Having done time in state and federal prisons, I chuckle at this. A prisoner who befriended me when I first went to federal prison told me, "The only guys who

Having done time in state and federal prisons, I chuckle at this. A prisoner who befriended me when I first went to federal prison told me, "The only guys who get hurt in prison are the ones who deserve it." It boils down to a simple set of rules for surviving prison: 1. Be very respectful of everyone. You don't have to be friends, but you need to be courteous when it is required and practice avoidance when that is required, also. 2. Don't associate with the wrong crowd. In the federal pen, a new convict started hanging out with the AB's (a white supremacist gang). About 7 months later, someone in the law library stumbled across the new guy's case during some research. The new guy was in for running a child prostitution ring. The AB's murdered the new guy. They really didn't have a choice in the matter, as they would be seen as weak to the other gangs if they didn't. 3. Take care of your own problems. If someone disrespects you, you sometimes have to man up (after trying to resolve the issue with the gang bosses) and fight the guy. Typically in this situation it is a fist fight. Even if you get your ass beat, the whole population will respect you better because you don't take crap. 4. Don't ever, ever, ever (did I emphasize this enough?) go into debt to any other convict. Not for drugs. Not for alcohol. Not for cigarettes. Not for anything. This always ends bad, with either a knife in your kidney or you exposing your family on the outside to extortion. It is hard to get out of debt on prison income, and very easy to borrow from a friendly loan shark. 5. Get your routine and stick to it. It makes the time go faster. It helps you stay clear of the chaotic elements of prison population. 6. Hear nothing, see nothing. Don't spread rumors. If you get pegged as a "rat"/"snitch", you will never shake it, and your life will become pure hell during your entire prison stay. Those are the main ones for avoiding 97% of trouble in prison.