Josh and Anna 56: AMA and Stuck in Duggarville?

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

14 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

It became such a problem that there is even a federal law that says no cell phones for inmates at federal prisons.  So Josh, if the story is true, broke another federal law.  That's one reason the consequences can so serious. 

I have a family member who is a CO and he says much of the time it's the staff who smuggle in phones and many of these phones have access to the internet.

Somehow I doubt Josh paid for a phone in order to call and text his family.  Given the conditions of his future release, if he was brazen enough to attempt to access the internet in prison, I can't see things going well when he is released never mind during the rest of his prison stay. Rules don't apply to Jim Bob's special boy. 

[Tangy Bee]

Not trying to be gross...but there are other ways to smuggle things into prison....😒

[BullyJBG]

17 hours ago, AussieKrissy said:

I more think he was out there for his own safety, maybe he has been threatened. 

That is possible. Josh being a public figure, they may be trying to make sure no one catches any glimpses of him. Such as any of "Crystal"'s sources. She says they're those who also have a loved one in that facility. But still, if they came to visit their loved ones, they don't share the visiting room; they may pass each other in the hall, but they don't see everything. But even so, if Josh is in a different place, that would make sense; so whatever visits Anna may make, or anyone else, aren't caught by anyone.

[Coconut Flan]

Visits with inmates in the SHU may be video only.  One of the facility's visiting documents seemed to indicate that.  

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

1 hour ago, BullyJBG said:

That is possible. Josh being a public figure, they may be trying to make sure no one catches any glimpses of him. Such as any of "Crystal"'s sources. She says they're those who also have a loved one in that facility. But still, if they came to visit their loved ones, they don't share the visiting room; they may pass each other in the hall, but they don't see everything. But even so, if Josh is in a different place, that would make sense; so whatever visits Anna may make, or anyone else, aren't caught by anyone.

I doubt any prison staff member is impressed enough with Josh's D-list status to worry about his privacy. If he were in actual danger, they might segregate him for protection, but this is a minimum security prison where serious threats are less likely to happen. 

[Coconut Flan]

Josh is in a SOMP facility.  He shouldn't be at elevated risk there.

[Father Son Holy Goat]

8 hours ago, Tangy Bee said:

Not trying to be gross...but there are other ways to smuggle things into prison....😒

Could Anna have smuggled something in by putting it inside a baby’s diaper then letting Josh hold said baby?

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

13 hours ago, Father Son Holy Goat said:

Could Anna have smuggled something in by putting it inside a baby’s diaper then letting Josh hold said baby?

I love it. Josh n' Anna, master criminals! Maybe she should try the nail file in the cake trick next time.

But my guess is if he had a phone, he bought it in the prison black market. Jim Bob's money again?

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, Anne Of Gray Gables said:

I love it. Josh n' Anna, master criminals! Maybe she should try the nail file in the cake trick next time.

But my guess is if he had a phone, he bought it in the prison black market. Jim Bob's money again?

Yea, I get a feeling if this story is true  he bought it on the black market. I don't know how the money system works but maybe Anna slipped him a few dollars. Not to buy a phone but to buy essentials and food? And I'm sure it is JB's money. 

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

17 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Yea, I get a feeling if this story is true  he bought it on the black market. I don't know how the money system works but maybe Anna slipped him a few dollars. Not to buy a phone but to buy essentials and food? And I'm sure it is JB's money. 

I'm sure his commissary account is always fully funded, so he probably has a trade business going on, if only to stay on the good side of others.

I've read that phones in prison sell anywhere from 500 - 3000 bucks and that prisoners can make money charging people to use them as hotspots to connect to prison-issued tablets. (Josh wouldn't have a tablet issued due to the nature of his crimes.)  How that amount of money gets transferred to the seller, I don't know, but illegal phones are common enough so I'm sure there are established procedures in place in every prison. 

[Lady Dondarrion]

Is there a way to trace contraband purchases to people on the outside? If so, is there any legal charge for it?

[Ais]

18 hours ago, Father Son Holy Goat said:

Could Anna have smuggled something in by putting it inside a baby’s diaper then letting Josh hold said baby?

I really hope not. That to me seems so much worse than any other option as it means at some point he has removed it from the child's nappy/diaper.  

[sndral]

On 2/13/2023 at 4:06 PM, Father Son Holy Goat said:

Could Anna have smuggled something in by putting it inside a baby’s diaper then letting Josh hold said baby?

Anna’s not smart enough to figure out how to smuggle a cell phone in - she & her baby would set off the metal detector that all visitors have to go through. All purses/diaper bags are searched - some prisons require items be in clear plastic bags rather than purses. Visitors cannot take cell phones in. 

[Dandruff]

1 hour ago, sndral said:

Visitors cannot take cell phones in.

Can clergy?

[Expectopatronus]

I kinda doubt it’s true. Josh is too annoying to have connections who will sell him a cell phone. He’s pretty cocky and I would be shocked if that buys him friends who will risk getting more time to help him break the rules. 

[sndral]

1 hour ago, Dandruff said:

Can clergy?

