How many DU'ers have been to jail/prison?

[Downtown Hound]

Poll question: How many DU'ers have been to jail/prison?

Just thought I would take a poll to see just how degenerate all you crazy leftists really are. I'll start:

I've been arrested twice, both protest related. The longest I spent in jail was about 10 hours, and both times no charges ended up being brought against me. I still have no convictions on my record.

Now, your turn.

[flvegan]

1. Never arrested, never imprisoned.

Well, technically never arrested. I was put in cuffs for PC once.

Oh yeah, knock on wood.

[vadawg]

2. in county jail right now,been in a few over the years, never anything serious..

i am using a county computer right now, its the only chance i get to go online

[MineralMan]

3. Other. I was once arrested at a Pentagon protest in 1968.

We were put on a bus, driven somewhere, then just released. They didn't even take our names. So, there's no record of the arrest. It was a long walk back to the Pentagon. A very long walk.

[bigwillq]

4. Never arrrested

Never been in jail or even a holding cell. I hope my luck continues. :)

[Greyhound]

5. Damn, 35% of respondents are or have been "in the system". Why does this not terrify you?

The DU demographics have shown many times that DU is an exceptional sample of above average America. Mostly white, higher incomes, better educated, etc. and still about 1/3 have had negative contact with the "justice" system.

Good thing we don't live in some kind of police state.

[Downtown Hound]

8. Remember that a lot of us are protesters that have crossed that certain line before

I'm willing to bet that that makes up a good portion of those "arrested but only spent a brief time in jail" responses. But the sheer fact that so many citizens feel compelled to do so should tell you a lot about America.

[Greyhound]

53. Once you're in the system, why doesn't matter, you're in it forever.

every time you come to their attention for the rest of your life.

I've just known too many people that have been fucked with for decades over stupid little things that, not too long ago, would have never warranted intervention. Had I been born a decade later, and did the things I've done, I would have been labeled a habitual offender or some such and be writing this from a prison.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

25. Because respondents are self-selected.

One third of DUers having been in gaol would, indeed, be a terrifying statistic; one in three of those DUers who choose to respond to a thread about the topic answering "yes" merely means that people who have are more likely to answer polls about it.

This is one of the many reasons opinion polling is an inexact science at best.

[vadawg]

30. lol i knew you were a sassanach from the way you spell gaol

the number of times i have been pulled on DU for that spelling is unreal,

[Greyhound]

50. gaol = ?. n/t

[vadawg]

52. its the proper spelling of jail :)

[Greyhound]

54. Ah, thank you. n/t

[Liberal In Texas]

33. It's also really hard to believe that (so far) 7 people are typing on a

prison computer. Methinks jokers and/or trolls.

[vadawg]

36. i can guarentee my puter is in the jail, its even got no games on it

im not allowed to attach any drives etc either... :)

[Maru Kitteh]

67. cruising DU while working does not count

[krispos42]

6. 4 hours in the county lockup

During the rather brief period of time between my ex confessing to an affair and wanting a divorce, and us leaving the state because her parents lied to CPS, we started packing to move. When I brought home the U-Haul and started loading the truck, they must have driven past at some point and realized what I was doing (my ex had already fled to Minnesota with our kid). The only thing they had in the toolbox to delay me was telling the local police I had a 2-year-old warrant out for my arrest for a $21 bounced check.

So the cops came by at 5am to arrest me, cuffs and cop car and all... they had gotten a faxed copy of the warrant at 4am. At 8am they brought my case before a judge, at 8:30am a deputy said I had to bond $100. I had $40, so he offered to go to the ATM for me. I gave him my PIN, he got the money, I bonded out, and walked the block-and-a-half back to my house to finish packing.

I was gone that afternoon. Haven't seen or spoken to my ex-in-laws since.

My ex-father-in-law has throat cancer now. It makes me smile.

[Downtown Hound]

9. That sounds like quite an ordeal

I hope that it's all behind you now.

[krispos42]

23. I had a bad fever, too

Some kind of summer cold. It took 8 hours to find and get the damn U-Haul! PSA: internet reservations don't work well in rural America!


I barely remember it. I went to bed at one AM, the cops were knocking at 5am. I was able to sleep in the cell, although the blanket was scratchy.


