Tidings of Evil and Hate

[El Pollo Guerrera]

The Magic thing is... well, it's probably something that I and/or my friends would do if we ever got locked up. If they had access to a computer, they could check WotC for actual cards and build decks from that.

Oh, and welcome back. I look forward to hearing your tales of life behind bars.

[Aethian]

Kara's back!!! YAY!!! *dances a silly dance and snuggles Kara*

[Kara]

Especially if they're big, scary-looking brutes.

What made it awesome was that there was an older black jewish guy, a fat Wiccan nerd (one of the Magic players), and a skinhead. Three guys who under normal circumstances would NEVER hang out together, let alone break into a musical number while naked in the shower together.

No, he was not having any kind of seizure. Muscle spasm . . . maybe. But not a seizure.

Most definitely not a seizure. It was, "I'm bored and want to go to the clinic to get out of the cellhouse for 20 minutes."

The Magic thing is... well, it's probably something that I and/or my friends would do if we ever got locked up. If they had access to a computer, they could check WotC for actual cards and build decks from that.

No, they don't get any internet access. That would be.... bad. Not crossing the streams bad, but you wouldn't want one of them friending you on Facebook or pretending to be a cute 18 year old girl in a chat room.

[Becks]

I don't know why 3 guys randomly singing the theme from Gilligan's Island at the top of their lungs in the shower is awesome, but it was.

*deep breath*

[XCashier]

What made it awesome was that there was an older black jewish guy, a fat Wiccan nerd (one of the Magic players), and a skinhead. Three guys who under normal circumstances would NEVER hang out together, let alone break into a musical number while naked in the shower together.

You're right, that's even better!

[FArchivist]

Question: Out of pure curiosity, are writing instruments allowed to inmates? And paper? What restrictions exist on that?

[Mango]

Glad to see you back here Kara!

[Sapphire Silk]

Most definitely not a seizure. It was, "I'm bored and want to go to the clinic to get out of the cellhouse for 20 minutes."

Sounds about right. If they came to me, they wouldn't even get 20 minutes.

Question: Out of pure curiosity, are writing instruments allowed to inmates? And paper? What restrictions exist on that?

Can't answer for Kara, but at the jail where I worked they were allowed paper, pencils, and pens. Pens can be a problem, though, because they can be used for tattooing (and given the high rate of Hep C and HIV in prison populations, that's a bad thing). Of course either pens or pencils can be made into weapons. But then again, so can a newspaper.

[Victory Sabre]

Welcome back Kara. I always love reading your stories. Your "customers" are clueless.

[Kara]

Can't answer for Kara, but at the jail where I worked they were allowed paper, pencils, and pens. Pens can be a problem, though, because they can be used for tattooing (and given the high rate of Hep C and HIV in prison populations, that's a bad thing). Of course either pens or pencils can be made into weapons. But then again, so can a newspaper.

All true. Pens, pencils, and paper. They can buy colored pencils, gel pens, and card stock from an approved art-supply catalog. The only pens they aren't allowed to have at all are "click" pens, because there have been instances in other prisons where they can be used to make a "zip gun" (an improvised gun where an everyday household item is modified to fire a bullet).

And yeah, they use the ink for tattooing. The hardest part of a homemade tattoo gun for them to get is the motor, which usually comes from the small fans they can buy. That's why they can't buy CD players, because supposedly it is very easy to make a tattoo gun from them.

We had 2 guys this summer who were planning on tattooing. In the cellhouse control room, you can turn on an inmate's in-cell intercom and listen in and they can't hear you. It's a great for espionage (and a lot of guys tape paper over their intercoms so we can't hear them). I overheard IM1 talking at IM2's door, they were making plans for the next day. IM1 was going to get the custodians cart to clean his cell in the morning, then IM2 was going to trade places with IM1's celly when no one was looking. We weren't sure exactly what they were going to do, but since IM1's celly was a transwoman (non-op), it most likely wasn't a booty call.

I told the floor officer, and he went in later and searched IM 2's cell. He found 4 needles and a bottle of ink. He asked him where the motor was, and he said, "I'm so good I don't need one." Bullshit, but we had all the evidence we needed.

The next day, an informant told the other officer that one of the Mexican gangs was going to kill IM2 the following day (there were details that made it sound like a legitimate threat), so we notified the Captain's Office and he was taken to Segregation for his own safety.

He didn't know why he was going to the hole, and he naturally assumed it was because of the tattoo contraband (though if he had thought about it, he would have remembered that it's not a serious enough offense for hole time). So when he was in the Captain's office he decided he wasn't going down alone and told them that the motor was in IM1's cell. They searched it and found it behind the wall plate for the cable outlet. Now MORE people want to kill him because he's been labeled a rat

[Northstar]

Are inmates customers? Seems like a customer relationship is voluntary. An inmate does not volunteer to be put into prison. Although, sometimes it may seem that way.

[Rapscallion]

Kara's been posting such tales in here for some time. It's not a problem for them to be in here.

Rapscallion

[Fire_on_High]

We like hearing em :-)

[Sapphire Silk]

Are inmates customers? Seems like a customer relationship is voluntary. An inmate does not volunteer to be put into prison. Although, sometimes it may seem that way.

It certainly seemed voluntary when I worked as a correctional nurse. Part of my job was getting health histories on new inmates. It wasn't uncommon for me to interview the same person multiple times a year.

[fireheart]

Are inmates customers? Seems like a customer relationship is voluntary. An inmate does not volunteer to be put into prison. Although, sometimes it may seem that way.

Inmates are customers the same way that students are customers. We've also had a couple of dispatchers on here. We've also got a couple of teachers and a school admin assistant at the moment I believe (CRML?)