All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
My name is Robt Ochoa, and I am a farmer from Avenal, California, where I have lived my whole life. I am a hard-working, honest citizen and I have never been in any kind of trouble before. Which why I was very surprised when about a month ago I received a summons to appear at the State of Oak Hampton Courthouse on Friday, November 23. I have committed no crime and I pay all the taxes I should on my meager income, so I had no idea what it could possibly be about. The only other information the summons included was on how I should dress - I am not a rich man so I had to beg and borrow something resembling a suit from my kind-hearted neighbors.
When the day of my court appearance came around, I made the long journey from Avenal to the courts in the state capital. Upon arrival at the courthouse I, along with several others, were ushered into a waiting room where a nice lady had some tea and cakes for us - and a friendly lawyer assured us that everything would be all right and that we had nothing to worry about. From here we were called into the courtroom and stood in line before the Judge. He called us up one-by-one, and before I could say much more than my name, I was found guilty of Battery and sentenced to five years in prison.
I was shell-shocked. The clerk handed me my papers and ushered me out of the courtroom where I was greeted by another lawyer. This man offered me condolences, and told me and my fellow 'criminals' that we should listen to the man in the next room because he could make our incarceration a bit more bearable. By slipping him 20 bucks, he could give us a 'Library Card,' which he promised we could use for more than just literary fulfillment. What he didn't warn us about was the obvious contempt this man had for us.
With our library cards in our hands we were sent outside into the cold courtyard, where we were lined up against a wall by a surly prison guard, who constantly threatened anyone who spoke. From here we were frog-marched to a bus with blacked out windows and driven off into the night. No one had any idea where we were heading and the guards told us very little. After a terrifying drive which seemed to last forever, we were ordered off the bus and marched through the gates of the place we would now be calling home - Oak Hampton State Penitentiary. It was an imposing, decrepit and unwelcoming place. As we walked into the courtyard, brightly lit from the watchtowers, we could hear shouts of 'New Fish' from the other inmates. What could they mean? I really didn't want to find out.
The guards here were even meaner and harder than the ones at the courthouse - if you even looked at them in the wrong way, you were forced to "drop and give them 20." I dread to think what would happen if you failed, so I kept my mouth tightly closed. We were told to strip to our underwear and given our prison uniforms, then marched off to the cellblock. On the way past the shower facilities we could hear screams of agony as a naked prisoner was being beaten by a guard. Once in our cells, we were allowed to dress again before the 'lights out' call and we were again plunged into darkness.
As I lay on my bunk that first night, wondering what on earth had gone wrong in my world, I could hear a whimpering coming from across the cellblock. One of my fellow 'new fish' was crying out, saying he was claustrophobic and that there'd been a big mistake, he didn't belong here. We all silently prayed for him to be quiet so as not to bring on wrath of the guards, but to no avail. Soon the Captain was back and shouting at the poor fellow to 'be a man.' When this had the opposite effect, he took out his night stick and began savagely beating him as a warning to us all. It was a very quiet night after that, not that any of us could sleep.
As the days, weeks, months, and eventually years went by, we all got more used to our new environment. Our library cards served their purpose, allowing access to many forbidden fruits (even including alcohol). They didn't last forever, but replacements could be brought if you had the means and knew whom to talk to. We formed little groups of like-minded individuals. There were many activities to keep us occupied, from gardening to card crafts, bicycle repair to candle making, all carried out under the watchful eyes of the guards and our warden. It wasn't so bad as long as you did as you were told, and managed to stay out of the way of the more unsavory elements of the prison. There were even occasional rewards like the prison band being allowed to play in the canteen in the evening.
Of course, there were the bad times too. Prison can be a very lonely place. The guards were generally quite vicious and reveled in their authority. There were regular fights in the yard, sometimes the guards broke them up, but most of the time they were just left to run their course. Occasionally, things got out of hand, and people were seriously injured - some even killed, like poor Tommy. The guards said he was trying to escape. No one really believed that - but what could we do? Speak up and suffer the same fate? No thank you, sir. We all sang a hymn for our departed brother and got on with keeping our heads down.
Very occasionally, we got to see a fancy Hollywood movie. Me and the guys all secretly hoped it would be a Rita Heyworth one - the way that gal flicked her hair was simply mesmerising! The gymnasium would be filled with as many chairs as the prison had, and still some of us had to stand or sit on the floor. The show usually began with a short information film before the main feature started and those flickering images gave us all the briefest of glimpses of life in the outside world. How we longed for those moments - the joy, the tears, the suspense - and how we all hated being reminded of that world beyond the bars too.
Eventually, my time at Oak Hampton State Penitentiary came to an end when my parole was finally approved. I have never been a happier man than when I left that place behind me, even walking out onto the road in the middle of nowhere, and in the middle of the night, with no idea how to get home or even if there was still a home for me to go to.
I had my freedom, and that was all that mattered.
[Editors' Note: This post was originally run last week, but taken down at the request of the Secret Cinema, as the particular production was still running, and the post contained spoilers.
