Jail --
Huh! Good God y'all, what is it good for? Say it again...
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.
A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” - Nelson Mandela
My public library offers “Skip the Line” loans on popular titles. I have made quite the discoveries this way. From delightful treasures to … well … books whose best use might be lining bird cages.
Um. Yesterday I borrowed a page-turner about a man convicted of murder but - OOP! PLOT TWIST! the victim shows up alive.
The books starts with our hero in prison. It went something like:
“At 7 AM, the lights came on. My unit, Super Max, was understaffed, so we had to eat breakfast in the common area instead of in our cells.”
WRONG, WRONG, AND WRONG.
Did the author do ANY research?
I threw that book across the room.
Okay, you well know I did not throw that book across the room.
I borrow library books on my dad’s old Kindle. Plus, it was late at night and my husband was sleeping.
But you get what I’m saying. You’re hip to my proverbial jive. I was peeved. People do not have a realistic idea of what it’s like to be locked up in the U.S.
It’s hell. Overcrowded, understaffed, inhumane, ignored.
You may be thinking - “Yeah, jail’s not supposed to be pleasant.
“Why does it matter if a book describes it correctly? Why should I know what it’s like?
“If me or my loved ones aren’t in jail,
“Why should I care what it’s like to be locked up?”
Well, maybe because...
It matters morally, like Nelson Mandela said in the quote above.
And it matters morally because this is all being done in our names. And with our money, so…
It matters economically. We spend a ton of money on jails and prisons. In 2021 it cost New York City $556,539 to incarcerate one person for a year. That’s $1,525 per day, according to the NYC Comptroller’s office. Less than 5% of this money goes to inmate services like substance-abuse treatment, notes that paragon of lefty thinking, The Economist. (The piece also states that the conditions in Rikers are so bad that “It stands out as an example of how some institutions are unreformable.” The Economist said this!)
It matters practically, for our communities, because A LOT OF HUMANS ARE LOCKED UP IN THE U.S. Like, a lot a lot:
The United States is unparalleled historically and ranks among the highest worldwide in its dependence on incarceration. Over five million people in total are under supervision by the criminal legal system. Nearly two million people, disproportionately Black, are living in prisons and jails instead of their communities. Compare this to the figures of the early 1970s when this count was 360,000.
Y’all. Nearly one out of every 100 people in the United States is in prison or jail.
This does not sit well with me. It agitates my soul. It puts my knickers in a twist.
How about you?
Some distinctions, real quick.
Jails are different from prisons.
JAILS — are county or local facilities for sentences less than one year or if you are awaiting trial.
Remember how in the U.S., you’re legally innocent until proven guilty in a court of law?
This means most folks in jail are legally innocent.
New York’s infamous Rikers Island, holding an average of 10,000 folks a day in 2015, is a JAIL. Most of those overcrowded 10,000 folks are waiting for their day in court.
In many of the homicide trials I sit in, defendants have been in jail for 2-5 years awaiting trial.
And it is a basic truth that a lot of folks in jail remain there because they can’t afford bail.
In other words: we are keeping our neighbors behind bars for being poor.
PRISONS — are state or federal institutions — or in some cases, private institutions hired by state or federal governments — that house people convicted of criminal offenses.
In short: if you’re in prison, you’ve been convicted. If you’re in jail, you are most likely waiting for your time in court.
We good? On the same page?
Great!
Okay I know what some of you are thinking, and I hear you.
“Criminals shouldn’t be in the community. They should be locked up. Jails and prisons make us safer.”
Okay. Let’s talk about that some.
53% of folks in prison are there for nonviolent offenses. Do we need to keep people isolated from their communities and loved ones, prevent them from making a living, deprive their families of their company — basically banish these folks for years or decades — for, say, stealing to make ends meet? Or for having drug addiction or mental illness that led to their crimes?
Nah. There are better ways.
“What about violent crimes, though, my unruly Quaker friend?”
Glad you asked.
About 47% of folks currently in prison are there for violent offenses.
Look, I am not a fan of violence.
Quite opposite.
I’ve seen the grief, anguish, destruction that violence and homicide cause to families and communities.
Plus, personally, I’m a survivor of rape and sexual assault. They were devastating experiences. I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from them.
Violence is bad.
But does that mean prison is the answer?
I don’t think so. And I’ve thought about it a lot.
I’m simply not convinced that the violence that we as a nation perpetrate onto the people in jails and prisons is any sort of “justice.” Nor does it provide rehabilitation to “offenders.”
In fact, I think locking people up ultimately does more harm than good to our communities and collective well-being.
But we’ll leave that aside for now.
Back to those other kinds of violent offenses, not the kinds society perpetuates but the kinds individual people are convicted of.
