"THE WASTED YEARS" 1960s STATEVILLE PRISON DOCUMENTARY ILLINOIS PRISON SYSTEM PENITENTIARY 14594
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The Wasted Years is a 1960s television documentary disclosing the impoverished existence of prison life. There is a great deal of handheld camerawork intersected with interviews and audio samplings of inmates. The use of makeshift lighting and low angles lends an atmospheric quality to many interior scenes.
The film opens with a camera tracking backwards alongside a prison guard as superimposed shots of inmates fade in to discuss the worthlessness of prison life. “If I had it to do it all over again, knowing that I would never get out, I would rather have been executed.” Opening titles roll, accompanied by moody guitar. The camera zooms out from an Illinois State Penitentiary sign (1:12) and then pans to prison gates with narrator Hugh Hill who introduces Stateville penitentiary as “one of the toughest cell houses.” A penitentiary bus leads the viewer through prison gates. The film details prison routine beginning at 7am in Cell Block D. Guards affirm a headcount from the cellblock gallery, a solitary guard yells, “Chow!” and the prisoners file out. A lifer describes the “World of Can’t” that is controlled penitentiary life. Warden Frank Pate speaks about the intense conditions at Stateville (7:04). Pate shows off a case of contraband, mostly weapons-sharpened spoons, a spoon skeleton key, a sharpened brace of a bed, etc. (8:22). Solitary confinement, called “isolation” is shown (9:35). An inmate is walked and locked into Isolation as the terms of solitary confinement are described. “Segregation” cells are shown and described. An inmate is interviewed who has managed to obtain a high school education while in Stateville (13:00). High school and grammar school are shown (13:44) along with ESL classes. Prisoner art is shown and discussed (15:53). A machine shop is shown, jazz music playing in the background, the creation of shop-made contraband is discussed (17:12). A large mess hall is shown during mealtime (19:25), eerily, the faces of inmates are mostly unseen. A mess hall guard tower is shown, the dangers of rioting discussed. A sign reads: “ALL YOU CAN EAT BUT NO WASTE” (22:16). Warden Pate is again interviewed, stating the need for minimum security institutions (23:11). Conditions during winter are discussed as the cell locking procedure repeats. An inmate is shown playing the film’s guitar music (25:20). The prison at night is shown, looking otherworldly, backgrounds dominated by expressionistic shadows. Various inmates voice their laments. “I’m at the end of the world’ one states, ‘there’s no description for it.” Hugh Hill is shown in an empty cellblock as he discusses the distrust and paranoia that predominates (27:02). End titles run (28:39). A WBBM-TV editorial follows (29:28): Clark B. George, vice president of Columbia Television Stations Division introduces interviews with three inmates, designed to discourage those who may be headed towards prison life (30:25). Each details their personal struggles and backgrounds. Clark George returns to state “I’m sure you’ll agree’ that the preceding interviews were “dismal and depressing.” Education is emphasized as the solution. Editorial end titles (38:48).
Stateville Correctional Center (SCC) is a maximum security state prison for men in Crest Hill, Illinois, U.S., near Chicago. It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Opened in 1925, Stateville was built to accommodate 1,506 inmates. Parts of the prison were designed according to the panopticon concept proposed by the British philosopher and prison reformer, Jeremy Bentham. Stateville's "F-House" cellhouse, commonly known as a "roundhouse", has a panopticon layout which features an armed tower in the center of an open area surrounded by several tiers of cells. F-House was the only remaining "roundhouse" still in use in the United States in the 1990s. It was closed in late 2016 but the structure will remain standing due to its historical significance. A duplicate of the prison opened in Cuba in 1936, but has since been abandoned.
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These old pre-70's prison documentaries are some of the most interesting documentaries out there
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I agree
Clean, straight up reporting. Direct, simple questions, clean editing. Wish today’s news was reported this way.
@Big Bill O'Reilly FOX NEWS + TRUMP = Alternative facts.
@Big Bill O'Reilly 🎯
Everyone seems to have forgotten the alternative was Benghazi Hillary lol. The world thanks America for saving us from that nightmare.
Well said James.
Cnn? Only trusted news these days specially lemon and Anderson and como and stelter
I was actually the first person under the age of 18 years old to be able to go on a tour of Stateville through a youth organization I was in in Justice Illinois.
We got to walk through there even while the inmates were in their cells. Scared the hell out of all of us. They even let us take turns sitting in "Old Sparky"...The Chair...
