
When a Cartoonist Landed in L.A. County Jail, She Drew What She Saw - Mz
http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2014/12/31/when-a-cartoonist-landed-in-la-county-jail-she-drew-what-she-saw-using-only-a-golf-pencil?showFullText=true
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Jtsummers
> After that, beyond basic bar soap, you’re on your own. You have to order
> supplies through the commissary system, a sort of monopoly drugstore run by
> the Keefe Group out of Missouri. This is where you purchase everything from
> hygiene supplies and chips to a Styrofoam cup. You place orders once a week,
> and the following week a delivery guy shows up with a cart piled high with
> plastic bags of stuff. If nobody on the outside puts money on your “books”
> (inmate account), you can order a second indigent kit. But as soon as
> someone sends you money, Keefe deducts that cost. And with a 20-cent pack of
> ramen costing $1.18, just like most monopolies throughout history, goods are
> sold at an inflated rate.

This is one of the parts of prisons I find particularly distressing. I'm
trying to find (but can't recall the name of the company) an article, perhaps
posted here a few months ago, about a company that handles inmate "bank
accounts". The percentage they took was absurd. Between what the financial
company took and the prisons, $100 sent to a prisoner might end up only being
$50 by the time they could spend it. Paired with the high prices in the
commissary they can barely afford "essentials".

EDIT: JPay. Here's an article, but not the one I was looking for:

[http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/30/15761/prison-
banke...](http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/30/15761/prison-bankers-cash-
captive-customers)

~~~
rhgraysonii
I can speak to this personally.

My father is currently in a federal prison. I do not want to reveal
sentencing, names, etc. but I deal with Jpay on a daily basis.

Their core currency is 'stamps' if you are technologically literate.

It is $4.50 to be able to buy 12 'stamps'

It takes one stamp to send an email, plus one stamp per attachment.

Beyond this, there are music 'credits', video call 'credits', etc.

It is a fucking racketeering ring. I literally keep a Windows laptop so that I
can have video calls with my father because its incompatible with OSX and
Linux (Ubuntu 14.04 in my case)

Would love to hear a way to make a difference here...I've thought of nothing.

~~~
virmundi
Sadly the only way to a make a difference, presuming you're in America, is to
get a movement going to reform the penal system. The reason it's sad is that
for many Americans the point of prison is punishment rather than
rehabilitation. So they're happy with people going through hell, 'cause you
know, they deserve it.

Your best bet is to find an existing rights group to pursue the changes. It
will be a hard sell since the US moved to a private system. This means that
the states and fed will have less direct control of things. More red tape and
contract negotiations.

~~~
wtvanhest
The two big issues in the US prison system are:

1) Treatment of prisoners

2) Number of people in prison

As a country we need to improve treatment and reduce the number of people
imprisoned quickly.

If there is anyone located in San Francisco or northern south bay that wants
to get together and do a hackathon with the focus of building something that
generates either awareness or solves a particular problem we should meet up
for coffee. I can meet anywhere in the Mission to discuss it. (Contact info in
profile). I am currently swamped running my business but I would figure out a
way to take a weekend off to build something.

~~~
stefantalpalaru
the revolution will not be appified

~~~
eevilspock
i agree, but in a world where "going viral" determines what people pay
attention to (almost always stupid shit), maybe figuring out how to make
socially valuable things go viral is an important approach.

------
valar_m
Red State recently featured an article calling for prison reform, which I
thought was an encouraging development[0]. Conservatives, historically, have
taken a hard line against criminal justice reform in any way that might appear
soft on crime[1]. For a prominent conservative site to come out in favor of
reform is a step in the right direction.

Reading the Red State article, I get a sense that the author is walking a
tightrope to frame the argument in terms that conservatives would favor:

> _I have relatively little sympathy for violent criminal offenders in terms
> of the punishments they receive._

> _However, all these efforts are opposed by powerful interest groups that
> give almost invariably to Democrats – including police and jailer unions who
> want to protect the jobs of their members._

> _I am not advocating for free HBO for all prisoners and for government
> sponsored gender reassignment surgery or anything of the like_

And so forth. He pretty much covers all the bases. I think that shows a high
level of awareness. I also think that going to such lengths suggests a strong
desire for reform to actually occur (disclaimer: I had never heard of the
author before reading the article).

I feel like I should add, conservatives are in no way unique in demanding that
scary ideas come with a popsicle. I personally prefer cherry.

[0] [http://www.redstate.com/2014/12/18/americas-desperate-
need-p...](http://www.redstate.com/2014/12/18/americas-desperate-need-prison-
reform/)

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#Pink_underwear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#Pink_underwear)

~~~
Shivetya
Being a Conservative, albeit a Libertarian, I am all for punishment, provided
it fits the crime. I and I am sure many others like me do not believe in
exploiting prisoners or such, but I also do not believe in coddling them
either.

Right now we have another government regulated and implemented disaster.
People bitch and moan over the issues the VA has and that institution is
supposed to HELP people, yet they don't want to look at the penal system which
is supposed to help society. Both are examples of a government to big to be
held responsible. Both are just minor examples of government regulation
permitting abuse and neglect.

Yet people want more regulation, more government, and such. Why should
government improve when you want them to step in and do everything you don't
like being done by others (internet, health, etc) We get what we deserve

------
kqr2
For deleted scenes and outtakes, check out her blog:

[http://www.elanapritchard.com/2014/12/jail-comics-deleted-
sc...](http://www.elanapritchard.com/2014/12/jail-comics-deleted-scenes-and-
outtakes.html)

------
ryen
If you don't make it to the last page of the 6-page clickthru, there's a link
to her Kickstarter campaign for her side animation project:
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/341471863/the-
circus](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/341471863/the-circus)

------
spdustin
It's worth mentioning that many people in jail are there waiting for
adjudication. For felonies, this can take months. For misdemeanors, a day or
two is common.

