Former Inmate Reveals What Her First Day In Prison Was Like

A former inmate has revealed what her first day in prison was like. Watch here:

Jessica Ken uses her TikTok channel to open up about her experiences behind bars, and now she has relived her very first day in prison.

Jessica has spent a total of about five years incarcerated, including one year after being arrested aged 17 for criminal sales of a controlled substances; two years for delivery and possession of meth and simultaneous possession of drugs and a firearm; and multiple shorter stints for parole violations.

In a video shared with her 733,000 followers, she said: "So what does your first day in prison look like? Well, it's a really rough day.

"Every state is different, every place handles it differently, but usually you're transferred from a county jail, you're chained up, handcuffed up, and sent to prison in a van or a bus.

Instagram/@jesken12

"Now that's usually a really long ride because prisons are in the middle of fricking nowhere, and no you can't stop for a bathroom break or food.

"That was very difficult when I was pregnant because you have to pee every 10 minutes, so for four hours I had to sit there having to pee, it was very painful for me."

Things didn't get any better upon arrival at the prison either.

Jessica recalled: "They strip you naked, they cover you in lice shampoo - that smells for three days - you have to squat and cough to make sure there's nothing inside of you, that's really f***ing traumatic and really awful and humiliating."

Next came a barrage of questions, which was quite a lot to handle.

Jessica said: "Intake is like, 'If you die who do we call?', then you have to go to medical and tell them if you have any issues, then a psychiatrist is like, 'How are you feeling today?', and you're like, 'What?'.

"You look shell-shocked almost because it's so traumatic to go through all of that."

Jessica also recounted her last day in prison, which was extremely stressful too.

She said: "You have to pack up all your stuff, give away your stuff. Now, it's a little disrespectful if you take things home like deodorant, or shampoo stuff, hygiene items, makeup if you have it, food especially."

She continued: "It's a very nerve-racking time. You don't know whether you're going to get out at 8am or 2pm, and you just never know, and you're nervous and you're stressed.

"I was especially nervous last time because I was homeless and I was an addict and I had nowhere to go, so it was a very challenging thing."

Thankfully for Jessica, she is now sober and uses her social media platforms to call for prison reform.

Topics: Interesting, Community, Prison, TikTok

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey