Orange is the New Black--NOT! Cartoonist in LA County Jail
January 4, 2015 9:21 AM Subscribe
Cartoonist Elana Pritchard goes to LA County Jail, draws her experiences
Using a contraband golf pencil, animator/cartoonist Pritchard sketched her daily life inside LA County Jail. She'd worked on Ralph Bakshi’s film Last Days of Coney Island.
She violated a restraining order, was sentenced to two months. What she experienced inside is a far cry from the popular TV series. Outtakes and deleted scenes on her blog.
Using a contraband golf pencil, animator/cartoonist Pritchard sketched her daily life inside LA County Jail. She'd worked on Ralph Bakshi’s film Last Days of Coney Island.
She violated a restraining order, was sentenced to two months. What she experienced inside is a far cry from the popular TV series. Outtakes and deleted scenes on her blog.
From the blog post:
I was over-detained in the jail. People sentenced to a year or less serve between 10 and 15 percent of their sentence, and at that point I had been there around 18 percent. They had also transferred me to a jail where no one was "county" (less than a year) but me. None of the deputies would listen to me and I started to feel like something was very wrong. I wrote this note in the hopes that it would get someone's attention and get me out of the jail. It worked.
Ugh, holy crap, nightmare fuel.
posted by bleep at 9:48 AM on January 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
I was over-detained in the jail. People sentenced to a year or less serve between 10 and 15 percent of their sentence, and at that point I had been there around 18 percent. They had also transferred me to a jail where no one was "county" (less than a year) but me. None of the deputies would listen to me and I started to feel like something was very wrong. I wrote this note in the hopes that it would get someone's attention and get me out of the jail. It worked.
Ugh, holy crap, nightmare fuel.
posted by bleep at 9:48 AM on January 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
So, yeah, she apparently thought she was his girlfriend and stalked him on his blog and Twitter for months and months. See the comments sections on these posts. That's pretty intense.
posted by empath at 9:49 AM on January 4, 2015
posted by empath at 9:49 AM on January 4, 2015
Not to threadsit, but I only added the court documents to forestall any speculative derail comments. The sketches of life inside the jail certainly are eye-opening.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:52 AM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 9:52 AM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
A restraining order from the guy that made ren and stimpy.
Saw these yesterday on LA Weekly (courtesy of Reddit) but they notably didn't reveal the cause of her incarceration. Funny, I got a Ren & Stimpy vibe from them; now I know why.
posted by sfkiddo at 9:53 AM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Saw these yesterday on LA Weekly (courtesy of Reddit) but they notably didn't reveal the cause of her incarceration. Funny, I got a Ren & Stimpy vibe from them; now I know why.
posted by sfkiddo at 9:53 AM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I saw this a few days ago and thought they seemed about right for jail. I'd rather not be in jail. It's sad though that stalking only lands one in there for a couple of months. Hopefully she learned her lesson. I have a hard time feeling bad for her.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:56 AM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cjorgensen at 9:56 AM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wow her comments are intensely unsettling. I don't want to play into the dismissive "women are crazy" thing, but reading those pieces just fires off the warning klaxons. She's definitely got talent too.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:16 AM on January 4, 2015
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:16 AM on January 4, 2015
> It's sad though that stalking only lands one in there for a couple of months. Hopefully she learned her lesson. I have a hard time feeling bad for her.
They often didn't have hot water. They faced toilet paper and feminine hygiene products rationing. They were given very limited toiletries, including underwear.
It's shocking how inhumane it is.
posted by pmv at 10:17 AM on January 4, 2015 [22 favorites]
They often didn't have hot water. They faced toilet paper and feminine hygiene products rationing. They were given very limited toiletries, including underwear.
It's shocking how inhumane it is.
posted by pmv at 10:17 AM on January 4, 2015 [22 favorites]
> None of the deputies would listen to me and I started to feel like something was very wrong. I wrote this note in the hopes that it would get someone's attention and get me out of the jail.
> I have a hard time feeling bad for her.
If you have a hard time feeling bad for someone who has been through something like this, because they made a bad decision or did something you didn't like, well that says more about you than it does about them.
posted by frijole at 10:19 AM on January 4, 2015 [44 favorites]
> I have a hard time feeling bad for her.
If you have a hard time feeling bad for someone who has been through something like this, because they made a bad decision or did something you didn't like, well that says more about you than it does about them.
posted by frijole at 10:19 AM on January 4, 2015 [44 favorites]
I have a hard time feeling bad for her.
I don't. She needs compassion and care, not torture and humiliation. How we treat those remanded to our care is an accurate mirror of our values as a society, and our "justice" system underlines we absolutely don't give a shit.
If your neighbor treated their dog like we treat prisoners, you'd be on the horn to animal control.
posted by maxwelton at 10:20 AM on January 4, 2015 [35 favorites]
I don't. She needs compassion and care, not torture and humiliation. How we treat those remanded to our care is an accurate mirror of our values as a society, and our "justice" system underlines we absolutely don't give a shit.
If your neighbor treated their dog like we treat prisoners, you'd be on the horn to animal control.
posted by maxwelton at 10:20 AM on January 4, 2015 [35 favorites]
Jail is not prison, and in a lot of cases is worse. Here in California it is run by the Sheriff, and for better or worse lacks the oversite CDCR has. Here in San Diego Sheriff Duffy had deputies running gladiator fights back in the 70s. While Corcoran got busted for it back in the 90s, no real reform came down on the Sheriffs of California. I guess we should have voted them out, but they were real popular with the tuff on crime crowd.
Federal Prison is not State Prison is not County Jail.
posted by The Power Nap at 10:21 AM on January 4, 2015 [8 favorites]
Federal Prison is not State Prison is not County Jail.
posted by The Power Nap at 10:21 AM on January 4, 2015 [8 favorites]
Her punishment is supposed to be lack of freedom, not abuse and threats from guards, deputies, and other prisoners.
posted by rtha at 10:23 AM on January 4, 2015 [44 favorites]
posted by rtha at 10:23 AM on January 4, 2015 [44 favorites]
Her punishment is supposed to be lack of freedom, not abuse and threats from guards, deputies, and other prisoners.
Exactly. She shouldn't get off scott-free, because being stalked is so frightening (and life-disrupting) to the victim. And I think that malevolent and abusive stalkers need to be punished, especially when stalking is used as domestic violence.
Pritchard seems to fall on the mentally-disturbed end of the spectrum, though, and would be better served by an ankle-bracelet monitor and some mandated, intensive psychiatric care. She'd lose her freedom without having to endure inhumane conditions, and get the mental health care she seems to badly need.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:43 AM on January 4, 2015 [14 favorites]
Exactly. She shouldn't get off scott-free, because being stalked is so frightening (and life-disrupting) to the victim. And I think that malevolent and abusive stalkers need to be punished, especially when stalking is used as domestic violence.
Pritchard seems to fall on the mentally-disturbed end of the spectrum, though, and would be better served by an ankle-bracelet monitor and some mandated, intensive psychiatric care. She'd lose her freedom without having to endure inhumane conditions, and get the mental health care she seems to badly need.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 10:43 AM on January 4, 2015 [14 favorites]
The U.S. approach to corrections really is an amazing two-for-one deal: it's too expensive AND it doesn't accomplish anything positive.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:48 AM on January 4, 2015 [29 favorites]
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:48 AM on January 4, 2015 [29 favorites]
She'd lose her freedom without having to endure inhumane conditions, and get the mental health care she seems to badly need.
Or, you know, we could treat all prisoners with a shred of human decency regardless of their crimes. I get that we are obsessed with punishment and love to think of bad people in jail paying for the evil they've done, but denying someone clean underwear and basic hygiene access isn't about preventing crime, it's about dehumanizing someone to keep them in line.
It's the 21st century, at some point we need to recognize that dehumanizing people only makes it more unlikely they can participate in society. Treat people like animals and they will behave like animals.
posted by teleri025 at 10:56 AM on January 4, 2015 [16 favorites]
Or, you know, we could treat all prisoners with a shred of human decency regardless of their crimes. I get that we are obsessed with punishment and love to think of bad people in jail paying for the evil they've done, but denying someone clean underwear and basic hygiene access isn't about preventing crime, it's about dehumanizing someone to keep them in line.
