Just about anyone who has been through the Texas jail or prison system can attest that living behind bars is unpleasant. You may spend the majority of your day looking forward to the few minutes you have to speak with loved ones on the phone. You would be remiss to speak with your friends or family members from prison in the same manner that you may, say, at home, though, because doing so could come back to bite you. In fact, the things you say on a prison phone can potentially even mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal.
Why? First, you should never assume to have any degree of privacy when speaking on a jail phone, so, a good rule of thumb is to never say anything you would not also say in front of a judge. Otherwise, you run the risk of having someone use the things you say on the phone against you in court; whatever you say during your recorded phone calls is potentially fair game. Just how might you incriminate yourself when speaking to your loved ones from a jail phone?
Examples of self-incrimination
Say, for example, that you are in jail because you drove under the influence and found yourself involved in a serious accident that left someone injured or dead as a result. Maybe your breath or other test results were inconclusive, but you then admitted to consuming a large amount of alcohol, drugs or what have you during a jailhouse phone call. You can expect that your admission will come to light in court, where it will almost surely work against you.
Similarly, say you face charges for a violent crime against law enforcement officers. You discuss your distaste for authorities during your phone calls. This, too, could come back to bite you, as others may argue that it shows premeditated actions.
Ultimately, anything you say on a jail phone could potentially come back to haunt you. The next time you find yourself facing such circumstances, tread extremely carefully to avoid making more trouble for yourself.
