Video of teen girl in jail being beaten

It can be argued that girls have a tougher time in jails and prisons than males. There are numerous correctional officers that feel the need to show their dominance and power over inmates.

Take, for instance, the below video on YouTube which shows a teen girl in jail in King County, Washington. The abusive deputy was caught on tape. (Press the Play button even if you don't see the video screen.)

The surveillance video shows the deputy kicking a young girl, slamming her to the cell floor and striking her repeatedly. The deputy grabs her by the hair to take her out of the room.

The deputy pled not guilty in the case. (Feb. 27, 2009)

Teen girl talks about jail-cell beating.

Update on case (July 2010): Deputy gets away with abusive behavior.

Dangerous contraband

For some reason, last night I couldn’t go to sleep in my cell. I was tossing and turning, but I just couldn’t sleep. Well anyway, at 1 a.m. or so, the guards came walking by searching the halls for contraband. They walked by my cell and kept going. They got to the end of the hall and I heard one of them say, “What’s this?”

I heard more talking, but the only word I could really understand was “shank.” I looked out my cell as they walked back and one of them was holding a prison shank made out of what looked like a piece of metal from a bunk.

It’s a scary thought what some of these guys are planning. It couldn’t have been hidden too long because the guard found it pretty easy. So most likely it belonged to somebody who’s here with me. I’m just glad nobody got stabbed with it, even though it wouldn’t be too hard to make a new one.

This post was also written about three weeks ago at RMC-Main in Lake Butler

New pen pal

So I have this new pen pal who has been writing me. She's originally from Norway, but ended up living near the North Pole. I didn't even know people live that far north!

She just started writing me, so I haven't really gotten to know her that well yet. She seems really easy to talk to though. I think that's because she has her own rough past, so she can relate to a lot of the same things. Most of the people who write just say things that are encouraging, but she actually has been through a lot too. She is one of the lucky few that broke the criminal cycle and is currently going to college in the UK at Lancaster University. The name is just a coincidence.

Anyway, I hope to soon be doing what she is doing now. Well I guess I want to end this with a proper shout out to her: "A.K., Thanks for writing. You probably don't know it, but what you wrote me has been a real inspiration. I hope to hear from you soon."

You can write Ted or another inmate (even if you live outside the U.S.) by signing up at EmailingAPrisoner.com.

Ted will be transferred to Lake Butler on Monday. He says he will be there for a week before being transferred to a work release camp in his home county.

Hard Times

They call it “Hard Times”. Well it’s true I guess. Being incarcerated gets depressing. I’d rather be in any other situation than this. Well almost. There’re those Korean labor camps I heard about. That would suck way more than this.

Actually this is one of the easiest camps I’ve ever been to. I haven’t seen nearly as many fights at this camp as I’ve seen elsewhere. Although it’s strict, that’s probably why.

All in all, though, it still gets depressing. Visitation is the worst. Sure you get to see your family, but it always come to an abrupt end and you’re forced to say good-bye. Whenever you give your family the last hug, you never want to let go. Then finally you let go and think about how nice it would’ve been if you could’ve gone home with them. To me that’s “Hard Times.” It’s not something I would wish on my worst enemies.

Martin

Back in September 2009, a 20-year-old named Martin emailed about the Teen in Jail blog.

Martin was on the run.

Martin was a successful kid – a four-year varsity football player and wrestler on his way to a scholarship to college – when he got involved with the wrong kid who talked him into driving him to do some burglaries.

In March 2008, two weeks after a state wrestling tournament, he got a call that the police were at his house. He was taken to jail. Eventually he was placed on felony probation for six years.

Martin felt like his life was over and that his future was ruined. He walked out on a drug test and a month later, turned himself in when someone promised he would be released the next day. Instead, he was returned to jail for two months with no bond. He was released with two years house arrest and four years probation.

After three months of house arrest, Martin said his probation officer accused him of not looking for a job and told him to bring his stuff in on Monday. Martin told me he always felt he was meant for something and how could he do that if he was in prison? So he took off for South Carolina and had been on the run ever since. Martin wouldn’t tell me where he was.

