I Survived Oregon Prison & Federal Time — It Was Brutal | Bill Barnard

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2026

⏱️ 112 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bill Barnard grew up in Oregon raised by his grandparents after both of his parents were sent to prison when he was born, setting the stage for a life shaped by instability, crime, and addiction. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Bill shares how he started getting into trouble as a teenager, leading to a six-year sentence inside some of Oregon’s most notorious prisons, where he learned how to survive the realities of the prison system. After his release, his struggles with drug addiction continued and eventually led him into selling firearms, resulting in federal charges and time in high-security penitentiaries. Bill opens up about the differences between state and federal prison, the violence, the politics, and the mindset it takes to make it out, offering an honest look at life behind bars and the consequences of the choices that led him there. _____________________________________________ #PrisonStories #FederalPrison #TrueCrime #JailLife #PrisonLife #CrimeStories #ExInmate #realstories _____________________________________________ Thanks to FACTOR for sponsoring this episode: Head to https://factormeals.com/lockedin50off and use code lockedin50off to get 50% off your first Factor box PLUS free breakfast for 1 year. Offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase. Make healthier eating easy with Factor. _____________________________________________ Connect with Bill barnard: Website: https://www.change.org/BillBarnardPardon Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bbarnard065 _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Near Death Experience — Bill’s Story Begins 02:10 Rough Upbringing & Family Secrets 05:30 Meeting His Mother & Family Complications 09:30 Parental Abandonment & Early Struggles 11:00 Rebellious Childhood & Early Ambitions 13:00 Hacking, Tech Skills & First Scams 15:20 Addiction Begins & Early Crime 16:40 First Arrest & Stadium Heist 21:20 State Charges & First Prison Sentence 25:00 Inside Oregon State Prison — Gangs & Politics 31:40 Violence, Tension & Surviving Alone 36:20 Fire Camp, Prison Jobs & Daily Life 42:40 Preparing for Release & Prison Relationships 48:20 Life After Prison — Relapse & Downward Spiral 54:30 Gun Dealing, UPS Scams & Federal Attention 01:01:00 On the Run & Arrested by the Feds 01:07:30 Facing Federal Charges & Sentencing 01:14:20 Maximum Security — Victorville Federal Prison 01:22:40 Violence, Survival & Mental Toll 01:28:00 Transfers, Prison Jobs & Changing Conditions 01:33:00 Getting Sober & Turning Point 01:38:00 Life After Prison — Rebuilding From Nothing 01:42:00 Redemption, Advocacy & Final Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I had to make a really hard call. I knew that I was looking at 15 years or better in the federal system.
0:04.0	And at that point, I was so high and I was just so out of myself. I didn't know if I was going to let him take it. If I had the capability to go do all that time, I had a gun on me when I got arrested. And I was standing there in a poker place and I started hearing the K9 bar. I was like, it's over. I felt it immediately. immediately. I've done step one through 99. What does a hundred look like?
0:21.2	Bill Bernard was born while both of his parents were on the run and facing prison time,
0:25.6	and his life followed the same path.
0:27.9	In this episode, he shares how he went from growing up in Oregon to doing time in state prison
0:32.6	and federal penitentiaries, battling addiction, and what it really took to survive.
0:42.8	Where'd you grow up, Bill?
0:44.5	Eugene Oregon.
0:46.0	What was your upbringing like?
0:48.4	Upbring was what most people would call pretty rough.
0:52.5	I spent, so first and foremost, my parents were both on the run from the feds,
0:58.6	uh, for the first few months of my life.
1:01.3	Uh, there was a, a whole scenario that involved, uh, theft of a, um, a fedron truck, um,
1:10.2	primary chemical methamphetamine back in the day, um,
1:12.8	when that was still a big domestic thing. Uh, so when they were on the run and my mom got
1:17.3	locked up and all that sort of stuff, my grandparents came out to North Carolina where I was
1:21.2	born, uh, to pick me up. And then, uh, that was at three months old. And then from three months to 16, I lived with them.
1:29.9	My grandmother was, for all intents and purposes, the most amazing human.
1:36.7	A little five foot two Sicilian woman.
1:40.3	Absolutely amazing.
1:41.5	My grandfather, not as much, I guess you could say. A lot of varying kinds of abuse and trauma and all that sort of stuff for a little kid that I'm real passionate about other people not having to experience.
2:00.3	Physical, sexual, everything, anything you can imagine just just just just a twisted
	...

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