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Ex-Prisoners on the reality of life in prison | You Can't Ask That | Full Episode

ABC Australia

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Ex-prisoners answer the questions most people are too awkward (or scared) to ask about life inside. Talking honestly about everything from drugs and insider relationships to getting out, finding work, and dealing with life after prison. #YouCantAskThat

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this video includes images and voices of Indigenous people who have died.

This episode was filmed in 2016.

Stream all seasons of You Can't Ask That on ABC iview: https://ab.co/CantAskThat
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Asking outrageous, uncomfortable and shocking questions to uncover the truth behind some of the most marginalised and misunderstood Australians.

Insightful, irreverent, moving and unpredictable, this episode sets the record straight about what it's really like to go into prison and come out the other side.

You Can't Ask That — Stream full episodes on our YouTube channel, Sundays 12pm.

0:00 Introduction – Ex-prisoners
0:16 What did you do?
3:20 Were you scared about going in?
5:17 Can you buy drugs in jail?
7:03 Did you have any gay moments in prison?
8:48 Is there much assault in prison?
10:10 What was the highlight of your week in prison?
11:45 Does the ‘drop the soap’ scenario actually happen?
13:12 Does prison work?
15:21 What was the first thing that you did when you got out?
17:33 Is it hard getting work afterwards?
19:13 What was the most important thing you learnt in prison?
20:57 Guest names

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This episode was filmed in 2016.

This episode is in memory of Scott Bolton.

Production Credits:
Directors: Kirk Docker and Aaron Smith
Series Editors: Nick McDougall, Sally Moran
Researchers: Georgie Lewin, Jess Cohen, Ryder Susman, Michael Badcock
Consulting Producer: Jon Casimir
Production Manager: Kieran Bycroft
Executive Producer: Lou Porter
Graphic Design: Shane Sakkeus
Title Music: “Soul Searching” By Amourouge
Format created by: Kirk Docker, Aaron Smith & Jon Casimir

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20 Comments

@abcaustralia Creator 3 months ago Pinned

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers, please be aware that this video contains images of Indigenous people who have died.

@djpaulhannon 3 months ago

The real crime is that piano music playing in the background.

@svict4 3 months ago

"If you go and get me a heliopter, we'll get out. She did it." damn that's gangsta

@staghound26 3 months ago

"I didn't really worry about being caught, my world was already shattered in the first place"
I used to do "work for the dole" with a lot of criminals, and this is very consistent with the vibe I got from them. Not to make excuses for them, but the reality is that most of us who judge them really have no concept of the level of hopelessness they are experiencing, maybe for years or relentless decades on end, and I wonder who among us would endure that and still have humanity and a compulsion to "do the right thing" at the end of it. Some of us would, but a lot of people who judge them wouldn't.

@hoodzzeee 3 months ago (edited)

Wow!!! the older guy, bank robber.......John Killick.
Australia's most infamous helicopter prison escape occurred on March 25, 1999, when armed robber John Killick was broken out of Sydney's Silverwater Correctional Complex.

The daring daytime heist was orchestrated by his then-partner, Lucy Dudko, who hired a scenic helicopter flight. Dudko then held a gun to the pilot's head mid-flight, forcing him to land in the prison’s exercise yard to pick up Killick.

The couple evaded authorities for 45 days before police caught them at a tourist park in Bass Hill. Dudko was convicted of the hijacking and served seven years behind bars. Killick had his sentence extended, spending 15 years in jail before being released on parole, only to be immediately extradited to Queensland.

I remember it well as coppers were searching everywhere with dogs for a month.
We lived near the park he was finally caught at. They came and let the dogs through peoples backyards, garages, under houses etc.
Dad was fuming because we had to keep our dogs locked up which messed with the dogs training, they bred and trained Labradors for the Guide Dogs Association.
Cops broke the side gate and fence, and trashed mums garden. No they didn't repair any damage or cover costs.

@Zerbey 3 months ago

Sad thing is none of them really got rehabilitated by the system, they did it themselves. That's a similar story in the US too.

@tomderri2744 3 months ago

If the section about drugs doesnt point to the abslute corruption in the system.

@kida12 3 months ago

I asked my son what was the hardest thing being in prison. It wasn't the loss of freedom, lack of medical care, lack of decent food, or fear of abuse and disrespect. It was every time we left after a visit. That made me cry.

@notmyrealname776 2 months ago

My uncle was incarcerated at 17 due to causing a lifelong disability drink driving. He was spat out in his 20s, with no idea how to participate in society as an adult and a newfound heroin addiction. He is a deeply compassionate and intelligent man who never stood a chance. He has spent his life in and out of prison because that’s all he truly knows, battling addictions and demons. I steer clear, but am deeply saddened all the same 😔

@jaqcp 2 months ago

I knew a guy who exclusively hired parolees. They knew he had their Parole Officer on speed-dial, so they were the best and most honest employees ever. Never had any problems with them.

@cesspresso 3 months ago

“It’s much harder to get out of prison than it is to get in” That’s a really hard thing to face up to. Not just for them… but for society that creates that reality

@forddriver8827 3 months ago

57yo man who has time in custody with three of these people. I had mostly forgotten how traumatic the system is, regardless of outcome, the fear and desperate mind set on release is something impossible to prepare for. Thanks to the good people l met over 5 years in Australian institutions, everyone deserves a second chance.

@Munrubenmuz 2 months ago

The lady caught for fraud is by far the smartest one there. People from Corrections need to go and talk to her about possible solutions and programs for rehabilitating inmates.

@Kerri-su6jl 3 months ago

Thank you to every person who took part in this interview. You are all doing the good work. And I send friendship and solidarity to each and every one of you!

@Jennifer-ls5ke 3 months ago

Very moving, thank you to all these people for offering something so vulnerable of themselves. You're going to help others doing this. 💖

@da-struth 3 months ago (edited)

Good to see the humanity in this. Most people end up in prison because of circumstance. Over 50% of prisoners have an out-of-home-care background, for example. Having worked with these young people, the system is set up to fail them. The government puts four kids in a house, all from trauma backgrounds, and expects them to go to school, build living skills, all of it. That's not possible when you're searching for a sense of belonging and the peers around you aren't doing those things either.

The reality is most of them end up homeless when they turn 18, then in prison not long after. Remove them, teach them nothing, then off to prison. These kids need to be one-on-one with professional youth workers, social workers and the like. It's proven, it would cut our prison population significantly, and more importantly it would actually protect children, which the child protection system fails to do. Until the public understands the gravity of this, nothing will change. Governments only think in election cycles, and one side of politics is set on bringing in even harsher penalties.

@jessitar15748 1 month ago

Bobby Veen's story is so tragic and the fact that he was locked up for so long, much longer than other murderers. He passed in 2017. May his soul rest in peace and his spirit walk with his ancestors.