Martin wrote that he was scared of prison. He wasn’t a big kid, even though he practiced Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). He felt the police would eventually catch up to him. So he researched all the Florida prisons. He found out which ones were horrible (Brevard) and which ones were supposed to be better (Lake City C.I. and Lancaster C.I. – where Ted ended up). He knew almost everything about the Florida prison system – and answered many of my questions at a time when I had no contact with Ted for weeks. We encouraged each other.

On November 18, 2009, Martin was arrested and returned to jail. He’s since been sentenced to 36 months of prison time (with six months off for time served).

Martin asked me back in September if I would start a blog for him if he ended up in prison and I agreed. His blog is called “Notes from Prison” and can be found at http://www.notesfromprison.blogspot.com./

I always felt that Martin and Ted would be friends if they met. It’s possible that they will meet inside prison.

Excruciating pain

The last couple weeks I’ve been in excruciating pain. 

I knew I had a cavity in my tooth, but at first, the pain wasn’t that bad. It only took a few weeks for the pain to go from mild to AHHHH! HELP!

What’s worse is once it got really bad the pain wouldn’t subside. It was constant.

Without going to medical, you can get one pack of Ibuprofen (two tablets) every six hours. That didn’t even dull the pain at all.

Finally, I couldn’t take it any more, so I went to the dentist. They found a huge hole in my tooth and a nerve was exposed. They put me on prescription Ibuprofen until they can pull my tooth. For right now, the medication is helping, but it still hurts most of the day.

They are supposed to pull my tooth sometime this week. Probably Tuesday. I can’t wait.

This pain gets so bad at night that sometimes it’ll keep me up for hours. I’m sad I’ll be missing a tooth even though it’s in the back of my mouth, but at the same time, I can’t wait to get it out.

This was written before Ted had his wisdom tooth pulled. He still needs his wisdom tooth extracted.

Getting a tooth pulled in prison

I spoke with Ted on Monday evening. He had gone to the dentist and they had pulled his upper molar at 11:20 a.m. on Monday. They used Novocaine during the procedure, but he still felt pain, he said.

He was given one 200 mg Ibuprofen tablet at 4 p.m.

Ted said he could ask the dorm supervisor for more Ibuprofen – but only one tablet every four or six hours (he wasn’t sure how often).

When he called me at about 8 p.m., he was tremendous pain. He had received a piece of paper for more pain medication, but they never came to get him to give him the medicine.

After talking with Ted, I called the prison. I was told it would be straightened out the next morning. Meanwhile, they told me Ted could ask the dorm supervisor for another Ibuprofen.

Ted said the tooth finally stopped bleeding and they gave him Tuesday and Wednesday off from work. He said he would try to write more blog entries during that time.

I didn’t speak with Ted tonight on the phone. Hopefully they arranged to give him more pain medication than one 200 mg Ibuprofen tablet. I know when I had my tooth pulled, my dentist gave me Morphine and it still hurt!

Ted will still need to get his wisdom tooth pulled…

Getting canteen

The one thing anybody in prison can hope for at the end of the day is getting a money receipt saying somebody put money in your account so you can buy canteen.

It’s hard not having canteen. Without it, it seems like you never eat enough and your personal hygiene is lacking. Once you get a money receipt though, it’s like hitting the lottery. You can’t wait for the next day when you can go buy whatever you want. It’s the one thing nobody can stop you from doing.

When the next day comes and the canteen line opens up, everybody rushes toward the line, but unless you’re already right there waiting for it to open, you’ll always end up at the end of the line. To get to the front of the line can take an hour or two, but it’s worth it.

Once you finally get what you want, your first instinct is to hide it like it’s a pile of gold. There are a lot of people who don’t get money and don’t care to take what you have. Where I’m at right now, it’s not too much of a problem, but new people come in all the time. As long as you have a lock [on your locker], you’re alright.

To put money into an inmate’s canteen account, visit www.JPay.com. You will need the inmate’s name and DC number. Ted’s number is #131948 (Theodore Braden). Ted does have a lock on his locker and keeps his books, letters and items from canteen in the locker.

