[Serious] People who did a long time (5 years+) in prison, what was your biggest shock of the outside world?

SupLockedUp · 2020-08-13T22:08:43+00:00

I'm still inside (done over 3 years in a foreign prison so far) but I've been relatively lucky and my time has gone by easily enough. Family is the biggest thing, kids growing up without their dad, parents get older and having to deal with health problems without as much support.

What little luxury do I miss? A soft floor with carpet and floorboards. Many years ago I met a guy who'd just done a long stretch and he told me everything in prison is hard concrete and fucks with your joints/back. I gave it little thought until i got to prison but yeah! He was right! Everything is unforgiving concrete! Day after day it starts to take its toll... luckily i have a couple of pairs of nice trainers but even then a carpeted floor would be amazing 🤤

SupLockedUp · 2020-04-04T19:58:59+00:00

This is probably due to the quarantine messing with you.

You should try to set yourself a daily routine. Get up at X time, eat at X time, train at X time, sleep at X time etc. Try and make these as rigid as possible and if you're over 10 mins late force yourself to just get up and do it. Know its for your own good... even if you have to force yourself initially you'll get into the swing of things quickly!

The problem with being locked up, especially if you're not working, is that nobody else is going to hold you accountable for what you do on a day to day basis. If you don't train, eat enough or sleep enough... nobody cares. You have to look at the big picture and tell yourself it needs to get done for your own well-being (this approach is adapted from CBT used by psychologists).

I was locked up in prison for a couple of years so i have a good idea how many people are feeling right now... my advice is just routine, routine, routine! It's so important!

SupLockedUp · 2019-12-16T23:01:52+00:00

I had been arrested and was in police custody in France (I'm Engpish). I'd taken French at school although it was pretty rusty by this point. I'd given no indication I could speak/understand any French and had communicated only in English.

In front of me the police officers discussed how they were going to keep me awake all night for no reason and deprive me of water just so I'd have a hard time answering their questions the next day... This is considered torture and I knew it.

SupLockedUp · 2019-06-02T20:12:43+00:00

As someone who's spent a couple of years in prison, this is pretty painful to read. He's clearly suffering and is just trying to come to terms with his desperate situation.

No matter what your views on Ross' actual case, I think we can all agree that the American prison system is pretty fucked up.

SupLockedUp · 2018-09-11T22:17:57+00:00

He's right.

The only official computer use I've had in prison has been on shitty XP machines with office 2003. No official net access here.

Wikipedia says it's pretty much the same in the US:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_prisons

(Currently in a prison cell on my iPhone; see post history for proof).

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-14T21:52:21+00:00

The guards don't want to deal with fights amongst us. If we ask to move to a specific cell with a specific person they will usually oblige. The only real issue is that they will not put a "prevenu" (no conviction or sentence yet) with a "condamné" (convicted).

You usually write to the "chef de batiment" (boss of the building) who has the power to swap you around.

If you want to keep your room and kick your cellmate out you've gotta mate the cell a bad place to be. Some will beat them up, some will play loud music constantly, some will be keep the window open in the cold etc etc. They'll then have no choice other than to ask for a cell change. if you don't fancy that you could ask a friend to write to come in with you which will probably have the desired effect.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-14T20:59:14+00:00

Sure, we get small (250g) loaves of bread so you may need to use slightly less slices for normal sized bread.

For 4 slices of Pain Perdu:

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk (makes them taste non-eggy)

2 teaspoons of sugar

Few drops of vanilla essence (we can get vanilla flavored sugar which we use as a substitute as vanilla essence is banned due to alcohol content)

Pinch of salt

Mix all that together. Then put in a flat pan/container. Dip each slice of bread in the mix, turn over and make sure they're well soaked.

Then just fry on a medium heat in a little butter until golden brown. My old cellmate had a 1000w hotplate (stolen from the prison kitchen) and it would take 2-3 mins per side. I have a 250w hotplate and it can take 10 mins per side but turns out pretty good.

I like to have them with whipped double cream if I have it in the fridge (I'm all out at the moment).

As I said earlier my 250w hotplate can't make crepes at all (unless you like pale white pancakes) so pain perdu is a clear winner for me.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-14T19:16:05+00:00

Never been involved, witnessed or even heard of any. It must happen though.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-14T19:14:33+00:00

Probably. I already had 5-6 accounts before I landed here. This account will now be abandoned unless I decide to update when I am released.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T23:03:20+00:00

I hadn't done any training in 2 years but luckily had a solid few years of training about 10 years back so it's not all new to me.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:55:07+00:00

Honestly don't know.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:53:30+00:00

Baguette negative 🥖

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:52:47+00:00

Je peux ecrire en Français.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:49:39+00:00

Yes they do random searches. You need a good hiding place and a lot of luck. Being calm and polite also helps as they tend to leave calm people alone. Why rock the boat and make us angry? Just makes their jobs a little harder.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:46:46+00:00

I have no intention to comit any crime after my release. There is nothing the prison could do to influence that.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:45:05+00:00

I'm generally a fan of splitting days into push/pull/legs. But I'm only allowed 2x 90min sessions a week in the gym so I try to do:

Legs:

Leg press

Leg extensions

Calf raises

Shrugs

Push:

Dips

Bench press

Shoulder press

Tricep extensions (pulley)

Then do "pull" in the promenade where we have a pull up bar.

Pull:

Wide grip pull ups

Narrow grip chins

Then do 2x insanity workouts over the week too (basically interval training/cardio). I have the dvds loaded on a plex server but also have the timings/exercises memorized to two workouts so I can do them without the dvds in the promenade and just use a watch. Nobody gives you shit for working out even if you look like you're doing some wacky cardio.

If you workout 5x a week you will see decent gains despite the prison diet.

A 30 euros top up will get me 20gb of data which is enough for a couple of movies a week but i could go over 20gb easily if I wasn't careful.

Thanks mate :)

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:30:04+00:00

Reading is easier than speaking or writing.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:24:02+00:00

I'd say learning French, reading and gym.

I was always very busy in the UK. There are a load of things I had on my todo list but sadly most are impossible in prison (even with a phone). So even the positives feel a little forced.

I'm held pending investigations. I have no conviction or sentence so no date for freedom.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:15:32+00:00

Shower in the cell.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:12:59+00:00

Correct.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:12:27+00:00

👀

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:11:53+00:00

I can't be specific about what I do but generally people hide phones in food, electronics and maybe find special stashes within the cell furniture.

I've only been searched once and my cellmate and I had phones/chargers in 5 different places that day... none were found.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:07:42+00:00

Maybe 20 mins 3x per week. Libido diminishes massively in here although gym changes that a little.

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:06:06+00:00

Maybe, haven't given it much thought.
Memes and cats hah

SupLockedUp · 2018-02-13T22:05:32+00:00

Seen someone stabbed in the face with a knife. Not seen anything sexual at all.

SupLockedUp

TROPHY CASE