A Former Inmate Has Gone Viral For Her TikToks About Prison Life, And Here Are Her 14 Most Eye-Opening Stories
"They refused to give us tampons."
Disclaimer: The following stories are one woman's experience. They do not speak for all inmates, and prison conditions vary across the United States.
Jessica Kent has 400,000 YouTube subscribers and 671,000 followers on TikTok. She's raising her two daughters in Chicago and just got engaged to her true love.
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At first glance, one might look at the 31-year-old's life and see the American dream. But Jessica's story is far from perfect.
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Jessica told BuzzFeed that between the ages of 12 and 23, she battled drug addiction. This landed her in prison for the first time at the age of 17 for criminal sales of a controlled substance.
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She served one year in a New York prison, then violated her parole. Jessica was arrested again and charged with three additional felonies: possession of meth, delivery of meth, and possession of a gun. This led to a five-year prison sentence in Arkansas.
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She's been out of prison for about seven years now and is nine years sober. In that time, Jessica has become a full-time YouTuber, received her Bachelor's degree in correctional program support services, and is currently working on an autobiography. Her YouTube and TikTok content is comprised of informative videos about her prison experience, drug addiction, and recovery.
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Here are 14 eye-opening experiences Jessica has shared on TikTok from her time in prison:
1. Jessica gave birth to her first daughter while she was serving time, and she was shackled to the hospital bed. "That was the most traumatic experience I've ever gone through in my entire life," she said.
@jesken12 Reply to @just_lynz #prisonfacts #jessicakent #prisontok #laboranddelivery #prisoner #inmate #prisonstories #chains #handcuffs #felon #ihadababy #jail
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
Her legs were shackled to the bed as she delivered. After her daughter was born, she was taken into foster care. When Jessica was released from prison, she worked for over a year to finally get full custody of her child.
2. If women had their period, their needs were often ignored by the correctional officers. Jessica saw some women who had bled everywhere, but it still took hours for the officers to bring them clean clothes or sanitary supplies.
@jesken12 Reply to @rebeccacrowe2k07 #prisontiktok #prisoner #prisontok #jessicakent #prisonstories #prisonstorytime #jail #jailstories #jailtiktok #prison
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
3. The Arkansas prison refused to give the inmates tampons. They would give each woman 2–3 pads per day if they asked, but sometimes the correctional officers said no because "they were out of them." The women would use the few pads they had to create makeshift tampons.
@jesken12 no u can't donate them 2 prison #jessicakent #prisontok #tampons #mentralcycle #women #prison #prisonfacts #prisonstory #jail #jailstories #pad
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
4. The prison served something called "meatwad" during dining hours. It was literally written on the menu as "meatwad." Meatwad was a ball of mystery meat that was hard, smelled terrible, and had weird fibers in it.
@jesken12 #prisonstories #prisonstorytime #prisonfood #jessicakent #prisonlife #prisontiktok #prison #jail #jailstories #inmate #inmatesoftiktok #jailbird
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
5. Breakfast was typically comprised of orange juice, milk, coffee, really mushy oatmeal, powdery eggs, and old bread. Jessica said the meal was just enough calories for a typical breakfast meal, but it was very difficult to choke down.
@jesken12 #greenscreen #jessicakent #prisontok #prison #prisonstories #prisontiktoks #prisonfood #prisonmeals #prisonlifestyle #prisonlife
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
6. A lot of women made makeshift sex toys by carvings bars of soap into their preferred size/shape, and wrapping it with a latex glove.
@jesken12 #stitch with @felonellen #jessicakent #prisonrelationships #prisonlove #lgbtq #prisongirlfriend #prisonlife #prisonsex #prisontiktoks #women
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
7. Some women get into sexual relationships with the correctional officers. This is illegal, so the officers are charged and arrested if they get caught. Jessica said they almost always get caught because the inmates see everything going on.
@jesken12 #jessicakent #prisonlife #prisonrelationships #prisonlove #prisonfacts #prison #prisontiktok #prisoner #correctionalofficer #inmate #inmatesoftiktok
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
8. The inmates didn't have access to tweezers, so they would do their eyebrows using thread. Jessica threaded eyebrows as a side hustle.
@jesken12 #jessicakent #eyebrowthreading #eyebrows #prisonhacks #prison #jail #prisontiktok #prisonhustle #prisonfacts #prisonlifestyle #felon #inmate #fypシ
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
9. If inmates wanted to iron their clothes before a visitation or court date, they had a special method. They would fold the clothing as perfectly as possible, put a little water on the crease, then place it under their mattress. After sleeping on it for a night or two, it would typically look "ironed."
@jesken12 #prisontiktoks #prisonlifestyle #jailhacks #prisonhacks #jail #prisonstories #jessicakent #prisonfacts #felonsoftiktok #felon #inmate #prisoner #foryo
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
10. The people who had the most respect in prison were "lifers," aka people who committed murder and are spending the rest of their lives in prison. The people who had the least respect in prison were "chomos," aka child molesters.
@jesken12 #prison #prisontok #prisonfacts #prisonlifestyle #jessicakent #prisonfight #lifer #prisonlife #jail #jaillife #prisoner #inmate #felonsoftiktok #felon
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
11. Jessica said women at her prison in Arkansas were not given the option to terminate their pregnancy if they were arrested while pregnant.
@jesken12 #abortions #abortion #jail #pregnant #pregnancy #jessicakent #prisonreform #prisonfacts #jailstorytime #iwenttojail #lockedup #prisontiktok
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
12. The sleeping situations in prison were difficult for Jessica. When she was in an open dorm, she only felt comfortable falling asleep when most people were already asleep. She felt more relaxed in a "closed tier" where she had one other roommate — but in a closed tier, you have to sleep on top of the bed (blanket and all) instead of inside the bed because everything needs to stay tidy.
@jesken12 #jessicakent #prisonbelike #prisonlifestyle #prisontok #prisonrules #prisonreform #prisonlifestyle #jailstories #jail #addictionrecovery #fy
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
13. Jessica got in trouble at the prison in Arkansas, and her punishment was having to be in a "chain gang." For hours a day, she was forced to be outside in the blistering Southern heat and had to dig up the grass with a gardening hoe. She didn't get any water breaks and had to continue even when her hands were cut up and bleeding.
@jesken12 #jessicakent #prisonstorytime #prison #prisonjobs #prisonlife #prisontiktok #prisonjourney #prisonlifestyle #prisonstory #inmates #inmate
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent
14. Lastly, Jessica talked about what someone's last day of prison looks like. It's considered disrespectful if you take any of your hygiene products or food into the "free world," so people often give a lot of their belongings to fellow inmates. Then you go to intake, change into normal clothes, sign a bunch of forms, and brace yourself for the outside world.
@jesken12 #prisontiktok #prison #leavingprison #lastday #jessicakent #jail #prisonlife #prisonfacts #prisontok #inmate #prisoner #felonsoftiktok #jailfacts #fyp
♬ original sound - Jessica Kent