JAIL/PRISON

[Lady Cop]

this historical jail on Martha's Vineyard certainly looks nice~~but some of the cells were built when Ulysses S. Grant was President.

The off-island presumption that the Dukes County jail is a place of luxury, a sort of corrections B&B, is all too familiar to Dukes County Sheriff Michael McCormack.

"Is it a jail sentence or a vacation?"

McCormack is familiar with comments like that. newspapers use words such as "cushy" and "country club for convicts" when describing the island's jail.

But the reality is far different, McCormack said. People need to look beyond the building's facade to recognize, "You don't come here for a vacation," he said.

Built in 1873, the Main Street side of the Dukes County jail resembles many a residence in this harbor town, with its multiplicity of 18^th- and 19^th-century merchant and sea captain homes. It is two stories high, clad in white-painted shingles and is fronted by a small columned porch. But, behind this agreeable Main Street facade is something sterner.

The original 12 cells, installed when the jail was built, are still in use, McCormack said. "They were built with 16-inch thick granite walls and thick iron bar doors, like something you'd expect to see in a Wild West movie," he said.

Although originally designed as single-use cells, today nine of those original 12 cells house two prisoners each.

More cells were added over the years toward the back of the building. There is a four-bed lock-up area, a 10-bed dormitory, a single cell for female inmates, a single cell for juvenile inmates, and a six-single-bed area designated for inmates close to their release dates. Stored away are collapsible beds used when the jail population exceeds the number of permanent beds.

The jail has the capacity for 44 beds. But even with Thursday's population of 32 detainees — some held in lieu of bail, others sentenced to the jail — conditions are anything but roomy. "Our cells range in size from 8 (feet) by 8 to 6 by 8," McCormack said.

The cells come equipped with stainless steel toilets and doors that lock from the outside only. There is no privacy. There is no sleeping late. And there is certainly no midnight run to raid the refrigerator.

A guard begins opening cell doors one by one at 6 a.m. Breakfast is at 7. Inmates are expected to make their beds and keep their cells clean. During the day, they are encouraged to participate in programs for substance abuse, anger management, parenting and a host of problems that often land people in jail.

There are computers for inmate use, but none are connected to the Internet, McCormack said. Visits from family or friends must be arranged 72 hours in advance and are an hour long. If the visitor has traveled a great distance from off island, the visit can be extended to two hours, McCormack said. No physical contact is allowed between inmates and visitors.

The average inmate serves six to eight months at the county jail. By law, sentences to county facilities are limited to 2½ years. Any sentence longer than that must be served in a state prison.

The building's deficiencies have been noted for more than two decades. Since 1988, there have been efforts to build a new island jail. But there's just no money. State Rep. Timothy Madden, D-Nantucket, said he was shocked at the small cells and space inside the jail when he toured it a few years ago.

"I've toured the island jail and (the Barnstable- Cape Cod correctional) facility," he said. "It's the difference between night and day. Jim Cumming's facility is the Taj Mahal, compared to what they have on Martha's Vineyard."

Madden said there is no state money for building new jails now, but if there was, "I'd certainly push for a new one on Martha's Vineyard. What they have now is small and old, but what makes it work is the staff. They do a wonderful job with limited resources."

[Lady Cop]

and this is the Cape Cod- Barnstable County original oldest wooden jail ("gaol") in America. circa 1690!

The jail was a holding cell for the usual 18^th-and-19^th-century ne'er-do-wells, but its most notorious prisoners were buccaneers from the pirate ship, Whydah, which sank in 1717.
there have been reports of apparitions and voices, the usual ghostly stuff.

" Miss Holway brought Mr. Cataldo to the ancient barn to show him what she had found inside the building. He was thrown back and amazed when Miss Holway showed him a solid plank that framed the small cell of the Old Gaol, there were engravings hidden away for nearly three centuries done by a prisoner who had spent time in the crude, inhospitable lockup. There on the wooden plank was the following:
"W. Bartlett 13d October 1698 and 27d he was let out"

Whydah

[Lady Cop]

they're all crazy in Cali. just plain fucking crazy.
God is going to SMITE sodom and gomorrah.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-jail.html

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Jail is never been a good place, fuckem

[sharit]

[quote='Lady Cop' pid='235707' dateline='1334368837']
they're all crazy in Cali. just plain fucking crazy.
God is going to SMITE sodom and gomorrah.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-jail.html




Lmfao! Look at that fake booty, but the gut is real. Freaks.

[Lady Cop]

Photographer Lucy Nicholson has secured rare access to San Quentin state prison, California's oldest correctional facility, bringing back a series of thought-provoking images showing life behind bars.

The history of the infamous correctional facility goes back to the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill. The gold meant a great influx of new people to the region, among them some unsavory characters who would eventually require incarceration.

Before a permanent facility was erected, convicts were housed aboard prison ships such as the 268-ton wooden vessel named The Waban, anchored in San Francisco Bay and outfitted to hold 30 inmates

Until 1932, the prison housed both male and female inmates. It’s most dubious claim to fame, however, is that it is the only correctional facility in California with a gas chamber.



San Quentin currently houses 5,247 inmates





Administrative segregation prisoners take part in a group therapy session at San Quentin



entrance to death row



gas chamber













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