well my wife is in prison here in alabama. i got a few letters from her saturday. she told me that people keep trying to trade her out of things she brought with her. t-shirts and her shower shoes,toothpaste and toothbrushes, seem to be a hot "commidity" in there. she has been offered so many cigarettes for her stuff and she don't even smoke! she has told me that a few of the women there have been eyeing her. they might be just sizing her up and checking to see if she shows any signs of weakness. what do you think?

the problem is i can't find enough info on tutwiler prison. the alabama DOC is lacking in that area. i have posted in the alabama section of this forum and i have gotten a couple of good responses but it's not what i am looking for. i guess i'll get all the info when my wife writes back.

you what know the sad thing is, if she had listened to me she would never be in prison in the first place! i tried telling her if she kept on doing what she was doing, she was going to end up dead or in prison. you see lisa uses drugs and it's a damn shame too. she's smart as a whip but can be a dumbass at the same time. i knew what she was before i married her but i thought i could change her but nope! so i am hoping and praying that maybe prison will set her straight.
i know that she has to do it herself and want to do it. but by reading her letters she really wants to change her ways. she needs to change her ways or if she gets into anymore trouble, she will go to prison for life. in alabama, if you get your third felony you get life.

thanks

George welcome to PTO.
I am sorry to hear about your wife. But you know sometime reality slapping us in the face is what it takes to get us back on track. You are right she has to want to get her life together. You not anyone can change her, only her.
I am happy to hear that you are trying to help her.

Inmates do look for the weakness in other inmates. For most it is the survival of the fitess.

As far as the prison in AL you are talking about I am not help there.

softie

Hi George and WElcome to PTO.

You will find lots of friendship and support here. I hope someone else can help you with the information you seek.

Stay strong!

mrs. d

George welcome to PTO. We do have a couple of ladies here who have done time. I hope one of them is by shortly who can answer your questions. I believe she is right about the sizing up. I wish her and you the best.

George... Nice to see you around the house...

Sizing up for weakness may be the case, but my gut goes with what I know... Men are competitive,... women are territorial. With restricted territories, (and personal property to feather the odd nest) territory and nest feathering are IT.

Her generosity, or willingness to trade up or trade off with stuff that can be in short supply will show her willingness to cooperate and negotiate in the territory. The size of her heart is judged immediately. If such trading and whatnot is prohibited and she manages it anyway, her willingness to stare down disciplinary action over it will also be noted.

Basic principle... If you have nothing, you have nothing to 'covet'. If you have nothing extaordinary, there won't be someone gunning to get it from you. Basic.

Back to that territory thing. It's not about the stuff. it's about the boundary. It's imaginary in a dorm setting or cell setting or gutted doublewide with 30 women bunked up in it. When everyone who got there before her settled in, they drew those imaginary lines. They probably aren't crazy about being at arm's length from a lot of the folks already there, but they have an understanding about the boundaries.

When you can't help being surrounded by 20 or more people who she doesn't know and you wouldn't like,...--and she has to sleep sometime... there should be a gentleman's (or equivalent) agreement about what belongs to who.

The sizing up that I mentioned earlier has more to do with an opportunity for her to introduce herself to a dynamic situation in which ANY new arrival (particularly one who's not acquainted with the facility) causes everyone holed-up in imaginary houses to check their locks and windows. When the DOC or BOP moves someone into your 'neighborhood' it's in your interest to determine in a hurry if they are an asset, a liability, a drain, or a hazard to the area.

They check for a heart. They check for the spirit of community (such as it is),... they check to make sure she's got some sense of the 'boundaries'.. It's in her interest to take note, follow suit,..listen, watch, and create her own--well kept 'house'.

When the next newbie surfaces, your wife might well behave just like the folks who greeted her. She should.

Just an opinion... Mine.

Welcome to PTO!!

Deb

:) WELCOME TO PTO! :)

HI GEORGE AND WELCOME TO PTO....((((HUGS)))) AND PRAYERS GOING TO YOU AND YOUR WIFE

another warm welcome to PTO..... I was a substance abuse counselor for a number of years and have walked with so many addicts in differnet stages of their addiction and recovery..... I hope that your wife is able to begin recovery now and will not have to repeat this experience..... Hope to see you around PTO often!

Welcome to PTO and I am so sorry to listen about your wife !
I wish you the best..stay strong
((hugs ))

Just wanted to welcome you to the PTO family, George! Although I wish none of us were having to deal with this prison mess, I'm happy to see another Alabama face here! I'm not surprised that you have had so little luck finding info RE Tutwiler... as far as state and state department websites go, Alabama is woefully behind most of the rest of the nation. My guy, like me, is from Tennessee but is currently incarcerated at Limestone CF, near Huntsville. On a side note here, he tells me that all of the DOC-issued uniforms for Alabama inmates are made by the women at Tutwiler. The guys get a huge kick out of getting new clothes because the women who make them always make a little drawing and put their initials inside the pants fly... they wash out on the first wash, but he tells me everybody checks their new ones to see what's there. It's such a tiny thing but it's a day brightener for them, any little contact at all from outside of their prison. Anyway, welcome again to PTO, glad you are here with us! :)

Lys

i knew they sewed clothes up there inm tutwiler. i can't imagine the sight of my wife behind a sewing machine!
just the thought, tickles me too death!

Lysbeth,
your right about the lack of info on alabama,the alabama section is lacking somewhat but it isn't because of not trying, danielle does a excellent job there. it's just that the info is so lacking. and it's a damn shame, ya know?

welcome to the PTO family, I am sorry to hear about your wife.
It seems most has to learn the hard way, my brother in law was the same way.

George, yep - Danielle does an EXCELLENT job with the Alabama forum here on PTO, she keeps us all up on pretty much everything that comes out of the media!! It's the Alabama state government's websites - all of them, but especially the DOC's and the parole board's, that woefully pale in comparison to many other state's websites, though they have improved a little over the last few years. PTO is really the only place I've ever found that ever has given me the info I REALLY needed to know and that is ALL thanks to the hard work of our Danielle! :)

Your wife is probably like me; they'd never put me behind a sewing machine, I can't sew worth a flip! I'm not sure how many of the Tutwiler inmates do the sewing work, probably just a percentage. If your wife is as sewing-challenged as me they'll probably find her a different job to do. :)

George,
Maybe over time you and your wife will be the best resources for Tutwiler. That seems to be the way the most valuable information comes 'round.

Historically, gotta tell you, there are so comparatively few women's facilities (state/fed) to be concerned with so most of the media/policies/and scuttlebut is geared/specific and overwhelmingly representative of what the men have and put up with or without.

Aside from a headcount and a location and assorted programs and custody levels and administrative contacts, precious little is known about the ladies rooms.

Again, I hope that this time serves to educate you and your wife and I hope you share what you learn in the Alabama Forum.. If you have any general or specific questions about women's prison or for the ladies in the house at large,--feel free to post them up here in W/G... I hope this forum is a source of support and information--maybe not all hip to AL,.. but trying... for you.