JEFFERSONVILLE, In.— After two months of a televised social experiment set at the Clark County jail in Indiana, viewers and jail staff agreed that it was a U.S. Marine veteran who made the most difference. 

Zac, whose last name is concealed for safety purposes, was one of seven people from across the country who volunteered to go undercover as inmates in the jail for two months. Their journey was documented on A&E’s number one TV show “60 Days In.” Season one wrapped up last week and a reunion show aired on Thursday.

Zac made it clear from day one that he had a job to do: Collect intel and report back to Sheriff Jamey Noel. He wants to work drug enforcement. 

“Honestly, with the info I was gathering, it was tough for me. I basically just had to make as many mental notes as I could,” Zac said in an interview before the finale episode. He couldn’t write anything down for fear of being outed as a snitch.

Noel and Capt. Scottie Maples said Zac followed the training they did pre-book in — unlike other participants. Zac credited his military training. He likened his incarceration to 13 weeks of boot camp where he roomed with about 90 men. At the jail though, inmates had the luxury of cells, whereas in boot camp, men slept on racks of beds lined up one after another in one open room.

“So there are a lot of very similar circumstances, and I felt like that enabled me to learn how to live in that situation,” Zac said. “And then the military also teaches you how to adapt and overcome no matter where you are, and that was one of the things I took to heart and did my best to utilize that.”

He said he also learned how to compartmentalize while still being as true to himself as he could be. That was hard considering he had a cover story to stick to. But that also didn’t stop him from hanging a picture of his wife and newborn son on the pod wall. In jail, he said, it’s easier to get along when you’re genuine.

“Obviously I couldn’t be 100 percent completely honest with everyone because of my cover story, but I kept my cover story as close to the real me as possible and I didn’t go in there tying to act a certain way or portray a character or anything like that,” Zac said.

WHAT HE DISCOVERED

Zac said he was contacted by show producers because he was active on online forums about law enforcement and the military. The more he spoke to them about the idea behind the show, the more attractive the opportunity became, particularly for the impact it could have on his career goals. Not many people in law enforcement have experience as an inmate, he noted.

He also had the support of people like Noel and Maples. Clark County Jail Commander Maj. Sam Beard said Zac stayed out of the pod drama and was the best participant to complete the undercover program.

“He was there to do a job,” Beard said during a weekly News and Tribune panel talk. “Zac impressed me the most. Zac is going to be successful in life.”

Each undercover participant was debriefed by Noel and Maples upon their release. While viewers only saw snippets of those meetings, Noel said they lasted 60 to 90 minutes. The more valuable the information, the longer the meetings, he added.

Zac was able to tell Noel and Maples about the dynamics of gang activity in the jail, and how inmates were using illegal contraband to get high. A lot of what Zac saw wouldn’t be illegal on the street, but in the Clark County jail, that activity becomes a problem. Like smoking a rolled up coffee filter, for example. Viewers also saw throughout the season how inmates would use nicotine pills off commissary to get a buzz. Then there was Zac’s cellmate who got caught with hooch — an alcoholic concoction made by fermenting fruit with sugar — under his bunk

Some of Zac’s feedback was potentially life saving, like noting that inmates had shanks in the pod. In the show, viewers watched as corrections staff uncovered two shanks, which surprised even Noel and Maples.

“There are several gangs that are active in the Clark County jail,” Zac added. “If one of their members didn’t do what they were supposed to do, there would be enforcement and repercussions.

“And then the gangs were definitely the ones behind most of the extortion and bribery inside the jail. Not bribery of the guards or anything, bribery of the other inmates, or using other inmates.

Zac said gangs would also run commissary to their advantage. He explained that inmates would collect items off commissary and wait until other inmates needed something on the weekend when the commissary store is closed. Then they would sell items at double the cost, Zac said. If inmates didn’t pay their debt, the gangs would collect their debt “whatever way possible.”

HELPING A BROTHERHOOD

Zac also gave viewers insight into the issue of veterans in jail. Zac bonded with an inmate named Brian who was a fellow U.S. Marine veteran locked up on drug charges. It was tough, Zac said, to meet someone who took the same oath he did, but somehow went down the wrong path.

“I mean whether it’s PTSD or chemical dependency — whatever it was that caused Brian to go down the path he went as opposed to the path that I chose in my life — it’s a tough situation,” Zac said. “But at the same time, he still signed a contract with his life on the line, so that brotherhood still exists there.”

Zac said he was well aware of veterans facing mental health and substance abuse issues prior to signing up for the show. He said he’s a big supporter of 22Kill, a organization that brings awareness to the prevalence of veterans who commit suicide. The organization’s name is a reference to the average number of veterans who commit suicide every day, based on a 2012 study from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

After his time in the Clark County jail, Zac he’s more aware that veterans dealing with trauma can end up behind bars. Jennifer Ortiz, a criminal justice professor at Indiana University Southeast, said during a recent panel discussion that more than 180,000 veterans are incarcerated across the country.

Noel said anyone booked into the jail who is identified as a veteran will be connected with someone from the local Veterans Affairs office within 72 hours. If the person qualifies, they can be directed to veterans court, a program designed to help veterans through the criminal justice system.

Zac said the biggest change Noel can make is adding more programs for people with addiction. But a lot of what Zac thinks needs to be fixed goes beyond the Clark County jail.

“I just honestly, the biggest thing I could say is the guts that Sheriff Noel had to do this and had to be a part of this program are immense,” he said. “The system as a whole is broken and that’s not on the sheriff, that’s on the criminal justice system.”