[Layzie]

"Layzie, great thread, thanks.

How often did you see other prisoners start [censored] for no reason, ie, starting a fight or altercation "just to cause trouble?"

I'd say fairly often, but as I said before, it's mostly the younger kids, doing their first bid and trying to "prove themselves".

"If you minded your own business and kept to yourself, would you be able to get through prison without having to take a stand for yourself?"

For the most part, yes, but nothing is for certain in prison.


"What kinds of tests or situations did you face? Obviously you don't want to make enemies or cause problems, but like you said earlier you can't let people walk on you."

I got into one altercation over a card game, but it didn't escalate into a fight. It was weird, because someone who's never going to go home stood up for me. I was only in for 13 months or so, so there's no telling what could happen if I was in longer.

"Who were the "bad people" you ran across in prison? I realize "bad person" is vague. What I mean is people who you would not like to be in a room with. For example I'm sure there were some murderers you met who were much "nicer" people than other prisoners..."


The worst people tended to be younger gang members, and ironically, people that had less than 10 years. This is kind of a generalization though. There were "bad people" with life, and "bad people" 2 years. It's hard to give you a category of people who were trouble, because it varied.