Interview with Julie, Inmate's Sister, Houston, Claire, Jim, Smyth, Ken, Charlene, Greg, GMan, Jamie, Leisha, Toby, Lisa, Consuela, John, Tiffany and Tom
JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time? Julie: We had rec. either go to the gym or to the law
library Inmate's Sister: he's in school,church,and imate trustie Houston: They had AA and NA meetings, church on Sundays,
rec , and the law library. Claire: There was the "gym" or rec room, but we only got to go in there
once per week. I never went to rec because I didn't want to be
subjected to strip searches any more than absolutely necessary.
Each pod had a television (no cable, of course), and the library cart
came by once per week. Jim: Recreation and books to read Smyth: 1 weight bench you didn't use unless you wanted
to fight and one basketball court you didn't use
unless you wanted to fight. Ken: There was a large recreation room downstairs
under the cellblock. They had a TV, newpaper,
domino's. A few times per week you could go
outside and play basketball or volleyball for an
hour or so. Charlene: tv that didn't work, 1 newspaper for the whole
cell Greg: TV and sleeping and eating, lots of fun for the
innocence. GMan: I was only there for 22 hours, so there were none. Jamie: all Leisha: you can only go to the law libary or inside
reck,church ,no sunlight whatsoever Toby: church, and outside recreation. Lisa: A gym(mostly broken equipment), a conference
room(AA meetings&Church) Consuela: Dominos and chess. They sometimes let us go to
the law library or to recreation but the chinese
man in charge of recreation was a real asshole.
He called us names and said that if we talked at
all we would have to go back immediately. John: The holding tanks didn't have anything available. Tiffany: None. I was kept in one holding tank before court
for 6 and a half hours. I was able to see my breath
it was so cold. I jumped around a lot which
probably kept the other 2 ladies I was in there with
entertained. Tom: There reading materials (books, bibles and other
literature), chapel, rec and AA. There were also
checkers and chess sets available.
JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details. Julie: Yes we did we had certain days they we could
watch things Inmate's Sister: yes Houston: The ghetto people doing some time always had
first dibs. It was supposed to be whoever had
the assigned cleaning that day , but it never
worked out that way. Claire: The inmates pretty much had free run of the TV remote (which was
shared with the "B" pod) as long as we all agreed on what we
wanted to watch. There were never any fights over the TV in my
pod. The only thing I hated about that was that the deputies used
the TV to their advantage. If they felt that we were "misbehaving,"
they'd cut it off. But we were a pretty well-behaved group. Jim: it depended on the mood of the deputies Smyth: Like I said.. if you want to fight use one. Ken: No competition. The only issue would be what to
watch on TV. I personally didn't care to get
involved in dealing with that. Charlene: no, no Greg: sit on your butt and go to bed. GMan: Not applicable Jamie: no Leisha: tv @ THE NEWSPAPER Toby: no thre's only tv so thre's no competition. Lisa: Gym time was at 3 am. Most people were not willing
to wake up THAT early. Consuela: It was fierce!!! First come first serve but even
with that there was exceptions if the inmate
that wanted the games or whatever and was senior
inmate then you better let the person have it. Tiffany: Hell no LMAO!!! Tom: We had access and there was little to no competition
for it.
JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail? Julie: yes Inmate's Sister: no Houston: No, we worked out (most of us) regularly and ate
mostly fruit. Claire: Yeah, I did. All I did was eat. Especially once I started getting
commissary. I think I gained 7-10 pounds while I was in there.
That being said, whatever exercise you wanted to do, that could be
done within the confines of the pod. Jim: No Smyth: No.. starved cause food was slop. Ken: Yes, not that easy to work out, almost no cardio. Charlene: yes Greg: called motivation. GMan: Not applicable Jamie: `yes Leisha: YES THEY YOU IN YOUR CELL BLOCK Toby: well i'm not the type that works out so no
problem there. Lisa: No I wasn't in shape to begin with. Consuela: Yes, with no real recreation and the high fat
diet they have you on I gained 60 pounds. There
is a huge problem with obesity among inmates.
You will see skinny women go in and fat over
weight women come out. Tom: I wasn't in there long enough to worry about it.
But, others were constantly doing push ups and
situps.
JM: How often did you get to go outside? What did you do outside if you were allowed to? If you were not allowed to go outside what could you do for exercise? Julie: none Inmate's Sister: everyday Houston: Funny. never Claire: We did not go outside. The closest we got to outside was going to
the "gym," where there were a couple of large windows (with bars
over them, of course), where sunlight could come through. Jim: the roof is the outside rec. It depended on the
deputies Smyth: Probably an hour in 3 days if you're lucky. Ken: For an hour or so a few times a week Charlene: none Greg: I whent to Conroe and came back, really now, u
don't see anything until your realeased. GMan: Not applicable Jamie: none Leisha: NEVER, ONLY WHEN YOU GET RELEASED; THAT'S WHEN
YOU'LL SEE DAYLITE Toby: i never did.i only spent 13 days there. Lisa: Never Consuela: Never. I was in jail over 6 months with natural
sunlight or fresh air. Tom: We did not have access to the outdoors
JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held? Julie: no they did not Inmate's Sister: sundays he states thats the only thing that keep
him going in there. Houston: Yes , people repenting and crying . It was
rather upsetting. Claire: No, not that I was aware of. It's rather unfortunate, but I guess
they figured no one would have attended, anyway. Jim: Yes the were quick Smyth: Yes.. that is where all of the gays go to chat
with their girlfriends on different blocks. Ken: Yes, they had a pastor come into the cell block
and meet with inmates. Charlene: yes, but I was released before the time came up Greg: Yes, but they need to offer everyone bibles. GMan: Never Jamie: yes all Leisha: YES ,GOOD Toby: yes they did they have them mostly on sundays
but on wednesday too. Lisa: Yes. However I am a practicing Pagan. The church's
were mainstream Christianity. Consuela: Yes, it was mostly catholic and the Pastor was
very nice but he did give us what we needed to
hear at the time. We only got to go to church
once in a while. Tom: Yes. Services were held once a week, but I didn't
get a chance to attend.
I don't think Smyth knows what the hell he is talking about. There are no weight systems at Harris County Jail only a vollyball court with soft four square balls and not white uniforms low violence inmates and worker inmates wear white and orange stripe uniforms, regular inmates an orange uniform and the 'celebrity' inmates on tv or in the newspaper along with the high risk inmates where yellow
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all inmates are stripped search at anytime they leave the pod, floor or rec center its a caution to make sure they arent passing contraband amongst the jail
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