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I have only one box set (3 CDs) by Johnny Cash "Love God, Murder" (one CD about each of those topics) the selected cuts on each of the CDs were Johnny's selections as his favorite tunes. Very cool set.
excellent thread JLP,thanks for the post/pics.such an interesting read,prisoners do get upto such mischeif.great selection of shanks(love that bic blade)old carl reese was a bit unlucky though;(.
that gatling is superb.thanks for the awesome J Cash pics.i havent got any chance of seeing them over here so thanks for the post/thread and pics. cheers JLP
big thick ankle chains are still used in Thai jails for the first three ~ six months or so of a life sentence, the chain links are big, heavy and Medievil looking, probably 2 1/2 ~ 3 inches thick and the anklets are welded on....they do so to discourage the urge to jump fences. I visited a good friend of a friend a number of times at the Bang-Kwang prison aka the Bangkok Hilton in the early 90's. He was guy who I knew well enough to say hi to before he went inside.
The visiting area was close to the actual street, just through a couple of flimsy wooden doors and rooms and was either side of a 40 or 50 metre laneway. You had to talk or should I say shout, through chain link fencing a space of 5 metres or more then another chain link fence ..everyone was shouting in a multitude of languages, I could hardly hear a word he was saying (his Geordie accent didn't help either!). Once per year families get to sit down and talk face to face through an open part of the chain link fencing in a separate area. As hard as doing time in an Asian prison is, it's ten times harder on mothers and fathers. The guy I used to visit was eventually, after 10 or 12 years, sent back to the UK to serve his time there...most other countries would simply free repatriated prisoners after a few months, but the UK makes then serve major time in UK jails!
One time i was there they brought in some prisoners that had been in court on appeals or were coming back from sentencing..they made them jog down the lane past all the visitors and into the actual prisoner part of the prison.
There were lots of Thais but I'll never forget seeing one big fit American guy wearing leggings and chains sort of skipping, while holding onto a string to keep the chain off the ground. he was in for 30 years as most were (my mate was sentenced for a 101 years). It was shocking to see, I'd heard of those chains before but to see some one who could of been me doing that same jog was very sobering. My mate's mate said he wore them too and it was important to keep your ankles clean and pack cloth in between the anklets or infection will set in. 99% of them were in there for trying to "get rich quick"..attempting to buy or smuggle smack was usually it. He said life was tough and corrupt inside, AIDS was rampant, and you would starve to death without outside food or money.He said that the prison was so overcrowded that there wasn't enough room to sleep on the floor without being squashed in from shoulder to shoulder, one guy gets the flu or a skin infection and everyone else does too..but his attitude was fantastic, a real inspiration.
If you visit a far off place, contact your embassy in that country (or search online for info) and ask about visits to prisoners...you can bring food and other things and put money into their prison accounts, but check beforehand for details. One visit to a guy from your own country who is stuck in the most squalid and horrid conditions for decades will make his day (week and month!) and he'll forever be grateful for your visit as it helps break the boredom and funny enough, it does good things for you too...it certainly helped me keep straight, or should I say, keep me at least green and to keep my chin up when shit goes bad...unforgetable
Great pics, I am a Cash fan as well. Got to eat lunch at the prison with my mom back in the 80's. She worked in the records dept and you can bring in family now and then for lunch. Been to the museum a few times, that guy that made the Ferris wheel could have been the king of DIY projects.
Folsom-“Stop no visitors beyond this point” warn the sign overlooking the hand-hewn gray granite walls. Vaulted gate and peaked Gothic guard tower of Folsom State Prison. It’s an intimidating view of the lockup where nearly 100 men were hanged and guards and inmates died in spectacular escape attempts that included a runaway railroad engine and homemade diving suit. Yet the warning sign is posted at a “picture spot” where about 9,000 tourist each year snap photos of the prison made famous by country singer Johnny Cash and his “Folsom Prison Blues” Visitors can explore a nearby scale model of the wall, tower and No. 8 gate from California’s second oldest prison. They can view a replica cell featuring mildly risqué pinups on the wall and watch a videotaped tour of the prison, which sits on now-valuable acreage in an increasingly affluent community next to popular Folsom Lake. The Folsom Prison Museum offers a look at torturous prison conditions in decades after the California Gold Rush populated the Sierra Nevada foothills that start here, 20 miles east of Sacramento.