Prison is a massive mystery to those who have never been, and is therefore the source of much speculation. TV shows and films show a certain perception of it, while TikTokers have revealed the one thing you should never do in prison, and the most disgusting things you can expect to witness as an inmate.
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For many, prison is an experience that is traumatic and not at all constructive. However, for others it can have a positive overall effect. That was the case for Jessica Bell, a mum who wound up in prison for 5 years and says it ‘saved her’. Here’s why she got sent to prison, and some of the crazy scenes she witnessed while inside.
How Jessica Bell got sent to prison
Jessica started off with drug dealing on a small scale, after a friend encouraged her to sell a kilogram of methamphetamine. Unfortunately, this soon expanded and Jessica found herself working as part of a major drug ring. Along the way, she developed a drug problem herself. She was one of 60 people working in the group, but she says she was a ‘bad drug dealer’ as she often gave customers credit that they never paid back.
The ring was uncovered by the police, and Jessica was one of the last in the gang to get caught. She was given a 65-month sentence. During her time behind bars, she experienced some of the strangest moments of her life. Speaking to podcaster Ian Bick, she revealed many surprising elements of life as an inmate.
Odd shower behaviour and affairs between inmates
Jessica explained that there’s a whole range of women in prison, but some are past the point of caring. Jessica says: ‘They’re crazy, ratchet’. She explained that a lot of what went on was an unhinged intimidation game:
The showers have no curtains and these girls come and they post up with their chair – you have an assigned chair so they would carry it over – and they were just sitting there watching you shower.
Understandably, Jessica says this bizarre behaviour has you questioning yourself:
It's so weird, what do you do? Are you supposed to put on a show or something?
Jessica, who had her first girlfriend in highschool, did end up hooking up with a girlfriend and said that this was not uncommon - even for inmates who considered themselves to be very straight.
She explained ‘a lot of girls end up dating other girls’ because they are looking for companionship:
Some women are just super sweet and there's just something about you that they like and they've never really experienced this before.
So they’ll slide you a little love letter saying something like ‘Oh my God I don’t know why I feel like this, I’ve never been with a woman’
However, Jessica explained it is not always so romantic: ‘there's other chicks that'll back you into a corner’.
Inmates at Jessica’s prison were in a campus of 2200 acres, and it wasn’t unusual for women to sneak off into the woods to have sex before returning to their cells.
Hand crafted sex toys
However, some women still found they needed to satisfy their sexual desire through other means. Jessica revealed that inmates got creative, and fashioned sex toys out of everyday objects that they could then use in their cells:
In county jail there was a tutorial that some chick put on, she was making dildos out those little toothbrush holders that you get, or some contraband gloves – I don't know what else you stuff in there – but I've seen people making them, I’ve even seen people using them.
Though this must have been a very bizarre experience, Jessica says her time in prison overall saved her life. Since her release, she has stayed clean and is rebuilding her life. In case you are curious, here’s a list of first names that mean you are more likely to end up serving time.
Read more:
⋙ The grim reality of getting your period in prison revealed by former inmate
⋙ The US rumoured to use brand new execution method on a death-row prisoner
⋙ Prisoners are working at this McDonald's branch in the UK
Sources used:
Daily Star: ‘I was in a women’s prison – inmates would pull up a chair and watch as I showered’