We wne th through that big cell block with the circular mezzanines and the guard tower in the middle of the room. I say truthfully, that the tour we went on had a profound impact on me and I decided right then and there to never do anything that would lead me to live in a place like that for the rest of my life...honest.
Place wouldn't faze me bro
@@devondavies4372 I don't know whether that's good or bad, but it was interesting seeing this video. It brought back a lot of memories.
Your story reminds me of when inmates from the state of SC came to talk to us. We had this one punk who thought he was cool. They went up one side and down the other with him. They told him he was pretty and they would pass him around like a rag doll. From what i heard later, he straightened up his act.
Some are youth should be sent to a 3rd world country to serve out there time, they might appreciate the U.S. law's and what the U.S. has to offer.?
I believe there eye's will open up real fast wondering where there next meal is going to come from.
@@ecrusch and possibly someone's wife they like when they have a little tough attitude
In the documentary the man said he would see the parole board in 33 years. The interviewer asked "What year will that be?" and the man answered 1983. Thus I think we should date this as 1950.
Who says the inmate could do math though...
Be in prison for the most prosperous era in human history
Wishful thinking. The dude on kitchen duty at 20m04s, Chester Weger, was locked up for a triple murder committed on March 14, 1960. He was denied parole last November.
Maybe he meant after he had done 33 years total, not 33 years from when the video was made.
@@Milkmans_Son Darn :(.
I remember the sound of the solid metal doors being closed behind you. I did 2 year's and wondered initially how anyone could do more. I found compliance to be the key to doing time the best way. You get a job to fill your day, then yard time to exercise. Time goes quickly if you set your mind right. The job pays enough to buy up something goodies and you learn to appreciate everything.
Glad you got out and prayers up that you’re doing well.
@@behindthespotlight7983 Thank you, yes I never looked back. Got a job, started a yard maintenance business and bought real estate.
Integrity pays dividends crime can never achieve.
I hope you've found PEACE within yourself..I'm learning.
It must of been a very tough adjustment, being incarcerated. I could never do time , I would loose my mind .
@@mikeheaton8424 your comment reminded me of that pending doom leading up.
I thought I'd rather die.
When I met people doing 5, 10 and 20 or life 2 seemed easy.
It's amazing what we are capable of.
Excellent documentary. Thanks for posting. Today’s prisons got nothing on this.
today's prisons are also more dangerous.
This prison is just as dangerous still
@@scottym3233How you figure that 🤔 Statesville was and still is a rough place to do time. And almost ALL joints in Illinois are PC now!!! Richard Speck and the GDs lil homosexual parties on video from Statesville were released and Specks words changed prisons forever 🤷 Joints used to be wide open and ran by the organizations but after civilians heard Speck say "If the judge knew how much fun he was having they'd release him the next day". The video showed Speck in a blue thong panties sitting on his boyfriend's lap (GD) and piles of cash and cocaine. That was it they took back the joints. The joints are just plain soft and watered down today and that's a fact 💯
This was brilliant, I'm referring to overtime as long bread from now on at work 👍 Thank you
Long bread, cool, me too.
Long bread sure!Long pork?nonononono
What a treasure ! Thanks Periscope !!
If this was indeed filmed in the 50's, that would be 70+ years ago.
Most, or all, or the people we are watching have since died.
It is very fascinating to watch!
I love these type of videos, being able to go back in time!
The last 7 to 10 minutes of this film may seem dated to some but is just as pertinent today as it was when this film was made.
gullreefclub so true
Prisons might be worse now, but idk
The wasted years. There I thought 5 years married to my first wife was bad, wasted years. This Docu puts that into perspective. Life could be worse.
"I've seen men pass up roast beef for beans" Must be some nasty nasty beef
Ozdave McGee but it's young people who can't comprehend the consequences
Or some really really good beans
Slick meat
Today if u make it to stateville ur first meal will be a terrible milk and a 'meat' sandwich with a smell similar to salami and smelly feet.
Texture can only be described as 'fit for inmate or army only' 😂
Serious. Say ur a vegan or u will be subjected to all types of experimental ish
Roast beef curtains?