I spoke with Ted on the phone today. He informed me that his upper back molar (with the big hole in it) will not be filled. It will be pulled (possibly on Tuesday). I can’t imagine having a tooth pulled and only getting Ibuprofen for the pain!

Gain time

It seems like it’s just about impossible to get all your gain time in prison and make your earliest release date. I try so hard to stay to myself (except for a few people who try to do the same thing) and do what I have to do to make my earliest release date.

Right now I have about three weeks worth of gain time when I should have about twice that. I can’t really complain though.Three weeks is better than nothing and at least I’m not maxing my time out.

There’s a lot of people in her that don’t care about getting gain time. It seems like they don’t want to get out any sooner than they have to. Most people will tell you, “Hey, they can’t hold me in here forever.” Yea well, they can’t hold me forever either, but if I can get out earlier than my current release date, than I will.

Unlike most people that just don’t care, I want my gain time. I have people that love me on the outside and I want to be with them more than anything. I’ll do whatever I’m supposed to do to see them as soon as possible.

Inmates earn a certain number of days off for good behavior each month they stay out of trouble. That means, no write-ups or infractions of any kind. Ted has received five write-ups since he’s been at Lancaster work camp. One for having a piece of paper under his bed, one for sitting on someone else’s bed, one for leaving a pair of his pants on his bed while he went to sleep, one for someone else leaving loose tobacco on his bed, and one for not having his shoes tied.

Joseph Vigliotti

Well, I don’t know where to start. I guess I’ll say who I am. I’m Joseph Vigliotti. My friends and family call me Joe. I’m 20 years old and have been in Lancaster Correctional Institution since June 2009. To the boys in here, I’m Fro Joe, Viggy, Joey and Vigliotti. To the COs, I’m Inmate Vigliotti, G15656.

See back in 2007, I stole a couple of things I shouldn’t have. I was just two months into my 18th year of living and dating a girl I would spend two years of my young life with. It all started after seeing a Harry Potter movie. We came back from the movie theater and it was just about 1 a.m. I had to work the next day at a reptile farm.

Well, my girl at this time had a couple of problems with her neighbors, so she sweet talked me into stealing from these people. I stole their stuff and not even a week later, the detective was at my girlfriend’s house and she told the police everything.

I helped the lead detective recover the majority of the stolen property from my hiding spot in the woods. I went to County two weeks after that. I was in County Jail for three months. I got out in October, worked for a concrete company, was placed on probation and violated probation in December 2007. I went back to my county jail in January and got out in February. I was on probation from March of 2008 to January of 2009. I violated again. (Both of my violations were from failed or tampered with pee tests.) Went back to jail and got out in the very beginning of March. I went back to drugs and drinking hard during this period. I got arrested again in April for resisting arrest without violence. I bonded out a day later. Then I had a court appearance on May 7, 2009, got arrested as soon as I walked in the courthouse, and I have been behind bars ever since.

I am not a special dude. I’m our average Joe. I live in Levy County, Florida - a county that has almost nothing. I am 20 minutes from Gainesville and have access to some of the biggest sand hills in Florida. I enjoy mudbogging, clubbing and funny movies. I used to eat pills, smoke marijuana and drink tremendous amounts of alcohol. After years of doing nothing and sitting in Lancaster, I really want to better myself. I have a family that tried to help me, but I turned my cheek to them and kept going down this path. I have my whole life to live, but now I have this experience on my record and my mind.

If anybody could read this and it helps them or touches them in any way, I want you to look at yourself, help yourself, help your loved ones, read ANY passage out of a Bible, don’t drink that beer, don’t roll that swisher, don’t do that cocaine. Don’t be a follower – be a leader. Lead yourself to be you – not who they want you to be, but YOU and do what you have to. A wise man once told me – “Life is easy. Living is hard.”

So please don’t follow me. Don’t let your children be like me.

I want to thank Teddy Braden for letting me say a little bit of my mind. I love ya bro. Okay, I’m done wasting your time. I’ll be here.

- Joseph Vigliotti

Photo from Joe's MySpace page.

Photos from a past life

I spoke with Ted tonight on the phone. He sent some blog entries out to me on Monday, but they were returned to him because he forgot to put a stamp on the envelope.

