Verdict countdown: If found guilty, Jackson will be sent to ‘celebrity prison’

IF Michael Jackson is found guilty of any one of the 10 counts against him he will almost certainly be locked up in one of California’s most secure prisons.

Judge Rodney Melville has the discretion to remand him immediately into custody if he considers Jackson an increased danger to the community and a flight risk.

When the verdict is delivered he would likely be handcuffed in court and taken to Santa Barbara County Jail.

From there, convicts are generally taken to Wasco State Prison, where they are evaluated physically and mentally to determine their security risk and appropriate requirements.

They are strip searched, photographed, have their hair cut and a DNA sample taken.

Within 45 days they are transferred to a permanent facility.

Corcoran State Prison, surrounded by sprawling farmland, is a special unit for high profile prisoners who are not on death row.

It is designed to protect famous convicts and houses the likes of mass murderers Charles Manson and Juan Corona.

Senator Robert Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, was one of the first inmates but was transferred last year.

For celebrities, it is considered the safest place within the Californian prison system. A prisoner such as Jackson would be kept in near solitary confinement.

A Corrections Department spokesperson, Terry Thornton, said the Protective Housing Unit (PHU) was designed for inmates whose notoriety would likely result in great bodily harm if placed in the general population.

“There is no alternative placement, which can ensure the inmate’s safety and provide the degree of control required for the inmate,” she said.

The PHU is currently home to 20 prisoners.

Most live in single cells containing a concrete bed, metal sink, desk and toilet.

Prisoners must wear blue denim jeans, a blue shirt and brown boots.

They are given white T-shirts, boxer shorts and a denim jacket.

They are entitled to shower once a day and are allowed visitors for four to six hours at weekends.

Exercise is permitted in the morning and afternoon. In the evenings, inmates are allowed to socialise together in the day room.

They play games, chat and watch television before being locked back in their cells at 8.45pm.

“Problems are rare in the PHU,” said publicity officer Sabrina Johnson.

“It is quiet and the daily regimes generally pass without incident.”