Dane County Jail

Jail Layout

Interview with Todd


JM: How many different blocks were there?
Todd: I don't really know. Oh wait, there were 4 or 8 blocks per floor.

JM: Did they have names? If so, what were they?
Todd: They had numbers and letters. The number was the floor. The letter was the block (or pod)

JM: Which inmates were housed in the different blocks?
Todd: Severity of the crime and general behavior was the criteria that determined where you were placed, I think.

JM: What do you remember being the nicest and worst parts about the different blocks?
Todd: Dane Co. jail has a good general library and also a legal library. The book cart with selections was changed once a week but- this did not happen regularly. The worst part was not-knowing. Also, people were going through all sorts of withdrawal whether from alcohol, nicotine, or other drugs. I definitely recall "rules" being posted and then being openly ignored and not enforced except by the whim of the deputy. A prime example was a large sign that said: "No chairs in the bathroom" and the first thing you saw when you went in was a chair! It was veteran inmates that pointed the rules out to new inmates, not their job, but this pointed out to me their basic human goodness in wanting there to be some sort of recognizable order in their lives.