vtwordweaver said:
WritingFool,
He is a wimp! He thought that he could make a little money selling cocaine (he is not a drug user, the ironic thing is that he owns a fitness club). That would mean he is convicted of a felony, which I assume means maximum security. He is white and despite the fact that his parents died when he was 20, he has led a fairly sheltered life. He is going to have an extremly rough time in prison.
Okay, this is extremely annoying as I just typed a lengthy reply to your questions/needs regarding prison life and it was lost due to the server saying I wasn't 'logged in'. Very annoying.
I'm not sure I'm going to be able to recreate all of it in the time I have allotted for the evening.
Let me try to hit on a couple points though.
First, you said that you believed your character would be going to a federal prison. That's a dubious claim based on what you've already posted about his backstory. But there needs to be a clarification here. You said in one post that he was 'trafficking' in cocaine and in the post above it sounds more like simple possession with intent to sale. Otherwise selling cocaine out of his business. That is something that would need to be resolved as they are
not the same thing.
But, presuming it's 'trafficking' rather than possession, it's still unlikely he'll go to a federal prison unless he's involved in major trafficking, such as bringing in plane or boatloads of the stuff. If he's interdicted by the DEA then it would make more sense. Otherwise the feds would most likely let the state handle it, which means he goes to a state facility. so it would remain likely he'd stay within the state. There is the possibility, however, that he could go out of state if the state he was convicted in has an interstate compact agreement to 'house' inmates in another state's facility OR he's sent to privately contracted prison where they send him to one of their facilities in another state.
In order to go to federal prison, he needs to be convicted in a federal court on federal crimes (such as bank robbery, always a federal crime). Federal crimes normally are those that cross state lines or involve federal institutions (such as movie piracy, trafficking, kidnapping across state lines, mail fraud, blah blah blah). Without knowing for sure if you intend for him to be convicted of a federal narcotics charge - major trafficking - or just simple sales, then I'm still leaning towards a state court and a state facility.
Just by being convicted of a felony does not mean he goes to federal court, nor does it mean he goes to maximum security either. He could go to maximum depending on other factors, such as a conviction or history of violence (seems unlikely from what you've already posted) or many, many counts of the same felony. Again, seems unlikely. Most likely he'd go to a minimum security facility or even an honor camp. Again, depending mostly on the elements of the crime and violence used. There's also the possibility of diversional programs such as regimental discipline (otherwise known as 'bootcamps') or even probation.
Does he have a good lawyer? A good lawyer could work with the DA to get the charge reduced in felony category and that could even land him time in a county lockup (much different than prison) or even probation. These are factors that need to be determined.
As for what prison is going to be like? That varies. First, I'm going to presume that as a successful business owner he would be able to bail out so he's not spending a lot of his time in the pre-sentence detention facility (such as a jail) while waiting trial. In my area - Nevada - sales of a controlled substance ranges from a $50,000 to a $100,000 bondable bail. I'm sure that as a first time offender, local business owner and no history of criminal activity in the past there should be no reason he's denied bail. Now, mind you, that's
per count so it could go higher.
Going to prison without spending significant time in a pre-sentence dentention facility would be worse than spending time in a pre-sentence facility. At least in the pre-sentence facility (where he could be sitting for a month to more than a year, depending on the variables of his case) he would have a chance to start to get accustomed to regimented life. Without spending that time, it'll be tougher. Going to prison means he's a convicted criminal. He gets treated like one. Guards are less likely to be sympathetic (and, let's be honest, they don't normally get the cream of the crop as prison correctional officers...I could tell stories - but I won't! Suffice to say, Scott Savol from 'American Idol' was once a correctional officer - nuff said about that). The cells are small, cramped and could be overcrowded...a cell built for two or four may have three or six. Dorm styles could be even worse as a place built to hold twelve may have eight on cots.
Other inmates will pretend to be friendly with him in order to get him to owe them 'favors'. Some he can pay off with money, others not so much. If he's niave, he's going to fall into those traps. Some 'favors' might be that another inmate will take care of his cleaning. When the favors come due, it could get nasty for him. There's also the very real possibility that he'll be approached by the Aryan Brotherhood or other white gang in prison. They'll offer him 'protection' or browbeat him into joining their gang. That automatically gives him problems with other gangs - especially other ethnicity gangs such as La Raza and the Black Muslims. (there are many others out there, including native american gangs, fractional oriental gangs, splinters of ethnicity gangs especially in the top three - white, black, hispanic, etc.)
No, going to prison won't be easy for him, nor should it be. There's a lot to be considered (and my lost post was much lengthier than this one, but I don't have the time to recreate it).
But, I think I've given you a lot to think about, especially the backstory of your character. I will pose one further question for you though:
If your character owns a fitness center why is he selling cocaine? Wouldn't steroids be a better choice considering his clientele?
Feel free to contact me if you want more information, I'll try to help you out to the best of my experience:
Rabe....
...and congratulations Vtwordweaver...your's is the first post to knock me out of my lurker status after a couple weeks on the boards. Don't worry, I won't remind people of that in the future!