10 Veteran Prison Guards Reveal Their Stories Of Inmates They Believed Were Innocent.
Prison guards see all kinds of convicts come and go in their line of work.
Below are 10 stories from prison guards who believed that one inmate they had might have been innocent.
1. Was a guard a few years ago, had an inmate in who was in for a parole violation.
He was on his way to his parole officer, got in a bad car wreck and broke his collarbone and two ribs. The hospital called the parole officer to reschedule, but his parole officer said 'too bad. If he does not show up today, he will go back to jail.' Needless to say three days later he walks out the hospital, to be immediately arrested and put in jail.
-IC*MTARANTULAS
2. I work in booking, so I see them when they come in, and when they go out, I also do all of their paperwork and read the criminal complaints the officers file before arraignments.
I have seem people get pretty lenient charges, and a few get something more harsh than I would have charged them with, but I have yet to see someone come into my jail that wasn't guilty of something.
For example, we have a 19 year old female come in a couple times a week on a T-47 hold, which is a non-criminal 12 hour sleep off. Yet she is under the drinking age and rarely does the officer ever charge her with a minor consuming, let alone a minor consuming-habitual. I have watched her kick numerous officers as well, yet she never gets assault 3 or assault 4 on an LEO.
On the other side, I also have an old man who was 74 and no priors come in on a assault 4 domestic violence, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. All because he got emotional and pushed his step-son at his wife's funeral (step-son's mother) and then made a scene and refused to leave when the cops showed up to arrest him after the stepson called the cops on him mid-way through the service.
Step-son was a regular in our facility for theft and apparently told the old man, that essentially he was happy she passed so that he could get her stuff. He was guilty of the Assault IV, but a little tact and compassion would have gone a long ways to avoid the other charges from taking place.
-NWCJ
3. I was a Correctional Officer for five years. The closest I know of someone actually being innocent was the case of the three strikes law. (basically, upon being found guilty of a third felony, you're hit with a MUCH stiffer penalty).
He was a bouncer at a bar, and broke up a fight. Steps outside with the doorman and there happens to be a news reporter there, reporting about the nightlife, and they ask for a interview. He said no thank you. Cameraman keeps filming, and is asked to stop. He get all high and mighty on his freedom of the press speech and shoves the camera in the bouncer's face, saying that he can't do anything about him filming. Natural reaction, bouncer palms the camera lens and pushes the cameraman away.
Now, he did it with some force, but by no means with any malicious intent. Viewfinder hits the cameraman above the eye, and cuts his forehead, he immediately screams causing the two police officers on the other side of the road come running over. One officer ends up recognizing the bouncer from previous charges and arrests him for malicious wounding, a felony. This is the bouncer's third felony and therefore is immediately sent to prison upon being found guilty. Did an extra ten years for the three strikes law. If anyone else had done the same thing, I feel like the responding officers wouldn't have arrested them.
-GregLXStang
Keep going for more Prison Guard testimonies!
4. Actually all the time. Remand times are a big concern, sometimes people can wait in jail for a year waiting for trial and sentencing to be finished, especially if there are witness testimonies to arrange, victim impacts, pre-sentence reports etc.
If you've already got a lengthy criminal record, to the extent you'd be denied bail, which is common, it's in your best interest to plead guilty for minor crimes whether you did it or not. You could sit in jail for a year proving you didn't make that threatening phone call, or you could just plead out and be home in three to six months, because if you sat there a year you'd likely be sentenced to six months time served anyways.
-AwesomusP
5. 19 year old kid at my facility was sentenced 10 years for manslaughter and DUI. Kid was 17 at the time of the accident. Swerved to miss a deer, lost control and ended up hitting a tree, which killed his girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat. Kid blows a '.02' on the breathalyzer. Not impaired what so ever ,but he was under the age of 21 (legal drinking age) and was still given a DUI, which led to the manslaughter charge. I guess this is just more of an example of the f*cked up system in place.
The girl's family visited him every weekend until he was transferred.
