DonYour Own Time

Sitting in a cell, waiting for the day I will go before a judge to know whether or not I will be granted bail. Life has taken a turn and now my lawyer and the crown lawyer will do what they need to do. I will explore what it’s like to spend a few days in jail while the legal system runs its course and highlight some of the steps involved in making that determination.

Most people know the things you can’t have in prison, but what exactly are you allowed to have? What do the institutions provide, what can you bring of your own, and how do you get it? This episode explores the personal property that federal inmates are permitted to have with them while they are incarcerated in Canada. Some items are important to some but not to others. What ...

Bail granted, surety decided, now what? What can I do? Where can I go? Who will still be around? Life changed hard for me during this time. I am grateful to have been granted bail no matter the major life adjustment. Days are long yet time is fleeting. There is so much work to do to get ready for court. How do you even get ready for something like this?

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From being on bail to going to jail. This episode explores the weeks, days, hours and minutes leading up to and being sentenced and taken to a jail. This is a very candid view into my personal life during this time. My sentence length is handed down and serving a federal prison sentence immediately beings. I’ll take you from my home, to the courthouse, and to a  provincial ja...

A lot goes into a moving day, relocating from one place to another. Especially when that move is from a jail cell to a prison cell. After some time in provincial it’s now time to transfer to a federal prison. And yes, jail and prison are very different places. It’s been one heck of a heck of a journey to get to this point; I needed to be arrested, convicted and sentenced before I could come to th...

Canadian prison is a world unto itself. I made some bad and stupid choices so my life took me there and this episode will walk you into what it’s like to enter that prison world for the very first time. A federal prison sentences often starts at the Joyceville Assessment Unit, formerly the Pittsburg Institution. Here things can go as expected, times are often mundane, and som...

Congradulations, you're in prison...now what? We’re not simply locked up 24 hours a day. Some may think that’s all we deserve but that’s just not how it is. So much goes on in prison. Even the smallest incident or interaction can easily and gravely affect the course of events in prison. I’ll being to get into what it’s like to live in close quarters with dozens of other inma...

Yard time is used by most and for many different reasons. This time is used to exercise, others used it to meet up with people they know from another range. Some used it to cross the line. Whether it’s walking the track, going to church, or playing sports there was usually something for everyone.

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Prisons contain all types of people. Deciding who to associate yourself with and who to avoid can make all the difference in the trajectory of your sentence. Inmates notice who you spend time with and guards know who you spend time with. There are no secrets in prison. Everything you say and do is up for grabs. And there are lockdowns, those suck. Nothing like living in your ...

Every day in prison is the same because you really have no idea what to expect, you have no idea what’s in store from one moment to the next. Staff, food, cells, range, yard, inmates. Some are a constant, some are in constant flux. My day to day looked one way, others looked another. It can be a matter of what you’re seeking during that day that can direct your path. 

Assessment is a temporary location that can have a long lasting or permanent impact on your time in prison as well as after. It can be a minefield to walk through. Getting out of Joyceville is inevitable, but not all ways out are ideal. This episode explores what the system looks like at JAU, what the other side of your time looks like.

From intake to a new range. Things are different in minimum. The air, the tone, the pace, it’s all very different from medium. I’ll be around these men for some time. It’s time to get settled in and think big picture, it’s time to play the long game.

If you would like to contribute to the show please reach out to me. I will not share...