Category Archives: 55 Days In Maricopa County Jail

by Brian A. Wilkins
12/8/08

A tie-in to the “55 Days In Maricopa County Jail” blog.

It is after 3 a.m. In a little more than four hours, I will show up at this call center and telemarket for 9 hours per day, Monday through Friday (and sometimes Saturdays), just to ensure I will eat one meal per day, be able to pay my one-month-behind-and-counting rent and pay the 200-plus annual percentage rate on a car title loan I had to get just to move into the apartment I currently live in. I would not normally be up at 3 … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/30/08

This day corresponds with Tuesday, July 29. Court Dates were all the same; with slight variations. The first was the worst in every way since I had yet to experience actually GETTING to court.

Around midnight of the day you go to court, a guard will speak to you through the intercom in your cell. “Wilkins…you want to shower and shave for court?” Sure I’d love to shave, but not with the cheap, disposable razors they give you. Plus I guess it would have been too humane a gesture for them to provide shaving cream (which … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/24/08

In hindsight, after reviewing Arizona statutes, I should have shot and killed the radical who extorted and attempted to rob and assault me while he was in my place. A dead suspect with knife in hand, according to several law types and others I’ve spoken to, would have likely put me in a better situation.

For those of you unfamiliar with Shannon’s Law, a statute making it a felony to “negligently” discharge a firearm in a city’s limits, it was enacted in 2000 after Shannon Smith, an eighth grade girl, was struck in the head … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/24/08

This day corresponds with Monday, July 28.

“You’re fuckin’ dead, nigger!” my neighbor said. He stabbed me numerous times until I woke from my sleep. I hit my head so hard on the ceiling, I thought I was concussed. This nightmare happened nearly every night I actually slept soundly. It was scary, as was the lump on my head from banging it on the ceiling. But what was I going to do? Go to medical for help? I think not.

Only a few minutes after the doors opened for the morning, a D.O. yelled from … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/24/08

This day corresponds with Sunday, July 27.

I’d been up most of the night coughing up phlegm and sneezing. Sleeping in a refrigerator with a blanket that barely covers your body will do that to you. But I figured it was much worse for people who were in those tents. Around 6 a.m., the doors didn’t open like they normally did. Enough time went by that the 8 a.m. chow was brought to the cells by a team of inmates. Mario said we were on “lockdown” and there was no telling when they would let … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/20/08

This would be my first Saturday of many in LBJ. I had to start accepting the possibility of not getting out AND losing my job on Tuesday…or getting out AND still losing my job. Either would have been bad, but I definitely preferred the latter if I had to choose. This day corresponds with Saturday, July 26.

“Sup man…your people are first in line for haircuts if you want one.” When Chino introduced himself to me, I asked him why they call him Chino. “I guess because I’m Chinese,” he said. “But you’re Korean aren’t you?” I asked … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/20/08

This day corresponds with Friday, July 25, 2008. Advisory: contains some adult language.

“Wilkins!” I heard a voice while I was half-sleep at about 645am. I was cold, tired, and my neck was ALL messed up from sleeping – if you want to call leaning my head on a cold metal table while sitting on a cold, concrete  “chair” – sleeping. “Wilkins!!” I had forgotten where I was, but the voice through the intercom snapped me back to reality. “What?”

“Come down for medical!” the voice said. I had already been through this medical mess … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/15/08

This day corresponds with Thursday, July 24. I did not have a chance to get out of there until July 29, the next court date. My new job at the University of Phoenix was to start Monday, July 28 and all I could think about was if I was going to be able to make it there.

Though I was more tired than I’d probably ever been in my life, I only slept solidly for a couple of hours. Not only was that cell approaching 55 degrees, but the air conditioning vent was only 3 … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/14/08

This is Day 2 of the “55 Days in Maricopa County Jail” series. This was July 23, 2008. Note: Some names in the story are deliberately changed to protect the identities of those who did not give me permission to use their name.

It had to be well after midnight and I hadn’t moved a muscle in over 6 hours. Many of the 70+ men in the “tank” had lied down on the filthy concrete floor hours ago and fell asleep. Many of them had their face a few inches from someone else’s butt; others were contorted in position I’ve … Read Entire Article

by Brian A. Wilkins
11/14/08

This is Day 1 of the 55 days I spent in Maricopa County Jail.

It was about 4 a.m. on Tuesday, July 22 when I was put into a cold, empty cell; not knowing what was going to happen next. I assume it was located at the Tempe police complex near 5th Street and Mill Ave. I was really tired, but had no intentions of sleeping in there. I went down to my knees, faced a wall, and just stared blankly at it for who-knows-how-long.

An hour or so later, a female cop came by … Read Entire Article