I look forward to pissing on their graves, though. That was totally uncalled for. Totally. Instead of us working together to get THEIR daughter to come to her senses, they basically forced us to leave, and quickly.

And no.. there's a kid and a broken heart involved. It likely will never be totally behind me, although it has largely faded into the background.

[vadawg]

10. are you sure you want to tell a positive story about the popo

it wont be long until you get bombarded for daring to suggest that the deputy treated you as anything other than a lowlife animal...

[Zix]

12. There's over-enthusiasm on both sides, I think.

The people who trust the police least are usually those with the least dealings with them.

[vadawg]

13. oh dude your going to bring a firestorm down on yourself with that statement

good luck,

[Zix]

14. (dons entire asbestos house)

:D

[krispos42]

26. I've never had a problem with the cops.

Although I'm a white male with no tattoos or piercings, and I always wear a shirt. :-)


Two tickets, a couple of pull-overs for burnt-out exterior lights... :shrug:

[Downtown Hound]

31. I'll say it

Both times I was arrested the police treated me very decently. Although the first time was in 2003 after a rather chaotic protest in which there was some police brutality, the actual cops that arrested and booked me were very pleasant. And the last time they were downright gentlemen.

Cops are people just like any other. Some are good. Some are bad. Sometimes they make good decisions, sometimes they make bad ones. Anybody that says they hate all cops is just practicing another form of racism.

[JonLP24]

34. Short version

I had both unpleasant and pleasant encounters.

[vadawg]

37. me too, usually depended on where they are and if federal or local

but as always it came down to individuals, i got the same experience with criminals, some are ok some are asses, i guess its the same the world over...

[Raineyb]

35. How exactly is the police scrounging up some penny ante charge in the

middle of the night in an attempt to circumvent a person moving in support of some bullshit charge by lying in-laws supposed to be a positive story?

[vadawg]

40. what pene ante charge, there was a warrant for arrest, someone

albeit maliciously knew about it and called the cops, what so you expect the cops to do. You do realise that we have to serve warrants when we get them otherwise it dosent work....

[Raineyb]

45. Like I said penny ante. A 2 year old warrant for a bounced check?

That's beyond petty and we both know it.

[vadawg]

47. lol you do realise that as long as there is a warrant we need to serve it

then its up to the judge, are you sure you want to let the street cop be the one to decide what sentence someone should get...

[Cid_B]

70. A warrant is a warrant is a warrant...

If it's still valid then there is no reason at all not to serve it.

[Zix]

43. The deputy didn't HAVE to go to the ATM.

A generous gesture, really.

[Blue-Jay]

7. I may have spent the night once or twice.

[Zix]

11. Never arrested. Engagements with police on many, many occasions

Including at least one encounter that could easily have been "resisting arrest". Thankfully the officer was understanding.

On all occasions bar 1 and a half, police have behaved impeccably.

[Flaneur]

15. Two years and nine months for a quarter pound of marijuana.

I wasn't exactly a fan of the criminal justice system before that, and it proved me right.

[Downtown Hound]

56. Damn!

Now there was definitely a crime committed there, but it wasn't what you did. I'm sorry you had to go through that. When and where was this if you don't mind my asking?

[Flaneur]

58. 1989-1992. In South Dakota.

It hasn't gotten any better there, either. Now, they have a law that makes it a crime to test positive for any drug, including marijuana. So, you could have smoked a joint in neighboring Nebraska or Minnesota, where it's only ticketable offense, and then go to jail for up to a year in South Dakota based on pot in your urine from smoking that joint. Ditto if you're a medical marijuana patient from neighboring Montana.

[Downtown Hound]

63. Shit, I'd be doing life if I lived in that state

What a mess. The drug war is a sham that needs to be stopped.

[gwsuperfan]

71. Screw That

In DC, anything less than a half-pound is a misdemeanor

[DainBramaged]

16. I like pie.......

[Downtown Hound]

27. Pie is mighty fine!

:toast: :thumbsup:

[monmouth]

17. Many of us are now in recovery for a long time, but back in the day.....sigh....n/t

[JTFrog]

18. nm

Like anyone really gives a fuck, lol.

