Prisoner In Bang Kwang Needs Visitors.

[Fidel]

Hi,

A friend of mine, Gary Graeme Jones, 56, is a British prisoner serving 25 years in Bang Kwang for trafficing heroin.

He's a really nice guy but he's finding it difficult to adjust to prison life.

It would be great if someone could visit him or send him a letter every so often.

To the best of my knowledge he has had no visitors as some other guy keeps bribing the guards into calling out his name every time some visitors come.

His address is as follows:

Gary Graeme Jones,

D2, Bang Kwang

117 Nonthaburi Road,

Nonthaburi,

11000,

Thailand.

You can visit him on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Below are instructions taken from www.khaosanroad.com:

Getting there:

From Banglampoo Pier (Khao San) take the big whistling boat going upstream (to the right). It costs 6 Baht to Nonthaburi and takes 40 minutes. Nonthaburi is the last stop and you will recognize it by the white clock tower by the pier and the AMPM convenience store. Jump off the boat and walk straight on - ignore the touts! Take the 1st left and walk about 250 meters. You will see Bang Kwang prison on the right. You will need to go to the registration area on the left...

Dress:

Guys must wear long trousers. Dress respectfully, whatever your sex. It really pisses the guards off girls wearing tiny shorts and vest-tops. Please dress properly because there are rumors the prisoners' visits will stop because of backpackers. Make sure you know exactly who you will call out as well - it annoys the guards when people ask for names they don't know. If you want names you can call the relevant embassies: UK Embassy - 02 305 8333 - ask for Maureen, Kate or Anita. They will not give prisoners' names over the phone though so you will have to go down to the embassy in person to meet them. American Embassy and others may give names over the telephone - I'm not really sure.

Food:

If you bring food from outside put it in a large clear bag. You can buy bags at the registration area cafe for 2 Baht. Write the name of the prisoner you are visiting on the bag. After you have visited the prisoner, you have to hand the food in at the counter (where 100 people or so hang around!). You hand in the original form and your passport. Wait for your passport to come back (usually takes 10 minutes) and off you go.

Books, etc.:

If you want to bring mags, books or papers hand, them into the Foreign Affairs office on the right as you go into the prison area. Leave the prisoner's name and building number on the cover and they'll get them... Don't bring magazines with too many naked pictures in them though - they won't get through. Other info: Please be aware that the prisoners sometimes have family or friends visiting. Look in the registration book to see if someone has already called out the prisoner you are visiting. It's very frustrating for prisoners when they have people they know over and someone randomly chooses to visit them! Beware that in August and December this may occur more often because that's when contact visits take place and families come over... Be very careful at these times. Very few women get visitors and have to rely on missionaries.

If you visit tell him Shane will be contacting him soon with a letter and pics.

Cheers,

Fidel!

[Guest IT Manager]

Credit to you for caring enough to let people know.

In Chiang Mai, there is a lady from the First Church of Chiang Mai who goes out to the prison every week and takes stuff out to foreign residents, calls family, organises stuff for people locked up and liaises with the Consuls.

Credit where credit is due, she does an incredible job apparently.

[jonniebkk]

r u for real man...visit some guy who is guilty of trafficing in heroin. he can stew in ###### for the next 25 years alone...and with his new boyfriends. the only thing i would give someone like him is a big tube of KY.

if someone wants to help those in need, pick a children's or handicapped persons charity. let those who are doing time do their time.

[Begs]

JONNIE,

People are people, sometimes they make mistakes, sometimes they are so desperate for money they make rash decisions, a 25 year sentence is a long sentence, i am sure that the original guy that posted will think you are a right prick.

So i guess you wont be going to visit this guy then?

[KevinN]

Sounds to me like JohnnieBKK has it thought out pretty well, If the ###### is in for smuggling dope,so what,maybe they should have shot him,you know they are in the habit of doing that,cheaper to bury em than to support em.

Why don't the thai govt. charge the home country for their expenses of keeping a prisoner for such charges,stead of raising rates for legal farang that spend money which in turn must help the economy.

I say if he is in for dope then let the bastard stay,maybe at 81 yrs.of age he will be to ###### old to run dope.

[taxexile]

being banged up for 25 years is a just punishment for heroin dealing/trafficking.

but being banged up is punishment enough.

visits,food parcels,books,news from the outside and someone new to talk to now and again may just help some of these characters to keep their sanity whilst they reflect on the errors of their ways.

type "onelifesusan" or "susan aldous" into google to read about a falang woman who visits thai prisoners in nonthaburi who have been abandoned by their families and have no visitors or money.

