{"id":149,"date":"2021-02-16T02:05:58","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T02:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.2.5\/wordpress\/?page_id=149"},"modified":"2026-08-24T02:53:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T02:53:59","slug":"intermission-9-thoughts-about-jail-part-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/?page_id=149","title":{"rendered":"Intermission 7:  Thoughts about Jail, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-149-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P01.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P01.mp3\">https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P01.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first thing to make clear is the distinction between county jails and state prisons. This distinction is something I didn&#8217;t understand until spending time in a county jail. I have never been in state prison. County jails are designed to hold inmates temporarily or, in most cases, up to two years. Thus, people convicted of most misdemeanors spend their time in county jail. The other large population of inmates in county jail is those awaiting trial or sentencing because they could not afford or a judge denied bail. A small number are inmates from state prisons who are nearing the end of their sentence. It was never entirely clear why the department of corrections moved these inmates to a county jail, but I suspect it had to do with overcrowding.\u00a0 For some reason, they were not allowed to be cellmates with &#8220;county&#8221; inmates. I&#8217;m not sure if this was just the policy of Centre County or if it was statewide.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While I grew up within a couple of miles of a federal prison, I had never been detained or incarcerated in a jail or prison until these events unfolded.\u00a0 I think the closest I&#8217;d ever been to being in a prison was to get permission to pick up wood from Rockview State Prison, which is also in Centre County, to help heat the McBath Street house.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being in jail was certainly overall a very negative experience.\u00a0 However, incarceration helped me tremendously with overcoming being a professional worrier. In jail, you have to give up worrying if your children and family are safe because there is no way to contact them regularly to know. This lack of contact was particularly bad for me with my children. After a few days of essentially being panicked because I didn&#8217;t know if they were okay, I had to force myself not to worry about it. I finally realized this didn&#8217;t mean that I didn&#8217;t care about them or love them. It just meant that I had no control over their wellbeing and had to assume Rita was taking good care of them. I learned in jail that I strangely equated loving someone with overly worrying about them. Initially, I felt very guilty when I found myself not worrying about the kids&#8217; safety and realized that the guilt was because I thought I loved them less if I wasn&#8217;t worried about them all the time. I finally convinced myself that this wasn&#8217;t true and was able to decouple worry from love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most inmates I met were there for drug offenses, PFA violations, or repeated drunk driving offenses. There were, however, people there for much more severe crimes, including murder, rape, child pornography, and sexual abuse of children. I met people accused and later convicted of all of these offenses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The jail where I spent my time was officially called the Centre County Correctional Facility (CCCF), but I will not use that name here. Calling it a &#8220;Correctional Facility&#8221; is one of the biggest misnomers I have ever encountered. There is essentially no attempt besides volunteer addiction treatment to correct anyone&#8217;s behavior. It seems like jail is a place to go to learn how to conduct your criminal behavior, so you&#8217;re less likely to get caught. I learned so much about illegal drugs while there; some of the inmates really should have been chemists. This education constantly reminded me of the quote from the movie Blow where Johnny Depp, playing George Jung, says, &#8220;Danbury (prison) wasn&#8217;t a prison, it was a crime school. I went in with a Bachelor of marijuana, came out with a Doctorate of cocaine.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!--nextpage--><\/p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-149-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P02.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P02.mp3\">https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P02.mp3<\/a><\/audio>Like prisons, most jails segregate the inmate population into blocks. I recall eight blocks in the Centre County jail, each housing about 50 inmates; the 400-inmate capacity is exceptionally high for a county of its size. There was no problem with overcrowding as often one or two of these blocks were closed or populated by relatively few inmates. Many of the inmates were from nearby counties that pay Centre County to house inmates. A <a href=\"http:\/\/96.66.168.57\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Aftercare_Medications_Centre_County.pdf\">document<\/a> I found online states that in 2014, 11 other counties were paying Centre County to house inmates, which generated nearly $3M in revenue for the county.\u00a0 The number of inmates from Centre County is typically around <a href=\"https:\/\/centrecountypa.gov\/232\/Inmate-Listing\">130<\/a>.\u00a0 Each block has a unique personality based on the types of inmates and guards assigned. However, the best way I can think to describe the dynamic between the inmates is that of an elementary school playground, i.e., bullies, bullied, whiners, people who didn&#8217;t care, etc.