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Interview with Julie, Inmate's Sister, Houston, Claire, Jim, Inmate's Mom, DK, Smyth, Ken, Charlene, Greg, GMan, Jamie, Leisha, Toby, Joseph, Lisa, Brandy, Consuela, John, Tiffany, Tom, nogboy, Rachel, Ralph, Chris, Sandy, Ginger, Craig and Lesley

JM: Did you find it difficult to get along with other inmates? Please give examples to explain why you did or didn't.
Julie: No i stayed to myself spent most of the time sleep
Inmate's Sister: my brother is in jail were he do not supposed to be and an innocent man got every right to be angry but one thing he tell's me he have faith in GOD and he will try his best to avoid every fight with anyone who has a problem with him just so he can come home.
Houston: Not really, keep to yourself. If you are going to act ghetto, you will get the same in return. Also, the women that were there for a while somehow were "better than you". Some kind of criminal heirarchy.
Claire: No, not at all. I was lucky in that. Most of the other women in my pod were fairly easygoing, and I guess they could also tell that was my first time really spending time in there. Most of the women in my pod were there on probation violations, so they weren't too eager to mess up further and really jeopardize their situations by fighting or causing trouble.
Jim: Not really. Sometimes there are those who wont shower. Never had a prob with anyone stealing. Deputies sometimes let the inmates handle that themselves when someone is caught. It gets tiring listening to other inmates talk about their cases and how innocent they are.
Inmate's Mom: He got along fine with others in the holding cell. But there was a poor man who was clearly severely mentally ill who was beaten by others in the holding cell because of his erratic behavior.
DK: only over phones
Smyth: Yes.. the less room you give humans, the more aggresssive they become.
Ken: I was sent to a location for non-violent offenders. It was a black band facility called Little Baker.
Charlene: no
Greg: NO not really I shut my mouth and kept to myself,
GMan: No...I kept to myself and didn't speak with anyone.
Jamie: no
Leisha: no
Toby: no i didn't i stayed away from trouble. usually when your around my age. which is 49 years old you don't get into trouble in jail.
Joseph: for the most part all of the inmates were nice people, it was the deputies who were malicious.
Lisa: Sometimes. There is always one or two who are just mean.
Brandy: I did not interact with other inmates but kept to myself.
Consuela: Sometimes but I think that we all stuck together because of the abuse we all received by the sheriffs. They were so verbal and physically abusive with us women that it made us hate them not each other.
John: Not really - I was in a 'low risk holding tank', so most of the people in there were just riding out a night or two for traffic warrants. Conversations were loud, and a few people were obnoxious, but
Tiffany: Not too difficult. Some people are just obnoxious but it is best to tune them out and pretend you don't hear them.
Tom: No. I kept to myself and only interacted with others as needed.
nogboy: I had no trouble with the inmates in the holding cells, I got along just fine with the imates in my pod as well
Rachel: Didn't talk to them much
Ralph: I kept to myself the entire time I was in jail. I read, wrote letters and slept. But I also watched to see who I needed to be careful of. There were a couple of times when I was in a bad situation that could have gone really wrong fast, but I stood my ground and it always ended without a problem.
Chris: i did not find it difficult to get along with other inmates because i have spent most of my life locked up . i know how jail works . iam also a big guy and respectful
Sandy: I did not find it difficult to get along with others because I kept to myself and I did not bother anymore. This was my first and my last time going through this hell.
Ginger: I pretty much stayed to myself because most everyone that was there was very loud, boisterous, and just incredibly annoying so I had no interest in talking to anyone or making any friends.
Craig: I found it difficult to get along with some inmates who wanted to cause trouble on the Pod and start fights with others. I found it difficult to get along with some people who knew me from a Job that I worked with Kids...The Academy. There was alot of the kids in there who knew me as a Counselor from there and who wanted to say things about me and start things. I wrote to one of the Lieutenants and asked to be removed from the Pod and I was moved to another Pod which was the Drug and Alcohol Pod.
Lesley: got along with most every one ..only ran into one theft and they transferred her out that same day . other than that i got along with most everyone now it didnt hurt that i was on meds that ept me alseep for at least 16 hours of everyday

