Interview with Jessica, Sarah, Curt, Brad and Peter
JM: How often could you receive visitors? Jessica: We were allowed visitors on Friday nights,
Sunday nights and Tuesday mornings. Sarah: three times a week for an hour each time Curt: three times a week. Brad: 3 times a week. Peter: On sat and sun. It was from 9am to 3pm.
JM: Was the check-in process lengthy for those who came to see you? Jessica: It depended on how many people were in line
waiting to sign up to visit. The check-in
process once you were at the desk was not too
length, they just had to check peoples' IDs and
make sure that they were on the visitation list. Sarah: my boyfriend rode the bus so it was an all day
project for him. He had to get there 5 - 6 hours
early in order to get first on the waiting list
so he could make the bus home. Curt: yes it was. they would have to show up hours in
advance. Brad: You have to fill out a sheet each month listing
five people that can come and visit you and only
those five people can come and visit you. Check
in was like four or five hours to get fully
booked to visit you. Peter: Yes. They would have to be patted down and have
their belongings searched before entering the
facility.
JM: What was the visiting environment like? Jessica: The visiting environment was not too personal
but it was better than nothing. It was set up
with a thick pane of glass between the inmate
and visitor and you communicated through
telephones on each side. There were cameras on
both sides to monitor behavior. Sarah: there were 6 phones with dividers between them
and glass inbetween you and your visitor. You
had to punch in 12 ID numbers to talk and a lot
of the time the lines would cross and you could
hear other peoples converstaions. Curt: ok. its jail. Brad: Throug glass with telephone. Except when I was in
work release; that was cotnact visit in separate
building. Peter: It was held at the "visiting park" where you could
sit outside in a fenced in area and smoke
cigarretes if you wanted. You could but food at
the canteen with your inmate account or your
family could spend cash. It was usually busy and
very loud in the visiting area.