Prison Life magazine, May-June 1995
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,a 744 70 86601 s Announcing PRISON LIFE s Second Annual Art Behind Bars Contest PRIZES 1st Prize-$250 and two subscriptions to Prison Life 2nd Prize-$150 and two subscriptions to Prison Life 3rd Prize-$50 and two subscriptions to Prison Life WRITING CATEGORIES Fiction: short stories or excerpts from longer works, up to 15 pages Nonfiction: essays or articles, up to 15 pages Poetry: no more than two poems, up to 5 pages Drama (1st place only): scenes, excerpts from plays or screenplays, up to 30 pages VISUAL ARTS CATEGORIES Paintings, drawings, collage, sculpture-any medium. Contest Rules: Entries accepted only from incarcerated contestants. YOU MUST BE IN JAIL OR I PRlSO TO E TER T I-llS CONTEST. Manuscripts must be typewritten or legibly handwritte n in English. 1 ame , priso n 10 number, name and address of institutio n must be o n fro nt page of all e ntries. Conte ta nts may ubmit o nly o ne enul' in each category. Entries will not be re turned unless accompan ied by a self-addressed, stamped e nvelo pe. Only unpublish ed manuscripts and art wi ll be considered, with the exception of pieces that have appeared in prison publicalio ns. All eno-ies becom e the property of Prison Life, and th e winn ers will be published in Prison Life magazine. Send entries to Art Be hind Bars Contest, Prison Life magazine, 505 8 th Avenue, New Yo rk, NY I 00 18. Contest Deadline: October 15, 1995. COVER Gangland USA Photos by Marc Levin (CrifJ.;) a 11 d Chris Coz.zo 11t' (Tt'Xas & Delgado) May-June 1995 Design by Bobo I \'illhit' Features 20 Liberating Prisoners with Kindness Meet the man who says the convict code is bullshit. Bo Lozoff is out to change the hearts and minds of the toughest cons. 26 The Real World of Bruce Cutler For defending John Gotti, this mob lawyer might end up beside his client. 32 More Art Behind Bars Winners Art, Drama, Poetry, Fiction and Essays. 44 Gangland USA: Texas Learn the shady history of Texas prison gangs and why veteran gang members are quitting. 4 7 8 10 12 15 18 55 57 58 60 61 66 68 70 72 76 79 83 85 86 Voice of the Convict Word Mail Call Insider Outlook Guest Editorials Block Beat Callouts Cellmate of the Month Ask Bubba Crimejacker Tattoo of the Month Prison Papers Survival Family Matters Iron Pile In-House Counsel Ask Do Nurses In-Cell Cooking Fat Tracks Classifieds Pen Pals P,i,on Life mag;uinc is publi..,h cd bimunthlr b) PRII.IFE. Inc .. I i~, :Jth . \H'IIlK'. Suite.· ~~o:,, ~c.·,, Yoa k 'Y 10010. Prhon l.ah· m.tg.vint.• j.., 1uintc.·d in tht' L'~. \ .mel all r ig hts arc rc sl.'r\'cd. © 1995 h) .Joint \'l.:nlutt." ~lcdia. Inc. ~o po111 ol th i' h(mk m;t} he ICJH nclun·rl w ll.m,mined in .til\ Icum 01 h) an' mt'.tn' \\ithn ut "' iut·n p l·nnissio n of the publisher. Un ~olirit l'd man uscrip h ancl photograph' an: the respon,ihilit\' of \C..'ndc.·1 '· .\11 h·th'l"'• "'l'lll 10 1'1 j,o11 l.ik magatint· will hl' tat·:ttt·d a' unconditio n a lly :L~si gnccl for publication o r hn>c hu re. ancl arc ~ uhjt·< 1 111 l•ri:-.on L ift· mag-.llilu.··, Ulllc,lli<h-"d right to l·dit .uu l tOII1111Clll. Sin~h: <opil·:-. in tht· l 1 S :\.95. Su bscription ra tes o ne } t':tl' in L'S. 2 -1.75 for H j,,tll'': in Can.t<l. t. .111 addition al 1(1; .111 .tddition,ll I~ d,l'whc.·ll': .111 p.l\.1hh.: in L'S lund' on I\'. PJt:;~,c.· lll,til all !\Ubscriplion ord ers a ncl ch:m g:t'' to Pri"m l.ifl' mag:a1int·. Suh'n iptinn Dt·partnJc.•ut. I ~IJO \\'t_·,tlwimc.·l. Suitt· 1(10. l luthtnn. I X 77027-l ·l~fi. PRISON LIFE 3 by Richard Stratton Editor & Publisher nce upon a time in America th e puritan ica l bu sybod y lo bb y made booze illegal. The rich, of course, never went without. They had the ir French wine, the ir Scotch and Irish whiskey. But th e ordinary citizens who wanted a drink had to resort to m oo n shinin g an d boo tl egging. Illegal activity. Crime. Prohibition created the opportuni ty for o utlaws and criminals to amass great fortun es and gave rise to th e powe rful organ ized crime syndicates that still rule ma ny of the rackets today. Crime is a result o f circumstances, a respo nse to circ um stan ces. T h e re are some c rimes we all recognize as mala in se-literally "bad in t h e mselves"- like ra pe, robbery and coldb loode d murde r . But m ost c rimes a re mala in fJrojJri.o-bad in circumsta n ces whe r e the p owers that be have d eemed the m bad, like smoking o r growing cannabis, like gamblin g a nd prostitution , a n d a co n sta ntly g rowing numbe r o f o th e r offe n ses punishable by lo ng terms of impriso nme n t o r, in some case , d eath. T h e co n ditions t h a t crea te m ost c rim e a re pove rty, racism, ignora nce, idle n ess and oppression o f the weak, the poor a nd the free- th inker s by powerfu l a nd into le r a nt co ntrol freaks. At any give n tim e, the vast maj o r i ty of p eo p le i n priso n a re th e re for co mmittin g ac ts th at are crimes only because they offe nd the ru ling powers. What goYe rnm e nt h as g ive n u s most recen tly, as a result o f drug prohibition, is a civil war. Police a nd gove rn m e nt agents, usin g b rutal a nd underha nded tactics, arc battli ng on many fro nts with la rge and growing segm e n ts of socie ty wh o ch oose to use a nd t raffi c in ill egal drugs. At O 4 PRISON LIFE least 60 pe rce n t of the millio n and a h alf people in priso n in th e Uni ted States are priso ne rs of the drug war. It is important to re membe r that the gove rnment declared this war; the the lawmakers are respon sible for the crime, the viole nce an d b loodsh ed , and th e devastating impact the illegal dru g trade a nd t h e wa r o n c rim e have h ad on th e econ omy. T h e Republican cartel that rece ntly wres ted m aj or i ty co n tr o l of Co n g ress did so by maki n g a p ac t wi t h influ e nti a l Natio n a l Ri fl e Association lobbyists whose quid pm quo was for ewt Gingrich and compa n y to sc uttle th e ba n o n assaul t weapons once they took ove r the legisla ture . This m a kes p e rfec t se n se. Wh e n yo u d ecla re war upo n large numbe rs of th e pop ul ace, the arms business is bound to remain strong. ow e wt, In c. trumpe ts the Repu blican Co ntrac t Wi th America. Do n ' t be foo le d by th e rh e to ri c. These guys are front me n for the big corpo rations tha t make their money buildi ng weapo ns and p risons, a nd in dang e r ous tec hnol og ies th a t a re harm ful to individ uals and the e nvir onme nt. They se ll illu sio n s o f defe nse and security to a n intimida ted citizenry who o nly want to work, earn a decent living a nd be left alone to love their families. The new gang in power has put a contract on America. They pu t a hit o n tl1e ideals that made th is country unique: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They e t the stage fo r the bloodi est and most cos tly d o m estic war eve r t o r e n d an d in evi tabl y destroy a great nation. The contract o n America ca n o n ly res ult in a vicious, evil tai lspin imo fu rtl1 e r exacerba tio n of the conditi ons that have resulted in the highest ra te of incarcera tio n in the world , a nd in ga ng warfare o n the stree ts of our inner cities. Outla w gangs must a n d will resort to vio le nce to defe nd their turf and th eir freedom against the biggest gang of tl1em all, the governme nL It is a repeat of alcohol proh ibition only much worse because now th e re are m ore guns, more kids o n the streets with nothing to lose, more angry and a lienated prisone rs with no ho pe, no in cen tives to c h a n ge exce pt to become a ngrier and more alienated. Look a r o und yo u . Wh a t d o yo u see? Me n a nd women doing 20, 30, 40 years o r life with n o pa ro le for drugs. An end to Pell gra n ts and the disco ntinu a tion o f ed u ca tio n al a nd cou n se ling programs th a t at least h e ld out some hop e for positi ve c ha nge. Insan e n ew in itiatives to take away the weights, take away TVs, ban ciga re tte smokin g, make co nditions in Ame ri can prisons even worse tl1 an they alread y are. And wh a t is the result? Mo re c r ime a nd more violence every day. A guard bludgeoned t o d ea th a t t h e p e nite nti a ry in At la nta. Co p s killing kid s in t h e su·eets. Kids killing each o ther. More hate. More despe ratio n . Does th e Pillsbury Doug h Boy sta nd a cha n ce against a hard-assed su·eet kid who doesn ' t give a d amn if h e lives o r di es? These g uys are n ot con servatives. The y do n 't want to co n se rve a n ything exce pt th eir wealth a nd the ir power. They are wasteful, greedy parasites who cloak the hideous ye llow stripe up th e ir spines in mo ral sup eriority. Most of the Republicans and their allies from the Ch ristian Rig h t do not wan t to do away with big gove rnme nt. T hat's an oth e r of their lies. They do not want to get the governm e n t o ff o ur bac ks a n y m o re th a n the De mocrats do. They W I' the gove rnme nt. They wi ll continu e to vote th emselves p ay increases and p ass stupid laws that harm socie ty because they rep rese nt special inte rests that profit off our fear and mise ry. The Re publi ca n s want a strong, vengeful gove rnm en t tha t h as the powe r to ki ll a nd imprison an yone who d oes not live according to the ir phon y puritanica l precepts. They me re ly want to re p lace th e waste ful we lfare state with th e eve n m o r e expensive and wastefu l impriso nment a nd exec uti o n s ta te. The y don ' t believe in live and le t live. They arc an organized gang of rich , tigh tassed , e litist, paranoid , violence-and war-loving totali tar ia n s who want cvc•yone to live as they see fit. Si n ce when is it consen·a ti ve to waste billions of dollars buildi ng prisons to ware house people who could o th erwise be working a nd contributin g to socie ty? An d h ow ca n it be conservative to insist o n te lling others what they can and cannot do with th e ir own bodies in th e p rivacy of the ir own homes? These arc no t consc n ·ative positions. How ca n yo u be conse rvative and want to destroy life? You ca nn o t be con sen rative and be for the death penalty. Giving the u ltimate power of life and d eath to the gove rnm e nt flies in th e race of th e truly conserva tive positio n or dim inishing th e powers of gover nm e nt 0\·er the individual. To be conserva tive means th at you want to preserve and protect the traditio nal va lu es that o ur fo undin g fathers recognized as essentia l to the Ame rican vision: life, li berty and the pursuit of h appiness. You ca nn o t be conse n rative and be for war, d eath , mass im prisonment and the pe rpe tuatio n of fea r and misery. Si nce taking out th e ir comract o n Ame ri ca, ewt a nd th e boys h ave m a n aged to u su rp fund s the 1994 crime bill earmarked for p revention programs a nd h ave them added to th e bi lli ons a lready exto rte d from fearful taxpaye rs to build more priso n s. Th e G in g ri c h gang cla im s to h ave "resto re [d) c redibili ty to t h e cr imina l justice sys tem, we h ave revised the excl usionar·y rule, whi ch wo uld e nd legal tec hni caliti es th a t freed m a ny criminals, and we h ave establish ed an effective death penalty." \1\lha t bullshit. How many crimina ls besides Ollie 1o rth do you know wh o were freed becau se o f a legal tec hnicality? What Gingrich is really saying is that th e Republicans have increased the powers of the State by making it possible for police and agen ts of th e government to storm our homes and seize our belongings wi tho ut a warra nt so long as they are acting "in good faith ." You d on't g ive the police these kinds of absolute powe rs over the citize nry and expect th at th ey will act in good faith. Power corrupts. Absolute power co1-rupts absolutely. A police state run by age nts with th e power to in vade, search and seize our la nd, our homes and our a uto mobiles, a nd to execute us for o ur offe ns es, is h ardl y a "renewed a nd rej uvenated Ame rican civiliza tio n " as th e Republi can cartel has pro mised. It is n ow an offense punishable by death to be caug ht with 60,000 pound or marijuana or 60,000 marijuana plants. This is not a "true civil society" as Gingri ch proposes. It is a vicious, desu·uctive totalita1ian police sta te a nd it wi ll un leash a horrifying backlash . The oth er day I was on a TV show debating whether ex-cons should be a llowed to hold political office. In February there we re five forme r convicts running for office in Chi cago. We ta lked a b ou t Marion Bar ry. I defended the Mayor a nd his rig ht to hold o ffice. The govern me nt created the circumstances for Barry LO com mi t a bogus "crime" like smokin g some vials of crack. They used a forme r g irlfriend to entice him into a hote l room and serve up the rocks. Let's see, you take a guy who's got a problem with cocaine a nd maybe a problem with womanizing, put him in a hotel room with so m e roc k an d a b ea utiful woma n . \1\lo nde r what's gonna happen? If that isn't a pe rfect example of gove rnme n t-created crime, th e re a re many others I can tell you about. 'ot only should ex-cons be allo\\"ed t o run for office , I argued , th ey s h o ul d be a ll owe d to vo t e, th ey should ha,·e all thei r civil d isabilities restored. Th e re are a lo t of ex-cons o ut he re working, ru n nin g co mpanies, holding the ir f~1mili es togeth er, contributing to society, living and le tting live. And with an incarce rati on rate of o n e in eve ry 156 ad ults in prison, there will be more and more ex-cons hitting the trects e\'Cl)' year. Maybe it takes a convict to recogn ize a murde r co ntract o n Ame ri ca wh e n h e sees it. I think ex-co ns arc e minently suited to run for a nd hold political office in this counuy. We've seen what the professio nal politician can do; they gave us the cold war, Vietnam a nd n ow th e Co ntrac t o n Ameri ca. Ex-cons have paid for th eir mistakes. Ex-cons wh o have wrned th eir li ves a rou nd are rea li sts who a ppreciate life, li be rty and th e pursuit o f ha ppin ess. In prison you are fo rced to learn to live and let live. Ex-cons need to o rganize. We need to get poli tical and show the rest of Ame ri ca wh y th e politi cia n s don 't want us voting a nd ntnning for o ffice -because we know a con job when we see one. We have been sucked into the belly of the beast and seen where this suicidal comract o n America will lead: to tl1e Am erican gulag, a nation d rench e d in blood, smro und ed in co nce rtina wire and dark e n ed with the shadows o f gun towers. Ex-cons who wan/to organi::R are inuited to write lo Prison Life nlitor and Jmbfisht't~ Richard Slrallon. We want to nrlworll with other ex~jnisotll'rs and I'X-jJtisonn groups who sujJjJorl positiue rhangr' iu tltt' criminal ju.stirl' :.)•stem. PRISON LIFE 5 PinsoN1m: May-June 1995 READERS-WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK With five is ues under o ur belt, we·re ready to hear what you think about Prison Life. Your opinion maue r. Your uggestio ns and ideas are importalll. \"lhy? Because thi is ro ur magazine. Prison Life is the onl)' magazine te lling yo u the tru th about cri me an d p unishme nt in Ameri ca. We are committed to putting out the best publication we can, a nd we need your feedback to make sure we stay on track. Ta ke a few minutes to write down your thoughts. What do you like abo ut th e magazine? \rVhat don 't you like? Wha t we re some of your favorite articles? Least favorite? Wha t columns and d e pa rtme n ts do you read regularly? What should we lose? \l\1hat should we be doing that we're not? What ca n we do be u c r? Any important i sues we haven 't addressed thai you think we shoul d? llow about the magazine's loo k and feel? The p hotOs we use? The tone? The quality of th e writing? re th e articles too long, LOO short or j ust right? Does the occasional use of profanity offe nd you? Have you learned an yth ing fro m P1ison LifP that made a difference in you r life? Have any o f th e articles helped you? Made you laugh, Cl) ' or get angq •? Let us hear fro m you. Be sure to tell us whe the r you' re a prisoner, ex-con , fa mily me mber of a prisoner or a freeworlder wi lh a n imerest in criminal ju ·ti ce issues. How d id you learn abou1 Prison l.ifP? Arc you a subscribe r? If not, why not? Send yo ur resp onses to: Prison Life, DepL RF, 175 5th Aven ue, Suite 2205, ew York, Y l 00 I 0. We appreciate the time )'OU took and the money you spe nt to end u your comme n ts. EDITOR & PUBLISHER Richard Stratton EXECUTIVE EDITOR & ART DIRECTOR Chris Cozzone EDITOR-AT-LARGE Kim Wozencroh MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Wynn ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR Koren Cantrell DESIGN & LAYOUT Bobo Willkie EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Myron "Hodji" Hamilton STAFF ARTISTS Steve Lashley, Rob Sulo, Marty Voelker CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: BEHIND BARS Anthony Bustillos, Michael Davis, Janet Gollowqy, James Goodall, Joseph Hernandez, Kenneth Huskey, Andrew Kish, H. Laible, Robert Modous, Ty Rekshynski, Christian Snyder CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: FREEWORLD Stephen Conway, Deni Jovos CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Coral Kuron, More Levin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: BEHIND BARS Precious Bedell, Kevin Conner, Kermit Cruz, Robert Delgado, Pam Golinveoux, Marilyn Hamilton, Nathaniel Hardy, Lorry Harris, James Machado, Andrew Martin, Robert "Indio" Martinez, Jed Miller, C.W. f>xle, Eric V. Reid, Jorge Antonio Renoua, Steven Smith, Robert Wilson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: FREEWORLD Sharon Goldfarb, Pam Ryder PRISON LIFE EDITORIAL OFFICE 175 5th Ave, Suite 2205 New York, NY 10010 Tel: (2 12)967-9760 Fox: (2 12)967-7 10 1 CANADIAN SALES OFFICE Robert Rowbotham, Canadian Managing Director Kenny Hudson, Assistant 253 College St., Suite 444 Toronto, ONT M5T1 R5 Tel: (416) 536-564 1 Fox: (416) 536-7687 JOI NT VENTURE MEDIA, INC. Money Back Satisfaction Guaranteed! PRESIDENT & CIRCULATION MANAGER Gory Tustison Optical, Inc. P.O. Box 680030, Dept PL53 North Miami, FL 33168 Pris m Optical has been selling prescription eyeglasses to inma tes across the nntion for over 34 years. You may select from a full lin e o f eyeglass frames fo r men and women, incl ud ing desig ner styles, metal frames, and sports glasses, di counted 30-50%. You can have your prescription le nses ground by Prism O ptica l, and choose fro m a n umber o f lens options, including photochromic lenses, u ltra-thin lenses, fashion tinting, and UV-filtering and scratch-resistant coa ting. Single vision, bifocals, trifocals and invisible bifocals are available. Prism guarantees· that the glasses will fit correctly, and the catalog provides gu ides to gauging the correct size of the temple and bridge. 6 PRISON LIFE OPERATIONS ASSISTANT Lewis Groce, Janette Sherlock SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION & INQUIRIES 4200 Westheimer, Suite 160 Houston, TX 77027-4426 CALL: 1-800· 207-2659 ADVERTISING JCI 270 LaFayette St, Suite 1200 New York, NY 100 12 Tel: (212) 274-0400 Fox: (212) 274-0724 PRINTED IN U.S.A. Word MISSING ACOVER? (' yo ur mag's m iss in g a CO\'Cr , it's pro ba bly because it's bee n ripped off , i.e. ce nso red , by yo ur instituti o n. Th e cove r is, of course, ga ngr e la te d a nd we a ll kno w wh at a to uc hy s ubj ect that ca n be with the Adm inistra ti on. But )'Ca h , we we nt a head a nd pu t ga ngs o n t h e cover an yway. Call us bone h ead s, ca ll u s ris ky. Whateva, we ' ve bee n call e d worse. We fe lt it was a topic too im portant to ig no re. He ll, we fig ure d putting ga ngs o n the cove r al so in c reased th e like lih ood o r o ffi c ials read in g th e m ag they love o mu c h to ce n sor. T h en they mig ht no t be so harsh with our 'zinc. I mean , in thi s issue, we're basica lly sayin g what mos t co rrectio n s office r s wo u ld lik e t o h e a r: Who needs ga ngs? Wh e n we a sked you fo r your insight in to ga ngbanging, we had no idea we 'd ge t the response we did. ll Loo k me a good two wee ks to find my Mac bu rie d beneath a ll the le uers. La st month , we fea tu re d Pa rt One o f o ur se ries o n gangs. vVe h eard fro m g u ys l ik e La m ont Brown, a Gangste r Disciple in Wisco nsin , a nd Figal o, an ex-La tin King (wh o, by the wa)', has mad e parole and is pla nning to move to Pue rto Rico w stan a prog ram for tro ubled youth ) . The ove ra ll se nti m e nt r ece ive d fr om the Midw est and East Coas t- basica ll y Fo lks & Peoples-was pro-gang. No d o ubt: Gangs a re o n th e rise. But when we starte d reading the res po nse s fro m T exas, we we re surprised. Nearly 90% were in some way n ega ti ve toward g an gs-a nd these were g uys who '''e re sti ll in ga ngs or who had left th e m. Mi g h t be a tre nd. ll omcbo)'Smost o f 'e m o lder, and , of course, in prison-a rc ge tti ng feel u p with the ir affili atio ns, as you'll read in this issue ( that is, if th e D.O.C. or B.O.P. d ecides lO let you ha\'e it) . Ve terans clown in T exas arc looking at gan gs as a thing of th e past, as so me thing lacking heart and camafis111o. Yo u ' ll m ee t Ro b e rt De lg ad o, o nce a hig h-ra nking ntembe r of the I Tex;1s Syndi cate. He's a n I'.W' who 's up aga in st hi s o ld o rga niza ti on and a ll th e new ones, a · we ll as th e Systc rn. In ste ad of a we ll-sh a r pe ne d s hank, "Bad Bob '' De lgado is ar m e d with Truth-accm ed fro m two d ecades of Syndi cat e wo r k. '·Gangs la ck a purpose the se da ys," De lg ado says . "Thc)" ll on ly drag you down. " If )'Oil won ' t ta ke Delgado's word fo r it , ma yb e yo u ' ll t ake Ma rk Fron c ki e wi cz's. H e's a lso a former ga ng me mbe r, o nce with th e Texas i\ lafia . lle' ll give you the backgro und ofTexas' gang history-which ac tua lly sta rted at th e turn o f th e ce ntury with the De partme nt or Co rrections, no less, start ing the first ga ng. In th is isSllC, we ta lk about another ki nd o f gang- th e mafia. VVe feature an inte rview with mob h ero Bruce Cutl er, j o hn Goui 's lawye r. He' ll talk abou t why the governm e nt (yet, a third ki nd o f ga ng) is Ll)•ing to ra ilro ad h im , th reate n ing him with his own priso n sen tence. We've received lc u e rs fro m so me of you comp la in ing that Prison f.ijt• is too mac ho. (I know you've heard me say it before, but fuckit: Priso11 /,ift• is a magazine for and by p risoners. If }'OU ca n't tak e it ... ) \\'h e n yo u read ·'Liberati ng Prisoners with Kindn ess, " you ' ll se c we have a soft side, wo. You ' ll mee t Bo Lozoff --Lha t is, if you have n ' t ;!Ire ;\d )' b ee n LO one o f his workshops o r re ad h is boo k, Wt•'n• All Doi 11g 'f'i1111'. If th e Lozotrs aren't deep enough, maybe 1a than icl Ha rdy's "i\ laking o f a Crimi n a l" wi ll be. This slic e or life excerpt tied fo r 2nd place no nfictio n in our Art Be hind Bars col\lest. \\'e a lso have seve ra l other wi nners from th e co ntest. "Surre ndering of Spirits," by C. \•V. Pyle, is our fic tio n selec ti o n (dis o ne's fo r you muscleh e ads ); we go t a n excerp t from Pr ec ious He clcll' s "Pi eces ... wh ic h took first place in drama; we got ··unde rg rou nd Clo uds, .. 2nd place pocll)' by Pa m Go lin veaux; a nd we got two pieces by .Jo rge Anton io Renaud, who ca ptu red both 3rcl p la ce poetry and ti ed fo r 2nd p lace in th e no n fi ction categOJ)'. The re are also severa l works of an, a ll hon o rable mentions fro m th e CO lllCSl. We e ncourage you to kee p sending you r work, con ce rn s, lc u c rs and g ri pes Oll r way. We' re in the process o r d eve lo pi ng a pri sone r ne two r k, th e likes of whi ch has n ever bee n accomplished before in o ur nation's histo1y. (I always wan ted to say omething dramatic like tha t.) Sure. there arc go n n a be pro blems: censors hip , reta lia ti o n , bad press, you name it. We n eed you to work with us, as auth ors, artists, sales reps, advocates a nd re porters. We have d ozens o f people already doing so, prison e rs an d freewo rlde rs alike. People like .Jed Mille r (check out the g uest e dito ri a l, "Strik ing O u t in Califo rn ia,'' which he wrote and illusmuccl), Lan y Harris (sec Block Beat), Antho ny Bustillos an d Michael Davis (see an in Insi d er Outloo k) , Alan Masters (wh o con tri buted to .Ja nwuy's UN ICO R story), Bo bby De lgado (the T exas gang stOl)' would 've bee n 1/(/l(a wi t h out hi m ) and Anthon y Pa pa (who's fig hting the \\"llr on drugs on all fro n ts) . And a lso o ur regul a r corres p o nde n ts, "Be nn y" Ventim ig lia , T h omas Fal a te r , .J o n Ma rc Taylor, Re g ina ld ''CA H " Alex a n der , Kin g Buck, Larry Fassle r , Pau l Mu lryan , Michael Lee Wood, and anyone else we failed to mem io n but ra n out o r room. In the end, we'll come o ut o n top. 01ris Cozzoue Editorial Executiouer PRISON LIFE 7 \ Mail Call I just received my ve ry first is ue of Prison l.ifP (March ) a nd I just had to BANNED AGAIN WOMEN AND WIMPS It was good to sec Kare n Whi te on th e cove r o f yo u r .Jan ua ry issue a nd featu red in t h e fin e article by Kim Wo zcncra ft. ly h o p e is that Ms. Wozen craft will conLin uc to seek out and write abou t wom e n priso n e rs. With inc rea eel visibil ity of women in yo u r m agaz in e, pcrhap more women p riso ners will be e ncou raged to contribute. T he .Jan uary issue's Prison Pape rs dcpanmcnt included a review of Grfm River Rising by Tim Wi ll ocks. I fee l o bliged to take issue with the fo llo wing o bservation made by th e rcvic,rer: "'Tim Wi llo cks may have taug h t him to show a man ly beari ng, bu t h is public ist. must have tho ug ht it wou ld se ll mo re books if he looked li ke a homosex ual. " Althoug h I can appreciate the po in t th e reviewer is ma king about image m a rk e tin g, thi · co mm e n t unfo nuna te l)' perpe tuates a tired old ste reotype. Tim Willocks could be a much a homo cxual as the bodybu ilding cbastia n Ve ntimiglia featured on page 71 o f that iss u e . ( I h ope Mr. Ve nti m iglia is no t o fl"c nded. ) Thet·e is no "ho mosexual look. " T he reviewe r need o nl y glan ce at an y o f th e gay rags ava ilable in an y m ;~jor city to sec tha t h o mose xuals arc as h e te rogeneous as he terosex ua ls. Alhnw Fuem Salin as, Ctl s PRISON LIFE a m a pr iso ne r at t h e U nite d States Pe nitenLi;-uy a t Lo mpoc, CA. I am writi ng to li nd out why Pris011 Life has sto pped be ing sent to th is pen itc tlliary. T he last iss ue we rece ived h ere was th e .J anuary '95 iss u e . l b e lieve th e in stiLU t io n has silen tl y banned your magazin e from us priso n ers aft e r th e e nlig htening articl e that ex posed 11 CO R for a ll o f its corrupt ac tiviti es. I since rely ho pe that the voice of us priso ne rs has no t been sile nced. Not ma ny people a rc willi ng to give prisoners a n oppo rtu n ity to spea k o ut. Prison l.ife is inspiring . It isn ' t a magazine filled with torics o f priso ne rs pouting about tri via l maue rs. Pris011 l.ifr' p roves that we priso ners do have ma ny ta le nts and we ca n use the m in ma ny positive ways. Dav id I I a mry l.ompor, CA KUDOS \\'c ·n: been o n lockdown lo r three days behind a minor "Black wdies i\l o nth '" riot aga in st wh ite inma tes and staff ovet· new draco nian gain tim e ru les. Someon e sho t me a co py of yo ur ra g whi c h impressed m e. No rm ally I' m no t partic ularly mo,·ed by th ug-h ca rt or thug-a n as it isn ' t tas te full y p rese nte d , but yo u h ave sha u ered that sho rtfall. Bravo ! Mi rlwel Newell Ma rion Conulioual, Flmida write to say that I thorough ly e njoyed it! It makes me so ha ppy that the cruelties a nd the real facts abou t prison li fe a re fi n a lly being told. So ma ny p e o pl e a r c serious ly d up e d i n to b e lievi n g th at p riso ns arc noth in g more th a n "country clubs" beca use the politicians feed tha t n otio n to the public to justify the obsessive expansio n of punishm e nt tha t is ra mpant in thi s co u ntry. I particularl y enjoyed and agreed 200% with the article written by l'vlr. C ha pman on "America's Obsessio n With Pun ishment". The whole sentiment in this counuy right now is to punish and execute more, and I know in my heart that is n ot th e an swe r to r isin g c rim e . It makes me sad to see people who want to innict pain and hun o n othe rs as th e an swer to th e ir pain. As I see it, "H e who seeks reve nge bc uc r dig two g raves." Keep up th e good work, your magazin e is fantast ic a nd I in t en d t o spread the word! Jan Simmons YOU BONEHEADS Stu c k in t hi s cess p oo l that is Pelican Bay is bad e nough , butjustto a dd to m y agg ravation I've stewe d abo ut why a magazine run by ex-cons would burn a g uy for so meth ing so peuy as a single issue . T hen I received th is m e m ora ndum from th e mail room saying it's bee n banned. T h e n it clicked . Yo u ' re no t th ieves. You ' re j ust bone heads! Now I un d e r sta n d a b o u t Firs t Amendme nt rig h ts, b ut a magazine for cons should a t th e very least be allowed into th e join ts. Don ' t get me wrong. I e njoy your rag . I j ust wish I could read it. j on C. Rubi Crescent City, CA BRAVO I a m happy to inform yo u th a t I appealed th e rejecti o n o f Prison Life, and wo n. I have the book in my cell a t this moment. Please d o n ' t sto p my issues from coming. Billy Blanllenship llimmy H eights, Washington I GANGS: GET REAL co mm e nd yo u o n you r Ma rch 1995 issu e co n cern in g t h e ga n gha nge rs. Pe rso nally, though, I think t h ose cats n eed a reality c h eck. Cangbang ing is for punks. Any man who can't stand on his own and own up to h is responsibilities is no t a man. Th ey need to stop looking for excuses a nd people to blame their own sho rtcomings on. The rea li ty of it is it's time to grow up. It takes a real man to get o!T his ass and ma ke a life for himself a nd his fa mily. In South Carolina prisons it seems like they want to take everything that's positive away from us except th e few books that we have because they know that these clown inmates won ' t even think of picking up a book. Stop whining a nd grow up! If you want to figh t for something, fight for a n education a nd a right to build a new life. Put down the guns and pick up th e pens and pencils. H ere a t Perry Correctional Insti tution alone, approximately 50% of about 600 inma tes are on a sixth grade reading level o r below and can 't even compre hend the meaning a nd p urpose beh ind PLM. The othe r half is too busy being rats a nd U"}'ing to d o the same th ings that got them he re in th e first place. In 1994 alo ne there were approximately e ig ht to 10 deaths rela ted to Pen]'. The o nly reaso n the numbe rs stopped rising was because we ran out of months. Wake up and get an ed ucation. Education is more than learning Math, Scie nce and Social Studies. It's about leaming self discipline and how to improve and rebuild your life without depending on the next man . Th e government is ma king us obsole te by p roviding ou r wives, mothers and sisters with welfare. They put police sub-stations in the projects and n eigh borhoods so that they can SNAKE, YOU WORM feel "protected." All the while the drugs In the past, I've read PLM cover to and guns are killing ou r children. cover, but the March issue was getting While all th is is going on, so-called read haphazardly because I wanted to "men " are run ning arou nd in gangs get r ight to what Kun stler and Kuby and getti ng locked up, claiming to be had to say with priso n ers' first men and trading in their families for a Amendme n t righ ts. After I tackled family of punks who still can 't figh t for that, I ran across a review of Body themselves. Scoobie C said tha t he was Coun t's Born Dead, by Jimmy "Snake" trying to help h is brothers to grow to Tyle r of Rikers' Isla nd. By the time I their full potential. Well, history has finished , my blood was boili ng. proven th a t th e r e are two kind of I can see why Tyler got the nickpotential: the potential to be a success n a me, "Snake." His claim th at "Born and the potential to destroy each oth er. Dead kicks some serious ass" is h is own Love is whe n yo u want for yo ur inab ili ty to admit that he n eeds h is bro the r wh a t you \Yant for yourse lf. own ass kicked! "At first," he claims, "1 I'm sending out a challenge to PLM. I was sorta p issed off because Bod y dare you to check out wh at's going o n Count was ta lking about taking out in the South Carolina Deparunent of th e vVhite folks." But then he figures Corrections. Not on ly wi ll yo u find it out and starts ya ppin ': "Yeah, Ice, that there a re many o th er things for I'm with ya!" the read ers to know, but there are also Anytime somebody puts lyrics in a many p eople h ere wh o have learned so ng th at advocates killing anybody, to use their potential and unity to the and th a t includes wh ite people, it pissbest of their knowledge and a bilities. I es me off. And th e lyrics to ecessa11' feel th a t this mag needs more positive Evi l," about killin' a liule white kid news, even thoug h it's good to know because someone thought he called how the other h alf of this incarcerated th em a "nigga." Le t me hip J immy "Worm " Tyle r to somethi ng: Bl acks world survives. Don 't forget that the re are also some d isrespect th emselves everyday by callsuccess stories behind these walls. You ing th e mselves "nigga," th e very word say that this is my magazine too? Then they would want to ki ll a white kid for. why can 't my articles get published in Ice T and Body Count e mbodies the word "evil " wi th the racist lyrics th ey my magazine? spew in thei r albums. Charles Wakefield Perry Con·ectional ~""-.. I ma ke no apo log ies for be ing Institution '-~HJ If. white. And I carry no gu ilt for it. ~ ~ '~· "Worm "' Tyler needs to get a little ?~~'.;'-- pride in his p i tiful punk life +.~ 11 "'til because he' defin itely confused. 