Ted did tell me he was finally approved for a work release camp. He's just waiting for a bed to become available. Inmates who are going to work release camp choose two camps to go to - usually camps close to their homes. Ted chose two camps in his home county - both are within 30 minutes of his home. That's much better than the current three-hour distance.

People often ask if Ted is truly a changed person now. Everyone who knew him before and has talked with him agrees that yes, he is a different person. He has admitted gang involvement and how it has ruined his life. He wants to help other kids avoid the same mistakes he's made. He does not want to hang around anyone in prison that wants to go back to drugs and gangs. He constantly talks of bettering himself, although he does fear that there will be huge obstacles, such as finding a decent job.

I remember one thing that a counselor told Ted in a juvenile drug rehab center when he was 15: To truly be successful in changing your life, you must cut all ties from your past life. Your old friends will only drag you down and get you back into drugs and crime.

Photos: Ted in his past life (from his MySpace page):

Darren

A man named Darren read the Teen in Jail blog and left a comment under the blog entry titled "Oh grow up" on January 22nd. He wrote:

"A friend sent me this link, my name is Darren 45, I was just like Ted. I was locked up at 12 and did not stop until I was 40. But like you my family stuck by me for all those 24 years of lockup. It was a long haul. But in the end I found my voice, myself and life. I began to write inside and now am a very accomplished poet. I have a five year old son and now a daughter that is going to come and live with me. I have divested parole long ago. And am going to school. Doing the right thing all the time has its rewards, not the huge payoff of an armed robbery or drug deal, but I find that when something good does transpire however small, like a green light, or getting the bills paid, these are rewards that make me smile, I still hope for success as a writer, or to be rich, but now common sense rules that. I love that stories like Teds are getting out there, so many people think building more prisons is the answer. What I do think is that they need more education, and people like Ted or I involved to help the kids slipping between the cracks, like Ted or I. Just recently here a play was put on by a bunch of cons. And I go read my poetry out loud. Tell Ted that life is beautiful, that living among sane people is much better, most of all tell him to like himself. I wish my mom would have had the same devotion. Ted is lucky to have his mom. I hope he know this. Darren"

I asked Darren to email me some poems and I would post one. He wrote back:

"I sent a few that were about being locked up, and ones about the only friends I ever made that are never leaving that place, I sent some that have been written since I have been out. A person can change, and become happy with who he is. The prison enrollment seems to be the thing for so many young, I fight for my son Aiden's future now. Darren"

Here is his poem:

From my little hole on this planet,
I can’t see just where I am
There is a world out there.
I can still hear its calls,
Just can’t envision it anymore.
Lost in this bottomless pit,
I breathe the same air as the people out there.
But like some delirious dog, I am kept at bay.
An electric fence keeps me inside,
A side of society’s face they must hide.
Only when I lay my head down at night
Do I leave this darkness behind.
I then wake here again.
Oh my God, back in the land of the damned.
I wish I could find a bridge to nowhere
Because with all my heart and soul I would be there.
But I am locked in this penitentiary
A madman’s sanctuary
Faced daily with anguish
And myself made slavery.
I only that hope one day
The screams in my head will take over.
Then the inescapable chore of living here
I'd no longer have to fear.

Photos: Darren and his son Aiden

Back to court

Last week I got a subpoena to go back to court in March. Only this time it’s not for me. There is this guy I know who got in some pretty serious trouble. I don’t know if he’s guilty or not, but I guess he wants me to come to his trial and speak on his behalf. I truly feel sorry for him, especially because he’s been in the county jail for three years almost.

I really wouldn’t mind going to his trial date if I wasn’t in prison. Going back to court from prison is such a pain. I’ll have to be transferred back to the RMC reception center first, then to the county jail for the duration of his trial. I’ll probably stay in the county jail for about three weeks and the worst part is – I’ll most likely have to spend my time there in maximum security. Then once I’m done going to court, I’ll go back to RMC, then come back here to Lancaster work camp. It’s always a real pain. Why can’t they just take me to the county jail a day before the three-day trial and once it’s done, drive me back – instead of weeks at each place? Huh. I’m not looking forward to any of it.

