Wow.

For $82 a Day, Booking a Cell in a 5-Star Jail - New York Times

How hard up for money is California (and other states) to offer upgraded cells to inmates for cash? So, well-off people not only end up with better representation in court, to avoid going to jail, but can pay to be separated from the riff-raff in their own cell? Some are even allowed computers and/or iPods. That's one of the most outfuckingrageous things I've heard of.

They don't offer it to those who commit "serious" offenses, only the little things, like drunk driving(!), "white-collar crime", etc.

Last time I checked, I think jail was meant to be a punishment for doing bad things. The "sales pitch" for the Pasadena jail at one time was "'Bad things happen to good people.'" WRONG! Good and bad people sometimes DO BAD THINGS, and are sent to jail. According to the Pasadena police rep, people sometimes "have had a lapse in judgment and do not want to go to county jail." Pardon? Who the fuck *wants* to go to jail.

I spent 4 days in the Orange County jail for failing to pay some old speeding tickets. I messed up, and my options were either a few days in jail, or plead not guilty, come back in 2 weeks, probably with a lawyer I couldn't afford, and try to convince them that I didn't do it. But I did, so I sucked it up and went. I remember thinking, Fight Club-style, "you don't want to die without going to jail, do you?" Scared shitless, no doubt, but all in all it wasn't *that* bad of an experience, mostly because the people I met there were alright. No fights, no trouble, even made some temporary friends. A big factor in that was that I was on the women's side. Almost all of the people I talked to were in for non-violent drug offenses, mostly possesion, mostly having to do with speed. I remember one chick who told me she'd shot up speed *while driving* once. If you ask me, she needed treatment more than anything else. They get out and are right back into it. Another girl, a beautiful girl about 20, told me the first thing she planned to do when she was out was go get some shit. Other than them, I remember meeting one pretty 18-year-old who was a prostitute from Vegas. That was a sad one.

The bulk of the sheriffs were power-mad dicks, just assholes for no good reason. I can understand why they'd be jaded and a little mean - these were the people who walked up from place to place, totally unarmed and relying on the guys watching the cameras from the one-way mirrors. They have to exert a measure of control, authority, and showing-you-who's-boss to protect themselves. But some of them went above and beyond, just because they could.

You had to wear used (but washed) underwear and were forced to wear a really uncomfortable, scratchy (also used) bra at all times - and yes, they checked daily - had to show the strap each morning at what was roll call, I guess. And the damned things were *underwire* for pete's sake. Who needs a fucking underwire bra in JAIL?? No privacy, bathroom stalls that were about 3 feet tall(!), and just general institutional bullshit. But it did open my eyes up to a bit of how the penal system works and what it's like for the people in there.

Fortunately, I'd been in the Army (Reserves - but I still went through boot camp, surprisingly similar to jail, only more work and less sleep), and had gone through rehab at 17, so I was more prepared than some. But I still wouldn't want to go back. I will certainly never consider a life of crime after that.

I just can't believe that the gov't is so money-hungry that they'd do this kind of shit. What's next? Advertising in jails? Ads for bail bond companies, lawyers, malt liquor? I don't know why it surprises me, but it did.

I mean, I've gotten used to the racket they pull here in CA - every bloody freeway is allegedly "Under Construction," even if you haven't seen anybody working there in months, or even years. And every one has a sign: "Fines doubled in construction zones," or something to that effect. That's before our great 171% "assessment" fee that almost triples your fine, and then any other crap they decide to tack on.

Makes you consider becoming an anarchist. Or at least a Libertarian.