More Prison Break Ramblings...
Okay so I know the numbers aren't really used on the show at all and pretty much only exist in the Bio's but I wanted to explain my intense hatred for the Bio's and why I don't consider anything on there worth a crap. This is me telling you what the numbers are really for and what the hell they should mean.
PRISON NUMBERS
Are fucked up beyond belief and apparently assigned randomly in this show's reality. In our reality? Your number explains how long you've been in the prison system, you can go out and come back in and you will have that same number forever in that state. It is absolutely impossible for someone who has been in for almost thirty years (Westmoreland) to have a higher number than someone who has been in and out throughout their entire life (Sucre) because there is no way without time travel that Sucre was sentenced to prison seven thousand inmates before Westmoreland was.
On the Bio's (Which I hate with a fucking passion and feel the need to state again) they mention that Westmoreland has been in Fox River for twenty-eight years. Uh, no. Let me explain this again. When someone enters into a state prison they are issued a number. This number states how many people entered prison in the entire state before you did. When you get transferred from one state to another you get a new number and keep the old.
Example: Inmate A is incarcerated in Arizona. His number is 170190. That means he was the one hundred and seventy thousandth, one hundred an ninetieth person to enter in the prison system in the state of Arizona. Inmate B is also incarcerated in Arizona. His number is 192520 and he went into the Arizona State Department of Corrections three and a half years after Inmate A. That means that in three and a half years 22,330 (Twenty-two thousand, three hundred and thirty) people were incarcerated (Sent to a state prison, not a city jail) between the two of them.
Inmate A is transferred to Texas suddenly and receives a new number, 212253. Inmate A is the two hundred and twelve thousandth, two hundred and fifty-third person to enter into the Texas Department of Corrections. If he ever gets arrested again in and sent back to and Arizona prison he number will once again be 170190, because that was his number the first time he entered prison in that state.
Inmate B is released after an unspecified amount of time. Twenty-four years later he and Inmate C are arrested and sent to prison together in the sate of Arizona. Inmate C has never been to prison in Arizona before and is therefor new to the system. Inmate A is once again given the number 192520 while Inmate C is given the number 3821147. This means that in the twenty-four years since Inmate A first entered into the system three million six hundred twenty-eight thousand, six hundred and twenty-seven (3,628,627) people were incarcerated in the Arizona State Department of Corrections.
The following bullshit is taken directly from the Bio's. Emphasis mine.
NAME: Michael Scofield
BACK NUMBER: 94941
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 40
CRIME: Armed Robbery
SENTENCE: Five years
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: Five years
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Two years, six months
NAME: Lincoln Burrows
BACK NUMBER: 19138
LOCATION: Death Row, Cell 18
CRIME: First degree murder, Aggravated discharge of firearm
SENTENCE: Death by electrocution
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: 9 days
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Inmate is not eligible for parole
NAME: Charles Westmoreland
BACK NUMBER: 82978
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 13
CRIME: Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking, Vehicular Invasion, Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless Homicide
SENTENCE: Sixty years to life
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: The rest of his natural life
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Twenty six years
NOTES: Charles Westmoreland is one of Fox River’s longest tenured inmates, currently serving his twenty eighth year.
NAME: Fernando Sucre
BACK NUMBER: 10960
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 40
CRIME: Two counts of Aggravated Robbery
SENTENCE: Seventeen years
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: Nine years, ten months.
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: One year, four months
NAME: John Abruzzi
BACK NUMBER: 11846
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 96
CRIME: Murder (2 counts) Conspiracy commit murder (2 counts)
SENTENCE: One hundred and twenty years
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: 117 years, 6 months.
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Inmate is not eligible for parole
NAME: Theodore Bagwell
BACK NUMBER: 41118
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 16
CRIME: Six counts of Kidnapping, Rape and First Degree Murder
SENTENCE: Incarceration for the rest of his natural life
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: The rest of his natural life
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Inmate is not eligible for parole
NOTES: For his most serious crimes, Bagwell was sentenced to Alabama’s Donaldson maximum security prison where he immediately assumed a leadership position in the Alliance for Purity. In fact, under Bagwell, the Alliance became so powerful that Donaldson’s warden was forced to disband it, transferring its members all over the country. When Bagwell landed in Fox River, its chapter of the Alliance was non-existent. Thanks to the charismatic “T-Bag,” two and a half years later it is one of the most powerful gangs in the prison.
According to this pile of shit? Going by the number Sucre went to prison before any of them. Then Abruzzi, Linc, T-Bag, Westmoreland and then finally Michael. According to the Bio Westmoreland (who had been at Fox River for twenty-eight years) did not enter the Illinois State Department of Corrections until after Sucre, Abruzzi, Lincoln and T-Bag.
According to the notes and sentences? Westmoreland (28) arrived first followed by Sucre (8), Abruzzi and T-Bag (2.5 a piece), and then Michael (Weeks). We know that Linc has been there longer then Michael but most likely less then Sucre. If we want to throw in a dose of reality he's probably been there longer then T-Bag has, but then again that's only if his lawyer went through with several appeals. I'm really not going to get into the whole thing where lots of people sit on death row for twenty+ years before being executed because I'm sure the writers have all that being fast-tracked by the USVP herself.
I understand that they probably didn't want to use real people's numbers (I meanwhile have no qualms about it obviously) but they could have at least set the numbers in the right order. I'm about 99% positive that the writers just took some five-digit numbers and slapped them on randomly. That's just sloppy.
PRISON NUMBERS
Are fucked up beyond belief and apparently assigned randomly in this show's reality. In our reality? Your number explains how long you've been in the prison system, you can go out and come back in and you will have that same number forever in that state. It is absolutely impossible for someone who has been in for almost thirty years (Westmoreland) to have a higher number than someone who has been in and out throughout their entire life (Sucre) because there is no way without time travel that Sucre was sentenced to prison seven thousand inmates before Westmoreland was.
On the Bio's (Which I hate with a fucking passion and feel the need to state again) they mention that Westmoreland has been in Fox River for twenty-eight years. Uh, no. Let me explain this again. When someone enters into a state prison they are issued a number. This number states how many people entered prison in the entire state before you did. When you get transferred from one state to another you get a new number and keep the old.
Example: Inmate A is incarcerated in Arizona. His number is 170190. That means he was the one hundred and seventy thousandth, one hundred an ninetieth person to enter in the prison system in the state of Arizona. Inmate B is also incarcerated in Arizona. His number is 192520 and he went into the Arizona State Department of Corrections three and a half years after Inmate A. That means that in three and a half years 22,330 (Twenty-two thousand, three hundred and thirty) people were incarcerated (Sent to a state prison, not a city jail) between the two of them.
Inmate A is transferred to Texas suddenly and receives a new number, 212253. Inmate A is the two hundred and twelve thousandth, two hundred and fifty-third person to enter into the Texas Department of Corrections. If he ever gets arrested again in and sent back to and Arizona prison he number will once again be 170190, because that was his number the first time he entered prison in that state.
Inmate B is released after an unspecified amount of time. Twenty-four years later he and Inmate C are arrested and sent to prison together in the sate of Arizona. Inmate C has never been to prison in Arizona before and is therefor new to the system. Inmate A is once again given the number 192520 while Inmate C is given the number 3821147. This means that in the twenty-four years since Inmate A first entered into the system three million six hundred twenty-eight thousand, six hundred and twenty-seven (3,628,627) people were incarcerated in the Arizona State Department of Corrections.
The following bullshit is taken directly from the Bio's. Emphasis mine.
NAME: Michael Scofield
BACK NUMBER: 94941
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 40
CRIME: Armed Robbery
SENTENCE: Five years
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: Five years
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Two years, six months
NAME: Lincoln Burrows
BACK NUMBER: 19138
LOCATION: Death Row, Cell 18
CRIME: First degree murder, Aggravated discharge of firearm
SENTENCE: Death by electrocution
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: 9 days
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Inmate is not eligible for parole
NAME: Charles Westmoreland
BACK NUMBER: 82978
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 13
CRIME: Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking, Vehicular Invasion, Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless Homicide
SENTENCE: Sixty years to life
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: The rest of his natural life
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Twenty six years
NOTES: Charles Westmoreland is one of Fox River’s longest tenured inmates, currently serving his twenty eighth year.
NAME: Fernando Sucre
BACK NUMBER: 10960
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 40
CRIME: Two counts of Aggravated Robbery
SENTENCE: Seventeen years
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: Nine years, ten months.
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: One year, four months
NAME: John Abruzzi
BACK NUMBER: 11846
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 96
CRIME: Murder (2 counts) Conspiracy commit murder (2 counts)
SENTENCE: One hundred and twenty years
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: 117 years, 6 months.
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Inmate is not eligible for parole
NAME: Theodore Bagwell
BACK NUMBER: 41118
LOCATION: General Population, A-Wing, Cell 16
CRIME: Six counts of Kidnapping, Rape and First Degree Murder
SENTENCE: Incarceration for the rest of his natural life
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: The rest of his natural life
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Inmate is not eligible for parole
NOTES: For his most serious crimes, Bagwell was sentenced to Alabama’s Donaldson maximum security prison where he immediately assumed a leadership position in the Alliance for Purity. In fact, under Bagwell, the Alliance became so powerful that Donaldson’s warden was forced to disband it, transferring its members all over the country. When Bagwell landed in Fox River, its chapter of the Alliance was non-existent. Thanks to the charismatic “T-Bag,” two and a half years later it is one of the most powerful gangs in the prison.
According to this pile of shit? Going by the number Sucre went to prison before any of them. Then Abruzzi, Linc, T-Bag, Westmoreland and then finally Michael. According to the Bio Westmoreland (who had been at Fox River for twenty-eight years) did not enter the Illinois State Department of Corrections until after Sucre, Abruzzi, Lincoln and T-Bag.
According to the notes and sentences? Westmoreland (28) arrived first followed by Sucre (8), Abruzzi and T-Bag (2.5 a piece), and then Michael (Weeks). We know that Linc has been there longer then Michael but most likely less then Sucre. If we want to throw in a dose of reality he's probably been there longer then T-Bag has, but then again that's only if his lawyer went through with several appeals. I'm really not going to get into the whole thing where lots of people sit on death row for twenty+ years before being executed because I'm sure the writers have all that being fast-tracked by the USVP herself.
I understand that they probably didn't want to use real people's numbers (I meanwhile have no qualms about it obviously) but they could have at least set the numbers in the right order. I'm about 99% positive that the writers just took some five-digit numbers and slapped them on randomly. That's just sloppy.