CHAPTER 13

Good Behavior Vs. Bad Behavior

THE GABBY OL’ ladies in prison love to stand around and talk about who’s getting time off for good behavior. It’s true, you can reduce your time on the inside if you stay out of fights and somehow manage to avoid the ire of a guard. But, of course, the opposite is also true. Earn too many Misconduct Tickets and you’ll not only end up in The Hole, you’ll get years tacked onto your sentence.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officially calls time off for good behavior Good Conduct Time (GCT) and has made the conditions consistent among all the federal prisons. While the BOP uses a complex formula to figure out exactly how much time you can hope for, the GCT customarily equals about 15 percent of the inmate’s sentence. If you go to the Federal Bureau of Prison’s website, you can see an inmate’s current date of release, as long as you have the correct name spelling and inmate number.

Every federal prison also has to adhere to the bureau’s matrix of behavior rules and disciplinary consequences. If you do something wrong, you’re going to earn yourself a Misconduct Ticket and it’s going in your file, also called your “jacket.” Go into another prison anywhere in the United States and pull the same stunt, you should earn the same Misconduct Ticket and penalty. I say “should” because we are dealing with humans here, some being guards who hate their job. But at least that gives you a baseline. You have a good idea of what to expect wherever you go.

I earned plenty of Tickets in my day. I’d get them for fighting but mostly for petty stuff like not standing for the 4:00 p.m. head count, or having contraband—which usually meant I got caught bringing an orange or a biscuit from the cafeteria back to my cell.

The stupidest reason I ever received a disciplinary sanction was for touching a female officer on the shoulder. I was trying to hand her some paperwork; I delivered Callouts to housing unit officers each day, but one day inmates were crowding the doorway I needed to get through to reach the officer. She was surrounded by people, so I called to her a couple of times but it was very noisy. She had her back to me. I simply tapped her on the shoulder while at the same time extending my hand with the Callout Sheet.

Instead of taking the paper, she recoiled and yelled out, “How dare you! Don’t you touch me!”

I cringed in shock, blown away, with no idea it was a huge no-no to lay a finger on an officer, particularly a female officer. She called another officer to the housing unit then asked for my inmate ID Card. I handed it to her, quietly trying to explain myself, but she didn’t reply and later that evening I was called to the lieutenant’s office. I knew I was in trouble—she was a total nutcase with a reputation for being very petty and confrontational with inmates. I was given a disciplinary sanction, this one a 312 shot, for “insolence toward a staff member.” Lieutenant Hampton dismissed it, however, after several inmates reported they saw me innocently tap her to get her attention. I had not been disrespectful toward her at all. Just another example of how important it is that you pay attention to the unspoken rules. I got lucky that time.

Of course, the greater the severity of your conduct, the harsher the punishment. If you’re caught with tobacco, stealing from another inmate, or cursing at a correctional officer, that CO can write a disciplinary infraction, take away privileges like phone and movie night, change your housing quarters, move you to a less-desirable job, force you to work more hours, or impound your personal items.

If you’re caught fighting, stalking, being in an unauthorized area, or making a sexual proposal or threat, the consequences are even worse—they can put you in solitary for weeks at a time, disallow your ability to receive Good Conduct Time, recommend more time to your parole board (if you’re at a state prison), move you into a maximum security correctional facility, or place you permanently in segregation, where you’re in your cell for twenty-three hours a day.

On the other hand, if you’re eligible, you’ll be facing a parole board at some point.

According to the Department of Justice, some states with inmates serving sentences of less than thirty years may apply for a parole hearing within one hundred and twenty days of entering prison. The law requires the Parole Commission to hold hearings every eighteen to twenty-four months, depending on the length of the sentence. At these hearings, the Commission considers whether or not to adjust your release date. If you’ve been good, they can reduce your sentence. If you’ve been bad, or they don’t like you at the hearing, well, they can push back your release date. This is why inmates will spend time and money to make sure they walk in looking rested, healthy, and clean-cut, wearing the best clothes they have access to. If family are allowed to be present, they have to abide by a dress code, so ask them to show up dressed as professionally as possible to make a good impression.

Of course, you’ll want to make sure you maintain your cool, be polite, and do your best to convince the parole board you are remorseful and that you are going to be a beneficial addition to society. It’s always helpful to show the parole board that you are not simply sitting in prison doing absolutely nothing. If you’ve taken courses, participated in self-help groups, or have a letter of commendation from your job supervisor, make sure you present that information to the parole board members.

Hopefully, you really are remorseful. Life is out there waiting for you.

Good luck.