Blog - Page 3 of 18 - Prison Insight

What Is Prison (Really) Like?

The most common question that I get from people when they find out I spent four years in prison is — what is prison really like? I’ve talked before about how my knowledge and impression of prison was informed by pop culture. The only exposure I had to prison life was through TV shows and […]

Can You Get Life in Prison for Drugs?

The blog topics that I write about on Prison Insight are based on the most commonly-asked questions we get about prison and the criminal justice system. Today’s topic has been on my list for a while, but I’ve avoided it because it hits so close to home. And, I’ve got to be honest, it makes […]

Prison Nicknames – A Real-Life Look at Examples

When you are sentenced to time behind bars, chances are you won’t be using your regular name while you are there. The guards and other members of the prison staff will use your last name or your inmate ID number. As for the other inmates, they will either call you by your last name or […]

Can You go to Prison for Killing a Dog?

Like millions of other Americans, I am a proud parent of two sweet fur babies — my Shih Tzu, Titus and my kitty cat, Dale. My pets are members of my family, so it’s hard for me to write content about animal cruelty. A common question people have about prison is associated with that topic. […]

Prison Slang – A List of Terms You’ll Hopefully Never Need to Use

When I was sentenced to prison to serve two 15-year sentences (concurrently) for marijuana possession, I had no idea what I was walking into. The only thing I knew about prison was what I had learned in TV and movies. I quickly discovered that a pop culture prison education wasn’t based on any kind of […]

What Is Military Prison Like Compared to Civilian Prison?

When someone is sentenced to prison, their experience behind bars depends on a number of factors. To begin with, prison experiences vary greatly among different countries because every sovereign nation has their own method for handling people found guilty of committing a crime. When we focus on prison inmates in the United States, someone incarcerated […]

What Rights Do Inmates Have?

When you are convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison, you lose a lot of your constitutional and human rights while you are incarcerated. In some states, some of those rights aren’t automatically reinstated upon an inmate’s release, and it’s possible the former inmate won’t ever get all of their rights back (most notably, […]

What Happens if You are Found Innocent After Being in Prison?

I used to think that everyone who was in prison deserved to be there, but when I was put behind bars, I discovered that I couldn’t have been more wrong. The majority of people in prison are there for a non-violent offense. Oftentimes, the only victim of the “crime” is the state, in my opinion. […]

What Are The Meanings of Prison Tattoos?

Tattoos are a common part of prison culture. In my experience, the majority of inmates already have ink before they start doing their time, but some don’t get their art work done until they are behind bars. No, prisons don’t have tattoo parlors where you can drop some cash to get professional work done. Instead, […]

Can You Get Life in Prison for Manslaughter?

We all know that when someone is convicted of the crime of murder, they will end up in prison. It’s the most violent crime in the criminal code, and it comes with the harshest penalties. Taking someone’s life usually results in a lengthy prison sentence. In many states, there’s no possibility for parole. In some […]