6. One guy had been found guilty of sexual assault at a bench trial even though his DNA did not match the perpetrator's. Let that sink in. A judge found a man guilty, even though it was not his semen in the victim.
Possibly the worst case I ever saw involved a man whose daughter was molested at her day care. The perpetrator, the husband of the lady who ran the day care, had molested several children there. After the trial, the day care owner claimed that the father of one of the victims had molested her child several years earlier. The cops asked him to come down to the station to talk about it. Having done nothing wrong, he agreed. After talking to him for hours, the police nevertheless believed they had a case against him. He was arrested, could not make bail, and sat in jail for a year. He intended to go to trial, but on the day of the trial the prosecutor offered him a deal: plead guilty, get time served, go home that day. He agreed, pled guilty, got four years.
Working in a prison gave me a front-row seat to the awfulness of the criminal justice system. Most people in prison really were career criminals and very bad people, but the wrongful convictions were horrifying. I will never agree to talk to the police under any circumstances, and I have no faith in the benevolence of prosecutors or judges.
-rkopicture
Keep going for more unbelievable stories.
7. As an ex-officer, it's difficult to believe anyone in prison. The inmates that you don't want to believe did it will usually admit it to you. The inmates that lie all the time will blame it on someone else. "Well, Boogie was out with Money, and Shante didn't like Boogie. Money killed Boogie, and I took the wrap for it."
You hear sh*t like that all day.
However, there was one inmate would was in for over 20 years with a life sentence that was released after new evidence showed he really didn't do it. He's now writing a book and attempting to sue the state.
-anonymous
8. I have never seen someone that I believe to be innocent but I have seen guys come in that were what I feel to be unfairly imprisoned. We had one guy who was a normal blue collar type who missed a child support payment. Then his lawyer didn't tell him about an upcoming court appointment and he was given 30 days in jail. The lawyer admitted to not telling him but the judge wasn't having any of it.
One guy in my institution is in his late 60's and has a sparkling clean record but is in on manufacturing of a substance charges. His son has had several charges in the same thing before so we all think that he took the charge to keep his son from doing time.
9. I'll share a story about an inmate that everyone I talked to felt was wrongly incarcerated.
I worked with this one inmate an older black gentleman we'll call Mr. Grass. Allegedly Mr Grass owned a lawnmower repair shop that was well respected in the community. One day some guys bring in some lawnmowers to sell and Mr Grass purchased them for a fair price. What these fine young lads neglected to mention is these lawnmowers were stolen. Mr. Grass is arrested pleads guilty and is sentenced to quite a few years.
-JDSt4r
10. Been a CO for a while now, and while I'm sure there are a few, there is only one that strikes me as likely being innocent.
He's an old black guy on my rock. Hes claimed for years that he's innocent. My partner and I read his file (basically contains all the info from his arrest including statements and court docs, along with docs from his incarceration like security level reviews and tickets) and both think there is at least a good chance he's innocent.
He was arrested in the early 60s for allegedly robbing a store and killing a white woman. There were eye witnesses there stating it was a local man by the name of Perry (changed for obvious reasons). The make and color of the car was also reported. Seems like a pretty easy case.
Said car is tracked down being driven by our inmate, let's call him Miller. They immediately arrest Miller and charge him. Even though this is a different man than eye witnesses report (though they aren't really that reliable, it's all they had).
But this is where it gets weird. Instead of charging him as miller, they call him Perry and charge him under that name. So his legal name, which even appears on the back of his DOC ID is Miller, but he's on our count boards and computers as Perry.
Now this is a very old file, and pages may be missing, so maybe someplace in there, there's an explanation for this whole thing, but based on the file doc we have, it seems really shady and weird. Like the police figured they had a black guy driving the right car, good enough.
He is still trying to file appeals and such, but he's so institutionalized he wouldn't even know what to do if he got out. He also absolutely hates when you call him Perry, always says that's not my name. He's one of the better inmates I've ever had, so long as you call him Miller.
-ED1CT
Sometimes you only need to experience something once, to know it's a never again situation.