Even a “violent offense” - counting for 47% of convictions - doesn’t necessarily equate to physical harm. “In some states, purse-snatching, manufacturing methamphetamines, and stealing drugs are considered violent crimes. Burglary is … a property crime, but … state and federal laws classify burglary as a violent crime in certain situations, such as when it occurs at night [or] in a residence…” points out an excellent 2023 report for the Prison Policy Initiative.
And here’s something I didn’t know about before sitting in court: felony homicide.
Did you know you can be convicted of murder just for being near a situation where a felony results in a homicide?
For instance: your child’s friend talks them into being a lookout for a robbery. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute explains: If friend A attempts to rob a store and accidentally killed an employee when breaking through a window, then both A (friend) and B (your child) could be charged with murder through the felony murder rule, even though B (your child) did not kill a person and A did not intend the outcome.
Your child is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bam. Something horrible happens. Now they are going to prison for murder. They didn’t pull the trigger. They’ve never even held a weapon. Can you imagine? But this happens. I’ve been in the courtroom seeing it happen.
“J. J., you just have a bleeding heart. Truth is, people get what’s coming to them. If you don’t break the law or hang out with ‘those’ kinds of people, you won’t go to jail.”
Give me a break.
“‘Those’ kinds of people?”
Who do you mean?
People who break the law?
People who protect their loved ones?
People who buy weed and get high once in awhile?
People who feel a sense of safety and identity by belonging to chosen social groups?
People who make mistakes?
I am definitely ‘those’ kinds of people. Every one of those categories, that’s me.
I bet it’s you, too.
I don’t hate to burst your bubble, but WE ARE ALL CRIMINALS.
ONE in FOUR people in the U.S. has a criminal record.
FOUR in FOUR have a criminal history.
Some of us are just far more likely to be prosecuted, convicted, and serve time than others.
And that has everything to do with your race, economic status, neighborhood, gender, and more.
Okay, so let’s talk about what life is like for folks in the local jail and prisons.
Here are a bunch of things I did not know before having friends who’ve been on the inside.
This information comes from friends who have been in jail or prison, and friends with friends or loved ones in jail or prison. And some info is straight from the Sheriff website.
While you are in jail awaiting trial, having been arrested but not convicted of anything at all …
You will be strip-searched. You will have to squat and cough, naked, in front of guards. (What is this like if you have your period?)
You cannot bring anything with you into jail. No photographs, jewelry, nothing.
In Durham, your jail cell looks like this:
That stony white bench is your bed.
You’ll be provided a two-inch thick mattress, sheets, a blanket. The guards can take these away at any time if you say or do something they don’t like.
Expect to spend 23.5 hours each day alone in your cell.
This near-total-solitary- confinement has been the case in my local jail since March 2020.
Staff say these restrictions are because of COVID. You’ll think it’s because the jail is understaffed.
Either because of Covid or understaffing, you are on “Level 1 restriction” both in the local jail and at Central Prison in Raleigh.
This means you can leave your cell maybe 20-60 minutes per day —
This includes time to shower.
This includes if you want to go “outside” (at the jail, that’s a half-basketball court enclosed by 20-foot high cement walls).
You will not go to the cafeteria / common area for meals. (Level 1 Restrictions.)
Meal trays will come to your cell.
You will have no interaction with staff when they bring your food.
Your food tray is put in the “trap” in your door. You must wait for the guard’s side of the trap to shut before you can open your side. Reverse the process when you are finished. You probably have 5-10 minutes to eat.
In your jail cell, you might be able to tell if it’s daylight, but can’t see much else through the narrow slits that are windows / vents for your cell.
It’s possible that your slit “windows” will be so covered with grime or feces that you can’t see out of them at all.
The overhead lights stay on 24 hours a day.
Wake up time in most local prisons is 3 or 4 AM. Why? Who knows. I don’t.
Remember, you are not earning any money while you’re locked up. Your boss won’t keep your job open if they find out you’re in jail. You don’t know when you’ll be out. You certainly aren’t eligible for unemployment insurance.
You’re losing money at the very time you need to pay a lawyer and/or save up for bail. Lawyers are expensive. Bail is expensive. Legal fees are expensive. Fines are expensive.
Your kids and family miss you terribly. You miss them terribly. Your partner is working extra shifts to afford a lawyer and pay for your phone calls home (below) but that means they need more child care. They are trying to be positive but you can tell they are beyond stressed out.
No one can bring you anything for your cell.
There is a very, very limited commissary to buy things in jail.
Someone will have to put money in your account before you can buy anything. And forget about a radio, books, or art. The jail commissary doesn’t carry them.
Yes, this means you are alone in your jail cell with no books, radio, or anyone to talk to for about 23.5 hours a day.
