I Did 12 Years in Prison — Then Married the Guard Who Watched Me | Jacob Bittner

Jacob Bittner was a teenager from a good home when a series of bad decisions led to 12 years in the Arkansas prison system. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Jacob breaks down how it all unraveled — from his first robbery, to going on the run, to pulling off another one and paying for it with over a decade of his life. He opens up about surviving the violence and harsh realities of Arkansas prisons, the lessons he learned the hard way, and the twist nobody saw coming — after his release, he fell in love with and married a prison guard. _____________________________________________ #Prison #TrueCrime #LockedIn _____________________________________________ Thank you to RAYCON & INCOGNI for sponsoring this episode: Raycon: The Everyday Earbuds Classic are the perfect addition to your everyday routine. Go to Bhttps://buyraycon.com/IANBICK to get 15% off! _____________________________________________ Incogni: Take back your personal data with Incogni! Use code IANBICK at https://incogni.com/ianbick to get 60% off annual plans. _____________________________________________ 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 From Good Kid to Armed Robber — Jacob's Story 00:14 Growing Up Between Idaho and Arkansas 01:36 Moving Around and Never Fitting In 03:23 The Moment School Stopped Mattering 04:44 Culture Shock, Bad Influences and First Mistakes 05:08 The First Time He Crossed the Line 06:22 How Deep Into Crime He Really Got 07:57 Why He Did It — Money, Rush and Belonging 09:36 The People Who Pulled Him Further In 10:33 Gangs, Excitement and the Point of No Return 13:00 First Time Getting Caught by Police 14:25 The Arrest That Should Have Stopped Everything 15:15 The Birthday Weekend That Changed His Life Forever 20:22 Getting Caught — The Arrest He Didn't See Coming 22:47 Facing Charges and Navigating the Legal System 26:00 First Taste of Jail and What It Really Feels Like 29:03 He Made Bond — Then Committed Another Robbery 31:20 On the Run as a Fugitive and What Followed 33:46 Returning to Arkansas and Facing the Music 38:32 The Day He Was Sentenced and What Came Next 41:00 What His Family Went Through While He Was Inside 44:00 The Mindset Shift That Saved Him in Prison 46:14 What Arkansas State Prison Is Really Like 49:57 The Unwritten Rules of Surviving Prison 51:46 Hustling Behind Bars — Business, Fights and Survival 56:00 The Moment He Decided to Change 01:00:00 Transferred to Idaho — A Completely Different Jail 01:03:40 Learning to Fit In and Move Forward 01:06:00 The Phone Call From His Grandfather That Changed Everything 01:08:06 Finding Purpose — Programs and Plans Inside 01:10:58 The Prison Program Where Everything Changed 01:13:01 How He Met the Prison Guard He Would Marry 01:16:12 Final Years Inside and the Road to Work Release 01:23:01 Life After Prison — Family, Work and Building Something Real 01:25:00 What He Would Tell His Younger Self 01:27:07 Final Thoughts and the Lessons That Stuck _____________________________________________ To advertise on the show, contact [email protected] or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices