Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 86 (click to see context) :
Changed line(s) 88 (click to see context) from:
* Part of Dominik Mysterio's heel character in 2023 is him making himself out to be a hardened criminal who was left to languish in the darkest pits with the worst monsters known to man… when actually what happened was – in storyline – he actually spent a couple of hours in a county slammer after crashing his [[Wrestling/ReyMysterio his father]]'s Christmas festivities.
to:
* Part of Dominik Mysterio's heel character in 2023 is him making himself out to be a hardened criminal who was left to languish in the darkest pits with the worst monsters known to man… when actually what happened was – in storyline – he actually spent a couple of hours in a county slammer after crashing his [[Wrestling/ReyMysterio his father]]'s Christmas festivities. Even his ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' entrance for his match with his aforementioned father played into this, with Dom arriving in cuffs in the back of a prison transport van, having to be escorted to the ring by several prison guards.
Deleted line(s) 91 (click to see context) :
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 86,87 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'': when a PlayerCharacter is arrested and thrown into [[TheAlcatraz Ironhook]], their player must make an "incarceration roll" that determines how bad their time behind bar has been. On a bad roll, the character automatically receives a Trauma, which usually has major impact on future role-play, as well as being completely incurable under the regular rules.
* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'': when a PlayerCharacter is arrested and thrown into [[TheAlcatraz Ironhook]], their player must make an "incarceration roll" that determines how bad their time behind bar has been. On a bad roll, the character automatically receives a Trauma, which usually has major impact on future role-play, as well as being completely incurable under the regular rules.
to:
[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
*
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'': when a PlayerCharacter is arrested and thrown into [[TheAlcatraz Ironhook]], their player must make an "incarceration roll" that determines how bad their time behind bar has been. On a bad roll, the character automatically receives a Trauma, which usually has major impact on future role-play, as well as being completely incurable under the regular rules.
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' had this as a major part of the Great White Shark's origin. He was a white-collar crook who was sent to Arkham Asylum after successfully pleading insanity, only to be tortured repeatedly by his fellow inmates. He was eventually disfigured and driven insane, and subsequently used his business acumen to become a bonafide supervillain.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 73 (click to see context) from:
* ''Series/{{Capadocia}}: Before going to prison, Lorena was a suburban wife and mother. By the time the first season ends, she has joined the designer drug smuggling operation, become addicted, killed an inmate in self-defense, and entered into a relationship with another inmate.
to:
* ''Series/{{Capadocia}}: ''Series/{{Capadocia}}'': Before going to prison, Lorena was a suburban wife and mother. By the time the first season ends, she has joined the designer drug smuggling operation, become addicted, killed an inmate in self-defense, and entered into a relationship with another inmate.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
* At ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodMothers'' the "school" is run like a prison or a reeducation camp for abusive and neglectful mothers. While the goal on paper is to teach them good parenting skills, it sets up the mothers for failure by setting unrealistic standards, providing them with zero empathy and little support for their own issues, and constantly telling them that they are bad mothers, narcissists, and a danger to their children. The school's distaff counterpart is nowhere near as harsh.
to:
* At ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodMothers'' the "school" is run like a prison or a reeducation camp for abusive and neglectful mothers. While the goal on paper is to teach them good parenting skills, it sets up the mothers for failure by setting unrealistic standards, providing them with zero empathy and little support for their own issues, and constantly telling them that they are bad mothers, narcissists, and a danger to their children. The school's distaff spear counterpart is nowhere near as harsh.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' DarkFic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12301914/1/All-The-World-s-A-Toybox All The World's A Toybox]]'' features this being inflicted on most of the cast after Bill Cipher takes over the Earth and imprisons his enemies in specially-designed torture cells. Mabel loses a huge chunk of her confidence and descends into self-loathing, Wendy turns AxCrazy out of paranoia, and Gideon is subjected to a serious case of BreakTheHaughty. Taken to extremes in the case of Dipper, [=McGucket=] and Ford [[spoiler: all of whom lose their grip on their own identities and are forced to take on new personalities altogether.]] By contrast, Pacifica Northwest matures while in prison and becomes something of a TeamMom to the other inmates.
to:
* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' DarkFic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12301914/1/All-The-World-s-A-Toybox All The World's A Toybox]]'' ''Fanfic/AllTheWorldsAToybox'' features this being inflicted on most of the cast after Bill Cipher takes over the Earth and imprisons his enemies in specially-designed torture cells. Mabel loses a huge chunk of her confidence and descends into self-loathing, Wendy turns AxCrazy out of paranoia, and Gideon is subjected to a serious case of BreakTheHaughty. Taken to extremes in the case of Dipper, [=McGucket=] and Ford [[spoiler: all of whom lose their grip on their own identities and are forced to take on new personalities altogether.]] By contrast, Pacifica Northwest matures while in prison and becomes something of a TeamMom to the other inmates.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* At ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodMothers'' the "school" is run like a prison or a reeducation camp for abusive and neglectful mothers. While the goal on paper is to teach them good parenting skills, it sets up the mothers for failure by setting unrealistic standards, providing them with zero empathy and little support for their own issues, and constantly telling them that they are bad mothers, narcissists, and a danger to their children. The school's distaff counterpart is nowhere near as harsh.
-->''Not everyone came to the school a violent woman, but now, heading into month seven, they all might stab someone.''
-->''Not everyone came to the school a violent woman, but now, heading into month seven, they all might stab someone.''
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''Series/{{Capadocia}}: Before going to prison, Lorena was a suburban wife and mother. By the time the first season ends, she has joined the designer drug smuggling operation, become addicted, killed an inmate in self-defense, and entered into a relationship with another inmate.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 105 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Church and Grif are captured by the Reds at Sidewinder. When they get out, Grif claims to have been changed by the experience.
to:
* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', Church and Grif are captured by the Reds at Sidewinder. When they get out, Grif claims to have been changed by the experience.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 13 (click to see context) :
[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheNakedGun https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prison_changes_a_man.jpg]]]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheNakedGun https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prison_changes_a_man.jpg]]]]
%%
%%
%%
%%
%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheNakedGun https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prison_changes_a_man.jpg]]]]
Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Film]]
to:
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* ''Film/CarlitosWay'' was based on a gangster who resolved to live lawfully when he was released from prison--and he tried hard to.
to:
* ''Film/CarlitosWay'' was based on ''Film/AmericanMe'' is about a gangster who resolved practically grew up in the prison system and has difficulty adjusting to live lawfully the outside world when he was is released from prison--and he tried hard to.as an adult.
Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
* ''Film/AmericanMe'' is about a gangster who practically grew up in the prison system and has difficulty adjusting to the outside world when he is released as an adult.
to:
* ''Film/AmericanMe'' is about ''Film/CarlitosWay'' was based on a gangster who practically grew up in the prison system and has difficulty adjusting resolved to the outside world live lawfully when he is was released as an adult.from prison--and he tried hard to.
* An iconic example in ''Literature/LesMiserables'': When Jean Valjean was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, he was a decent, honest young man who worked hard to provide for his widowed sister and her children and who only stole out of desperation to feed them. After nineteen years of hard labor in the galleys, he emerges hardened and bitter toward the whole world, to the point that he steals silver from the Bishop of Digne after the latter gave him food and shelter, and later half-consciously steals a coin from an impoverished little boy. It takes an act of mercy from the Bishop, and later Valjean's own [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horror]] after the incident with the boy, to bring him back to the path of goodness and compassion for others.
Deleted line(s) 51 (click to see context) :
* An iconic example in ''Literature/LesMiserables'': When Jean Valjean was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, he was a decent, honest young man who worked hard to provide for his widowed sister and her children and who only stole out of desperation to feed them. After nineteen years of hard labor in the galleys, he emerges hardened and bitter toward the whole world, to the point that he steals silver from the Bishop of Digne after the latter gave him food and shelter, and later half-consciously steals a coin from an impoverished little boy. It takes an act of mercy from the Bishop, and later Valjean's own [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horror]] after the incident with the boy, to bring him back to the path of goodness and compassion for others.
* Parodied in an episode of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' in which Dick tries to prove that he can reform a "hardened" criminal through compassion and understanding. His chosen ex-convict was a relatively minor criminal who was only in jail for a short time, but Dick quickly starts treating him as though he's a hardened criminal.
Deleted line(s) 66 (click to see context) :
* Parodied in an episode of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' in which Dick tries to prove that he can reform a "hardened" criminal through compassion and understanding. His chosen ex-convict was a relatively minor criminal who was only in jail for a short time, but Dick quickly starts treating him as though he's a hardened criminal.
Changed line(s) 93 (click to see context) from:
* In Machinima/RedVsBlue, Church and Grif are captured by the Reds at Sidewinder. When they get out, Grif claims to have been changed by the experience.
to:
* In Machinima/RedVsBlue, ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Church and Grif are captured by the Reds at Sidewinder. When they get out, Grif claims to have been changed by the experience.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* In ''Series/{{CSINY}}'''s "Crossroads," a young man who had been sentenced to a long stint in a heinous juvenile detention center by a HangingJudge for the horrible crime of stealing a pack of gum asks the detectives, "You know what happens to good kids in prison? They turn out bad." Yep, he turned out so bad he killed the judge in revenge and ended up going to prison for life.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* ''Fanfic/WithPearlAndRubyGlowing'': [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInThePrincessAndThePauper Julian]] was accused of murdering Anneliese and Erica, and in prison, he was raped several times. When Anneliese and Erica are found alive, he has become so mentally damaged from the assaults and being told he was guilty that he still believes that he killed them.
to:
* ''Fanfic/WithPearlAndRubyGlowing'': [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInThePrincessAndThePauper [[WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper Julian]] was accused of murdering Anneliese and Erica, Erika, and in prison, he was raped several times. When Anneliese and Erica Erika are found alive, he has become so mentally damaged from the assaults and being told he was guilty that he still believes that he killed them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Up To Eleven is a defunct trope
Changed line(s) 112 (click to see context) from:
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': After spending about a year in prison, Chris has only become even ''[[TookALevelInJerkass worse]]'' of an individual coming out than he was when he went in, [[DepravedKidsShowHost with]] ''[[{{Sadist}} all]]'' [[{{Jerkass}} of]] [[{{Narcissist}} his]] [[TheSociopath negative]] [[PsychopathicManchild traits]] being cranked UpToEleven by the time of ''All Stars''.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': After spending about a year in prison, Chris has only become even ''[[TookALevelInJerkass worse]]'' of an individual coming out than he was when he went in, [[DepravedKidsShowHost with]] ''[[{{Sadist}} all]]'' [[{{Jerkass}} of]] [[{{Narcissist}} his]] [[TheSociopath negative]] [[PsychopathicManchild traits]] being cranked UpToEleven up by the time of ''All Stars''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''Fanfic/WithPearlAndRubyGlowing'': [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInThePrincessAndThePauper Julian]] was accused of murdering Anneliese and Erica, and in prison, he was raped several times. When Anneliese and Erica are found alive, he has become so mentally damaged from the assaults and being told he was guilty that he still believes that he killed them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 92,94 (click to see context) from:
-->Grif: I've done hard time, Simmons. I'm not the man you used to know.
-->Simmons: Hard time? We were only separated for five hours.
-->Grif: Time moves slower on the inside, Simmons. It seemed like seven or eight hours to me.
-->Simmons: Hard time? We were only separated for five hours.
-->Grif: Time moves slower on the inside, Simmons. It seemed like seven or eight hours to me.
