I was in prison in my early twenties, AMA

[Lexibletheflexible]

I was in prison about 18 years ago, between the ages of 19-22. I now volunteer with charities supporting female prisoners. AMA

No. I was meant to but it never happened.

That conditions are inhumane and anyone who is a violent bully and experiences them will only go on to hurt who they can after and during their sentence.

Not sure people should go to jail for subletting one property.

They wanted to be seen to be doing something about gun crime.

Blooming heck op that is awful you went to prison for something like that.

You are now self employed so obviously no hassle with employers and records. And you found a job with the help of the probation service. How do you think you would fare looking for a job now with a record that its much more difficult to conceal? Would you be tempted to hide your past?

You said there were good educational opportunities in prison. Friend of mine did a short sentence back in the 1980s (fraud) and spent it all in "education" learning computer skills. Got a job temping afterwards, was taken on permanent and worked up to management. She reverted to an earlier form of her name and changed her passport/official ID. Back then it was a lot easier to hide your past.

if them telling their experience honestly deters others i think there is some value in it.But agree regarding making amends ?compensatory measures to victims.
A bit different in the OP case as she was young, gullible and naive and made a mistake in illegally subletting which led to an absolute mess which it seems she paid dearly for. Her telling her story could be helpful and prevent others from offending ,surely thats worth while?

Because you were so young OP , were you worried that subletting a flat would be worse than what you were accused of ~ knowing that a gun was in your house ?

Surely not, You have to be quite savvy to sublet a house as a teenager so why did you not just tell them that's what you were doing , to disassociate yourself from the gun charge ?

Absolute insanity that the case against the guy actually responsible didn't progress but the woman who rented the flat he stored it in went to prison. How did they manage to "prove" you knew about it and were responsible but not him? I appreciate they were making an example of you but what evidence could they have against you and not him?

What do you think convinced the jury?

What was the most difficult thing when you first Came out? I know it can be hard to open a bank account for example. Is there anything charities and outreach teams could have done which would have stopped you offending?

Thank you for this very interesting thread OP🙏🏻

In the nicest possible way, do you think you were seen as a bit ‘rough,’ uneducated and from a poor background? I wonder if the sentence would have been the same for a rich woman from a private school background - I can’t imagine she wouldn’t have been believed when she said she didn’t know the man or that he kept guns in the flat.

She couldn’t dissociate. She was held Responsible for what took place in her flat. You don’t think she took a 5 year fire arms sentence rather than tell the police she was subletting?!

Obviously I cannot speak for @Lexibletheflexible but my guess would be it's (at least in part) a combination of
-women who break the rules are judged more harshly than men, women are expected to be obedient and compliant whereas men are expected to be assertive and risk takers. Therefore women who break the rules not only break the law they also break the norms by which they are expected to live, they are threat to male dominance.

-women are seen as disposable, therefore ruining a woman's life by sending her to prison doesn't seem as bad as ruining a man's life

Who paid for your lawyer? How was the lawyer picked? Did you think they did a good defence of the charges for you?

Well that’s 90% of the people in prison 🤣 OP did say the flatmate was a naice girl tho

OP- you're very brave telling your story and you're also very intelligent, at least that's how you come across in your replies. I wonder if the fact you come across as intelligent and articulate is one of the reasons the judge and jury convicted you. Personally, I think you've taken total ownership of your past and you've done your best to move on - what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger, right?
I think it's great that you're still actively trying to help women in prison - most ex-prisoners would probably be doing everything they can to avoid ever having to set foot in one again!
You come across as somebody who isn't even angry at the other woman who could have opened her mouth at any time to say that you shouldn't be implicated, I really admire that - I'm not sure I could be so magnanimous!

Sorry I was unclear. I found a job myself because it looked good for probation purposes. They were no help in finding a job. I got a job because I knew someone who knew someone who could give me one.

When i said good educational opportunities, I'd say that was more for people who couldn't read at all in the form of basic literacy, and people who were quite able and could make good use of the vocational programmes. But that was only "life changing" if they had the stable set up to support their new lifestyle on release. So for instance, you could go to your mum's "normal" house and just focus on transitioning to a ordinary working life.

People in the middle (which is most people in prison) might benefit somewhat while in prison, but unless it comes with a job and stability on the outside, it doesn't do much.

I was raised to see personal responsibility as essential. Whether or not other people were also to blame is irrelevant to the mistakes I made.

Thanks for the compliments.

I had an alright lawyer. It's always dicey to get a really fancy lawyer when they suspect you are making money through illegal means unless you have a clear way of obtaining said money.

Bit like turning up to the job centre in a limo.

What, you did not learn not to diddle with council property? Not even that?

Sorry it it’s already been covered but why weren’t you living in your council flat?

Very good point. Too many people try to blame others for the bad things that happen to them. Life is way too short to spend your time harbouring a grudge - it doesn't achieve anything in the end, other than making you angrier!
Your kids are lucky to have you - you've probably taught them some important lessons.

So far I’m not impressed with your legal representation! Did you choose? Who paid, the state I presume?

Did you appeal the conviction?

Back in my day the people with cars showing up at the job center parked 2 streets away!

It’s good you’re here to demonstrate the execrable qualities of some prison staff.