip down that maximum date down to the minimum.

I can talk more about this if others are concerned about it.

TIE at #2: Post #120 Prison 101 Showers (retro) and post # 33 Security Levels in prison (retro)

These two subjects were tied for the second most “hit” subjects on my prison blogs, which gives you a variety of what people are looking for. One is about a general subject about prison incarceration, the other a very specific subject in prison.

The blog I wrote on prison showers is one that I think may people think of, and there are many ideas of this thought. It is perhaps one of the most curious aspects of prison, when you wonder how do grown men take showers in a place full of violence?

There obviously are many fears involving this, and rightfully so, so what I tried to do was talk from my experience. In my time incarcerated, including jail before going to prison, I have been in 11 different situations where taking showers differed depending on the location. Some prisons have single cell, WITH a shower, some have single or double cell with access to single shower areas. Others were dormitory prisons, where there was a communal shower, with maybe anywhere from 4 to 8 shower heads, maybe more.

What I tried to do is talk about what I went through, to try to answer a few questions about what an inmate might have to endure. To be sure, it is an uneasy feeling, but you gotta take a shower sometime… in fact it can be a writeup if you don’t stay clean, so showers are something you have to do. But there are things you can do in prison to look out for yourself when you have to take one.

The other subject addresses the issue of security levels in prison. Most folks don’t know that there are a variety of different prison security levels. Not everybody goes to a supermax prison and live in a iron bar cell…some of us just watch too much television. Most prisons have different levels, depending on the inmate, the charge, and the length of their incarceration, as well as other factors. The higher the security level, the less privileges the inmates have, and of course, the lower the security level, the more privileges they will have.

There is a very clear difference between a minimum security inmate, and a maximum security inmate, from phone calls allowed, visitation, yard time and so much more. I am hoping I touched on a number of those subjects on that blog, but there is much more that could have been discussed.

#1 Post # 210 Testimony of One

This is interesting because it is actually based on two different documents. The first being a post I wrote titled “Do Prisons Lie” and the other was that this was based on a document I wrote that was 25 pages long, one I thought about sharing, but figure to wait on another time to share that.

This is a subject that can REALLY open up a Pandora’s Box of things that prisons may not want an ex felon to talk about. Its kinda like that slogan with Las Vegas, “Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. The same goes for prison…at least that’s what prisons want you to do.

Folks…this is a subject I can really, REALLY bear fangs over like a starving werewolf and a malnutrition vampire over fresh meat. The things I went through with it came to these “games” that prisons play can really tear your esteem apart. And when I say “prison” I don’t just mean the correctional officers…it goes all the way through the entire prison system. From the officers, the sergeants, lieutenants, wardens, and administration of the DOC, including the grievance board, the NC Prison Legal Services and everyone in between. From top to bottom, there is a theme that inmates just cannot be right, and the prison has the absolute right to treat inmates the way they see fit…even if it means lying.

Now, this does not mean that every person in prison is a liar, not at all. I had the pleasure of getting to know a good number of good men and women who were just doing their job, and many of them also knew that a lot of people in prison were just people who made a mistake. More than once I was told by an officer that the stressful parts of work don’t come from the inmates…it comes from other officers and their superiors. Imagine that.

So anyway, that might be a subject to look more into in the future.

So there you have it, the top 3...er….5 blogs on my prison blogs the last week. I hope I can write more blogs this week, but I will also be working on offline projects to see if I can get some support. As usual, if you are interested in supporting my blogs, let me know, or if you are interested in my books or cards let me know. Until then….