Paul Jenkot (6:00 in) was sentenced to two life terms plus 199 years in 1936 for driving the car where two other parolees in the car shot and killed a police officer. While on trial for the murder, all three men tried to escape while being taken to court. Two sheriffs deputies were stabbed but survived and a bailiff was slugged. The three men were caught shortly thereafter. Jenkot and another inmate led uprisings in 1944 and 1946 where two guards were killed. They were called the "toughest inmates in Statesville". They were sent to solitary 1947 and remained until 1953 for telling the warden to his face they planned to kill him. When released, they refused to promise to be "good boys". He was previously sentenced in 1929 for burglary and larceny and paroled in 1935.
The bullying and rape that would have gone on in such a place is the stuff of nightmares.
Telling it like it is.. Pure and True..
Chester Weger just got out of pinckneyville prison this week. He served 60 years.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to assimilate into society 60 years later. I’m honestly surprised he was even released since he was in for murder.
The trick is to be free in there 🙌🙏 it all in the bible how to it . I did it. Old timer showed me. He was happy and content always. THANK YOU JESUS 😊💓
He has a great documentary on his case
The holl time i was like he's innocent, no he's guilty, no he's innocent, no that mf did it, no that mf is innocent... 😂
Dna proved him innocent.
An eye-opener even decades since this documentary was made...
Wow this was really interesting thank u for sharing. I was surprised how quiet that prison was .
The population of the US was roughly 200 million in the early 60’s when this documentary was made. I heard a figure of 100,000 plus convicts were imprisoned then. The US population has increased by about 65 %since but the number of convicts imprisoned has grown by at least 1000%. More people doing crime? Nope. Crime rates began dropping in the early 1990’s. Legislation has changed as a result of some spectacular instances of crime, such as “the Manson murders” in California. A perception was taken advantage of that the US has to “get tough on crime” and pass outrageous laws.
I remember watching public service commercials on TV in the early 70’s warning young Americans about the legal implications of illicit drug use, especially if they were to be arrested in Europe for possession of drugs because their laws and punishment were very harsh.
Times have changed. Drug abuse in the country of Portugal has been decriminalized and is handled as a health issue, as it should in any civilized nation.
The government is making criminals out of everyone
@@DavidMiller-ng1ph
Not to mention money from GEO.
As with most other major problems in our society the key is to follow the money. Private prisons actually want their populations to increase because the government pays them for each inmate they house. This leads to extreme overcrowding in prisons and severely overtaxes any effort to rehabilitate or educate inmates to the point that they don't even bother trying anymore. This of course leads to inmates committing more crimes if they ever get out because they are actually leaving the system even less prepared than when they went in. Then when you factor in things such as 3 strikes laws and mandatory minimums there is exceedingly little hope that anyone can make it out and stay out so we need to completely overhaul the system before it will even begin to get better. I suggest we start by ending the "war on drugs" and eliminate all of the lengthy sentences that people are doing for non violent drug charges and that will relieve about half of the pressure on the system right off the bat and then we can work on figuring the rest out.
@@MrKingdavis13
Good post, Davis!
A lot of that increase is due to the war on drugs, that is the main problem.
The guy at 20:04
Chester Otto Weger (born March 3, 1939)[1] is an American convicted murderer. He was previously the longest-serving inmate incarcerated by the state of Illinois and the third longest in state history before his release on February 21, 2020. He was convicted in 1961 of the murder of one of three women found slain at Starved Rock State Park. He was held at Pinckneyville Correctional Center.[2]
On November 21, 2019, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board granted parole to Weger by a vote of 9-4.[3] He was released on parole February 21, 2020.[4][5][6]
They made a really good HBO documentary on him
I can only imagine what Weger thought when he was released in 2020. I can see him running back to the prison “saying let me in, let me in”!
@@janisganey3954
Yeah for sure, how could he survive in today's world after being gone so long.
just in time for covid
Murders should die in prison...
Weger should've died an incarcerated convict......Parole needs to be abolished for Murder convictions......
Some of the prisoners are well-spoken, better than our so-called political leaders. Sad.😮
This central tower observation of all cells...was designed to watch survail all unmates so a jail could affect change and rehabilitation. But...it was meant to be a single inmate to a cell. If your interested read a boik Discipline and Punish by Foucalt.
Pretty informative. It gives an accurate portrayal of the bleak existence of these incarcerated individuals.
It’s their fault
I only partially agree with you, the people that kill and rape, they deserve every bit of it. But I don't think people with nonviolent drug offenses and certain other victimless crimes deserve that.
gotta love how the video timer under the video is syncronized with the actual video duration
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I always wondered about this, thank you for the appreciated explanation. Job well done.