It's the 21st century, at some point we need to recognize that dehumanizing people only makes it more unlikely they can participate in society. Treat people like animals and they will behave like animals.
posted by teleri025 at 10:56 AM on January 4, 2015 [16 favorites]
My brother is in prison, and these comics strike me as fairly accurate, if not less inhumane than what my brother has experienced. The process of transfer to and from court is enough to make me want to throw out the entire system and start over. The DOC employ a legion of (mostly) petty people who have power over people's lives, and often go out of their way to make it as miserable as possible.
I wish everyone had a better understanding of how the prison system worked because it's a fucking travesty.
posted by guster4lovers at 10:59 AM on January 4, 2015 [12 favorites]
I wish everyone had a better understanding of how the prison system worked because it's a fucking travesty.
posted by guster4lovers at 10:59 AM on January 4, 2015 [12 favorites]
I spent a week teaching as a sub at the Juvenile Detention Center here in Seattle a few years ago. The population there was by definition transient--kids awaiting either court stuff or medical or what have you, then back to prison. I was told that these weren't kids awaiting trial, either; they'd all been convicted. All of them were charged with serious, violent crimes, because the juvenile jails & prisons were to crowded to house non-violent stuff like grand theft. Any kids charged with something non-violent were given house arrest with ankle monitors & such. There was at least one day where I didn't even get my first two classes because the kids were all on lockdown after a fight during breakfast.
The guards told me to count my pencils after every class. I had twelve golf pencils in my "classroom." They said that if any turn up missing, I should call it out immediately. They also told me that kids would be strip-searched in the event of a missing pencil, and given that, they would all get seriously pissed off at whichever kid stole said pencil once discovered.
I've never been in jail, much less strip-searched. I found the whole prospect horrifying. Naturally, I counted pencils after every class. I don't think I've ever been so obsessively diligent about anything in ten years of teaching.
Only once did I come up short, and I saw the pencil cupped away in a kid's hand just as he was leaving. I spoke up, very non-confrontationally, and noted that he forgot to return his pencil. He was just about to pass a guard in the classroom doorway when it happened. The kid just shrugged and returned the pencil and walked out. The guard seriously looked at me like I'd just saved someone's life.
So I look at this, and I think about those golf pencils, and I'm left wondering: was Pritchard taking a huge risk in hiding those pencils, or did the Seattle Juvy guards have a completely overblown paranoia about golf pencils?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:09 AM on January 4, 2015 [11 favorites]
The guards told me to count my pencils after every class. I had twelve golf pencils in my "classroom." They said that if any turn up missing, I should call it out immediately. They also told me that kids would be strip-searched in the event of a missing pencil, and given that, they would all get seriously pissed off at whichever kid stole said pencil once discovered.
I've never been in jail, much less strip-searched. I found the whole prospect horrifying. Naturally, I counted pencils after every class. I don't think I've ever been so obsessively diligent about anything in ten years of teaching.
Only once did I come up short, and I saw the pencil cupped away in a kid's hand just as he was leaving. I spoke up, very non-confrontationally, and noted that he forgot to return his pencil. He was just about to pass a guard in the classroom doorway when it happened. The kid just shrugged and returned the pencil and walked out. The guard seriously looked at me like I'd just saved someone's life.
So I look at this, and I think about those golf pencils, and I'm left wondering: was Pritchard taking a huge risk in hiding those pencils, or did the Seattle Juvy guards have a completely overblown paranoia about golf pencils?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:09 AM on January 4, 2015 [11 favorites]
It seems like a miserable place to spend a few weeks indeed, although I thought it was interesting she did not document any inmate-on-inmate violence, which is what most people immediately associate with jail and prison.
So, yeah, she apparently thought she was his girlfriend and stalked him on his blog and Twitter for months and months. See the comments sections on these posts. That's pretty intense.
Reading some of her comments reminds me of another blogger who reported being harassed by her own estranged evil twin. The evil twin then started making comments on the blog. And then the evil twin took over the blog.
Pritchard really needs some help and of course compassion.
posted by Nevin at 11:09 AM on January 4, 2015
So, yeah, she apparently thought she was his girlfriend and stalked him on his blog and Twitter for months and months. See the comments sections on these posts. That's pretty intense.
Reading some of her comments reminds me of another blogger who reported being harassed by her own estranged evil twin. The evil twin then started making comments on the blog. And then the evil twin took over the blog.
Pritchard really needs some help and of course compassion.
posted by Nevin at 11:09 AM on January 4, 2015
American prisons are horrific--but I often then the facilities in which we house persons merely accused of crimes are significantly worse. Why is it we think humiliating, depriving and very often brutalizing inmates is an excellent way to prepare them for their eventual release back into the ordinary world?
Like many others above, I want people to internalize how really brutal and completely useless the American criminal justice system is. It does not prevent crime; it does not solve the problems caused by crime; it does not rehabilitate people who commit crimes. it sure as hell punishes people, but I've yet to see anything that convinces me punishment in and of itself is a reasonable goal for such an huge part of the American economy and political system.
posted by crush-onastick at 11:15 AM on January 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
Like many others above, I want people to internalize how really brutal and completely useless the American criminal justice system is. It does not prevent crime; it does not solve the problems caused by crime; it does not rehabilitate people who commit crimes. it sure as hell punishes people, but I've yet to see anything that convinces me punishment in and of itself is a reasonable goal for such an huge part of the American economy and political system.
posted by crush-onastick at 11:15 AM on January 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
This actually reminds me a lot of Orange is the New Black (the book not the show). Both emphasize how arbitrary the rules are and how much misery that causes. Both accounts also focus not just on the awfulness of life behind bars, but how it's awful in a thousand little ways (no hot water, no shampoo, no phone calls for long periods) instead of in the big ways we often associate with jail (violence between inmates or abuse from staff).
I think that because they are personal accounts both are powerful calls for reform and I'm glad they are reaching wide audiences.
posted by entropyiswinning at 11:19 AM on January 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
I think that because they are personal accounts both are powerful calls for reform and I'm glad they are reaching wide audiences.
posted by entropyiswinning at 11:19 AM on January 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
OK, I'll ante up: I was in jail myself, albeit in work release, which in my county jail was pretty much Jail Lite--we got to wear our street clothes, could bring in cash to get stuff from vending machines rather than pay inflated commissary prices, even got to order delivery food on Friday and Saturday nights, could bring in our own toiletries and linens as well as our own books (as long as they were paperbacks), etc. The food was pretty shitty--about on the level of the worst school cafeteria food you've ever had (it should tell you something that most mornings I preferred eating Pop-Tarts and Mountain Dew from the vending machine to the generic Froot-Loops that we got), but regardless, it was way better than regular jail, and it shouldn't be any surprise that the penalty for violating just about any of the numerous rules was serving out your time in real jail.
Nevertheless, I can totally relate to much of Pritchard's story, in the sense that the enforcement of various rules was mostly arbitrary, and that some of the guards seemed to enjoy being about as unpleasant as people who themselves are under electronic surveillance most of the time can get away with being. I'm not even trying to dispute whether I should have been there; in case you were wondering, I was in for my second DUI, and not only do I myself not want drunks to be driving, I can credit my being in jail to helping to motivate me to get and stay sober. Regardless, there is a big disparity between who goes to jail and who doesn't, and a lot of it has to do with money. It's possible that if I'd been able to afford a more expensive lawyer, I could have gotten the charges dropped or pled out to a lesser charge; as it is, pleading guilty will usually result in a lesser sentence, as will having a lawyer who's sufficiently acquainted not only with the law but with the players in the court system. During my court-ordered addiction counseling, I compared my case to that of someone who had the same charges as I did, but did four months in work release compared to my one. About the only obvious difference between us was that he's black and I'm white; make of that what you will. People who can't afford any lawyer at all will end up pleading guilty to avoid even more jail time, and once they're there, they are kind of screwed if they don't have people on the outside who can put money in their commissary account so they can afford the inflated prices that jail commissaries charge; their only other alternative is to run some sort of hustle in jail (drugs, sex, enforcement, etc.) that could end up giving them even more jail time. (See also: Pritchard being offered drugs for exposing herself.)
