lol...that place sucked when I lived there. It was basically a last-second grab as other roommate plans fell through. It was about $425 per month for a 2-bedroom. It was dirt cheap. Man, that place was a hole!

ty for the thought, but the parole board cares very little about outside opinions.

Metra, the way to really fly

Haircuts are usually done by prisoners. In vienna, they even had classes to teach inmates to cut hair. They had to pass security clearances and were searched frequently.
Inmates have to request a few days in advance to have their hair cut. This process can be sped up by paying gifts to the barbers. I'd buy the guy an extra box of some food. I only had my hair cut once, right before leaving, as I tried to make myself unappealing in looks.

I'm referring to Joliet on the East Side of the river. It got shut down a few years ago. It's the older castle looking building off of Illinois 7 IIRC.

I went through Statesville for processing on my way out. I spent one day in the red old building (which looks like an olden school house) outside of the big thick concrete square. The processing was within the prison itself. Statesville is huge, much more than 1100! I find it odd that all sorts of subdivisions are going up around it these days. I believe Statesville is now were prisoners are processed as opposed to Joliet.

yeah...i've seen it.
They show the segregation/isolation cells. Guess what?
They showed the exact one I stayed in for a month. I think they filmed shortly after I left. It's ridiculous, but I recognized the patterns in the floor paint being chipped. I guess pacing it for a month gave me a pretty good memory of the place.

First of all, this was very interesting.

I don't have time to read through all of this thread, so, lemme know if this has already been asked.

Did any prisoners complain of being wrongfully convicted? And if so, did you believe in their innocence?

For whatever reason, it's a fear of mine to have something like this happen (prolly due to movies).

Its a sad thing that Bush Sr and his cronies came up with these laws to put people away for such long times for such little offenses. And for corporations like CCA ( Corrections Corporation of America ) to be profiting off so many people's losses by putting them in prison for these long periods of time. Just like the 3 strikes your out law, it's ridiculous but it funds the economy with so much $ that it seems they can't turn back now. Nike factories shutting down in Asia to move to state prisons and stuff, it's ridiculous ...

how was it going from being a GHB addict to getting arrested? i know that GHB screws with your gaba levels (much like benzos) and so it couldn't have been fun knowing you were going to prison and your anxiety must have been sky-high.

also, did you ever even remotely consider either killing yourself or fleeing the country at any point in time? (prior to the actual imprisonment)

If you were in prison right now and California told you that Michigan's football team should be in the NC game and would beat OSU on the neutral field, would you be so overcome with rage and beat his ass or just shut up?

bump for best thread ever..

Great thread.

Maybe the reason why you got Joliet is because you were beefed up a bit by the time you entered. Thus you represent the perfect canditate for outdoor grounds there. Not an escape risk, yet look like you could blend in enough with the gen pop without getting raped / someones bitch / beaten down by day 2. Thus they were choosing their needs over your safety or a more logical or just placement overall.

bump for awesome story A+!

Just spend well over an hour reading this thread and the links it contained.

Thx for a great read!

Yeah, this thread is sweet and has kept me from actually studying for my psych test, ty.

America, worlds #1 police state....

FL:
In Florida gamma-hydroxybutyric acid GHB (Georgia Home Boy in Florida) is specifically listed as a Type 1 drug. The big difference in FL is that you have to have between 1 and 5 kilograms for it to be considered "trafficking" GHB. FL does have a mandatory 3 years in prison and $50,000 fine for GHB. The weight is measured in what ever form it is in. This is a very nasty drug (15,600 overdoses), and yes, it is the most common substance used in drug-facilitated sexual battery.
I may have missed it, but how did you get caught? It is very hard to get someone on it?
Also, Living the Martial Way, goes against laying there and taking it, was the book a new attitude for you?

many small time criminal defenses attorneys roll over for local prosecutors when they are representing ill-informed clients. its a quid pro-quo that goes on all the time. these attorneys purposely make bad deals so that the prosecutor's record becomes impressive/overinflated. often these attorneys are former assistant prosecutors themselves, who have close personal ties to the prosecutor.

Took me like 4 or 5 hours to read this, but it was worth it.

my god this was an amazing thread. thx for bump.

wow...holy late bump

anyway, someone stole some GHB from me and overdosed on it, because they had no clue. As he was suffering in the ER, his friends told where they got it. Dumbasses only stole one of five water bottles full. Each water bottle had 17-18 doses. Cops of course get the rest. Automatic schedule X felony charge for me. Got dropped when I pled to the max on the schedule 4 (lowest in IL).

I wondered if you were still looking at this thread. Have a question that doesn't seem to have been answered so far and it's strange becaues it's the first question I thought of.

What are the odds of different kinds of people being raped in juliet if they are in for a full year. E.g., what kind of person is most likely to be raped and what are some generally categories between that and the very very unlikely. The odds will obviously reflect your own wild-ass guess.

Thanks again for a great thread.

Since it's already been bumped, no harm in piling on to say this was an amazing thread. I have told real life friends your story because it's that good.

Hello MyTurntoRaise

I am glad to learn about you and your experience. I read all your responses and must say that many consistent and positive character traits are evident in your reponses.

-You are intelligent, yet humble.
-You seem to have a very good ability to step away from yourself and assess you strengths and weaknesses.
-You still feel that you were overcharged, but you also acknowledge playing with "fire," so to speak, and you don't allow bitterness to consume you. You have taken ownership for your role in this, depsite the fact you were over-penalized.
-The candid remarks and conflicting emotions about your former girlfriend are very interesting, and reveal lots about your character and level of insight. You revealed 4 different perspectives on you/her, but they are all consistent. Not sure if you realized how much you conveyed about your ability to see pros/cons for her side and pros/cons for you.
-You seem to be a very "confident" person in most regards, yet on a positive front you see no need for ego or bravado.

I only mentioned these because I personally took more from how you addressed the questions, and the honesty and openness in which you addressed your situation, than I did from your OP. Collectively, they provided an excellent insight into your character.

I am truly saddened that the employment scenerio for you is impeded by your record, but perhaps your own business or other ventures will prove to be your calling anyway.

Anyway, enough for the kudos, I actually do have a question.

In poker, I always thought some key characteristics a person needed to succeed were.

1. Patience
2. TRUE assessment of strengths and weaknesses
3. Discipline, inlcuding the ability to remain composed through periods of negative runs/bat beats, etc
4. People reading skills.

Do you agree with the above, and if so, how much has your experience with the justice system (including your time inside), helped you to build on or use the above in poker?

ArcticKnight

Good thread, OP; though sorry to see you've turned shortstacker.

Anyway, can you elaborate on this as I don't quite get it:

Wow, thanks for sharing this op. Reading this have left me both speechless and infuriated.