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* A recurring theme in ''Series/{{Oz}}'' is how the horrible conditions of the prison changes both the inmates and guards for the worse.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* Downplayed in ''Fanfic/MurderersRow''. Donut never loses his moral compass, but his time in prison results in him becoming increasingly violent to survive. Multiple people warn him when he starts coming close to parole that he needs to stop immersing himself in prison culture if he is to have any hope of surviving in the outside world.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 20 (click to see context) from:
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Reformation Island changes (most) of its prisoners for the better, as seen when most of the prisoners risk their lives to save their warden Mala and queen Hippolyte from seven villains who had staged an escape. Hippolyte and Mala actually award those prisoners their freedom in return, as they've demonstrated that they really have reformed from their old ways.
to:
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Reformation Island changes (most) of its prisoners for the better, as seen when most of the prisoners risk their lives to save their warden Mala and queen Hippolyte from seven villains who had staged an escape. Hippolyte and Mala actually award those prisoners their freedom in return, as they've demonstrated that they really have reformed from their old ways.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 52 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
to:
Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
[[folder: Theater]]
to:
Changed line(s) 95 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Webcomics]]
to:
Changed line(s) 110 (click to see context) from:
[[/folder]]
to:
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Reformation Island changes (most) of its prisoners for the better, as seen when most of the prisoners risk their lives to save their warden Mala and queen Hippolyte from seven villains who had staged an escape. Hippolyte and Mala actually award those prisoners their freedom in return, as they've demonstrated that they really have reformed from their old ways.
[[/folder]]
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Reformation Island changes (most) of its prisoners for the better, as seen when most of the prisoners risk their lives to save their warden Mala and queen Hippolyte from seven villains who had staged an escape. Hippolyte and Mala actually award those prisoners their freedom in return, as they've demonstrated that they really have reformed from their old ways.
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
an important piece of context for readers who don't know the film
Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
* Played for laughs in ''Film/TheLegendOfZorro'', when Joaquin breaks Alejandro out of prison. A few guards come running, and Alejandro thrashes them in about five seconds flat. When a surprised Joaquin asks him where he learned that, he quips, "Prison changes a man, son."
to:
* Played for laughs in ''Film/TheLegendOfZorro'', when Joaquin breaks Alejandro out of prison. A few guards come running, and Alejandro (who is secretly the masked hero Zorro) thrashes them in about five seconds flat. When a surprised Joaquin asks him where he learned that, he quips, "Prison changes a man, son."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
If Alien 3 is an example of somebody being changed by their time in prison, you need to say who it was and how they were changed. As described, this is not an example.
Deleted line(s) 25 (click to see context) :
* ''Film/Alien3'': Ripley crash-lands on an abandoned prison planet, where she is forced to live as an inmate despite not having done anything wrong. She learns the prison culture the hard way after getting assaulted by the other inmates.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 82 (click to see context) from:
* In ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies,'' this is actually a requirement of inmates at Piranesi. A [[EldritchLocation weird and decidedly eldritch]] PenalColony deep in [[WorldOfChaos Elutheria]], people who've been sentenced to Piranesi only stay for as long as they remain the same: only by undergoing a serious change can you ever be allowed to leave. This can mean permanently dinging your stats... or it can mean undergoing a hideous physical mutation, or even having amputated personality traits manifest as [[EnemyWithout physical entities]]. It's a strange place to say the least.
to:
* In ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies,'' this is actually a requirement of inmates at Piranesi. A [[EldritchLocation weird and decidedly eldritch]] PenalColony deep in [[WorldOfChaos Elutheria]], people who've been sentenced to Piranesi only stay for as long as they remain the same: only by undergoing a serious change can you ever be allowed to leave. This can mean permanently dinging your stats... or it can mean undergoing a hideous physical mutation, or even having amputated personality traits manifest as [[EnemyWithout physical entities]]. It's a strange place to say the least. And the four wardens have gone through at least one long stay; some of the changes to their person [[BodyHorror can be easy to tell at a glance]], while [[FallenHero others]]... less so.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* An iconic example in ''Literature/LesMiserables'': When Jean Valjean was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, he was a decent, honest young man who worked hard to provide for his widowed sister and her children and who only stole out of desperation to feed them. After nineteen years of hard labor in the galleys, he emerges hardened and bitter toward the whole world, to the point that he steals silver from the Bishop of Digne after the latter gave him food and shelter, and later half-consciously steals a coin from an impoverished little boy. It takes an act of mercy from the Bishop, and later Valjean's own [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horror]] after the incident with the boy, to bring him back to the path of goodness and compassion for others.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 46 (click to see context) :
* Barberio from Creator/CliveBarker's short story "Son of Celluloid" has spent a few months in prison and the one thing he knows, he's not going back--to his mind, prison rapidly changes people to wrecks.
Deleted line(s) 55 (click to see context) :
* Subverted on one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' in which a man exonerated by DNA evidence kills a man after his release. His attorney tried to argue that prison turned him into a hardened killer. It turned out that he actually was a murderer before he was wrongfully convicted of a murder he didn't commit.
Added DiffLines:
* Played with in ''VideoGame/BattleTech''. Glitch's bio states that she spent years in a supermax prison after a computer error caused her to be marked as a wanted criminal, and that she was no longer the innocent young woman she once had been after finally be cleared of the charges and set free. In game however, she's extremely perky, very enthusiastic about her work, and has an almost child-like personality and voice, making it more of an InformedAttribute.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* Barberio from Creator/CliveBarker's short story "Son of Celluloid" has spent a few months in prison and the one thing he knows, he's not going back--to his mind, prison rapidly changes people to wrecks.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* Subverted on one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' in which a man exonerated by DNA evidence kills a man after his release. His attorney tried to argue that prison turned him into a hardened killer. It turned out that he actually was a murderer before he was wrongfully convicted of a murder he didn't commit.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 101 (click to see context) from:
* In ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' Harvey gets tattoos and becomes hardened while in prison for killing DynoMutt.
to:
* In ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' Harvey gets tattoos and becomes hardened while in prison for killing DynoMutt.[[WesternAnimation/DynoMuttDogWonder Dynomutt]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Created from YKTTW
Added DiffLines:
->''A stoker sings: "Prideful, a prince was locked in the dark; while a poet was set free. I was the prince, alone and forgot; the poet, too, was me."''
-->--''VideoGame/SunlessSkies''
Sometimes the bad guys get caught, or maybe the good guys are falsely accused. Whatever the reason, this trope occurs when a character is thrown in prison and undergoes some change while there. When they're finally released or break out, it turns out the experience has changed them fundamentally, perhaps teaching them important life lessons or, in the case of HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook, just spurring them on to a life of crime.
Often PlayedForLaughs if the character was only in prison a short period of time, yet still claims to have been irreversibly changed. For a trope on how prisons change people ''physically'', see PrisonsAreGymnasiums.
Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Audio Play]]
* Taken to extremes in the AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audio drama ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho014TheHolyTerror The Holy Terror]].'' Here, a murderer has been imprisoned in a PrisonDimension for so long that he's lost all memories of his criminal identity and has joined the imaginary populace of the prison as a servant, showing no signs of the insane, murderous personality he exhibited while free.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fanfic]]
* In the fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13207275/1/Ace-Combat-7-Three-Strikes Ace Combat 7: Three Strikes]]'' before she was sent to the penal unit Naomi was a team player and followed orders. During her time with 444th she has to deal with the other convicts' looking out for themselves and an [[{{Jerkass}} asshole commander]] that will throw anyone into solitary for the most minor offense. She becomes less trusting of those other then the few friends she made in the Spares and becomes more reckless. This comes to a head when the LRSSG splits up to take care of two separate enemy units to defend Stonehenge. After she feels that her squadron can mop up the rest of their targets she flies back right into Cyclops' targets. This makes [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Wiseman]] take off the kid gloves he has been using and harshly tells her that she has one chance to get her head straight or get sent back home and face another court martial. [[{{Subverted}} This gets her to sober up very quickly]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' DarkFic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12301914/1/All-The-World-s-A-Toybox All The World's A Toybox]]'' features this being inflicted on most of the cast after Bill Cipher takes over the Earth and imprisons his enemies in specially-designed torture cells. Mabel loses a huge chunk of her confidence and descends into self-loathing, Wendy turns AxCrazy out of paranoia, and Gideon is subjected to a serious case of BreakTheHaughty. Taken to extremes in the case of Dipper, [=McGucket=] and Ford [[spoiler: all of whom lose their grip on their own identities and are forced to take on new personalities altogether.]] By contrast, Pacifica Northwest matures while in prison and becomes something of a TeamMom to the other inmates.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
*''Film/Alien3'': Ripley crash-lands on an abandoned prison planet, where she is forced to live as an inmate despite not having done anything wrong. She learns the prison culture the hard way after getting assaulted by the other inmates.
* Ed Norton's character in the film ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'' enters jail as a neo-nazi and leaves as a reformed man.
* ''Film/CarlitosWay'' was based on a gangster who resolved to live lawfully when he was released from prison--and he tried hard to.
* During his stint in prison in ''Film/TheATeam'', B.A. Baracus took a vow of nonviolence. By the movie's end, however, he had discarded it.
* After one of his trips to the past landed him in prison, and another got him out, the main character of ''Film/TheButterflyEffect'' was startled by a waitress asking if he'd been in prison. The way he hunched over his food looked just like his brother; a defensive technique to keep other prisoners from snatching off his plate.
* ''Film/AmericanMe'' is about a gangster who practically grew up in the prison system and has difficulty adjusting to the outside world when he is released as an adult.
* Played for laughs in ''Film/TheLegendOfZorro'', when Joaquin breaks Alejandro out of prison. A few guards come running, and Alejandro thrashes them in about five seconds flat. When a surprised Joaquin asks him where he learned that, he quips, "Prison changes a man, son."
* Spoofed in the third ''Film/TheNakedGun'' film, when Frank is undercover in prison and has a talk with fellow inmate Tyrone, a black guy.
-->'''Tyrone''': Take it from me. This place changes a man.
-->'''Frank''': Oh yeah, in what way?
-->'''Tyrone''': I used to be white. [Beat] I was a drummer for The Osmonds.
* Discussed in ''Film/ShotCaller'' by a gang member. Indeed, when Jacob is finally released, he's not just a notorious killer, but the experience has changed him so fundamentally that he refuses to reunite with his family for their own good.
-->'''Bottles:''' The fact is, we all started out as someone's little angel. And a place like this forces us to become warriors or victims. Nothing in between can exist here.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheOutsiders'' implies that this happened to Dallas long before the story began. He later tries to convince his still innocent MoralityPet Johnny not to confess to the murder he committed in self defense because of it.
-->"You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you. Oh, blast it, Johnny, you get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me..."
* After being rescued from [[MindPrison Cyberia]] in ''Literature/RedDwarf: Last Human,'' Lister's AlternateSelf goes a little crazy, risks his life to steal some alcohol from the infirmary, and murders several defenseless prison guards before being restrained. Afterwards, he claims that this trope is in play, having lost all traces of his old slobby-amiable self after months in virtual hell. [[spoiler: He's lying: Lister's other self is a psychopath with no impulse control and no regard for the lives of others, as ''our'' Lister discovers when his doppelganger abandons him in Cyberia and forces him to take his place at the prison.]]
* In ''[[Literature/DifferentSeasons Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption]]'' (and its [[Film/TheShawshankRedemption film adaptation]]), it's specifically pointed out that prison warps your personality over time. Indeed, one of the many things that annoys the warden is the way Andy is still acting like his old self despite years of confinement, and hasn't acquired the cautious, hunched look exhibited by many long-term cons. More notably, the prison also makes the inmates dependent on it: after spending decades at Shawshank, Brooks is left totally adrift when he's finally released and finds himself unable to cope with his new existence; for a while, he seriously considers committing another crime so he can get sent back to prison - [[spoiler: but in the end, he settles for killing himself instead.]] Red experiences this as well when he finally gets out, to the point that his supervisor at work is clearly annoyed by his habit of asking permission for every little thing.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire,'' the straightest example of this appears the form of [[YesMan Grand Maester Pycelle]]: imprisoned in the infamous [[HellholePrison Black Cells]] for getting on the bad side of Tyrion Lannister, Pycelle emerges a shadow of his former self thanks to the terrorizing conditions within the dungeon. Left humiliated, shaken and in poor health, he seems older than ever before - even falling asleep during Joffrey's wedding. [[spoiler: Because of this, he's unable to save Joffrey from a fatal poisoning.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* After spending the first half of season 7 of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' in prison, Oliver Queen becomes a lot more concerned with how the consequences of his actions effect others, including the people he's helped put in jail. Oliver becomes less volatile, now preferring slower, methodical investigation that leads to legal, lawful prosecution and talking in order to de-escalate potentially violent situations rather than his previous method of making demands and putting arrows in people who don't comply. In contrast to the eponymous name, the Green Arrow has barely used his bow and arrow post-prison. Additionally, the biggest change is that Oliver is now deputized and working with Star City PD instead of acting as a vigilante as he did in the first six seasons.
