What would you like to see in a prison RPG?

[Scruffy]

Pruno, and recipes for it. if it's good it can buy you favors an shit

 

[GarlandExCon]

Pruno, and recipes for it. if it's good it can buy you favors an shit

You know, my entire time on the inside no one called it Pruno. It was almost elusively called Hooch. In county, people called it Buck, especially "Old heads" (older prisoners who had been in and out of the system their entire life or inside for a long time).

 

[Scruffy]

good to know
would it make sense to have it in an rpg? does it have any importance at all when it comes to everyday life in prison?

 

[GarlandExCon]

good to know
would it make sense to have it in an rpg? does it have any importance at all when it comes to everyday life in prison?

Oh I would say it would have to be in the game.

It's a source of problems (people fight more when they drink) as well as something people make a ton of money off of by selling it. It's something COs are constantly looking for and they give regular breathalyzers because of it. They find it all the time and where I was they'd dump it behind the Lt's office and the smell of it would float across the entire prison. It was a common sight to see COs find some and carry out bottles and bottles of the shit. Often it was because they could smell it, especially if some leaked out. Sometimes people would get caught drinking and COs that were cool would just look the other way and tell them to go to sleep. I even saw a CO drink WITH inmates before, but that guy was so laid back it was crazy. I also saw him look at porn with another inmate and have a conversation with inmates while a tattoo was being given.

Often if they found a lot of hooch in a unit the unit would be punished by having to eat last in the meal rotation until the next inspection (every two weeks).

It was never made in toilets like you see in the movies. People used water bottles and trash bags to make it. It was almost always made out of orange or grapefruit juice and sugar. Also, V8 because that shit causes crazy fermentation because of all the acid in it. People also used the huge jugs that cleaning supplies came in if they could get their hands on them (wasn't hard, I had access to them as an Orderly and I gave up the empty bottles to other inmates all the time). It was usually hidden in the bottoms of trashcans under the bag or behind vents in common areas and rarely inside people's cells.

That said, on one memorable occasion a dude named E who was this cool, tall laid back black guy with a huge knot on his neck had made some. Where I was it was two and four-men "rooms" separated by thin cubicle walls, not cells. He had some in his room and he'd just stay in the unit all day. One day he was going out to walk with me and he got cold feet and was like "I want to... but I can't... I've got to watch the baby!" That's what he called it. "The baby." Lol

Anyway, usually as long as you were in your room 99% of COs wouldn't do a shake down, but he managed to piss off the CO that was working the unit. She was a big black lady who was actually nice if you got to know her but went on authority trips. Think Leslie Jones but not as tall and fat.

So she told him to leave his room so she could shake down and he wouldn't. Thing is, she probably would have done a half asses job and not found it, but he refused to leave. She tried to come in and he started pushing her back to keep her out. Next thing we knew the lockers were moving around because they were hitting them. Anyway, she hit what's called the "body alarm." It's a big button on their walkie talkies that alerts that there's a problem and when it goes off every available staff member comes running towards it. It also goes off if the battery goes dead or falls out of the unit. 90% of body alarms end up being false alarms. They lockdown the compound, announce it over the intercom and it's hilarious seeing the staff come running across the compound only to have to go back because it was a false alarm. It's not just COs either, it's ALL STAFF. They all have to respond. So you have Psychologists running in high heels and fat staff members who are so out of shape it's absurd. I remember once this one really fat short staff member -- who was actually a really nice guy -- was running towards it like his life depended on it. Dude was lagging behind and red faced as fuck. He gets all the way to the door of the unit and finds out its a false alarm, haha.

Anyway, she hits the border alarm and the COs and staff come running towards the unit, but not before he is able to grab the hooch, make his way around her and start dumping it out down the bathroom shower drain. But it was too late. They got there, made him put his hands on the wall, cuffed him and took him away. The entire bathroom smelled like hooch and the floor was sticky and orange. He still had 6 bottles he never got to pour out. When it was over one of the COs told us "alright y'all, go back to whatever you were doing. Hoochgate is over! Hahaha!"

 

[ERYFKRAD]

How was the taste though?

 

[GarlandExCon]

How was the taste though?

Very strong and not as bad as you might expect. Honestly, I've had things that came from the convenience store that tasted way worse. That shit was champagne compared to Thunderbird and Orange Driver.

It also depended on who made it and how it was made. One dude on the compound was the king of making it. I mean his stuff was wonderful. For a brief period they gave us Kiwis at the chow hall and he made it out of that. Also peaches and watermelons a couple of times.

To get it from him I'd have to transfer the bottles from his unit to mine which was all the way across the compound. This meant walking with bottles of the stuff hidden on my body, tied or taped down so they wouldn't be noticeable, all the way across the compound and around COs with gloves on ready to do a pat down at any moment. Was terrifying.

Reminds me one time someone got patted down and had bottles in both their pockets and the CO pulled it out, put it back and told him "get out of here man."

I got drunk about 5 times in prison and 3 of the 5 were within the same month when that shit was flowing like crazy and our unit was like a bar. The last time, though, I had 6 bottles of the stuff on an empty stomach. The last two weren't even fermented completely yet. By the end of the night I was puking black stuff and I felt weird literally for two weeks after that. Also, for some weird reason, I couldn't bring myself to drink any soda for 6 months after that, which turned out to be an expected blessing. Too bad I couldn't keep it up.

 

[Scruffy]

if you put points into some related stat you might be able to craft quality hooch and drink it yourself for some temporary stat bonus and sell it for currency/favors, of course the downside being that if you get caught you're in deep shit. Unless, of course, you put points in some other charisma related stat or skill that allows you to butter up the officers, or if you have a good record with them. Choices and consequences bitches.

 

[GarlandExCon]

if you put points into some related stat you might be able to craft quality hooch and drink it yourself for some temporary stat bonus and sell it for currency/favors, of course the downside being that if you get caught you're in deep shit. Unless, of course, you put points in some other charisma related stat or skill that allows you to butter up the officers, or if you have a good record with them. Choices and consequences bitches.

I like the idea of a craft system. Maybe have one for hooch and you get different items in the came you can use to make it... You could also have a crafting system for weapons.

But yeah, a persuade ability based on charisma or history with officers would be great and realistic. There were dudes I did time with who were so cool with most officers they could get away with murder. They were like best friends with them

 

[Scruffy]

how about a "favor system" both among inmates and with officers? they might be randomly generated (one day an inmate comes to you and asks you for a favor), if you do someone a favor, you gain a favor point with that person. You might use it right away for some minor shit, or you might keep adding favor points with inmates. You gain them if you provide them with stuff even if they don't ask for it (cigarettes, magazines, whatever), and once you have at least 5 favor points with an inmate, for example, you can ask them a bigger favor, or you can start your own gang. This way you have a "currency sink" (i can use these cigarettes to trade for something i need, or i can give them to X and get 2 favor points with him for the future).

It shouldn't be too complex to implement and would give depth to the whole relationship thing
Officers with a certain amount of favor points with you could be a bit more lenient if they catch you doing something you're not supposed to do, and you could influence them to allow stuff that you could not get otherwise to be smuggled in, etc.

also, it would add a certain "materialistic" aspect to relationships in prison, which sounds about right, although who knows if it is

 

[Scruffy]

at the moment of creating your character, you choose a bunch of traits, including the reason why you are in jail
if another inmate has similar traits etc, you guys "bond", as in, you become friends not just because of the "favor" system but because you genuinely like each other
this can happen with another one or two inmates, but it should be a rare occurrence
this should give you some perks, like, covering each other's back and so on

 

[daveyd]

A few notes/ideas:

1. In prison, sex offenders are identified by most inmates by the negative insults "pedophiles" or "Chomos," even is neither is actually true about the person. Rarely will an inmate insult another inmate to their face with this even if they are or are suspected to be, unless than inmate pisses them off, then it's going to be said almost as a certainty. Ironically, often the people who use those terms the most are the ones who fit that description and are sex offenders. This is to cover their own trail and as a defense mechanism. Often inmates, those included, will go on rants about "Chomos" and "pedophiles," and will sometimes do it when they know present company includes sex offenders to make those individuals intentionally uncomfortable.