I don’t know about clergy - if they are employees maybe? Volunteers like Anna’s dad - that’s a good question & probably depends on the specific prison’s rules.

I entered several of the prisons in my state as a government employee for a specific purpose & sometimes I couldn’t take any phone in, sometimes I could take my government issued phone in but not my personal phone, sometimes I could take both in.

[Mama Mia]

I don’t think Josh is a criminal mastermind with some complex system to obtain contraband. He’s just a regular prisoner who is wealthier than most,  so has a lot of commissary on the books all the time. So he can trade ramen and combs and cookies and socks for cell phone access from some one who has that to barter. And if the story is correct, got caught. That’s it. 

[Four is Enough]

21 hours ago, Anne Of Gray Gables said:

I'm sure his commissary account is always fully funded, so he probably has a trade business going on, if only to stay on the good side of others.

I've read that phones in prison sell anywhere from 500 - 3000 bucks and that prisoners can make money charging people to use them as hotspots to connect to prison-issued tablets. (Josh wouldn't have a tablet issued due to the nature of his crimes.)  How that amount of money gets transferred to the seller, I don't know, but illegal phones are common enough so I'm sure there are established procedures in place in every prison. 

As Anne of Gray Gables said, commissary accounts are handy for trades, but the trades are limited. Josh could, perhaps, purchase a television and Play Station and games, then give it to another inmate.

Once my son was telling me about a trade that went down where he was. I forget exactly what the buyer got, (maybe a super elaborate tattoo) but the seller then asked the buyer to arrange for his mother to receive money for her bills.  So the buyer (on the inside) got his mother (on the outside) to pay for the seller's (on the inside) mother's (on the outside) electric bill. The machinations are complex.

The most I've been asked to do is to call another mother and tell her that her son is ok, maybe because his phone account is being withheld, OR, calling a  mother to ask if she is ok, because the other inmate has no money and the mother has been ill.  Make no mistake, prison  becomes a community. I wonder if Josh has learned, internalized, or appreciates that fact.

[Expectopatronus]

Inmates are allowed to have their own television and PS? Where I live, prisons are so overcrowded that inmates are sleeping on the floor because there’s no room for another bed in the cell. A lot of the institutions are at double capacity or more. Needless to say, Covid was a huge problem in crammed facilities. 

[Kiki03910]

@Mama Mia is absolutely correct. Solitary confinement is torture. It should be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Even for a disgusting pig like Josh.

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/12/08/solitary_symposium/

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

9 hours ago, Kiki03910 said:

@Mama Mia is absolutely correct. Solitary confinement is torture. It should be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Even for a disgusting pig like Josh.

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/12/08/solitary_symposium/

There's "torture" and then there's a brief "time out".

I fully agree long term solitary should be considered a form of torture and for most inmates surely does more harm than good.  But considering the nature of Josh's crimes, if he did try to access the internet in prison I've no issue with him getting a time out segregation in a minimum security facility for a few weeks to try to get him to think twice before he does it again. What else can you take from someone already in prison?  No pudding tonight?

 

[Giraffe]

57 minutes ago, Anne Of Gray Gables said:

There's "torture" and then there's a brief "time out".

I fully agree long term solitary should be considered a form of torture and for most inmates surely does more harm than good.  But considering the nature of Josh's crimes, if he did try to access the internet in prison I've no issue with him getting a time out segregation in a minimum security facility for a few weeks to try to get him to think twice before he does it again. What else can you take from someone already in prison?  No pudding tonight?

 

Yes, in the US the way solitary is done is torture. It’s naive to think of solitary as a “time out.” The Mandela Rules advise solitary not be used for more than 15 days but according to this pbs report 30 days is the bare minimum. Many people are in solitary for decades. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-justice/locked-up-in-america/how-much-time-u-s-prisoners-spend-in-solitary/

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

23 minutes ago, Giraffe said:

Yes, in the US the way solitary is done is torture. It’s naive to think of solitary as a “time out.” The Mandela Rules advise solitary not be used for more than 15 days but according to this pbs report 30 days is the bare minimum. Many people are in solitary for decades.

Assuming he was punished at all, I doubt Josh was locked down for more than a brief period.  He's in a minimum security prison and it's not like he's foaming at the mouth and trying to attack anyone who comes near him. 

As he has funds and therefore no need for for a basic flip phone to make calls to his family, if he did have a phone, I'd guess it was for internet use. Considering the reason for his conviction (not to mention his post-conviction limitations on internet usage), what do you think the consequences should be?  Or should he just be reprimanded and told not to do it again? 

[Chickenbutt]

Josh had his appellate hearing today. WOACB is airing (it is audio only. No cameras)  the entire hearing (she comments occasionally). Its about 45 minutes. I listened and in my mind it didn't go well for Josh. His attorney is focusing on Caleb, Josh invoking his right to an attorney, and the Meta Data stuff, which is all BS IMO. The Government was concise in their answers and Gelfand sounded like he was whining. 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Chickenbutt
clarity

[marmalade]

Gelfand didn't do well when questioned by the judge. He should have done a better job at anticipating what the judge would question.