* In season 3 of ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' Eli Thomson got out of prison and he does not make any claims that he is a changed man but the audience quickly sees a serious level of CharacterDevelopment. He is more humble, careful and GenreSavvy.
* Michael Westen talks about the most basic manifestations of this trope for one of his minisidles [[note]] small roles Michael plays to get close to his targets, basically an accent, a bit of wardrobe, a hairstyle, and a way of standing[[/note]] in the fifth season of ''Series/BurnNotice''; guys who have been in prison tend not to make eye contact, and they ask permission before doing ''anything''.
* One episode of ''Series/CSIMiami'' dealt with a young man being tossed in prison because of a MiscarriageOfJustice and while he is inside he is constantly given PrisonRape by an older prisoner, to the point the young man shanks him to death to make it stop and becomes more emotionally dead in general. The investigation eventually leads to the correct criminal and thus the young man is set free (with the murder he committed waived away as self-defense), but Horatio really can't do more for him than apologize for the whole mess.
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Zhaan eventually reveals that she is a positive example of this: having been reduced to "a savage" by [[MurderMakesYouCrazy the assassination]] of her lover and mentor [[BrokenPedestal Bitaal]], she was imprisoned by the Peacekeepers and - because of her violent behavior - spent most of her sentence in solitary. However, after seventeen years alone, she was gradually able to submerge her darker impulses, resume her study of the Delvian Seek, and eventually emerge from captivity as the AllLovingHero we first encounter in the pilot episode.
* A bit character on one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' was a death row inmate who converted to Islam while in prison and wished to atone.
* This is the [[CharacterDevelopment character arc]] of quite a few figures in ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack''. Zig-zagged and possibly deconstructed with protagonist Piper, who comes to question whether prison has really changed her, or just brought out her true self.
* Discussed in an episode of ''Series/ProvenInnocent'' when Madeline and Easy take on the case of a young black man who was wrongfully convicted in a shooting and has spent several years in jail. All that time in prison has aged the kid, making it that much harder to convince the jury that he was still a teenager when he was arrested.
* An episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had [[TheChewToy Miles O'Brien]] accused of espionage and sentenced to several decades - in a special device to [[YearInsideHourOutside implant]] [[MindPrison memories of prison]]. The rest of the episode deals with his attempt to recover from the effects of this, and what he remembers 'doing' in prison.
* Parodied in an episode of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' in which Dick tries to prove that he can reform a "hardened" criminal through compassion and understanding. His chosen ex-convict was a relatively minor criminal who was only in jail for a short time, but Dick quickly starts treating him as though he's a hardened criminal.
* ''Series/Watchmen2019'' eventually reveals that Adrian Veidt has spent the last few years in a GildedCage [[spoiler: PrisonDimension hidden on Europa.]] Over time, the restrictions on his lifestyle, servile clone assistants, inability to leave the prison and overall impotent rage have resulted in Adrian transforming from a narcissistic but AffablyEvil WellIntentionedExtremist to a FauxAffablyEvil psychopath who regularly murders his servants in fits of pique.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'': when a PlayerCharacter is arrested and thrown into [[TheAlcatraz Ironhook]], their player must make an "incarceration roll" that determines how bad their time behind bar has been. On a bad roll, the character automatically receives a Trauma, which usually has major impact on future role-play, as well as being completely incurable under the regular rules.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Theater]]
* In ''Theatre/BloodBrothers'', Mickey's stint in prison as an accessory to murder turns him into a severely-depressed EmptyShell.
* By the start of ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'', fifteen years spent unlawfully imprisoned in an Australian PenalColony have turned the title character from a naive and "foolish" barber into a bitter, vengeful and deeply cynical man with no moral qualms about killing to keep his secrets. And this is ''before'' he snaps and becomes a full-blown SerialKiller.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* The end of ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'' [[spoiler:has this happen to the antagonists Kid Tannen and Edna Strickland. When Marty and Doc finally make it back to their time, they find the now older Kid and Edna are now married, making the latter Biff's stepmother, and have mellowed out from their time in prison. Edna has even grown fond of dogs!]]
* Enforced in ''VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay''. The eponymous prison is separated into three security levels, the third being a CryoPrison where the most troublesome inmates are stored. Long-term exposure to cryostorage seems to have a degenerative effect on the minds of inmates, likely exacerbated by the fact that they're only allowed a ''minute'' of daily exercise with limited stimuli; as a result, the few inmates Riddick speaks to in this level are barely coherent. Charlie Green, a man who was considered reformed enough to be released back into Single Max is a [[EmptyShell broken, disconnected husk]] of his former self who can only mutter things about birds and occasionally keel over.
* This is a theme in ''VideoGame/{{Furi}}'':
** The Strap has been driven AxCrazy by the effort of trying to physically tear her way out of a cell that constantly regenerates around her.
** The Voice [[UnreliableNarrator claims]] that he's been psychologically damaged by his time inside the prison, as evidenced by his comments about how "being locked up fucks you up inside". And he's [[spoiler:not even an inmate. He's the architect who designed the prison in the first place.]]
** The Voice believes that this trope applies to you, [[spoiler:an immortal alien invader who had to be subdued by an army of hundreds]], as well. He hopes that your time in the prison has changed your outlook enough that [[spoiler:you won't ''destroy the planet'' once you're free.]]
* In the climax of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld,'' the long-imprisoned [[EldritchAbomination Dreamers]] claim that their time in captivity has changed them for the worst, confessing that they've become insensitive to the needs of others because they've forgotten what it's like to be free. It's not certain how much of this is real and how much of this is just more lying to get what they want... [[spoiler: though it's implied that they might not have become so dangerous if they hadn't been used in order to literally build the world.]]