7"4.0!.1. . ~, Proud to be vVHITE! ~~ ·~ B.A. Lima Con-ectional PRISON LIFE 9 no support from the outsid e? We are u·eatedlikc lowlifes. And that is why we keep co mi ng back over a nd ove r. Steven Smith t\11umsas Stall' P1ison YOU ASK WHY? I'm serving a 15-year sem e nce and this is my first time in trouble. At fi rst, Ill)' wife told me,"Don'L won)', I' ll be right he re for yo u. " Now th ings have cha nged. In j u t six months, she realized I wasn't the best husband and that I needed w clo some things be tter. But why w·ait umil I' m in prison to tell me d1is? I re me mber the clay whe n I surrend e red myself to the police. She cried for hou rs. Whi le I was in jai l waiting Lo go to p ri o n , we ta lke d o n th e phone two or three times a day. She wrote me lc u ers telling me how much she loved m e and what kind or th ings we wou ld do when I got out. All the men in jail with me, who had bee n thro ugh this before, said she'd leave me before I go t out. I w id the m "no way" for she loved me too much. VVhen I re peated what they'd said, she told me, " o way." She and her mothe r had sp e nt $5 7,995 in just e ig ht mo n ths on me just be fo re I ca me to oPRISON LIFE 1 jail. Her mother even called me "son. ·· ATTICA: WHO'S TO BLAME? My wife wroLC me a lette r tha t said, ··1 promise lO love rou forever. I promise Attica has been abandoned as a waste to ll)' my best to spoil and make you land a nd warehouse for social misfits. happy. I promise to be he re whe n you The rights and privileges secured afte r get out. " d1e l 97 1 Attica riot a re grad uall)' slip'Nell, l guess black and wh ite don't ping away a nd arc being replaced by the mea n a lo t if yo u ' re in prison. The former stattts quo of savage abuse and le tte rs have sLo pped coming. When I reso;ction. got my case back in coun, I tri ed to V\'ho's to b la me for the restrictions call her but the number was no t work- and loss of rig hts? ing so I had my mom try getti ng her We lost the ed ucational release prom o m at wo rk. Af ter a b out two to g ram h ere at Atti ca clue to sexual three weeks, my mom was to ld th a t harassment complain ts against convicts my wife ··won't waiL ' ti l I get o ut of by the student body on campu and prison lO ee if r vc changed." me confiscation of dn.tgs auempted to Al l this time, I wrote fi ve or six le t- be smuggled into the in stilllti on by te rs and sh e never answered o n e of convicts attending school o n ca mpus. them. She won't even tell me th e new The package room privilege of receivphone numbe r at ho me. My liu.le sis- ing h ome-cooked goods we re taken ter went to T exas to see why she was- from us because drugs were frequently n ' t writing m e back but s h e was being discovered in chicke n a nd turkey nowh ere LO be fo und. buns, baked into ca kes or fo und in Finally, my wife called my mo th e r Lipton so up bags. Glass obj ects were a nd said that she sti ll loved me but tha t transformed into weapons, the me ta l she was going to waiL until I got out to hot pots were used to heat up cooking see if priso n nrade me mean. This is oil to d islig ure someone's face and heard a lot by us metal silvenvarc was stolen in large volco nvicts, by o ur umes fro m the messh all for shanks. loved ones. I Fish tanks were used to conceal shanks wonder if th ey beneath the gravel, which resul ted in eve r ask th e m- their removal. There used to be a selves why we crossover policy here until g roups of become so bi tter convicts man ipulated th is recreational , -....,..... and mean. process to ex tort, sta b a nd sn atch First, we are chains o fr the n ecks o f other convicts trea ted like a ni- and escap e unn oticed back to t h eir m a ls a n d th e n r es p ective yards d uri ng the final o ur love d o n es crossover period. turn th eir backs And wha t about the p reparati on of on us wh e n we our food and the gene ral condi tions of ne e d t h em t h e the messhal l? Are we aga in to blame most. T he n after d1e correctional staff? Is it not the conwe do ge t o u t, vict who victim izes other convicts in d1 is t h ey want us area? Who is it who prepares the watery back. Wh y aren 't ju ice, Kool-aid a nd coffee? Or the th ey h e r e wh e n mushy macaroni, rice and lumpy gravy? we n eed th e m These are all pre pared by convicts. the most? There's no argument that the corI h ave learn ed rectional stafr he re is largely at fau lt that 95% of me n for creating the u·emendous amount locked up lo e a of pressure a nd hosti lity beh ind these loved on e, moth- walls. But it is my comentio n that we e r, fathe r, sweet- shou ld also face wh at pan we play in heart, sister, bro- making an already bad situa t io n ther, kids or th e worse. It's in the acknowledgment of who le fam ily. our errors tJ1a t we can begin preve ntWh y do we b e- ing repe ti tion. co m e so biLLe r Eric \1. Reid h ere in he ll with Attica C.F. Thanks to Gov. Tommy "Lock-'e mup" Tho mpson , Wisco nsin is expe rie n cing the worst priso n ove rcrowding eve r. We have "three strikes, yo u ' re o u t," "life means life," "sexual predator laws," longer sente nces a nd all the o th er ha rdcore tactics associated with the Re publican . T e nsion is at a n alltim e h ig h . I n o rd e r to o utdo hi s cronies, Tho mpson ha take n away all o ur fre e we ig h ts. No w h e wan ts to take o ur TV's away a nd make us pay the D.O.C. room and board . His most brilliant m ove, th o ug h , h as b ee n Bad ge r State l ndu tri es ( BSI). BSI is Wisconsin 's equivale nt of U1 ICOR. Like U1 ICOR, BSI fo rces us to ma ke a wide array o f products inte nd e d to slas h t h e eco n om ic th roats of smal l businesses: mattresses, pillows, towe ls, etc. Like U ICOR, BSI also sells to nonpro fit o rga nizations such as county agencies, hospitals and schools. BSI also e mploys illegal alie ns. Recently, my boss at BSI LOld me I h ould just ''do my time, adm it I a m wrong, and d o n ' t appeal my case.,. Al l this for the he inous offe nse o f using the law li brary on a n ear-d ail y basis. But that's o ka y b eca u se th e Wiscon sin Adm inistrati ve Cod e provides for year-end bo nuses fo r a ll BSI e mployees- each e mployee i g ive n two sod a to ke ns at Ch risunas. I used to be a long-time dope fie nd a nd a thi ef. But thanks to BSI, I am now n ow re habilita ted. If I live until 20 14, l should be a ble to ge t a hig hpayingjo b sewing a t a sweat sho p. Thomas Heimann C reen Bay C. I. CRIMINAL CONDITIONS CONTINUE IN CALl In Dece mb e r o f '94, I was d iagnosed with can ce r a t Pe lican Bay. I was put in a cell by myse lf in the infirma ry fo r two wee ks befo re my transfe r lO Vacaville. It's n o t th e tr ea tm e nt I received th at disturbs me-it's wha t I wiUles e el d o n e to o th e rs. Being a b orn -aga in Christia n , all I could do was pray fo r the people being hurt. One guy wa brought in from SHU for refusing to co me o ut of his cell. T hey maced him a nd dragged him by th e h a ir into th e sh owe r whil e th e poor g uy just screamed a t the top of his lungs. T he nurses and doctors and officers, dressed in ba ttle fa tigue , just laughed at hi m wh ile they m ipped off a ll h is clo thes a nd strapped him to a be d fo r a lm os t 20 h o urs. Th e g u y sc rea me d e very h o ur for he l p , fo r wa t e r , to p ee . But th ey igno red o r mocked him. I n eve r found ou t what happe n e d to him b eca u se I go t tran sfe rred to Vacaville. Th ere, the y ke pt som e g uys nake d a t a ll times and iJ~ eCL ed th e m with tra n quilizers so th ey wo uld n' t kn o w wh a t was happ e ni n g . T h ey h a d n o bed s in th e ir ce ll s a nd on e b la n ke t. The food they ate was lique fi ed into some n asty gooey-looking stuff. The medical staff looked at them like they we re guinea pigs. They showed no feelings, n o re morse, no love whatsoever; they were wicked, e\~1 and chaotic. The only way they know how to "caJm" a pe rson down is to inflict constant physical and me ntal pain. Unless you were passing through, you kept your mouth shut. I wiUl essed this and o th er slUff that I would n eed more time to te ll. But all of th is is true. Their deed s will no t go unpun ished because th e Almighty God sees all. Kermit Cruz; California J\lledical Facility, Vacaville SOLIDARITY, SORTA So lidarity is deve lopin g h e re in Indiana State Prison, especia lly in the seg uni ts, Death Row and in the D cell house. Dudes are studying and putting all that racial bullshit aside to focus on the real e ne my. We-three diffe re nt groups and so me inde p end e n ts he re o n the Row- have bee n wo rkin g o n solidarity since 1990. AJtho ugh we still got a few backward people maintaining the racial bullshi t, we have managed to weathe r some serious changes he re. O verall, folks a re waking up, a nd that's positive. The state just killed o ne o f o u r comrad es and we' re o n lockdown for a pig ge tting butchered when five o f us (3 whites, 2 Blacks) tried to escape in Octobe1· from the Row. A lo t of changes have take n place in the last few years, but I'll refrain fro m elabo ra ting. t ot only is my mail censored but I' m still looking a t c1·imin al charges. Kevin Conner Death Row, indiana Stale Prison WAAAAAHHHH! I just wam to say "WAAAAAAHHH!" to all those CJ)'babies who w1ite in bitching about conditions-like the gtJ}' who wro te in bitc hi ng about th e El Paso Detentio n Center (June, 1994). This guy was crying about homosexuals being segregated and who can't get j obs or trusty status. Poor babies! Here, only I 0% {at most) of the po pulation eve n gets to work, no matter what sexual preference or color. To be segregated, all you got to do is have the sleeves of your sweatshirt ro lled up (alte ra tion of clothing) , or give another pe rson a bar of soap or tube of tooth paste (barte1ing). This g uy also bitched about being required to b uy underwear. Le t me say tha t I'd give my left tit fo r th e privilege because it's a d amn sight be tter tha n being g ive n o nes with two-yearo ld cro tch crud stains in them. Ove rcrowdi ng, he whi n es. T his is a real boo-hoo! Wha t prisons h ave yo u hea rd about tha t aren 't ope rating ove r capacity level ? Fin ally, h e snivels a b o ut sic k call be ing o nce a week. Shit h owdy! ! I' m afraid to let the "medical" staff get too close becau e I know I'll be worse whe n they' re done. How often did this poor hypocho ndriac go to the doctor on the o utside? Once a week? I think not since he'd have to pay for it and h e's already CJ)'ing about unde rwear costs. Th is guy need s to g e t a life. An y ti me you e ven conside r feeling sorry fo r myse lf, think about th e g uys in Pelica n Bay. just an Oregon Featherwood, Marilyn L. Hamilton PRISON LIFE 11 here at ne of the guards County the Santa Clarha t Calild me t a 1ail to . f the three fornia's ':er:IO~:d thing for strikes law IS are tired of the state. Peop e ty stolen, he h · proper having t they ' re not going to sat.d , anderr O f take it anymored I said, but did I understoo ' d one of the he think t?at Ed~fendants in three-strikes d life? •t deserve our uni ' f shop" He's in here or he's .f. and now h tmp, 25-years-tofa~tngThat's more hfe. t . than mos time , murderers get. Art and Text Mill= by Jed santa Clara co~!ro~ni~ San Jose, I "But wha t a bout his past record?" the guard asked. What ab o ut it? Fo r his past crim es, Ed was se nte n ced to prison and he did his time. He paid his debt. H e successfully completed his parole. Giving Ed a sen tence of 25-to-life now for a petty crime is ridiculous. Fo r me, the stress o f facing my third strike is so great I feel like it's leaking from my p ores. Some times I can 't even sit still. I try to think about so me thing else fo r a while, bu t it's like tl)'ing to ignore your foot when it's caught in a bear tra p. Allegedly, I stole a car and drove it a r o und for a few d ays. Bac k in 1981, I was convicted of assault with a d eadly weapon after stabbing someon e in a fight; in 1987 I was convicte d o f r eside nti al burg la ry in San Fra ncisco. Now the distric t attorney is tt)'ing to give me 25-years-to-life. On a 25-to-life se nte n ce, the ave rage stay in prison is 40 yea rs. I'd be 73 by the time I was re leased , a nd pa ro led in the year 2034. T h e ma n in the cell n ext to me is also b eing c h a rge d unde r th e n ew three strikes law. H e h ad an e ighth of a g r a m o f speed in his pocke t, ba rely a usable amount, and now h e's facing 25-to-life. O fte n I hear him la te a t nigh t b eating th e back wall of his cell in frustration. I n ever say a nything to him abo ut it, but I ca n see how swoll e n his h a nd s are in th e mo rning when he spoo ns up his oauneal. We a re n ' t t h e o nly o n es. My public d efe nder says th ey are averaging ten new cases every week j ust for this coun ty alon e. Statewide, th e re are thousands. Evide ntly, o nly 2% are fo r violent crimes. T a ke Antoni o, fo r e xamp le, an othe r ma n in o ur uni t. Antonio faces 25-to-life fo r h aving two PCP cigarettes. His first strike was for burg lary. He was caught stealing a lawn mowe r fro m a gar age. His second strike was an assault. He threw a rock at a tow truck that was driving away with his ca r. Combined , th ese crimes ha rdly seem like enough to ta ke this ma n's life from him, but that is wh at's happ e ning. We had been playing cards while talking, and I asked him if h e h a d a n y kids . Th e effec t was t h e same as if I had punch ed him in the sto mach. H e bowed his h ead , a nd afte r a le n g th y sile n ce, he excused himself an d went to his cell. Governor Wi lson publicly vowed to ve to a ny bill th a t wo uld a me nd this n ew law. My local broad caste r informs me that 67 % o f all Californians surveyed support it. I can 't be lieve this is happe ning. How can society be so short-sighted? The three strikes law d oes n o t de ter criminals. Most o f th e m have no idea tha t the pe tty crimes they are co mmittin g ca n b e co ns id e r ed strikes. They think strike crimes must be vi o le nt o r very se riou s. No t so. Fresh meat still arrives daily. Anyone who conside rs this good law fo r California sho uld tour the ru nn els th a t lead from th e j ail to t h e co urt wi t h me and see, fi rst h a nd, wha t is go ing o n . Loo k them in the face. Today I saw a 19-yea r- o ld kid wh o was constantly biting his nails and shaking his leg. I started talking to him a nd a ll o f a sudd e n it was like a n e motio n al d a m burst. H e sna pped a nd sta rted c rying rig ht th e re in front o f eve t)'one, eve n th o ug h h e didn ' t want to. He just couldn't control it any longer. Evide n tly, this g uy h ad walked into a pa rking garage and was messin g with som e on e's ca r . H e was charged with a ttempted auto theft, a nd th e district atto rney's offi ce felt t ha t this was suffi c ie nt to b e his thi rd strike. No w the kid is facing 25-to-life, a nd th e shock se nt his mo th e r into a nervous breakdown. Sh e's in the hospi tal, and fro m th e looks of it, I don ' t think he r son is fa r be hind he r. I met a nother man, 25 years old, who was j ust sente nced to fo u r years. H is name is David. He had gone into a store with a friend, a n d wh ile he was purc h asing a sod a and a candy b a r , hi s fri e n d s to le a Wal km an r ad io . O n ce they wa lke d ou tside, sec u r ity g u ards to ld the m to stop, wh ich David did beca use h e had n othing to h ide. But his fdend tried to ru n and was tackled by the security gua rds. Both were arrested . Since David had a prior record, th e p e t ty t h e f t t h at h e was n ow ch a rged with became a fe lony, a nd the district a tto rn ey's o ffice conside red it to be his thi rd su·ike. Under th e im mense p ressure o f facing a life sen tence, David was coerced in to taking a deal. In return for a gu il ty plea, the D.A. agreed to dro p one stri ke and give David four years, of whi ch he will have to d o at least 80%. Never min d th at Dav id h ad a receipt fo r his purchases a nd that he d idn't steal anyth ing. T he fact r e m ains t h at h e was sca r ed to death a n d was pressu red into a c ho ice he didn't want to make. If that seems shocki ng, consider t h e fact t h a t Dav id receives monthly checks fro m the governme nt for h is mental disability, a n d that h e's prescribed psyc h ia tric med ication . His p u b li c defender shou ld be c h arged with criminal conduct for allowing th is to happen. By th e way, the man wh o ac tu a lly s to le t h e rad io was sente nced to 30 days a nd is already ou t ofjail. A lot of these th ree strike defendants have been to see the doctor fo r medication to dea l with t h e stress. We all handle it in d iffe re nt ways. On e th ree -s trik es d efen d a nt recently cu t his throa t with a razo r bla d e. A t r ustee h a ppened to be mopping outside his cell a nd saw th e man 's leg twitching on the floor. T he tr ustee looked close r and saw th e man lying in a pool o f his own b lood. H e q uick ly called th e g u a rds, and some how the ma n 's life was saved. I don't kn ow h ow Pe te Wilso n feels a bo ut th at. After all , it's going eat up a lot of taxpaye rs' money to sew tha t man 's throat up, su·ap hi m dow n, and keep him me di cated long enoug h to sentence him to life PL in prison. PRISON LIFE 13 Welcome to Pete's World By Andrew W. Martin Folsom State Prison ver thought of visiting California? Maybe see the beautiful coastal region or the Redwood Forest? Maybe the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevadas? Think twice. E This state is goi n ' down the tubes, and those of us o n the wro ng sid e o f the law are feeling it fas test. Pete Wilson was reelected as gO\·e rno r. I lis campaign was based on gettin g tough o n c rim e and reducing prisoners ' ri g hts. Case in point: Cali fornia now has a law that a llows the state to impound and sell your car if you get caught drivi ng witho ut your lice n se . No t just d ri vin g with a s uspe nded li ce nse, but driving witho ut a license in your pos ·ession. Say yo ur absent-minded g randm o the r fo rgot to take he r license with her as she sped orr to th e drug store for some medi cation. She, too, co uld lose h e r car lO Cali fornia's u eel car market. I wonder when Governo r Wil on will appear on TV in used car commercials. H e r e's a good o n e: As of Novembe r, 1994, Ca liforn ia prisoners must pay $5.00 to see a doctor or dentist. or course, if you' re indige nt, th e fee is waived. Just make su re you d on' t ha ve any money se n t to yo u withi n 30 days after th e do cto r 's appointment or i t ' ll be d e du c ted fro m yo ur account. Twelve aspirin for a simpl e h ea d co ld will cos t you $5.00. Su ffe r ing from indi gestion? That boule o f Maalox wi ll cost yo u live sma cks. All thi s for th e kind of treatm e n t where inmates rou tin e ly hobble around for days, some with broken limbs , before th ey' re e,·e n seen by a doctor. Here at Fo lsom Su<tc Prison, don 't expect to recogn ize any of the food at ch ow. Pork i never served. ''\Vhere's the beef?" i a common refrain. Sho uld they se1·vc so me beef-based product, the portions arc scant. Alm ost every meal features a pre-made "meat" patty, wh ich is really just g round-up chicke n o r turkey by-products-a real u·eat you can afford to miss. t4 PRISON LIFE H o t links, too, arc a common ite m, especia lly on Su nday mo rnings: two eggs, o vercooked , with three h ot li nks. I still do n 't know what h ot links arc made of, o r where o r why. Ju st rece ntly, they tri ed a new cu lin ary d e li g ht o n us: "H a rvest Burgers, " a nonm ea t ha mburge r m a d e of soy beans. The m e mo iss ued after thi s cu lin ary surprise stated that th e o fli cials were trying to cut clown on the fat in ou r di e ts. As fa r as programs go, we have qu ite a n a r ray: basic e le m e ntary educatio n classes a nd a CEO program. o college-level classes he re. Fo r voca tion a l training, we ca n j o in such programs as Vocational Landscape, whe re we learn how to m ove rocks a n d d i rt a round . That's all the class consists of, a nd it's just what I want to d o when I get ou t. There a rc a few good ,·oottional classes, such as auto-mechanics, e lec tronics o r Body and Fe nd e r . Proble m is, there 's n ever eno ug h sp ace 1.0 m ee t the d e mand. But we do have a shoe repair class. I wonder how ma ny cobble r jobs the re are in th e freeworlcl? It's just a clever way for th e Califo rni a prison syste m lO get their junk state shoes me nde d for free. Wa nt some rec reation? My pare nts' back yard was b igge r than the main yard here. \~lc have a grass bascball / vo lleyba II / soccer fie ld / track depending on the season , but on ly one at a tim e. And reme mbe r, th e g ras · is only to look at. 1 o sitting allowed . If all of this has still not persuaded yo u to stay away from Ca li for ni a, maybe this will : Since 1989, 27 convicLs have bee n shot an d killed, more th an three times as many as in a ll oth e r U. . pr iso ns co mbin ed . Ca li fo rnia priso n g u a rds !ired 185 shots in 1990. In 199 1, tJ1cy fired 205 shots. In this same time period, l'exas offic ia ls d id n ' t fire o n ce. That' s ,-ig h t-not o nce. The former chief of staff for th e Texas pri ·on system testifie d in court that California's usc o f firearms was "id iOC)' at best, and reckless disregard for human life at worst. •· Under Pe te Wil son, er r an t Cal ifor ni a n s a r e n o t ju s t se n t t o prison as punishm ent, but to be punished. The re's a dill'cre ncc. PL Art h Jed Miller "All the News You Can't Confine" Block Beat America's National Prison Newspaper CHICAGO GANG SHOWS POLITICAL MUSCLE A group called 21st Cen tury Vote, wh ich has ties to Chicago's largest gang, the Black Gangster Disciples, tried to oust Alderwoman Doro thy Tillman, who represe nts t h e So uth Side neigh barh oods of th e Third Ward , and e lect Wallace (Gator) Bradley, who has served prison time for armed robbery. Mr. Bradley, 42, who conte nds that Ms. Tillma n h as "so ld ou t·· to Mayor Richard M. Daley, was not th e only convicted felon in the contest, which took place in late February. Tyrone Kenne r, a fo r·mer Alderman who went to prison for taking bribes, was also on the ballot. In all, five fonner convicted felons ran for alderman posts in Chicago. Campai g n sig ns for "Gato r" we re plaste red on walls, windows a nd shuttered storefronts throughout the ward, the poorest in the city. The election was seen as an indica ti o n of th e pol iti cal power of street gangs. Two years ago, the 21 st Century group mounted a d emo nstration at C ity Hall with tho usands o f young men , many of them wearing the familiar colors of th e Gan gster Disciples. ln the City Council, Ms. Tillma n has been a vocal critic of Mayor Daley, but her style has become slightly quie te r in recent years. Mr. Bradley says that shows she h as be trayed her constitue nts. "Our community knows that wh e n you go silent, it's because you 've been bought out," he said. Mr . Brad le y says h e foste r e d a "peace tr ea ty" b e twee n membe rs of Ch icago s tree t ga n gs two yea rs ago. "Gangs are not th e proble m ; c rimina l be h avior is the p r o blem ," he sa id. "Vi ole n ce is vio le n ce. The attacks o n g an gs are ju st a way to iso late the Africa n-Am erican co mmunity, to put fear into people. Look at fraternities. They h ave h azings. They' re a gang. The Police Depa rtment is a gan g." In recent years, the Black Gangster Disciples g roup claims to have changed its focus, and its name, to Be tte r Growth and Development. May-June 1995 JUDGE ORDERS END TO BRUTALITY AT PEliCAN BAY A fede ra l judge, d e p lo ring the "senseless suffering and sometimes wre tched mise ry" of priso ners in notorious Pelican Bay Prison , ordered the state to discontinue what he called a pattern of brutality and neglect at wh at was supposed to have been a natio nal model for hig h-tech security. The la ndmark ruling he re by Districtjudge T helto n E. He nde rson is expected to have wide impact because other states have looked to Pelican Bay as the prototype prison of last resort for inconigible prison troublemakers. The d ecision also is a warning shot to the Dep arune nt of Corrections as it e mbarks on a prison expansio n program to accommodate a prisone r population expected to explo de as th e state's n ew three strikes law is e nforced. In his ha rsh 345-page opinio n, Henderson said the state has violated the U.S. Constitution by allowing guards to use "grossly excessive" force and by denying prisoners adequate medical and me ntal health care. But the Caner Administration appointee refused to shut down the prison's in famous so-called supe rmax unit, a m ~jor target o f a ptisoners' classaction lawsuit that brough t the ruling. About 1,500 priso ne rs are confin ed in th e unit's windowless cel ls, de prived of all but th e barest of human con tact for per·iods of up to seve ral years. He nde rson said conditions in the unit "hove r o n th e edge of what is humanly tolerable and pro bably inflict psychological harm on prisone rs ho used th e re fo r prolo nged pe riods. But ra ther th an disma ntle the faci lity, the judge o rde red the sta te to re move prisone rs who a re emotionally or me ntally fragile. Putting tl1e m in such a setting, He nderson said, is akin to "putting an astl1matic in a place with little air to breathe." State officials h ave not yet decided wh e th e r to a ppeal portio ns of H e nde rson 's ruling, which gives them four months to develop a plan of re form for the o rthern California prison to eliminate brutali ty and provide adequate medical a nd me ntal health care staffing. De puty Atty. Ge n. Susan Lee, wh o re presented th e De pa rtme nt of Corrections in the case, called the ruling a "mixed decision " a nd lauded He nderson for refusing LO close the supe r-max unit, "the most important part o f the case." "I think people arou nd the country we re looking to see wh e ther th e use of this n ew type lockdown , high-securi ty unit would be pe rmitted to co ntinue," she said. "The message is that it is permitted. " But Susan C reig hton, one of the lawyers for the priso ne rs, said the state's claim o f partial victory is "like saying tha t Germa ny didn ' t lose the war· because it still existed ." She and otl1er lawyers for th e prisoners said the ruling would put otl1er (co ntinued on next page) The New York Times PRISON LIFE 15 HOPE FOR NEW YORK DRUG OFFENDERS New York's Gove rn or Pa taki , a ha rd-lin e r o n crime, is p la nni ng to c h a ll e n ge p a rts o f th e to u g h Roc kefe lle r dru g laws tha t h e says pu t too many low-level d rug deale rs in prison fo r too lo ng. By d ive rtin g as m a n y as 4,000 convicted drug d eale rs in to re hab o r j ob u·aining programs, the governor believes he could afford to kee p violent crimin als in prison lo nger, he said . Pa ta ki has ta rge ted a provisio n of the law that m andates a minimum fo ur-year se nte n ce fo r a second felo n y drug convicti o n. "Our es tima te is o ne in fo ur, or o ne in three of those wh o a re co nvicted o f t his second felony, would be appropriate for d ive rsion into a type of syste m th at doesn 't put the m in to a cell with a vio le n t felo n," he said . Sta te co rrecti o n spo kesman Jim Flateau said the re are 23,000 people in New York prisons fo r drug offe nses, in cluding 7,900 convicted of lowlevel d rug charges. 'Th e governor is correct tha t the Roc ke fe ll e r dru g laws h a ve h a mstru ng th e sta te's a b ility to r un an effective, cost-efficie nt criminal justi ce syste m," said Paul Samuels, preside nt of th e Legal Actio n Ce nte r. New Yo·rk Daily News Prisoners' Assaults on Guards Increase Officials say th at assa ults on prisone rs an d guards a t high-security fed eral p risons rose nearly 20 pe rcen t last year , a nd they a ttribute th a t sharp in crease largely to growi ng prison popula tions, longer sente nces a nd prisone rs wh o a re more pro ne to viole nce. Records fro m th e Bureall of P1·isons showed that the re were 646 assaults on guar ds a nd fellow prisone rs by in mates a t five older high-securi ty prisons in the 1994 fiscal year, an increase of 18.3 pe rcent from th e previous year. In mate assaul ts o n o th e r prison ers were up 28.5 p ercen t, while attacks o n guards increased 11 pe rcent, but included the first slayin g of a gua rd in seve n years. Gua rds say that fed e ral budget cu ts have left priso ns with da ngerously low staffs. "Nobod y is li tening to us," said Don ald Tu cke r, preside nt of th e council of prison locals or the American Fede ra tio n of Gove rnm ent Employees, which represents mor e than half th e fed e ral prison gu ards. "Nobod y wan ts to h ear the truth , a nd the tTuth is, we n eed more staff." The New Ym·ll Times 16 PRISON LIFE Pelican Bay (continued from page 15) states on notice tha t they must incarcera te prisone rs humanely, e ve n in a facili ty like Pe lican Bay, whi c h was designed to li mit prisoner con tact and cor ral the prison system 's worst trouble makers. "This is a la n dma rk d ecision in that the court d e te rmined wha t can a nd canno t pass muster," said David Ste ure r , ano the r lawyer for the prisone rs. Pelican Bay is su pposed to house the worst of prisone rs, those who have joined prison gangs o r attacked oth er prisone rs. But lawyers for the prisoners said they also include priso ners se1ving relatively short terms for drunke n driving o r drug o ffenses. Me ntally ill prison e rs also a re confined to the highsecurity unit because they are d ifficult to ha ndle. Guards armed with gas guns and other firearms monitor the prisone rs fro m a co ntrol booth with video came ras, a n d ge n e r ally talk to th e m throug h a speaker syste m. He nde rson noted that th e prison, locate d n e ar the Oregon border, used "fe tal " r es tra in ts on prisone rs num e r o us times in 1991 a nd 1992, se c u rin g inm a tes ' wri s ts to th e ir a n kles with handcuffs, leg iro ns a nd a connecting ch ain. One priso ne r was restrained this wa y fo r nin e h o urs . So m e tim es inma tes in this positio n a lso we r e chained to toile ts. Guards also punished priso ners by co nfining th e m n a ked or p a rtia lly clothed in outdoor cages the size of a telephon e booth during cold weather. H e n de rson chid ed prison authorities for a ll owing g uards to use firearms unnecessar ily a nd a t times recklessly. J ames H. Gom ez, director o f correctio ns for Califomia, said the p1ison has mad e several improve me n ts. H e pra ised H e nd e rso n fo r ru ling th at guards may continue to carl)' firearms a nd fo r allowing priso n officials to house minimum and maximum-security p rison e rs to ge th e r. "It's b een a n ongoing process of improveme nt since th e pri son o p e n e d " in 1989, sa id De puty Atty. Gen. Lee. But Henderson was no t impressed with state efforts. "We g lean no serio us or genuin e comm itment to significantly improving the delivery of health care services, correctin g the pa ttern of excessive force or o th e rwise re medying the constitutio nal violations . . ." H e nderson concluded. Los Angeles Times Brutal Guards in Lone Star State The Texas prison system is reverting to the days when guards brutalized and murdered prisoners with impunity. Currently, 30 guards in four Texas prisons are being investigated by Internal Affairs for organized criminal conduct. At McConnell Unit in Beeville, Texas, a group of guards known as the "Blue Bandannas" severely beat 25-year-old Willie Jones on November 24 for "mouthing off" to a guard. Two of the guards involved in the Jones beating (Rodolfo Rodriguez and Damian Contreras) were indicted in December '94 by a Beeville County Grand Jury on charges of aggravated assault, retaliation and tampering with a witness. The latter charge stems from the guard's efforts to threaten other guards into giving false statements about what happened. Both guards are free on $25,000 bond. Both were members of the Blue Bandannas, a loosely organized group of guards who derive their name from the color of the bandannas they carry "to let the inmates know they have unity." Director of the Texas system's Internal Affairs Division, John F. McAuliffe, said in a memo to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice: "This latest case represents the fourth pending investigation involving allegations of organized criminal conduct on the part of correctional officers using excessive force in attacks on targeted inmates." Meanwhile, at Robertson Unit near Abilene, four prisoners were beaten so badly that the brutality could not be covered up. But perhaps the strangest case of all is at Michael Unit at Tennessee Colony, Texas, where at least six prisoners were beaten. Now the federal authorities have taken over the prosecution of ten Michael Unit guards in six separate cases of prison brutality. The real death camp is Terrell Prison outside of Livingston, Texas. On October 7, 1994 prisoners were terrorized by guards who attacked them sporadically for seven hours. When the guard riot ended, 30-year-old Michael McCoy lay dead and prisoner Eric Robinson was suffering from a severe beating. Guards Alex L. Torres and Joel Lambright have been charged with murder. Both are free on $50,000 bond. A total of nine guards were suspended. Three days later, Anthony Thibodeaux was murdered in Terrell. The guards first said that the 24-yearold died when he had a seizure and hit his head on the floor. The autopsy determined that Thibodeaux had been murdered and the guards changed their story, saying he was kicked to death by a gang of prisoners in the Day Room. The official cause of death was a brain hemorrhage due to a ruptured esophagus. The guards now say that he was struck across the esophagus by one convict and fell to the floor. Then six inmates pounced on him and beat him unconscious. Whatever happened, no charges have been filed in Thibodeaux's murder. Robert "Standing Deer" Wil\'on Huntsville, Texas DC Repeals Mandatory Minimums The city council in the District of Columbia did what the federal government should have done a long time ago-repealed its mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders. This bold move began because D.C. Councilman Bill Lightfoot learned about the failures of mandatory sentences from Families Against Mandatory Minimums president Julie Stewart, who he had as a guest on his radio and 1V shows last year. Lightfoot was concerned enough by what he learned to introduce a bill to repeal the District's mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders. The bill was not passed retroactively, but it is still a smart and courageous move in the right direction. FAMM-Gram Raw Deal for Sex Offenders For a fee, Californians can soon call a state-operated 900 number to learn whether a neighbor has a felony conviction for child molestation. A Louisiana law requires offenders convicted of sex crimes against juveniles to send letters or postcards, alerting neighbors to their presence. New Jersey and Washington rank offenders into three ascending risk levels, the highest level requiring law enforcement officials to distribute posters and news alerts in the community where the offender plans to settle. The New York Times The ''Ville" on Lockdown Warden Gardenez has been replaced by Warden Detella but the lockdown that occurred before the changeover has not been lifted. Shortly before Gardenez left, he stopped all Kool-aid, honey and sugar from being sold at the commissary. Mter a few weeks of doing without any form of sweetener, and seeing that the new warden wasn't going to lift the ban, population broke into the general store and stole all the sugar and a few other things. They broke a hole through the wall with a sledge hammer and crowbar. The cops have recovered some of the sugar but the crowbar is still missing. Larry Harris, Stateville .; "·.: ,),~;~&J./ ·!·ld"~~~r;·".;;~;·,_,~L, £;::~:~::~''!. ·<~'~·.:.~:-:,: ·..91 1 • . ..1fl~_NIN$t.S&.l!ISrn.Ot..AX$...... · ,. ·... :: ''.,:::::· n1ftli::a ~1!J•l•~~•mAuw•!·' ::i'C·:.'··. 1·..(·:''. I.•. :,.:··-,.·.: ~.~W..Il'l 1 ~mtV.IIiiil~ltil_IIW,:, .•>',.;•J!! .'•;:<A 1 ii~e- .'-~te;g~!;illW,~~~!i;;J~ii~~·s~i.~~~~~·1 l,W>'?~¥rg:·.~-~ :'~~t~~:.~~.~~R~~'~:~~~~l . 1 [flmafii·••:r~~e·~aaeJR:-•_-._· : ~'iD:lr'•·~0!~.·.·:an:il il~lifll ~~~d!:qfi:G~~~~r.~~~~~~~~~,·~~HJ~!,: :1i~.n:·:W ·~~~)·~ ~~~~h1 ~qiJ~9.Pl~!:t~~~·,; iW!e~tt~_~(j~--~~e.~i_!f~~t?%~s·.~~W,~}g~~. l~ii~iZ~8J l_~~--.--~~P;Igt~~ftg~y~~pt~~l~ ·IP~~PfJ l'~~~,~~0~"f~~l PRISON LIFE 17 c a 11 0 u t s Actor Cons Stage Play on Gangs A group of cons turned actors at Mansfield Correctional (Ohio) produced a play for Mansfield teens on the consequences of gang membership. Written by Ohio prisoner Clifford Holt, 11 In the Eye of the Storm 11 was shown monthly throughout 1994 to hundreds of Mansfield-Cleveland area teens. The play tells the story of Q-Tip, a gang member gunned down for his affiliation. It opens at Q-Tip's funeral, then shows his gang plotting revenge. It closes with the gang members being sentenced to prison for the murder of a rival gang member. Many of the actors had been rival gangmembers on the street who overcame their differences to work together on the play. Holt's idea to stage an educational play about gangs was originally nixed in 1989 when a Cleveland councilman insisted that the city had no gang problem. Today, Holt's efforts and those of the prison's Theatrical Workshop are supported by the Mansfield staff, parents and even government officials. n Even though we're locked up, we still care about what's happening to our young people everywhere, 11 says Holt. For more information on the Mansfield Theatrical Workshop, contact Warden Dennis A. Baker, Mansfield Correctional Institution, P.O. Box 1368, Mansfield, OH 44901. (419) 526-2000. Support for Canada's Longterm Offenders Longterm Inmates Now in the Community CLINC) helps Canadians deal with doing time, and parolees with re-entering the community. Founded by lifer Glenn Flett, the program is run by convicts and is designed for convicts, their families and significant others. Meetings are held in various communities for parolees, and in several prisons for those still incarcerated. One member says the program altered the course of his life. 11 It's easy for me to be honest with people I can trust and I usually get the feedback I need, although it's not what I always want to hear. This time, I'll have some good support when I'm released, people who know the struggle I'll face. I'm glad I'm 'linked' up. 11 For more information, write to: Harold Gaucher, Elbow Lake Institution, P.O. Box 50, Harrison Mills, B.C., Canada, VOM-ILO. Freedom Light FREEDOM LIGHT, the Prison Ministry affiliated with Agape Church of Religious Science in Santa Monica, CA, envisions ways to realize true freedom for the incarcerated. FREEDOM LIGHT rejects the 11 rescue mentality. 11 Instead, it emphasizes "being that place in consciousness where God's Divine Plan can shine through ... practicing unconditional love and nonjudgment... understanding that freedom is our birthright and has nothing to do with external circumstances. n Sounds intriguing. To receive letters, books, etc. send your name, address and i.d. number to: The Agape Church of Religious Science, 1849 Centinela Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404. (310) 829 2780. Parents Behind Bars The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents conducts research, produces publications and offers direct services to prisoners and their families through 12 different educational, family reunification and therapeutic projects. The Center was founded in 1990 and has served over 5,000 clients. All Center staff are former prisoners. For information and assistance, write to: The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, 714 West California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91105. (818) 3971396. Prison Video for Concerned Freeworlders A 20-m.inute video filmed in five federal prisons (Danbury, CT; Leavenworth, KS; Lompoc, CA; Memphis, TN; and Terminal Island, CA) and one military prison (U.S. Disciplinary Barracks Fort Leavenworth) educates freeworlders about prison. Featuring interviews with prisoners and volunteer visitors, the film helps break down stereotypes of how prisoners are perceived by the public and shows what concerned people can do to bring some humanity to those behind bars. Send $10 to Prisoner Visitation and Support, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, or call (215) 2417117. The Muriel Bukeyser Poetry Wall The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, visited by 500,000 people each year, is redesigning its poetry wall-and your poetry can be part of it. All poems submitted with a return address will be accepted. Include your return address on the same sheet as the poem so readers can correspond with you. Send poems to: Muriel Rukeyser Poetry Wall, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10025. IS PRISON LIFE Nobody ants to a convict when he grows up. Support PRISON LIFE Name Number ----------------------Institution - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- Address City State Zip Code D Forone year-6 big issues Mail $19.95 to: Prison Life Magazine 4200 Westheimer, Suite 160 Houston, TX 77027-4426 For info, call 1-800-207-2659 by Jennifer Wynn t was a mus ing to watch th e expressions on the faces o f tlw 30 co n vic ts a t Eas te rn Co rrectio n a l Ce n te r in N o rth Caro li na as the y en te r e d tiH' ch a pe l fo r Bo L~zotrs spiritual wo rk s h o p . Mos t d id a kin d of what ·s-dis-shit? doubl e-ta ke wh e n th ey saw Lozoff sitting silently o n a table at the fron t of the room in th e classic Lo w s p ositio n : ep·s closed. legs crossed. h and s resting o n h is knees. Tibetan b e lls a nd o the r Eastern rel igious icons surro und ed him as h e med itated unde r a priso ne r-pain ted pic tun · of.Jesus Christ. Whe n th e c h ap lain a nn o unced it would be anoth er ten mi nu tes hefo r c th e r es t of g r o up could be escorted in from lunch. n e ithe r th e priso n e rs. so acc usto m e d to wa itin g, n or Lozoff, deep in meditatio n, seemed frustrated by the delay. T he only signs of im patie n ce came fr om th e Prison Life write r, who was there to im enri ew the man o n the table. "Take this tjme to just he here," Lozoff began. "No tice wh e re you a re . wh a t's a round \ ' O U . (;c ntly clear your mi nd of a;1ything th<;t doesn' t have to do with being here togeth er. In the deepest spiritual se nse--chill." Som e o f t iH' p a ni cipa nts c losed th e ir eyes, a n d l.ozofl· introdu ced h imself. \<\1c lt·a rned he's a "regular J oe likt· everyone else ..." someone who "did a lot of bad shi t." has a ~sord id past," fa mily me mbe rs in the joint a nd no college degree. Mo desty aside. L ozoff ac kn ow lcdgt.•s th at h is o rgan iza tio n, t h e Huma n Kin d n ess Fo un da tio n , h as he lped tra nsform th e lives o f tho usands o f p risoners. O ve r Lh e past 20 years. Bo Lozon· has conducted n early 500 spiritua l wo rksho ps th ro ug h o u t the wo rld . He h as wriue n three I Photos by Chris Cozzone PRISON LIFE :!I "I invite people books, whi ch he e nd!> free of charge to prisoner . 1 lis quancrly newsle uer is also seiiL free to the nearly 20,000 priso ners and prison worke rs on his mailing li ~t. representing 0\'e r forL\' cou n tr i e~. Lot.off has met with the Dala i Lama, who \\TOte tlw forew01·d to his first book, 1\'r're till Doing Time. That lan dmark book inspired the warden of l ndia' largest pri!>On to put i n to pra c tice Lozoff's co n cep t of pdson-a ·-ashram: doing one's time as a monk rather than a convict, using incarceration as a time for focused spiritua l growth . LozoiT came u p wi th the idea in 1973. Se\Tra( }ears afte r he and his wife Sita decided it was tim e for a lifestyle changl·. Burnt ou t from their yea r~ as st udents, drop-outs, arth·ists, ou tlaws and hippies, th ey decided to give up their political cauSl'S, ~ex and psyc hedc lir drugs to livt• and \\'ork aboard a { 1-foot ~ail boat in thl' Caribbea n . It was smoo th ~ai l in g until the captain a nd I.o zo ff's brother-in-law concocted a p lan to smuggle 1..100 pounds of pot into :\l iami from .Jamaica. '}1st one time," of course. and thl•y'cl sa il away into paraclisl·. Having had C'nongh police paranoia 22 PRISON LIFE Carolina, meditate in one of l.ozo.!Js workshops. Ito take a leap I and stints in the joint during th eir hippie and activist years. Bo and Sita jumped ship a nd join ed a n ashram. Shortly afte r, t hey learned th a t Bo 's brother-in-law, Pc Le, an d the captain were caught. Pete got 12 to 40 years with no pos~ib ilitv of parok. It was whe n the Lozofrs \'isited Pe te at th e fe dera l prison in Tnre ll a u te. I n d ia n a t h a t they c anw up with the concept of prison-as-ashram. "We· realit.cd that our lifest\'le at the as hram wasn't a lot freer t han his. " Bo recalls. '" \\'t·, too. practiced r dibacy, had our heads shaved, gmc up our worldly possessions, ate in groups and wore p lain clothing. Then· were no part ies. drugs or restaurants. But fo r us, it \\·as a c hoice. :\nd tlw expt:riet1Cl' helpl·d a great deal. .Just bY sto p· ping in one pl<tCl" long enough to fan· on rsC'Ives wi thout d istraction, we \\'l'IT be!{inning to glimpst· an in ner pow"r that had alwa)s bet'n larking." In 197~ . Bo ancl Sita fo u nded the Prison-:\shram l'r~jcc t. ··~ tany things happen to us in life wh ic h we wish could have happe n ed differe ntly, n he writes in the pn~ject b rochure. "Yet, each of us has a chance-and a duty-to start right from where we are and begin sortin g out the problems and mysteries of our lives so that we can become strong, wise and free-c,·en in prison." Lo1.off i~ not offeri n g prison su rvival tips. ··1 advocate big. g iga ntic change. not the lillie daily mechanisms fo r coping we hear about in se ll~help progra ms. I in\'ite people to take a leap wit h me into spiritual living, to embrace fellow human beings as brot her!> and siste rs, to wekome each other o n the pla net, to show ]0\·c and compassion fo r C<H h otlwr. to be thoughtful about how we're living o ur lives. l"m ta lking about radical c han ge. no t just learning how to be law-a bidi n g, clean and sobe r co nsumers." Supported almost en tirely by unso lici ted donations (and earning salaries of S 11 ,000 a war). Bo and Sita ollcr frie ndship arid guidance in the form o f boo k , tapes, correspondence, newsle n e rs a nd workshops for priso n e rs a nd priso n workers. They receive a nd a nswer ove r 50 le n crs a day, always in a straig ht-up, "I ' m no t buying imo your victim men Lality" way. T he Son of Sam, Squeaky From m a nd Leonard Peltier are a mong the prisone rs th ey correspond with , always reinfo rcing the idea that prisoners need to take respo n ·ibili t)' no t only fo r the mselves but for th eir e nvironmen t. This concept is a f~1 r cry from the traditional convict code of minding one's own. "The convict code is bullshit." Bo te ll s th e m e n i n th e wo rk s hop. "Peo p le think th a t j u s t b eca u se th ey've bee n co nGn cd aga inst th e ir will they' re no t respo nsi ble fo r th eir e nviro nm en t. Yo u d o n ' t like whe re you a re? I be t most of you d idn 't like th e ' hoods you left behin d ." Nods of affirma tio n. "If a young kid gets ga ng raped . th e co nvict code te ll yo u to re main sile nt. A g ra ndmo th e r in th e g h e tto c hasin g o rr drug d ea le rs h as m o re co u rage th a n that. ' •Vc a r c n e ve r relieved of our spiriLUal responsibili ty to each other," he says. The me n shift uncomforta bly in their chairs. '·Prisons won 't be be tter places to live unless you ma ke th em tha t way. l know you a re sca red shi tless. I kn ow you wo uld li ke to be respected, a nd you ' d like to respec t o th e rs. But it's up to you to OYcrcome the ·anctity of th e convict code and to create a new on e. It is possi ble to learn the a rt o f no n vio le n ce , to g ive u p bei ng se lfrig hteous, to be both p eaceful an d powerful, strong and relaxed . "Eve ryone o u t th ere h a tes u s. T h ey kn ow us as a nim als a nd mo nste rs. Do n ' t show th e m th ey' re right. Le t's m a ke th e pub l ic as h a m e d th ey' re kee ping u s he re. Le t's stop be ing anothe r angry \"Oicc. Le t's sto p fig hting eac h othe r." ''Yo! Wh a t re lig io n a rc yo u ?" a prisone r in th e worksho p a ks. "Yo u could say I' m all re ligio n ," says LozofT, who d escr·ibcs himself as a stude nt and a me · cnger rather than a maste r. He has sLUclied scores of re lig io ns, Easte r n a nd Western , a ncien t and modern. a nd he believe that every religion bo ils clown to two things. H e su·i\·es to convey the simplicity or u·ue spiritual living in his workshops. "It's basically a bo ut communio n and co mm u nity," h e says. "Co mm- spiritual unio n is tak ing time eac h clay to do yo ur ow n inte rn a l spi r i t u a l wo rk th rough prayer o r medi tatio n , ge tting in to u c h wi th yo u r hi gher p owe r . Co mm un ity is d o ing t h e exte rn a l wo rk, prac ti cing t he re ligio us values of compassion, fo rgivene sand love." Tot to memi on kindness, which is tJ1e gu iding principal be hind Bo a nd Sita's Huma n Kind ness Fo unda ti on. 'The re is no spiritual prac ti ce mo re profo und th a n being kin d to o n e's fa mi ly, neighbo rs, th e cashi e r a t the grocery store, an unexpected visito r, the co n in th e nex t cell , th e pe rson who docs the laund l)' or picks up tJ1c garbage, or a ny o the r o f th e usually invisible people whose paths we cross in t h e co urse of a n o rma l d ay. Certainly the re are spiritual myste ries beyond description to explo re, but as we mature, it becomes clea r tha t those special expe rien ces are only mean ingful wh e n tJ1ey arise from, a nd relllrn to, a life of ordina ry kind ness." lt is Bo's s impl e, d irec t m essag es, hi s e xp e rt in s ig ht into th e p r iso n co nditi o n a nd th e wa rmth and peace he ex udes that e nable the m e n in th e workshop to pe rfo rm the closing exe rcise. Aft e r a sh o rt break , Lozofl instructs th e g roup to pair ofT into partn e rs a nd turn th e ir c hairs so living.~~ PRISON LIFE 23 th ey' re fac in g eac h o t h e r . "Do n ' t choose someone yo u know," he sap•. If h e p erceives rac ia l temio n . he e nco u rages in te r racial pa n n e ring. l le suggest..~ Lh a t th e no n prisone rs in t h e roo m pa rti c ip at e, in th is case mea ning the Priwn l.ife wrilc r. I sit across fro m 1111 pa rtn er, a young blac k ma n who te lls me he's done 9 rears a nd has a no th lT l I to go. As Bo Lells u to shut our eyes a nd clea r o ur minds, I' m tryin g lO s to p lhi n k ing abo u t th e k ind of crime my pa rtn e r commiued to ge t such a lo ng se llle nce . lie doesn't looh lilw an ax murdert'r, I thin k. Sei'IIL5lihe a 11iC1' guy. Don 't be so naive, co m es a n o l he r tho u g h t, an d I n o tice I' m h aving trou ble q uieting the committee of ma niacs in m) head. The s ile n ce a nd in te n i ty are u n co mfona b le. Sm all o uLb u rsts o f laugh te r e ru p l now an d th e n , and I realize this is diffic ult for eve ryon e. Bu t it's on ly the begi nn ing. After seve ra l m inuLes o f sile n t med ita tio n , Bo d esig n a Les "A" a n d ''B" partne1·. H e te lb the A's to close their eyes and the B's to look a t the A 's with co m p assio n a nd lo ve , to know tha t they wa nt love an d respect and forg ive ness, that they, too, have fea rs a nd insecurities, tha t th ey fee l sca red , th a t th ey wa n t to live go o d lives and are trying th e best th ey can. He La lks a bout trust a n d kin dn e s, a nd tells B's to look at the ir partne rs a nd see Lhe love a n d goodn ess in t h e ir h ea rt . to loo k a L th e m 1\'ith fo ndn ess, respect and co mpassio n, to loo k u pon the m a · God loo ks upon his ch ild ren. Wh e n I o p e n m y eyes, I se e a face th a t was n ' t th e r e befor e. The man sitting a foot in fron t of me is loo king a t m e with th e most o pe n , kind gaze. H is wanmh is almost palpt~ble ; his e ye contacl is steady a nd pl·acc ful , a nd l ad mire his st ren gth in thi~ cli ffi c u l l t·x<· rr ist•. H i ~ face somehow seems wiser , a nrl my eves begin to fi ll with tears. I no tice I' m not tlw o n!)' one getting wee py. Thi s is th e ki n d o f m ag ic Bo Lot.o fT b r in gs to pri so n s, pl aces whcrt· m iracles seem im po ·sible a nd suffe ring cndkss. His and Sita's daily le tt ers to p ri oners r e kind le th e h o p e t h c1 g e n era t e in t h e wo rksho ps. Las t yea r . a p ri so n e r as ke d l.ozo ff how h e could co n ti n u e his sp ir it ua l jo u rn er wh e n h e was r e l ea~e cl , if a co mmu n i tv ex is ted wh e re h e co u ld expe rk;1 ce f irs tha nd what iL is like to dedi ca te h is life to se rving o the rs. as Bo a nd Sita l.ozoff do. ?\ot lo ng after, a n an onym o u s d o n o r ga ve t h e I Ium an Kindn ess Fo u nd atio n th e keys lO a t h r e c-bed r oo m , t h re e-b a t hr oo m house o n 13 acres 50 mi le outside of Raleigh , North Carolina. O n th e hilltop p rope rty g row wa lnu t, a p p le, pecan a nd fig u·ees. ' ' 11c n Lhc house i o pe n ed so m e t ime in I 995, Lh e view from the sun d eck o f the green farml and will be a we lcom e sigh t for eyes th a t have see n no th ing but co ncre te and stee l. a med "Kin dn ess I lo use," t h e esta bl ishme n t is a bo n a fide pa ro le p la n (b ut n o t a ha lf\,•ay ho use ) for n ewly re leased co n as we ll as fo r n o np ri so n e rs wh o a r c seek in g a li festyle of spiritual practi ce and who have a sincere d ed ica tio n to huma n service. l.ozo!T, his wife, so me ex-cons a nd an entire recovery house (abou t 30 ex-j unkies) recently built a mcdita Lion roo m, a la rger o ffi ce fo r the Fo undatio n a nd additional leeping q ua rte rs. Pla ns a re being mad e for the co nstructio n of up to l 0 private co ttages o n th e p ro pe rty, a nd las t winte r Bo, Sit.a a nd their son built a m edi t a tion ca b i n i n th e n ea rby woods for resid e nts to re t ire to fo r sho rt-tl·rm re treats. Kind ness House will be run by Lhc reside n ts, who wi ll learn how to g row a nd ca n th ei r o wn pro duce , m aintain the garde ns and pro pe rty, b u ild furniture, do ca rpe n try a nd make crafts to sell to the community. Reside n ts will also assu m e m uc h o f th e ad m i n is tra t ive wo r k of th e Foundation, wh ich curre ntly keeps Bo and Sita working around the clock. "All we do is just e ncourage people to seck a way o f living that is abo ut some thing greate r than the mselves," says Lozofr. "We arc the most amuent na ti o n in histo1-y, yet ou r socie ty is clearly not working. We have a ll these toys and leisure time, yet we' re miserable and agitated . \Ve can ' t sit still, we h a te be ing ~ l o n e, ye t we fe a r each other, kill each other and cheat each o th e r mo re a nd more. As a socie ty, we' re really going nut..'i. "That's why once ever-y mo nt.h o r so, o ne of us p icks up a rifle and walks down the street or into McDonald 's somewhe re and starts blasting pe rfect stra ngers. We don · t need more valium o r prozac. We don ' t need mo re prisons a nd death sen te nces. We need a nat.io nal attitude of loving and hel ping instead of ge tting and having. We have to sto p teach ing our kids to be g reedy a nd selfish . We h ave to ge t back to the simplest sp iritual p rincip les of a ll ages: We belo n g to o ne a no the r. We are one family. Co ps and cons, victims and offe nde rs, rich and poo r, whi te a n d b lac k , m e n a nd women, pro-life, pro-choice, conservatives, li be rals-one big fa mily. l f we respect and ca re for each o the r, we will thrive. If we don ' t, we wi ll d estroy oursclve . It's as simp le as tha t." PL Kindness !-lanse. 24 PRISON LIFE A NATION BEHIND BARS by Bo Lozoff America is in the process of developing a 1990s Nazism and the object of o ur Nazism is criminals. As in racism a n d sexism, th e r e is a te nde n cy to objectify a n d sanction eithe r cond escensio n o r hatred toward a d ive rse group of people as if they are all alike, blaming the m for all of society's ills. It's become OK for d ecent people to publicly call people animals and scumbags, and say frJ' 'em and watch them as they die. We think o ur prisons are teeming with vio lent a nd d ange rous people, with Hannibal Lecter types j ust waiting to get out to rape an d pillage and kill, when actually 70% of people in prison are there for nonviole nt crimes. They may be confused , pathe tic or d isorganized, but clever and scheming? No. Most peo ple think we' re soft on crime, yet five ti mes as ma ny people are locked up today th an 20 years ago, and people are sp ending an ave rage o f th ree times longe r in p rison. The statistics have increased so dramatically tha t we' re not seeing h ow o ff-thewall they are. We are in the gri ps o f Nazism and the Nazism this time is toward people who break the law. We're h ead lining the murd e re rs, the child rapers and the molesters an d saying these are all o f th e people who break the law. So you ge t a kid who is arrested for credit card theft and h e's a pre tty confused a nd scattered individ ual, and we are using impriso nm e nt n ow as a first response. We' re saying you committed credit ca rd fraud, and in o ur minds we' re linking him to the woman who drove he r two kids into the lake. Our animosity is crossing over the strict.ly racist, color-conscious hysteria to include wome n, men, children, whites, blacks, brown people, yellow people. All that matters is that they've broken the law. The white psyche is soothing itself, saying, "I'm not racist. I hate white kids who break the law just as much as I hate black kids who d o." It is now socially acceptable to h ate a n e ntire gro up of people, and because of the socially sanctio ned hau·ed we're moving ourselves in to an era whe re before we know it evet)'One of us is going to have family or fri e nds in prison . We a re go ing to define enough things as punishable by imprisonme nt to justify keeping all o f these new prisons going. T he re is a feeding fre n zy going o n be twee n th e m ed ia, politi cians and th e frig hte ned public, which not o nly excl u des criminals a nd victims but all of the professio nals who work in these institutions, who know that they are h orrible and that they don 't work. I speak to warde ns who sound twice as radical as I do. People call me a bleeding h eart libe ral, a nd my respo nse is, "O h, you sweet idealist. Wha t a n idea list to say tha t we ca n pun ish and h ate a nd bru talize p eop le and so m e h ow h ave a safer wo rld fo r o u r childre n. I almost have to admire tha t n egative idealism. It's negative, but it's idealistic. They say, "But I live in the real world." And I say, "No you do n ' t. You don 't live in the real wo rld because if you d id, you would n't support a brutal sys tem that d oes n o t work. Nearly 300,000 young me n a re rap ed in pri son ever y year, a u·aumatic event which many of them will never be able to overcome no matter what else they do in their lives. So it's j ust idealism to thin k that someh ow the country's a ppro ach to c riminal justice is a solution to crime. Th e re' s a m o ve m en t ca ll e d restorative j ustice as o pposed to re tribu tive justice. Retributive justice is abo ut p unishmen t a nd pa in. Restorative justice sees it this way: a crime is an injury to the community, and so the solution to crime is something that addresses the injury as a whol e. Our curre nt sys te m h as absolute ly n o regard fo r th e victim wh atsoever. If I steal your car and I tra~h it and get caugh t, I ge t take n to court. The prosecutor doesn 't call it the case of Bo Lozoffversus you, or versus your car. It's the case of the state versus Bo Lozofi The victim is out of the equation. A lot of times you don't even know when my trial is. You n ever get your car back. I neve r get fo rced to repay you for the damage I've caused in your life. So part of what works in resto rative justice is tha t the first response is to tighten the e mbrace of the commun ity rather than to stiff arm the offe nder . Ra ther than say, ''You committed a crime, you're out of here," restorative justice says, "You committed a crime, get back in h ere! We've got to tighten up our supe rvision o f you. We've got to look to see why you 're do ing this. H ow can you feel su ch a disconn ection to your sister here that you stole h er car? How dare you d o th a t an d wh at would your mama think?" Now you have to be responsible for re placing the car you stole, a nd you h ave to look your victim in the eye and h ear wha t effect you r cri me had o n h e r . T h e r e a re g r o u ps al l over th e co un t ry cal le d Vic tim / Offe n d e r Recon cilia tio n Programs, wh ic h arc pa n of the res to ra tive justi ce m oveme nt. T hey get victims and o ffe nd e rs together to honest.Iy express th eir views to o ne a no ther. These groups humanize the e ncounte r instead of separating the victim and the o ffender. Re tributive j ustice doesn 't work. It just makes eve rything worse. We need to d o som e t h ing mo re inte ll ige nt ab o ut no nvio le nt c rimina l offe nders and especially a bo ut drug o ffe nders and th e use o r prison as a first response to all kinds of cr iminal behavio r . A prison has to be the last resort for u·uly vio le nt a n d d a ngero us people. An d even the n, a prison must be a secure but compassionate place that gives tJ1e offender every opportun ity to tap into his own d ecen cy, instead of treating h im like an an imal. We need to protect society, but it is not our business ever to be cruel, no r to lose ho pe in a perso n 's abi lity to c h a nge. Some o f the greatest sain ts o f all religio n s we re n otorious mttrde re rs, thieves, jun kies and h ookers before th ey discovered their true p urpose. Books nnd newslellers are frre to fHisoners and fHison staff Others shoultl rmite for a catalog. Contact: Human Kindness Foundation, Route 1, Box 201-N, Durham, NC 27705. Telephone: 919-9422138. Fax: 919-942-0830. PRISON LIFE 25 Bntce Culler and j olw Colli allnul cowt in lite 1990 l1ial. Cu ller fo r ostensibl)' h avin g becom e too close to his client. The government prosecutors ki cked up a fuss, wh ined and co mpla ined that Cutl er and two oth er lawyers were "house counsel for the Gambino organized crime family," and Glasser th re11· them off the case. T h a t is h ow it wo rks in the real world. Cutle r was Goui's lawyer, h e won three trials as his lawyer, and then th e governme nt h ad the judge ki ck him off the case so ll1ey would have a better chance of winni ng a conviction. This is what you can expect whe n you battle th ese guys. T hey don't play fair. Eve ryone knows it's a game, the cops, th e agen ts, tl1e lawyer and the judges all know iL A very serio us game with life and death sta kes, but still a game. And the government makes up new rules as th ey go alo ng. They lie, tl1 ey cheat, they don' t obey their own rules, like state cops who drive 95 m.p.h. e n route to a co!Tce break. Whe n you' re th e gove rnm e nt, yo u do wh at yo u want, because yo u a rc with th e most powerful gang around. Bruce Cutler ha proven he kn ows th e meaning of the words honor and loyalty. He stuck by his clien t. N "ter the gO\·ernment threw him off the case, he co ntin11 ed to defe nd Goui to all a nd sundry; he would not back clown even when facing a possible pri on term for contempt. And he is still Gatti 's lawyer; h e vis its J ohn at ~ L a ri o n regularly. Cutler and Gotti are far from beaten. Now, as he sits in his corn er office on ~1 a di so n Ave nu e, h e i facing h o u se a rres t, co mmunity se rvice, 28 PRISON LIFE fin es, possible su spe n sio n o f hi s li cense to practice a nd othe r sanctions because of his aggressive defe nse of his clic m. o t com e nt with winning th eir co nviction using d irty tactics, the Glasser gang cited Cutle r for crimina l co nte mpt when h e spo ke ou t to the press o n Gatti 's beha lf. He m a d e sta temcllls like, "Th e gove rnm ent throws the Constitution out the wind ow wh e n it co mes to J o hn Go tti," which is true, 'J ohn Gotti today-you (th e public) tomoJTOiv," whi c h is, I rear, a lso true, and, 'John Gotti is tl1e be t liked man in New Yo rk," true in some neighborhoods. Lawye rs do that a ll the tim e. But in th e real world , whe n you arc Bruce Cutl er and your c li e nt is John Colli , the y look to desu·oy you for doing yow· job. Cutler had j ust won a no th er m<Uor racketee ring case whe n I stoppe d by to sec him . Th e ma n wins a lot of cases. He won a nother big o rga nized crime case, the Windows trial, righ t around th e tim e they di squalified him from Gotti IV. We will never know if Gotti could have beaten th e governmen t yet again in the last trial had Bruce bee n a llowed to d e fe nd him, an d tha t i tl1e pity or it. T he e jerks d o n ' t care about ho n o r. T he ir mo u o is win at any co t. ' o ot h e r lawye r has eve r been charged an d prosecute d for criminal contempt for making tatemems to the media about a client. Cutler is taking a lot o f h eat for his loyalty and ho nor. But he i , as he has said ofJ oh n Gotti, a ma n 's man, a ma n wh o places muc h value upon his word, upon his fcaltv to his belid, and his 11~1li;1gness to stand up for wh a t h e believe · i n, eve n if that means having to go to prison . Cutler's a Brooklyn boy, which h e lps explai n his g uts. The ·on o r a co p who beca me a laii")'Cr , Bruce went to Hamilto n Coll ege where he pla)•ed tack le o n the football tea m , an d th e n to Brooklp1 Law School. He was working with defense a u o rn cy Barry SIOLnik in 1986 whe n th e gove r nment indi c ted Ani c llo Dcllacroce and me mbe rs of a reputed Gam bin o crew with headquarters at th e Raven ite Clu b in Little Italy, a nd included an up a nd co ming you n g lUrk na med J ohn Gotti. Gatti's law)•Cr at th e time , Mike Coi ro, had problems of hi own with the law, so Bruce 11·ound up defending J o h n , an d they bo nd e d . T h ey h ave tuck b)' each o th er ever since. remember Grst hearing th e name J o h n Gotti when I was on th e ninth fl oor at th e MCC, th e l\lletropoli tan Correctional Cen ter in lower ~ l an h aua n . It was during th e m id-' 0 . R udy Gi uli an i wa th e nitccl States At tor n ey for the So uth e rn Dis trict of New York i n Manhaua n . Fe dera l pro ecutors in Broo kl yn and ew J ersey, fo llowing Giu li ani 's lead, ll"e re brin g in g case afte r case agai nst reputed mafia crews. In th e penulti ma te prosecutio n , th e federa les cha rged the a lleged bosses of a ll five New York crime fami li es with runnin g the en tire mafia governing body known as the commis io n . It seemed li ke every week we would hear about so me new major round-up of mobsters on the e1·ening news, and there they wo uld all be tile next mornin g in th eir ill-fitting bl aze orange jump uits, l11eir bedrolls tucked u nder th e ir arms, lookin g bedraggled a nd blea ry-eye d a fter a ni ght in the bullpen. But that is where the imilarity to th e th ousa nd s of other d e f"enclallls who c hlepped o nto the nilllh Ooor ended . For these guys it was li ke walking into the locker room of the ir fa1·orite cl ubho use. All th e other socalle d wiseguys or button guys and the guys who were with so-and-so but not mad e men would Oock o ut from the tier to gree t their pa ls. Si lve r-h aired ! men in exp e nsive warm-up sui ts and brand n ew sneakers, huge cigars in the ir mouths, would stride out from D tier, embrace the n ewcomers, sometimes kiss them on both cheeks, and it was like h o m eco min g wee k, g uys c h eering, shouting to eac h o ther. They were all from the neighborhood. I was the clerk on the floor so they would come to me to make a rra ngeme n ts for the new arrivals. "Richie," they would say, "this is my good friend, Funzi. I want you to take care o f him. You know, put him in witl1 one of us." There were two tiers tha t were almost e ntire ly occupied by prisoners whose last names ended in vowels. They were the quietest tiers, the cleanest tiers, the most ord erly. You practically had to get permission to go o nto those tiers unless you knew someon e. It was a scene. Even the cops treated the wiseguys differently. Whe n I first got to MCC, before the maj or corruplion scandal that e nded in the arrest of 13 correctional officers for lugging swag, it was incredible what you wou ld see on those tiers. Portable color 'IV sets, bottles of ' ' Scotch and Cognac, fine cigars obviously n o t purchased fro m th e commissary. The odors that wafted from D tier rivaled smells coming from Mulberry Street in Little Italy j ust blocks away. At tl1e far end of the tie r tl1ere would be a table where a n e ndless game of pinochle was in progress. The boys wou ld si t a ro und b etwee n cou rt dates playing cards and telling war stories. There was a lot of laughter. Food was p aramount. "Come on, Ri c hi e," they wo uld say to me. "Eat witl1 us." It was there, on Nine North , that I first heard about J o hn Gotti fro m a mobbed-up Irish junk dealer named J ackie Do nne lly, who died of colon cancer after practically willing himself into c ritical conditi o n rath e r than h aving to go back to prison. J acki e was a sweet guy, knew all the wiseguys, \Vas well liked by them. Whe n Angelo Ruggierio, supposedly J oh n 's c hildh ood buddy and goombah, was busted, he wound up on Nine Nort11, and tha t is whe n the name Gotti could be heard whispered a t t h e table at the e nd of the tier. Gotti, Gotti, said the men sotto voce when they discussed the immine n t upheaval everyo n e knew was brewing in the Gambino clan due to Big Pa ul Castellano's wavering leadership. Castellano was facing c h arges o n the Co mmissio n case wh e n h e was gunned down in front of Sparks restaurant in 1985. And then o ne day Gotti himself was there. Actually, Gotti was o n Nine South across the haJJ. Nine North was the A & 0 floor, and Gotti was brought over one morning supposedly for o rie ntation . But it was like no orie ntatio n I 'd eve r seen. Someone bro ught me up to the little classroom tl1ey used for orie ntation to introduce m e to J o hn. H e was there hold ing court. There were n o hac ks, co unselors or unit managers. Just Gotti and a number of men talking as though he were lecnu·ing the orientation class. In a few short years, while the o tl1e r fa milies were crumbling and regrouping around him, Gotti was said to have risen from the rank of soldati in Neil Dellacroce's crew to boss of the preemine nt Gambino family. The scuttlebutt I heard was tha t many of the o ld timers did not like Gotti. They found him too high profile, too hot-headed, a nd they felt he would be bad for business. His was an image that was b o und to Me and yo u , kid. Tonight. Wa it for me in your cell. We're goin ' o ut the fuckin ' window!" Whe n he rode up on th e e leva10r and the re was a food cart being La ken to o ne of the n oors, Tony would hit the cart with his can e a nd say, "Any rats in there? C'mon outta there, yo u rats! I know you're in there." othing fazed the old man. H e'd been living in the real world for over 70 years and h e knew h e'd get the better pan of the government's 100-year sen te nce. Doing tim e with these g uys was a gas. I saw tl1 e m call sit-downs over a ham sandwich . Whenever I showed up in a new joint, th e Italians there wou ld se nd me a ca r e p ac kage with the necessities to hold me over until my property arrived. I met one old timer who had done over 25 years straight and was still just as wily as a street kid and as tough as brass knu ckles. T he cl iques, th e foo d rituals, th e laughter a nd the decoru m they bring to a joint-to say nothing of tl1e rackets-help make life V in tl1e can interesting and tal0 e rab le. Fo r them, it is li ke TLIRO~ U retirement on the installlllent 0 pla n. All th e ir fri e n ds arc S""~"lTW\NOO'a.J there, o r tl1ey will be . .Jusl as l' I ~ some law e n force men t peopie wi ll ad mit t11 ey miss the old days whe n the mob had contro l of the streets because crime was hand led ~0 GO""~"T\ differently then, so have I I seen prison sta ll defe r to wiseguy internal management. a ttrac t h eat. r uce Cu tler, now 49, at a tilll c The dapper d on, seen in th e best restaurants in his fin e suits and when h e sho uld be lu xut·iating with his con sid erable entourage. T h e in the light at th e peak of his press loved him. Not since AJ Capone career, gives more a sense of a man has a mob boss received so much ink who was robbed of h is crowning glory a nd ai r time. And his own c rew was and has been trying to recover some fie rcely loyal, or so o n e h eard, and sense of mission ever since. Where do rich, so therefore powerful. yo u go after defend ing a cli ent like Gotti ex uded power. The way h e J ohn Gotti, only to have been chea ted carried himself, his voice, t11e look in out of your best shot at making histohis eye-there was nothing tentative ry? I've never seen Cutler in court, but abou t him, no sign of weakness. I got from what I' ve bee n told, a nd what the sense that h e had been grooming I've read, he p lays h is role wi th great himself to take power from the time in te n sity, n e rve and a hei g hte n ed he fi rst began to hear stories of tl1e sense of dra ma. He o nce dumped a legendary bosses. m ass ive governmen t indi ctment My personal favorite was Fa t T ony against his client into the trash ca11 Salerno. Tony, well in his seven ties a t and pronounced it "a nmcid sLew, b;td th e time of th e Commission case, meat and bad potatoes." witl1 his cane and Cuban cigar, would He's a bull of a man , bald as an egg, grab me every Lime he saw me and courtly and gentlemanly. He gives you pull me aside. "Richie," he'd say, "you his undivided attentio n-ah, yes, m;u tners really are everytl1ing. But there is got the sheets?" "Sure, Tony. T hey' re all ready," I'd th at se n se n ot of a man who ha s reached the prime of his life and done tell him. "Good, kid. Make 'em into a rope. an o utstanding job in his profession, aa£NT '-l£ftNt"tl TLI£ GO 'a.J§ THE UT\OI' co... Ll£ ouT T" aaES T COI"tl ,a.JLI£N \ '' • TO JOHN 1 1 1 B PRISON LIFE 29 as Cutler certainly has, but rawer of a ma n who h ad a moment of dazzli ng g l01y, and is now la boring under some small doom, screwed out o f tJ1e climax of his career. I asked Bruce how he happe ned to become a lawye r. '1 got into law because of my fawer, who passed away last j une. He was a policeman during Wo rld War II, did th a t for six or seven yea rs, a nd la ter ope n ed a law practice in downtown Broo kl yn. When I g raduated from Hamilto n College in 1970, I couldn ' t get into law school a nywh e re. My law boards we re not good, my grades were not u·eme ndous and the exu-a curricular mings like football and lacrosse didn't m a tte r anymore. I go t m a rried when I was young, light out of college. I worked w at first year, started reading a lot and uying to build up my ability to take these tests. I didn't take standardized tests very \veil. But I took the law boards again a nd I got into Brooklyn Law and .J o hn Marsha ll La w in Chi cago. I went to Brooklyn. The n I went into tJ1e D.A.'s office for six years and nin e months uying murder cases. Fro m there I went out with Barry Slotn ik for five years. I left him in 1986 and I've been on my own since th en. I moved up he re to this suite in May of '90. Beautiful, but expensive. You feel it when wings slow down a bit, but so far, knock wood, wings a re go ing wel l. I'm going out to Chicago next week to meet a prospective new client. Maybe I can help him. "I've spent a lot of time in Chi cago. I had a seve n-monw tr ia l there, b ac k when .J oh n Gotti was on trial for tJ1e fo urw time. I 'd been disqualified. I h ad a tr ial in C hi cago from October '9 1 to Ma rc h '92 a n d then I go t a n ot h e r case in Chicago and I o pe ned up a littJe pilot office with a friend o f min e. I fe ll in love witJ1 the ci ty. I did. l really love the city and I love th e peo ple. It's a great place. My ex-girlfriend was from Gary, Indiana, so whe n I wou ld go to Chicago she would meet me. I like the midwest a lot a nd then I was winking w a t maybe I'd move w e re. Thought I'd get a lo t of work o ut of it and aJso h ave a reason to go. But it was tough. Out of sigh t o ut of mind, and if you're not there, eve n if you ' re doing well and h e lping peop le, whi c h I was doing in me fed e ral cou rt in Chicago, I didn ' t get a treme ndo us amount of work. I ca m e back to New York to fight the conte mpt case that I h ad. Fina lly w e pro be that w e IRS and the U.S. Attorney had o n m e fo r two, three yea rs was closed, without anything. But it was lengthy, it was going on for three years. And now I'm back to figh ti ng the figh t again. 'Joe Tacapina, a lawyer I met before he became a D.A., has left the D.A.'s office now and h e's going to help me in the Morgue Boys case in fed e ral court. We' re representing a policeman from Brooklyn who is accused of civil rig h ts violations a nd o the r crimina l acts. Feds claim m at tJ1ese guys split up illegal proceeds at some building wat h ad bee n used as a m orgue a t one time. That's whe re they got the nickname, where the press got the ni ckname. That case is scheduled to go to the e nd of J a nu a ry into Fe bruary. Ower tJ1an that, wings are fine. "I see .John , h e's doing great. He's in Ma rion, I saw him Thanksgiving. He loo ks fabulous. I never saw anyth ing li ke it. H e's rock hard. Turned 54 October 27tJ1, and his physique makes him loo k like h e's 35. I ca n't say e nough a bout how great, how great he's doing, but I get crazy because you give somebody tJ1is kind of time, why can ' t they be in a normal jail setting? We have on e o f th e top post-con viction lawyers, Linda "THE~ TttlMKE the gove rnm e nt wanted to play from the social club. They wanted to play those tapes, they wan ted to show that some of tJ10se tapes made J o hn sound like a n autJ10rity figure. Things of tJ1at sort. They also used the excuse tha t tJ1ere was a connict of interest because one of we witnesses tJ1ey were going to call was a forme r client of mine. He was a forme r client of mine, but tJ1e re was no conflict of inte rest. He also was J oh n 's fo rme r lawyer, Mike Coiro, who had been convic ted on a case I tri ed. H e wasn't a "govern me nt witness." H e was subpoe naed by the gove rnme n t a nd h e testified on .John's be ha lf. But the governmen t alleged conflict of interest and w ey also used th is un swo rn wit n ess tec h n ical ity, claiming that we-the other lawyers a nd ! -wo u ld be unswo rn witnesses beca use we were on th e tapes. We were mentioned and we'd be advocates, we'd be wearing two hats, we'd be writing wings said about us as well as defending the cl ie nt. "Th en, of co urse, they used th e ot h er way out, wh ich was that we should be available to be called e iwe r as gove rnm e nt witnesses o r defense wi messes. We waived all of tJ1ese conflicts. All of these were waivable, we felt, but we lost in tJ1e 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The govern m e nt tri ed to do w e same tJ1 ing in we .Joe a nd .Jo hn Gambi n o case t h at I tried wiw George St. Angelo in front of judge Leisure in me Southe rn District. T hat was a six-month tri a l t h at e n ded with a hung j ury, and a fter th e hung jury tJ1e)' made the application under this Fulton case which came o u t. They sa id there were certai n conflicts tJ1at were jJer se conflicts, couldn 't be waived and w at sort of wing. Judge Leisure den ied the application and he was great about it, j ust a great judge and I have a great d eaJ of respect fo r h im. Upshot of wat sto•y was wat we clients decided w ey wanted to settJe th e case ratJ1er tJ1an go to battle. They got 15 years. "The gove rnm e nt's tactic is a wina t-a ll-costs proposition. They tried tJ1e sa m e thi ng against jimmy La Rosa. They made simila r a llegatio n s in a case he had, and judge Nic kerso n denied it, wh ich was great for the clients. T he judge felt all of tJ1e conni cts cou ld b e wa ived. They were waived. We tr ied the case and got a great result." "It seems to me," I said , "tJ1at th ese guys h ave no sense of fair play. They MUZZ~~;.~ ME AND K~ lS A GOOD ooW" 'TK\NK Tt\lM~i~~ BUl\.DS ADV~RACTER·" 30 PRISON LIFE C Sheffield out of AtJanta helping us, and we have som e o th e r p eo ple he lping and we're taking it step by step. .Jo hn n eve r co mp lains. He won ' t say anyU1ing, but it's a mazing m e differe nce betwee n a ce rtain kind o f jail an d anotJ1er kind o f j a il and th e ultimate of being free. And I hear a ll rnis taJk about Colorado bu t I haven' t go tte n anythin g defin iti ve a b ou t it. H e's going to be moved. We' re also working on a mo tio n for a new tria], which has to be filed wis fall, so we' re gawering a lot of information o n tJ1at." "Tell us a bo ut tJ1e disqualificati on ," I said . "Th e background ." "Glasser disqua lifi ed m e o nly for tha t pa rti cula r proceeding, claiming tJ1at I was talking to .Jo hn about some legal things on some o f tJ1e tapes tJ1at II get acq uitted . Most that's what really makes you stand out. of t h e juri es are The same lawyers that I speak to from anonymous, partially lime to time, who criticized you a t cerseq u estered. T h ey tain po ints in you r career, th ey see the we nt after .John and way yo u have h a ndled th e con te mpt fin ally lyn ched him case a nd they at least were big e no ugh in tJ1 at fou rth tria l. It to say, ' We ll , th e m an obv ious ly was unbelievable. To believes in what he's saying. He stands m e, it just wasn 't a up for his bel ie f's a nd he ' s ri sking real u-ial. So now the going to prison.' Tell us some more prosecutor in th at abou t the comem pt case." trial is a judge." "The co nte mpt situa tion arose o ut "To yo ur c re dit, of Rul e Seven, whi c h basically prea nd wh a t r ea ll y cl udes defense lawye rs fro m ma king makes you stand o ut stat e m e nts to th e press , with th e fr om m os t o th e r exception of saying, ' My client denies lawyers, as far as I'm tJ1e charges and feels he'll be vindicatconcerned ," I said to ed.' More t h an that, under Rul e Bru ce, "is th at yo u Seven, if you read it technically, you stuc k by your client a re not allowed to say. T h e re's one a nd were criti cized caveat, o ne big caveat-what's known e ve n by o th e r as the safe ha rbor provision that if th e lawyers saying he has lawyer com es un der pe rson al a ttac k, take n th e r o le o r the n he can say what he feels is propadvocate t oo far. e r to say even if it goes beyond wha t's What do yo u say itemized in Rule Seven. about that?" 'John was a n ested o n his fourth "Oth e r lawyers, I case o n Dece mber 11, 1990. In d o n ' t kn ow, h ave J a nu a r y o f 199 1 the prosec u t io n differe n t auiLUdes moved to disqualify the lawyers. We about life. I felt that had the h earing February 22. In th e after t hr ee tri a ls, mean lime, the a ttack of ho use counafte r nin e, te n years sel for tl1e Gam bino fami ly and a ll of o f kn owin g thi s the pejora tive te rms the governme nt ma n , I have a special was throwing a rou n d about m e and relationship with this clien L To me, it the otJ1er lawyers was out there in tJ1e is a huma nistic, pe rsonal relationship. media. We responded to attacks made I learned a lot in that case. I learned again st us, an d that was proper. Fro m that you didn't mention other lawyers. Ja nua ry th ro ugh tl1e time we were disYou sta nd a pa rt and you seem a little qualified , which was in late Ju ly, early diffe re nt with regard to figh ting for August of 199 1, th e court had som e your cli e n t or wh a tever it may be . confe re nces. Judge Glasser told a ll the You ' re deali ng witJ1 th e press. Lawyers lawyers to follow tJ1e standards. I tJ1ink wh o a re my fr ie n ds a re m y frie n ds. it was in Ju ne, if I' m not mistaken, The o th ers I d o n ' t have a nything to th at th e Gentile case cam e dow n , do with so it d oesn 't mauer, but I'm where a lawyer had been censured for not blind to the fact that many lawye rs having a press conference and it wen t a re not unh a p py that I h ave a ll th is all the way to th e Supre me Co urt. ad g ita go ing on with the co ntempt They litigated th e constitutional effia nd everything else. They think that cacy a nd legality of a Rule Seven type muzzling me and knocking me down 1-u le in another state and it was a fi ve is a good thin g. I t hi nk adve rsity to four decisio n, a very d ifficult decibuilds character and you ' re a perfect sio n to und ersta nd. Legal scholars exa mple o f that, and J o h n certain ly read it in a ll different ways. I t hi n k has been like thaL So it's just aggravat- they sent tJ1e case back d own because ing and a nn oying but if you rise above of the safe harbor provision, but they it, you feel bette r about yourself and affirmed th e co nsti tuti onality of ce rbetter about what you do. l can ' ttake tain rules li ke Rule Seven. T h e rule in on these cases in a dispassionate, casu- Gentile was less vague than o ur Rul e al mann er. I take the m on profession- Seven. So we still h ave o ur stro n g ally within tJ1e confines o f what's righ t 'constitutional vagueness' a rgumen t, and wrong, with in the context of the but tl1e Gentile case, in a nu tshe ll, said system but I do get wrapped up in the that there are certain rules the state ca n promulga te to im pact o n t h e battle. I don ' t know what else to d o." "I think if you didn't get wra pped lawyer's ability to say what he wants. up in tJ1e battle that you wouldn 't be as good a lm..ryer as you a re. I think (continued on j){tge 81) I take th is h igh moral ground , ' We are the gove rn m en t, we never do anything wro ng,' when in fac t t hey a re hum a n be ings and th ey wi ll ab u se th e ir power. Some of them will do a nything to win, even have a n effect ive lawyer like yo u wh o t h ey fea r kicked ofr the case." "I h ad a case with a lawye r in Dayton , Ohio nam ed .Johnny Ryan. I go t frie nd ly with him, in fact I gave a speech for hi m in Co lumbus, Oh io this past October. J o h nn y took me a round and introduced me to the federal judges o u t th ere and th e who le atmosphere was cordial, collegial, conc il iatory, fri en dl y, am icable-th e opposite of what I see he re in ew York, especially in Brooklyn. I ' II te ll yo u , after J o hn was acq uitted on March 13, 1987, thingsj u ststarted h a ppe ni ng. Man h a tta n has go tte n mo re te mpered si n ce Giulia n i le ft, they seem to be a bit frie nd lie r now. But it's rough in Brooklyn, the re's a siege men tality that I sense when I go in there. Al l lawyers sense it. Many of the m won't sa}' they se n e it. I'll say the truth; I se nse it and I' m h oping tha t it'll change. You don ' t feel any cordiality, it always feels like an a rmed camp. So few guys get bail. So few guys PRISON LIFE 31 \l\\\\t Art Behind Bars Underground Clouds by Pam Golinveaux Traveling North toward the cold that numbs and the snow that blinds gray hi ghway haze hurries the destination there's a fooli sh repetition about followin g a path here to there- still we hurry because in between there are no extre mes in between you disappear mouthing strange words in some exotic smoke ring dance so North or East toward climate that will edge the fl ame that carries us and intrigues the dark part 32 PRISON LIFE Nice days have no place anymore We used to know of gentle rain and shaman pure intention, something about love Now a wounded earth pours out poison when we tear out the sky and suffocate virgin thought with silent catechism We used to believe in something more than material schemes and machines ... running o ut of sacrifices . .. and underground clouds that form from hidden tears watch, as a dream waits. This Time, This Time by Jorge Antonio Renaud Robertson Unit, Abilene, TX This time I will not quarrel with chains. I have no room for scars, and will fit my bones to their bracelets. ~ Cd This time I will not spy on .-1 memories. I will forget the 111 Iessons of lips, the temperature of tongues. 'CJ This time I will not speak S.. with birds. Let music blanket others; t') I will burrow with worms . ... ~Thi s time I will not scream. Sleep ~.~· fo ld s its flames around me; ashes ~ line my cheeks. Q) This time I welcome the jailer's keys. They soothe with a well-known exactness. It is the sound of my surrender. 0 111 Honorable Mentions: (A bove) "john Hemy, "by j ames Goodall, Allen. Correctional, Ohio; (Below) "Sunglasses, " by Robert Madaus, Oz.arli Co1Tectional, Missowi . POETS IN PRISON by Jorge Antonio Renaud In my country ' tis of thee-sweet land of ten second soliloquies, slogans a nd soundbites-poeu1' has an image p roble m . It's a bout trees and d affod ils, Grecian urns a nd albatrosses. Not enough Death and the Devil, you see, and thus unfi t for prime time. T h e Amer ica n im age o f m al e po e ts is t h a t th ey a r e b eard e d Russian e migres, limp-wristed college n a mby-pam bies o r pipe-s m o kin g , leath e r-elb owed professors. Female poets a re a ll lesbia n. Engl_ish n~a~ors fi xated on me nstr ua uon w1th SUICidal te n denc ies. We want o ur son s to be quarterbacks, o ur daughte rs to sell real estate. Poets are sissies, d reamyeyed and frazz led. They lo llygaggle, waiting for inspiratio n. Worst of all, they write no thing with marke t value a nd get paid accordi ngly. . But in the slice of reah ty where I reside-priso n-where innoce nce is unkn ow n , wea kne ss d eadly, tough g u ys a cl ime a dozen , poets are revered . It is n ot th e cat burglar, the bank robber or the pape rha nge r who occupies the top rung in convict. hie ra r ch y. It is th e p oe t. Only visu a l artists rival wordsmiths whe n it comes to who is granted respect. J2l 0 There a re two reason s for this. De prive d of stimula ti on, bereft of beauty, co n victs admir~ those who create. We hunger for diffe rence, for newn ess. A man ab le to ca pture a n event, a mem ory or an e mo tio n in a way that arouses convicts' dulled se nsibilities is po pular , indeed. But poeU")' goes deeper. Many of us are inartic ulate. We have always bee n this way, co nsumed by a r~ge we could not name a nd so gave voice to in a b linding brutality. Our silence h as b ee n t a ke n for ignoran ce . U nab le to ex press love, we a r e assumed to be incapable of nurturing it. We despai r of ever find ing a way of d e monstrating huma nity. T here are only so many ways to te ll our wives of our bone-deep lo nging for the m. The re a re only so ma ny ways to te ll our childre n that we are ash amed of o ur failures a nd fear for the ir fu ture. Yet the days drag o n , the pages re main e mpty, accusatory in ....e, ....0~ th e ir purity, d e m a ndin g a n e loquence we find hard e r to tap. I-f It is h ere whe re th e poet speaks. .., He cobbles togeth e r the words fo r us. .,. H e is a ta ilo r, stitching ti: e ri p o ur: -... rage has torn . H e g ives voice to ou1 f.V h o pes a nd dreams. Poets, with ~:e ir ~ com mand o f in"_J age ry a nd _p reciSI? n fl\. of language, bnng o ur wo1cis to hfe . . . in a way that most of us cann ot. ... But mo re than that: Prison poets • V wi e ld t h e swo rd th at p ierces th e .... tumo r of a pathy, contempt a nd cm:n- ~ p lace n cy in th e m~ncl s of th e ~ til l free. We a re the .vmces---:screa~m g, ex ultin g , g roa ni ng, whi sp e nn gth a t you ca nn o t still, he re in the be lly of the beast. n CD PRISON LIFE 33 The Making of a Criminal An excerpt from the unpublished autobiography: Finding Myself in Prison by Nathaniel Hardy Orient CorrectionalFacility, OH An by Rob Sula {Afl ril28th, 1994} ,-... I just received a leue r from the ~' Ohio State U ni versity's Grad uate 'Ill' Schoo l o f Soc ia l Work. I've been admined to the Master 's Degree p ro~ r a m . I plan to ea rn a mas ter's in Social Work Administration specializQ) ing in practice in th e African,., American Community. I'm in prison . ~ I g r adu a t e d f ro m Wilming ton College in 1992 wh ile inca rcerated in ~ Warr e n Co rrectio n a l Institu t ion. I g raduated with ho nors. My d egree is in psych ology a nd sociology. I' m a third-lime convicted felon. At ,... the age of 33, I fo und myself in prison H in more ways th a n on e. (\1 It took four long years o f confin eme n t, reflectio n , observa tio n , study, .-.discussion and research for me to d iscove r why Nathani e l H a rdy-a sel fp ro cla imed "ni ce guy"-had such a lo ng criminal history. I'm in prison now for burglary. I've ,., also served priso n lime for theft a nd ~ robbery. I've been in the county jail a number of times. I 've been a rrested for be ing drunk a nd disorderly, for S:::: domestic viole nce, drug abuse, embezzle m en t, assau lt, resisting arrest, drit , ving while under the influence-and fiill these are j ust the crimes I re me mber. :S Cd t:'l 'C A :s0 f;::: 0 34 PRISON LIFE I spe m much of my adolescent life in juveni le d e te n tion ce nters. -Flash {My earliest childhood memmy} 1962, Akron, O hi o. I'm o n my way to school- kinde rgarten. It's my very first d ay. I'm cqring. I' m walki ng with my fathe r. I don ' t like him. I' m afraid of him. I don 't li ke the shoes I' m weari ng. T h ey' re b lac k and white oxfordschee rleade r shoes. T he sh oes hun my feet, th ey're too small. I was afraid to te ll my fath e r whe n h e bought the m. I \Vas afraid h e' d ye ll a t m e in th e shoe store a nd beat me, so I did n ' t te ll h im the sh oes were too small. -Flash [Sometime later} I'm in kinde rgarten class. I' m sitting in the middle of the floor. T he rest of the kids ar e dancing around the room waving th e ir a rms and singing, "He re co mes Suzy Snownake dressed in a snow-white gown, tap-tap-tapp ing on your window pane to tell you she's in town ... "OUCH ! Some fat white kid just stepped on my hand. It hurts. I' m cqring. The teacher bends over me and says, "Aw, look at the little teard rops fall." Stupid bitch. - Flash I see my mothe r's face. I see my siste r, she's olde r than me. I don't know where she came from. I d on't like he r. - Flash My sister is laying on the Ooor, sh e has her pants ofT. Her legs are o pen. She has hair between h er legs. I don ' t. She's rubbing my face between her legs. I don ' tlike h er doing thisb ut I do. I think I' m nin e yea rs old. -Flash My pants a re down . I'm bent over a chair in the ki tchen . My father is beating me with a strap. I don 't know why. - Flash I' m sitti ng in the living room. My face is swolle n. I'm ho lding a bag of ice o n my face. My fa th e r beat me again. 1ow he is sitting behind me, an d I can't see him. I' m scared he's going to hit me aga in. -Flash My sister is making me "do it" again. My thing got hard. - Flash 1 000000-DA DD Y PLEASE DO 'T I' M SO RR Y PLEASE YAAAAA. - Flash I'm in th e ki tchen. I sme ll sk in burning. It's min e. My fa Lher is ho ld- ing both of my hands over the flames of the kitche n stove. H e's burning the skin off my hands. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DADDY PLEASE. My mothe r made him stop. He slapped her. Now I' m laying on the kitche n floor. The skin is peeling off my hands. - Flash I'm scar e d . My fat h e r 's coming home fro m work. Is h e going to beat me again? He usually does. I'm te n years o ld. - Flash I just put ra t poison in my father's coffee. I hop e h e dies. He pro bab ly won 't die, because he didn' t d ie last tim e I did it, h e didn' t even n o tice. Maybe I sho uld use more. - Flash My sister has her clothes off again. She wan ts me to ge t o n top of her but I d on' t want to- bu t I do. -Flash MO TH ER PLEASE DO N' T I' M SORRY-I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S AT...NOO- AWWW. My mothe r j ust took a ke ttle of h ot water off the stove. O H MY GOD- she's scaldin g me witl1 ho t \Vater. I' m hiding in the co rn er by th e kitc h e n d oo r. Sh e poured h ot scald ing water all over me. -Flash It's dark out. It's getting cold . I'm scared , I' m d irty, I ' m hu n g ry, I ' m tired . I ran away fro m ho me two days ago I think. I sle p t in so me bush es last n igh t. - Flash-Flash-Flash I'm in the detention home. It's nice h e re, it's clean. No pain , I ' m n o t afraid. I wan t to stay h e r e fo rever. Th ere are other boys here. We have to take showers together. T hey have h air o n their bodies in places I don ' t. One boy asked me if I had a sister . I said yes. He asked me if sh e "fu cked ." I don' t know wha t that mean s. He told me. Now I know my sister fucks me. I didn ' t tell h im. I did n ' t tell a nybody (u n til now). I think I am ten years o ld . -Flash I'm in juvenile cou rt. My fa th er is th ere. My moth er's th e re too. My fathe r is g ri tting h is teeth . Th a t means he's mad . O H MY GOD! T he j udge is sending me h ome. Why? I don 't wa nt to go. I told the cou nselor my pare nts beat me, burned me a nd scalded me wi th ho t water. My father said I got burnt playing wi th fire. My moth er said I kn ocked a pan of ho t wate r off the stove and tha t's why half of my back is pi nk. As fo r t h e br uises a n d scars, ''Well, kids will be kids." - Flash My fathe r beat me all the way h ome. -Flash-Flash-Flash My sister just se t the ba th room curtains o n fire, because I wouldn 't "do it" with h e r . Now sh e ' s r unn i n g upstairs to tell my moth er I se t the cu rta in s o n fire. I ' m leavi n g-my fa ther will kill me. -Flash I'm in the j uvenile diagnostic center on Broad Stree t in Columbus, O hio-Group #55. T his is my second time h e re. They keep trying to send me home. I won't go. I h ave to keep ge tting in tro uble o r they will se nd me h o me. -Flash I'm back in Akron , in the de te ntio n h o me . They wa nt to se nd me h ome. I won 't go. My fathe r is waitin g to beat me. My mother is waiting to scald me. My siste r is waiting to fu ck me. I wo n't go. Incorrigible, runaway, delinquent, antisocial, withdrawn, introverted, dysfunctional, bad seed. - Flash I'm in an isola tion cell. My throa t hurts, so does my h ead. I think I'm in u·ou b le. I'm in th e de te nti on h ome and the police are coming to get me. They say I ' m too h a rd to h a ndl e h e re . I' m gettin g big. I've go t muscles. I'm mad . Wha t the fuck a re you looking a t me fo r? I' ll kick your ass. No on e's going to hit me again . - Flash I'm in th e coun ty j ail in a cell by myself. I think I'm fou rteen . - Flash I'm a t Fairfield Sch ool for Boys. I lift we igh ts n ow. I' m a bad mo th e rru cker. What the fuck a re you looking at me for? I h ate you. I h ate peop le. - Flash-Flash-Flash I' m 17 yea rs o ld n o w. I ' m in Columbus again at the YMCA. I live in a program for juvenile delinquents called Helping Hands. I don 't talk to anybody. - Flash-Flash I' m 18 years old . I'm in the coun ty j ail for d runk and disorderly conduct. I like to d rink. It ma kes me mean. - Flash-Flash-Flash [Places] De te n tion Home, aba ndon ed cars, bush es, county j ail, juvenile centers. {Labels] Incorrigible, run away, delinquent, a ntisocial, withdrawn, introverted, dysfu nction al, bad seed. - Flash What a bou t a bused , did you forge t about tha t? 1969-Pa re nts d o n 't a buse the ir child ren. "Boys will be boys." - Flash [years later] I'm 33 years old n ow. I'm in prison fo r th e third time. I ' m in college studyi ng psych o logy a nd th eo retical pe rspectives of huma n be havio r. - Flash I'm still in prison . I gradua ted from college two years ago. Now I work for the college as a clerk. I've bee n transfe rred to a medium secu rity prison. My sta tus is Minim u m 2. I've been locked up four years now. I've learned a lo t abo u t peo p l e, abo ut sexual abuse, about incest, a bout physical a nd e m o tio n al a buse, abo ut sibling rivalry, about dysfunctional fa milies. I've learned a great deal about the underlying psych o logical ramifications of abuse of all types. I've learned about recovery, working thro ugh pe rson al issu es, self-disclosure, self-exp loratio n, self-unde rstanding, and be h avior cha nge. I've lea rn ed a b o u t psyc h osoc ial stages of developme nt, basic trust vs. mistrust, iden tity fo rmatio n vs. identity diffusio n. I've learned abou t diagnosis, labeling, negative effects. I've learned a great deal about selftherapy, nurturing, support, compassion, love. I 've lea rn e d a b o u t th e importance of family ties, role mo dels a nd social interaction . I've learned abo ut c ha nge, goals, purpose and directio n. - Flash I've learned that I've been la beled again. I'm a criminal- a viole n t offender - two strikes. One more and I' m ou t. - Flash I ' m 37 years o ld n ow a nd I 've learned not to accept negative labels, I've learned not to allow the course of my life to b e d ic tate d by circ umstances. I've learned to act-no t to react. I've learned to take contro l over my life. I've learned that-I'M O K. PL PRISON LIFE 35 SURRENDERING OF SPIRITS by C.W. Pyle California State Prison, Sacramento sh o u ld h ave pre te nd e d I was aslee p wh e n Ma rty storm ed in to the cell with a fist fu ll of large plastic bags. H e would h ave woken me up anyway, but at least I wouldn ' t have had to expe rie nce the electric te nsion of his presence. He grunted as h e tore off his weight-lifting g loves and jacke t. His lo ng hair fell about his face, a face I didn 't want to look at j ust then. "Why' d th ey recall yard so early?" I as ked , casu a lly fl ippin g throu g h Ste phe n King's Gunslinger. "You 're a n ho ur early." His face twiste d with hate a nd rage, his eyes became sli ts and his j aw was cle nched so tight th e skin looked drawn. "Fuckin ' cops took th e weigh ts away," he said. Eve ryone had heard the rumors, but no one believed it would happen. "N o m o r e b e n c h es, no mor e dumbbells, no more bars or plates or racks o r nothing! There's no thi ng left out the re but rocks and dirt. A hundred years a nd n o one ever fucked with th e weig hts. Wha t g ives the m sons-of-bitches the right?" Marty starte d p ac in g th e ce ll wit h clen ched, ~"""'\ blood l ess fists, re p ea tin g everything Q) h e'd just said , bu t in c h a nts: " o •Jill more be n ches, no mo re dumbbells, no more bars .. ." '-'I I'd never seen Marty this worked up be fo re. H e was always in a good Q) mood, calm fro m his iron drives. His voice n eve r tre mbled with rage in all the years I'd known hi m. .... "What the hell do they expect us ft. to do now?" he raved. "The re's noth. . . ing o ut th ere a nymore" He snatched . . . up th e p lasti c b ags h e'd tossed and -w trip led the m. I kn ew h e was going to fill the bag with wate r a nd use it to fini sh h is wo rko ut. Unfo rtun a tely, th e wate r ~ flowed so slowly h e had to stand the re for quite a whi le. One 16-o unce tumbier took a minute to fill , an d Marty Jill needed a t least sixty of th e m given his :.., size a nd th e we ig ht he n eed e d to work those 20-inch guns. H e was still filling th e b ag wh e n •Jill th e fl oor cops surpri sed us with a n early lockdown for count. Our being ! ..-a 0 ccJ J.c t') J:l 0 0 Ike 36 PRISON LIFE in a co rne r cell allowed th e cops to peek in before the gene ral 1varning to "stand up a nd turn your ligh ts on " was announced. They stared a t Ma rty and the huge bag he'd filled in th e sink. ''What?" Marty snapped , brea king th e office rs' suspi cio us gazes. "Yo u wanna d o my laund ry for me o r o rnethin '?" The cops moved on, smiling, bu t n ot in a frie ndly way. te r we re turned fro m c how, o ps stormed o ur p ad. "Both f you, step ou t of th e cell. " My ne rves were already sho t fro m Marty's ran ting a nd raving a bou t the weigh ts. I didn't need th e cops tearing up our cell. Most of my illegal luxuries we re stashed (ex tra razo rs, wire, a stinge r, a se wing n eed le, a joint, e tc.), but sometimes th e co ps wou ld stay lo ng e no ugh to get lucky. Instead , th ey only took the plasti c bags. The n t h ey popped th e wa te rfilled one an d emptied it out on the floor. "Why' re you ta king all o ur bags?" Ma rty shou ted , becomin g un g lued . He sto od o u tside t he cell as th e cops head ed fo r th e section d oor . "Afraid I ' m go in g to m e lt 'e m d ow n a nd make sha nks o r some thin '?" "Loc k it up . You kn ow pl ast ic bags are comra ba nd. ext tim e I find these in your cell, you 've got a writeup coming." "Oh wo w, ma n . What's the big fuckin ' deal?" "Come o n Marty, fu ck 'e m," I said. The two cops sto pped at the sectio n d oor. Th e Comma nd Ce nter cop caressed he r gun . "Th e b ig d ea l, Ford, is this is sto le n tate p rope rty. Kee p ru n ni ng your mo uth and we' ll stick a thievery beef on you. ow lock it up!" "I do n 't g ive a a sh it! Yo u steal o ur weigh ts, I' ll steal your bag ! How wo u ld yo u like it if I sto rm ed yo ur ho use and too k your shit? Ma u e r a fact, I go t your address, pal. " Marty neve r sho uld have said that. The cops were tired of the excha nge; th ey h ad th e sectio n door closed. As soon as they locked me in my cell, I kn ew they we re coming fo r Ma rty. He e nded up in the cage that n igh t. With the cell to mysel f for a few ho urs, I lay back o n m)' bunk, sta ring into my celly's locker, d iscovering a side of Marty I'd never seen . Most in mates' a nd convicts' locker cabinets were either e m pty o r full of cosmetics, coffee and j u nk food. ot Many's . H is was bulging with bodybuild ing, powerlifting a nd nmrition books he'd bough t through mailo rde r ca talogs wi th h is own priso nearned cash. He'd even ubscribed to Muscle and Fitness, an expe nsive publication, for years. Had a stack of them unde r his bun k. Durin g th e last few years I ' d know n h im , h e always sha red h is post-paro le plans of h elping tee ns "come up" in th e wo rld by bodybu ild ing. l-Ie was convinced tha t self-esteem was directly re la ted to outs ide ap p ea rances. I'm su re h e was rig h t. He studied hard a nd d rove the iro n e1·en harder to create a n o u tstanding p hysique. Eve n in p riso n, he helped o th e rs train more safely, a nd with bette r results. Once, wh ile Marty was showing another con a ce rtain back exe rcise, a branch-thin youngste r snatched up a 25-pou n d d u mb bell and sli th e red toward Conrad, a h uge bald-headed g u y kn ow n to have bu r ne d a few "lames" from time to time. Ma rty interven ed , b ut Con rad saw wh a t was h a p pe nin g . He p icked up a n EZ-Curl bar and struued towa rd Marty and the youngste r. "You wanna bash my head in, fool? Come on with it. Get your shi t!" "Take it off the p ile and leave th e we ig h ts," was th e genera l cal l fo r respect from other cons who j um ped in. o one wanted Lhe we ights to be taken. T hat incident was squashed without ever reac hing the eyes or ears of tJ1e Man. Whe n Ma n y re tu rned fro m t h e cage late that nigh t he grabbed a sheet off his bed a nd tOre some strips off. "Come on , man," I said . "Don' t hang yourself." " He tied his hair in a pony tail and stared at me . "Don ' t be stupid. I'm not going to hang myself. I need to work off this anger and ene rgy or I'll n eve r ge t to sleep. Uh, wou ld you mind standing on my back while I do a few sets of push-ups?" I couldn 't refuse that. It wasn ' t every d ay you could step on someone without their stepping back What was surprising was that all tha t beefed-up security did nothing to prevent the fights. After the third fight th a t morning, our yard time was cancelled and the cops h e rded us back into our cells. It would be like that, and worse, for some time. arty broke man y sh ee t s1rips while trying to wo rk his arms before he finally acknowledged a loss in size and endurance. He stood in the fron t of our small cell mi rro r fo r hours flexing h is guns, trying to fi nd e\ridence o f new muscle growth from 1hc strict cell-isometric routines. T he only thing tha t grew was his frusu·ation. M ~r:~~r~s~~~a~dt~~~~~~~ "We heard the rumor but nobody believed 1 ~1~u~~~~~i~~et ~~ ~~~fy~red it would happen-no more benches, ,~o a rty was right a b o ut my not be ing able to imagine what a priso n yard wou ld be like without weights. What I saw the next morning in th e yard r was unreal. The yard had literally changed face. Nothing remained where a huge iron pile once stood, not even traces of the rusted dumbbells sinking into the ground. The dirt crew had already raked the area smooth. Th ough I'd never u se d the weights more than a few weeks at a time, . I felt an emptiness setting upon the yard. The re was nothing left but a hu g e dirt track. Great. We could walk in circles all day. Around the remaining se ts of pu ll-up bars and parallel bars, prisoners of every r ace took turns as fast as they co uld. Confrontatio ns and shout-· in g m a tches broke o ut every few minutes between those atte mpting to c ut , into th e l ong lines a nd those waiting impatiently. Mass ive boredom h a d , infected the yard and a few sti nking sets of bars we re not going to offer cures. The cops we re out in fo rce, but strangely, th ey didn ' t venture mu c h beyo nd the cellblock gun towe rs unless they had to. With four h o using blocks surrounding the main yard of C-Faci lity, a to tal o f • e igh t mini-fo urtee ns cove red the two hundred or so cons and inmates. The tower cops were sitting close r than usual to the windows. Not surprising. M more dumbbells, no more bars ••• PRISON LIFE 37 "I'm ge tting th e h e ll out of here!" Ma n y too k his tumbl e r a nd started beating on the cell door. Esca pe passed thro ugh my mind, but o n ly fo r a mom e nt. Marty m ight have h ad a hard time dealing with his anger, but he certainly wasn ' t stupid. "Oth e r states h aven ' t ta ke n the weights away. I' m go in g t o get a n interstate transfer. Fuck California!" The Co mm an d Ce n te r co p racked him o ut to go sec his counse lo r. I remembered Many talkin g a bout rela tives he had out in Georgia. Unfo rtunately, the counselor shot his request into th e was te bas ke t. The e ntire cellb loc k heard the shouts a nd threats Ma rty raved at the counselo r. Hi s vo ice rose un til th e co un se lo r fina lly decided he'd had e nough a nd pressed his pan ic button. The goone r-cops storm ed the office within sec- 38 PRISON LIFE onds, as if th ey'd been waiting just outside our block, and hauled Marty to the cages. Doors sta rted rumblin g. People sta rted shoutin g . The Co ntro l co ps ran back and fo rth , confused over the uproar of suppo rt fo r Marty. Anti-cop slogans we re thrown abo ut without care o f reprisal, a n un common scene in th e days o f su p e rmax priso n s. It was gr eat! It was unity! vVh e n Ma rty re turn ed la te in th e eve ni ng h e was differe nt. His high spirits a nd humor had died. Dull ness glazed h is eyes like cata racts. We ird shit. His sh o ulde rs slumped a nd his hair stayed un co mb ed. He qui ckly bored me with his constant fa ntasies o f go ing out in a blaze of glory if, after parole, the police u·ied to screw him over a nd put him back into the blackness of p r iso n . Marty even d evelo ped an obsessio n for reve nge movies. T his was not the same person I'd celled with two yea rs earli er. Whe n you 've known a g uy for that long a nd his p e rso n a lity sudden ly twi sts 180 degrees, it gets a little scary. And sad. Most o f m y acqu a intan ces didn ' t notice the c han ges goi ng o n with Ma rty because they, too, were changing for the worse. Use of drugs an d priso n wine increased tlu·ee-fold afte r the weigh ts we re take n. Now, I ca n't eve n walk th e ya rd a n ymore with o ut some strung-out ho meboy hanging a ll over me. The drunks just run their mouths until tl1ey fall o ut. What else are they going to d o? There are no educa tional programs left in the priso ns, a nd limi ted sports equipme nt, no tl1ing to ta ke one's mind off doing time. The library is a joke of bad boo ks with missing pages a nd, well, th e re's just nothing be tte r to d o tha n try to wipe o m reali ty. O n e rea lity th e cops are re ally frusu·ated ovet· is the growing ineffect ive n ess o f th e ir warning sho ts. A group o f Mexican-Ame rica ns squared o ff at th e h orse shoe pit the o th er d ay a nd started sling ing body parts o neo n-one. Wa rn ing sh ots we re fired . The g ro up ta ng led tighte r. Two on o n e . Hit o n e, ki c k th e o th er. Fi sts were fl ying. Mo re Mexicans jumped in. T h e mu l tipl e sh ots th e gua rd s fired did n o th in g. On ce the co p s were a b le to bi lly-club most of th e fig hters in to submiss ion , a nother group squa red o ff at the othe r side o f th e ya rd. It was on e h e ll uva sh o wd own. The rest of the yard ke pt worrying abo ut richochets. H onorable M entions: (Other jJage) "Yout!ticide, " byj osejJ!t H r:rnandez, Green. H aven Correctional Facility, New Yod1. (Below) ''Tige1~" by Janet Calloway, F P. C. Canwell, T exas. (Right) "Lunch Sack ATt, " by H. L oible, Pelican Bay, Calij01·nia. That incident got the instinttion locked clovm , but the adm inistra tion's only response beside th e usual token inte tviews was to take o ut the remaining exe rcise pull-up and d ip ba rs so that nothing was left. A cell change was inevitable. The man I'd known as Marty for so ma ny yea rs va nish ed t h roug h the us e of h e ro i n. His un co ntro lla ble a n ge r turn ed o n me the first time I refused to stand o n his back fo r a few tho usa nds sets of push-ups and squats. H e co u ldn ' t und ersta nd I had m ore going o n in my life th an volunteering my body we ig h t. Before o ur falling o ut, h e'd n ea rl y kill ed a n e ighbo r ove r so m e jui ce h e ' d b o ug ht that turn ed to vinegar. Crazy sh it. Figh ts break o ut nearly eve ry day now because there's no thing be tte r to d o fo r long-te rm e rs. Sh o rt-term e rs h a rd ly go o utside mu c h a n ymore. Even the cops are wary of th e ya rd a nd movement in gene ral. Now th at the weigh ts and programs a re gone and the general population is desp era te a nd vio le n t, and "strike twos" a nd "strike threes" can send yo u back to all this e mptiness for life, there's much more incentive to go clown fig hting. And th ey wil l. Th ey ' ll be go in g out in bl azes of g lo ry, taking as many p eople with the m as they can. Just ask Marty. He paroles tomorrow, and he's one a ngry, strung-out dude. PL 8 I PRISON LIFE 39 Honomblt' Mention: "Untit!Pd, " fl)• Ty lwkshynsla, fowa Stall' Prison. . Lo -A~o!!.Z ~ y, r;£1-kk_~vt~ ,. ~--'-'LM ~ .. - ---------~ ---~----------~ --q_~~ · _·_________________________ p • 1 eces by Precious Bedell Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, New York ACT O NE SCENE3 A jJrison yard, surrounded by a fence topped with ba·rbed wire. Outside the fence four prison as rlmssed in green chinos and white T-shirls, escorted by a COITection offiCe/~ ewe leaving the TecejJlion building. The prisoners inside rush over to the fence and stm·t to call to the othm~5. PRJ SO ER # I : (jrom inside yard) Yo, baby, d id my g irl Li za co me o n th e bus wit h you? Is th at Sho rty? That is you. H ow you been? PRISONE R #2: Yea h , it's me. Hey Sunshine, I love you ba by. You know I do from the bo ttom of my hearL (The officer tPlls them to move away from the fence. The women lieep walhing but the j11isoners follow along the fence talliing to the other four as they walh on. One of the jHisoners wi th th e office r motions to Prisoner # ] fn-etending she's washing her underann and mouths silently that she needs some soajJ.) PRJSO ER #1: Don 't co me back he re stressin ' me fo r no th in ' b itch. You ain 't se nt me no soap, n o cigarettes, no nothin ' wh e n yo u we re in ew York. (The officer waves Prisoner # 1 to movp away from the fence and warns his charges with a stem looh not to TesjJond to an)' comments the prisoners inside the fenCP m ·e making, and they are making many. Inside the yaTd there are benches and picnic tables scattered around. The dancers are still practicing and showing off throughout this scene. They are still rehearsing for the talent show. 17u:y practice the Vogu e, the But.terjly, the Bogel, modern dances to the music of lvfichael Ja ckson's "Keep i t i n the Closet. " Dee-Dee is 011 her lmees in Ihe middle of the ym·d jHaying revermtly, raising her Bible to the shy from lime to lime. Sand)• is comforting Prisoner #2 at one of the tables. At a table nPxt to I hem four women are fJla)•ing rards. Th ere are other women in the yard sitting, walhing or jogging with Wallunans. M onPy-L ove is walk ing toward Sandy. The woman starts to leave but Sandy stops her.) SA1'\IDY: You d on' t have to leave. PRISONE R #2: La te r , g irl. I do n ' t wan na be round Money. My n e rves a re just too bad. SANDY: I' ll te ll Mo n ey to go about her business and sh e'll go. PRISO ER #2: No, I'm too messed up to really ta lk and anyway I ' m gon na mee t a frie n d fro m another building. T hese kids, boy I' m te ll in ' you. The bigger they ge t, the b igger th e proble ms get. SANDY: Yo u ' re ce rtain ly right abo ut tha t. PRISONER #2: Why can 't he just stay h is ass home ti ll I get outta h ere? This is th e second time this year he's run away. (She stm·ts to weep silentl)• and exits. J\!Ioney walks toward Sandy.) MO 1EY: H ow come she always cryin', Sand y? Sh it , every tim e you loo k rou n d s h e b o h ooi n ' al l ove r t h e place. J ust ma kes me sick. If these nomone y-ge ttin ', turn ip-fa ce scaggs can't s tand up to d o in ' tim e, wh y don 't th ey just square up? SANDY: How come you always talking street id iom and su·essing it to th e h ilt wh e n yo u co me a ro und me? Don ' t get o n my ne1ves today! MONEY: Wow! Now wh e re d id that come from? I j ust don ' t u nde rsta nd why women ge t so e motional o ve r every da mn thing he re. SANDY: Mon ey, shu t u p ! Not eve ryo ne has a Ph.D in doing time like you. MO EY-LOVE: Oh, s'cuse me, "MISS SOCIAL WORI<ER" of th e prison. SA DY: You ' r e excused , "M R CAREER CRI MINAL" of the pe nal system. MONEY-LOVE: T h at's me, bu t don ' t c hange the gender, baby. "Ms." suits me. SANDY: O h, so today you wan t to be woman? MONEY-LOVE: Come on now, baby. I have no illusions about who or what I am. I'm j ust aggressive and prefe r men 's a ttire. From th e look o n your face th at scall ywag must be feeli n ' guilty ' bo ut losin' h er kid s or the visit with th e m fell through. SANDY: And if she d id or d idn ' t it's none of you r damn b usin ess. MONEY: T hat's why I don 't set myself up for visits. Waitin ' and waitin ', with yow· best shirt on. And for what? To look like he r (/Joints to the woman who has just walhed awa)•) a nd feel badder than I already d o? Uh-uh , no than k yo u, sista. Yo u know I a lm os' feel sorry fo r her. She looks stricken to death. (Moneyfalu•s emjlatlty.) SAN DY (Pointing to an emjJty ben ch) : T ake your body ove r th ere if' you contin ue o n the r oute yo u 're o n. Sometimes you' re so vi le and disgusting I don ' 1 even know why I p ut up with yo ur wonhless ass. MO EY: Ooh ch ile. Thangs must be real emotional fo r you rig ht 'bout n ow cause yo u su re a in ' t soundin ' like the m wh ite fo lks. SANDY (DPfensivPly): T he re's noth ing wrong with spea ki ng S ta nda r d E n g lish. I' m certin ly n ot wor ri ed about losing my culture or becomi ng wh ite-orie nted. MO EY-LOVE (Sounding jHofm ) : O f course no t, never you, da rl ing. (In her own voice) Yo u not becom in ' wh ite-orie n ted. Ha! That's a laugh. SANDY: So what? I ca n live in both W worlds. I certainly won ' t ge t a job with W "Yo, baby, like, u m, ca n you slide me 1-j a j ob application?" p.1 MO 'EY-LOVE (Laughs): Stop dissin ' our race sista g irl. Sandy, (on a serious note) yo u been a evil ch ile lately. " ' Look , n ow, Sandy, I h ave some ,., money aved... ..,. SAN DY (Ang1ily): Don't eve n try it, . . . okay. Do n ' t sell me dreams. Yo u know --~ me be tte r than a nyone a nd you know I don 't pl ay t h is kind of b u llsh it! Don ' t tal k to me abo ut you r mon ey on the o utside un less you ' re goi ng to c-fte ll me you a re going to stop throw- . . . ing bricks. •V MONEY-LOVE: You know I always .... look o ut fo r you when I'm out there. p.1 SANDY: Yeah, you do but it wouldn 't ( ) hu rt yo ur ass to stay out of here. You're getting too old for this. MO ' EY-LOVE: You , too. An d why should you si t here any lo nger than you h ave. This goddamn shit makes ~· me sick. I ain't neve r asked you why ;:::1 you here but I know and don't care. 1-t But it ain 't no worse than wha t th ose ..., wh ite women don e th a t th e med ia and God knows wh o e lse 'bo u t to 1-j a 11 02 CD c:! q CD PRISON LIFE 41 break th e doors d own tryin ' to ge t out. You j ust the wrong colo r. SANDY: O h , sh ut u p , Money. You always m a ke so m e t h ing o ut a race issue whe n I tell you to stay your ass out of he re. MONEY-LOVE (cringing in mock horr01): T hen what am I go nna do? Apply fo r welfare? Or work my ass to d eath in o ne of th ose mini mum wage jobs? Never get p ro m oted 'cause I' m the wrong color an d gay, too. Please! SANDY: O h , J esus, what have I started? You can ' t te ll yo ur ass to go to work because you have more excuses than a po li tician . MONEY-LOVE: Yo u know I speak the truth. An by Bobo Willkic SANDY: O h J esus, yes, yo u speak the truth ! MONEY-LOVE: Okay. Me and $40 that the state \\~ II give me when I leave. No, n o, now th e state won 't eve n give yo u $40 u nl ess yo u h a ve money in your accou n t wh ile yo u ' re in priso n so t h ey ca n ta ke it out and, get this, save th e $40 they' re su pposed to give you. SANDY: Money ... MONEY-LOVE (Jn terrujJting) : Do n 't "Money" me! T he syste m is a se t-up to kee p p eople co m in' back. T his is a b usin ess, ware h ous in g human flesh. Ain ' t no differen t from those slave ships except they th row a few wh ites in to make it legit. SANDY: It's n o t t h e sa m e and yo u know it. MONEY-LOVE: I'm not go ing to ge t into that. Now you have to pay $25 to take th ey G.E.D. test. And wh e n you get o ut yo u h ave to pay th e parole o fficer $30 mo n t h fo r his services, which is to violate you an d send you bac k h ere as so o n as yo u brea th e wrong. And le t's not forge t th a t you start o ut paying once th e judge se ntences you 'cause now th ey want you to pay a $ 150 surcharge fOJ- court fees. SANDY: And you 'd think th at o nce a pe rson is put through a ll th a t, they'd never come back he re! MO NEY-LOV E: No, p eo p le co me 42 PRISON LIFE back here because this whole siwation is staged from day one to t h e e ncl . (Shaking her head.) How ca n they possibly ex pect fo r yo u to pay the parole officer when you don 't have a j ob? SANDY: T h ere's jobs o u t there and more resou rces to he lp ex-offe nde rs than t he re used to be . You paint a picture of a n ex-con leaving he re in the fi fties. Please! MONEY-LOVE: It is, belie ve me! Next I guess you 'II te ll me th at racism is a ll in my mind and tha t we got e-qual-ity because now we can use th e same toilets a n d eat in the same restaurants as whi te people. SANDY: You know, Money, if you were doi ng so m e thi ng to cha nge all th e wrongs th at exist for m inority people I could understan d why you act the way yo u d o . Wh a t a b o u t go ing to wOI-k and at least u-ying to make a go of it? MONEY (Grins): What abo ut it? If I d idn ' t know how to h ustle I'd have to go on we l fa r e. In case you d o n ' t know, most wome n who leave here go that route because they don ' t have no mo ney and noBODY! SANDY: I'm not saying it won ' t be diffi cul t, bu t have so me prid e. I'd rathe r work in McDo nald's th an have those n osey assho les in my business. MONEY: Yea h , a nd th e n they try to take your kid s wh e n yo u d on 't da nce to th e ir music. Bu t it's more than dit:. fi cult to do Lh e rig ht th ing. It's damn near im p~ss i b l e! SA.l\I DY: We ll, ain ' t that the pot calling the kettle b lack! You ' re the o n e wh o 's a lways calli ng wome n u n fit mothers. An d why does it have to be the g loomy pictu re you j ust painted ? MO NEY-LOVE: It sure ain ' t li ke that fa iry tale yo u got da n cin ' ' ro u nd in your h ead. SAt DY (Telo1·ts hotly) : Do yo u rea ll y th ink I' m not aware that racism and th e man y other social ills exist in this world ? MONEY-LOVE: Do you? SANDY (Goes on lilie she doesn't heaT Money): Bu t c h a nge neve r comes by people blami ng each oth er and feeling son -y fo r the mselves all Lhe Lime and becomi n g an o t h e r stat ist ic time and time again. Stop saying yo u' re in prison because you' re poor and black. MONEY-LOVE: He ll, that's part of it! T his place is fu ll o f Bla c ks and Ric a n s and nol by accid ent, ne i ther. Th is is a n oth e r form of ge nocide. T he oppression that we live in is p e rpetrated by the dom inant socie ty keeping us in prisons like th is or in poverty- su·icken ghe ttos. SANDY: Then ma ke a d iffe re n ce. You ' re just as smart as any co ll ege stude n t or sm a rte r. But you' re sti l l not bra ve eno ugh. You want eve1-yone to th ink you 're some illiterate career crimina l. MONEY-LOVE: You think I give a fuck ' bout changin ' society? I'm lookin ' out fo r UMBER ONE and th at's the bottom line. Baby, you been in prison too long if yo u th in k soc iety is go n n a change 'cause Blacks try to make a d iffe re nce. That civil rights shit of th e sixties is go n e . All of our prese n t soca ll e d ac ti vists su re a in ' t Marti n LULher King and his followers. These folks d o ne gave us a ll we gonn a ge t. You' re really not that smart, Missey. SANDY: O h , really! I' m smart e n oug h to real ize that th e biggest proble m in my li fe was myse lf, no t th e sys te m. (Bacliing down and changing tone in voice) Oh .Jesus, why can ' t we just take pride in our achieve me nts? MONEY-LOVE: H e re we go with the Jesu s bit aga in . Do n't waste yo ur breath on him. H e's been ha d tooeven th e Bible speaks of h ow wooly his hair was. SANDY (Resigned): Whatever. Change s tarts fro m wi t h in , Mo n ey. I'm th rough with this shit. MONEY-LOVE: I hate to hurt your feelings but life outside j ust ain 't like you want it to be. I trie d that route of yo urs. Yo ur sweet American dream: "Work hard you will get ahead. " I had a job as a recreation instructor. SANDY: Really, Money? MONEY-LOVE: Yes, really. I was real prou d, full of dreams. H ad me a baby and a fiance, too. SANDY: We ll, I'll be. MONEY-LOVE: We had us a nice apartment, he was workin '; I was workin'. He lost his job 'cause the boss gave it to one of his white relatives. Came home one day, found a note on the ice box. One of them Dear J ohn ja mmies, but in this case, Dear Money. Things got so bad we had to go on welfare and move to a cheaper place. The neighborhood was so bad even I was scared to go outside witho ut carryin '. (Money stops and stares at the ground.) SANDY (Shows emotional change here): Mon ey, I never knew you had a son. What's his n ame? He lives with your mother? MONEY-LO VE: H a! My m a m a sto pped b e ing mama whe n she married a white man and demanded that we call him daddy. Like somebody wou ld believe he was. SANDY (Crabs M oney's hand): I'm so sorry, Mo n ey. You think you kn ow someone well and you don' t. H ow old is your son? MONEY-LOVE Uerks her h and fro m Sandy): Wait one damn minute! Don ' t try to make me anothe r one of your victims. I gave my son up for adoption so he has a good home. Been there since he was nine months old. He's 14 today. Some of these ' h os in here need to make the adoption move. Always tryin ' to hold onto kids they can' t never take care of. The only one I have to take care of now is me. An d I haven' t had a man since. Only a woman can comfort me. SANDY: Yo u don't h ave to b e gay 'cau se a m a n did yo u wrong. Sto p making excuses! You just love women! And most of them here didn't know how to be good mothers. MONEY-LOVE: You not a good moth- nstpp a nd be thin like the m white folks. Do you e du cated freaks know how to coo k a real dinn e r? (Laughing) Just kiddin ', baby, you can cook. I'm goin' d own to Ju lio's p lace and eat some rice with fatback a nd pigeon peas. And if I know you, and I do, as soon as you sm ell it o n my plate, yo u 'l l come beggin'. SANDY ( Laughs): Mo n ey, you're something e lse! You're going to eat Ms. Gomez out of house and ho me . (T he lights go up in another part of the yard. Milaf51·os, Dee-Dee and a Jew others crowd around a nurse who is dispensing medication.) MONEY-LOVE: Yeah , but she loves ole Mo ney-Love's company t hough , girl friend! Yo, Sandy, there goes Milagros on the medication line with Dee-Dee. She's bee n takin' Elavils since sh e's been back. See what I m ean? Can't do n o time. Still needs a crutch. (Dee-Dee comes over to Sandy holding her head. She kneels l7y Sandy on the ground and lies her head on Sandy's lap. Sandy caresses her hair and talks to her softly.) SANDY: You feeling be tter th an you did this evening? I be t you didn 't take your medication this morning. e r, queen-mo ther-of-pare nting-skills- DEE-DEE: Oh, Sandy, something bad program! gone be goin' down. I feels it in my SANDY (crossl)•) : Yes, m e. Be ing a head. I keep seein' visions of somebody good parent is trial and e rro r even dying over and over. And I see a court for those who were fortunate e no ugh room with a room full of white fo lks in to read Dr. Spock. it and you in the middle and they wants MONEY-LOVE: Wh o the hell is Dr. you to tell them somethin' and you just can't re member an d you starts to cry. Spock? SANDY: H e wrote lite rature a b o ut SANDY: Don ' t wory about m e , DeeDee. I'm going to be all right. babies, h ow to care for the m. MONEY-LOVE: Man, that shit don ' t DEE-DEE: You sho' is, my pre tty little m ean n othin '. An ybody got to read girl. I' s go n e to see to it. An d yo u about h ow to take care of a b aby is goin ' home too. Put it in God's hand. He owes me p lenty and I a in 't asking stupid. for muc h fo r me but I pray so h ard SANDY: I' m sure you too k excellent care of him. Gaining further kn owl- for you . (Spits some orange looldng fJills edge of parenting doesn't take away a out of her mouth and stomps them into the person 's instinctive ability to be nur- ground savagely.) SANDY: Dee-D ee, your h ead hu rts turing. MONEY-LOVE (Pretends to play a v io- more whe n you don't take your medlin): I'm not stayin ' here for one of ication . your inte llectual sermons. Not in this DEE-DEE: But I don' t needs tl1is mess. lifetime. I'm goin' in early. You can They trying to keep me down, keep me quie t 'cause of my visions and 'cause I watch your magenta sunsets alo n e. SANDY: N o, I ' m going in too. I'm knows the police is raping these wornmaking som e popcorn. Would you ens after d a rk. Sandy, I ain't n eve r sign in' no papers to give away my kids. like som e? You have to do some thin ' to help and MONEY-LOV E: Hell , no. I d o n't I's gonna get you outta here, okay. want no pop corn without butte r like SANDY: I know but don 't worry abou t you eat it. that now. Just rest, O kay. (Lights Jade.) SANDY: I have to lose some weight. PL MONEY-LOVE: Always tryin' to diet saytng yo!J're tn • prtson vee a use you're poor and black.'' PRISON LIFE 43 , J , J Last issue, in the first installment of our three-part series on gangs, we featured "From the Streets to the Pen." GangHangers from the Midwest and East Coast told the real deal about their organizations, good and bad. For the second part of Gangland USA, we traveled south to Texas. Texas prisons are overflowing. The state now has the second largest number of prisoners in the country, with an incarcerated population of 118,000. The numbers have tripled in just one decade. In fact, Texas officials say they'll open a new corrections installation each week for the next year and a half. It should come as no surprise that Texas has problems with gangsproblems the Texas department of corrections has initiated and let fester. Gang membership seems to be increasing at the same time that anti-gang , sentiment is rising. There is a new breed gangbanger, who joins for protection and power instead or carnalismo, contributing to the decline of gang brotherhood. For the next issue, we'll scope out the gang scene on the West Coast. Crips and Bloods, Skinheads and California eses will tell their stories. ' 44 PRISON LIFE r PART TWO: 'fi~23J\S text & photos by Chris Cozzone could n 't believe they were fin ally going to let me in. Fo r weeks, I h ad tried to arran ge an in terview with Roben Delgado, a forme r gan g me mbe r (FGM) with th e T exas Synd icate. ' e Syn d icate, whi ch origi nate d in Th 1977, was Texas' most notorious p rison gang; they make Crips and Bloods look li ke Boy Scouts. I had also tr ied to inte rview T exas Co r rect ions officia ls, b u t Dav id Nu n nellee, spo kesma n for th e Texas De p ar t ment o f Cr imi na l Jus ti ce Institu tional Division (TDCJ-ID), h ad denied each request. "'We feel a n a rticl e o n T exas gangs would be a threat ro securi ty," he to ld me ove r the phone. "You will not get cooperation from us in any way." "The ar ticle has an anti-gang slant to it," I u·ied to te ll Nunne llee. "Delgado is speaking ou t against gangs." I t was li ke ta lk in g to conc r ete . N un ne llee saw fit to prevent me fro m in te rviewing gang intellige n ce officers, Delgado and othe r prisoners, all FGMs against gangs. Wh a t a r e th ey so afra id of? I th ough t. Finally, with he lp from some friends of Prison Life, Warden West at Sti les Uni t in Beau mont, Texas a pproved an interview with Delgado and I was in. From th e o utsid e, Stiles U nit was like every oth er prison I ' d b een t o in Texas: stark and quie t. In th e preceding week, I'd ''visited " 12 oth er prisons in the Ho u ston-Huntsville a rea. At Goree Unit, I was followed o ut of th e parking lo t by a guard . At Ellis II, I was detained by gua rds while my driver's license was verified. ('You can't be tak- ing pi c tu res h e r e wit h o ut proper a u th orization!" the cop had sh ou ted in my face.) At most of the prison s I c hecked o ut, I got o nly as fa r as a g ua rd sh ac k h a lf a mil e fro m th e entrance. T h e treatm ent I received a t Stil es was no d iffe ren t, although the guard \vho escorted me to Delgad o forgot to c h ec k m y cam e ra b ag a n d r u n m e thro ugh a m etal de tector. I was also left to fi nd my own way ou t after th e in te rview, without an escort. "How ma ny prisoners in Ad Seg?" I asked the guard who escorted me to th e visiting room. "Five-hundred and fo u r." "H ow many of them are gang me mbe rs?" "O h . .. a wh o le bun c h of 'e m . Most." He led me ro a booth facing a close t-sized room separ ated by a sh eet of Plexiglas with pho nes for com mun icatio n . This was wh ere I was supposed to tap e an inte rview and photograph De lgado. "Can ' t we go in to the same room?" I asked th e gua rd. "Can ' t a llow you near Mr. Delgado." H e shook his head a nd looked a t me like I' d asked t o h ave lunc h with J effrey Da hm er com e back from the d ead . 'What're you d oin g your story o n, a nyway?" he asked . "Gan gs." ''Well, h e sh ould be able to tell you something about that. " "Yeah , being a fo rmer m em be r o f the Texas Syndicate and a ll ... " "Former? We believe Mr. Delgad o's th e nu mber two m a n fo r the Texas Syndicate." "Do yo u kn ow h e's sp ea kin g o ut against gangs?" I asked. "Gang me mbers have that rule," h e said , n odding h is h ead authoritatively. "Once you 're in, you 're in for life. So, he m ust be lying." tWI~N lf1\U ON (yi\Nt;s In 1985, TDCJ-ID spokesm an Phil Gu th rie estim ated that 750 o f th e syste m 's 38,000 pdsone rs in the 26-unit syste m b elo n ge d t o o n e o f h a lf a doze n gan gs: T exas Syndi cate, Mex ica n Ma fi a , T exas A rya n Brothe rhood, Texas Mafia, Mandingo Warrio rs, Nuestm Camales, Raza Unida and Hermanos de Pistoleros L atinos. All but the Texas Syndicate were new to Texas. T he Syndicate had originated in 1977 to fight the Building Te nde r Syste m. Building T enders (BTs) were selected inmates-turned guards, authorized by the state to carry weapons an d o rder o the r prisone rs aroun d. Once th e BT System was abolished in 1983, o the r gangs formed to fill the power vac uum . Mu c h of th e tens io n was b e tween th e Syndicate a nd Mexican Mafi a, but o th e r ga n gs joined th e power struggle. In Se p te mbe r 1983, afte r a trip le homicide at the Darrington Unit, th e De partme n t of Corrections declared open war on gangs. A lockdown was enfo rced a t all maximum- a nd medium-sec uri ty j o in ts. For th ree d ays, while prisoners were confined to th eir cells, o f£cials r an weapo n sea rc h es, tattoo examinatio ns and stopped mail call to all su spec ted gang me mbe rs. Afte r three d ays, every alleged ga ng m e mb e r was co n fin ed to Admin istrative Segregatio n . Ten years late r, they re main there. And Ad Seg h as sin ce b ecome th e a uto m a ti c h o u sin g area for th ose be lieved to be gang membe rs. PRISON LIFE 45 "ll1\n non" m~u;Ano Ro be rt De lgad o wo uld have bee n th rown in Ad Seg back in 1983, but he was already there fo r a uspected gangrelated stabbing . Back the n, Delgado's Texas Syndicate tattoo was undeniable proof of hi gang a!Tilia tion. But people change. Delgad o , now 40, grew up in lew Bra un fe ls, Texas, a sma ll town clea n of gangs. His first run-in with th e law came wh e n he was busted for armed robb e ry at th e age o f 18. Tha t was 1974, back in the days when the infamous Build ing T e nde r system was in full swing in Texas j o ims. C hi cano s, Mexica n s a nd ot h e r minori ti es h ad it h ard under th e mos tl y-white BT rule. Afte r three years of harsh punishm en t, De lgad o became o ne of the o riginal me mbers of t h e BT' s arc h-e n emy gang, t h e T exas Syndicate. "Back th e n ," says ··sad Bob"' or " M alo"' De lgad o, as he i called, "we were the only ones who stood up to th e Building T e nd e rs. J oin in g the Syndi cate was bea uti ful. It was real broth e rhood back the n , real wmalismo. But with o u t th e vio le nce a nd o ppressio n unde r th e BT system, we never would 've h ad reason to form." In 1978, De lgad o fini shed se rving his se nte n ce. Within a yea r, he was bac k in priso n for sell in g less tha n S I00 worth of he roi n. He was give n a 35-yea r se nt e n ce; h e h as s in ce clowned 16 calendars. \'\h en h e ret urn e d to t h e p e n , Delgado saw that the Srndicate's su·uggle against the Buildi ng Tenders had intensified. For every Syndicate me mb e r beate n , stabbe d o r ki ll ed, two Building Tenders were u·eated likewise. "There were less tha n a hundred of u s t hr oug h o ut a ll o f Texa s," says De lgado . "But we had th e illusio n of be ing more beca use nobody could figure out exactly who was ma king all the moves. We we re organ ized to fight." Th e Synd icate and the Building T ende rs were t h e o n ly r ea l T exas p rison gangs until 1983. Without a righ teo us cause, the Syndica te sta rted to go dO\mhi ll. "We form ed as an organizatio n with a cause,"' says De lgado, '"but it t hen wrned into a bull h it gang ." Three yea rs ago, after n early two decad es o f ga ng affiliatio n , Delgado called it quits. Losing a velerano like De lgado, who had bee n chairma n at one tim e, se nt shockwaves thro ugho ut th e Syndi cate. Soon after, six o the r orig ina l me mbe rs q ui t. Death se n tcnces we re ha nded clown from the Syndi cate's command. De lgado is n o t wor ried. "The o ld Syndi cate is dead a nd gone," he says. "I' m deali ng wi th th e new Syndicate, whic h is n o thin g like th e o ld. We don't call th e e guys gangste rs, we call th em pun k ters." Green or not, the Syndicate made a move against Delgado last year. He was wa lkin g t hro ug h h is ce llbl ock durin g h is " fr ee hour" whe n a Syndicate me mber attacked him . "Right in fron t o f a guard, too." says Delgad o. "But here in Texas, guards have to wait fo r backu p before interve n i n g in a s t ru ggle. So t his g u y sou n ds th e ala rm a nd sta nds th e re watching. It took m e a bo ut 30 seconds to knock this d ud e ou t. T hen I just sat o n h im a nd wa ite d for the g u ards to co m e to arrest u s b o th. After abou t five min u tes, he started to wake up so I knocked him out agai n . The gua rd says, ' De lgado, don't hit him no more.' But hit-he's the o ne who a u ac ked me! If I didn ' t kn ock him out, I'd be dead. In the Texas system, you got to take care of yourself." Ten minutes late r , De lgado was arrested a nd thrown into a strip cell. He says th e treatmen t an d unfai r punish me nt he received is typical of wha t the TDCJ-!0 d oles out to forme r gang members. "It's a ll pa rt of th e p rogram, " he says. (con /inned on page 48) BUILDING TENDERS: TEXAS' FIRST GANG by Mark Fronckiewicz (with Beverly Medlin) FGM-Texas Mafia Robertson Unit efore th e mid-'60s, th e cou rts in T exas did no t give a ny re lie f to prisone rs who c ha ll e nged co nditions, polic ies o r institulio na l rul es. Thi s c h anged in Dece m be r 1980 whe n William Wayne justice, a fed e ral judge in the Eastern District of Texas, issued a sweeping decree again st the Texas De p a rtm e n t o f Co rrec t ions. R ttiz v. Estelle ordered prison officials to a ddress a number of u n con sti tuti o n a l c o n di t io n s: ove rcrowdi ng, unnecessary use of fo rce by pe rsonne l and too few guards. Most sign ificantly, th e d ec ree abo li sh e d t h e Building T ender Syste m , d isrupting th e powe r structure that had contro lle d prisone rs thro ug ho u t th e T exas pe n a l system fo r most of the century. Building Tende rs were a select group of inmates who were give n the j ob of ma naging hardcore crimin als. By giving BTs special privileges, officials we re able to u se the m an d the ir assista n ts, the "turn keys," to keep rank-and-file prisone rs in line. Officially, th e BT syste m was an informati on n e twork that h e lped o fficials pen e tra te a nd divide p riso ne rs. The BTs and turnkeys had their own snitches so that informatio n about trou b leso m e prisone rs, g ua rd s an d con d itions could be passed o n to administrators. The BTs and turnkeys were rewarded with power a nd status far exceed ing that of ordinary prisone rs a nd eve n lowe r-ra nki ng guards. Unoffi c ia ll y, th o ug h , th e BTs kep t order in tl1e cellblocks through intimidation and physical coercio n. Justice 's ruling becam e e ffective in May 1982; Texas D.O.C. agreed to dismantle the Building Tend er syste m by J a nuary 1983. BTs were reassigned to ordinary prison j obs, stri p ped of th e ir power, status a nd du ties, the n moved to se pa ra te cellb locks for the ir protecti o n . At the sa me time, gua rd forces nearly double d. Altho ugh the BTs knew which co nvicts to leave a lo ne, weake r priso ne rs were common ly abused. You could buy protection fro m the BTs because th ey ran everything. They kep t tl1e Man off your back, and if anyone attempted to in te rfe re, th ey'd be sto ppe d sh o r t. Alth o u gh n ever respec ted , the BTs B were d efin ite ly feared . Burt Kiser, wh o d id tl1ree-a nd-a-h alf years in Texas b e twee n '68 and '72, was a BT during the time h e served o n the Clem e ns Unit. His j ob assignme n t had been c ha nged fro m hoeing cotton to wor k in g in th e la undr y whe n oth e r inmates approached him a b o ut b eco min g a BT . Burt h a d g ain e d res p ec t d u e to th e way he worke d in th e cotto n fie ld . He was liked by o the r p risoners, a nd he met the BT q ualifi catio n s: a clean discip line record. 'The BT system facili tated ha rmo ny in th e unit," says Kise r, n ow a n excon . "It m ad e life more to lera ble fo r prison e rs." H e says it was th e BT's j o b to ch eck o n inmates workin g in th e cell block an d to ask if anything was n ee ded. If a BT was aware of so meth ing "going d own ," he co uld e ithe r turn his head or re po rt it. Kiser says he did no t use his positio n as a BT fo r snitching and tha t he usually a llowed m ost a ltercations to work th emselves ou t. He was the re for the priso ne rs, he says, no t th e adminisu·alion . "Most infractions \Vere worked o ut fr om with in . I n m a tes could ta lk to one anoth er. They cou ld be reason ed with . Guards would not get th e sam e kind o f respo nse." Kiser a d ds th e re was n o need for so m eon e to join a prison gang during the BT yea rs. Whi le th e purpose of th e BT syste m was to close sociological gaps be tween th e officials an d prisone rs, ma ny BTs fo un d less t h a n des irab le ways t o co mmuni ca t e with th e i nm ates , includ ing vio le n ce. Like the gua rds, th e y co uld ofte n be bo u ght, and because they had un chec ked power, th e re was often serious abuse. Abol ish in g the BTs a lso broug h t about major changes betwee n guards an d prisoners. With th e n ew re lationshi ps between keepe r and ke pt, priso n e rs b ecame m ore vehement in c h a lle nging th e a uth ority of C.O.'s a nd became more confron tatio n a l a nd h ostile. T he guards began to cite inmates fo r infractions. Gangs fo rmed to fill the power void. In 1985, a ll gang m em b ers we r e be ing weeded out and shipped to Ad Seg. But this d id little to sto p gangs fro m flo urishi ng in population . A prison guard wh o asked to have his name and ran k witl1held expressed m uch frustration with respect to the Justice r ul in gs. H e says that now guards' hands are tied. They can no longe r handle situations witl1 swift and sure qmseque nces as they once were able to do. 'These people on ly understand one language-viole n ce. We've got to be allowed to speak to them in th e ir own language," h e says. Ga ng m e mbe rs be h in d ba rs are on ly t h e man ifestatio n of a g reate r power , a force so stro n g t ha t it p e n e tr ates tl1rough th e prison walls into the free world and endangers even t11e fam ilies of correctio n s officia ls. 'These gangs are no t co nfine d to p rison ," he says. "Yo u can be killed o n the streets in cold bl ood fo r n o thin g more tha n wead ng th e colo rs they recognize as th e ir own gan g colors if you' re not able to identify yourself to them as a gang member. " PL Delgado will soon go to the parole board for the sevenLh time. He's bee n denied six times in the last two years. In fact, las t yea r , jus t da ys b e for e Delgado was sc h edul ed for re lease, th e c hi ef o f ga n g inte llige n ce, Salvado r Bue n te ll o, made a pecial a ppeal to t h e boa rd and th ey wi th drew parole. "It's beca use they still insist I' m the so-ca ll ed num be r two m a n in th e Syndicate. But th e re's no such thing in the Synd icate. The TDq-ID is on a missio n to blow up a nd keep alive the wh o le ga n g si tuati o n . Eve ryth in g see ms to be cente red around keeping ga ngs empowered a nd m e m b e r s active. If yo u're thinking about quitLi ng, gang intelligence is gonna make sure you do n 't. They'll make sure you get assau lted, o r they'll put you in an enemy cellblock. "They wa nt ga ngs to continue," he says. "Prison is big business and tJ1at includes ga ng inte lligence. If gan gs beco m e ex tin c t, ga ng inte llige nc e b eco m es ex tin c t-and t h ey' r e n ot gonna le t th at happen." Pa rt of the TDCJ-ID ' program, h e says, includes in creasing, then exagge ra ting, the n umbe rs of gang membe rs in Ad Seg, the n letti ng gangs in population run rampant. "There a re 500 people in Ad Seg," I told Delgado. "How many would }'OU say are gang me mber ·?" "Very few," Delgado a n swered . "A lot o f guys hc re-Cuba nos, guys from H o nduras, too, who spea k ve ry little or n o English-a rc classified as gang me mbers. Or g uys wi th tattoos. And, o f cou rse, fo rme r gang me mbe rs." "The system is very rac ist in Texas. Take, for instan ce, Ad Seg. Hispa n ics make up on ly 16% o f' all prisone rs in T exas. Ye t, in Ad Seg we make up 69%. Whites only make up 14% of Ad Seg prisoners and thro ughout pop ula tio n , th ey tOtal half. If tJ1at ain 't e tJ1nic cleansing, I don ' t know what is." De lgado, a certified paralegal since 1990, d oesn ' t sit id le in his cell 23 hours a day. He is working on a class acti on suit, Robe11 Delgado, el. a/. vs. The Texas Syndicate, el. a/., wh ich he is filing o n be half or all forme r gang me mbers agai nst th e Syndica te for tJ1e ir "in for li fe " cla use, a nd against 1h e Texas administratio n a nd gang inte lligen ce for foste rin g a sni tch system and for persecu ting '·non-cooperating" FGMs. 'The re a re a lot o f us who h<l\'e had it with the srstem," says De lgado, "and we've h ad it wi th the gangs. !'vlost o f us a re vete rans witJ1 experie nce." In add iti o n to De lgad o, th e FGM movement also includes old-time rs like David "Quince" Garcia, who's serving life for the murder of a Syndi ca te m e mbe r whil e o n pa ro le; Roge lio "Indio" Montez, who's serving a life sente nce for killi ng a Mexica n Mafia member back in 1985; and Robe rt Leos, an ex-Synd icate me mber, also do ing life. 'T he word is spreading, people are liste nin g," says De lgado. "I'll give you an exa mple. Wh e n I got to my curre nt pod (a 14-cell block), there were six cu rre n t gang me mbers. After talking to th e m ove r the co urse of a fe w weeks, I got five to q ui t. I've become a dan ge ro u s m a n . And th a t 's o nl y b eca use I' m wie lding a d a n ge rou s weapon-Truth ... If o nly the System were on his side . Accord in g to priso n e rs, in stead of TEXAS PRISON GANGS THE TCDJ-ID SAYS: T here arc eiglu major b"'-ngs: T cx:IS Syndicate, Mexican Mafia, Arpn Brotherhood of Tex:IS, Texas lllafia, N uestro Cnnrales, //erma/los tie Pistoleros Latiuos, Mandingo Warriors and Rn:n U11ida Gang intelligence has slasiWd recruitment since the 1985 lockdown. 15 gnnb'S nolc the system. Besid es the T exas S)ndicate and Mexican lila fin , the gangs listed le ft, arc dc:td or dying. Tot:tl membership o f tl1csc six g<mgs is estimated at less than 100. TI1cre are now over 5,000 gang members. New ~ngs have fonn cd : Barrio Aztcc.'l.