Normally, crying is a way for someone to express their emotions, whether it’s disappointment, anger, annoyance, or emotions that have been bottled up and are exploding at a certain time. But it’s a different thing when someone cries in prison. Why?
Well, crying in prison is not limited to emotional outbursts; it will lead to a very complex and complicated thing that may happen next. Depending on the individual and situation, crying in prison can have different consequences, but not to get sympathy from other inmates.
We think crying in prison is such an interesting topic to discuss, and it’ll give us enlightenment regarding the story behind the crying of an inmate in prison. Okay, let’s uncover it below!
Crying in Prison: What Will Happen to the Inmate?
Crying should not be unusual. But doing so, especially crying out loud, in a masculine prison environment is strange and rare, like a solar eclipse. Keep in mind that there’s no simple answer to what will happen when an inmate cries in prison.
There’s no doubt that different prison cultures and norms will also bring different reactions, including crying. In men’s prisons, crying could be a sign of weakness or vulnerability that invites intimidation, victimization, blackmail, harassment, or even exploitation from other inmates or prison guards.
Even though not everyone in prison is a predator, protecting your own safety from all these dangers can be better. That’s why many inmates try to hide their tears behind closed doors or with their heads under the covers and/or avoid crying in public.
Aside from actually feeling sad, there are some possible reasons why an inmate is crying in prison, such as:
- Since crying could be a sign of trauma, depression, or mental health problems, some inmates may cry to get help, while many may suffer in silence. To prevent unwanted things from happening, like a risk of suicide or self-harm, some prisons may offer counseling to inmates who are indicated to have a mental illness.
- To overcome stress, guilt, or grief, which are common emotions, some inmates may prefer to cry. If we find inmates who get support from their cellmates, families, or friends, we can’t also ignore some who are hopeless and feel isolated.
- Some inmates may also cry to manipulate other inmates or prison guards to get sympathy, favors, or leniency. It can happen when inmates fake or aggravate their tears to achieve their goals.
One thing is for sure: It’s not easy to judge and generalize the experiences of inmates who are crying in prison. However, they may have different intentions and feelings behind their tears.
Some Awful Crying in Prison Stories
If collected, there will be lots of sad stories from former inmates and current inmates about how they have lived in prison and also how they experienced their first night in prison, making you never stop crying.
In some forums, like Quora, you’ll find dozens of stories regarding crying in prison, and most of their stories are so heartbreaking. And we’ve summarized some crying in prison stories that we got from many people’s experiences. Here are some of them:
Story 1: A 19-year-old young inmate’s sad story
This story was obtained from a former senior inmate, who did not provide the name of the facility. He experienced something unusual while in prison, where he heard a young man sobbing continuously.
Although crying, especially in a men’s prison, is a sign of a person’s weakness, for him, the teenager’s sobs touched his conscience as a father. Yep, he was concerned about what the child was crying about.
He understands how emotions are expressed, especially since he is still very young and has to live among lions, tigers, and bears. Even though he often encounters inmates who cry but try to hide their sadness, for him, the teenager’s sobs are different.
Rumors circulated that he had recently argued with a guard about leaving his cell without permission. He was well aware that it was difficult for the teenager to be locked up 23 hours a day due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Shortly after being locked in his cell, he started cursing the prison guards while crying loudly. This surprised the other inmates because the problem was that simple, but he didn’t stop crying.
This prisoner, who had lived in prison for a long time, really wanted to comfort the teenager and ask about the true situation, but he couldn’t.
The next morning, he came out of his cell and confronted the teenager. He was shocked to learn that the teenager’s father had just died a week earlier. The teenager’s face really showed the regret inside him that he lost the person he loved so much but couldn’t see him one last time because he was in prison.
There was nothing more he could say to the teenager because this was so heartbreaking. The crying that seemed non-stop turned out to contain a feeling of deep sadness.
Story 2: Elizabeth Holmes, a young mom, has to leave her two children due to prison sentences
Holmes has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being found guilty on four criminal charges for fraud through Theranos, her health technology-based company. She was alleged to have developed a blood testing device that performs a series of tests with just one drop of a patient’s blood.
However, what Holmes claimed was not proven, as the device could not carry out many functions, so the startup went bankrupt after receiving many complaints. Ultimately, she was charged with fraud.
The New York Post journalist, who was tasked with photographing the situation at Federal Prison Camp Bryan near Houston, took the photographs of Holmes when she first got a prison visit. The photo shows Holmes, her husband, Billy Evans, and her parents, Christian and Noel, last Saturday.
One thing that was heartbreaking was that Holmes cried during the visit. She seems desperate because she has to stay behind bars to serve such a long sentence. It is known she had two young children, son William and daughter Invictus. However, neither of them was visible.
She ultimately ended up in prison, but not without a defense. It is known that she has waged a long legal battle to have her sentence postponed pending the outcome of the appeal.
Okay, those are the two heartbreaking stories about inmates who should spend their lives living in prison. Of course, you can still find more crying in prison stories, either from videos, forums, or blogs.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