* A key motif in ''VideoGame/TheSuffering.'' Abbot State Penitentiary literally brings out the worst in people, the poor living conditions, brutal discipline, equally-brutal gangs and the [[PsychologicalTormentZone subtle supernatural power]] all slowly driving inmates insane. One inmate by the name of Ranse Truman became so suicidal after a few months that he had to be transferred to Baltimore, and you can actually see his notes in the chapter intros becoming more and more fatalistic as the game continues. When you finally run into him in the sequel, the once-lively [[BadassBookworm prison philosopher]] has parked himself in one of the most dangerous regions in the city and is [[DeathSeeker determined to wait until the Malefactors find him]].
* In ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies,'' this is actually a requirement of inmates at Piranesi. A [[EldritchLocation weird and decidedly eldritch]] PenalColony deep in [[WorldOfChaos Elutheria]], people who've been sentenced to Piranesi only stay for as long as they remain the same: only by undergoing a serious change can you ever be allowed to leave. This can mean permanently dinging your stats... or it can mean undergoing a hideous physical mutation, or even having amputated personality traits manifest as [[EnemyWithout physical entities]]. It's a strange place to say the least.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In Machinima/RedVsBlue, Church and Grif are captured by the Reds at Sidewinder. When they get out, Grif claims to have been changed by the experience.
-->Grif: I've done hard time, Simmons. I'm not the man you used to know.
-->Simmons: Hard time? We were only separated for five hours.
-->Grif: Time moves slower on the inside, Simmons. It seemed like seven or eight hours to me.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', where [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0387.html Thog wonders how he can deal with life]] after he and Elan escape from jail.
-->Thog: [[HulkSpeak thog wonders how thog will cope with life outside jailhouse walls.]] prison changed thog.
-->Elan: We were only in there for 40 minutes.
-->Thog: prison changed thog quickly.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad:'' "Ricky Spanish". Steve spends several months in juvie as a result for trusting Ricky Spanish. He became bitter upon being released.
* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' in which Wooldoor Sockbat is given a minor punishment and afterwards spends the rest of the episode acting like a parolee.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Meg Griffin took it to parody levels in an episode where she went to prison for a few months.
* In ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' Harvey gets tattoos and becomes hardened while in prison for killing DynoMutt.
-->"Step off holmes! [...] You wouldn't last a minute in my world!"
* ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'' episode "Brother From Another Series" revolves around this trope as Sideshow Bob is reformed and helps thwart his brother, Cecil. Unfortunately, Bob is still arrested and basically gave up on being good.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': After spending about a year in prison, Chris has only become even ''[[TookALevelInJerkass worse]]'' of an individual coming out than he was when he went in, [[DepravedKidsShowHost with]] ''[[{{Sadist}} all]]'' [[{{Jerkass}} of]] [[{{Narcissist}} his]] [[TheSociopath negative]] [[PsychopathicManchild traits]] being cranked UpToEleven by the time of ''All Stars''.
[[/folder]]
-->--''VideoGame/SunlessSkies''
Sometimes the bad guys get caught, or maybe the good guys are falsely accused. Whatever the reason, this trope occurs when a character is thrown in prison and undergoes some change while there. When they're finally released or break out, it turns out the experience has changed them fundamentally, perhaps teaching them important life lessons or, in the case of HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook, just spurring them on to a life of crime.
Often PlayedForLaughs if the character was only in prison a short period of time, yet still claims to have been irreversibly changed. For a trope on how prisons change people ''physically'', see PrisonsAreGymnasiums.
Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Audio Play]]
* Taken to extremes in the AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audio drama ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho014TheHolyTerror The Holy Terror]].'' Here, a murderer has been imprisoned in a PrisonDimension for so long that he's lost all memories of his criminal identity and has joined the imaginary populace of the prison as a servant, showing no signs of the insane, murderous personality he exhibited while free.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fanfic]]
* In the fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13207275/1/Ace-Combat-7-Three-Strikes Ace Combat 7: Three Strikes]]'' before she was sent to the penal unit Naomi was a team player and followed orders. During her time with 444th she has to deal with the other convicts' looking out for themselves and an [[{{Jerkass}} asshole commander]] that will throw anyone into solitary for the most minor offense. She becomes less trusting of those other then the few friends she made in the Spares and becomes more reckless. This comes to a head when the LRSSG splits up to take care of two separate enemy units to defend Stonehenge. After she feels that her squadron can mop up the rest of their targets she flies back right into Cyclops' targets. This makes [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Wiseman]] take off the kid gloves he has been using and harshly tells her that she has one chance to get her head straight or get sent back home and face another court martial. [[{{Subverted}} This gets her to sober up very quickly]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' DarkFic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12301914/1/All-The-World-s-A-Toybox All The World's A Toybox]]'' features this being inflicted on most of the cast after Bill Cipher takes over the Earth and imprisons his enemies in specially-designed torture cells. Mabel loses a huge chunk of her confidence and descends into self-loathing, Wendy turns AxCrazy out of paranoia, and Gideon is subjected to a serious case of BreakTheHaughty. Taken to extremes in the case of Dipper, [=McGucket=] and Ford [[spoiler: all of whom lose their grip on their own identities and are forced to take on new personalities altogether.]] By contrast, Pacifica Northwest matures while in prison and becomes something of a TeamMom to the other inmates.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
*''Film/Alien3'': Ripley crash-lands on an abandoned prison planet, where she is forced to live as an inmate despite not having done anything wrong. She learns the prison culture the hard way after getting assaulted by the other inmates.
* Ed Norton's character in the film ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'' enters jail as a neo-nazi and leaves as a reformed man.
* ''Film/CarlitosWay'' was based on a gangster who resolved to live lawfully when he was released from prison--and he tried hard to.
* During his stint in prison in ''Film/TheATeam'', B.A. Baracus took a vow of nonviolence. By the movie's end, however, he had discarded it.
* After one of his trips to the past landed him in prison, and another got him out, the main character of ''Film/TheButterflyEffect'' was startled by a waitress asking if he'd been in prison. The way he hunched over his food looked just like his brother; a defensive technique to keep other prisoners from snatching off his plate.
* ''Film/AmericanMe'' is about a gangster who practically grew up in the prison system and has difficulty adjusting to the outside world when he is released as an adult.
