Did you ever wonder what it's like to be arrested, go through the courts and end up inside a modern U.S. prison? You know, the stuff mainstream media doesn't show? When you watch the evening news do you ever consider what happens to the guy after the police arrest him? Ask yourself, "What is it like to go through the judicial system in 1990s America?" Well ... take your shoes off and put your feet up, because I'm about to tell you.

When the police have arrested someone for ... let's say, possession of marijuana, the officers fabricate two or three additional charges. The reason for this, as many a rookie cop will attest, is that when the person goes before the judge, the prosecutor will have more bargaining power, more ammo to use against them. In reality this is done to save money, the cornerstone of our system.

You see, if a person chooses to contest the charges due to improper seizure, bad evidence, etc., this will bring about a trial. Trials are expensive. So by creating multiple charges the D.A. can offer a deal to the person by saying "We'll drop all these other charges against you if you only plead out to the possession charge." This unspoken arrangement between the D.A. and the police is what decides the outcome of many a first-time offender. Too scared to roll the dice in a jury trial? Why not be scared? If you decide to risk it you can be assured that the D.A. will be pissed because yours is one more case that couldn't be closed out early. The judge will also take your self-assured behavior as combative to the court, so when you lose (and ultimately most do) the sentence handed down is usually the maximum. This is your punishment for not "taking the deal" that was so generously offered in the beginning.

Does this seem like extortion to you? "Take the plea or we'll nail you in trial"--or better yet "Save the state some money and we won't give you as much time." As I'm sure you can guess, most cases plea out before trial. Why risk it, right?

The problem now is that when you're sent to prison the classification system uses your original charges to determine what security level you're assigned to. So when that officer on the street decided to charge you with resisting arrest, felony flight, and other padding ... he also influenced you being viewed as an escape risk and a disciplinary problem. So now (first time in prison, remember?) you are sent to the Maximum Unit to do your time. Nonviolent victimless crime and you're being housed with the cream of the convict crop: murderers, rapists, psychopaths, child molesters, prison gang leaders, etc.

Once you arrive at the unit you're assigned to, you are immediately set upon by the guards. Excuse me, they like to be called "Correctional Officers" these days. This job is so unrewarding yet so demanding that most prisons are understaffed. To combat this problem, the prison administration advertises on radio, TV, and in the print media. Over the years the hiring standards have ebbed to the point that anybody over 19 with no criminal convictions is a candidate. Nevertheless, this hiring blitz hasn't worked so well, so now the prisons are turning to high technology to help solve their staffing problems. They figure that with new computer-controlled, compartmentalized prisons they can halve their work force. The days of the stereotypical prison guard who stood over six-feet-tall and weighed in at over two hundred pounds are gone; now it's retired persons who count heads and monitor a console all shift. This group is the working force behind the modern prison. Their job is not to subdue inmates when necessary--that job is left to the Quick Response Tactical Support Units. Or in other words, a paramilitary fast action team complete with all the latest in riot suppression gear. The TSU is employed to literally "kick ass and then take names."

The second threat you will encounter will come from members of your own race who run the prison gangs. At this point a decision will have to be made on whether you want to do your time with pride, honor, and dignity or whether you want to avoid a confrontation and do whatever it is they ask you to do. You will be "checked on paper," which means they want to see your court transcripts for signs of a snitch or something else like that. Or you will be "heart checked," which amounts to you standing your ground against opposition. The opposition can come to you blind--someone you've never seen will jump you--or it can come from the leaders pressing you to do something for them--i.e., stabbing, beating, clubbing, doing the dirty deeds that no one else wants to do. Either way there's no right way to proceed; your fate was determined before the test occurred. The "test" wasn't to check your mettle, it was to check your resolve. If you pass, you can count on many years of tension and high drama. If you fail, you can also count on many years of tension and high drama.

While in prison, you will be given the opportunity to work for 5 cents to 50 cents an hour doing everything from scrubbing toilets to hacking weeds on a road gang. Since most units have many more inmates than there are jobs, the jobs have a value of their own. There is no welfare within the walls. All supplies must be paid out of your wages. A lucky few get to work in America's version of the Chinese prison industry. And there is no mistake ... it is a privilege to get one of these jobs. The prison hires out to private contractors the inmates working on a given crew. The prison is paid minimum wage for each inmate that works. Do you think the inmate gets the full wage for the work done? Of course not! Most guys clock an average of 2 dollars per hour for the work they do. The other 3.50 goes directly to the state. Out of your 2 dollars, the money is distributed as follows: one-third pays the state for room and board, one-third goes to the inmate's spendable account, and the remaining amount goes into a reserve account set up by the state for the inmate's release fund. Who's getting the interest?

So what's wrong with our prison-mentality society today? Many people still believe that prisons are "correctional." Many people don't understand what really goes on in our criminal justice system and are content to stay with the status quo. What they don't understand is that upwards of 75% of the people in prison today will get out in 5-10 years or less. A large number of these people will be sociopathic ex-cons, but an even greater number will be something far more important to the average American. They will be your neighbors.

David Seif writes from inside the Arizona State Prison in Tucson, Arizona.