In other words, in accordance with basic _human rights_ , they're innocent as
their accuser has not yet proven their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

~~~
hawleyal
You're being too logical about it.

------
somberi
May be its me, but her style reminds me of Asterix comics.

~~~
thret
I was thinking Mad Magazine or early Disney.

------
chanux
Probably not HN worthy but isn't it depressing to see things that are highly
unlikely to ever improve?

~~~
rtpg
There are countries where not as many people are locked up, prison sentences
are shorter, and as a result the people locked up are given a minimum of
humanity.

By beating it into the minds of everyone (especially in more privileged
classes who won't come within 500 feet of somebody who has seen the inside of
a jail in their lifetime) of how absolutely dehumanising prison is, we could
maybe stop demanding people be thrown into jail for 25 years.

~~~
ams6110
Some people deserve to be in prison for 25 years, or the rest of their lives.
This is not to discount your first point that we may well be locking too many
people up.

~~~
bambax
> _Some people deserve to be in prison for 25 years, or the rest of their
> lives._

Really, no.

~~~
logicchains
Not even this guy:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Behring_Breivik](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Behring_Breivik)?

~~~
MrJagil
The deal is, who does it help? I live in Denmark, have norwegian friends and
family. I might think he is the devil, but it does not _make sense_ to punish
him; it helps no one but my ego.

There is certainly a case to be made that he is too _dangerous_ to let
outside, no way I will disagree with that notion. But having him fight for
toilet paper is pointless cruelty, and there is no sense in fighting the
pointless cruelty of killing with pointless cruelty poor living conditions.

Using Breivik as an example does not further the discussion though, as it is
such an extreme case. It's fear mongering, and you're disregarding Hegelian
dialectics by arguing in such logical extremes. I think we can all agree that
lobbing the dysfunctioning members of society together in a desensitized and
unsanitary confined area is no way to produce functioning, productive members
of society.

~~~
Dylan16807
'deserves to be in prison' does not imply 'deserves terrible living
conditions' So most of your comment is wasted.

As far as whether punishment 'makes sense', that depends on what moral system
you use. I wouldn't treat it as so obvious.

~~~
MrJagil
'deserves to be in prison' does not imply 'deserves terrible living
conditions'

Yes it does. "deserves" very much alludes to revenge, not rehabilitation.

"As far as whether punishment 'makes sense', that depends on what moral system
you use. I wouldn't treat it as so obvious."

Everything depends on everything; could you elaborate? Just to further the
discussion a bit. Being a deterrent has nothing to do with morals, which I see
as the main argument for punishment so I'm curious where you're getting at.

~~~
Dylan16807
>Yes it does. "deserves" very much alludes to revenge, not rehabilitation.

Possibly revenge. You might want nobody to ever face that person again, etc.
Even if it's revenge that doesn't mean you want them to suffer in any
particular way. Take away their freedom and turn them into an inert ignorable
abstract in a box somewhere. You could stick them in an average motel room and
the result would be the same.

>could you elaborate?

Just as an example, Christianity is pretty big on the concept of retribution.
While it does say that it's God's job rather than man's, that doesn't change
that it declares bad people deserve punishment independent of the deterrence
factor.

~~~
MrJagil
> You could stick them in an average motel room and the result would be the
> same.

I guess this thread of discussion is getting moot and semantic, but I do find
it curious that someone would say "that person deserves to be in a motel
room", without that motel room indicating some kind of punishment (revenge).
"deserves" indicates that he should suffer somehow, i maintain.

> Just as an example, Christianity is pretty big on the concept of
> retribution. While it does say that it's God's job rather than man's, that
> doesn't change that it declares bad people deserve punishment independent of
> the deterrence factor.

Excellent point! You are speaking in strictly logical terms though, which is
why i referenced dialectics earlier. It is very hard to discuss this subject
meaningfully if you're ignoring all the intricacies of real life. I.e. we do
not send people to prison to do gods job of retribution.

~~~
Dylan16807
The punishment is being _trapped_ in the room, not how much toilet paper is in
the room. Taking away toilet paper is just a petty insult.

And yes it's not done to take away God's job, but many people will tell you a
key part of prison is retribution.

------
trhway
>But because I had no money and an overworked public defender, I knew I’d have
to serve time for my violation.

an animator in LA can't pay for a lawyer to fight 2 month of jail (i.e.
supposedly something relatively minor). Are animators there doing that bad?
(i'd expect it to be more like programmers in SV)

~~~
optimusclimb
"Animator" could have lots of interpretations/types of jobs, and many people
that have pursued careers in the arts may have spent money on special purpose
art colleges that cost a lot, but definitely don't always translate to high
paying jobs.

Also, anecdotal evidence from friends in the digital animation field (think
Pixar, Dreamworks, etc) is that even those jobs can be relatively low paying
for years because they are dream jobs, hence high supply of workers.

Without knowing socio-economic background and life history, I could easily see
a creative type in LA choosing a short jail term over the financial hit.

~~~
waterlesscloud
Yep, low-level animator is a relatively low-paying job, and you're lucky to
get it.

~~~
jonnathanson
Also, there aren't very many "high-level" animator jobs at the end of the
line, either.

The ideal career path for an ambitious, hard-working, and politically savvy
animator is to switch over to the producer track as soon as the opportunity
presents itself.