How do inmates generally find out what crime another has been convicted of? Obviously, in cases that receive a lot of media attention word travels quickly. But I'm assuming in the majority of the cases, it would be a bit harder to find out... Do COs generally know / have access to this info?

I was thinking one interesting angle in the game might be to fabricate a story as to what crime you committed... say come up with something that would make you look like a total bad ass & generally gain the respect of the inmates. E.g., say you beat the shit out of a known child molester who managed to avoid serving time because he was rich / hired a great lawyer. Or something that would make you gain the reputation specifically for the Aryan brotherhood- i.e., say you committed a racially motivated crime to send a political message, at the expense of reputation with the other gangs. Or perhaps simply insist on your innocence if the crime your character did is not viewed favorably.

Anyway, if it works, then you reap the benefits of having a higher reputation with your fellow inmates. On the other hand, if you tell everyone a different story or get caught in a lie- either by failing a certain skill check or contradicting facts known by influential inmates, then you'd take a huge reputation penalty.

In prison TV shows / movies we always see guys get asked "so what'dya in for?" I'd think many sex offenders would want to try to say they're in for something else, considering that it seems the majority of prison inmates seem to view them (especially those who victimized children) in a very negative light.

I saw Pekak said they have a predetermined crime in mind for the player character and he's definitely guilty... So perhaps this would go against the story they have planned or just be too complex (or take away the incentive to complete quests / favors in order to gain rep).

 

[GarlandExCon]

A few notes/ideas:

1. In prison, sex offenders are identified by most inmates by the negative insults "pedophiles" or "Chomos," even is neither is actually true about the person. Rarely will an inmate insult another inmate to their face with this even if they are or are suspected to be, unless than inmate pisses them off, then it's going to be said almost as a certainty. Ironically, often the people who use those terms the most are the ones who fit that description and are sex offenders. This is to cover their own trail and as a defense mechanism. Often inmates, those included, will go on rants about "Chomos" and "pedophiles," and will sometimes do it when they know present company includes sex offenders to make those individuals intentionally uncomfortable.

How do inmates generally find out what crime another has been convicted of? Obviously, in cases that receive a lot of media attention word travels quickly. But I'm assuming in the majority of the cases, it would be a bit harder to find out... Do COs generally know / have access to this info?

I was thinking one interesting angle in the game might be to fabricate a story as to what crime you committed... say come up with something that would make you look like a total bad ass & generally gain the respect of the inmates. E.g., say you beat the shit out of a known child molester who managed to avoid serving time because he was rich / hired a great lawyer. Or something that would make you gain the reputation specifically for the Aryan brotherhood- i.e., say you committed a racially motivated crime to send a political message, at the expense of reputation with the other gangs. Or perhaps simply insist on your innocence if the crime your character did is not viewed favorably.

Anyway, if it works, then you reap the benefits of having a higher reputation with your fellow inmates. On the other hand, if you tell everyone a different story or get caught in a lie- either by failing a certain skill check or contradicting facts known by influential inmates, then you'd take a huge reputation penalty.

In prison TV shows / movies we always see guys get asked "so what'dya in for?" I'd think many sex offenders would want to try to say they're in for something else, considering that it seems the majority of prison inmates seem to view them (especially those who victimized children) in a very negative light.

I saw Pekak said they have a predetermined crime in mind for the player character and he's definitely guilty... So perhaps this would go against the story they have planned or just be too complex (or take away the incentive to complete quests / favors in order to gain rep).

