Harris County Jail

Jail Layout

Interview with Julie, Inmate's Sister, Claire, Jim, DK, Smyth, Ken and Houston

JM: How many different blocks were there?
Julie: Alot
Inmate's Sister: dont know
Claire: As far as I knew, there were maybe 9 or 10 floors of pods. Pods were basically dorm type rooms or barracks-type rooms with bunk beds set up (about 10 sets) in it, with two toilets, two sinks, and two showers.
Jim: Three block in each pod.
DK: not sure
Smyth: 12
Ken: Don't know, several

JM: Did they have names? If so, what were they?
Julie: They had letter like block A or B or C
Inmate's Sister: na
Claire: Every floor had an "A" pod and a "B" pod.
Jim: no names just numbered depending on the floor you are on.
Smyth: No letters.. A B C D E F G H I J K L
Ken: Don't know

JM: Which inmates were housed in the different blocks?
Julie: To my understanding based on the crime you committed less violent was together
Inmate's Sister: na
Houston: I know that the mentally unstable and gang people were kept seperate.
Claire: I am not sure exactly how it was determined which inmates would be put where….
Jim: youngsters, sex offenders, homosexuals, snitches and state witnesses are seperated.
Smyth: According to work assignment.
Ken: My offense was DWI 3rd offense. I was housed with people that had drug and alcohol offenses. Some were there for other things like theft. Not sure why everyone on my block was there, tried to keep to myself.

JM: What do you remember being the nicest and worst parts about the different blocks?
Julie: Nothing at all I was only in one block
Inmate's Sister: na
Houston: Nicest . um they had enough toilet paper? Worst, having to deal with the stench of the street riff raff that came in on the weekends.
Claire: The other inmates were pretty cool. And they were clean. We cleaned about 2 or 3 times per day. Mostly out of boredom, I think. There was nothing that really stood out about my pod that I would consider bad. I mean, being in jail is bad enough, right?
Jim: Nothing nice. The worst was how cold they keep it. In the daytime at 7am you must get out of your bed and you cant get under the covers. Also alot of satph infection. It's also a lengthy process to get medical attention
Smyth: Nicest.. get to go to school during days. Worst.. do not go anywhere and get beat on daily without help from guards.
Ken: The best thing was that the cell block was relatively clean. It was also kept quite cool or cold. I was told that was to prevent disease. It's a bit like a refridgerator. The worst part was the beds were very uncomfortable. Virtually no sheets or blankets to speak of. The showers are nasty, but useable. The toilets are numbered and half are for urine only the other half are full service so to speak. Food was hit or miss, none of it was great. Breakfast tended to be the best meal. Breakfast work detail was the prefered time because the work hours were the shortest and work was easiest.