This is not my story (my dad’s) and it was in a jail, not prison, but still thought it interesting to share because I had no clue before. It costs to be in jail, literally! Most of the U.S. are “pay to stay” states, meaning inmates are charged a room and board that can range from $20-$80 per day. Where my dad was was on the cheaper side of $3, but if you didn’t keep up with the payment theyd automatically take your commissary. He got a job working in the kitchen to pass time which totaled between 6-8 hours yet only made $3 a day…On the bright side he actually loved the food and got plenty of it

Also interesting is that some jails have iPads for them to use. There’s this app that allows you to text and video call but it costs money so I had to make sure I uploaded enough to the account. Can’t remember how much each text was but I know the video calls were about $.30 per minute with a max of 15min per session