Wrote a letter to my Mother one week into my incarnation and ended up in the hole for 7 days.
Why was that may I ask.
I wanna know how the hell that bus makes it through that narrow gate!! Or better yet how many times it hasn't! 😆
That's a very narrow gate!
I was thinking the same thing 😂
They started closing down state mental institutions in the 1960's. Can see why present day prison population has grown.
Walking barefoot on the carpet and the beach were the two things that felt strange.
The gentleman working in the kitchen, Chester Weger is profiled in an HBO Max documentary, Murders at Starved Rock.
Unsolved No More covered that case on one of his utube videos , it was really interesting watching this documentary and seeing Chester Weger on here after watching his channel.Now I'll have to watch the HBO doc too thank you 😊
Great documentary! Thank you!
Top of the line relevant information for the present.
Every Prison should be like this.
I lived by this prison for half my life. There's a new and old part of Statesville.
Although I've NEVER spent a day of my life behind bars and I THANK MY GOD. What impresses me about this documentary is the correctional facility staff is in COMPLETE CONTROL......NOT the INMATES, and that's how it should ALWAYS be done...NO EXCEPTION!!
hard time ... Love these Periscopes ...
Even the Blues Brothers taught this... A Dummy is the Governments Dummy.
I was in Stateville in 2003 to be processed and get classified. 3 months of 24/0 lockup. 2 showers a week, 1 phone call a week, 1-3 hours a week yard time if at all. Otherwise, every moment in a cell. I was there in the winter and my windows crank to vent the window was broken...broken while OPEN.
I was sick so much those 3 months. Me and my cellmate/friend from the street worked together to try and plug it up best we could.
Stateville is a Max joint AKA Maximum security facility. Not fun. I'll never forget those cold, depressing months there for the rest of my time on earth.
Also, it's "STATEVILLE"
....STATE-VILLE. Not "STATESVILLE" LOL
FFS
Your name says it all
I assumed Mr. Lucifer D. Satan would be rather warm all the time as opposed to cold.
Ain’t gonna do the shit that got you in there again tho. Lol
Congrats, I was an officer/Lieutenant while it was still operated by the State of Illinois and we still executed!
By the way at least you told some of the "extra special know-it-alls, that the prison is called STATEVILLE not StateSville!
Yeah hate it when people call it Statesville. Think it’s because of the old Joliet prison haunted house shit they do that has people saying that. Spent time there when I was 18 just in NRC. Couldn’t wait to get that brown bag and find out what joint I was going to. Vandalia was a cake walk after being in Stateville.
Interesting documentary here. On my trip back from Toronto Canada. I saw a sign driving through Joliet, Illinois that said "State Prison, Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers" . I had a neighbor who worked for the California Department Of Corrections for twenty years. He told me interesting stories about some of the prisoners in the system. Same place where the movie "Call Northside 777" was filmed.
Yes,that sign is on Rte 53, they've been there since Dawn of time, I see them everyday
@@brianglade848 Joliet Illinois is off of interstate 80.
@@frankdenardo8684 I'm from Joliet, the prison is off 53
@@frankdenardo8684 it's borders Crest Hill
@@brianglade848 Didn’t one of the Blues Brothers serve time there?
Thanks for the upload, very depressing however, humans are the most cruel, disfunctional creatures on the earth.
Then you must be a rodent?
As Baretta said "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time"
"And you can take that to the bank.."
@0:18 and this is why I say spending life in prison is way worse than getting the chair . Getting the chair is the easy way out . Who the hell wants to live like that their whole lives ???
"No more carefree hours. No more doing what you want when you want. No more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Yep...it's certainly no fun when those iron doors clang shut."
- Barney Fife
R.I.P.
"the first rule is too obey all the rules".
“… what life is really like in Stateville…” somehow I doubt that.
20:03 Chester Weger; they made a HBO documentary on this man recently. Called the Murder at Starved Rock. Its really good watch it.
Prisons should be this strict and more these days. No TV, no weights, no frills at all.
3 to a cell thats crazy
3 sets of Deez nuts
Most common
That’s a ruff stop I heard. But back in those days. That’s when prison was prison.
Herb Eberg did a fabulous job as the cameraman.
So brave of those reporters to put themselves amongst those vicious criminals
Oh yes very brave😂😂😂 geeze they deserve a medal. Screws do it EVERY day. At the end of the day most of these ppl, even murderers are harmless. It was a paid hit, a momentry loss of control, a revenge thing etc. So what threat is a damn journalist? He's is completely safe
26:10 This guy talking chills me. It chills me because I know it to be true.