[Rolling Stone]

Sorry but he made his bed now he can lie in it. Everyone makes wrong choices in life its true, but anyone that contributes to the distribution of that poison deserves nothing but a cell.

Just another POS looking for the easy way in life and willing to contribute to the destruction of others lives to attain it. No sympathy here, sorry. Wanna sell some weed more power to you but heroin? I don't think so.

Keep it real!

[jjrbus]

I like to think of myself as a kind, compassionate,caring and forgiving person. I have visited people in jails and corresponded with some. I can find no compassion for this person and think that the penalty for drug dealing should be death. If he had not been caught he would still be out there ruining peoples lives and living high off the hog.

Think about your child, and this person in the pipeline getting heroin to them, what would you do if you caught him.

Jim

[Begs]

Yes Rolling stone, i see where you are coming from, and sure, Heroin is bad Karma, and these guys that traffic are taking a real big risk, some are junkies themselves and do it cos its the only way to get another fix. Sad all round, i see peoples points, i hyad my place broken into in London by a friend who was a Junkie, plus a Junkie in Bkk owes me 60,000 baht for the last 30 months.

But the guy in question is in Jail, he is doing his time.

Kevin i am surprised at your attitude, you being a friend of Bill W, Alcohol was the drug of your choice, but for the grace of god....etc...

But i do Agree Heroin is Bad news...Bad Karma....the guy may have been stupid, but jails are full of stupid people the world over.

[Begs]

Do you believe that people that are involved in the sale or manufacture of a powerful drug that ruins the lives of so many people in the world, directly or indirectly, deserve to die for their crimes?

Death to all Bar Owners and Brewers.

Alcohol is the worst drug on the planet, it kills thousands more each year than any illegal drug, it affects Millions upon Millions of people the whole world over, if i produced a pill or a powder that was as potent as alcohol, and sold it, i would be locked up for life, yet i can buy a lorry load of Whisky anytime.

I Think Alcohol, Tobbaco, should be added to the class 'A' prohibited drugs list.

Hehe, this should ruffle a few feathers

[KevinN]

BEGS,Yes being a friend of Bill W. I can understand some stuff,but alcohol is one thing,smack is something else,

My oldest son died with the needle still in his arm and my other son died because of aids from dirty needles,I have no use for junkies and pushers are right at the top.

I am a firm believer that when a supplier of the stuff is caught he should be shot right between the eyes,end of problem,only so many would take the chance,I have worked with horse shooters and seen it ruin their lives in a hurry.

I am afraid that a dope dealer will get no sympathy from me.

[chonabot]

I Think Alcohol, Tobbaco, should be added to the class 'A' prohibited drugs list.

Jesus Christ! I'm up for 3 life sentences then.....

Begs will you bring me a file in some extra large Tort Mun Pla?

Seriously though , I get pissed off with some folks having a go at me for the occasional puff of weed , when as you say , Alcohol has killed millions literally.

Heroin though?.............uh uh.

[jonniebkk]

i have no doubt that this guy has already received more consideration than he is probably entitled too. trafficking in drugs is a capital offense in most of se asia, including thailand. it is more than likely that this fella received the death sentence at his trial. it is my understanding that all death sentences are automatically presented to The King for review and possible clemency. Because he is a foreigner, His Majesty probably commuted his sentence to 25 years in prison.

Now some may argue that 25 years in Bang Kwang is worse than death (and from what I have read about the place, they are probably right) but others will say that any life is better than death. In all likelyhood, after a set number of years have been served, this fella will be remanded to serve the rest of his term in a British prison.

So overall, I would say he has already received considerable sympathy from the Thai people and, as to his sentence, is getting his just desserts.

[Guest IT Manager]

My oldest son died with the needle still in his arm and my other son died because of aids from dirty needles,I have no use for junkies and pushers are right at the top.

Hmm, KevinN maybe we should trade MSN addresses together. My oldest son who we took on at 11, is now 17 and got AIDS in Chiang Mai from a dirty needle, shared with 4 others up to 16 years old.

All the rest are dead, the last one dying 18 months after that night.

[fred110]

I wish they would be so hard on child molesters. I stay in south Pattaya and I see many underage boys going into my hotel all the time. Would the police do anything if called?

[Begs]

I wish they would be so hard on child molesters. I stay in south Pattaya and I see many underage boys going into my hotel all the time. Would the police do anything if called?

Yes Fred they would.

