I wrote today’s repost on January 12, 2018. I am reposting it because today’s fresh content is about the same topic. I’m mostly leaving the post as/is, which means it was current as of 2018, not 2023.

So…  over the past few days, I’ve gotten hooked on an A&E show called 60 Days In.  This show, which premiered in 2016, is about Sheriff Jamey Noels in Clark County, Indiana who recruits innocent people to voluntarily enter his jail for sixty days.  Eight volunteers were used for the first season.  They flew to Indiana, submitted to being “arrested” and treated just like any other detainee, changed into hideous jumpsuits, and mingled with the legitimate inmates.

Two people were not able to finish their “sentences”.  The first person to leave was a wimpy guy named Jeff who has aspirations of being a corrections officer.  He decided to take part in the program to gain valuable experience.  However, he opted to leave early because he felt his life was in danger.  More than once, Jeff spoke about what it was like being bullied when he was growing up.  However, instead of fighting back and/or standing his ground to the bullies he encountered in jail, Jeff opted to give away his commissary for a lower bunk and allow another inmate to order commissary food using his account.  Another inmate, who was mentally ill and off his meds, punched Jeff in the face, which prompted him to drop out of the program.

I see on Wikipedia that Jeff and his wife, Emily, were also contestants on another reality show called Reality Race, which aired on BYUtv.  Apparently, he’s related to serial killer Ted Bundy.  I’m wondering if he’s LDS, but then I read his Twitter and he’s apparently quite the trash talker (ETA: in 2023, the Twitter account no longer exists).   I’m not sure what he was doing on BYUtv, but it looks like he’s not a churchgoer.  It’s weird, because on the show he came off as kind of meek and afraid, but on Twitter, I see he comes across in a very different way.  I guess being behind a keyboard inspires “bravery”.

The other guy who washed out was Robert, a teacher and artist.  He talks about how he raises money and travels the world to help orphans in poor countries.  He says he does it to make his life matter.  Early in the season, he covers a camera with a towel and gets sent to “the hole” for thirty days.  He apparently enjoys being locked up by himself and doesn’t want to go back into the general population.  Just before they were going to make him go back to the regular cellblock, Robert gets sick and lands in the hospital… where nothing is found wrong with him.

I must say, Robert comes off as more than a bit narcissistic when he speaks.  However, they did show some of his artwork.  I thought it was pretty amazing stuff.  And they also showed him teaching kids art and he’s clearly good with them.  So maybe his calling isn’t to be on reality TV?  I don’t know.  I liked his art, though.  It’s weird and quirky.  He does also make a point that “reality TV” is really just well-edited entertainment.  He’s probably not as weird as he seems.

Muhammed Ali’s daughter, Maryam, is also on the show.  She totally looks like her dad in the face.  She’s a social worker and has sort of a motherly attitude toward others.  She clashes with Tami, a lesbian police officer from Boston who grew up in foster care and evidently has anger issues.  I actually kind of liked Tami.  She seems really intelligent and has an interesting perspective.  There’s also Barbra, who’s a young stay at home housewife.  Her husband is in the military.

Finally, we have Zac, a Marine who wants to go into law enforcement, and Isaiah, a young black man whose mother had him when she was 13.  He seems like a nice person.  Apparently, he’s signed up for this show because his half brother is incarcerated.  His mother wants him to finish the program because she doesn’t want her son to end up in jail.

Okay… so when I first started watching this show, I wondered what in the world would compel an innocent person to willingly give up their freedom for two months.  I especially wondered about Barbra and Zac, both of whom had young children at home.  Zac’s son was only six weeks old when Zac entered the Clark County jail.  Barbra’s sons were older, but still pretty little.  Later, I found out that there was money involved.  I’ll tell you what.  It would have to be a whole lot of money before I would ever agree to voluntarily go to jail. 

The goal of the program was for the participants to observe and later tell Sheriff Noels and his colleague, Captain Scottie Maples (who is very cute), about what they see.  They want to know what goes on in the jail and what they can do to make it safer and more secure.  I was surprised to see that most of the participants were, in fact, able to offer some valuable intel.  A couple of them were even able to parlay the experience into new careers.  Zac found himself a job after languishing in unemployment for a long time.  And Tami, who ultimately decided to quit being a police officer, turned into a jail consultant.

Still… I think it would be extremely difficult to tolerate jail, especially if you aren’t actually guilty of anything.  Two months is a long time to be locked up if you’re innocent.  I know most of the time, you don’t exactly have a choice whether or not you go to jail.  But the constant stress of being locked up… the noise, the smells, the stale air, the ugly jumpsuits and bullies, the horrible narrow cots they sleep on and the awful food, and the fact that everyone looks at you like you’re a violent animal…  I don’t think I could do it.  There’s not enough money that would make me want to do it, even if I came out of it with lots of stories to write and a broadened perspective.  I think I’m just too old and set in my ways.

I finished the first season last night and started watching the second season.  If I know me, I’ll watch it all, even if I think the participants are crazy to do it.  Incidentally, I found out about this show by reading on RfM.  Apparently, there’s a Mormon guy and his son participating in the most recent season. 

After the landlords come over to inspect the furnace (this is a yearly thing), we’re going to go to Rothenburg for the weekend.  I’ve been wanting to go for a long time, so hopefully it’ll live up to the hype.  I hear it’s a beautiful medieval city.