OK, so there's a few ways people find out what someone's in for. They include high profile media exposure and if they came from another prison where their crime was known, word can travel surprisingly fast to people at the other prison, especially if the person did something not exactly popular. The most common way, however, is by asking. If someone refuses to answer or lies badly (and you're right, generally sex offenders lie badly and say a white collar crime or simply 'drugs' -- this is what they're told to do, including by their attorneys. That said a lot of them have their stories down to a science), they're going to be investigated further. Either way, especially in higher security institutions, they're going to be asked to produce their "paperwork" (meaning PSI) to verify their crime. If they refuse, in some places there could be problems. See below for extensive writings I did on this topic in the "Ask an Ex-Con" thread.

(BTW, on the media exposure thing, a lot of people are just screwed on that front. We had a guy at Petersburg who was on To Catch a Predator and they would show that episode all the time and people would watch it. He tried to grow out his hair and a big ass beard as a disguise but it didn't work. I always felt bad for the guy cause he was nice to everyone. Often, when that episode would air, the cable would mysteriously go out).

The other way people find out is by contacting someone on the outside and asking them to look a person up and in the day and age of Google that's not hard at all. That may be the #1 way people find out about people's crimes in prison these days, especially in lower security spots where paperwork isn't generally asked for as much. If someone refuses to answer what they were charged with or produced paperwork, someone is going to have them looked up 9 times out of 10.

Regarding COs knowing or having access to this information, they're actually not suppose to but often do and yes, sometimes COs will tell other inmates what an inmate is in for especially COs who are either on the take somehow or just have a too close relationship with inmates (happens all the time). Basically, if a CO wants to know what an inmate is in for they can find out pretty easily, even if they're not suppose to know. Also, some staff like Counselors or Case Managers always know of course. They have access to all your records and they're actually some of the worst ones when it comes to sharing an inmates' information with other inmates.

Anyway, I like your scenario idea. It's interesting because a lot of inmates who are trying to cover up their crime embellish the shit out of it and it sends up red flags. One thing I learned in prison quick: the people who talk the most shit about sex offenders/child molesters/pedophiles are mostly sex offenders/child molesters/pedophiles. Actually, there was one guy there, went by Kracker. He talked so much shit about them and even outed one of them (who was a really good guy) by posting their paperwork for no reason. Guess what? Three months later everyone found out Kracker was in for child pornography. Of course, he had an excuse and went around telling everyone it wasn't him that did it... and shockingly he was still accepted (and some people actually seemed to believe him!), but actually it wasn't that shocking because that happened at the Low. The difference with him was he was such a piece of shit and hypocrite about it I was disappointed when people still accepted him... although maybe I should have been thankful to see forgiveness run that deep. I don't know.

Thing is, I would have had no problem with Kracker if it wasn't for that piece of shit move he pulled on other people. Dude also talked shit about "fags" for about two years and was gay and in a relationship with another inmate the entire time. Towards the end he was just open about it.

That's another way people get found out: other inmates out them, often as part of some disgusting scheme to protect their own vulnerability. All federal prisons have to have law libraries and these days they have LexisNexis to look up case law for research for appeals. Thing is, when someone files an appeal it's accessible on LexisNexis and thus, everyone knows someone's charge and can look it up. Saw this happen to a close friend in prison. He filed an appeal and got outed this way. I felt horrible for him because he was a really good person and his exposure went horrible. He had been there almost 3 years I think when it happened. I didn't know what he was in there for but I suspected because I didn't believe his story. It was full of holes and anyway, he didn't seem like the type. But he didn't seem like the type to do what he was actually convicted of either. Something amazing happened, though: Most people -- like literally almost everyone -- didn't treat him any differently. They defended him, came up to him to talk to him about it and say they didn't care, told him how much of a BS situation it was, etc. It was amazing humanity... and it was because they all knew he was generally a good person. And the people who fucked with him the most about it and went around telling everyone what he did got out casted until, towards the end of his stay it transformed their opinion on the issue and they apologized to him.