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div id=\"attachment_2052\" style=\"width: 522px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2052\" class=\"wp-image-2052 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/96.66.168.57\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Screenshot_2021-10-15_16-19-13.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Screenshot_2021-10-15_16-19-13.png 512w, https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Screenshot_2021-10-15_16-19-13-300x197.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2052\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Centre County Jail<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All the blocks but the &#8220;work release&#8221; blocks have a similar layout at the Centre County jail, but no two are exactly alike. Each block has two levels with a balcony from the second level overlooking the first level. Cells have bunk beds and hold two inmates. However, because the jail was sparsely populated, many inmates had a cell to themselves. Besides the beds, each cell had a small table, a toilet, and a sink. There was a very narrow window that had nearly opaque plastic instead of glass. If the sun was directly out the window, you could see a small orangish circle. Each block had a shower area with either three or four semi-private shower stalls. There was also a laundry room in most blocks with a washer and dryer. A hot water dispenser was available for inmates to make coffee, tea, or Ramen noodles. There was an activity room where the block kept books and puzzles. Inmates primarily used the table in the activity room to do puzzles. The &#8220;law library&#8221; computer was also in the activity room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, each block had a roughly 40-foot square recreation area with a basketball hoop and attachments on the wall for a net for volleyball. Fencing covered a large bay door in this area. When the weather permitted, the guards could open this door, and the inmates could get some fresh air and see the sun. Each block also had tables and chairs anchored to the floor&#8211;shown between the guards in the image&#8211;in the common area for eating, playing cards, or watching television. The one television in each block was out of reach of the inmates and controlled by the on-duty guard. The guard usually took a quick poll of what the inmates want to watch next when a show was over. There were rows of hefty chairs with armrests to watch television; see the image. I think wet sand filled the chairs, so they were too heavy to throw or use as a weapon.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, each block had two &#8220;suicide watch&#8221; cells padded with tough and durable rubber. There were no beds or tables in these cells, just a knee-high padded &#8220;bench&#8221; for sitting or sleeping. Being in one of these cells was by far the worst place you could be. It is horrible when you&#8217;re on Level 2 suicide watch, which is the most severe. A psychologist evaluates these inmates weekly to determine if they can come off suicide watch or move to Level 1. The only time the guards let you out of the cell is to shower. The cell&#8217;s lights are always on, and the guards do not allow you to put anything over your head to sleep. If you do, the guards will wake you up. There are also cameras in these cells. On Level 2 suicide watch, the jail gives you what inmates call the &#8220;Turtle Suit&#8221; to wear. It is green and essentially a very heavily padded small blanket that you can velcro around yourself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!--nextpage--><\/p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-149-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P03.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P03.mp3\">https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Intermission-149-P03.mp3<\/a><\/audio>Being on suicide watch is seriously horrible. A few days will make you want to kill yourself regardless of how you felt when the jail put you on suicide watch. Fortunately for the prison, there is absolutely no way to do it. You are not given utensils with your food, and guards told me the wide end of a celery stalk these inmates got was a spoon. I honestly think they put first-time inmates on suicide watch initially so that they appreciate the freedom they have once out of that miserable hell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.\u00a0 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&#8217;t want to take the risk of being sued if you kill yourself. I was only on Level 1 watch that time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second time I was on suicide watch was I believe&#8211;unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, things have begun to blur&#8211;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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I spent a lot of time in A1 and B2 blocks. A1 is &#8220;the hole&#8221; 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 &#8220;yard&#8221;&#8211;being put in a cage in the recreation space&#8211;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.\u00a0 Telephone access is limited to 15 minutes per week. Commissary items are also severely limited. If you enjoy reading, writing, time alone and don&#8217;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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first thing to make clear is the distinction between county jails and state prisons. This distinction is something I didn&#8217;t understand until spending time in a county jail. I have never been in state prison. County jails are designed to hold inmates temporarily or, in most cases, up to two years. Thus, people convicted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-149","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":61,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3064,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/149\/revisions\/3064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}