I always say, try everything once.
Well, now that I'm older, a caveat to that is... try it all within reason.
How many things have we all walked away from saying the one time experience will suffice?
In fact, knowing when to say no is one of life's wisest choices.
Redditor Croakied wanted to discuss the times we've all said... "once was enough!" They asked:
"What is one thing that you will NEVER do again?"
Love. Did it. A few times. Moving on.
Stay Still
"Jump off a moving train."
DenseDriver6477
"My dad used to jump on a train when he was little to go to school. He broke his nose like twice doing it. He also would not recommend."
Darphon
“vaportini”
"Smoke alcohol. Me and my friends bought something called a 'vaportini' in college where you could pour alcohol into a bulb and after low heat separated the alcohol from the liquid, you could inhale it thru the glass straw you inserted into the bulb. Basically you got drunk directly into your bloodstream/brain and it never hit your stomach."
"If you did too much, your body wouldn’t make you vomit or something, there wouldn’t be a simple self regulation/safety measure. You’d just get alcohol poisoning. Felt very dangerous, the drunk wasn’t a regular drunk feeling. We used it once and were like okay, never again. I’d be surprised if you could still buy it, although it would be incredibly easy to replicate at home."
michelangelho
It’s heartbreaking...
"Fall in love with a drug addict."
Rains_Lee
"Good call, don’t do it. The drugs will always come first. Can’t go out unless their 'ok' with how much drugs they have and money left over if any, cant make love unless they have their fix for the night and even still it never feels normal, can’t trust them after the lies to get drugs and the manipulation they put you through, and you can’t change them no matter how much you try and wish they would. It’s heartbreaking."
Cvilla411
More me time...
"Give up my life for work. F**k going the extra mile for a place that doesn't value you and pays you crap even though you go the extra mile for them. You have 1 life with only so much precious time to enjoy it and slaving away at some job is not worth it. Do what you can to reduce your workload and find better employment, or hell try to change the working conditions at your current job to improve things for everyone if you can."
Mrhappytrigers
Well Obvi...
"Donate a kidney."
ToffieMonster
"Well, you could donate the remaining one. You just won’t be around to say anything about it."
shavemejesus
This is definitely list I can relate to. No thank you on a lot of this!
I Quit
"Smoke cigarettes, it's been two years since I quit."
SuvenPan
Forget It
"Climb mount Kilimanjaro. Toughest thing I've done and it's not worth it. I'm all about tough treks and camping but to put yourself under tough conditions and suspectable to altitude sickness only to get to the top for 10 minutes for a picture. No thank you."
Monks_
"I agree, it was memorable. Once was enough for my husband and I. Thankfully we stayed at American style hotel run by the US Navy with a hot tub and bar. Alcohol was definitely needed after all that."
Whatsherface112
I'm living alone!
"Sign a lease with a stranger without hanging out with them a few times beforehand. My past roommate experiences in college were terrible. Roommates either ignored me, hosted parties til 3 AM on weeknights, made the house the hangout and drug-den for them and their buddies. Meet up once and they'll put on an act for you. If you can, try to see how they act drunk or frustrated."
"Try to hang out with their buddies too so you can see the type of people who could be coming into your future place of residence. As soon as I can afford it, I'm living alone! Now, I investigate a potential roommate's social media and hang out at least twice before signing a lease with them."
fleursdefer
Stay Away
"Take back a cheater. Know your worth my brothers and sisters."
santichrist
"Ughhhhh going back and forth on this one. My boyfriend of 5 years has cheated on me. Several times, actually but says he’s really changed and is ready to settle down and wants me to move in with him. I’m on the fence. So they never change???"
madlecroy
Sleeptime
"Take a laxative and sleeping pill at the same time."
karmaredemption
Once, twice, three times... I'm out. Bye.
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People Imagine How They'd React If Their Significant Other Wanted To Sleep With Other People
There is an age old question that has been getting more traction surrounding sex for partners the last decade or so.
And that is... "is just one enough?"