•, Tri-C•ty Bombers, Aryan Circle and the Church of Ayrans. Several Crip scL• arc also active in Tcxa.~J . Gang members arc kej>t in Ad Seg. T his p revents them rro m rccnaiting and conducting gang-related activities. ll also reduces fear and :anx iety rro m ll0t1·gang me mbers in populatio n. A low percentage of tl1ose in Ad Scg arc actually ~ang me mbers. ~1ost of the m arc "aUcged gang me mbers, me aning Lhe y speak little or no English, o.- they ha ve tattoos. Actual gnn!l' me mbers in Ad Scg arc grouped accordmg to ~•ffili ation, which e re· atcs a dangerous enviro nme nt fo r FGMs and for Lhose tagged by tl1c system as g<mgaffiliatcd. Mc:mwhilc, those in population continue to be recruited at the s ame rate. Gang Intelligence has become the gangs' mo s t fonnidahlc th reat. O nly in rel?ard to recruiting snitches d ocs gang intelligen ce threaten gangs. TI1c most fonnidable threat 10 tl1c gangs arc nons nitching cx.gang me mbers who h;tvc become d isiUus ioncd with the ir fonn c r organiz aLions. Gangs ha,·c a lifelong com mitme nt: deatl1 is tl1c only way out. 48 PRISON LIFE FGM numbers nrc oo the rise. supporting th ose who want to get out of gangs, or those who a lrea d y declare FGM-status, th e administration throws th em in with c urrent gang m e mbers. The threat of the gangs' life-or-d ie m e mb ershi p and th e system's lack of interve n tion keeps current gang membership at an all-time hig h. '1'111~ S'I'A'I'I~ Salvador Bue ntello is a state classificatio n co mmittee me mber with the TDCJ-ID a nd a co n s ultant to the Na ti o n al In stitute of Correc tions. H e's also th e chief Gang Intelligence officer fo r T exas. Although the TDCJ-ID denied Prison Life an inte rview with Buentello, we did find his thoughts on gangs in an a rticle, "On Gangs," whi ch h e wrote for Cmrections Today last year. He b lames three major court decisions for the increase in ga ng violence since 1985: • Lama1· v. Coffield (1977), whi c h fo rced integratio n in housing areas, intensifying racia l tension. "Because gangs fo rm along racial lines," writes Buentello, "the d ecisio n made it easie r for gang me mbe rs LO preach their ideology and gain more recruits." • Guajm·do v. Estelle (1978), which let prisone rs correspond with each oth er in Texas. Buentello: Ouajm·do "allowed gang members to use th e mail system to recruit, extort a nd eve n order deaths of in mates witJ1 in ilie system." • Ruiz. v. Estelle (1980), which elimin ated the Building Tender System. Buentello agrees with Delgado tha t this act left a power void. Delgad o believes the increase in gang violence is exaggerated . According to Buentello, tJ1ere were 52 homicides in 1984-'85 alone-more tJ1an in the previous 15 years com bined. But before 1985, Delgado says, there was very li ttle record keeping in tJ1e Texas system. "U nd e r th e BTs," h e says, "most ho mi cides were being covered up as sui cides, heart a ttacks or accide nts, and none of th ese suspicious 'accidents' were being investigated." Delgado also refutes ilie notion that convict integration is to blame for the in crease in gang activi ty. The Lamar case, he says, did not make recruiting easier for gangs. Recruiting was d one more easily in tJ1e past, in segregated environments. As for Guajardo, ilie case applied more to legal mail than to priso n er-to-prisoner correspo nd e n ce , whi ch was possible before th is case. ("Who would need tJ1e mail l>)'S tem anyway," asks Delgado, "wh e n they move you around the system so much?") a ng Fever-corrections officials are not th e on ly o n es wh o've got it. In the freewo rld, you ca n't watch th e news without the phrase, "gang-related" b e ing heard at leas t once. Yo u ~=· can't drive tJuough your less-fortu- II ~,.......~.,.......;;;, nate u rban a reas with out seei n g cops a ll over the p lace. Take Houston, for exam ple. No bo n es about it, Housto n is home to hundred s of local stree t _,.-------..,..--....-,.,----.., ga n gs as we ll as those origina ll y based in other cities: Crips (several se ts fr om Ca lifor ni a a nd a few "h ome-grown " ve r sions), La tin Kings and Gangster Disciples (both Chicago-based) . But according to ga n g bange rs, th ey arc b e in g b la med for everything: d'rug selling, g raffiti , fires, muggings, ca rj ackings a nd kill ings. "Sure, we do o ur share of retalia- . . . . ....:.._______,__j tion," said a Lati n Crip, "but not all (Top) Houston police depm·tmenl check out a that." carfull ofsuspected gang members. ··we're bei ng b lamed for every- (Middle) An abandoned house is a prime tarthin g," sa id a member of the getforlmfmarkingsin the2nd Ward. Southwest Aztecs, a local gang. "And (Above) A l3j·ear-old shows offhis "BAP" the Five-0 ain 't got nuthin ' better to (Brown and Prova) tattoo. do than to harass us nigh t and day. Al l we do is hang o ut and they be ridin' our j ocks." Contrar)' to what tJ1e police say, Houston street gangs a re not organized or tied into the high er-profile prison gangs like ilie Syndica te or Mafia. "Those g uys are like ilic Mob," said Loc, a Ghost Town Crip. "We just small time who haven' t made it to ilie pen yet." According to iliose locked up, once a gang member fres h fi·om the streets arrives in prison, he must usually stan over and join an already established prison gang, or none at all. Aliliough several street-based gangs are rising in power in Texas prisons, the gross majority are 'vithout "juice." The problem arises, howeve r, whe n the street gang member decides not to join a gang. Because he's got gang-related tattoos from the streets, the Texas Corrections Gang Intelligence pegs him for a gang me mbe r anyway and throws him in Ad Seg. "We're given littJe choice," said "Sanchez," an ex-con who served iliree years at Huntsville. "I remember comin ' in iliinking, damn, I do n 't \vanna get involved in this bullshit. But the Ma n said, 'Hey, we think you' re down \vith so-and-so.' I had no choice from tJ1en o n but to actually join that gang 'cause f'd gonna be hurtin' for ccn ain from th.e ir ene mies if I didn 't wear my new jacket." PL G (Lift) Th<l)• called him Ca%usler. 1/e was a living ico n of th e Pac h u co experience in Aflruquerqne. New l'vlexico. 1/e sw·v iverlthe Santa Fe ?'iOI and 'lll'a?~ ly two decades behiud bm'S at the .1/ate jJm. This picture was lahm a day after his l'f!lease in 1993. But within a yea1; Gangslel'l(}(JS dead from an overdose of hemin. (Below) Audn:w of the San Jose gang, one of dor.e11,1 who looked njJ to vcte rano Cangste1: ore \J1\ng, Lord, one rn , heart, . '\\ £o\\o\'i T\1) \ denar\.. \(you d uefore . I" 'to a story\ rea oun<& hon\\e, \t'Sabout a y \)out se"en. ,.,s oul. a . e \-.y ,~ho '~" d to a drW · IJ , ow (\ea 0 f e\e'>'en. by the age. n car Lord, u \ e. hln1, p\ease ?lac sof a do'>'e, on the "~ng H.orneboy d (\ , hlff\ t O {\.n ~ea"en abo"e.. ,, ~1 rtin~ Rober t "Jndto '' a CA Beatt1Jt0'!11, T o co ntro l t h e ga n gs, th e d e p a rtm e n t o f cor rectio n s too k so me seve re ste ps. Fo r example, any prison e r identified as a gang member is placed in Ad Seg. Any inma te ca ug h t with a weapon is slapped with a fe lo ny charge. An y pr iso n e r co n vic te d o f a c r i me whi le in ca r ce r a te d within th e Texas sys te m will serve that sente nce consecutively. "As gang me mbe rs begin receivin g additi o nal, co n sec u t ive se nte n ces," writes Bue nte ll o , "m o re a nd more in ma tes want to def'ccl . . . De fec to rs co m e fo rwa rd a nd a rc used as witnesses fo r th e stale aga inst ga ng vio le n ce. It is th e d esig n atio n o f ga ng inte lligen ce o fficers," he adds, "fo r each un it to ga t h e r in fo r m a t ion fo r t h e adm in istrations." Again , Delgado d isagrees. 'The gang in tellige nce must-sn itc h custom requi res a forme r ga ng me mb e r to in c rimin a t e himself a nd o th ers befo re h e will be la be led an e x-gang me mbe r. This circumven ts th e U.S. Co nstitu tio n 's 5th Am e ndm e nt ri g ht aga ins t sel fincriminatio n . "Furth e rmore, re wa rd ing those who sn itc h a nd pun ishi ng those wh o do n 't is crim inal. It se nds a ~nessage to th ose in ga ngs: Stay m . And fo r those wh o are already ou t of gang life, it o nly ma kes it easie r fo r re talia tory acts aga inst t he m. Especiall y wh e n t he nonsni tchi ng fo rm e r ga ng me mbe r is virt uall y su r rou nde d by c u rre n t me mbers who have th e o rd e r to take him out." Delgado and oth er finne convicts l~ke h im are not asking lo r pro tection fro m t he state . Th ey m e re ly ask for fair treatm ent. "If these 14ce ll p o d s co u ld b e assig n e d to seven fo rmer ga ng me m be rs a nd seve n curre nt gang members," he suggests, "there would be little to wo rry a bo ut by way o r gan gs in Texas prisons." Acco rdi ng to th e plan, ga ng me mbe rs wo u ld have no bod }' to recru it an d they th e mselvc · migh t end up quitting if th ey knew they had the option. "In fo r life?" laugh s Delgado. "I do n ' t th ink so , ese. Not any more." PL FGJ'vls and current gang members: Send )'ow· jJoint of view and yow· tales of gang life to Prison Life: Chris Cozzone, PL M, 175 5th A venue Suite 2205, New York, NY 10010. ' ilN'I'I -f;ilN )Jf)lTJ~)JI~r r by Robert Delgado FGM-Texas Syndicate Stiles Unit Legend has it that only through death can a member exit a gang. If sucli a legend had any suostance, I wouldn't be here telling my story. y name is Bad Bob, a nd I was a gang membe r fo r a lmost 20 yea rs-up unti l three yea rs ago . To Gang In te llige n ce, I' m th e numb er two man in the Texas Sy n di ca t e. But t o m y friends a nd man y o th er fo rm e r ga n g m e mb ers (FGMs), I' m th e lead ing spokesman fo r a new no npassive an ti-ga ng movement. \>Ve ' re th e n e w g uys on the block sayin g wh a t o th e rs fear to say ou t lo ud: Fuck th e ga ngs. I make no bo nes a bo ut it. I'm out to destroy ga ngs befo re th ey ex ting uish us, a nd my most po te lll wea pon against th e m is th e plain trULh. T his isn ' t about revenge. We' re not ta rge ting any o ne g an g memb e r but th e facel ess who le o r 'e m. We 're not a bout shoo ting down soldie rs; we ' re taking out the wh ole dam n a rmy. M Our goal is to de prive gangs of fresh recruits. G;mgs wi ll di e without new recruits. The way to do this is to raise co nscio usness among pote ntia l me mbe rs and encourage active ga ng me mbe rs to qu it. I t became c lea r to m e a co upl e years ago th a t mode rn gangs were not wh at their pre decesso rs we re. They we re undese rving o f res pec t. Gang m e mb e rs are th e ir own wors t e n emies. Whe n you j o in a gang, the door is wide open . But o nce yo u 're in , the door slams shut. Dea th is threatened to t h ose who c ha n ge th e ir mi n d s. This is Lh e only bo nd ho lding a d isintegrating ga ng wgethe r. II' no t, ga ngs wou ld re m ove their in -fo r-li fe rul e a nd a llow disench anted me mbe rs to de part without dea th warrants ha nging over thei r heads. In T e xas, this is slowly startin g to ha ppen. U p until the late '80s, yo u could count a ll T exas FGMs on your fin ge rs. 1 ow, as man y ga n gs h ave g row n weaker, th e FGM popu lation has increased. O u r ranks wi ll co ntinue to swell. Wh ile ga ngs traclitio n all}' fo rm along racial lines and cla im spec ifi c ci ty or prison bloc ks, to day's FGM is witho u t racial prejudice and turf needs. They ex ist in eve r y c ity and prison in th e co untry. Rac ism , division and vio lence a re sco rn e d. The o nly p rereq uisite for bei ng in the FGi\1 s u-ucturc i being a lirme , or solid convict. Ironicall y, it is the Texas priso n syste m that invokes th e "war on ga ngs" with every opportu nity. In the ea rly 1900s, th ey in t r oduced t h e fir st pri so n gang. Rac ist white p ri so n adm ini s trators o r ga ni ze d and equ ippe d a g ro up of inm ates wh o later b eca me kn ow n as Building T e n d e rs (BTs). T h e BTs called the sh o ts b e hin d bars. T h ey h ad their gang colors, too: black comba t boots a nd g reen jackets with t he wo rd "Trusty" sp lashed across the back in bold white letters. They packed small, Louisvill e sluggers a nd free world knives known as sidearms. Fo rm e r prison d irec to r George J. Beto described th e BTs as "institutional sn itch es." By 1979, the BTs numbe red well over 3,000 in a system of 25,000. Besides be ing the Man's eyes a nd ears, th e ir respo nsibilities were intimidation, ranging from burning cigars on prisone rs' hides to testicl e plumme ting to ouu·ight murde r. The 5:! PRISON LIFE BTs had prostituted the mselves to the a ll-white ad ministrati o n fo r s u ch m easly privileges as h aving c h o ice homosexuals assigned to th e ir cells. For several decades, the BT rule went unchallenged, except fo r a few minor uprisings that we re poorly organized. By 1977, BT provocatio n spawned th e T exas Syndicate gang, which had its roots in Cal ifornia a n d , much la te r , in New Mex ico, both heavily Chicano-populated bord e r states. All o f us wh o we r e as ked to join were bo rn Tejanos; we had all bee n born in the '40s a nd early '50s, a nd most of u s were b ar ri o pachu cos, a pro ud breed wh o would n' t hesitate to cross switch blades. J oi ning th e Texas Syndicate while living u nder the BT boot had meaning a n d purpose. It gave u s a sense o f belo nging, the spirit of camafismQbrotherhood. Our se n se o f a n o b le mission was real. Wha t man in his righ t senses wouldn'tjoin a mission agai nst a brutal, murderous sn itch system? The g reat m ajority of u s had not joined for protectio n , mon ey o r to impress p eers. Our beef was with the system. That explains why our numbe rs n eve r exceed ed the 100-ma rk betwee n 1975 and 1985 . Believe me, th e thought of stand ing up to the BTs p e trifi ed most oth e r p riso n ers. But the n again, we we re pic ky a nd cautious abou t who we recru ited. Youn g green kid s, c hil d kill e rs , snitch es, ra pists and other unsavory characte rs were au tom atically barred entry. These guys o nly wanted to join for protection . T his gang didn 't g ive protec tio n ; it d ispatch ed retribution . It was a tim e when priso ners were divided in to t\vo hostile camps, when violent BT-Syndicate clashes became a n id eological quarrel among prisone rs wh o h ad th e choice to follow a pro- or a nti-BT line. It was a truggle between ch aracters: the jinne co nvict vs. the chafa (worthless) inmate who had th e massive backing of the State. Finne con vic ts fo ug ht back wit h a ny weapon withi n th eir grasp, including huelgas (work strikes), which cri ppled the p riso n syste m, and by participating in prison reform litigation . In 1983, th e 5th Circ uit Court of App ea ls uph e ld Jud ge Wi ll iam Wayn e J usti ce's d ecisio n to disman tie the BT syste m. On p a pe r , prison r e form succeeded wh e r e viole n ce failed. For th e maj ority of priso ne rs, the fin al co u rt victory over the BTs did n ot fu lfill th e drea ms of peace because the bloodshed never e nded. It only changed its mask. Fo r mer BTs reo rganized und e r a d iffere nt na m e, one th a t was sto le n from a California gang : the Mexican Mafia. The fall of the BTs left a n opening for other wa nnabe gangs to organize. Up to this point, the wannabes had been pe trifi ed with fea r. Now, eve n th e punks, cowards and wimps studded up. Th at was on e good thing a bo ut the o ld BT syste m: yo u kn ew who was who m. A Jirme convict stood out like a buffalo in a herd o f sheep. Wh e n th e BT boot was lifted , you could no lo nge r te ll th e d iffe re n ce betwee n an imposte r playing the part of a finne an d a gen uin e co n vict. Chafas who p layed their part we ll by talking a good ga m e b ecame ga n g members. The Texas Syndicate and the Texas Mex ican Mafia we re o n a collisio n course. In Septe mbe r of 1985, th ey collided vio lently in wha t became a one-sided brawl. To this day, the Texas gove rnme nt still wants th e public to be lieve the vio le n ce was a resu lt of Judge Justice's ruling, which created a power vo id that gangs battled to fi ll. But the truth is that the prison adm inistratio n le t the Mafia take over the BT void. The administr ation's passivity had a few of us scratching our heads. In '85, Gang In tellige nce tallied the dea th toll. The Mex ica n Mafia was bla med with only o n e pri so n d eath ( th e vic tim was a 21-year-o ld firme convict who was serving an additio n al se n ten ce for killin g a n inmate BT gua rd-l know, h e was my re la tive) wh e r eas th e Texas Syndi ca te was blam ed for 48 prison murders committed be tween 1977 and 1985. T he actu al to ll would have been hig h e r if we d idn 't h ave to re ly o n p r e h ist o ri c prison m a ke -d o wea pons tha t ofte n broke whe n still planted in a victim's hi de. Those responsible for th ese rat killings were sla pped in leg irons in a r e dn eck co urtr oom a nd g iven se nte n ces th at e n sured dea th in p •·ison. Th e gang vio le n ce gave t h e ad minis tration th e exc use it n eeded to declare an e mergency lockdown , which is still in effect today. lt's iro nic tha t during the re ign of the BTs, hundreds had bee n murde •·ed a nd th e r e h ad n eve r bee n a sing le lockdown . T hose murde red didn ' t countth ey we re poor , without p ower, and they were expendable. State-sanctioned murders were often covered up o n the coroner's death certificates as suicides, h eart attacks or accidents. Now Ad Seg, the TDCJ 's priso n within a priso n, is bloated with gangs. Ga n g membe•·s in popu lation h ave had to recruit every Tom and j erry to fi ll th e void, and th is h as c h a nged tod ay's gangs. This is wha t I saw going \Vro ng with th e T exas Syndicate. In th e '90s, wh en we Syndicate veterans packed up our duffie bags a nd started exiting the ga ng, it wasn' t lo ng before th e h o u se bec a me overru n with ra pists, coward ly drive-by sh ooters, baby ki llers, info rmants, former BTs an d o thers of li ke nature. Overnight, th e ga n gs fo und th e ir h og p e n s swell ing with yo un g kids wh o we r e j o ining to impress th e ir p ee rs, get undese1v ing respect or protection. These new gang me mbe rs are loo king for a free ride. Th ey ride on ou r reputatio n s witho ut havin g to shed any blood of th eir own. The prospect of long prison se ntences o r ge tting killed to prove the ir worth isn ' t the ir id ea of a free rid e; t a lki ng m ea n behind bars th e n falling asleep at the door is. What they don ' t want othe rs to know is h ow impo te nt th ey are. Humili ated and di sp irited, th ese wa nn a bes are trying to p ass th e mselves off as vete rans by lying to anyone dumb enough to listen. The o ld Syndicate is gone, as is em~ nalismo. Backsta bbing h as replaced b ac ksl a pping; m ad -d ogg ing has re placed ha ndsh aking; withholding has replaced sh aring. With rats surfacing and brothers killing brothers over a dime bag or a woman, trust has d isappeared, as did all sen se of having a real and noble cause. The gangs have become co-conspirators with the gove rnme nt that now owns th em. Just like the BTs. That's som e thing Gang Inte llige n ce hopes ting and it sets th e stage fo r gangs to get reve nge against all those who' ve gotten o n th e wro n g side o f th e admin isu·ation. The Man understands that time can mean the difference betwee n life and d eath . So you better ca r r y a 10minute oxyge n bo ttle beca use that's how long you ' ll have to fe nd o ff a n a ttack. The Man has implemented a policy of noninte•ventio n , which prevents guards from inte1ve ning in prisoner-to-prisone r assaul ts. If this isn ' t the gangs working hand-in-hand with the adm inistration against solid convicts, then what is? Many of today's policies a re no dif~ ferent than the BT d ays. If you fig ht a gua rd, file a lawsuit or refuse to coope rate with tl1e administration , you 'll be sent to the treatme nt ce n ter whe re yo u ' ll b e fo r ce-fed mind-numb ing, psychotropic drugs, house d in a homosexual cellblock to switch your jacket from Jirme to punk, or thrown into o n e of th e notorious cellblocks appro priately g iven suc h titles as "House of Pain." Killing chafa c rimin als in the pre-BT days was o n e thing, but whe n gang viole n ce started taking th e li ves of so lid co n victs a nd inn ocent c hildre n , it became a n oth e r th ing . Whe n o ur children live in fear of a drive-by, and when kids start packing guns to school fo r protection from gangs, it's time to pull the plug. T hese new gang members who need protection will fig ht to keep their gang together. They have to. What would ha ppen if they were witho ut the securi ty of roa ming aro und in packs? They would n't last. Ironically, they roam in packs only for protection from each oth er n ow. I have to la ug h wh e n th ese gang me mbe rs pass by the rec yard maddogging Jirme FGMs, punksters who in the old days didn 't want shit with the Syndica te. Nowadays, they've tattooed the TS patch-no t o n ce, but twiceon their fo rearm. I see 20-year-old h o mosexuals, th e ir fe minine vo ices go ing man ly with th e TS pa tc h still fresh on their a rms. Now th ey tie a ba nda nna low around their plucked eyeb rows a nd they wear shades to hide their fear. You can 't h elp bu t la ugh when you hear these punksters addressing each other as carnal o r bro th e r . Th ese guys a re supposed to intimidate us? Some of u s veteranos h ave merely to rem ove our shirts and show our battle scars to rem ind curre n t gang membe rs that we can 't be intimidated. l\rl~' Ill~ 'fill~ Nl~l\T f)IJYS f)N '1'111~ IIJ..f)(~l{ SilYINf) l\rllil'l' f)'l'lll~llS l~l~illl 'ff) SilY f) IJ'I' I~f) IJI): I~IJf~ l{ '1'111~ f)ilNf)S. nobody will no tice. The chief of Gang Inte lligence is m a nipulating all th e gang levers, wh ich is easy to do since less than 1% of gangbangers a re lite rate. They'd like nothing more tha n to see Texas beco me a n other Los Angeles, a city divided into hundreds of small, hostile gang camps. So they resort to inflating gang membership data with fi ctitious membe rs, falsely labe ling FGMs and no n-gang m e mbers as confirmed gang m e mbers so th ey can co ntinu e to get massive funding to build mo re priso n s and make more money. The Man is also obsessed with turning every FGM into a n informant. So when you refuse to cooperate, you 're th reatened with a move in to e n e my territory. Since gang me mbers re ly on being h oused toge the r as protection against their e n emies, this ploy serves two key purposes: It discourages disillusion ed ga ng m e mbers from quit- PRISON LIFE 53 Gangs are now a haven fo r rats. A monLh doesn ' t go by without a gang me m ber turnin g snitc h. Wha t finne wou ld r e main marri ed to his rol (r id e) knowing i t h ad ta ke n t o re cruiting you ng, scared kids a nd u ndesira bles? Gangs have nothing else to offer. They have no idea what th ey want to achieve, no fin an cia l structure , no ideology, n o n othin g. As k them what th ey' re about a nd th ey can ' t r ep ly because th e y d o n ' t kn ow the mselves. Thi s is th e c r ap I wa lked away from . I have no regrets for bei ng a gang m e mber du ri ng th e BT years. But o n ce t h a t was di s m ant led , a nd although I stayed on too damn lo ng, lea rni ng what I did later was be tte r than n eve r learn in g it at all. Crossing ove r to th e FGM side o f th e road was li ke go in g bac k 15 ye a rs to a class r e uni o n with o ld buddies. We o n ce targeted th e BT snitch syste m because it was th e right thing to do. ow we' re go ing a fte r their re place men t for th e sa me reaso n . The gangs fea r me because l kn ow everything that needs to be kn own abo u t destroying th e m. I' m a treasure trove of knowledge. I know gang hi to ry, th e c harac te rs wh o make the gangs who le, r kn ow who killed wh om a n d wh y. And to th e h o rror of my enemi es, I h ave always succeeded at what I've strived to do. So next time you run into a gang membe r, before giving him respect, think about wh at I said: "Fuck the ga ngs." Comprende? PL CRIMINAL DEFENSE TRIALS, APPEALS AND POST-CONVICTION uHOSiETLER FFtCE OF MARKS AN W LAW 0 AlfORNEYS AT LA KS STANLEY ~i6~~1LER RICH~ 1733 High Street 2 I8 Denver. Colorado 80 (303) 399-0773 1(800) 700-4544 FAX (303) :\33·949 BRADFORD J. LAM '""" Ad"",~~:;!:~g\:~:: .-.l~'<""')".,.. 3 o ive . perienced, effective, and ag,r~s~ost· office Mark an~r~~~~~~~ ~~:~~e including trials, appeals an . . ftrm devoted ~o all pha e . t of the Colorado Cnmmal conviction reltef. . co-founder and past preslden ears. He is a-v rated by Stanley Marks ISthe . cd criminal law fo~ 23 y. . a\ law for \8 year~, Defense BaHr a~~e~asRl~~~~~ Hostetler has prapc~~~:~c~r~~~~senting San Quentm Martindale· u · eals and has el\ ted most recently emphast~~gc~~mitti~g crimes while in:~e(:de~l courts throughout Prisoninmates accus:d defendants in ~umerous _state We have ~epr~s~;~s of serious crinun~l cas~s. I d. o securities violations the countrY ma I ~hite collar cnmes, me uCIEn" • comp el\ ~ · o RICO and C d • drug ca es, includtnp din death penalty mur ers • crimes of violence, mclu. cfudingpomography • First Amendment cases, m • robbery, burglary, theft • scY.ual-~ffens~h interstate and intemational • el\tradltton. bo · o idelines ·d the best • federal sentencmg ,du stren•then our resolve top~~VIfoermed public . has serve to " d f d With mtstn th Our ye~ of el\~~~~nf~~ those accused of c~me ~ dr~~~nian punishments, and e representauon possl d " politically motivate . . \ .ohts . dem~n~s for "\~tc~~~~~oe;r~tec~ a~d en~rc~ ~~;r~~~~:~~~n~~r trial or ap~a~r~ ~t unwillingness ' knowISmne ~ FAX ur office. Call us to .d If you or smneo~e. ~ou ref thencall, wnte or . o our situation and provl e kin• post-conviC\\0\\ re I ' We will !!ladly discuss y se~ ~ -4 544 or call collect. ~ 00te of fees and costs. I.an 00 . R"1chard A· Hostetler esuma Stanley H. Marks . . ~;:~w 1 OANOIT·sMEMBERS & FOMs: TIME TO EDUCATE THE WORLD. This is your chance to tell the world the real deal. ocs, Veteranos or'new recruits. Black, white, Chicano, Latin, Asian. Male or Female. Young or Old. From the streets or pen. Prison Life will continue to publish your voice. send us your experiences, your opinions, your stories. Send to: Chris Cozzon~ Executive Edi!~b PLMA 175 5th Avenue, Suite 2~05, New York, 1~rlOOlu. 54 PRISON LIFE Cellm.ate of the Month Rap Sheet Name: Michael James Chavaux Age: 34 Detroit Birthplace: Conviction: Violation of Parole 10 to 20 years Sentence: Syears Time Served: To start a business for musicians Ambitions: t's a n a bsolute j o ke tha t Mic hae l Chavaux is in priso n. In 1985 h e received life probation fo r possessio n o f 72 g ra ms of cocain e. A yea r late r, he pu rchased a car that turned o u t to b e sto le n . Eve n th o u gh th e charges we re dismissed , he was fo und in violation of probation and received a 10-yea r minimum se nte n ce. Such ro tte n luck would paralyze most people. 1 ot Michael Chavaux. In fact, his num e ro us accom p lishm e nts in th e j o in t wo uld ma ke freewo rld co u ch potatoes blush. "My co nvi c tion m o ti va ted m e t o write a book, Don't Gel Taken For a Ride: A Complete Guide to Bu)'ing and Selli ng Used Cars Economically and Profitably. I wanted to make sure others d idn' t ma ke t he sa m e mista ke I d id, a nd I po inted out ways to tell if a car is stole n." While co nfin e d in Mi c hi ga n 's Adrian Te mporary Facility, wh ere he's se rved 8 o f his 10 years, Chavaux has beco me a Re n aissance con , pursuing mus ic, t h e a r ts a n d li tera w re. H e atte nd ed college, sta rted a busi n ess and a rock band . "I told myse lf that if I h ad to be h e re, I'd make it worth it." Fir st h e e n ro ll ed in co ll ege. "I received 51 credi ts towa rd a n associa te's degree in business in less tha n a yea r. T he n th e college p rogra m was ca n celled . While I was in sch ool, I m aintained a 3.5 C.P.A. , was on the preside nt's ho nor roll fo r two se meste rs and dean 's list for on e." Un da u nted, C h ava u x con ti nued hi s ed u ca tio n o n h is own . He read b oo ks o n fin a n ce a nd bus in ess I administra ti o n , su bscribed to b usiness magazi nes a nd wro te to organizations su c h as th e Sm all Busi n ess Adm i n istra ti o n fo r broc hures, newsle tte rs and resource guides. "I e nded up starting a van se rvice calle d Fa mily T ies Transit Syste m , which provided u·ansp ortation to th e Ad ri an fac ility fo r p risone rs' loved o nes." His brothe r bo ugh t a van , a nd Ch avaux p ro moted th e business o n the inside by producing and d isu·ibuting fl ye rs. Discoun ts we r e g ive n to th ose wh o co uldn ' t a ffo rd th e $30 round-tri p fee. Chava ux 's la test ve nture, "Ma rke ting Business Info rma tion to Oppo rtuni t:y Seekers," is a mail order service for fo rtu ne h unters. Befo r e he was in carce ra ted, Chavaux ra n after-hour cl ubs, a nd his ties to the ente rtainme nt world influe n ced his m ost e njoyab le pursu it in prison: lead guitarist for a band called Unwa rran ted Risk. "Unwarranted Risk is the term most ofte n used by the correctional facili ty for keeping inmates in here. T hey say we' re an unwarra nted risk to society, so the n ame really fi ts us." Chavaux was a lways inte rested in rock n ' roll but was wo rried about u-ying to become a seri ous musicia n so late in the game. '1 was 26 whe n I got my first e lecu·ic g uitar, a nd I've come a long, long way fro m those early beginnin gs. Being he re has got to be th e greatest place to learn music. You have lots of time to practice (I' ve got my own gui tar in my cell ), a n d you can really lose yourself in your music. You do n ' t have the daily wo rries of going to work or u-ying to pay your bills o n tim e. I can literally devote a ll my effort and con cenu-ation to what I'm d oing, a n d I think it sh ows in th e music." Chavaux an d his ba nd h ave recorded t he ir songs a nd a re the main a ttraction at Adrian's h oliday sh ows. "From writing music, I also lea rned th at I could write sho rt stories, poems a nd t ha t so rt of t hi ng." In faCL, Chavaux h as had several short stories, poems and a rticles pub lished in freeworld magazines and newspa p e rs. A g r ee ti ng ca rd publi sh e r purch ased so m e m a t e ri a l from him a nd produced g reeting ca rds with it. Prison Life's May Ce llma te is also the editor of the Adrian Bulletin, a bim on thly n ews p ape r he wri tes and edits with four othe r priso n e rs. His p rovocative edito rials de bunking public pe rceptions of p risons as counu-y cl ubs ha ve bee n published in three co mmuni ty newspapers. Befo re his sch edule got so h ectic, Chavaux worked as a nt tor and was a lite racy volunteer. H e was a n active participant in H isp a ni c Am erica n s Stri vin g Towa rd Adva n ce m e nt (HASTA); tJ1e Life rs' Organ ization; Alcoholics Anonym ous and a membe r or CURE, Citize ns United for the Rehabilitatio n of Errants. Ch ava u x ad mits th e re was so m ething e lse besides be ing active th at has h elped keep his spirits up. Until •·ecently, h e never though t h e'd stay. "I really be lieved that o n ce th e courts looked at my case they'd see it was a u·avesty of justi ce. I ke pt thinking tha t the next time I' d go to court I' d be r e leased. It n eve r h a ppe n e d , but I guess h aving ho pe he lped me get by." Wi th just two years to go, Ch avaux h as sta rted plan ni ng fo r th e futu re. "Running afte r-hour clubs was illegal, but it was o n e o f th e m ost fun a nd successful thin gs I've d o n e. ow I have a p la n to stay in th e e nte rtainment (ield legally. I'm go ing to sta n a g ro up called ·'Musicia ns United fo r Success ful In strum e nta l Ca reers." We' ll offer low-ra te recordi ng, get b ig bands to spo nsor us, I'll use my writing skills to make a newsletter. .." Mike Chavaux is o n a ro ll. - Jennifer Wynn PRISON LIFE 55 GERMAN ITAliAN JAPANESE 30 Cassettes +Triple Bonus 30 Cassettes +Triple Bonus 30 Cassettes +Triple Bonus 30 Cassettes +Triple Bonus 30 Cassettes +Triple Bonus $265.00 $265.00 $265.00 $265.00 $285.00 SPANISH FRENCH Mandarin CHINESE Brazilian PORTUGUESE RUSSIAN 30 Cassettes +Triple Bonus 30 Cassettes + Triple Bonus $285.00 Learn Foreign Languages... Incredibly Fast! Conversing in a foreign la nguage is a major social a nd business asset...a nd brings new life to the worlds of travel, entertainment, a nd relationships. The technique of accelerated learning, as conveyed by these proven foreign la nguage courses, allows a nyone to comforta bly converse in a new la nguage within 30 days. 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The second I 5 (study) tapes are the very same tried and proven tapes used by the Foreig n Ser vice Instit u te to train career diplomats. Th is marriage of two concepts literally gives you two courses in one. provid ing the best of both world s in language instruction. Best Value ! W ith a total of 32 cassettes plus stud y materials, this program represents the best "American Managers with Language Skills Open More Doors" - IVai/ Strrer Joumal Edirnrial "Company and marketing executives will find after 1992 that it is a handicap not to be fairly conversant with at least one other major European language -and preferably two or three..." - Titt Limdmr Timr,\ value available today in language instructio n. Compared to other prog rams, the Acceler a ted Learning Series o utperforms them with twice the audio and 20 times the study material. To correctly converse in a foreign language, you must understand the meanings and intent o f the native s peaker. 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Ask Operator for Express Service Pfi.W'1 L Or Write To: PROFESSIONAL C ASSE'ITE C ENTER 408 SOUTH PASADENA AVE., SUITE 4 DEPARTMENT PRL PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 9 1105 U.S.A. Please add $ 11.00 shipping & handling California residents add SV.% sales tax. All Funds Payable in U.S. Dollars ----------- .J iTambien tenemos cursos para aprender ingles! Llame o escrlbanos para los detalles. AskBubba CHEAP-ASS MUTHAS Dear Bubba, I recently 1·eceived a samjJle cojJy of your great publication. I admi?·e you guys f or not cowering to the resfJonses from govemmental officials who received a samjJle of Prison Life. I have onl)' one jJroblem. !like Prison Life so much that I feel I can't do without it &)' any means. I have no money at this time and due to problems on the home front, will be without mont!)' for some time. This is why I hmnbl)' request a free )'ear or two of mags. When I can get some of those dead Presidents on the comm.issary boohs, I'll send a contribution jJlus $20 mo1·e to subscribe. I will always t1y to inte?·est others in Prison Life. And on thai magical day when the govemmenl 1·eleases me, I'll subscibe as a freeworlder. I look forwm·d to your response. I salute you. Billy C. Delony Bill Clements Unit, TX Bubba, Let me make this short and simple beca11Se I don 't want to confuse a big stupid ass like you. What I need is a oneyear or two-year (free) subscription. You claim to be righteous so there should be no problem with the free subsc1iption, plus you /mow how the p1ison struggle is! Don't deny me, because if we were in the same jJiison a lillle guy like me would extm1 )'Ottr big dumb self Tito Cania, a.h. a. "71le P1ince ofDar/mess" P. S. Why do I get this funn)' f eeling you ~re going to say something slick? Do ymmelf a favor and don't do something )'Ou 'll regret. We all/mow )'OIL '1·e a paper gangster. Peace, love & all that other &ullshit you could fork over a one-)'ear sub. I am in a fJe?l where we're wa rehoused and tltf!)' are fixing to move all of us to another )'ard where we cou ld get jobs. Then I could pay for my second yem·. You really have a good mg. II 'sa lot beller than Easy Ride r. You all tell it lilte it really is, no lmllshitlin" amund. With resjJect, Charles E. Gam er Corcoran State P1ison To all freeholds: Hey Bubba, I just got a hold of Prison Life. I was Who d o I loo k like? Fuckin ' Ivan doing extm duty for a bu lls/tit write-ujJ. Boesky o r Mic hael Milken or o ne of The Lieutenant couldn 't dmfJ it because it th ose o th er rich Wall Street \vhite colwould have put the repo1·ting jJerson 's lar crimin als? Look again. I'm wea rhead on the chopjJing blod1. But anyway, ing a swea ty sleeveless unde rshi t. I while doing these extm houn I was clean- ain' t got no mo ney, honey. I told those ing the cojJ shojJ and came across Prison foo ls in ew Yo rk that convicts are a Life, and the cop ("high jJaid ba!JysiUer') h ard sell. I must ge t 10 kites a week told me I could have it because he didn 't asking for free scripts, probably from d o p e addicts wh o sp e nd a ll th eir want that kind of LTash in his shop. I got back to 1n)' cage and 7n)' celly mo ney o n drugs. What're you j e rk-offs doin' for ol' grabbed it while I went to wash my butt. He stm·ted 1·eading it. So I ended ujJ get- Bubba? Nobody's offe ring to make my ting slofJ/J)' seconds. But what the fitck, the bunk or wash 11L)' ski vies. This ain ' t no 1·ag was worth the wait. I really enjoy free ride, bud. The ch eap pricks wh o mn the busisomething that the cops hate. I enjoyed all the stmies and the Tlnee St1·ikes-You '1·e- ness e nd o f th is rag keep sayi n ', "Uh , Out bit. I am facing a th1·ee-str·ihe bid Mr. Bubba, p lease stop givin ' away so myself 1·ight now. I would apjmciate it if many free subs." Think I want to h ear th e m whinin ' all the time? Fuck, n o. I tried to ge t a few more bucks myse lf just last month, 'cause I got so ma ny o f yo ur d amn leuers to respo nd to. Bu t thos e bea n co unte rs down in H o us to n told m e, "U h, so rry, Mr. Bubba, it's not in the budge t." Some new manage me nt crap about streamlining, being mean and lean or some d umb sh it. So he re's the real d eal: If you can 't pay the fre ight, go out the re a nd hust le. Se ll some s ubs to yo ur wellhe e led, drug-dea lin' h omeys a nd make a fe w bucks. Or enter the An Behind Bars co ntes t a nd win yo ur sorry ass a sub. This ain 't no ch arity. Respect is great, but send money. Your me nto r, Bubba Send your questions to Bu&&a, c/o P1ison Life, 175 5th Avenue, Suite 2205, Ne1u Yorh, NY ! 