JM: What types of things did you have to do to avoid problems or fights with other inmates?
Julie: Keep my mouth shut it was mostly mexicans vs. black
Inmate's Sister: he will write me and tell me about the situation and ask me to pray for him, and also tell the other person "quote" his words that I do not want to be in here,I didnt ask to be here and I don't want no problems with anyone.
Claire: Like I stated before, there never really was any threat of fights or altercations as far as I was concerned. The only fight that I can recall was when one of the inmates was about to cook some Ramen noodles when she got called down for a visit. She had one of the other ladies put them on for her, and I guess she wasn't paying attention because one of the other inmates got hold of them and ate them. So when that particular inmate returned from her visit, she was like, "Where is my soup?" The girl that was supposed to have been watching them looked up and said that they were there when she had last looked (she hadn't, as far as I knew). I hadn't been paying attention at all, but then one of the other inmates pointed at this one chick and said, "She ate them." There obviously is no honor among thieves. It was pretty much on from there. All I can see now is the inmate (I'll call her Sara) pulling the girl who stole her soup off of her top bunk and kicking the crap outta her. I was rather shocked, because Sara was usually very quiet and sweet, but I guess those are the ones you have to watch out for.
Jim: I just kept to myself most the time. You try not to comment on anyone's case. There are lots of these jailhouse lawyers too. Just dont walk in with a chip on your shoulder trying to be "Johnny Badass"
DK: none
Smyth: Ignore them, don't look at them, don't talk to them, stay to yourself.
Ken: Mind your own business. Avoid discussing your issues with others. Keep conversation on friendly topics. Do what you're told and don't talk too much.
Charlene: I kept my distance from anyone I did not feel I could trust
Greg: don't bring attention to urself, make sure ur on target on getting out, if u have more than 10 day's in jail make sure, you have a plan to get through the BS, the system isnt bigger than u u are bigger than the system.
GMan: Sleep
Jamie: don't talk to no one
Leisha: none it's the deputies that treat you like you ain't sh*
Toby: just mind your own business .
Joseph: just be personable to them.
Lisa: Stay away from them. Don't talk to them unless you direly need to.
Brandy: I did not have conversations with them as to not get involved.
Consuela: I stayed on my bunk and did not induldge in rediculious conversations that might stir up mess. I kept my faith and stayed away from gangs and drugs.
John: Nothing -
Tiffany: I personally broke up one fight that wasn't too serious. If there is a fight, they make everyone in the cell stay longer and I was not having that.
Tom: I didn't bother anyone, spoke very little and treated people with respect.
nogboy: I just kept to myself, stayed in my rack, and didnt laugh at, or add to anyones statements or outbursts.
Rachel: Stayed in my cell
Ralph: Kept to myself. Didn't get mixed up in the 'homeboy network'. Didn't try to be a badass. It also helps if you are older and have no commissary money.
Chris: th e same way you would avoid fights in the freeworld . be respectful always. you have to carry yourself with confidence . people in jail are like animals looking for a victim and if you go in looking scared they are going to attack like wild dogs . it also does not hurt to be a big guy.
Sandy: I kept to myself. I really did not talk to people and when I was asked something I responded and did not cause any problems. When someone needed something and that I was able to help I would try my best because I have heard horror stories about things that happen in jail
Ginger: I just stayed to myself, tried not to engage any conversations because it just seemed like they all were not the types of people that I would want to even talk to for a short period of time. Some would try to instigate trouble but they would get bored if you didn't talk back to them.
Craig: To avoid problems and fights with other inmates I stayed away from the ones who I know were trouble and I talked to the guards on duty about ones who wanted to start things etc with me. I asked to move out of my cell when I had problems with my cell mates who wanted to start fights etc. I played games on the Pod to avoid fights and I had others on the Pod look out after me for people who wanted to fight or start fights. I avoid scenarios and people who want to get into fights and argue as well.
Lesley: nothing in particular but i did my time in the psych ward the cell were 8 women to a cell so not totally on top of one another ... i did give away a lot of commissary and slept a lot due to the fact that i was medicated thank god

JM: Were you able to choose an inmate as your cellmate if you knew one? How often would your cellmate(s) change?
Julie: NO
Inmate's Sister: no
Houston: No
Claire: No, and frankly, after spending two or three days in holding with the same women, I was ready for a change in scenery.
Jim: I dont underatand this question
DK: don't associate with people
Smyth: No.. stay uninvolved.
Ken: No
Charlene: no
Greg: None, u attract strong with strong. keep options and thought's of innocence to yourself, none of the people are really going to care, this is a way of them to keep themselves closer to getting what they want, inside your head, keep to yourself, and youll be ok.
GMan: No
Jamie: no
Leisha: no
Toby: no and i don't get this question at all .
Joseph: no
Lisa: no
Brandy: no
Consuela: Hell no your choice to choose anything is gone once you hit that door. Your no longer a human you are a dog worse than a dog. If your mother,sister,aunt or daughter was in there you wouldn't know unless you seen them.And even then you better not say, they might separate you just because they can.
Tiffany: No.
Tom: Didn't have a choice. I was housed in a pod with about 25 other people and my "celly" what whoever was sleeping on the bottom bunk before i got there.
nogboy: I was in a pod, that held about 20 inmates, who were contantly being released and replaced.
Rachel: No, one cellmate, never changed.
Ralph: I chose my cell and my bunk when I first got there. I was in a cell with eight bunks. I didn't really care who was in the other seven as long as they didn't make my life too difficult. There were a couple of times when I knew a bunk was about to be empty and I would encourage another inmate that I got along with to take that bunk. But usually I just dealt with whatever the situation was.
Chris: i was not able to choose an inmate as my cellmate because i did not live in a cell i lived in dormitory style housing . i believe all of harris county is dorms.
Sandy: No we were all put in a large pod that is what they called it and we all lived in one big room that had showers bathrooms and there was a TV
Ginger: You were put with whoever they wanted to put you with, or where there was space available. A lot of people came in and left frequently, so your cellmates would change frequently.
Craig: I got to pick my cellmate after being there a while. I had more privelages cause I was a worker. My cellmate changed quite often cause there were people getting out
Lesley: if there was a free bunk you could have anyone come into it usually at least once a week someone alway thought the grass was greener or someone would be transferred in or out

Read about time off for good behavior in the Harris County Jail

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