These days Stateville also has another area where they do assessments of recently sentenced inmates to state prison terms all over the state. It is the main classification prison and over flow for Cook county jail being overfull get sent to statevilles alt wing where i was after sentencing awaiting classification. Time there is extremely difficult as you arent allowed to work or school but locked down 24/7. Sat is a shower Sun is one hour of yard the rest of the time you do you leave the cell for any reason. 2 man cells. In a movement between part of classification I saw the roundhouse and a glimpse of the real stateville as the assessment areas are added build on and not behind the main wall. It is an entirely scary place. These days not many inmates work at all inside the wall most are locked down 24/7. I did see an inmate from inside, it was the saddest thing Iv ever seen. He could barely walk, shoulders slumped, noise did not affect anything on him, he didnt blink and moved only when prodded and pointed in a direction. Im of the opinion nothing was there but skin and bones the soul long long gone. A few years ago their were a few articles about they excavating the main yard and finding human remains. ALOT goes on this and any other docu whatever wouldnt even cover so people know exactly what really goes on in an institution like this and better they dont find out...american sickness to incarcerate is a human tragedy and a mistake. To be the greatest country in the world you cannot have places like this and thats all there is too it.
Good post, thanks.
NRC is shitty. Behind the wall is scary place though. I went in there plenty of times when I worked outside grounds while I was at the farm. Most guys in there are serving more than 20 years and won't ever get out. I'm just glad I lucked out and went to minimum security prisons.
I was at nrc also and worked all over behind the wall, mowed up town, worked at the old Joliet prison pulling out bunks. That prison is old and the guys there are locked down most of the time.
Before the gangs took over.
I wonder if he got out in 1983.
Even the cons had more class & intelligence back then.
Cant leave any leftover food or privileges taken that's my Grandmothers dinner table not prison
The days when prison was punishment, and not pampered rehabilitation with earlier release than original parole period, and probably not many reoffending!
I lived in Joliet, went to JTHS/ JJC. I knew it was there of course but this film really brought it up close. :) A H.S. & Junior College friend's father worked there as a guard so that's my connection to Stateville. :( Its an old film but thanks to WBBM for it.
Now prison is soft and they don’t mind going back. We need a fundamental change
The 1960s is when prison really got dangerous. In the 50s and earlier prison was a cakewalk unlike today. All this rape and stuff in prison started mid 60s.
It says a 1960's documentary..but that one inmate said in 33 years it will be 1983..(24:40)..wouldn't that make this 1950??
are you going to take the word of a convict?
A lot of criminals back then were elementary school drop outs
@@TheRealPhillipHerman he may have stayed in prison 15 yrs longer than he had to.
I was hung up on the same thing but I'm pretty sure he meant that after 33 years of his sentence he'll be eligible for parole (i.e. he was imprisoned in 1950). He just worded it awkwardly. I think he's the second fellow of the three convicts in the editorial part of the clip, who is serving a 99 year sentence- they said he has 21 years before he sees the board, which would be 1983 if it was 21 years + some months. Also, 33 is 1/3rd of 99, and back when parole was a lot more favorable to the inmate than it is today parole eligibility after 1/3rd of the sentence sounds about right and the math works out cleanly.
Should be running prisons like this today
ever done time?there’s sum good ppl who for example got caught w weed,put on probation,failed drug test for thc and violated&sent away for years
Sometimes... they'll never learn...
I grew up in the small town of 6000 people (over 5000 kids). This prison was in our backyard, on farmland, less than 5 miles from our rural population. It’s a maximum security prison and very rarely do people get out. Not as hard as Marion prison which was in lockdown for over 10 years at one point. I’ve been to several prisons in Illinois because of college class visits. I also grew up a mile away from Joliet correctional which was in the Blues Brothers movie. Exciting to have the filming right there.
I lived in Bolingbrook, when I was a kid. We used to get fresh eggs from the farmland.
It is better to on the outside looking in prison than being in prison looking outside! "Old Inmate Saying"
I lived in Joliet, went to JTHS/ JJC. I knew it was there of course but this film really brought it up close. :)
I did 4 years in NJ. It did not make me a better person. It made me realize that society is not mine or for me...I have been out for decades. I keep a gun on me at all times...waiting for cops. They will never take me alive again.
