About 20 men of different ages and races sit in a 10×15 foot concrete room, one wall is solid steel bars. Steel benches circle the walls.

“What are you in for?” the large black man sitting just a few feet away shouted at me. I followed the cops advice and said nothing.

“You get busted for selling dope?” the latino guy sitting next to me piped in. He had a tear tattooed on his face, but was just skin and bones and barely 5 foot tall. He hopped up after the question, pacing the cell.

“This is the phone line, I’m next if you want in” he said. I shook my head no. “Free calls man, it’s awesome”.

Sitting in a jail cell, free phone calls hardly seems like a blessing. Something to eat and a warmer jacket were what I wanted.

“So what’d you do man, you rob someone”, the black man continued where my neighbor left off. “Hacking” I finally responded.

“Like you got free internet?” said another man sitting in the cell. The question set off an argument between the men in the cell. “No you idiot., he broke into…”