[H2O Man]

19. "Don't be surprised

when I tell you I've been in jail. You're still in jail." -- Malcolm X

[kentuck]

20. Who could not read this post?

:-)

[Downtown Hound]

64. It's just like the show COPS! And this episode takes place on DU!

[NightHawk63]

21. I pulled a 6 hour bid back in '91.

Does that count?

[Downtown Hound]

28. Sure, why wouldn't it?

[Cleita]

22. Only to visit an inmate relative. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

24. I myself have never been arrested,

but my ex-husband was in and out throughout the entire time of our relationship - 20 years. That shit gets OLD. Even without having been arrested myself, I've spent many, many hours inside jails and prisons -- not even counting the year I worked as a correctional officer.

[asdjrocky]

29. Six times for protesting.

Each of those times was only for a few hours.

Been in jail for other things, mostly my temper and standing up to cops got me in trouble. Longest I ever served time was six months in Sacramento Co. and I did 84 days in San Joaquin Co a long time ago, when I was 22.

People who have not been in the system have no idea how corrupt the system is. You can always count on other cops, or people who have never been on the "wrong side" of cops to come to their defense.

[vadawg]

32. rofl same as you can always count on a criminal to bad mouth the system

just because they didnt get to do what they want and not have to pay, see it works both ways...

[asdjrocky]

38. There are lots of people in jail today, right now, that are not criminals.

You know that's true.

[Raineyb]

41. +1

Very true. Not that the criminal justice system gives a damn about that. Guilty or innocent they all treat you like subhuman shit and expect you to thank them for it.

[vadawg]

44. same as you know that all cops are not bad, and its not my place to decide if someones a criminal

thats the court, i dont think you would want the decision to sentence people to be up to teh street cop do you..

[Raineyb]

46. Isn't that what they do now when they shoot first and ask questions later?

If they get around to bothering to ask questions of course. Sometimes they don't even do that.

[asdjrocky]

48. No.

But I know police have their own kind so sentences and they hand them out everyday.

A little over a week ago I watched a cop pull my neighbor onto the sidewalk in front of his house so he could arrest him. What was the charge? Drunk in public. What was the real crime here, Mario did not kiss the cops ass.

Now, the charges will be dropped, just like the always do in this stuff, but Mario had to go to jail. And Mario is now out of work because of it.

Sure, not all cops are bad. You'd have to be an idiot to think they were. But enough cops are bad, enough of them to really fuck things up for decent people.

[Raineyb]

39. Indeed.

You wouldn't believe the number of arrests based on blatant lies which a small amount of investigating would make obvious.

Which BTW the police will tell you they don't do. Investigate that is. But they love to lecture you on how you should behave when you hadn't done a bloody thing wrong much less illegal.

And the entire system is populated by sadists on power trips as well.

[vadawg]

49. lol as i said i dont expect a criminal to have any respect for me

strike that i dont expect a criminal ive never dealt with to have respect for me....

[Joanne98]

42. LA county jail 5 months. Driving on a suspended license number three

The judge told me I had no respect for the law. I said DUH!

[vadawg]

51. rofl in my court you would have got a life sentence for that one

and extra sandwiches for making the deputies laugh...

[timeforpeace]

57. No way, must have been other offenses to merit that term.

[Downtown Hound]

60. Damn Joanne...this little song is for you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa6bI_95G9I

;)

[Iggo]

55. Many arrests. Several convictions.

Ex-druggie. It comes with the territory.

[Raine]

59. Arrested at the Nevada Test Site

for protesting, given a citation and released.

[krabigirl]

61. Was arrested as a teen for something very stupid, but never went to jail.

Did community service, taught me my lesson.

[KamaAina]

62. I went to the city lockup in New Haven

because at the time, it was the headquarters of the World Prison Poetry Project, with which my college English prof was involved.

Never been on the inside, either for protesting or tantrumming in public. Go figure. :shrug:

[Edweird]

65. No hits, no runs, no men left on base. No criminal recordat all.

[TheKentuckian]

66. Never actually arrested but have had an assload of "Imperial entanglements" (nt)

[Downtown Hound]

72. I hope you didn't dump your cargo at the first sign of an imperial cruiser

Because then you'd be in a world of pain.

[Luminous Animal]

68. Civil disobedience. 3 times.

[Harry Monroe]

69. Arrested for DUI one time and spent the night in the drunk tank.

WAY back in my younger, stupid drunk days.