💯
can you imagine doing time like this with no internet lol.
Inmates don't get internet today unless they have a phone phone or tablet which is rare🤣🤣
WRONG SOME COUNTIES IN ILLINOIS DO HAVE INTERNET BUT NOT ALL DAY CERTAIN HOURS THEY GET TO GO ON I NET
@@dannyboykushsmoke3439 lmao they get you wifi for tablets which you can’t do nothing on except buy music and games or movies
I served 5 years 11 months in a concrete box ,i remember coming home and being able to just walk in a straight line instead of inside a walled squre or a cyclone fenced yard and I can see the horizon or look into the sky with out barbed wire or concentina wire blocking my view,I walked to the beach and sat there for hours with out seeing or being around another humans total bliss,im learning how to relax something impossible inside,Im learning if someone bumps into me at the shopping centre or in Mc donalds maybe i should not attack them lol ,my crime growing large amounts of cannabis in a factory for my happy customers
I competed in powerlifting meets in there in 1975 & 1976. I worked out at a gym owned by the fitness director for the prison. I also partied at the reporter's house back in the day.
Even prisoners had more class than most today. Politicians should watch this and maybe can learn some manners.
Thanks so much for the upload impossible bro find shows
I would say these vids are from the early to mid 50's.
bob brooks no it's worse because of private investors who make money on inmates so thy slash food to earn a profit
One guy says he will have the chance to speaker to the warden in 33 years, which would be in 1983. Which puts this at 1950.
It clearly says 60s
I wonder how many of these guys are still there and alive.
None of them. This film was made 60+ years ago
There might be be a handful still alive. If they went in at 18 years old. 60 years makes you 78 years old.
I think I saw "RED" from Shawshank and the Sisters lurking in the background.
Red busted out mister. Living in Mexico.
Getting up at 4am in 1950.....yeesh 😞 yes it was normal to them but think if we went back in time!? No tablets no vending machines no TVs no extra blankets or babying we have in prisons and jails now that people still complain about...it's crazy how spoiled and self entitled we have become.
Eastern State Prison in Philadelphia was also a panopticon
I went there for the tour this summer, really interesting design.
1822-1970. Eastern state
One of the coolest places on earth.
Human guinny pigs 1950 - 1975
I dig this Doco, 3rd time iv watched it Cuz eh. cheers from the convict country ( The Lucky-country ! "Got any more shows like this or do u no any other channels wat do plz Bro? ps. wast that long ago if u think about it eh...!
The guy they mentioned Chester Weger while discussing the kitchen work.... just got approved for parole. Many believe he was innocent. He's been in there sense 1961.
thats crazy. still alive. After all these years
*since
_Who else was hoping that the opening would be dubbed with _*_IRON MAIDEN?_*
Hey!Richard Head!Have you seen Hugh Jorgen lately?🤣
"We have enough prisons to last a hundred years"
You sure about that
Prison Population
In the 1950s, there were about 23,000 people in federal prison and 186,000 in state prison.
As of 2016, 2.3 million prisoners
What do you suggest, Michael? Not putting violent criminals in prison? Not putting chronically violent prisoners in prison? Why waste your pity on those who prey on innocent people?
about 50% of incarcerated people are in for non-violent drug offenses
High time this system was introduced in the uk
It used to be....back in the same era.
Crazy to think everyone in this movie are dead now, everyone
Technically maybe not. 18 year old might be 80 now. Still alive
that's not true Chester just got out in 2021
@@isisbeck2374 well then, almost everyone ..?
People live to their 90's and even to over 100 so a 20 year old in the mid 60's could still have a decade or more of living.
If you can't do the time, you won't do the crime. There are consequences to every single major or minor action we take. Spend your time wisely, the devil WILL find work for idle hands and CRIME DOES NOT PAY.
Sylvia Frank Get a life, douchebag. No one asked for your input.
Bishop228 .. I'm sorry if my comment offended you or brought back unpleasant memories. Accept my apology.
I do not desire anyone to learn life lessons in a correctional facility.
Really Trump seems to have made a life of crime and anti social behavior pay
Devil is working your hands on that keyboard lol
@@mdlclassworker3384 so did your dad, too bad you followed in his footsteps. 😜
Conditions here are so bad that one inmate was overheard describing the terrible conditions as "Almost like being in a prison!" That's pretty bad.