Were we really meant to only be with one person forever?
There are so many flavors to taste.
What if your partner wants more cookie dough with your strawberry?
Redditor Pineapple-Status wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on opening the bedroom to others. They asked:
"What would you do if your long term SO suddenly wants to have sex with other people?"
I say I'd be ok with it, but I'm remembering my last relationship and I feel like I'm not a "put my $ where my mouth is type" on this issue.
Bye
"Wish her well and spend the next 2 years getting myself back to a place where I am ready to get hurt again."
wickedblight
It's Time to Roll On...
"Personally I would leave them."
"I think they're the ones leaving you. I don't think the relationship changes at that point; I think it ends. If you have a monogamous relationship, they are telling you they want to end that. They might be suggesting starting a new, non-monogamous relationship, but that is a separate thing. The original relationship is over."
octopoddle
ethical non-monogamy...
"OP, it's no different than anything else they want: you either agree and stay together, disagree but stay together, disagree and break up, or even agree and break up. What you're talking about is called 'ethical non-monogamy.'" The seminal book to read is called The Ethical Sl*t."
"It basically boils down to be whatever you want, just don't lie about it. The tricky thing is that this is something that was not present before, but is present now. So it's a potential fork in your road. If you're against it, it's up to your SO to decide if sex with other people is more important to them than a life with you."
Tokugawa
a different story...
"I think it depends too how intently they're interested. If it's a thing they bring up because they're curious but it's not a dealbreaker for them, I'm fine with that even if I don't want to proceed. A solid relationship involves open communication, and it'd make me happy if my partner trusted us and our bond enough to voice that curiosity with me."
"If it's something their heart's absolutely set on, then it's a different story. Either way, it's kind of strange to me how these posts always assume simply asking your partner how they feel about opening the relationship means they're now wholey invested in the poly lifestyle and they'll resent you or cheat if you say no."
donkeynique
Others
"Happy that we have common interest, sad that it's different 'other people."
i_lick_icicles
Sex is always an issue. Remember when it was just fun?
Mine
"Leave her. I’m far too possessive and jealous to be able to mentally accept polyamory. If she has a desire to be with other people I’m not going to stand in her way but I’m not going to be there when she gets home either."
Thiek
Not Me...
"Break up. My parents were poly and it's just not for me. I've been honest with every relationship I've been in that I'm not interested in any type of open relationship. If they want to be with someone else that's fine but we'll be over. My husband is aware of this and on board (and has been for over twenty years!). So if he came to me with this yes I would be heartbroken but I'm not willing to budge on this and it would be the end of our relationship."
GoldDustWitchQueen
Let's Talk
"Counseling time! We're married. I'm chronically ill (stage 4 breast cancer) and have no libido. We try to make intimacy work, and obviously in that case it wouldn't be working. So. Time for a pro to sort out the marriage, and possibly a sex therapist for me."
insertcaffeine
Awkward Positions
"I’ll put myself hypothetically in this position. My partner and I only want each other. We’ve made this abundantly clear to each other. However, if she came to me with desire to open our bedroom and she wanted to sleep with people outside our marriage."
"I would simply express how I vehemently do not an open bedroom and that it would kill any desire I have to want her, be with her, love her, etc. Our couple dynamic has been working well through our ups and downs. Involving some stranger in the ONE thing I find most sacred with my partner is the best way for me to lose any interest or passion for the relationship."
RedFlaim
Farewell
"Break it off, because they definitely already have someone in mind and you telling them no won't change the fact that they were only one step away from following through with it."
Caressticles
Well it feels like a lot of people still believe in one partner, happily ever after. Good for y'all. But big props to these couples who have open and honest conversations about their wants and needs.
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Many of us sometimes fantasize about what we would do to our worst enemies, especially in the moments when they're actively making our lives worse.
While most of us would never actually do any of the things that we contemplate instead of screaming at that super annoying person at the office, we do get pretty creative with the ideas.
Redditor take_me_there_ asked:
"What WOULD you wish on your worst enemy?"