I hope that she gets the help that she seems to need.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:17 PM on January 4, 2015 [18 favorites]
Nevertheless, I can totally relate to much of Pritchard's story, in the sense that the enforcement of various rules was mostly arbitrary, and that some of the guards seemed to enjoy being about as unpleasant as people who themselves are under electronic surveillance most of the time can get away with being. I'm not even trying to dispute whether I should have been there; in case you were wondering, I was in for my second DUI, and not only do I myself not want drunks to be driving, I can credit my being in jail to helping to motivate me to get and stay sober. Regardless, there is a big disparity between who goes to jail and who doesn't, and a lot of it has to do with money. It's possible that if I'd been able to afford a more expensive lawyer, I could have gotten the charges dropped or pled out to a lesser charge; as it is, pleading guilty will usually result in a lesser sentence, as will having a lawyer who's sufficiently acquainted not only with the law but with the players in the court system. During my court-ordered addiction counseling, I compared my case to that of someone who had the same charges as I did, but did four months in work release compared to my one. About the only obvious difference between us was that he's black and I'm white; make of that what you will. People who can't afford any lawyer at all will end up pleading guilty to avoid even more jail time, and once they're there, they are kind of screwed if they don't have people on the outside who can put money in their commissary account so they can afford the inflated prices that jail commissaries charge; their only other alternative is to run some sort of hustle in jail (drugs, sex, enforcement, etc.) that could end up giving them even more jail time. (See also: Pritchard being offered drugs for exposing herself.)
I hope that she gets the help that she seems to need.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:17 PM on January 4, 2015 [18 favorites]
Sometimes I want to get a job as a prison guard just so I can be that one guard who isn't a complete asshole.
posted by klanawa at 1:19 PM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 1:19 PM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
>about on the level of the worst school cafeteria food you've ever had
This is kind of funny to me, because my high school was public and residential and was catered (at the time at least).. to use the word lightly.. by the same company that handled the NC state prison.
It was literally prison food.
posted by unknownmosquito at 1:33 PM on January 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
This is kind of funny to me, because my high school was public and residential and was catered (at the time at least).. to use the word lightly.. by the same company that handled the NC state prison.
It was literally prison food.
posted by unknownmosquito at 1:33 PM on January 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
"They often didn't have hot water. They faced toilet paper and feminine hygiene products rationing. They were given very limited toiletries, including underwear."
"Her punishment is supposed to be lack of freedom, not abuse and threats from guards, deputies, and other prisoners."
"It's shocking how inhumane it is."
Yeah, don't go to jail or prison. I've been to jail a few times for a weekend. I had a friend "Lisa" who had been a prison guard at San Quentin and according to her they gave up rehabilitation in the late seventies.
Also don't be a black male.
posted by vapidave at 1:42 PM on January 4, 2015
"Her punishment is supposed to be lack of freedom, not abuse and threats from guards, deputies, and other prisoners."
"It's shocking how inhumane it is."
Yeah, don't go to jail or prison. I've been to jail a few times for a weekend. I had a friend "Lisa" who had been a prison guard at San Quentin and according to her they gave up rehabilitation in the late seventies.
Also don't be a black male.
posted by vapidave at 1:42 PM on January 4, 2015
San Quentin is one of the very few remaining California state prisons that has any kind of rehabilitative and educational programming left, mostly because the programs are run by volunteers and Marin County, where San Quentin is, is rife with people who have the time and resources to provide the volunteer hours.
posted by rtha at 2:02 PM on January 4, 2015
posted by rtha at 2:02 PM on January 4, 2015
I wish she'd just written it as an essay. The material is interesting and enlightening, but the cartoons just threw me off.
posted by corb at 2:26 PM on January 4, 2015
posted by corb at 2:26 PM on January 4, 2015
She's a CARTOONIST!
I also disliked those cartoons, and they did nothing for the story. bzzzt, frzlb, Ralph Bakshi.
posted by sneebler at 4:51 PM on January 4, 2015
I also disliked those cartoons, and they did nothing for the story. bzzzt, frzlb, Ralph Bakshi.
posted by sneebler at 4:51 PM on January 4, 2015
Sometimes I want to get a job as a prison guard just so I can be that one guard who isn't a complete asshole.