California used to have probably the Best Prison System in the U.S., if not the World. It was all about Education, Schooling, and helping guys get back on track. Then in the late '70's, early '80's, the Democrats and their Liberal Minions came along and decided to change it all. Now we have one of the Biggest and Worst Run Prison Systems in the World. And guess what else? The California State Prison System had at one time the Best, World Renowned Underwater Welding School in the WORLD. They guys who managed to handle the Grueling Program Graduated to be the Highest Paid Welders in the World...but then the Democrats killed it, just like Everything Good. Oh, and the Dairy System? Yep, the Finest in the U.S....Private or otherwise....and they killed it.....
Great video
@20:00 Chester Weger who was serving a life sentence got paroled last year after 59 years.
Prisons and even psych wards need to be completely rehabilitative during their time away. I'm not saying have a murderer feel like he is staying in the Hamptons but at least treat them with a decent facility that they can be rehabilitated in.
Ask the victims if they were treated decent.
Filmed back before Prison for Profit.
Prison has always been for profit.
I don't believe in "private prisons", they can get away with so much.
Yes, back in the good old days of imprisonment... Pbbbbffffff!
You're kidding yourself. Profiting from inmate labor is as old as the nation itself. Older even.
@Dan Gar wow that's interesting
No problem if an inmate wants to commit suicide. Then they can just Harvest your organs and make big money off of a prisoner. That's what's really going on in the prison systems. It's not hard to see and if you know human behavior no matter how high and how low
Black guys then didn’t talk like black guys today
Ebonics is a plague
@@Jay-fp8iy no...the ones speaking it is
Actually all of these guys speak as intelligent as today’s college graduates
@@yoyo5069 hahaha true. As they say "14 do 50"
@Chris Ward Hahaha good one 👌
Worked there from 1998 to 2002.....
I think he said 225,000 prisoners (state and federal) nationwide!
keep in mind the human population was only like 1.5 billion to mmaaybe 2 billion at the time
The one thing I don't agree with is an inmate can't sell his paintings. If he's not offending his victim's in any way, such as writing a book about his crime, what would a painting of tree's, or flowers, etc. hurt?
This was before the street gang took control. 1980s Statevlille was gangland and no joke.
The late 60's their were still gang in prison at this time...
It is nice that they make the guards wear bow ties
6:54 does he mean when he say's if you pass something 'when your have a crap?
Imagine having the head boss of a news corporation be so adamant about clarifying the information presented on their airwaves that an editorial was added to the documentary for including the prisoner's perspective.
Sounds nice.
sheeeeeeeeit....Prisons today GOT IT MADE in comparison. Indoor rec. Outdoor rec. Tv's in yer room. Personal TV's with headphones. (Not one movie a week). Three meals a day PLUS Canteen. (Not one meal a day) and the meals aren't horrible. Theyre not great, but they aint horrible. And back then Rape went on, now you got too many "He-she's" running around in Prison Giving it up. Not saying rape doesn't happen today, but it aint like some people say it is. The Guards don't beat the dog shit out of you for whistling like they did back then. Prison today can be so loud you cant hear yourself think. None of this quiet all the time shit. The only thing worse about todays Prisons are the prisoners. The culture today is loaded with bonafide psychopaths. Im sure there were nutcases back then...but they didn't get away with shanking each other like they do now. I knew a guy who shanked 17 people in Augusta Va. Same thing at Red Onion. Plus most of the ciminally Insane are in todays general population in Prison. Saw a few of those guys too. But if you have half a brain and know how to handle yourself, Prison can be a very educational experience in the darker side of human nature....and a place to reeeeeeeeeeeeeally sober up... figure out who you are and where your going in life. And learn to NEVER AGAIN take your freedom for granted.
What year was this recorded
Fun fact: Chester Weger from the kitchen was released on parole in 2020
Richard Speck who killed the student nurses did his time at Stateville. But it was party time for him. There is a video of him with women's underwear on. A much different prison from the Stateville portrayed in this video. They mention IL governor Otto Krenner he later did time in Federal prison for Tax invasion and other crimes. The prisoner convicted for the Straved Rock triple murder is still doing time. Tourism droped off for years after those murders. We went there at time and we basically had the park to ourselves. That might of been a wrongful conviction.
I'm pretty sure the Speck video was after he got shipped to Pontiac CC.
Send pics with the undies on...
Or it didn't happen.
@@ahklys1321 😆 🤣
@@ahklys1321
Something to add to your porn collection?