This One Would Hurt
"A conscience. Let her realize the horrific things she’s done."
- Jenny010137
"Seriously. Introspection, self awareness, and empathy are traits that would improve a lot of sh*tty people."
- el_muerte17
"Oh I wish I had thought of this one. If my enemy had a conscience, wow life would be much different."
- Shelbysouth43
No Pearly Whites For You
"I’d like all their teeth to turn really yellow and stay yellow no matter what they do."
- toothfixingfiend
"What did I ever do to you?"
- Spideredd
"I don't even know you! Give me back my enamel!"
- AngryMustache9
Everything You Own Is Orange Now
"Permanent Cheeto fingers. Just orange cheese dust getting on everything."
- cocoapuff1721
"This has to be one of the most evil things I ever heard, yet absolutely hilarious."
-Merk0411
"The Midas Touch: Snack Edition"
- MaryVenetia
Ouch, But Forever
"Stubbing and breaking their toe and right as it’s about to be done healing it happens again over and over for the rest of their pitiful time on this hell we call earth."
- No-Bee-2971
"Sisyphoot"
- Alpha_6
"More of a Toemetheus imo"
- PykeTheDrowned
Self Reflection
"For them to realize how big of an a-hole they are."
- mayhemanaged
"Same for me. The trouble is mine probably knows what a tremendous a-hole he is, and just doesn't care (it's what defines him, is his outlook more than likely), so, give mine a conscience as well, he undeniably lacks one."
- RhoadsOfRock
"a crushing moment of self realization is something that can destroy you mentally. I wish that on them."
- chancetodream
Bury Them Under A Mountain Of Minor Inconveniences
"Always being hungry two hours after eating no matter how large the meal. Slow internet. Traffic jams no matter the location. Self doubt. Allergies. Favorite shows spoiled."
"Nothing major enough to be life altering but constant, low grade inconveniences that wear on your soul every day."
- I_Love_Small_Br**sts
"Every bite of food they eat/drink they drink being slightly the wrong temperature."
"Coffee? Warm but not hot. Cola? Cool, but not cold. Muffin? Ever so slightly frozen."
"Not enough to ruin their life, but just enough to not quite have full enjoyment of anything.."
- HappiHappiHappi
They'll Never Be Able To Use Their Computer Again
"Quick scan with McAfee on their computer."
- halflife_3
"You f**king monster."
- Orion_2kTC
"The constant pop-ups from McAfee is too far."
- _Land_Rover_Series_3
That's A New Level Of Evil
"Bed bugs."
- thrawn1825
"Currently dealing with bed bugs, and I can absolutely confirm this is the kind of thing I would wish upon my worst enemy. It is miserable and painful, and I've tried everything to get rid of them at this point."
"I would easily wish this upon my worst enemy, x10."
- ArbitrarilyStagnant
"Oh hell no, you went there... Hopefully they aren't living in an apartment complex or you've cursed everyone in the building."
- expect_less
Well of course I know him. He’s me.
"$100,000. I sure could use it."
- Sparklesperson
"'It’s no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy'"
- FishyVonFishenHymer
"Lol I thought this was that deep sh*t like 'pray for those you resent to have all the things you want in life….' Then I realized."
- No-Chipmunk9527
Forever Constipated
"That they can never have a satisfying poop. They always feel like they have to go to the bathroom and when they do nothing comes."
- [User Deleted]
"Wow. That's evil. Always feeling the need to pee would be good (as in horrific) too."
- ipakookapi
We definitely don't recommend implementing any of these plans (not that most would actually be possible), but here's some new ideas for the next time you're stuck in a meeting with your most annoying coworker and need a little fantastical escape.
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I grew up poor, and I remember the little things that made me smile when we just happened to have enough that week.
The little things that a truly rich person would not think twice about.
Ah, the luxury of it.
What spells luxury for you?
Redditor ConAir161057 wanted to compare notes about the things in life that feel like items only money can buy. They asked:
"For people who grew up with little money, what always felt like a luxury?"