I've met plenty, and was married to one for 5 years. That job will crush your soul. Not everybody who is in prison is innocent, and after dealing with the 10th man who beat his child to death you start to become hardened. You might start to like somebody, then find out that they raped and killed their grandmother. You might find out your assigned clerk was convicted of beating his wife for 4 hours straight on the side of the freeway in broad daylight. That's when you start putting some emotional distance between you and your work, you start looking at all of 'them' with suspicion. And you know what, it is warranted. Plenty of people in prison are in on lesser charges who are guilty of much worse. Gang-bangers who have shot people serving time on minimum because that's the charge that stuck. I've sat on the sidelines and played armchair counselor as best as I could to that whole mess. Like it or not it starts to over shadow the guys who just got railroaded.
My ex was also friends with some CDCR Internal Affairs officers, so we got to see that side of things too. Some of the more mundane things being Correction Officers who are active in the gangs that they are suppose to be watching. The more extreme being officers who are sexually abusing inmates, and sharing videos of their conquests.
There was an article on the blue not too long ago about how the military does the best job running prisons because it rotates out its staff, and how that is something that just won't happen in today's system.
On a side note: One of my ex's coworkers was a really sharp guy. He had a degree in finance and had worked for Chase for a number of years. He quit and became a Correctional Counselor (case worker) because he felt it was more ethical to work in a prison. He couldn't take screwing people out of their money anymore.
posted by The Power Nap at 5:18 PM on January 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
I've met plenty, and was married to one for 5 years. That job will crush your soul. Not everybody who is in prison is innocent, and after dealing with the 10th man who beat his child to death you start to become hardened. You might start to like somebody, then find out that they raped and killed their grandmother. You might find out your assigned clerk was convicted of beating his wife for 4 hours straight on the side of the freeway in broad daylight. That's when you start putting some emotional distance between you and your work, you start looking at all of 'them' with suspicion. And you know what, it is warranted. Plenty of people in prison are in on lesser charges who are guilty of much worse. Gang-bangers who have shot people serving time on minimum because that's the charge that stuck. I've sat on the sidelines and played armchair counselor as best as I could to that whole mess. Like it or not it starts to over shadow the guys who just got railroaded.
My ex was also friends with some CDCR Internal Affairs officers, so we got to see that side of things too. Some of the more mundane things being Correction Officers who are active in the gangs that they are suppose to be watching. The more extreme being officers who are sexually abusing inmates, and sharing videos of their conquests.
There was an article on the blue not too long ago about how the military does the best job running prisons because it rotates out its staff, and how that is something that just won't happen in today's system.
On a side note: One of my ex's coworkers was a really sharp guy. He had a degree in finance and had worked for Chase for a number of years. He quit and became a Correctional Counselor (case worker) because he felt it was more ethical to work in a prison. He couldn't take screwing people out of their money anymore.
posted by The Power Nap at 5:18 PM on January 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
There are a lot of reasons I don't want to go to jail, but this has to rank up there:
The shower was a big see-through window, so if you were one of the lucky ones to get hot water, the whole pod could see your celebration.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:47 PM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
The shower was a big see-through window, so if you were one of the lucky ones to get hot water, the whole pod could see your celebration.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:47 PM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
"Not everyone in prison is innocent." Even the guilty deserve toilet paper and a shower more often than every two weeks. Prison should not be about humiliation and degradation--or else the people and society responsible for the imprisonment have no moral authority over the imprisoned. Imprisonment should be about removal from society until such time as one can demonstrate an ability to function within the rules of society. Destroying the humanity of the imprisoned ensures that not only will they never gain the capacity to be productive or at least non-harmful in their communities but also that the jailers will have no place among their fellow men, either.
posted by crush-onastick at 6:40 PM on January 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by crush-onastick at 6:40 PM on January 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
Nthing the hope she's getting the help she needs....but I think that Kricfalusi's aggregating her comments into a post calling her a loon was a shitty thing to do.
posted by brujita at 7:02 PM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by brujita at 7:02 PM on January 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
I used to be friends with a corrections officer (then he had kid #2 and now I see him about once a year), but he never said much about it beyond how he'd bring a gun with him to the mall and use pseudonyms and sometimes they let him do medical treatments on people there. But I did always wonder about that, because he seemed so calm and mellow and not particularly wigged out about the job except for when he got injured in a fight. Other than him being a huge guy and that job ran in the family(!), it seemed unlikely. I wonder how he did it, because I certainly wouldn't have guessed that was his job.