* Played for laughs in ''Film/TheLegendOfZorro'', when Joaquin breaks Alejandro out of prison. A few guards come running, and Alejandro thrashes them in about five seconds flat. When a surprised Joaquin asks him where he learned that, he quips, "Prison changes a man, son."
* Spoofed in the third ''Film/TheNakedGun'' film, when Frank is undercover in prison and has a talk with fellow inmate Tyrone, a black guy.
-->'''Tyrone''': Take it from me. This place changes a man.
-->'''Frank''': Oh yeah, in what way?
-->'''Tyrone''': I used to be white. [Beat] I was a drummer for The Osmonds.
* Discussed in ''Film/ShotCaller'' by a gang member. Indeed, when Jacob is finally released, he's not just a notorious killer, but the experience has changed him so fundamentally that he refuses to reunite with his family for their own good.
-->'''Bottles:''' The fact is, we all started out as someone's little angel. And a place like this forces us to become warriors or victims. Nothing in between can exist here.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheOutsiders'' implies that this happened to Dallas long before the story began. He later tries to convince his still innocent MoralityPet Johnny not to confess to the murder he committed in self defense because of it.
-->"You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you. Oh, blast it, Johnny, you get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me..."
* After being rescued from [[MindPrison Cyberia]] in ''Literature/RedDwarf: Last Human,'' Lister's AlternateSelf goes a little crazy, risks his life to steal some alcohol from the infirmary, and murders several defenseless prison guards before being restrained. Afterwards, he claims that this trope is in play, having lost all traces of his old slobby-amiable self after months in virtual hell. [[spoiler: He's lying: Lister's other self is a psychopath with no impulse control and no regard for the lives of others, as ''our'' Lister discovers when his doppelganger abandons him in Cyberia and forces him to take his place at the prison.]]
* In ''[[Literature/DifferentSeasons Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption]]'' (and its [[Film/TheShawshankRedemption film adaptation]]), it's specifically pointed out that prison warps your personality over time. Indeed, one of the many things that annoys the warden is the way Andy is still acting like his old self despite years of confinement, and hasn't acquired the cautious, hunched look exhibited by many long-term cons. More notably, the prison also makes the inmates dependent on it: after spending decades at Shawshank, Brooks is left totally adrift when he's finally released and finds himself unable to cope with his new existence; for a while, he seriously considers committing another crime so he can get sent back to prison - [[spoiler: but in the end, he settles for killing himself instead.]] Red experiences this as well when he finally gets out, to the point that his supervisor at work is clearly annoyed by his habit of asking permission for every little thing.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire,'' the straightest example of this appears the form of [[YesMan Grand Maester Pycelle]]: imprisoned in the infamous [[HellholePrison Black Cells]] for getting on the bad side of Tyrion Lannister, Pycelle emerges a shadow of his former self thanks to the terrorizing conditions within the dungeon. Left humiliated, shaken and in poor health, he seems older than ever before - even falling asleep during Joffrey's wedding. [[spoiler: Because of this, he's unable to save Joffrey from a fatal poisoning.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* After spending the first half of season 7 of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' in prison, Oliver Queen becomes a lot more concerned with how the consequences of his actions effect others, including the people he's helped put in jail. Oliver becomes less volatile, now preferring slower, methodical investigation that leads to legal, lawful prosecution and talking in order to de-escalate potentially violent situations rather than his previous method of making demands and putting arrows in people who don't comply. In contrast to the eponymous name, the Green Arrow has barely used his bow and arrow post-prison. Additionally, the biggest change is that Oliver is now deputized and working with Star City PD instead of acting as a vigilante as he did in the first six seasons.
* In season 3 of ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' Eli Thomson got out of prison and he does not make any claims that he is a changed man but the audience quickly sees a serious level of CharacterDevelopment. He is more humble, careful and GenreSavvy.
* Michael Westen talks about the most basic manifestations of this trope for one of his minisidles [[note]] small roles Michael plays to get close to his targets, basically an accent, a bit of wardrobe, a hairstyle, and a way of standing[[/note]] in the fifth season of ''Series/BurnNotice''; guys who have been in prison tend not to make eye contact, and they ask permission before doing ''anything''.
* One episode of ''Series/CSIMiami'' dealt with a young man being tossed in prison because of a MiscarriageOfJustice and while he is inside he is constantly given PrisonRape by an older prisoner, to the point the young man shanks him to death to make it stop and becomes more emotionally dead in general. The investigation eventually leads to the correct criminal and thus the young man is set free (with the murder he committed waived away as self-defense), but Horatio really can't do more for him than apologize for the whole mess.
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Zhaan eventually reveals that she is a positive example of this: having been reduced to "a savage" by [[MurderMakesYouCrazy the assassination]] of her lover and mentor [[BrokenPedestal Bitaal]], she was imprisoned by the Peacekeepers and - because of her violent behavior - spent most of her sentence in solitary. However, after seventeen years alone, she was gradually able to submerge her darker impulses, resume her study of the Delvian Seek, and eventually emerge from captivity as the AllLovingHero we first encounter in the pilot episode.
* A bit character on one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' was a death row inmate who converted to Islam while in prison and wished to atone.
* This is the [[CharacterDevelopment character arc]] of quite a few figures in ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack''. Zig-zagged and possibly deconstructed with protagonist Piper, who comes to question whether prison has really changed her, or just brought out her true self.
* Discussed in an episode of ''Series/ProvenInnocent'' when Madeline and Easy take on the case of a young black man who was wrongfully convicted in a shooting and has spent several years in jail. All that time in prison has aged the kid, making it that much harder to convince the jury that he was still a teenager when he was arrested.
* An episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had [[TheChewToy Miles O'Brien]] accused of espionage and sentenced to several decades - in a special device to [[YearInsideHourOutside implant]] [[MindPrison memories of prison]]. The rest of the episode deals with his attempt to recover from the effects of this, and what he remembers 'doing' in prison.
* Parodied in an episode of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' in which Dick tries to prove that he can reform a "hardened" criminal through compassion and understanding. His chosen ex-convict was a relatively minor criminal who was only in jail for a short time, but Dick quickly starts treating him as though he's a hardened criminal.
