Sedgwick County Jail

Leisure Time

Interview with Roderick


JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Roderick: There aren't any facilities available. There is a common day room where you can talk, watch one of two t.v.s, read, write letters or play cards which is the big favorite for relieving boredom.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce?
Roderick: Sometimes arguments about what was going to be watched and when would ensue. Depending on who the guard on duty is these disputes are either settled by a show of hands vote, or simply turn the tvs off and nobody watches anything.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Roderick: When I went into jail I was 94 pounds and a size 2. Fifteen months later I was released weighing 189 pounds and was a size 18. I had to be given a paper suit to wear out of there since my cloths obviously didn't fit. The only excercise offered is to walk laps around the gym. On rare occassions they take you up to the roof and allow you an hour of being outdoors. You can also sometimes get a basketball and shoot hoops in the gym.

JM: How often did you get to go outside?
Roderick: They are SUPPOSED to allow you one hour per week weather permitting to be outside but they don't come anywhere close to meeting that. In the fifteen months I was there we we're only allowed out twice the entire time. And then only the first fifteen inmates to make it to the front desk are allowed out.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Roderick: Chapel was offered every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening and you we're allowed to go as long as you aren't flagged against another inmate who is attending. All pods go at the same time with only a separation between male and female inmates. There is alot of singing and giving of testimony and the preachers focus there sermons towards the lives of inmates.