The jail twice put me on suicide watch at the start of a sentence. The first time was during the first week of my initial 30-day stay. I was not suicidal, and I have no idea why the jail decided I was. Maybe the fact I was a highly educated person that had never been in trouble made them think I might try to kill myself. Once they decide you are a risk, there is no convincing them otherwise, and they don’t want to take the risk of being sued if you kill yourself. I was only on Level 1 watch that time.
The second time I was on suicide watch was I believe–unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, things have begun to blur–after I was arrested for stalking and could not initially post bail. I got put on Level 2 suicide watch because my idiot psychologist called the jail and said I might be a suicide risk. His only reason for believing this was because I might have been upset about being in jail. The next time I spoke to him, I told him never to do that again unless he had a grave concern. Suicide watch was easily the worst of my time in jail.
I spent a lot of time in A1 and B2 blocks. A1 is “the hole” where inmates are punished for misconduct or segregated from other inmates because they are dangerous or fear for their safety. I will explain later some of the rather humorous reasons guards put me here. In A1, inmates are locked in their cells for nearly 23 hours each day. The only reasons inmates can leave is to spend time in the “yard”–being put in a cage in the recreation space–showering, meetings with jail staff or attorneys, and time for legal research locked in a small room with a computer. Showers and yard time occur on alternating days. Guards handcuff inmates whenever leaving their cell and also shackle them whenever leaving the block. Handcuffs are removed when in the yard and the shower. There is a heavy metal door in front of each shower stall that is locked while in use. One time I was stuck in the shower for an hour because the jail went on lockdown while I was showering. I later learned that the lengthy lockdown was for moving the female inmates to a larger block. After showering, you are allowed to exchange books. Telephone access is limited to 15 minutes per week. Commissary items are also severely limited. If you enjoy reading, writing, time alone and don’t mind the limited selection from the commissary like me, spending time in A1 was not that big of a punishment. The worst part for me was the limited access to the telephones and the limited selection of books.