* ''Series/Watchmen2019'' eventually reveals that Adrian Veidt has spent the last few years in a GildedCage [[spoiler: PrisonDimension hidden on Europa.]] Over time, the restrictions on his lifestyle, servile clone assistants, inability to leave the prison and overall impotent rage have resulted in Adrian transforming from a narcissistic but AffablyEvil WellIntentionedExtremist to a FauxAffablyEvil psychopath who regularly murders his servants in fits of pique.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'': when a PlayerCharacter is arrested and thrown into [[TheAlcatraz Ironhook]], their player must make an "incarceration roll" that determines how bad their time behind bar has been. On a bad roll, the character automatically receives a Trauma, which usually has major impact on future role-play, as well as being completely incurable under the regular rules.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Theater]]
* In ''Theatre/BloodBrothers'', Mickey's stint in prison as an accessory to murder turns him into a severely-depressed EmptyShell.
* By the start of ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'', fifteen years spent unlawfully imprisoned in an Australian PenalColony have turned the title character from a naive and "foolish" barber into a bitter, vengeful and deeply cynical man with no moral qualms about killing to keep his secrets. And this is ''before'' he snaps and becomes a full-blown SerialKiller.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* The end of ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'' [[spoiler:has this happen to the antagonists Kid Tannen and Edna Strickland. When Marty and Doc finally make it back to their time, they find the now older Kid and Edna are now married, making the latter Biff's stepmother, and have mellowed out from their time in prison. Edna has even grown fond of dogs!]]
* Enforced in ''VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay''. The eponymous prison is separated into three security levels, the third being a CryoPrison where the most troublesome inmates are stored. Long-term exposure to cryostorage seems to have a degenerative effect on the minds of inmates, likely exacerbated by the fact that they're only allowed a ''minute'' of daily exercise with limited stimuli; as a result, the few inmates Riddick speaks to in this level are barely coherent. Charlie Green, a man who was considered reformed enough to be released back into Single Max is a [[EmptyShell broken, disconnected husk]] of his former self who can only mutter things about birds and occasionally keel over.
* This is a theme in ''VideoGame/{{Furi}}'':
** The Strap has been driven AxCrazy by the effort of trying to physically tear her way out of a cell that constantly regenerates around her.
** The Voice [[UnreliableNarrator claims]] that he's been psychologically damaged by his time inside the prison, as evidenced by his comments about how "being locked up fucks you up inside". And he's [[spoiler:not even an inmate. He's the architect who designed the prison in the first place.]]
** The Voice believes that this trope applies to you, [[spoiler:an immortal alien invader who had to be subdued by an army of hundreds]], as well. He hopes that your time in the prison has changed your outlook enough that [[spoiler:you won't ''destroy the planet'' once you're free.]]
* In the climax of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld,'' the long-imprisoned [[EldritchAbomination Dreamers]] claim that their time in captivity has changed them for the worst, confessing that they've become insensitive to the needs of others because they've forgotten what it's like to be free. It's not certain how much of this is real and how much of this is just more lying to get what they want... [[spoiler: though it's implied that they might not have become so dangerous if they hadn't been used in order to literally build the world.]]
* A key motif in ''VideoGame/TheSuffering.'' Abbot State Penitentiary literally brings out the worst in people, the poor living conditions, brutal discipline, equally-brutal gangs and the [[PsychologicalTormentZone subtle supernatural power]] all slowly driving inmates insane. One inmate by the name of Ranse Truman became so suicidal after a few months that he had to be transferred to Baltimore, and you can actually see his notes in the chapter intros becoming more and more fatalistic as the game continues. When you finally run into him in the sequel, the once-lively [[BadassBookworm prison philosopher]] has parked himself in one of the most dangerous regions in the city and is [[DeathSeeker determined to wait until the Malefactors find him]].
* In ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies,'' this is actually a requirement of inmates at Piranesi. A [[EldritchLocation weird and decidedly eldritch]] PenalColony deep in [[WorldOfChaos Elutheria]], people who've been sentenced to Piranesi only stay for as long as they remain the same: only by undergoing a serious change can you ever be allowed to leave. This can mean permanently dinging your stats... or it can mean undergoing a hideous physical mutation, or even having amputated personality traits manifest as [[EnemyWithout physical entities]]. It's a strange place to say the least.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In Machinima/RedVsBlue, Church and Grif are captured by the Reds at Sidewinder. When they get out, Grif claims to have been changed by the experience.
-->Grif: I've done hard time, Simmons. I'm not the man you used to know.
-->Simmons: Hard time? We were only separated for five hours.
-->Grif: Time moves slower on the inside, Simmons. It seemed like seven or eight hours to me.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', where [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0387.html Thog wonders how he can deal with life]] after he and Elan escape from jail.
-->Thog: [[HulkSpeak thog wonders how thog will cope with life outside jailhouse walls.]] prison changed thog.
-->Elan: We were only in there for 40 minutes.
-->Thog: prison changed thog quickly.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad:'' "Ricky Spanish". Steve spends several months in juvie as a result for trusting Ricky Spanish. He became bitter upon being released.
* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' in which Wooldoor Sockbat is given a minor punishment and afterwards spends the rest of the episode acting like a parolee.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Meg Griffin took it to parody levels in an episode where she went to prison for a few months.
* In ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' Harvey gets tattoos and becomes hardened while in prison for killing DynoMutt.
-->"Step off holmes! [...] You wouldn't last a minute in my world!"
* ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'' episode "Brother From Another Series" revolves around this trope as Sideshow Bob is reformed and helps thwart his brother, Cecil. Unfortunately, Bob is still arrested and basically gave up on being good.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': After spending about a year in prison, Chris has only become even ''[[TookALevelInJerkass worse]]'' of an individual coming out than he was when he went in, [[DepravedKidsShowHost with]] ''[[{{Sadist}} all]]'' [[{{Jerkass}} of]] [[{{Narcissist}} his]] [[TheSociopath negative]] [[PsychopathicManchild traits]] being cranked UpToEleven by the time of ''All Stars''.
[[/folder]]
