Hi, my husband is a recent inmate at Riverside Regional Jail and I'm new to all of this.

From what I see, most people here have loved ones in the prison system looking at longer terms and different conditions.

Does anyone here have someone at Riverside or experiences with it?
I don't know if all of the regional jails work the same way or not -- so I guess anything would be helpful. Or if someone knows a site like this, but for the jails -- that would be great.

I really feel bad for people who have someone in for years. It must be so hard. I am hoping that this short sentence will make my husband think twice before getting in any more trouble and prevent a sentence like some of you are dealing with.

Our biggest problem right now is that we don't know how to navigate the system. Everything seems to need him to fill out a request form. He's ADHD so I do all of this for him normally. Now, he's having a hard time doing it and just isn't requesting anything. I call in and ask them to help him with it -- even asked the GED teachers and they sounded willing to help get him into a class, but no one's been to see him. Now, everyone is out for the holidays and he can't even get a request form. They haven't even handed out razors in 2 days and pretty soon a cheap bic razor won't do him any good. I called in about this and told me he was lying -- they were there when the guard handed them out. No matter what his faults, my husbands not a liar -- why would he have to lie about not getting a razor? Everyone's very polite to me -- but I get no where with phone calls or letters.

Our other problem is that the judge authorized work release -- but didn't order it. My husband has a job that needs him and is waiting for him, but they won't even let him have that because he has a gun charge from when he was very young. I have psychologist evaluations saying that he isn't currently violent. He's recently been diagnosed as having anxiety disorder, depression, and impulse control problems which contributed to his problems today. He really needs to be seeing his therapist to address these problems, but no one cares. I have a recommendation letter from his job. I've written in to explain the circumstances of the gun charge (his step-father killed his mother and he handled it poorly). Again -- it doesn't matter to them.

Sorry to be complaining. If he can stay out of trouble in there, he'll be out soon and most of ya'll are looking at years. I really feel for what you're going through and will keep you im my thoughts.

Oh yeah -- one more thing. His cell-mate has been in and out of this for years. He said that sometimes, if the jail is crowded and you don't have much time left on your sentence (like less than a month) they will randomly release people around Christmas. Has anyone heard of anything like this? I would think that would be illegal, but now it has his hopes up because he's due to be out January 4. Even hopes of a week early would make him happy right now.

I would be grateful if anyone has any suggestions about this or anything else. I hope everyone enjoys their holidays -- although it sure hurts not to have everyone with you.

Welcome to PTO!

Hi slw! Welcome to PTO. Even though you have a shorter time, it is no less easier. First, calm down and take a breath. It is always so hard and overwhelming at first, but eventually you will find all your answers. i am sure if you search on here, you will find some information on Riverside. I also believe someone on here had her husband spend some time there so I am sure she will help out once she signs on.

Keep one thing in mind, you really only have to endure this for about 6 weeks, so even is he doesn't get a razor or anything, he won't have to deal with it for long. As for his medical conditions, it really does make it harder to deal with prisons and jails when they say they are doing what they should when they really aren't.

One thing you have to realize is that jails don't really have to answer to anyone. As long as they meet certain criteria, they can do what they want. They send people out on work release, or keep them inside. As for any early release, I wouldn't ever count on it that way I wouldn't be disappointed. They can give you contact visits for 2 hours, or 15 minutes behind the glass. It is all their rules.

I am glad you found us and we will do all we can to answer your questions and offer support. Just keep in mind that we can all withstand just about anything as long as we know there is an end in sight. Yours isn't that far off. You can make this!!

Now I am off to read some of your other posts and see what else you have to say. :D

dw

Well slw.... I believe his celly is just getting his hopes up for nothing. I have never heard of this happening, so don't depend on it. As far as RRJ, my husband spent about 5 months there, it was his worse experiance in the whole system. He was only allowed out of his cell for a max of 2 hours a day. He absolutely hated that place. I ran into the problem of them always saying that he was lying about something constantly. He doesn't lie also, at least not about the trivial stuff they always said he did. The visits were the roughest, the no contact, only 45 minutes long. I had to travel almost 3 hours for those visits and even if I was late there were no exceptions. I wish you the best of luck there, never give in to them, keep pushing!

Thanks so much for your replies. It's nice to talk to people who have been through this. I don't have anyone that knows what this is like. I know some people who have been in jail before, but they never talk about it.

I'm a pretty good internet searcher and I can't find anything about the early release either.

I'm not too upset about the visits. If he had stayed in Chesterfield, it would have only been 1 20 minute visit a week behind the glass. I'm only about 35 minutes away, so I get there about 20 - 30 minutes early to make sure. That's worked out OK so far. He hates the lockdowns, but they haven't really been too bad so far - although he's heard it will be rough over the holidays. He's out for several hours at a time most of the day. He says that if anyone anywhere starts trouble or gets too loud, they lock everyone up.

He hates the food there and I keep him plenty of canteen money so he doesn't have to eat it. He looks like he's lost about 20 pounds in the last 16 days. I try to joke with him and tell him he's on the Riverside weightloss & quit smoking program -- sometimes he thinks it's funny.

I keep telling him we'll get through it, but everyday feels like forever to him. And the timing is so bad -- he will be in for Thanksgiving, his birthday, Christmas, our anniversary, and New Years. If we didn't have bad luck, I guess we wouldn't have any at all.

It is frustrating because although everyone in there is very polite when I talk to them, they don't help at all. He has orthopedic problems -- deteriorating lower disks, chronic tendonitus, partially torn rotator cuff. I took his doctor notes about this and they still won't let him have his pain meds because they are narcotic. I asked them to take a look at him and see what they thought, but he still hasn't seen a doctor. I think he's afraid to see their doctors anyway -- he was trying to look out for a young guy in there that was bipolar. They didn't bring him his meds for over 24 hours and he lost it. They had to physically restrain him and take him to medical. Then his meds magically showed up.

Right now, I'm not so worried about his physical health but his mental health. He has battled depression and anxiety on his own since I've known him. This is a particular low point for him and he's running out of hope right now. The holidays are always a depressing time for him -- like a lot of people.

I found the minimum jail requirements on the DOC website. Most of it just says that they have to have a written procedure about everything. I am guessing that this is all in the inmate handbook. I wonder if they'll let me have one so I can help him work his way through the system. They seem to politely ignore every request that I make. If they won't let me have one, I guess I'll contact the DOC and ask them why not. After all, everything that the state does is supposed to be a matter of public record.

Anyway -- thanks for the help and the responses. I'll apologize now because my posts are usually long. I'm a fast touch-typer.

Have a nice Thanksgiving and thanks again.

:) Hello and welcome to PTO :)

welcome to PTO! :wave: