How to Act in Prison if it’s Your First Time There
Every prison and jail are different but these suggestions should help no matter where you are.
On Quora, on Google, and in emails to Damian’s account, the most frequently asked question in some form is how are you supposed to act if it’s your first time in prison. Should you immediately go up to the biggest guy in the block and hit them? Should you just keep to yourself? Do you immediately announce why you’re there? Do you keep your charges to yourself? What do you do?
Before I was set to arrive in prison, I searched Quora forums, Googled, and asked people for advice. I was never a Boy Scout (I think I was in Cub Scouts for about a month) but I do like to be prepared. I didn’t find a lot of information ahead of time, which is one of the reasons Demeter and I decided to do what we’re doing here — to provide information to people who may be in a similar situation one day. We want others to have a place to come and find what we were looking for, whether they’re innocent or guilty (or somewhere in between), and also to shine a light on the so-called justice system so people on the outside know what really goes on behind bars.
If you’re heading to prison for the first time, whether you’ll admit it out loud or not, you’re scared. And that’s okay. It’s…
