Comments on: Washtenaw Jail Diary: Chapter 2, Part 1

By: Vito

Vito — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:20:03 +0000

To whom this may concern:

My name is Vito and I am a law student at the University of Michigan. I am doing some research on sexual harassment at the Washtenaw County Jail.

If you worked at the jail, were incacerated at the jail or otherwise have information regarding sexual harassment, especially sexual harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, then please contact me at vitosals@umich.edu.

By: Johnny Jr.

Johnny Jr. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:35:43 +0000

Went to court once in a show of support for a friend arrested on serious felony charges. He’d been in San Francisco’s Hall of Justice lockup for a few days before this hearing, which was intended to lower his high six-figure bail to a lower six-figure bail. He was marched into the courtroom with maybe a dozen other inmates in jail colors. He was not a soft guy and had had plenty of trouble with the police when he was a kid. But the look on his face as he scanned the room: exhausted, stunned, and at the same time mugging and putting up a front. You never want to see a friend in that jail orange.

I’m not sure how many of the people who’d come from work to show the judge our colleague was a good guy despite the charges ever saw him again after that day. I never did. He eventually pleaded out but still had to do a year in state prison. Not summer camp by any stretch of the imagination.

Keep the jail diary coming. And I enjoy the twisted logic of the commenters who suggest that if you’ve done something to land yourself in jail, then you deserve whatever’s dished out.

By: Mugger_Mike

Mugger_Mike — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:11:30 +0000

Can’t wait until the next chapter!

Mugger_Mike

By: Bear

Bear — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:55:50 +0000

He isn’t in prison richard, he is in county jail. Big difference. Washtenaw is easy money compared to other jails in Michigan. Houston city jail was a real drag in the 70′s.

And Dave, you don’t have to be a criminal, half-assed or otherwise to end up in jail. Happens to be a lot of laws have little to do with justice and more to do with ‘control’. Whatever, I don’t try too hard to analyze it, just deal with it.

Some county jails use subtle forms of torture to make life miserable for the inmates, like putting you on the edge of hypothermia when you sleep, by taking all warm clothing and giving no blanket and having you sleep on stone ledges with the temps set at 65 degrees. After a couple of hours, you are frigid and your joints and muscles lock up and become very painful. No rest for the wicked.

A good way to counteract that is to do stretching exercises and calisthenics to warm up the body’s furnace without sweating so that you will stay limber and get some quality rest. Meanest looking guy in the cell gets the toilet paper roll to use for a pillow.

But that was another lifetime, in a land long gone…

on with the story. Amusing to hear a white-bread account of jail.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:42:25 +0000

Interesting account…Does it ever say what he is in prison for?

By: ChrisW

ChrisW — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:14:49 +0000

I love these stories. Keep writing!

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:08:58 +0000

It’s too bad his opportunity to become a man came so late in life.

“Oh, the injustice!” This guy cracks me up. It’s called JAIL dude. He chose to go there by being a half-assed criminal.

Very well written though, I really like this series.

By: zollar

zollar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:04:03 +0000

What a whiner, Washtenaw County jail is like going to a Boy Scout camp.Been there briefly, done that.At the jail I talked to inmates who had been in jails in the City of Detriot.There you don’t have time to whine or feel sorry for yourself. You spend your time trying to get along with your fellow inmates so that you don’t get you butt beat.