I Was In Federal Prison for 19 Years — It Was Violence, Politics & Survival | Juma Sampson

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 745 Ratings

🗓️ 22 March 2026

⏱️ 102 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Juma Sampson grew up in the streets of Rochester and got pulled into the hustle at a young age, a path that eventually led to federal charges for drugs and guns. After taking his case to trial and losing in federal court, Juma was sentenced to 25 years in the federal prison system. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, he shares what it was really like surviving nearly two decades inside both medium security and penitentiary prisons, navigating violence, prison politics, and the reality of doing serious time. While locked up, Juma began studying the law, eventually representing himself in court and fighting for his own freedom—ultimately getting his sentence reduced and walking out after 19 years behind bars. _____________________________________________ #ianbick #lockedinpodcast #federalprison #prisonstory #prisontalk #prisontime #truecrimepodcast #excon _____________________________________________ Connect with Juma Sampson: Website: www.chaosunlimited.net Book: https://a.co/d/0dHmGKds Instagram: Official.Chaos1 _____________________________________________ 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 Facing 25 Years in Prison — Arrest & Federal Charges 03:39 Growing Up in Rochester — Family & Early Life 07:51 Street Hustling & Learning the Game 13:36 First Arrests & Entering the System 17:18 Chasing Money, Trouble & Bad Decisions 22:39 Federal Case Breakdown — Project Exile & Sentencing 28:26 First Days in Federal Prison — What It’s Like 32:52 Prison Politics, Gangs & Inmate Culture 40:42 Solitary Confinement, Transfers & Survival 46:54 Prison Hustles, Writing & Discipline 53:21 Daily Life in Prison & Inmate Economy 01:00:57 Turning Point — Growth & Self-Development 01:07:56 Law Library, Appeals & Fighting the System 01:13:16 Family, Responsibility & Accountability 01:20:25 Prison Reform, Sentencing & Early Release 01:28:03 Reentry After Prison — Adjusting to Freedom 01:31:01 Life After Prison — Business, Goals & Family 01:36:56 Writing Books & Sharing the Story 01:39:36 Final Thoughts & Lessons Learned Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	They wanted me to cooperate. My son was nine months old when I got arrested on this case.
0:03.6	In my paperwork, they said, we can have you home to your son by dinner time. Or if not, you won't see him until he finishes college or his first prison sentence. So I told him, call my lawyer. Of course, I won't cooperate. I end up getting 25 years. Juma Samson started hustling in the streets of Rochester, New York at a young age, but that lifestyle
0:21.4	eventually caught up with him when he was hit with a federal drug and gun case and sentenced to 25 years
0:27.0	in prison after losing a trial. What followed was nearly two decades surviving some of the
0:32.2	toughest medium security and penitentiary prisons in the federal system.
0:40.3	Where'd you grow up? Rochester, New York.
0:42.3	What was your upbringing like?
0:43.3	My upbringing wasn't too bad.
0:46.3	So I grew up.
0:47.3	I was raised.
0:48.3	I'm the youngest of three.
0:50.3	My mother was a single mother.
0:53.3	My father, he was dear up until that crack pandemic came.
0:58.0	And so my mom worked two jobs just to try to, you know, make sure that we had the things that we needed.
1:04.0	My older brother was, you know, this gave a time and kind of being the streets.
1:09.0	So my older brother, he was heavy
1:11.0	into the streets. And, um, yeah. Had the epidemic affect your dad? Was he a seller or a user?
1:18.1	So, yeah, my father started off. He was a, he was a, he was a big hustler, a big time hustler.
1:24.3	And the pandemic around the 80s, when the crack started coming into play it wasn't
1:31.2	looked at or viewed the way that we see it now like we see it now like yo that's crazy it's stupid
1:36.4	it's for losers or whatever but when it was fresh in and fresh onto the scene it wasn't marketed
1:40.8	that way it was marketed to you know like you know this is know, this is something new, something different, something cool. A long story short, yeah, he fell to that right there, and that's
	...

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