[kwiz117]

He deserves “Death Sentence” for his action. 25 Yrs is not enough.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I wish they would be so hard on child molesters. I stay in south Pattaya and I see many underage boys going into my hotel all the time. Would the police do anything if called?

Go for it Freddy. The cops will act pronto...give 'em the room number/s

[Whiplash]

Well, its a position he got himself into.. I can't really say I am sorry for him, because he got cought doing a serious crime.

But as the standard of the prisons here in Thailand my thought goes out to him and his family in some way anyways, I hope it was a desperate move that made him do this crime, not just a want to make a quick buck..

Doesn't his country have some treaty that allows him to serve the rest of the sentence in his countrys prison system ?

Some countries has such a treaty. My home country Sweden has one.

That allows the prisoner that is sentenced to a term of over 10 years i believe, to serve the rest of his sentence in a prison in his home country, but the sentence can not be cut, the Thai sentencing still stands.

I don't remember the exact number of years, about 15 years ago a young Swedish lady got cought at the aiport in BKK trying to smuggle heroin out of the country.

I believed she got sentenced to 45 years in prison, after serving 10+ years she managed to get herself transfered to serve the rest of her sentence in a Swedish prison, mind you there was no cut in the time she will have to serve.

She was grateful because she did'nt think she would last much longer in a Thai prison. But now she will survive the stay, having alot more quality of life, although she will be an old maid when she finally gets out..

[Fidel]

What Gary did is wrong... there is no question about that.

All I'm asking for is a bit of compassion.

Sure he did it out of desperation... I could go into his whole life story but I won't.

My friend's little brother, 16, died as a result of a heroin overdose... I don't argue with his sentence but I want to help a friend out..... make his shitty life a little easier... or more bearable....

Up to you guys... don't talk about Karma if you have no understanding of it.

If anyone can find it in their hearts to write to the guy or bring him some basic comforts it would be great... otherwise, please stop trying to add to his torment.

Thanks,

You're a lovely bunch of people...

[Fidel]

Guys,

just reading over the replies again I realised that some of them were quite positive.

This guy is a friend of mine who strayed... through desperation.

I don't want to step on any toes here but where I come from Heroin users are also considered the scum of the earth and are responsible for 80% of the crime.....

He got what he deserved but... I'm the kind of person who finds it hard to write someone off to a hellish existence when I could do something to make him feel human again.

[KevinN]

BEGS,what the ###### you talkin about,,I think booze is fine for them that can handle it,it was made to drink,I had a lot of fun with it before I got to be a full fledged alkie,I was born an alkie,when ever I had a drink I got drunk or at least tried,but then it came a time when I couldn't get sober then it was no fun no more,but it is fine for them that wants to drink it,,smokin a little dope is also fine, but there aint no man alive that can handle smack,it is a killer,just like coke and anyone that traffics in that shit should be shot on the spot. but as far as alcohol,it is a fact of life and fine with me if them that can handle it uses it, Bill said it and I believe it.

[Begs]

Yea, Kevin, i was only trying to wind people up. By the way i looked at your photos, some good ones, i use a Fuji 4800 zoom Digital. Looks like the kids are getting some shoes through you and some friends. Nice one.

[monitorlizard]

forgot who said this(maybe the Quakers?)

"....you can judge how civilized a country has developed by looking at their prisons"

[george]

Julian Gilbey would also like a visit same prison.. 09-11-2003 - 18:57

October 2003 Brirish Foreign Office Appoint a London QC to advise on Gilbey Appeal & provide support 2 Thai lawyer. Maybe now the austran police & DEA / US embassy will be forced 2 tell court that they knew before arrests that Gilbey did not know about drugs. Plus before arrest & at time of arrest the suitcase was never in Gilbeys pocession it was held by Dutchman Parlivliet & his Thai girlfreind who was nmysteriously aquitted. She was previously seen by agents on 5 previous drug runs

Please see our T.O.S. :

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?act=boardrules

This post is very hard for me as an admin to keep really, but I have not edited it yet, due to time contraints.

Please do not mention other peoples names, when they can not defend themselves. People in Bangkok jail don't have ADSL as far as I know.

Thanks!

/Admin

[bangkok-bob]

I thought that if you got say 25 years in a Thai nick, you have to serve a minimum of 4 years here, and then they send you home to spend the rest of your time there. Obviously they would'nt make you serve another 21 years in a decent western country.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Using JulianGilbeys name is not on and this is a visa and similar site. Posting deleted. Against T.O.S