The sad thing is, this particular trial has been postponed four or five times already and will most likely be postponed again. RMC (at Lake Butler) is the prison that was filthy and crawling with bugs.

Getting burned

It’s kind of ironic that I just talked about no matter how sick you get in prison, all you can really get is non-aspirin. Well, about 10 minutes after I wrote that, I went to work to start cooking dinner for the compound. I was only at work for about an hour or two before I burned my right hand. I was lifting the lid to the kettle up and a huge cloud of steam came rushing out and burned my hand.

At first I thought that it would only hurt for 10 – 20 minutes and then it would feel better, but after about an hour, it only got worse. So they took me to Medical and gave me some cream that doesn’t make the pain go away, non-aspirin (prison’s universal cure) and a no-work pass for three days. Unfortunately, two of the three days of my no-work pass fell on my two days off anyway. Well, at least I get one extra day off work.

Writing to Teen in Jail

Last night, an old friend of Ted's who he hasn't seen in a very long time - "T" - knocked on my door to give my husband a letter for Ted. I had conked out at 7:30 p.m. after riding six hours and sitting for six more hours to visit Ted. I was sorry to miss seeing "T". I know Ted will love getting his letter.

While knocking on my door is one way to get a letter to Ted, there's a much simpler way! On the home page of Teen in Jail, Ted's current address is always displayed (right under the site counter). Currently Ted is at the following address:

Braden, Theodore, DC #131948
Lancaster C.I.
3449 SW State Road 26
Trenton, FL 32693-5641

I update that address every time Ted is transferred. If Ted is moved before he receives a letter, the prison will forward it to his new location (although this might take awhile).

For those that hate to hand-write letters and don't have a printer, you can always send an email to teeninjail@yahoo.com. (I usually have to weed through all the notifications that he won 10 million dollars. Boy, wouldn't that be nice?) Sometimes I forget to check that email address, but when I do, I print out the emails and send them to Ted.

You can call him "Ted" (although in prison, they just yell "BRADEN!!!") If you include a return address, he will write you back. (And "T", you can send me your return address to that email!)

Ted can receive greeting cards, but the envelopes must be white or yellow. Don't ask me why they can't be different colors - I don't know. I once sent a Halloween card with an ORANGE envelope (the horror!) and it was returned to me. Another Halloween card had PLASTIC EYEBALLS which apparently is a BIG no-no! So, make sure any cards don't have plastic pieces, glued-on decorations and most terrible of all - no singing cards!

Ted can also receive up to five photos per letter (standard 3X5's or 4X6's). Use discretion when sending pictures, though. No bikinis, for instance, or anything relating to gangs. Make sure you put your return address on the envelope.

Ted loves getting letters. Since he's been in prison, he has received letters from me, his father, his step-father, and just recently - his former girlfriend and two complete strangers. His disabled grandmother, who is completely paralyzed except for one hand, even managed to write him a letter. It completely makes his day to get mail. Strangely enough, the rest of his relatives and friends have not written him.

Being sick in prison

I can write about how much prison sucks all day, but one of the worst times to be in prison is when you’re sick. It doesn’t really matter if you have a simple cold or the flu. The only thing you get for any sickness is generic non-aspirin – which doesn’t do a thing.

Plus, since I’m at a work camp, I have to work five days a week and it doesn’t matter how sick you are – you still have to go and do your job.

If you really wanted to, you can put in a medical request to see the doctor – who will give you something a little bit better than non-aspirin. But if you do that, it takes about three days or so for them to call you out and usually your sickness will be going away by then. Plus they charge you five dollars.

A lot of people, if they’re sick, will declare medical emergencies and go to the doctors right then, but all they’ll do is say that your condition isn’t life-threatening, charge you five dollars, send you back – then bring you back a couple of days later and charge you another five dollars.

No matter which way you look at it, it sucks to be sick in prison.

Ted's injury

I’m currently waiting for more letters from Ted.