Back on topic, I did kind of wonder what this girl did to get in prison, and I'll admit, it wigs me out a bit.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:14 PM on January 4, 2015
Back on topic, I did kind of wonder what this girl did to get in prison, and I'll admit, it wigs me out a bit.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:14 PM on January 4, 2015
He quit and became a Correctional Counselor (case worker) because he felt it was more ethical to work in a prison. He couldn't take screwing people out of their money anymore.
Yeah, uh-huh. But contrast that with, from the article:
And with a 20-cent pack of ramen costing $1.18, just like most monopolies throughout history, goods are sold at an inflated rate.
This isn't even a particularly new trick.
but I think that Kricfalusi's aggregating her comments into a post calling her a loon was a shitty thing to do.
Kricfaluci is a cartoon genius and has interesting ideas, but he's not always the nicest guy.
posted by JHarris at 9:32 PM on January 4, 2015
Yeah, uh-huh. But contrast that with, from the article:
And with a 20-cent pack of ramen costing $1.18, just like most monopolies throughout history, goods are sold at an inflated rate.
This isn't even a particularly new trick.
but I think that Kricfalusi's aggregating her comments into a post calling her a loon was a shitty thing to do.
Kricfaluci is a cartoon genius and has interesting ideas, but he's not always the nicest guy.
posted by JHarris at 9:32 PM on January 4, 2015
I wasn't speaking to the condition of her incarceration, but rather the duration. Obviously one wants any individual to be kept under humane conditions. I just think stalkers belong in jail for longer than two months.
And I think that malevolent and abusive stalkers need to be punished, especially when stalking is used as domestic violence.
Are there really stalkers that aren't malevolent and abusive? By the nature of the crime this act is malevolent and abusive. 10% of a short sentence isn't enough time.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:26 AM on January 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
And I think that malevolent and abusive stalkers need to be punished, especially when stalking is used as domestic violence.
Are there really stalkers that aren't malevolent and abusive? By the nature of the crime this act is malevolent and abusive. 10% of a short sentence isn't enough time.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:26 AM on January 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
San Quentin is one of the very few remaining California state prisons that has any kind of rehabilitative and educational programming left, mostly because the programs are run by volunteers and Marin County, where San Quentin is, is rife with people who have the time and resources to provide the volunteer hours.
I don't recall if I've told this story here before, but back in the late '90s I was one of those volunteers. Not rehabilitative/educational, but recreational: I was with a group of civilians that went in and played basketball and soccer against the inmates in their yard. (The warden had arranged with my church and perhaps other community organizations to come in and do this periodically.) We were told that (1) this was a special treat for the inmates so they had an incentive to be on their best behavior, but (2) the staff made it clear that they were not going to engage in hostage negotiations (so if things took a turn, we were basically going to be on our own). Also (3), do not yield information about yourselves to or take any requests from the inmates. Obvious stuff, but sobering.
Also sobering: the clank of the gate behind us when we entered the prison yard. I've always been a pretty straight-arrow type and the thought of being locked in there terrified me, however briefly. The inmates were really friendly, though, and we never felt in danger on any of the visits I made. (They did rout us, though. Every single time. If your only outlet is exercise... well, clearly you pounce on it.) But it was also pretty clear that SQ was one of the better available outcomes as far as the prison experience goes. County jail, though... man, that sounds universally horrendous.
posted by psoas at 9:26 AM on January 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't recall if I've told this story here before, but back in the late '90s I was one of those volunteers. Not rehabilitative/educational, but recreational: I was with a group of civilians that went in and played basketball and soccer against the inmates in their yard. (The warden had arranged with my church and perhaps other community organizations to come in and do this periodically.) We were told that (1) this was a special treat for the inmates so they had an incentive to be on their best behavior, but (2) the staff made it clear that they were not going to engage in hostage negotiations (so if things took a turn, we were basically going to be on our own). Also (3), do not yield information about yourselves to or take any requests from the inmates. Obvious stuff, but sobering.
Also sobering: the clank of the gate behind us when we entered the prison yard. I've always been a pretty straight-arrow type and the thought of being locked in there terrified me, however briefly. The inmates were really friendly, though, and we never felt in danger on any of the visits I made. (They did rout us, though. Every single time. If your only outlet is exercise... well, clearly you pounce on it.) But it was also pretty clear that SQ was one of the better available outcomes as far as the prison experience goes. County jail, though... man, that sounds universally horrendous.
posted by psoas at 9:26 AM on January 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Orange is the New Black--NOT!
I'm not sure what this was meant to mean. Blogging in cartoon form is not the same as writing a memoir, nor having that memoir turned into a TV series, so yeah, Pritchard's blog is certainly not "Orange Is The New Black." But the reporting of the conditions are pretty comparable in a general sense -- filth and disrepair, verbal abuse, unnecessary indignities, corruption, the threat of violence, etc.
posted by desuetude at 10:40 AM on January 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure what this was meant to mean. Blogging in cartoon form is not the same as writing a memoir, nor having that memoir turned into a TV series, so yeah, Pritchard's blog is certainly not "Orange Is The New Black." But the reporting of the conditions are pretty comparable in a general sense -- filth and disrepair, verbal abuse, unnecessary indignities, corruption, the threat of violence, etc.
posted by desuetude at 10:40 AM on January 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
But I guess it was also unlike the show (can't speak to the book) in that there didn't seem to be much heartwarming comradery or wacky hijinks.
I think given that her stalking didn't include violent threats and seemed to consist of just commenting too much and were mental health related that this was an ok length of time. Especially given the inhumane conditions. Treatment would have been better.
posted by bleep at 10:59 AM on January 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
I think given that her stalking didn't include violent threats and seemed to consist of just commenting too much and were mental health related that this was an ok length of time. Especially given the inhumane conditions. Treatment would have been better.
posted by bleep at 10:59 AM on January 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
"In June 2014, I was arrested for violating a court order. I bailed out on July 3. But because I had no money and an overworked public defender, I knew I’d have to serve time for my violation."This isn't the language of someone who has remorse. I'm guessing these cartoons will be an ongoing project for her.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:42 AM on January 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
there didn't seem to be much heartwarming comradery or wacky hijinks.
I'm sorry to inform you that Netflix must be accidentally serving you reruns of Hogan's Heroes. Please contact customer support.
Yeah, yeah, it's not exactly Oz, but that's also not the point. What I see is, a bit like The Power Nap alluded, people ground down by circumstance, both inmates and COs alike. Even superficially well-meaning COs such as Healey turn out after observation to be really dysfunctional, borderline creepy individuals. The show would probably lose its audience if it focused day-in and day-out on the microaggressions and minor-in-isolation inconveniences like lack of toilet paper, but then Litchfield is shown as a place (much like a real prison on Long Island) to have a long-running issue with plumbing. And of course the entire umbrella story arc of S2 is basically a long cold war between gang leaders that involves murder.
But yeah, heartwarmin'.
posted by dhartung at 5:47 PM on January 5, 2015
I'm sorry to inform you that Netflix must be accidentally serving you reruns of Hogan's Heroes. Please contact customer support.
Yeah, yeah, it's not exactly Oz, but that's also not the point. What I see is, a bit like The Power Nap alluded, people ground down by circumstance, both inmates and COs alike. Even superficially well-meaning COs such as Healey turn out after observation to be really dysfunctional, borderline creepy individuals. The show would probably lose its audience if it focused day-in and day-out on the microaggressions and minor-in-isolation inconveniences like lack of toilet paper, but then Litchfield is shown as a place (much like a real prison on Long Island) to have a long-running issue with plumbing. And of course the entire umbrella story arc of S2 is basically a long cold war between gang leaders that involves murder.
But yeah, heartwarmin'.
posted by dhartung at 5:47 PM on January 5, 2015
For the record I think it's a great show that gets as honest as it possibly can get while still functioning as a popular dramedy. And perhaps it's not all doom and gloom round the clock in real jail (I don't know). My only point was that the light stuff in OITNB was not in the linked essay and that was another reason they were different.
posted by bleep at 6:06 PM on January 5, 2015
posted by bleep at 6:06 PM on January 5, 2015
« Older "The Master Switch of Life." | As cool as the other side of the pillow Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by empath at 9:41 AM on January 4, 2015 [1 favorite]