New clothes. I had so many hand me downs and thrift store clothes... new seemed like a dream.
Anxiety
"After growing up in a home where every unexpected problem was a financial emergency, my idea of wealthy became 'I just want enough money that if something breaks I don't get anxiety about how to deal with it.'"
Obiwan_ca_bl**me
Literature
"Getting to buy something from the scholastic book fair."
Rich*itch3232
"My school, at the end of it a bunch of books were 'donated' and then spread out on a table in the library. We all got to go pick one book. So even if kids didn’t get to purchase a book, in the end they had a chance to still get a book. It’s actually how I got my first Harry Potter book. Was a cool idea for any school staff or parents active in their kids’ schools."
glass_pillow
Christmas
"Getting new clothes at Christmas from relatives. I don't know if that is exactly a luxury or the kind of answer you are looking for, but we never had a lot of money when I was in middle school. I went an entire year wearing the same pants everyday. The funny thing was my parents didn't even buy them for me."
"I got them for Christmas from my Grandparents. All the kids use to give me so much sh*t for wearing the same pants everyday. I always told them that I had 5 of the same pair which made me feel good inside and kind of made them ease off even though I know they didn't believe me."
"I remember I fell on the school bus one day and the jagged floor cut a hole right in the knee cap and the panic that went over me was just insane. It was one of the worst feelings of my whole life because I knew that I didn't have any other pants to wear and that now all of the kids in my school were going to know that I only had 1 pair. Needless to say I could not wait for the last month of school to end."
themagicman_1231
I'm Away
"Summer camp, or basically any school trips that had to be paid for. At my school the kids who couldn't afford to go on trips that happened during school hours still had to come to the school, we just sat in a room and did extra work like it was detention."
Helpful_Yams
"I was lucky. If you taught at the day camp your kid could go for free. That was just day camp though not sleepaway camp. My mom found a camp teacher who had no kids of his own and he signed me up as his kid so I could get free day camp. Did that all through elementary school."
randtcouple
Big Deals
"Going out for pizza was a big deal. Those free mini pizzas for reading books were huge."
Shroom4Yoshi
Food is always an issue when you're broke.
Damage
"Being able to turn on the heat in the cold and pay a professional to fix damaged appliances, plumbing, and other issues."
Liggettef
Spoiled
"When my grandma would come pick me up and spoil me. My parents didn't have much money and were addicts so when my grandma would come get me I would come back with new clothes, video games, toys, etc. I used to think my grandma was rich but she actually just had a stable income."
nawlepen
"I was in this position when I was younger. I always thought my grandma had SO much money… but all she did was go to work everyday. Always made sure I had clothes and all my school supplies. I miss her pretty bad."
Keywork29
Water
"I am from a small island in the Pacific. While I mostly still take cold showers, I have always felt that a hot shower is the finest luxury one can experience. I had my first hot shower when I was 22 years old and I can never forget it."
FSMPIO
"This is the kind of luxury I think people take for granted, I always avoided showers in the winter as a kid since most of the time they where cold showers and the temperature here was around 12c° during those times."
PowerfullDio
Showerware
"Towels. Honestly, I was almost 10 When I realized people didn’t just put back on their dirty clothes after a shower because my family was so large (12 kids total including myself) and extremely poor. I thought towels were just for hotels or were maybe a prop on television. I went to a friends house and she asked for my help folding her towels. I remember laughing and thinking she must be rich."
"Long story short, I wasn’t sure which way to fold the towels, and begged my mom to buy them after I revealed that my friend, Simone, had them. She bought a box of used ones from a local auction and I walked around with them on my head feeling like a frigging empress after that, even though—-let’s be clear… these were second hand towels!"
shakezula1025
Or BK...
"Grew up poor and when I was a kid I used to think you were rich if you had a dishwasher and a millionaire if you had one of those refrigerators that have a button for ice. McDonalds was also a luxury, a couple times a year on our birthdays."
chinderellab*tch
Everyone should have access to all of these things. Why is life unfair?
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