Prison 101

Try to make sure you have some money in your pocket when you go in. Of course you can't be expected to know when and where your going to get arrested but if your going to court to get sentenced to a prison term bring at least enough cash to bet the bare essentials and a television. If you go in empty handed you are going to have to wait until you get and fill out visitation forms and set up an account with the prison system then wait till your visitors get approved before they can send you money via money order. A money order takes a few weeks to clear and then hit your books before it will show up on your account and some prisons only let you go to the commissary store once every two weeks so with all this added up and combined you could possibly be looking at a month or two with no money or food and nothing to do but stare at Arsenio Wall. It's a prison joke, don't worry you'll learn it. Anyways, bring some cash or something you can trade for a T.V., beard trimmers, an electric razor, a cd player or radio, and some food and clothes. I recommend tobacco, not drugs because you don't need another court case if you get caught. Tobacco is only a class A ticket which means loss of commissary which you won't be going to anyways with no money on the books yet so don't worry about it. Maybe loss of phones or recreation too but that is short lived and you can work around it depending on the Corrections Officers in your Dorm or Block/Pod. If you are going to have to do the majority of your time in a cell then a television is a must. Without it you will slowly lose your mind. It's fine if your celly lets you use or watch his T.V. with him or while he is gone but that only works for so long and what if he gets transferred? Two inmates in a cell with no T.V. and nothing to do usually leads to fighting and problems. Entertainment is a huge part of keeping inmates under control. T.V.'s are like babysitters. Little 11 inch, electronic babysitters. Hey, you take what you can get inside. If you don't have any cash on you or contraband when you go in then you better have a hustle or learn one quick. You can usually do any type of contracting work or some variation of it inside a prison as a service to other inmates for trade in food/electronics. You better learn this shit if you want to survive.

Prison 101 Tip

When your locked up doing your bid time moves much faster than you would think. In fact it moves faster than it does when your in the real world. The hardest part is filling that time with things that will help you become a better person than when you went in. I recommend taking any programs offered to you as well as signing up for any programs that relate to your case and why your locked  up to begin with. Not only will this help in making you a better person and solving your issues but it will look good in front of the parole board and for potential employers when you get out of prison. There are many of these types of programs to choose from though the list gets smaller and smaller each year while the waiting list to get into them gets longer and longer. Anger management, addiction services like AA and NA as well as specific drug rehab programs are offered and even high school education programs to get your GED. What else do you have to do that is really more important than gaining some tools to give yourself a fighting chance when you get back into society?

Prison 101 Tip# 17

This is what you do if you want to make a shank in prison to stab someone with. There are many ways to do this involving razor blades and toothbrushes, ect. You need fire to melt the plastic in that case and fire is hard to come by in jail. You can use your stinger to light a piece of paper or something or just pop a qtip into the electric outlet in the wall but the then you need to keep the flame lit to keep fusing the blade to the plastic. It takes too much time and is too risky. If a guard smells something burning in your cell he is gonna shake you down. If he finds your weapon your fucked. My advice is this, find something metal that can be filed down. There is more metal in jail than you would think believe me. I piece of a fan blade or screen, anything. Then just use the floor of the cell late at night to sharpen it up. That's it. Sharpen it a little bit every night or while everyone is at recreation or at chow. Hide it somewhere no one will find it like down inside the toilet or something then when it is all finished and sharpened, use it on whoever pissed you off. There are many other methods of making a weapon in jail and plenty of places to steal shit from like the library, or an office your working in. Wherever. If anyone needs a real detailed account of how to make weapons from anything then contact me. I can show you through videos step by step of how to arm yourself and protect yourself.

Prison 101 Tip #15

Make sure you stay well stocked up on coffee. In state prison you don't have access to real coffee provided to you from the state with your three hots and a cot so you need to order it from commissary. When I was last locked up they offered two types, Nescafe instant and Columbia instant coffee. Both were shit, they are instant coffee, but better than nothing. The Nescafe red bag had more coffee in it but the Columbia yellow bag was stronger and tasted better. It was also more expensive but well worth it. You can also make a quick buck or two hustling coffee balls to other inmates if you are an enterprising criminal. Bag up enough coffee to make one cup and combine sugar, creamer, ect. Wrap it all up in a piece of plastic and make as many as you can out of the bag then sell them for whatever the going rate is. Monetary value is different in state prison than in the real world. Trade isn't based on cash because there is none so everything must be bartered for with what there is enough of, soup. Ramem noodle soups are the currency in state prison's across this beautiful country. A soup can usually buy you a coffee ball or most anything else. A soup usually cost about twenty five cents or so depending on where you are and you can order up to a case at a time which is 24 soups. Stock up on soup every time you can go to the commissary store because that will be your cash while you are in prison. Pay for your basic needs and wants with it instead of trading away better items that you have a real need for. In some prison's soup isn't the only currency. There are stamps, envelopes, and still cigarettes in a very few states. Any of these can be used for trade. If you are trying to purchase drugs or clothes/sneakers you will have to come up with something better. A money order sent from a loved one to an appropriate address can also be used to purchase whatever you want if you have someone on the outside willing to do such activities for you. This is where I come in if you acquire my services. It is just one of many I can provide for those seeking information or assistance of any kind before going in to start a prison sentence or while even incarcerated. If you are reading this and have a loved one locked up and don't want to deal with them put tell them about what I am offering and email me so they can write to my PO Box instead. Internet access is usually prohibited in prison unless it has to do with school of some kind. Good luck.

Prison 101 Tip #12

If you wear eye glasses or contacts make sure you bring a pair with you at sentencing. Otherwise you will have to wait to see the eye doctor which means putting in a request form, which you need to do for anything in jail, and then waiting to be called to see the doctor in the medical unit. This could take weeks. Then you have to wait to actually get your prescription and buy a pair of glasses and that could be another few weeks. If you don't want to be blind for a month or so bring a pair of glasses with you. They can be any kind from the most expensive, which you could sell once you have a cheap pair, or a pair of cheap reading glasses. Getting prescriptions in prison for your eye glasses or any type of medication you may be taking is almost impossible. If your addicted to something and know your going away soon I strongly suggest you detox yourself before going inside. If you don't you can expect to go through a cold turkey detoxification with no help from anyone. Unless your coming off alcohol, in which case the medical unit will put a hold on you and watch you to make sure you don't die. Prison is hard. That's reality. If you want to survive it you must be hard or learn to become hard yourself. Soft weak men and women don't survive a prison sentence and come out the same way they went in. If your about to serve some time you need to prepare yourself in any way you can to come out better off then when you went in.

My new book. State Prison 101: A Survival Guide.

I am almost done writing my manuscript about how to survive in a State Prison, any State Prison and am about ready to start the publishing phase. I hope it will be a helpful tool to anyone entering a State Prison for the first time. My book will explain what to expect and how to survive a prison sentence. I wish I had such a resource available to me before I did my first bid. Anyone going into jail or prison for the first time needs to buy this book. It will help you. I'm not just trying to sell books to make money. I want to help people like myself and this is the only way I could think of to get all the information across to a wide range of individuals. If anyone out there needs further assistance or personal guidance and help just leave me feedback on one of my posts or email me at joshzinewicz82@att.net. I will help you. Believe me, if your about to enter prison for the first time your going to need all the help you can get. It is a frustrating and sometimes dangerous place. My best advice for anyone about to go through such an ordeal is to make the best of it. I know that sounds stupid but it's true. Be a better person when you get released then when you got sentenced. It worked for me, and I used to be a evil fuck. There are tools at your disposal, you just need to know where to look and want to change. If you don't want to change what your doing and who you are then completely disregard everything I just said and buy the book to learn how to network with other inmates to gain valuable connections for when you get out of jail. Your most likely just going to end up right back in jail again, but fuck it. If your happy with your lifestyle who I am to tell you otherwise? Good luck to everyone about to do a bid!

Prison 101 Tip #10

This bit of information won't relate to everyone going into prison or serving time but it can be helpful. If you have any lawsuits pending or expect or are receiving any sort of settlement or annuity put the money or account in someone else's name. If this is an option make sure it is someone you trust unconditionally because once inside you will have no access to the money unless it is through someone else. If they steal the money from you there isn't much you will be able to do about it. You can hire a lawyer from prison and even have them come to your facility for you to interview but winning a law suit from prison is costly and time consuming. The reason I tell you to hide the settlement money is because if the state or federal government find out about the income they are entitled to a certain percentage of it to cover the costs of housing, feeding, clothing you, ect. The price for your incarceration is usually around thirty five thousand dollars a year or so. If you win a settlement while in prison or in the system and the government finds out about it which they will, they will seize a large percentage of the money. Just something to remember. Contact me for more information with regards to how to hide or launder your money or settlement while incarcerated.

Prison 101 Tip #7

Today's tip for surviving a prison sentence comes from personal experience. I had to learn these lessons the hard way but that doesn't mean that anyone willing to seek the knowledge of others has to do the same. Sometimes reaching out to others to gain valuable insight is the only way to prepare. Once your inside the walls it's too late to ask for advice or guidance. No one will help you and if you ask too many questions you will either get killed or taken advantage of. So, maybe hiring someone such as myself to provide you with the knowledge you need or to help you properly put all your affairs in order before being sentenced is an option or you can always read my blogs. Either way, if your going into a prison with a dangerous reputation and you yourself aren't a fighter or killer you had better adapt or prepare to get used. Either as a sexual slave or for your money and commissary, so if you don't find either of these ideas appealing you had better either buy a name for yourself or make one on your own. There are multiple options with regards to this, 1. You can fight, which I recommend. Just find someone who isn't affiliated with any of the gangs and fuck them up, bad. Use a weapon if you have to but don't use a knife or shank. Hit them with something hard and make sure you do it in front of everyone either in the chow hall or at recreation. You will of course go to segregation but at least no one will fuck with you afterwards. 2. You can join a prison gang, but this can lead to more problems than it is worth like being affiliated and going to an SRG unit or gang unit. 3. You can pay for protection, but once again people will be using you for money and if the money runs out so does the protection. Inmates won't respect you and who knows how much protection you will actually receive. If someone wants to get to you they will, no matter who is supposedly watching your back. Your best bet is to just man up and not take any shit from anyone. Don't walk around with a chip on your shoulder looking for a fight but if someone really steps to you, do what you have to do to handle it. Pick your battles, don't assault everyone for every perceivable insult because too many tickets and trips to segregation will lead to your level getting bumped up or you going to spend time in chronic offenders units. The higher your inmate level the worse life gets. High level prisons are where the most dangerous inmates are housed and also the ones doing the most time. These are places you don't want to be. Locked in a cell with someone doing triple life for murdering their entire family is no where for someone who committed check fraud or some white collar crime to do their time. Your level drops at specified intervals as certain amounts of your sentence are completed, usually around every thirty percent of your time. Once you hit a nice easy level two somewhere you can apply for outside clearance to go work in the community or a half way house. Your behavior will also affect whether or not you receive any "good time," or time off for good behavior. That is why I tell you if your gonna make a name for yourself do it quickly so your ticket has time to clear. Do it at the start of your sentence, not near the end. Contact me for further information or for any employment opportunities.

Prison 101 Tip #2

I have officially started writing the definitive book about the do's and do not's of going to and surviving in prison. My tip for the day is that if you are going into a jail or prison for any significant amount of time make sure you are wearing 5 layers of white short sleeve t-shirts, 5 pairs of white socks, 5 pairs of white boxer shorts or underwear, a pair of white or black sneakers preferably expensive in case you need to sell them but be careful, you might have to fight for them as well depending on what prison you are going into. You also need two grey sweatshirts with no pockets or hood and two grey sweatpants with no pockets as well. These sweatsuits aren't easy to find but I can suggest Walmart. The cheaper the better but you want to make them last as inmates are usually allowed only one clothing package per year including this exact amount and kind of items. Also included in a clothing package but not something you can bring in after sentencing, is two white shower towels and two white face clothes. Depending on the State, you might be allowed to get shower shoes sent in a package as well. If not you'll have to purchase them from the commissary. You do not, I repeat, do not want to go into a prison shower bare foot. It is a recipe for disaster.

Prison 101 tip #1

I am an author writing a new book about the do's and do not's of surviving a prison sentence and have extensive experience having served sentences in the State of Connecticut with a federal detainer. The first thing you need to do before entering prison for the first time is get your finances in order. You have no access to bank accounts or credit cards once inside. The only way to get or spend money is through your prison commissary account which can usually hold up to two thousand dollars depending on the state or federal facility. Keeping the amount of money you have private so that the corrections officers and other inmates don't know how much money you have is imperative. Drawing attention for any reason, especially financial, is a big no no inside. There is always a commissary or store in every facility that you purchase everything through. From writing supplies to food, everything goes through the store. Nothing is allowed in from the outside world except letters and sometimes a clothing package consisting of two grey or white sweat suits, t-shirts, boxer shorts or underwear, socks, ect. Usually you can also keep the sneakers you are wearing when you enter the prison as well as long as they don't have any colors deemed to be gang related. This is a huge deal as inmates have a very limited selection of sneakers to choose from and a brand new pair of Air Jordans or Nikes can be worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars even in not so new condition. That is enough to feed you for the first six months your in unless you enjoy eating the free prison slop that's served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I will be posting tips from time to time but have an extensive knowledge of this subject and can help anyone who needs it one on one before it's too late. Once your inside that's it. You are entirely on your own.