A group of investigators went undercover into one of America’s toughest prisons to expose conditions those incarcerated there are living under and what they are now saying they endured is nothing short of shocking.
Seven investigators went into the prison system in Clark County Jail in Jefferson, Indiana, for two months to learn what goes on behind those frightening walls. The seven were inducted into jail life under false names and even the guards weren’t told of their intent. What they found out is incredible.
The experiences are re-told in the A&E documentary “60 Days In.”
As Business Insider reports, the investigators found rampant gay sex, prostitution, homemade drugs, constant violence, theft and any manner of deprivation.
According to Business Insider…
At the end of their two months, the participants informed Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel of the inner workings of jail life, like how inmates were inventing drugs with household materials and where they were stashing homemade weapons. They also revealed the psychological toll the deplorable living conditions took on them.
A&E has already completed filming the show’s second season, which will premier in August. The final episode of season 1, a reunion special, airs tonight at 9 p.m. EST.
Drug use is rampant at Clark County Jail. Inmates often invented bizarre homemade drugs to catch a buzz, such as a “crack stick,” made from an electronic cigarette filter.
One participant learned that trustees — inmates selected for jobs like food preparation and garbage collection — were sneaking drugs into the women’s pod on food trays.
In one case, an inmate beat another for reneging on a deal to give away his hash browns. “It’s not really fighting over hash browns,” Zac, one of the show’s participants, said on camera. “It’s fighting over a guy not keeping his word.”
One female inmate attempted suicide by jumping from a second-floor railing.
At one point, an openly gay inmate prostituted himself in exchange for items from the jail’s commissary. Jail staff transferred him out of the pod when they learned of the scheme.
Another shank made from a toothbrush was hidden in plain sight.