Ask Layzie about Heroin Addiction/Doing Time In Prison

[AlexSem]

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Did you feel that prison "rehabilitated" you?

Would you ever go back?

Was it like an all=inclusive vacation?

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The only thing it did for me is got me to quit smoking weed, because obviously I couldn't (unless I wanted to pay 3 packs of cigarettes for a joint that is so small it wouldn't get me high).

I wouldn't voluntarily go back, but I could handle it. In the thread awhile back about 30 days in jail, or 1 year of house arrest, I voted for the 30 days. I must stress however that jail and prison are two completely different things, and that prison is 10 times better.

I wouldn't call it a vacation, but it was something that I learned alot from, mostly about human nature.

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Could you tell us what you learned about human nature please? This is all very interesting btw, great thread.

[Layzie]

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Could you tell us what you learned about human nature please? This is all very interesting btw, great thread.

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Regardless of skin color, culture, or upbringing, we're all people. It's in everyone's nature to love, to hate, to dream, to hope, to fear, to need, to want, to desire, etc. Anyone can learn from their mistakes and use that experience to strengthen themselves. I've met murderers, thieves, drug dealers, arsonists, and was able to sit around and tell jokes with them, and talk to them about struggles on the street. There's a sense of comradery in prison, and it crosses racial lines. This isn't portrayed that well on TV, though. At one point, I had a guy who was sentenced to life, stick up for me when a card game almost turned into a fight. I mean, to think that a guy who is never going home was willing to help out someone like me gives me at least a little more faith in humanity than I had before I was locked up. Not everyone is automatically trash after committing a crime, no matter how rough it was. Society generally will give up or look down on people who have done time, and the truth is something positive can come out of it, and not everyone who has made mistakes is truly evil.

[Blarg]

How segregated did different races keep themselves? Was it dangerous to have friends of different races, or talk to people of different races? By which I mean, could doing so turn your own race against you?

[El Diablo]

L,

How much money can you get sent to you from outside of prison?

You mentioned being able to buy a TV, better food, etc. Can you get enough sent from the outside to get this stuff, or do you have to work/steal/get a lot on the inside to do this?

How much of the economy is between prisoners, how much between prisoners/guards, and how much is official transactions between prisoners/institution?

[Layzie]

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How segregated did different races keep themselves? Was it dangerous to have friends of different races, or talk to people of different races? By which I mean, could doing so turn your own race against you?

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Everyone talks to everyone for the most part. The only people that really didn't get along were the crips and the bloods. The most dangerous thing would be to be friends with a known snitch. However, snitches are generally moved for protection. It's not like OZ where there's a group of skinheads standing in one corner, a group of blacks in another corner, and muslims in another. I didn't see many skinheads, which is surprising considering I live in Virginia.


Like I said before there is a sense of comradery to an extent. Of course there are people who don't like each other, but if you respect people, they don't bother you. Things that really bother people in prison are when you reach over someone's food, touch someone's food, or if you eavesdrop in people's business.

[Villainaire]

Were the snitches the people that told on other people in the prison? Or is it a situation where they told on a co-defendant who's in another prison, and the other inmates found out?

[Layzie]

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L,

How much money can you get sent to you from outside of prison?

You mentioned being able to buy a TV, better food, etc. Can you get enough sent from the outside to get this stuff, or do you have to work/steal/get a lot on the inside to do this?

How much of the economy is between prisoners, how much between prisoners/guards, and how much is official transactions between prisoners/institution?

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You can get as much as you want sent to you. It just goes on your books. I payed $220 for a color TV with a 5 inch screen, but it was worth it because I saw every episode of the 2005 WSOP, which was a real treat. You can order stuff like walkmans, CD players, a clock, headphones, or a TV. You order food/tobacco once a week. Basically stuff like doritos, ramen noodles, generic soda, newports, rolling tobacco, and black and milds. Depending on what kind of unit you're in you can be assigned a job, which can make you about 15-20 bucks a week. This is enough to get your cigarettes and some decent food.

Alot of prisoners are good with loaning food/stamps etc., but where I was at most of the time, everyone had an assigned job so we were able to support ourselves. I also had money sent from my brother and parents.

There were a few known corrupt officers who were known to do favors for certain inmates. Two were busted while I was in there for trying to bring cocaine in. I would say most of the economy is official transactions, followed by prisoner to prisoner (alot of gambling), and then guard to prisoner.

[Layzie]

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Were the snitches the people that told on other people in the prison? Or is it a situation where they told on a co-defendant who's in another prison, and the other inmates found out?

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Both. Some people were just assumed to be snitches when people found out how much time they had to serve in relation to their crime. Others were people who told on prisoners involving fights (I went into that a little bit earlier).

[BeerMoney]

Thanks for taking the time to answering my questions.

A few more.

Could you have porn mags in your cell?

Did any friends come to visit you? (non family)

How did you like the guards?

What are your future plans?

Did any religious figures come to help prisoners? If so, did you seek their guidance?

Do you keep in contact with any inmates?

What would happen if you got sick/needed medical attention?

Did you ever get in any trouble in the clink?

Do you still crave H from time to time?

the thought of someone shooting up literally makes me sick to my stomach, what kind of feelings do you get when you think back to it?

Have you ever seen the show "Intervention" on A&E? Do you think an intervention would have helped you?

What kind of music do you listen to?

Have you ever been with a black woman?

[BluffTHIS!]

Note to any other excons out there:

This is a very interesting thread and Layzie is to be commended for taking the time to answer people's questions about an unusual topic. But I would also be interested to see an excon from a joint in like NY/Cali or a federal prison also start such a thread so we could see whether Layzie's experiences were typical or milder compared to other prisons.

Of course if you do, then just answer the ass-bang question in your OP and save the first question.