We are not attorneys and do not offer legal advice. If you are facing criminal charges we suggest you talk to a professional attorney.
Ben's* Sentencing
LA County Jail Interview
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
Jail Media: Once you got your sentencing, how long was your sentence for?
Ben Smith: They gave me a year in LA County. I only did 10% of that. I did 37 days exactly. That was really odd, but a lot of people do get 10%. Rumor has it, though, if you have any violence on your record, that goes right out the door. You won’t get 10%. Somehow, though, I got Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and they gave me a strike, and I still only got 10%.
Jail Media: So if you have violence on your record, do you have to do limited time, or the full amount?
Ben Smith: Someone that has a violent record will do at least 50%. I think it comes down to if you’ve ever done State time – if you’ve ever been to a state prison. If so, you’ll probably do 50%. Everyone else will do 10-25%.
Jail Media: That’s all based on good behavior?
Ben Smith: Kind of. It’s really based on the computer. They’re constantly kicking people out. LA has no room for anybody. It’s not great to get in trouble, but if you’re going to, do it in LA because they have no room for criminals at all. If you’re not going upstate, you’re going to get out of county real soon. My advice is don’t bail out. Go to jail, go to court. Even if they sentenced you to 30 days, you’re only going to do 3 days, and it takes almost a day to process in, and a day to process out, so you’ll be there less than a couple of days. People get real intimidated because of what they’ve seen on TV and other things, they think it’s really brutal in there, but it’s not. It’s really laid back. If you mind your business, you’re not going to get in trouble.