Something else: he proclaimed his innocence too and still does to this day and most people believed him... and I actually believe him too.

In prison a big concept is "showing your paperwork." Your "paperwork" is something that shows what you did and that you didn't snitch on anyone. In Medium and higher security prisons, this is often mandatory, even though the BOP has prohibited inmates from having certain kinds of paperwork on their persons for this reason because of the security risk it causes. Pretty much as soon as you step foot on one of those compounds, you're going to have to show someone your "paperwork" so they can vouch for you and usually it's going to be whoever you run with. If you're not in a gang, it's going to be people from the area you're from (your "homeboys"). If your "paperwork" is "straight" then you're pretty much be accepted no matter what you did so long as it's not a sex offense and you're not a cop. Even if you murdered someone, that is accepted and more accepted than almost the most benign sex offense. If your "paperwork" isn't clean for whatever reason, they may tell you to "check in," which means going to the hole (SHU -- Special Housing Unit), which is normally used for punishment but is also used for people who can't be kept or don't want to be kept in general population. It's a lot like protective custody. This does happen often at higher security institutions, especially penitentiaries, where other inmates don't want anyone sex offense or who's a snitch or a cop on the compound with them. The implication being if you choose not to "check in" something will happen to you and generally it'll be you getting beat so bad you're going to be taken off the compound or worse.

A lot of times people just don't know for sure why a person's there, although they heard whispers and may suspect based on stereotypes (white, nerdy, glasses, etc.). For the same reason someone might not believe what they hear, even if it's true, because it doesn't seem like the person is of that character and they think it's just because of the stereotype. The former part may actually be true, not because they aren't a sex offender, but because what they did really is not a reflection of who they are. Everyone makes mistakes and I think that was routine with a lot of the sex offenders I met in prison, especially the ones for non-touch computer crimes. They were actually really good, normal people who made a very stupid mistake. They were often a better class of inmate than those there for "normal" crimes like drugs, robbery, property crimes, etc.

How does one get their 'paperwork'? Is it just a piece of paper with your sentence and crime?

Most people already have their paperwork on them from their attorney. It was either mailed to them or when their attorney visited they gave it to them. Almost everyone has their legal work. It's actually the one thing they'll let you take with you on your person from place to place if you're transfered to another facility. In a lot of prisons they even allow inmates to request a special box for their legal work they can keep under their bed so they don't have to use so much of their locker space for it (as a general rule in most prisons all of your things must be kept in your locker, although at the low I was at this was rarely if ever enforced. but at higher security definitely). Lots of people, especially in county jail and in the early stages of their incarceration, are still dealing with their case or fighting it, so they may have a lot of legal work on them.

When most people say "paperwork" they're talking specifically about something called the Presentence Investigation Report (PSI).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentence_investigation_report

The reason the PSI is so universally used is because it's the one piece of paperwork EVERYONE has as they do it for everyone and it offers a snap shot (albiet a personal one) of who a person is and what they did. It's also a piece of paper that everyone is given early on and that will be sent to everyone while they are incarcerated before their sentencing by their attorney.

It's the one piece of paperwork everyone should have. Thing is, a few years ago, the BOP wised up, realizing that people were being put in bad possessions by having to show their PSI's (especially in the case of informants, ex-cops and sex offenders, who might be harrassed to "check in" to the SHU if someone finds out about them) and it was a security issue, so they banned inmates from having their PSI in their possession once they entered a BOP facility. If you come in with it and they find it, they'll take it from you. A lot of people still have there PSI's, though, either because they slipped it in (not hard to do) or they had it before this regulation took place. Most people who have nothing to hide will try to slip there PSI in so they can show it if someone questions them or they have problems, especially if they're just coming into a facility.

It's not uncommon for someone in higher security institutions, if anyone questions their intregrity about anything, to go get their PSI or say they will to prove their character. Or suggests that them and the person that's questioning them both get it, even if the questioning has nothing to do with their offense. Most people keep there PSI's handy so they can get it out at a moment's notice at these institutions.

