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Having spent 10 years inside I can promise you that you are right.

Of all the things you see on TV and in the movies about prison, the worst two are not shown: total mind-numbing boredom, and your cellmate's farts.



How does a regular shared cell compare to solitary confinement?


Depends on your personality. I started in a single-man cell for the first few months, then I was in the Hole for a couple of stretches and that was solitary, and then during COVID I got my own cell again for about 8 months. I am an only child, so I am incredibly comfortable being alone for long periods. I hate sharing a cell with someone else, as 99% of the time you probably won't like the other person. Most two-man cells only have enough floor space for one person to stand, so you are constantly shuffling around each other. And bumping into anyone in jail is immediate grounds for a fight, so you are constantly on guard.

Plus, no-one wants to be in the same box as another man who is taking a shit. And the food is so bad that practically everyone has diarrhea all day every day.




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