Ted called me on Monday and told me he had burned his right hand. He was lifting the cover off a steaming pot of potatoes and the steam caused first-degree burns. He told me his entire hand was red (like a really bad sunburn) and hurt a lot. He was given Ibuprofen for pain and cream. He told me tonight on the phone that his hand is better. He did manage to write some more entries and sent them out in the mail this morning.

About three or four weeks ago, I noticed on the Florida Department of Corrections site that Ted’s custody level was dropped from minimum to community. Ted will be eligible to go to a work release camp. A work release camp is different from a work camp (where he is now). He is able to choose two work release camps near his home in Pinellas County. When a bed opens up at one of them and he has been processed, he will be moved. The whole process takes between 30 and 60 days.

In a work release camp, Ted will need to find a job and will be able to leave the compound to go to work. He will return to the compound each day after his shift. Ted doesn’t know much more than this. He doesn’t know if the camp officials help in obtaining a job and if transportation is provided, or if he must take public transportation to the job.

Ted also tells me he’s been written up four times in the past three weeks. Each write-up delays his transfer to a work release camp between 10 and 20 days. So right now, he doesn’t know when he will be transferred. In Ted’s words - “the more I try not to be written up, the more write-ups I get.”

Ted was also issued a subpoena as a witness in a criminal case in Pinellas County which will take place in early March for three days. He tells me that he will be transferred to the Pinellas County Jail for probably three weeks for this three-day trial. While in the Pinellas County Jail, he will not be able to earn any gain time. After the trial is over, he will return to Lancaster Work Camp to await his transfer to a work release camp back in Pinellas County. Ted will then be about 30 minutes from his home, rather than three hours away as he is now.

What I think about most of the time

Most of every day I catch myself thinking about my release date. My heart starts to race and when I look around, I feel depressed that I’m still in prison. I can’t help but think about what my family is doing at that exact moment.

I try not to think about getting out, but I just can’t help it. The closer I get to my release date, the more I think about it.

The most popular conversation in here is the one about “when you get out”. There are three questions that I hear on a daily basis: “What did you do to get here?” “How long you got?” “Where are you from?” Those questions force you to talk about your past, which once again makes you think about getting out.

Have you ever heard that old myth that guys think about women every seven seconds? Well, the same can be said for people in prison. It seems that I think about getting out of prison every seven seconds. Well, I know my time here is short and my life will be long, so this is only a speed bump in my life.

They don't know how it feels

By Tim Rogers
(fellow inmate at Lancaster Work Camp)

I’m a teenaged convicted felon and property of the state,
There’s thousands of Youthful Offenders who can relate,
But for those who’ve never experienced this hell on Earth,
They will never acknowledge what their freedom is worth.
This prison life is as real as it gets,
But they don’t know how it feels to live in regret,
Wishing time could rewind to go back in the past,
In order to dispel this curse I’ve been cast.
My consequences used to be referrals and detentions,
Never imagined I would be in the Department of Corrections,
Serving years in this hell seems completely surreal,
So I understand why they don’t know how it feels.
I’ve been forced to roam in this unfamiliar jungle,
Where every day is hard times, but I refuse to crumble,
No matter how many letters I send out to explain,
They will never feel my hurt or understand my pain.
Prison’s a cold world and even though I want some heat,
Only the strong survive here so I refuse to be weak.
It’s a whole different world on the inside of these gates,
So I adapt to my surroundings ‘cause it’s either eat or get ate.
They say if this doesn’t kill me, it will make me stronger,
But I don’t know if I can deal with this stress any longer.
I’ve grown numb to this pain, I’ve become painless,
They say they know pain, yet have no clue what pain is.

Finding a purpose in life

Tonight when I was on the phone with my mom, she told me that there are people all over the world that are reading my posts.

I'm not at all bragging, it's just that when I started writing I just never expected anybody outside of my county to read my blog. I only wanted to help others that grew up in the same place I did.

I never thought that my writing would become so popular. Even here in prison, every CO knows about my writing. I can't believe I've been given such a great opportunity to speak to people all over the world.

I've honestly never stuck with anything my whole life until now. I feel like I finally found a purpose. I never thought I would find what I love to do while I'm incarcerated. It only goes to show that no matter what your situation is, you can always improve it and find something that makes you happy.