You can always see your PSI by going to your Case Manager (everyone in a federal prison is assigned a case manager, generally who handles the cases of the inmates in the housing unit their assigned to) and they'll show it to you but won't let you leave with it.

Since PSI's are banned, an alternative is often the Sentence Computation Sheet, which may be enough for people to trust you or at least temporarily so... You can get this from your Case Manager and have it on you without problems. It will show your total sentence, broken down by good time credit and where you did your time so far, and your crime. It may or may not show if you received credit for government assistance (i.e. snitching). It won't show things like gang affliations and previous employeement (i.e. if you were a cop), so it doesn't complete reflect what someone is or isn't. I've actually seen situations where a new inmate was literally walked by other inmates they associated with (people from their area, gang members) to the Case Manager's office to get their Sentence Computation Sheet in events where someone is questioning the inmate's character.

I've also heard of prisons that had signs posted all over that said "DO NOT ASK ANOTHER INMATE FOR THEIR PAPERWORK. THIS WILL RESULT IN DISIPLINARY ACTION."

Can you get the paperwork at county jail?

That's actually where you're most likely to have your paperwork since your attorney will visit and give it to you or send it to you and your case is most likely still underway so you need your legal materials (at the very least you haven't been sentenced yet). You're also allowed to have your PSI at most county jails (I've heard of some restricting them for the same reason as the BOP, but never saw it myself). Think about it this way: you're likely still in the middle of your case, still fighting with all you can, so all your legal materials are very relevant at that time. Also, you may bounce from county jail to county jail, especially if you have a federal case, and that's the one thing they'll let you take from place to place on you.

That said, you have to be extremely fucking careful about your paperwork in County Jail because people will try to get into it and build a case on you. I've seen it happen. Look at it like this: County jail is full of people who have cases still under way for the most part, who haven't been sentenced yet and who may be facing many YEARS in prison. They may also, obviously, want a time cut and to do as little time as possible. Well, one of the ways to do that is by offering cooperation to the government (snitching), but let's say they have no one to snitch on or they want even more time cut (the more people you snitch on the more of a time cut you get), guess what? They're surrounded by people they can snitch on in jail if they just know more about them. So what they'll do is when you're not around or looking they'll steal your paper work, read about you and learn as much as possible, then they'll tell their attorney to say they have information for the D.A. about someone. They talk to the D.A. and tell them about you. They don't know you, have never met you before prison, but because they've read your paperwork and know about you and your case it can sound like they do. They could say "yeah, I saw Pekka deal smack to anus_pounder...blah blah blah."

This sounds crazy but it HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.

For this reason, actually, you can usually get away with not showing your paperwork in county as no one wants to show their paperwork, although someone who is trying to do the above might try to bully you into showing it. They might accuse you of being an informant or rapist or something, so you feel pressured to clear your name with your paperwork and all along it was about them learning about you so THEY could snitch on YOU.

One time I saw it happen in the last county jail I was at before I got to the prison. It was the only jail with a rec yard we could use. I hadn't been outside except to get in a van to go from one place to another in over 5 months. It was this open quad in the middle of the town with a volley ball court with a broken net. It was mainly good just to walk around and get air and see the sky. So while we were all out there one guy who elected not to go was back in the dorms going through someone's paperwork. He had even tried to use me when I got there to get into another pod (there were several "pods," each with about 25 bunk beds for inmates) so he could look into a specific person's case who was there. What happened was that was I needed a bottom bunk and he had one so he told the CO he'd go to the other pod and give up his bottom bunk to me.

When the guy got back and found the guy going through his things he beat his ass. The crazy thing about this story is why the guy wanted to go to the other pod to see that guy's paperwork: because the D.A. told him he'd give him a time cut if he did and built a case on him. I'm not kidding, this happens all the time. This guy didn't know the guy at all, but because the D.A. needed to either needed someone to testify against the guy or wanted to put the guy away for longer, he offered a time cut to the other guy if he would build a (fake) case against him.

It gets worse. D.A.'s and prosecutors encourage this behavior, as do defense attorneys. They often all know the person doesn't really know the person they're snitching on or anything about them, but they let it go anyway, because the D.A. wants to put the person away more and the attorney wants a win for their client. Often this is done as part of an agreement reached between the D.A./prosecutor and the defense attorney, who are probably friends, and they'll approach an the accused together and say "hey, listen, testify against this guy and here's what we can do for you..." "It doesn't matter if you don't know him, we'll tell you what you need to say." And they'll literally build the case on someone FOR HIM. They'll give him all the details and coach him on exactly what to say. At the very lease defense attorney's and prosecutors will encourage the accused to build manufactured cases on people by getting their paperwork. This is tragic as it sounds, but it's a way for District Attorney's and Prosecutors to put people away when they don't have enough evidence to... All they need is to get two other people who's life they hold in their hands to collaborate the same story and they can produce a trumped up Conspiracy charge. Most of the time the people wrongfully accusing the person will never even have to testify in open court since almost everyone in the federal system takes a plea because of the massive amount of more time they're threatened with if they don't.

Look at it this way: you're someone facing 25 years for a first time, non-violent drug offense (a very realistic scenario for some, sadly). The prosecutor of your case is prosecuting another guy he wants to put away more but can't get enough evidence to build a case on them. So he comes to you and one other guy in the same boat as you with your defense attorney (and it's probably the same at defense attorney as the other guy just like it's the same prosecutor) and says "hey, listen, I want to help you. I know you've never been in trouble before and you're looking at 25 YEARS. I want you to go back to your family while you're still young, but I need you to help me" and he lays out a scenario where you testify against a guy you've never even met or heard of to get a time cut. To tells you exactly what you need to say on record. "You probably won't even have to testify since he'll plead out, all you have to do is tell this to me and an investigator who wants to get this guy as bad as I do, we'll make sure it all works out like it's suppose to. Your attorney will be there too." So you agree and the other guy agrees and guess what? They're able to bring the other guy up on a CONSPIRACY charge, which requires no actual evidence, just the sworn testimony of at least two individuals that they saw you commit or even just talk about committing a crime (FYI: don't even talk about your case in county jail for this reason. If people ask, lie). For this you and the other guy that testified get a time cut, but still probably go to prison in the end. The prosecutor gets to say he put three people behind bars, all defense attorneys get paid, the D.A. looks good and so do the investigators. They all win and everyone else loses. The other guy can say "I'VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE." It doesn't matter. "Well, we have sworn, written statements from two individuals stating otherwise. "BUT I DON'T KNOW THOSE GUYS! I'VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE IN MY LIFE!" it doesn't matter. "Well, they BOTH say they do."

Welcome to the broken criminal justice system.

 

[RKade8583]

Having done a year in my early 20s, I'd have to say a winning idea for me is the idea of length. Prison time is a long goddamn time and I feel like the game should be as long... maybe not as boring but it should definitely have that double-feeling of "FINALLY!!!" and "It's been HOW long?" that I got for a few months after I got out. Coincidentally, that's the double-feeling I get when I finish really long RPGs except without the depression.

MDickie made Hard Time which is a prison game (but not the one you'd want to base actual gameplay on) that had the idea of long time down pretty well. The days moved short. The years moved long.

 

[HeroicBloodshed]

What would you like to see in a prison RPG?

A release.

 

[YES!]

I really would rather not have a realistic gang system based on race. I would much rather race not be a significant part of the game. I would be more into an alternative reality system like in The Warriors movie, or not so distant future movie such as Escape from NY or LA.

If you ask these crazy leftists they will want the race system since they are infatuated with race and being racists. Make prison rpgs great again and drop race as anything but a visual color as insignificant as hair or eye color.