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Life in Jail
``` The enclosed message came from a friend at Cornell University with the following explanation: "About a month ago, Computer Scientist Edgar Knapp was convicted of killing his wife. (He was an assistant professor at Purdue and got his PhD under Jay Misra at Texas.) The circumstances of the incident are unclear; he claimed it was self defense. As you can see from his email, while in jail, Edgar wants to give a view of life in prison on a rgular basis." The mailing list he uses is called letters-edgar@cs.purdue.edu. DO NOT send a message to this mailing list, but Knapp himself might be able to add you to it. His address is knapp@cs.purdue.edu. I will not be forwarding his notes to RRE routinely.
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 09:28:02 -0500 From: knapp@cs.purdue.edu (Edgar Knapp) Subject: Life in Jail
Life in Jail November 20, 1994
"And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted - nevermore." Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
In school, when someone would complain about unfair treatment, my teachers were always quick to emphasize that life was not always fair. It is hard for me to describe the agony that has been wrenching my guts since the law pronounced me a dangerous criminal and convicted me of the worst crime imaginable, the intentional killing of - not just another human being, but - my beloved wife.
I don't think one can ever come to grips with such a reality. The only thing that has kept me going through this tragedy is the support of my family and friends who with letters, phone calls, and visits have given me comfort and even a glimmer of hope. To all of you I am sending my sincerest appreciation and my deepest thanks.
Trying to come to grips with the prospect of spending the next 15 years or so behind bars, I have decided to give the "free world" a glimpse of what it is like to be locked up and I also hope to evoke responses and discussions - both public and private - on this topic. By now I have spent almost four months in this correctional facility, and from my communications with many of you I know that most of you are as ignorant of the American correctional system as I was when I got thrown in jail.
I will try to send out a letter each week and I will give each one a theme. This first one will be about communication with the outside world; this includes phones and mail. Other topics will be food, visits, entertainment, ingenuity, rehabilitation, and corruption.
To put today's topic into perspective, let me mention that lately I have spent an average of about 2-4 hours a day on the phone. Since phone calls are limited to 15 minutes, the amounts to about 10-15 calls per day. Phone calls are restricted operator-assisted calls (collect, person-to-person, third number billing, etc.), hence 800 number calls are not possible. Several times during the call a voice announces "Attention: this call is from a prison phone!" to make sure that the other party knows they are dealing with a potentially dangerous criminal.
There is one phone for approximately every 4-6 inmates, so contention is relatively low. Even chess games over the phone are tolerated. Truly amazing is that until about a month ago local collect calls were free. Recently, however, more and more inmates have been complaining that suddenly their families and friends are being charged for the calls, without prior warning or notification. Since 800 and international calls cannot be made from these phones, and because many businesses and government agencies do not accept collect calls, a local contact with custom calling features at their disposal (such as three-way-calling) is imperative. Mark one up for American phone technology (in most of Europe, for instance, no such features are available yet).
All incoming mail is opened and searched for contraband, with the exception of mail sent directly by courts and attorneys. Magazines and newspapers must not be sent through the mail; they will be confiscated. Stamps are torn off the envelopes, since it was discovered that sometimes cocaine had been sprinkled on the moistened stamp. After receiving such a letter, the inmate would loosen the stamp under steam and get high by licking stamp and envelope. Staples and paper clips are removed as well since they can be used as weapons. Books are allowed in only small numbers (about 3), and only softcover versions are permissible. Hardcover books need special advance permission to be let in since they, too, are potential weapons (talking about the pen being mightier than the sword, are we?). No journals or magazines will make it past the censors, paperbacks have a chance of getting through, only if sent directly by the publisher, preferably shrink-wrapped. However, I have had good luck with technical papers getting through. So y'all keep them papers coming...
Outgoing mail is officially immune to searches or delays, but, as will become clear from my future correspondences, rules say one thing, whereas common practice is different altogether. In fact, this non-adherence by jail personell to their own, self-imposed rules has been a major source of consternation and frustration for me and some of my friends. But this is a different story...
I hope to hear from you some time.
Until next week,
yours Edgar ```
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