This section publishes stories about individuals’ experiences with the criminal justice system.
There are so many ways that people have interacted with the system, and so many stories to tell.
Experiences aims to tell those stories, presented as beautiful feature articles.
I’m currently 45 years old and I have spent 19 years of my life in NSW jails, albeit in instalments (not all in one go), because I kept falling for the traps of evil.
Who would have thought prison would be so noisy. No, not the inmates (although they can be a tad rambunctious at times) – I’m talking about all the bloody announcements!
My partner gave me 24 frozen roses the Valentine’s Day he went to prison.
Remand. Difficult times. Difficult times!!! Being on remand, in my opinion, is one of the most trying and testing parts of being in jail.
When I was arrested, I had a job, a family, friends. When they sent me to jail, I lost it all. Because that’s the true punishment. You lose your life. You break the law, so you are destroyed.
One of the things I noticed as I entered my grimy first cell in jail was that there were no glass mirrors on the walls. I quickly found out that glass mirrors are banned in jail; no doubt because glass can be easily smashed, shattered and used as a weapon.
Recently, I left my job as a police officer. When people asked why I left the police force, I said it was because my values misaligned with the job. And yet my certificate of service hangs in a frame on my wall. The irony is not lost on me.
As the months went by, I started to think about what could be done in that time. I started to see time in a different light.
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