The prison commissary offers more items. This is one of the reasons you would rather be in prison than jail. Radio!
Visitors?
All visitations are conducted through video call.
Video visitation hours are Monday – Thursday 9–12 and 1:30–5. There are no visitations Friday – Sunday.
Be sure any visitors are on your list and schedule their visit in advance or you will be shit out of luck.
Your visitors will probably have to take unpaid time from their work day to visit.
If there isn’t enough staff to escort you to the video-visit station, you will be shit out of luck.
You can make phone calls at staff discretion.
Phone calls are expensive. You will be making collect phone calls through Global Tel*Link. This is a private company that makes its money from contracting with jails.
Cell phones might not work to receive calls. As Global Tel*Link says, “Each facility has different rules regarding calls made to cell phones. Check with your facility to confirm that this option is available.” How can you find out?
The Global Tel*Link website the Sheriff will give you looks like this. Good luck.
Global Tel*Link takes a service fee out of every deposit you make to your account. Of course they do.
You must set up a GTL account with the correct jail and inmate information codes, and a minimum balance, before you can receive any calls.
All phone calls are recorded.
All mail is opened by staff. You might wonder if it’s been tampered with. You’ll never know.
On your court dates, you will be hand-cuffed and ankle-cuffed. These cuffs will be connected by heavy chains.
You will be walked, chained, to the courthouse by armed guards, through an enclosed walkway and taken by secure elevator to holding rooms.
You will be in chains and cuffs while you wait your turn, in and out of the courtroom.
You hope to see your loved ones in the courtroom audience (if they get time off work) - but you will not be able to touch them or even talk to them.
You will wear the orange jumpsuit of the jail.
Hopefully your lawyer will show. They might be late. Or be a no-show. It happens.
It could be that “discovery” (evidence) is not ready from the State Bureau of Investigation. You never knew it could take YEARS for evidence to be processed. It can. YEARS.
Every time a delay happens, it will usually mean at least another 1-3 months in jail.
There is no one to complain to. Who would listen?
If you complain to staff or the judge, you will be told you have a bad attitude. They could make your life worse.
You could lose your mattress, soap, or other “materials” at the guards’ discretion for having an attitude.
Waiting for a trial will undoubtedly take far longer than accepting a plea deal. Do you really want to spend two or three more years here waiting for a trial? You hear that prison is better than this place. More people to talk to, actual outside spaces, and you can have some things in your cell. Why not take the plea?
When all is said and done, whatever the outcome, you will be expected to believe in this system, the very same system that treated you this way before you even had a trial.
It is a system that has kept you in what comes awfully close to solitary confinement, in the heart of your city, while being legally innocent.
The irony is not lost on you that the jail is directly across the street from the fancy, nationally renowned Durham Performing Arts Center. It’s exactly five lanes of traffic and one entire world away.
Oh, you’re angry?
Angry inmates or ex-inmates are considered a menace to society.
That won’t do.
Be sure to act humble.
Be grateful.
Say you have learned a valuable lesson from your time in jail.
Even though you’ve lost income, your job, your dignity, and time with your kids and family.
Even though you were traumatized and perhaps even tortured. At least as I understand it.
Because solitary confinement for more than 15 days is considered torture.
This is one tenet of the international Nelson Mandela Rules.
I guess technically our local jail is getting away with 23.5 hours alone in a cell because of those 30 minutes out. (And for prisons on Level 1 Restriction - well, you might have a roommate. So that’s not solitary.)
But … is it really okay?
The U.N.’s Mandela Rules “restrict the use of solitary confinement as a measure of last resort, to be used only in exceptional circumstances. Mandela found solitary confinement to be ‘the most forbidding aspect of prison life. There was no end and no beginning; there’s only one’s own mind, which can begin to play tricks’.”
I can’t imagine the tricks my mind would play. I think I might lose it entirely.
How about you?
And even if we’re not putting people on Level 1 Restriction …
what other kinds of violence are we perpetrating through our carceral state? No matter what circumstances landed them there?
God.
Deep breaths.
Breathe in, hold. Breathe out.
I do hate to leave you like this - but Substack’s sirens are warning me that this post is nearing its email length limit.
So. Next time: what you can do.
Until then, sending this with love, friendship, and a deep ache for boundless belonging.
Thanks for reading, dear hearts.
The Great Cosmic Echidna sends you her blessings.
XOXO
I didn’t know much of--most of--this. My only experiences of jail are from TV and movies. You’re doing such powerful work. Keep sharing. Shake us out of complacency. Looking forward to your next column.
Eye opening! Thank you for your work, research, and most of all for your writing/sharing with us. There’s a detention center a mile and a half down the road from me. Although kept out of sight, it makes me think; what’s right here is a world away.