On May 25, 2007, John Rickenbacker's life changed forever. On that day, the former chairman of Orangeburg County Council began his year-long sentence at the federal prison in Bennettsville.

Rickenbacker, who pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges, is expected to leave the medium-level security facility on April 7, 2008, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons' website.

Last December, the 22-year member of county council pleaded guilty to one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of extortion under color of official right. In April, he was sentenced to 366 days in jail, three years of probation, and a $5,000 fine.

The charges stemmed from a six-month sting operation in which the former councilman accepted about $50,000 from an undercover FBI agent posing as a consultant for a company interested in buying the Regional Medical Center. Rickenbacker told the agent he would work to get council's support for the sale of the public hospital and provided a confidential financial report to the agent, federal investigators said.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a day in the life of a federal prison inmate is heavily structured from sunrise to sunset.

Lights come on at 6:30 a.m., with breakfast starting approximately 30 minutes later. An hour later, work begins for inmates. Any inmate that is medically able to work is required to do so by law.

The jobs can range from groundskeeping to food service. Prisoners work roughly 7.5 hours a day, and their pay ranges from 12 to 40 cents an hour, depending on the job they are assigned.

With this money, inmates can purchase a variety of items from the prison commissary, including stamps, snacks and personal hygiene materials. Cigarettes are not allowed in the federal penitentiary system.

Lunch starts at 11 a.m. and the work day ends at 3:30 p.m. An inmate count is performed promptly at 4 p.m., one of five inmate counts that are taken throughout the prisoner's day. The other counts take place at midnight, 3 a.m., 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.

From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the inmate has free time. Inmates have a variety of activities that they can delve into, ranging from attending religious services, reading in the prison library, watching television, or working out at the exercise area.

At 9 p.m., they must return back to their housing units, which closely resemble military living quarters and are equipped with bunk beds and community bathrooms and showers.

Lights go out at 11:30 p.m. and the process starts all over the next day.

Every inmate that comes into the system has a medical screening to start, and is examined further and assigned to a medical team. This team consists of a doctor, a doctor's assistant and a nurse who monitors the inmate during the course of their sentence. Over-the-counter medications can be purchased from the prison commissary.

Rickenbacker declined a request for an interview made through prison officials.

T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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