0010. PRISON LIFE 57 58 PRISON LIFE COZZONE • SUI.A • VOSKER w z ...-,n:===:::=::::::::::::F~ 0 N 0 u \S) QL I u LO (J) (J) © PR.ISON LIFE 59 WANT TO BE AN IN-HOUSE GUEST EDITOR FOR PRISON LIFE? Help u s plan and produce an issue of the magazine. Conceive of a theme for a specific issue, solicit articles, write and research features , compile departments and recruit writers for co lumns. Help u s keep America informed about trends and events in the joint and the system at large. Prison Life would like to hear from prisoner editors and writers who want to participate. Send your bio, clips and/ or writing credentials to: Prison Life, In-House Editors, 175 5th Aven ue, Suite 2205, New York, NY 10010. so PRISON LIFE Rather than print one of the dozens of photographs we've received, we decided to run the painting (above) by Scott Prato, which was submitted to the Art Behind Bars contest. We're featuring it here in dedication to all the tattoo artists behind bars. Keep on inkin'! Send your tattoo photos to: PrisunLife Tattoo of the Month 175 5th Avenue, Suite 2205 New York, NY 10010. Prison Papers Live from Death Row by Mumia Abu-Jamal Sing Soft, Sing Loud by Patricia McConnel The Dishwasher by Dannie Martin Live fro m Death Row Mumia Abu-Jamal Addison Wesley Publishing Hard cover: $20.00 Review by Kim Wozencraft efore yo u sit down to read this boo k, ta ke a m o m e nt to p repare. Plan to read it in the comfo rt o f yo ur home , if yo u are fo rtuna te eno ugh to have one. Go to your favorite place in your h o me. Eve ning would be a good time. Now, p ick up the boo k. Examine it. Ope n the cover. But do n ' t start reading yet. Close your eyes and imagin e. Imagine thi s: J u st as you ope n th e b oo k, t h e fr o nt doo r o f yo ur h o m e cras h es o pe n a nd a gang of armed me n rush into the roo m , shoving g uns in yo ur face and sc r ea min g at yo u to ge t clown o n th e floor. They a re e nraged ; yo u d o no t know why. Th ey shac kle yo u r wr ists toge th e r b e h ind yo ur back . They leave yo u lying o n th e floor whi le they tear apart your ho me, s mas h i ng yo ur be lo n g in gs . Th e y mak e c rud e co mm e nts a bo ut th e photograph s o f you r loved o n es. T h ey hand c uff yo u , put yo u in a car, drive you to a building, and loc k yo u in a cage. You ge t o ne pho ne call. Maybe. If yo u ' re African-America n and B political, they may not trouble to take you from your ho me and put yo u in the cage. They may just execute you rig ht there on th e s po t. This is t h e awful , ove rwh e lming power of T he State in Ame ri ca. T h e me n may be city co ps, they m ay be co unty cops, they may be state or fe de ral co ps. Rega rd less o f the agency they work for, they have the powe r to do th is to you. And often , th e m e n who do thi s work have, for whatever reaso n , comple te!}' abd ica ted to The State a ny se nse of pe rson al mo ra li ty o r resp onsib ility fo r th e ir actio ns. 'just do in ' my job, you know." Mumia A bu-Jamal knows the se peop le mo re intimate ly than they can ever h ope to kn ow th e m se lves . Se nte nced in 1982 to be murde red by the Sta te of Pe n nsylvan ia, Mr. Ab uJamal ha s, fo r th e la st 13 ye ars , resid e d on De ath Row. Th e re arc about 3,000 people living o n th e various d eath ro ws th roug h out America. Almost no ne of th e m are hea rd from , asid e fro m the occasional last words, if they a re o f so und bite q ua li ty, prin ted in news coverage o f an execu tio n . Befo re h e was co n vic te d fo r t h e murder o f a Philadelphia police o ffice r in 1982 , Mr. Ab u-Jam a l was a radio re porter in the City of Bro the rly Love. A form e r Blac k Panth e r and s upporter of th e rad ic a l g r o up MOVE, he has written for The Nation and t h e Yale Law Review. Live from Death Row collects his prison writings and includes comme ntaries t11at were o r ig in a lly to b e broad ca st by NPR until that bastio n of free speech caved in to pressure from the self-rig hteous and canceled h is appeara nces. It is my h ope th at, a t th e tim e you read this, h e is still al ive. The newlye lec te d gove rn or of Pe nn sylva ni a , Th o mas Ridge, h as a lr ead y sig n e d t hree d e at h war ra nts sin ce takin g offi ce a nd fu lly inte nds to "sec to it th at Pe nn sylva ni a's d eat h pe n a lty ex ists in mo re tha n na me o nly." T he State is moving ah ead with pre paratio ns to kill a man who may o r may not be g u ilty o f th e crim e fo r whi ch th ey ho ld him. I do n ' t kn ow whethe r he sho t the cop, or if he d id , whe the r it was justi fiable force used in selfdefe nse. So me years ago, l was a cop myself for awhile, and I do kn ow that his claims of innoce nce ring very, very true . I d o kn ow that cr imi n a l trials have nothi ng to do wi th what really ha ppe ned. T hey have to do with the prese n ta ti o n o r adm issible evidence, and from what I've read, the prosecuto r 's tactics at Mr. Abu:Jama l's tria l were a bo min able . It see ms, too, tha t th e a ppea ls process ha s conspi re d against him at every turn . At t11e ve ry least, he deserves a new trial. Livf' from Death Row is a n im po rtant book. At th e risk of hyperbole, I wi ll say it takes us into the bowels of he ll. But p e rhap s tha t state m e n t is no t hyp e rbo le a t a ll , m aybe it 's si mply in a d eq uate . How does one wr ite abo u t wa iting to di e at the ha nds of those wh ose ancestors held yours in slave ry, those wh o call you "n igge r" and p ut yo u o ut fo r yo ur ho ur of exercise, when they choose to do so at a ll, in wha t could be a clog ke n ne l, those wh o isolate you fro m human touc h , fro m su n sh ine a n d fres h ai r , who kee p Plexiglas barrie rs in the visiti ng roo m to preve n t you from touc hing your own ch ildre n. I fear I wou ld be reduced to banging my head against t11e concrete cell wall, trying to physically knock consciousness thro ug h the bo n es of my skull. I can remember few times bei ng so moved by a book as I was reading Mr. Abu:Jamal 's essays and commentaries. In my sma ll, comfortable li ving room, in my favo rite chair, I sat at five in th e morni ng a nd looked up fro m his book and stared ou t th e window in th e direc ti on of Pen nsy lva n ia, a few hundre d mil es away, an d I could see him in h is cell. l co uld hea r the n ig ht no ises or prison. I could sme ll t11e con cre te and d isinfectant, the stink of the guards' sweaty un iforms, the stench of fear t11at pervades such a place. I hope they have not killed him. Part O ne of Live fmm Death Row is "Life on Death Row," a series of essays a bout the day to day drudger)', mindnumbi ng boredom a nd small-mi nded hum iliaLions of bei ng caged in p rison. In ''The Visit," Abu:Jamal recalls, "She, like my o t11er ch ild re n, was j ust a baby whe n I was cast into He ll, and because o f h er youth a nd se n sitivity, hadn 't (continued on jJage 64) PRISON LIFE 61 us , says a uth o r Pa tricia McConn e l. "We a ll have these twisted e le m e nts in o u r ·e lves that get off o n sex ua l degradatio n and powe r gam es. Maybe it's a s mall pan, b u t it's th e re. If yo u can recognize th a t in yo urse lf it's a ste p toward contro l and he a lthi e r sexu al relatio nships." O n e o f th e importa nt th e m es l\ lcConn el touches on in he r a uto biog raphical n m·el, Sing Soft, Sing Loud, is th e co nnectio n between vio le n ce and sex, how p h ys ica l o r p S}'Ch o logical d o mi n a ti o n is a n a ll too co mmon co mpo n e nt in sexua l r e lat io n s. Insec u re wom e n in genera l, and prostit utes in p a ni c u lar, a r e ofte n th e pawns in these sexua l powcrplays. By pu ttin g th e m selves in th e h a nds of Sing Soft, Sing Loud power-hu ng ry, abusi \·e m e n , they' re Patricia McConnel p os iti o ning th emse lve s as vic tim s, Logo ria re info r cin g th e ir fee li n gs of worthPaperback: $12.00; 258 pgs. lessness. Mean wh il e, th e m e n arc ge tLin g o ff o n it. Review by J e nnife r Wynn Sing Soft, Sing Loud is th e story of Aftn a roujJIP IIIOH' drinhs I feel my mind two wo men , Iva a nd To n i, eac h of slijJjJing mua)'· Thr' musir is too loud, and who m spe nd their time o n the su·eets, tltnr's this buzzing in my hrad that I o n their backs and in th e joint, a nd always know mrans I'm rpally drunk, and both o f whom r ep r ese nt difl'e r e nt I Cflll 't collrelltmtr 011 Oll_)'lh ing around aspects o f th e au tho r 's persona lity at me, not f'Tit'll on !..POll ... Then there's a vario us stages in he r li fe. Pan o f what hand i11 "')' rrotch and at first ! think it 's mak es Sing Soft, Sing Loud so co m/,eon but then I r{'(tliz.t' it :f two hands, nne pe ll ing is kn owing that the SLOri cs arc from either sic!t, of 1111'. "95 % aULo biograph ical. " These thi ngs I lonh ujJ and /..eon i.1n 't sitting by nu' rea lly happened LO so m eo n e who is any morr. On Ollf' sidr' i.1 a light-skinned n o t o nl y a l iv e to te ll it, b u t sa n e blarh guy, tall and skinny, wPmi11g a hat. e no ugh to d iscuss it. ·' It isn't easy to lay roursclf out li ke On thr otlwr sidP is r111olhrr blarh lfll)', this our dal11, with a long srar on onr rhrrk . .. thi s,"' ad mits McCo nn e l. "Th e Tht' two of them arpJrrling mr• up ltnder the ex tre m es LO wh ich I d egraded m>•se lf Ia bit', r111d Leon is loohin!i at mr to St't' how and a ll o wed m yself LO be victimi zed I'm gonna tahr it. Ht' III li s/ vr' gottltt'lll ovr'r arc p re tty s hameful. " Like wh e n s he s u cc umbe d to h e r drug-d ea le r / lovhew wltilPI was nodding. Somr'lhi11g s11aps loosr in mr, lille a little e r ' r e p ea te d r e que sts to h ave sex thrrad that 's s tretrhNI too tight and with s tran ge men whi le h e wa tch ed brMI!s. .. l /mow that this is it, this is all and egged th e m o n. T he descriptions therr is for me, I don., have Oil)' mnrPchoic- o f such sce nes are c h ill in g, but what t'S. I got nowhere to go but whrw I am, and se parates th e m fro m mu c h o f th is I..Pon is it. tlnd if I don 't do what hP wan ts fami li ar psych o-sex ual drama is Lh a L lllf' In do, then thn"P isn't anything left for they' re c redibl e. You mig h t hope that me at all. Pt•riod. Tht' l~nd. Toni will run from that nc abag mote l Knowing this, I loot: at Leon and I roo m whil e s h e ' s got a c h a n ce, but ojJen my lrgs a littlr. l .fPPI fingers going yo u d o n ' t b la m e h e r fo r stay in g. under my bikinis, playing with me. I let my Thro ug h th e a uth or's p a in s takin g head drojJ again. I'll just sit hert' and they cfTo n , yo u understand the cha racters· ran do what they want . .. m otives, sick or crazy as they arc. I .frl'l mysPij bPing half draggpd out of '· I wro te the book to hea l myse lf,'' the booth. The dark guy walks with his arm s ays McCo nn e l, "b ut I a lso wan te d around my waist. 'J'he slli11ny g uy a11d p eop le to und e r sta nd h ow wome n Leon ore wallling ahead, talking. I can like me stay s tuck in tha t kind o f li re ltmr l.f'On saying, "Shr' lovrs cncll, man, fo r so lo ng a nd o fte n d o n 't ge t o ut at she just can't get e11ough." a ll . If your se nse o f wo rthl essness is d eep e n o u g h , yo u ac LUall y d o n ' t 13e ho nest. re ade r. Did th e passage beli eve yo u ca n d o anything e lse. If you j ust readlllrn you o n ? yo u ha te }'Ourse lf e n o ug h , yo u a lso Yo u ' re sick. Yo u need h e lp. bel ieve that the way m e n trea t you is Actually, yo u ' re just like th e rest o f what rou d ese rve. T ha t's ve ry hard fo r 62 PRISON LIFE peo p le to co mpre h e nd.·· \\'e lea rn fro m i\lcConncl's characters th at she , like m ost adults whose lives have run a m o k, had a loveless chi ldh ood and rotten parc m s. H er father. a psycho logic a ll }' vio le nt man wh o tre ated th ose who d e fie d h im to paro xysms of a nge r and emo ti ona l to rm e nt , left ho me whe n she was five. He r m o the r was a mnjob wh o, i\lcConnel learn ed late r in life, n c\·er rea ll v li ked h er. Thus, we arc no t surpri~ed th a t he r first in carce ration came at age 15, and th at b y h e r ea rl y 20's h e was do in g fe d e r a l tim e fo r s mu gg lin g d r ugs aero ·s the Mexican borde r. We arc h eanbrokcn but not s u r prised wh en Iva , a fter te lli ng h er p im p LO ta ke th e j ob and shove it, re turn s to him defeated. "I wrote that pan with tea rs f~1 ll i ng on m y ke yboa rd ,'' says th e a u thor . "Iva is co urageous in many ways, but it's wh a t s h e b e lieves a bo ut h e rse lf that d e fea ts h er. S h e do es n ' t have courage in an y world but he r own." T he book leaves off with Toni o u t o f jai l a n d , aft e r t h e m os t bru t a l e pi sod e ye t, fin a ll y freed fro m th e clutches o f the m an who sex ually and e m ot io na lly rule d he r . She h as le ft wh a t liu le possess io ns sh e h as in a ho te l room and burned he r i.d. , wan tin g to erase who s he was. It was a fo rm o f suic id e th at turn ed o ut to be Lh c first ste p toward libe ratio n . I slojJ to look at mysr'lf in a storr window. Cod, I tool! slli n11y. I nu tsl've droPf)('(l SOllie wright in the last fnu days. I don't tool! lil!t• an)•bod)• I l111ow. I don't evt'll h11ow my own goddrww self. That really mai{('S me a nobody, does11 't it ? Hr'y! 1J I'm 110body, f rrm bPa11ybody. !-/a-lta. All this has bt'P/1 hind of a jol!t' up 'til 110w. but now I thinh sr'riously: I'm really Jrre for tht' ji1:1·ttime i11 my lijP. I am rrally, tmly Jrre. I ran '/ be any worse off, I ran't have any /pss, I ca11't losr a ny frirnds, nobody rr111 talle an_l'thing awaJ from 1ne, not PVt' ll my selj-resjJPrl, beautsr' that 's lo11g gnm', man. I'm not n1en To11i anymore. I bu mrd l'lJI'IJlhing llw t says I am. I a 111 really truly fi"Pe. McCo nn el says she purposely left the e nding ambig uous. "I wamed Lo suggest tha t T o ni 's life \1·as up to her. I m ade h e r r es p o n s ibl e. We d o n't kn ow if' s h e's g o in g to make iL, we h o pe sh e will, but we al so kn ow sh e m ig ht n ot. It's up to her. She has th e powe r o f cho ice, b ut sh e has to exercise it o r s he's not going to go a n ywhere. The m essage of m y boo k lies in th at." Fo r th e a u t ho r , ge t tin g o uL of priso n wasn't the e nd of he r tro ubles. "I go t readdicte d to a m p he ta min es, did more drug d ea ling, and go t. involved in some very d estructive relationships. I kept. going th rough these cycles wh e re I'd get. se lf~d es tr u c t.ive, pull myse lf o u t., get. destructive agai n , and I went. th ro ug h cycle a ftt:r cycle until th e last. desperate th ing I tried was marriage, th e wo rst. mistake of all. " !VlcConnel 's husband, whom she li ke n s t o h e r m o th e r , ultimate ly kicked h er ou t. "I cl idn ' t have the guts to e nd it myse lf," sh e says. "He d id me a favor." Around that Lime, a m'tior realizati on, actua l ly an enl ighte nm en t , occ urred: "One clay I sat so bbing and feeling son)' for myself for all t.he te rrible things that. had happened to me and fo r my bad c hildhood , and this voice, from wh e re I know no t, said to me, ' It. doesn ' t. maLLer what has been clone t.o yo u. You are still respo nsible for your own life.' At the time, that. was the wo rst. news I eve r hea rd. " Un popular as he r th eory may be, McConnel fee ls that. man y women, especially women prisoner , perceive tJ1e mselvcs as victims, and pan of that. psyc h ology is th ey don ' t. have to be The Dishwasher Dannie Martin W.W. Norton & Company Hardcover: $20; 242 p ages By Kim Wozencraft any o f you o n the inside may a l read y b e fa mi liar with Dannie "Red Hog" Martin 's n onficti on wo rk, so me of wh ic h was collected in a book published last. year, Commilling Joumalism. In 1986, whil e in c a rce rated in Lo mp oc Federa l Pcnitemiar)' on a 32-year bit. fo r bank robbe ry, Martin bega n writing reports o n life be hind the wa lls fo r th e Srn1 M resp o n ible. "Be ing victimi zed is no t read. Th e vo ices, c h a r acters a nd an entirel y lose-lose situation . You drama arc handled with Lrue craft. I bu y someth in g wit h yo ur vict im ' s read it. in abou t 48 ho urs, un able Lo role, and one of the things you buy is pu t it clown , intcrmi u en tl y c rying, not h av in g to be respon sible. You la ugh ing a n d 1h in king. Des pite its hand ove r c ontro l o f yo ur life to portra its of shaue red lives a n d t.h e anoth e r person , a nd th e re's a ce rtain litany of priso n h o rrors, th e book, amo u m o r comfort in th at. role." u lt ima te ly, is a story of h um a n tr iIn th e process o f rebuildin g h er umph , of how wome n struggle to surli fe, anot h e r importa nt prin c ipal vive p ri son , th e streets and no-good emerged: Yo u have t.o be wi lli ng Lo men while manag ing to weave so me pay th e price. "Later, I unclerst.oocl joy imo the ir bleak e xistence . McCo nn e l po i nts o ut that the that one of th e thi ngs that ke pt me in t.h c marriage wh e n I knew I sh o uld book, su r pr isi ng ly, ha s been we l l have le ft was th a t. I wasn't. wi lling LO received by me n , and by frcewo rldcrs pay the price. \'Ve have LO be wi ll ing 1\·ho \ ·c been victims o f psycho logical to pay th e p rice to change thi ngs o r powe r ga mes. He r first fa n le ucr was from a man in solitary confinem c m at LO ge t. wha t. we wan L. Very often th e price is living in a state of te rro r, and Oregon Sta te Pe n iten tia r y. "Tha n k this is at. the core of the psych ology of you for writin g this book," he wrote. so man y fema le pri so n e r s. Eve n "You got yourself out of th e hole yo u tho ugh they often live th e most dan- were in. I'm going LO get myse lf o u t ge r ous li ves imaginab l e , th ey're or the hole I' m in ." T h e le tte r remains th e most wo nscared that. they can'L funct io n in an o rd ina ry middle-cia s life. For a lo ng d e r ful respon se s h e's r ece ived , Lime I kit I cou ldn ' t leave my mar- McConnel says. ri age, and then I evenwally realized Sing Sort. ing Lo ud may be ordered tha t th e word 'can't' is very seldom vali d. You can, you just don 't wa nt to direr/ from thr• publisher. Send rhrrfl or monr'y orrin for $ 12.00 j1lus $2.50 for pay th e p rice." Imp orta nt message s aside, Sing shi/Jili ng to: Logoria, P. 0 . Box 22517, Soft, Sing l .oud is a n abso lute joy 10 Flagstajj; AZ 86002-25 17. Fra11risro Chronirle. Re el H og d id n ' t write about how to escape o r ho,,· to b u ild a bo mb or how t.o smuggle in co ntra band . H e wro te abou t p rison li fe. One of h is articles he lped free a yo ung man wh o was the vi cti m or:._ let's usc a euphem ism here-overzealous prosecution. Another detailed the death o f a yo ung co nvi c t. du e t.o autJ1o ritativc indifference. But it. wasn 't until Reel Hog got critical o f the warden that a ll h el l broke lo ose. Th e a utJ1 ori ties stooped to de,~o u tacticsincluding solitary co nfin eme nt and di ese l t h e r apy- in an a tte mpt. t o silence Mart in a nd prevent th e public fr om reading wh at h e had to sa y. 1\llarti n , Chronirle editor Peter Sussman a n d atto rn eys for the San Fm nrisro Chronidt• waged a four-and-a-half }'Car legal battle aga inst the B.O.P., attempting t.o reclaim prisoners' First Amen dment rig hts from t.he prisoncrats. The cou rts, in a monum en tal wimp-o ut. , sa icl, "0 h-dcar-it's-a-maue r-o f~ pri so n sccu ri ty-wc' cl-bcuer-leave-tha L-Lo-t.h ewat·dcns ... i\ lr. Sussma n continued LO publish Martin's article · with a byli ne or "A Fe dera l Priso n er ." T h en the B.O. P. lawyers pulled a fast one and got th e case de c lared moot wh e n Mart in was p a ro led, anoth e r fi n e example or Federal just-us. 1 ow free, Da n nie Martin gives trs The Dishwashrr, a novel. \Vh e n we mee t Bi ll i\ lalone, h e's walkin g out the front gates of Lompoc after serving 14 ye <~rs fo r bank robbe ry. "T he wo rld hit hi m in the face like a windblown n ewspape r. T h e seco nd gate humm ed as iL slid and clanked shut with the rin a lity of cold iro n . The double fe nces with the ir ro lls or razor wire o n top a nd in b e tw een la y be hind him now. He cra ne d his head up a t the main gu n LOwe r, where h e could sec a shadow beneath the mi litary h a t o f a red e ra l prison guard. Th e o nl y easil y di sce rni b le objec ts be hind t.he tinted g lass were a sh olgu n and an M-1 () rin c sta ndin g at read y au e ntio n in th e ir racks." The re's no ne of that clich ed nonsense abo ut. takin g tha t first breath of free air. The de sc ription o f the tower guard-as a shadow be n eath a mi litary ha t-and th e c itin g or t.hc shotgun and M-l6 as the o nly obj ects reall y disce rnible to Ma lone when he stands loo king up at t.h e tower tell an e ntire story in o nly a few ·cntences. :\larti n 's careful re nde ring of details wo rk s to pull yo u in to Ma lo n e's world , in vi tes yo u to o b se r ve th at world as he does, th ro ug h eyes th at (continued 017fJage 65) PRISON LIFE 63 Live From Death Row (continued from fJage 61) been bro ught along o n fam ily visits, unti l now . .. She burst imo lhe tiny visiting room, her brown eyes aglitter wilh happiness, stopped , stunne d, staring a t the gla sy ba rri e r be twee n us, and burst im o tea rs a t this arrogam auempt at state separation ... Sadness and sh oc k shifted into fur y as h e r p e tite fin ge rs curle d into tig h t fi sts, wh ic h ba n ged and pumm e led th e Ple xig las ba r ri e r, whi c h shuddere d and shimmi ed , but didn ' t shatter. ' Bre ak It! Brea k I t! ' S h e scre am ed. " He calms his daughte r's rage by talking "silly talk," the way a frc ewo rld fa the r might. Abu:Jama l's accounts of the personal in uch an inhuma n place a rc tro ng a nd stra ig h tfo rwa rd. He gives us stories o f o th e r prisone rs he's come to know. In "Actin' Like Life 's a Ba ll Cam e,"' he a ddresses the th re estrikes-yo u 're-o ut po li tica l b e llo wing we' ve h ea rd comin g fro m Co ng ress reccntJy. He tells us about a 15-year-<>ld boy wh o was imprison ed back in the ' 70s under what were then "tough new sta tu tes" a llowing teenagers lO be sentenced as adu lts. The boy was convicted of an armed robbe1y in which he used a C0 2 pistol. "Fo r al most fifteen years his brilliance has been caged in cubes of steel . . . For lhose critical years ... tha t ma rk th e tra nsitio n from boy to man, [he] was e nto mbed in a juridica l, psych ic, te mpo ral box bra nd ed with lhc false promise 'Corrections' upon it. Like tens o f tJ1ousands of his gen eratio n, his time in hell equipped h im wilh no skills o f va lue to c itJ1er himself or his commun ity ... He has neve r held a wo man as a mate o r lover; he has never he ld a newborn in h is palm, its heart ath u mp with new life; he hasn ' t see n lhe sun rise, no r moon glow, in almost fifteen years; for a robbe•y, armed witJ1 a pellet gun , <ll 15 years old." Abu:Jamal te lls us o f prisone rs d rugged senseless by tJ1 e authorities, o f prisoners beaten raw by racist redneck guards, of malicious de nia l of medi cal care, of tox ic drinking wate r, o f gua rds ransacking cells a nd stealing wedding bands under tJ1e premise o f a 'shakedown', of gum·ds sticking lit cigareues in a p1i sone r's ear, of prisoners ha ngi ng themselves. It is a sh a m e th e d ecis io nm a ke rs a t •PR opted lO de ny him access to tJ1e ir aud ience. It is censorship against his voice; it is a n ill-dese rved depriva tion to lhc 1 PR a udie nce. I n Pan T wo, "C r im e a n d Punishmc nl ," Abu:jama l offe rs e xpe rt and we ll-reasoned co mm entary o n the jus64 PRISON LIFE tice syste m: the totally racist nature of the cleatJ1 pe na lty as used in lhe U.S., th e executio n of the me ntally retardeel, the recent move to cre a te prisons mat vio la te United 1atio ns' Standard Mi ni mum Rules for the T reaune nt of Priso n e rs, th e re la ti on h ip b e tween d rugs a nd g e n ocide against Afri can Ame ri cans, th e ambivale nt muuerings of th e S upre m e Co urt, tainte d o r manufac lll r e cl evid e n ce, a nd T h e Crim e Bill. Of the Iau er he observes: "It wi ll drive public ba nkruptcy; it will fue l gre a te r vio le nce; it wi ll create pri so n e rs wh o a r c dumber , more alie nated, but more despera te in life's scuffie for survival. Consid e r this: T he drugged out zo mbie abo u t to ro b yo u calcu lates the worth o f ste a ling yo ur pro perty vs. 4 to 8 years in prison , if cau g h t. Fac tor in yo u r pro pe rty vs. life with ou t pa role, a nd your life, n o t your prope rty, is d evalued. " It is my hope that, at the • t1n1e Y.OU read this, Abu-Jan1al is still alive. Ma lco m X to ld us th a t a ma n with no thi ng to lose is a dange ro us man. Mumi a A bu-J a m a l , i n th e eye s o f so me, is no d o ubt see n as a dange ro us man . He is ra dical. He is subve rsive to th e e xistin g powe r struc ture . H e k n o ws so m e thi n gs s h o uld ch ange. His writings arc dangero us in th e se n se th a t to re ad th e m is to invite yourself to look at the po pulatio n locked be h ind ba rs right he re in Am e rica- a popul atio n th at has now swe lle d to ove r o ne mill io n . One in eve1y 156 U.S. citizens is now in j ail, a nd th ose n umbe rs wi ll co n tinue to climb in years to come. Frig h tening . In "Mu s in gs o n Ma lco m ," AbuJ a ma l compa res th e lio n ificatio n o f Kin g to t h e ig n o m in ifi cato n o f Malcom X. "The syste m used tJ1e main nonviolent th emes o f Ma rtin L. Ki ng's life to prese nt a strategy d esigned to protec t its own interests-imagine t.h e most violent na tion on Eanh, th e he ir o f Indian and Africa n gen ocide, th e o nl y nation eve r to d ro p an a to mi c b o mb o n a c ivilia n populatio n , th e world 's biggest arms deale r, me country th a t n a pa lmed over ten m illio n people in Vie u1am (to "save it" fro m Communism), the world's biggcstjailer, waving tJ1e corpse o f King, calling for ' nonviolence'!" Abu:Ja mal knows firstha nd o f police b ruta lity a nd conveys th e larger picture . ". . . Am e ri ca n Justi ce released rece ntly a n asto nishing re port revea lin g t ha t in a te n-yea r p e ri o d , fro m 19 8 1 to 199 1, ove r 79,000 cases of police bruta li ty . .. occurred. 79,000! . .. T hose numbe rs, if accurate, m ean over 7,900 assaults by po lice a year in Ame rica. Civi lia ns a rc bru ta lized, o n the ave rage, over 658 times a mo ntJ1 by police; over 164 tim es a wee k! . .. The police, tools of white state capitalist power, arc a force creating chaos in t.he com mun ity, not peace." His se n sibi lity, th oug h , is ha rdly tJ1a t of a foaming-at-the-mo u th radical. His ana lyses a re reasoned , te mpe red. This ma n , who has every reason to lash out at th e system, also says, "While n o one cou ld call the writer a co p-love r, it is m y firm o pi n io n t hat t h e fe d e ra l re trial of th e fo ur L.A. cops involved in [Ro dn ey] Kin g's legalized b ruta lity constituted a clear violation of lhe 5th Amendme nt of th e U.S. Constitu tion, wh ich fo rbids double j eopa rdy." And , "It is ironic that ma ny of th ose who did n o t oppose the fed e ra l civil prosecution feel it inappropria te fo r tJ1e fe deral system to review state convictions unde r habeas co rpus statu tes." How d oes th e h onorab le se n a tor fro m wherever respond lO that logic? I t is in th e pe rso nal n a rra ti ve s, tho ugh , th a t Abu:Jama l b rings ho me the reality o f just how sleazy the system is. Part T h re e o f Live from Death Row is t itle d "Mus in gs, Me m o ri es a nd Prop hecies." "Phill y Daze: An Impression ist ic Me m o ir ," is th e las t , lo n gest , most immed iate a nd most powe rfu l of the e says in the boo k. Re adin g it, I fe lt for tJ1e first tim e the u na bashed opening up of the auth or, th e he re-l-ama nd-this-is-my-sto ry that draws a reade r in im m e di ate ly a n d in th is case d e e rves unqu estio n ab ly to be expa nded into a full autobiography. I h o p e h e \Hil es it. I h ope h e is n ot killed before h e has th e cha nce. A bu ~ j a m a l tells of go ing as a teenage r with th ree young fri e nds to pro test a t a rally for George Wall ace. "We mu st ha ve b ee n in sa n e. We stro lled in to th e stad ium , fo ur lanky, dark string beans in a pot full of The Dishwasher white, steaming Iimas. The band (continued from page 63) played 'Dixie."' Later, "I was grabbed by two of them, one kicking my skull have seen a thing or two. This is while the other kicked me in the balls. good writing. Then I looked up and saw the twoMalone travels to Fresno by bus. toned, gold-trimmed pant leg of a "Fourteen ... years of violence and Philly cop. Without thinking, and noise interspersed with mind-numbing reacting from years of brainwashing, I boredom had convinced him he yelled, "Help, police!" The cop saw should try a new way of life. That was me on the ground being beat to a the main reason he was going to pulp, marched over briskly-and Fresno instead of back to Portland, kicked me in the face! I was always Oregon, where he had grown up. All thankful to that faceless cop, for he his friends in Portland were outlaws. kicked me straight in to the Black His mother and father had been outPanther Party." laws. His grandfather had been a Later in "Philly Daze," Abu:Jamal bookie and a safecracker. The odds tells of his early days on the radio, against his changing in that environgives a glimpse of a Jesse Jackson that ment were slim. Grandpa Malone few have ever seen, takes us into Black would probably have made that about Panther headquarters, into the thick ten to one." of things at MOVE, and onto the In Fresno, Malone's parole officer, streets of Philadelphia. an ex-prison guard named Campbell ''While walking to work one day, I who's closing in on that second govpassed in front of an idling cop car. I ernment pension, asks him if he has a glanced at the driver. White, with trade. Malone answers that he's a brown hair, and wearing dark shades. dishwasher. Campbell says, He 'smiled,' put his hand out the car "Somehow I can't picture you slaving window, and pointed a finger at me, behind a hot steaming dish machine his thumb cocked back like the ham- for twenty years or so for the bare merofagun:bang-bang-bang.The minimum wage." Malone replies, "I finger jerks, as if from recoil, and the just did it for fourteen years for nothcop gives it a cowboyish blast of breath ing." To Martin's credit, Campbell is not before returning it to an imaginary holster. He and a pal laugh. Car rolls." some stereotypical bad-guy parole offiLater: "I'm sleeping, sort of. It has cer, out to vent his rage at his general the languorous feel of sleep, with powerlessness in the world by abusing none of the rest. Time seems slower, what power he does have at his easier, less oppressive. I feel strangely parolees' expense. Though not particulight. I look down and see a man larly complicated and not a mcyor playslumped on the curb, his head resting er in the story, Campbell is compassionon his chest, his face downcast- ately portrayed. He's real. He's a 'Damn! That's me!' A jolt of recogni- human. Campbell takes Malone to the tion ripples through me. Star Motel and tells him to give it a try. There, Malone meets Gail, the A cop walks up to the man and kicks him in the face. I feel it, but woman who owns and runs the motel, don't feel it. Three cops join the and her teenage daughter, June. It's dance, kicking, blackjacking the been a long time since he was with a bloody, handcuffed fallen form. Two woman, and Malone is immediately grab each arm, pull the man up, and attracted to Gail. She's no stranger to ram him headfirst into a steel utility the outlaw world. Her husband is in prison. The day after his arrival, when pole. He falls. Malone asks Gail about what bus to 'Daddy?' take downtown, she volunteers a lift. 'Yes, Babygirl.' 'Why are those men beating you Mter such a long time in a world without women, Malone is stunned to be like that?' among them again. Gail voices con'It's okay, Babygirl. I'm okay.' 'But why, Daddy? Why did they cern over her daughter June. ''Though shoot you and why are they hitting she spoke in a light tone he could tell she was concerned about her girl's weland kicking you, Abu?' 'They've been wanting to do this fare. He didn't really know how to ease for a long time, Babygirl, but don't her mind. She was the first woman worry, Daddy's fine- see? I don't he'd talked with in a lot of years. Just the smell of her was divine and overeven feel it.'" powering to his senses. 'She's safe I'll leave it there. around me. I don't bother little girls, Reprinted from the Village Voice. but I can't guarantee the same with you. You're pretty sexy yourself.' Gail replies that she hasn't had a compliment in years. "I think my husband has beat up everyone in California, and most men are afraid to even talk to me." She takes Malone to a clothing store and introduces him to the owner, who doesn't blink when Malone asks for a couple of pair of Levis to work in and a pair of bon aroos for the weekends. Again, the details tell a story. "He felt good as he dropped the khakis and stood barefoot looking at himself in the dressing-room mirror ... The smell of new Levi's and the feel of soft carpet against his feet were wonderful. He left the khakis and government shoes in the dressing room." The clothing store owner outfits Malone for the freeworld at cost, but at the same time brings him into close contact with the world he is trying to escape. He tells Malone who Gail's husband is, and it turns out Malone knows him, has done time with him, and respects him. That doesn't quell his desire for Gail. Gail's husband is scheduled for release in a few months, but Gail has known for some time that he has a new love interest and won't be coming home to her. Malone, however, is a convict of the old school, the school that taught, in the words of Bob Dylan, "To live outside the law, you must be honest." He doesn't push things. Also through Gail, Malone gets a job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. He's a hard worker, ready to put in his hours in return for a paycheck and peace of mind. He goes to work five days a week and does his job and keeps his business to himself. But when a waitress at the restaurant shows interest, he unleashes 14 years of pent-up sexuality upon her-right there in the dishroom, surrounded by the banging, clanging dishwashing machine, steam rising about them, the cool tile floor beneath them sweating with condensation. She likes it. And she gives as good as she gets. But it's not love, it's straight sex, and Malone longs for a relationship. He longs for Gail. She longs for him, too, and when she finally marches in and tells him she's in love, he responds in kind. When they receive her soon-to-be-ex-husband's blessing, Malone moves from his room into the front office digs. He is protective of Gail and her daughter. He loves them. He can't believe his good fortune at having found someone to love so soon out of prison. (continued on page 75) PRISON LIFE 65 Survival EIGHT PITFALLS TO AVOID IN PRISON by Ralf Dean Omar Mansfield Correctional Facility, Ohio GANGS In prison, aiTiliations include individuals you 're fo rced to keep company ,,·ith (cc llmates, work mates) and those you vo l unta r il~· ha ng with (partne rs, fe ll ow m embers of prison clubs a nd programs) . Other groups a re form ed b)' indiYiduals \\'ho knew each o the r o n the streets. Such looseknit g roups arc generally referred to as cliques o r crews. More fo rma lly organi zed groups qualify as fu ll-blown gangs, whi ch arc generally drawn a lo ng racia l lin es: Los 1/ennan os ( La ti nos); various in carnations o f th e Ar ya n Broth erh ood and the Blac k Gue rilla Family, and a bevy of bizarre re ligio us g roups. As in th e frceworld , in pri son you arc kn own by th e com pa ny yo u keep. G uilt by associatio n . T he card ina l r ule he re is do no t get involved with recognized gangs o r with cliques known for trouble making o r illegal ac tivi ty. Refuse favo rs from a nyone you thin k mig h t be gangaffi lia ted. To accept a favor may obligate you , in th e collective mind of th e gang, to some fuw rc recompen se. If asked to join a gang. decline tactfully. Declining a ga ng's offer to j oin must be clo n e with g race or you ' ll piss th e m o fT. La u g hin g a t or ot h erwise ''eli ing" th e ir co lors (ga ng e mble ms) b)' o fn1 a nded ly rejec tin g an offe r can mark you as a target. Indi vid u als a ura c tecl to gangs te nd to have low se l f-estee m . As a result, these wannabe ga nghange rs will do a n ythin g to first win accepta n ce into a ga ng and the n cvCJ)'thi ng, up to and including murde r, to maintai n tics to th eir newfound prison fa mily. Be awa re of' the ,·ari o us type o f dress and emblems that iden ti fy gang (colored bandannas, ba ll ca ps, tauoos) to avo id ass um ed members h ip. Stay o ut of a n y areas known to be freque nted (i.e. controlled) by gangs so you don ' t inaclvencntly trespass o n gang wrf. DRUGS Drugs are for sick people. They help sick people ge t we ll; th ey make well people sick. T h e lure of escapin g, eve n tempo ra ril y, fro m th e ha rsh rea lit)' o f priso n li fe thro ug h th e usc of d r ugs is aura ctivc . .Just reme mber th e Ica r us ru le: T h e hi g h er ti6 PRISON LIFE you ny, th e farth er you ca n fal l. Whether inside priso n o r out, drugs impede yo ur judgme nt and your ability to d e fend you rself. sing or dea ling drugs brings you into contac t with so me o f the most da ngero us p risoners, inma tes who wi ll kill yo u for your d rugs. The}' will also ki ll )'Ou fo r someone else who will pay th e m o fTwith d r ugs. r\ common prison plor is to get a young, nai,·e prisoner h igh on "free" drugs before taking advant age or him sex ua ll y. A mo re le th a l p lor involves ge tting an int ended murder victim intox icated in orde r to ma ke ki llin g h im easie r. This is known ~ as " r~~king an e n e my to "('""\ sleep. ~ 0 SEX Avoi d ·ex wh ile in prison , whe the r with o the r pri so ners or with staff me mbe rs. If ,·o u c h oose to dabb le in ho mosex ual activity wh ile you ·r~ he re, you ' ll be e n tering a riwal istic subculwrc tha t thrives o n usury ,·iolence and mode rn-day slm·et) '· ·' If you 're C\·en suspected o f' being ill\'o h·cd in passi,·erecep tive homosexual ac tivity, yo u will become a target fo r homophobic inmates a nd staff, as well as aggressi,·e. sadi stic straig h t priso n e rs who h ave few qu a lms abo ut fo rcing unwilling pri o ncrs into homosexual acts, whi le n ever q uestio n ing th eir own "straig htn ess." vVhe n it comes to sex in prison, the mo t dim cult thi ng fo r o u tside rs to understa nd is the sharp distinction prisoners make betwee n d o minam and passive homosex ual partners. In th e skewed world o f prison, the dominan t-inserte r ma n in a homosexual re la ti o nshi p is n ot considere d a ho mosexual, whereas th e passive-insertce boy or p unk is. This arbitra l)' deli n eatio n is ncccssa•')' to help ma inta in some semb lance of o rder in a chaotic e nvironmen t. Th is man-boy role-playing is rigid l)' ad he red to so that the ma n , the initi ator , ca n still maintain hi s self-image as straig ht. One of the best kep t sec r ets in prison is just ho\\· often homosexual affairs dc,·c lop between staff an d prisoners. Traditionally, e\·e n whe n th e staff' me mbe r an d the p risone r a r e c a ug ht in .flagmnle delicto, prison administrators h ave a llowed th e e m ba rrassed staff membe r to resig n qu ie tly, and have transferred th e prison e r to a n o th e r institution. Howeve r, with the increasing numbe r o f femal e correc tio n al office rs, the practice of sweeping sexual ind iscre tion unde r the rug is b eco ming less co mm o n . Prosec u ting bot h mal e and fe male staff h e lps the state avoid charges o f ge nde r bias. As a prisoner, if you are fou nd to be intimately involved with a staff me mbe r, he terosexua l or ho mosexua l, you are g uaran teed to come o ut on th e sh o rt end of th e sti ck. Bo ttom line: In the age of AlDS, th e less ex you have in prison , th e safe r yo u a re. Pe riod. DEBTS & GAMBLING Polonius' advice to Lae rtes still rings true: " either a borrowe r o r a le nder be." Not borrowin g o r acce ptin g g i fts fr o m persons unknown to you keeps you from be ing inde bted to oth ers, debts you may have to pay back in ~· flesh-yours or another's. t •., Not le ndin g kee ps you ~ fro m h aving to dea l with individua ls whose promises ~ to re pay you mean n othing to the m. If yo u loan som ething to a fe llow p ri so n e r and that pe rso n fa ils to re pay you and yo u, in turn , fai l to vigoro usly pursu e that debt, o ther op po rtuni sti c prisoners will e quate yo ur fa il ure to take care of business as weakness. STEALING Stealing from your fe llow prisoners i li ke stealing food from fe llow life-boat passengers. Do not buy o r tra d e a n y prope rty whose owne rship you have not ve rifi e d. Be tte r ye t, r efrain fro m buying o r trad ing a n ything with ano ther prisone r. In turn, it is your respons ibility to g u a rd yo ur ow n ~ pro p e rty from the ft. As a ~ ge n e ral ru le, th e les yo u have, th e less yo u h ave for someone to steal. SNITCHING Informa nts will fo rever re main at th e bo ttom o f th e prison pec king o rder. Do not be lieve prison a uth oriti es who promise specia l treall11e n t, protecti on , transfe r to a be tte r prison , o r ea rly re lease in exchange for turning snitch . If you see illegal activity go ing on in you r area, le ave immed iate ly. He re 's why: Inmates a re n o to ri o us for blaming the ir own stupidity o n othe rs. Sh o ul d a d ope d eal or o t h e r ill egal ac tivity go sour, criminals in gene ral a nd inmates in particula r tend to look around f'o r anyone othe r than t h e m se lves to blam e . ow, if yo u h a pp e n t o b e sta nding arou nd gawking when d r u gs pass hand s o r vio l e n ce occurs, you could all too easily be accused of snitchin g whe n th e misadve nture fails. TRICKBAGS Tric kbag is p riso n slang fo r no-win situations th at o pportuni sti c inm a tes try to fo rce on th e ir n a ive a nd unwa1y fe llow prisone rs. T h e goal of a tri ckbag is to trap the victim in su ch a way th at escape is impossible unless made throug h payment of fin e or flesh. H e re's an e xamp le o f a simple trickbag: A friendly inmate offers you th e use of his radio, o nly to la te r claim you broke it and must n ow pay the owner fo r it. A m ore ser io u s trickbag invo lves a homosex ual ma n se nding his boy to entice a na ive p riso n e r into participating in a "swapo ut" (i. e. two-way, rece ptive sex) . The b oy's m a n arr ives at the o ppo rtune time, catching the two in th e act. Fro m th en on, th e man can b lackmai l th e inmate ca ught in the trickbag, e ith er extorting him for mon ey, sex o r both . To avoid becomi ng a trickbag victim, just remember what yo u know abo ut stree t swindlers: If a d ea l looks too good to be true, it probably is. THE RIOT Given th e ove rcrowding and a bho rrent condi tio ns in most priso n s, soone r or la te r the j o in t yo u ' re in will explode. If yo u ' re lucky, any disturbance will come in the fo rm of an o rgan ized work stoppage or a strike d esigned to peace fu lly pro test co nd ition s. Avoid becom ing a spokespe rson , and don 't cross prisone r strike-li nes. Scabs are dealt with qu ite harshly. If you find yourself trapped in a fu ll-fl edged slay-fest with both priso ners and staff trying to spill as much blood as possible before what passes for order is restored (see Prison Life, O ctobe r, 1994) , avo id becoming invo lved in a ny type of vio lent demon stratio n . Try to leave th e rio t area as soo n as possible with o ut invitin g the hostility of rio ting prison ers. Stay cl ea r of th e area wh e re hostages a re be in g he ld. This will be th e most dangerous area sho uld the administra ti o n d ec ide t o r ec laim the prison by force. Avo id sp eaki n g with t h e m e d ia a n d d ecl in e n egotiati o ns with th e ad m ini strati o n . This wi ll ide ntify yo u as a r in g lea d e r a nd m a rk yo u fo r later prosecutio n . Despite the fact that he has spent oveT half his life in one fonn of lock-up or anothe1; 37~yea1·-o ld Ralf Dean Onza1· has managed to write and sell several f ull-length books. He is cunently woTking on Steel 'ation: How to Swvive and Prospe r in Pri so n , sch eduled for publication this yea1· f ro m Alpha Publications in Ohio. PRISON LIFE 67 Family Matters VISITING DAY by Kenneth Edward Hartman California Correctional Institution, Tehachapi,CA t seems as if time distends while you're waiting for something you want. On a Saturday morning while I am awaiting a visit from my wife, it's as if the very rotation of the planet has ground to a halt. The wait actually begins on Friday at midnight. I work the graveyard shift so I am awake the entire night before the visit. I glance at the clock and figure I have between 9 and 10-and-a-half hours before I see her. So begins my weekly vigil. With my wife there is a predictability to her demeanor at our visits. If she has had a bad week, which seems more often than not, she'll arrive late with a challenging attitude of Hey, you better not complain, mister. On the good weeks, shell be early and friendly. I am sure that being married to a man serving possibly the rest of his life behind bars must be a source of great stress for her. But I have been serving this sentence for as long as she has known me. Sometimes she acts like she just found this out yesterday. Believe me, I know that learning to accept a terrible reality is difficult, but I have not had the luxury of wondering about it. I have lived it. I go to breakfast a bit groggy from the lack of sleep the night before, and hope the cop in the bubble that day will let me take a shower when he is finished feeding us. Luckily, this has been the case recently, but there were many times when I was forced to wash myself in the sink because they didn't want to run the showers in the morning. I suppose water is more expensive in the morning. While I'm in the shower, I take a mental inventory of the past week's conversations and try to figure out if there have been any problems, any reasons for a delay or an angry visit. I wonder how she is, and if she is just then getting on the road from Los I Angeles and making her way up to the mountains. During the week we speak at least once on the phone, and her responses are fairly good indicators of the tenor of the coming visit. "I'm having a good week" bodes well, but "I'm having a pretty good week" is tantamount to "I'm ready to jump off a bridge." Sometimes a "good" can change to a "pretty good" in three days, which leaves me wondering what happened, what the real source of the problem is, and of course the real problem is I am in prison. This is the one thing I cannot change. ''After all these years, I am still filled with a kind of giddy joy at seeing the woman I love.'' I know I shouldn't, but I take all of this to heart. I have a tremendous fear of being abandoned, having been abandoned by my family and friends when I came to prison. My wife loves me, I know, but she hates my predicament. The hatred is growing while the love is merely holding its own. Thoughts of this kind plague me most after I've showered and shaved and am ready for the visit. At this time, around 8:30 a.m., there is only an hour or two left to go. Most guys go to the yard when they are expecting a visit, more to be distracted than anything else. In the company of others, it is easier to feign indif- ference. Instead, I block my view of the clock to avoid checking the time with each new minute. I postpone dressing for as long as possible, saving this ritual as my final distraction. I have laid out my clothes earlier, and I put them on slowly. At 9:30 I can feel the physical manifestations of stress growing more pronounced. My heart beats harder and more rapidly; I breathe quickly and shallowly and I begin to sweat. By 10 o'clock, I have assumed the worst. My wife has been in an accident, she has got into a fight with the cops at the front gate, or (and this is the most painful to contemplate), she has finally succumbed to the hatred and anger and has once and for all abandoned me to this world. In these few hours I lose a measure of my humanity, and the toll is deeply felt. A man I knew who was serving a life sentence fell in love and he told me how he had never felt punished until then, until he embarked on this rollercoaster of heartache and joy that is the hallmark of prison love affairs. Between 10:00 and 10:30 the cop in the bubble signals to me that I have a visit. The walk to the visiting room is always filled with a strange mixture of happiness and dread as I wonder what frame of mind she'll be in, what frame of mind I will find myself in. I am also, after all these years, filled with a kind of giddy joy at seeing the woman I love. I am glad I wait on Saturday mornings. I just wish I could be waiting in our bed for her to come back from the kitchen or the corner market. Fantasies like this often emerge during visits. For a few brief hours, traces of the real world sneak in, accompanied by the smiles of women and the laughter of children. PL PRISON LIFE 69 Where to send your stuff ... EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS If you have Story Ideas, Letters, Articles, Editorials, Block Beat, Insider Outlook, Book and Music Reviews, Fiction, Poetry, Recipes for InCell Cooking, Tattoo of the Month, Cellmate of the Month nominations, Items for Callouts, Questions for Iron Pile, Ask Bubba, Ask Da Nurses, In-house Counsel or entries for Art Behind Bars 1995, contact our Editorial Office: Prison Life Editorial Office 175 5th Avenue, Suite 2205 New York, NY 10010 SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BUSINESS For subscriptions, change of address, problems with delivery, ads, media kits, contact the business office: Prison Life Magazine 4200 Westheimer, Suite 160 Houston, TX 77027 Call 1-800-207-2659 or 713-840-7103 fax (713) 840-0428 In-House Counsel Writ Writing: Gathering the File By Larry Fassler, Jailhouse Lawyer n e of th e mos t impo nant steps in preparing to seek a h abeas corpu s is to gat h e r your complete case files and records before writing your writ. T he importance of having everything cannot be overemphasized, as th e prosecutors will have everything in your files-and th e n some- to use agai n st you. Be sure that if you overloo k any impo rtant fac ts o r evide n ce in yo u case records, the govern me nt will present the m to th e court as part of its arg ument against granting you relief. Case fi les consist of several different types of docume nts. The first are the police reports, investigative documents and other ite ms of evide nce, comm o nl y known as Di sco ve r y. Grand jury do c um e nts and tra nscripts are also co nsidered part o f the Discovery materials. Although it may seem logical tha t the first things a lawyer would give a clie nt are copies of the po lice reports and othe r eviden ce aga inst th e client, few lawyers actually do. Some seem to feel that the ir clie nts are not capable of unde rstandin g Discove ry. Othe rs don ' t wa n t their clients to see th e Discovet)' because they don ' t want to b e bothere d with qu estions late r . Some lawye t·s simp ly d o n ' t t hink about giving copies to their clients; and oth e r s g ive th e ir cli e n ts only those portion s of th e Discovery materials that implicate the d efe ndant in the crim e . (Ofte n , th ese a re the lawyers who a re inte nt on convinci ng th e ir clients to p lead gu il ty, regardless of th e merit of th e case against them. ) There are even a few lawyers wh o d o n ' t both e r t o obta in the Di scove ry m ate ri a ls t h e mse h·es, though th is is relatively rare. C han ces are you do not h ave yo ur Discove ry fil es. Or, if yo u do O 72 PRISON LIFE have them, the fil es a re most like ly in complete. Therefore , you should write a le tte r to your trial a nd appeal (if yo u had one) atto rn ey(s) asking fo r a co mplete se t of a ll Discove ry mate rials. Keep a copy of your le tter, and if the lawyer does not respond within a reasonable time (usually 30 to 60 clays), send a written rem inde r. If you do not receive a satisfactory respo nse afte r th e second letter, yo u have seve ral o ption s. You ca n sometimes file a motion in the court where you we re convicted, asking the judge to o rde r the lawyer to send you the files, or you can write to th e State Bar Association to whi ch your lawyer be longs, requesting help. However, I find that a thi rd le tter, simply stating that you p lan to take th is course of action , is usually e nough to ga in his or h er coope rati on. You also need to unde rstand that by th e time you first as k for th ese materials your lawye r h as probably put th em into his long-te rm storage facility, meaning that the materials are not imm ediately avai lable. Be reasonable abo ut g ivin g your lawye r time to ho nor yo ur request. COIJil'l' HU~S ANn 'l'ltANS(~Illl1 'fS The nex t categot·y o f materials you need co nsists of the coun docum e nts and transc ripts f rom yo ur case . These in c lud e two se ts of pape rs. The first is the cle rk's file, all motions, court o rders and other docume n ts on file with the Cle rk of th e Co urt in which you were tri ed. Th e eco nd is th e actual, verbatim record of th e court proceedings, kn own as transcripts. Your form e r lawyer (s) may have th e clerk's files, so yo u should direc t this request, too, to th em at the sam e time you request the Discovet)' mater ials. If you cannot obtain them from your lawyer, you may have to obtain the m fr o m the cle rk of yo ur trial court. A good first ste p is to write to th e clerk and ask for a co py of the complete d ocket sheet in your case. Th e docket shee t will be seve ral pieces of pa pe r on whi ch are listed a ll of the d ocuments that have been filed in your case. Review the docke t sheet carefully, ch ec king each item to see if you have a copy of it, the n write back requesting copies of those you d on't already have. If you a re able to obtain t h ese documents fr om you r former lawye r (s), th ey will probably se nd them to you without charge. But if you have to order t h e m fro m the cle rk o f t h e Court, be prepared to pay a co pying fee rangi ng from te n to fifty ce nts p e r page. ( Fed e ral co urts always c h a rge fifty cen ts fo r ph otocopying.) You may also be able to send a fr ie nd or re la tive to the cle rk' s offi ce to make the copies o n coin-ope ra te d machines at a muc h lower cost. Also be prepared to pay for these co pi es if you n eed to obtain them di rectly from the clerk. If you had a court-appointed attorney, you can fi le a motion with th e co urt req uesting that they be provided at no cost, but in general the courts are not required to provide th e m free of c h arge. As su c h , t h ey ra rely d o . Alth o u g h an indigent prisoner has a Constitution al right to proceed in forma pau pe ris at trial and o n direct appeal, there is no Constitutio nal right to file a wd t wi tho ut payi n g th e required fees, a n d judges will n ot no rm ally waive those costs u ntil they are satisfied that your action has real me rit. Transcr ipts a re a mo re compli- cated matter. There will always be a important to your writ, the costs for verbatim record of hearings in your these transcripts may be steep. (You case, even if you pled guilty. But they can use the formula above to estimate may not always be easily available. If the costs.) you appealed your case, the tranMany prisoners file motions askscripts were prepared by the court ing the court to provide transcripts reporter and were provided to the free of charge for use in preparing lawyer who filed your appeal. Ask him their writ, but those motions are or her for the transcripts, or for a rarely granted. If you pled guilty, and copy of them. did not appeal, you should expect to If your lawyer no longer has the have to buy your own transcripts for transcripts, he can tell you what use in preparing your writ. became of them. In nearly every Make no mistake: It is imperative instance, if a lawyer who received the that you obtain these transcripts transcripts for appeal no longer has before you begin working on your them, it is because he or she either (1) writ. Many inmates tell me that they gave them to another lawyer to look cannot afford the one or two hundred into your case, or (2) was required to dollars charged by the court reporter return the transcripts to the court that to prepare the transcripts of their provided them at no charge in a forma guilty plea and sentencing hearings, pauperis case. Contact the court or the and ask me to prepare a writ without person to whom these documents them. I almost never agree to do so. were sent and make the necessary Even if it means delaying your writ by arrangements. You can usually arrange six months or a year, having the tranto have them sent to you, or to have scripts first is indispensable to effecsomeone on the streets borrow them tive writ-writing. If you do not have the transcripts, long enough to make a set of copies. In the worst scenario, you may be you are forced to argue your case required to pay the court clerk, or a based on your memory of what was copy service approved by the court, to said in court. I have never met the man who accurately recalls everything make the copies. If you did not appeal, it is likely said during his court proceedings. In that the transcripts were not prepared. fact, defendants are often so disIn such a case, you will probably need traught while in the courtroom that to pay the court reporter to prepare they mishear, or don't remember, the typed transcripts from his or her much of what actually transpired. If original notes. This usually costs in the you allege even one fact that the prosneighborhood of $3.00 a page, and it ecutor can later show to be false can be quite expensive if you went to (remember-he will have the trantrial. (A good rule of thumb is that scripts), you can be sure the court will there is one page of transcript per capitalize on that one seemingly every two minutes of court hearing. insignificant discrepancy in your Thus, each hour of hearings will gen- pleadings by denying the entire case, erate 30 pages of transcript, which, at no matter how strong your issues and arguments are. You cannot afford to $3.00 a page, will cost $90.) Fortunately, prisoners who were misrepresent a single thing that hapfound guilty after a trial almost always pened in court. There is another equally important file a direct appeal, meaning that their transcripts already exist and can reason why you must have the tranbe obtained at little or no cost. scripts before proceeding: 'Without Prisoners who did not appeal are usu- transcripts, you will lose the opportunially those who pled guilty, thus the ty to raise issues that you wouldn't even transcripts in their cases tend to be have known about. It is common for relatively short. If you are one of the judges or prosecutors to make mistakes, latter, the transcript costs will be con- or take shortcuts, in guilty plea cases. These mistakes are often reversible, but siderably less. There will always be at least two without the transcripts, you will never hearings for which prisoners who pled become aware of the potential grounds guilty need the transcripts: ( 1) the for reversal. If you file your writ without hearing at which they entered their such issues, and at a later date get the plea, and (2) the hearing at which they transcripts and discover important were sentenced. In my experience, the arguments, you may be prevented by cost for these two sets of transcripts the procedurcll rules of the court from generally runs between $75 and $200. presenting the new, and possibly better, Rarely is the cost more. However, if issues in the future. The final group of documents you you also had a suppression hearing or other pretrial proceedings that are should gather are your appeal records, if you have already filed an appeal or other post-conviction motions. You will need all of the briefs that were filed in your appeal, including the briefs filed on your behalf as well as those that were filed by the government against you. You also need to have copies of every court decision in your appeal. If you appealed to more than one appellate court, you need the brief and decisions from each of them. If there were any motions for reconsideration or rehearing, you also need copies of the motions and the decisions the courts made on them. It may seem like overkill that I have devoted an entire column to the importance of gathering your complete record before proceeding, but in my experience, being completely prepared is the most important first step to filing a successful writ. Gather your documents, read them and think about the issues you already have in mind for your writ. In the next installment I will discuss how to develop those issues and prepare them for the court. Next Month: You1· Questions Answered! Send your legal questions to In-House Counsel, c/o Prison Life, 175 5th Avenue, Suite 2205, NY, NY 10010. LmERTAD TEMPRANA PARA PRESOS MEXICANOS Los prisioneros Mexicanos, especialmente en el sistema federal, pueden ser transferidos bacia Mexico para recibir libertad temprana, y vivir cerca de sus seres queridos atraves de los servicios del Bufete de Benninghoff & Ramirez. Atraves de oficinas en los Estados Unidos y Mexico, Benninghoff & Ramirez provee a sus clientes un servicio sin igual. Los prisioneros transferidos podran recibir libertad inmediata bajo fianza, h"bertad temprana para trabajar, y tiempo libre por buena conducta. Tambien, hemos tenido mucho exito con prisioneros a los cuales se les ha negado Ia transferencia anteriormente. Favor de escribir a Ia siguiente direccion para que reciba un folleto descriptivo preparado especialmente para prisioneros Mexicanos. Escriba a: Charles F. Benninghoff III Benninghoff & Ramirez Post Office Box 1355 San Juan Capistrano, Calif. 92675 'Justtcfa por los Mdtcanos" PRISON LIFE 73 WARNING To: All friends, relatives and loved ones o f - - - - - - - - - - Issued in solemn warning this day of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 19 Very soon the above-named man will once again be in your midst-dehumanized, demoralized and bitter. He will be ready once again to take his place as a human being with freedom, liberty and the somewhat delayed pursuit of happiness. In making your preparations to welcome him back in respectable society, you must make allowances for the crude environment in which he has suffered for the past _ years and _ months. In other words, he may be a bit paranoid and may be suffering from the advanced stages of prolix poisoning, solitary confinement or too many sweeping denials. Therefore, show no alarm if he chooses to squat on the floor rather than sit in a chair, or continues to X out each day on the calendar, or slyly offers to loan the mailman a pack of cigarettes. Don't be surprised if he answers all your questions with, "How the fuck should I know?" or "Fuck you." Be tolerant if he shows undue interest in young boys with long hair, or refuses to enter any building without steel mesh over the windows and doors. Avoid any of the following, since they might produce an advanced state of paranoia: walking closely behind him, bending over (either sex), or offering him a full pack of cigarettes. Don't correct him if he chooses to cut his meat with a spoon rather than a knife, or asks where to empty his plate after dinner. Don't be surprised if he immediately goes to his room whenever a bell rings. (To reassure him, enter his room and pretend to count him.) Show no concern if he wanders around the backyard trying to fmd the iron pile. For the first few months, don't be alarmed if swipes the toilet paper, hoards the sugar, or stashes a spoon under his bed. Be especially watchful when he is in the company of real women. His frrst reaction upon meeting an attractive lady will be to stare. Wives and sweethearts are advised to take advantage of this momentary shock to move out of his reach. Keep in mind that beneath his pale, prison exterior beats a heart of gold. Treasure this, for it is the only thing of value he has left. Treat him with kindness, tolerance and an occasional fifth of good whiskey, and you will be able to rehabilitate this shell of the man you once knew. Send no more letters to this man after the because he will no longer be here. day of , 19_ _ If for any reason you have betrayed, forgotten, snitched on or just plain "fucked over" the above named individual, you should immediately do one or all of the following: 1. Leave town 2. Join the army 3. Try desperately to repair the relationship by offering him money (lots of it!) 4. Start doing stretching exercises, because once you see him, you can kiss your ass goodbye. Written by James Machado 74 PRISON LIFE 48 HR. SHIPPING LOWEST PRICES FACTORY WARRANTIES ONE LOW $3.75 SHIPPING CHARGE- ANY QUANTITY HOLABIRD SPORTS NEVER A RESTOCKING FEE UPS 2nd DAY AIR AVAILABLE FREE CATALOG AVAILABLE FULL UNE TENNIS, RACQUETBALL & SQUASH RACQUETS, SHOES, BAGS l ACCESSORIES AT LOWEST DISCOUNT PRICES EVER! MAIL OR PHONE-WE SHIP ANYWHERE SEND MONEY ORDER OR CHECK. MARYLAND RESIDENTS ADD 5%. 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D, EE & 4E·MEN . 55.95 REEBOK CENTRE COURT-MEN ................... 54.95 REEB0K OUAUFIER·MIO.BI.KtWHT-IA·SALE . 48.95 WILSON PRO STAFF-MEN & LADIES ........... CALL The Dishwasher ( conli nu('(l from jJage 65) T hi ngs are fin e u ntil a street-leve l h e roi n dealer e m ers th e pi cwre a nd Ma lo ne is forced to sta nd up for his b e li e fs a nd fo r t h ose h e loves. Conte mplating h is options, he realizes "he could have his clotJ1es packed in a few minutes and be in another s tate before today was d o ne. Bu t he'd rathe r spend ano tJ1e r 14 years in prison than live th e rest o f h is life with tJ1 e m emory th at would follow him from this place. A past th at would reside in all his m irrors and palien U)' wait lo r him to gaze upon it each day. Sitling li ke a vulture in a g ilt fra m e wa iling lO peck and pull at his dim inished a nd d ying spirit." Malone doesn' t Lake his beef Lo the cops. He handles it himself. ··... Bill's tight fist hit h im in the mo u th so hard it knocked h is tee th thro ug h hi s uppe r lip. He wen t over s ideways a nd yelled so m e th in g in S panis h a s hi s h e ad sla mm ed the insid e of th e passeng er doo r. Bill felt tJ1e shock of the pun ch in his sho ulder. ;mel it fe lt wonderful ... Bill g rabbed one of h is kicking feeLand jerked h im u n lit his shoulde rs cleared tJ1e seat , tJ1en let go and kicked him in the groin with the same Io ree he'd once used to d ro p-kick a footba ll ... Bill took careful aim and kicked him ag<tin in the sm a ll o f th e back. He began ki cking him in the kidneys, tJ1e knee, anywhere t~lu-otst-ot~uu RUGGED SHOES & HIKING/WORK BOOTS TIMBERLAND: 100614 1NCH-TAN-MEN ....................... 89.95 1006~ INCH-BLACK-MEN .................. n .95 103814 1NCH-TAN-LADIES .................. 87.95 11()61;4 1NCH-BROWN LEATHER- M .. 107.95 20081 - 81NCH-TAN-I.IEN ....................... 78.95 80069-SINCH-BI.ACK-t.IEN .................. 76.95 39001-ULTIMATE TREK-MID-MEN ..... 119.95 50009-3-EYELET CLASSIC LUG-MEN .... 69.95 50053--CHUKKA-1.110--aROWN-MEN ... 76.95 5005&-CHUKKA-MIO--alACK-MEN ..... 70.95 59033-3 EYELET OXFORD-MEN .......... 105.95 59093-7 EYELET CHUKKA- MID-MEN 115.95 69044-BUSH HIKER- LOW-BROWN·M .... 59.95 69047-BUSH HIKER-LOW-BLACK-lA ···-· 59.95 69056-BUSH HIKER-MIO.BROWN-M ...... 64.95 69057- BUSH HIKER-1.410.BI.ACK·M .•••••• 64.95 69357-oJANE-MIO--aLACK-lADIES .... 63.95 69362-DIANE-1.110--aROWH-LADIES •• 63.95 83381-JAYNE- MID-TAN-LADIES ........ 84.95 90034-EURO HIKER-MID-MEN ............. 79.95 ~URO HIKER-1.110-I.IEN ............. 63.95 95054- EURO HIKER-1.111>-MEN ............ 59.95 9511l0-EURO HIKER-LEATHER-MEN ••• 79.95 95103-EURO HIKER-MID-MEN ............. 79.95 9531D-EURO HIKER-lEATHER-LADIES 69.95 ROCKPORT: 3051-cHOCOLATE NUDUCK·MIO.MEN ... 69.95 3155-BROWN-lOW- MEN ...................... 69.95 DISCOVERY 5519-BROWN-MIO.MEN ... 79.95 DISCOVERY 5529-BROWN-lOW·MEN .. 49.95 NEW BALANCE MH 516-I.IIO.D & EE-t.IEN . 47.95 CROSS TRAINING SHOES AOIDAS TORSION HURRICANE UTE·M .......... 49.95 NEW BALANCE CXT 775--B. D, EE & 4E·MEN • 56.95 REEBOK SATEWTE·LOW·BLACK.WHITE-M . 47.95 REEBOK SATELLITE-1.11!>-MEN ._............... 52.95 REEBOK EXOFIT LEATHER·LO-BUWIHT-IA . 43.95 REEBOK EXOFIT LEATHER-MJO.BLKIWHT·M 44.95 REEBOK EXOFIT LEATHER·HI·BLKIWHT·M ... 46.95 he could sec, an d altern ately sto mping him o n the neck and head just as he would have sto m ped a rmtJesnake ... Th e g ro un d was soa ked with blood beneath hi m. Bill's fool was hurting by now, and he reached clown , grabbed a handfi.tl o f hair, pulled tJ1c man's head up Lo tJ1e hood , and o·ied Lo pound him th rough th e m e ta l with hi s fis t. Somc tJ1ing had snapped inside him like a clam bursting, and he couldn 't LOp. He u·ie d to make every punch harder than the last. He was in a slmv-m o lion zone and could hear f<ll<l\\"ilY screaming a ro u nd him like bees buzzing in his ears. Sudden ly a clawing banshee was o n his back pulling at his hair and gr,tbbi ng at his arm . H e reached a ro und , grabbed he r, and pu ll ed he r a ro u nd , slamm ing her onto the bloody hood of th e Chevy, full y intendi ng to bust her head, and when he saw it was Gail he heard her \·oicc at tJ1e same lime. 'Goddam ni l. Bill! You ' r e killin g him !' He stood breathing hard and looking at he r fo r lo ng se co nds before he took his hand from he r neck. " Powerful swn·, writ !nte . T he way it really happens. Malone's cxu·actio n of justi ce throws him headlo n g imo th e world o f wannabe m o bs ters wh o run tJ1c local rackeLS, an d b rings tJ1e police to snin· at h is h eels. Marlin 's depiction o f sm all-tow n m o bs te rs, th e ir drug- ADIDAS EQUIPMENT ADVENTURE·HIGH-M .. 74.95 ADIDAS CRATOR- MID-MEN .....- ................. 44.95 DEXTER BlAZER·MIO.BlK/BROWNITAN·M ... 69.95 DEXTER KLONDIKE-MID-I.IEN & LADIES ... 59.95 DEXTER CARIBOU-I.IID-MEN ...................... 64.95 DEXTER ROXIE- MID-BROWN/TAN· LADIES . 59.95 HI·TEC ALPINE-MID-MEN & LADIES ........... 54.95 HI-TEC VISTA- MID-MEN .............................. 54.95 HI·TEC MIDNITE BLACK-MID-MEN ............. 50.95 HI·TEC SIERRA UTE 11-IAIO.BROWNIBLK·M ... 39.95 HJ.TEC LAOY LITE II-MID ............................... 39.95 HI·TEC NAVAJO-MID-I.IEN .......................... 69.95 HJ.TEC SHASTA li-MEN .................................. 29.95 HI·TEC HUR~ID-WATERPROOF-IAEN. 81.95 K-SWISS MURALTO-HIGH-MEN .................. 64.95 K-SWISS PONTANO-HJGH.-t.IEN ....._____ 84.95 NEVAOOS WILDCAT-MID-MEN ................... 26.95 NEVAOOS TUNDRA-MID-MEN & LADIES .• 29.95 NIKE CALDERA-MI!>-t.IEN & LADIES .......... 46.95 NIKE AIR J.IAKALU- MID-MEN ....................... 49.95 REEBOK ZEN-HIGH-MEN ............................ 79.95 REEBOK TELOS-HIGH-MEN ........................ 56.95 REEBOK TELOS ULTRA-HIGH-MEN ........... 64.95 REEBOK CLIFFHANGER-MID-MEN ............48.115 REEBOK BI.UERIOGE II-MID-MEN --·-..- 49.95 SKECHER5-DOOTS: TR ESnE WORKBOOT·MIO.TANIBROWN·M .45.115 REBAR-LOW-TAN-MEN ........................ 43.95 RIPCUT·LOW-DROWN·MEN (EVEN SIZES) 40.95 RIPSAW-1.111>-BlK OR BROWN-MEN ... 35.95 OILSTONE·MIO.TANIBROWN-l (EVEN SIZES) •9.95 URBAN RANGER HIGH SNEAKER-UNISEX .. 35.95 RUNNING SHOES REEBOK CLASSIC LEATHER-8LKI WHT·Wl • 44.95 ADIDAS TORSION RESPONSE·MENILADIES . 39.95 BROOKS HYOROFLOW CHARIOT HFX-MII. . 48.95 NEW BALANCE M 679-B. D & EE-MEN ....... 60.50 NIKE AIR PEGASUS '95-MEN & LADIES ....... 52.95 SAUCONY JloZZ 4QOO-MEN & LADIES .......... 44.95 BANGOR- MEN & LADIES ............ 36.95 adcl icte cl, re luctam -mobster h e irs, the local po lice, and how Malone h andles a ll o f th em is no t on ly intrigui ng, but aston ishing ly realistic. If th e re is a ny sh o rtcom ing to this story, it is that the wo men chat-acters are somewhat id ealized. T hey arc all attractive, and they have no fau lLS. Be ing a woma n m yse lf, I fee l e min e n tly qualified to say that tJ1ey sho uld. Then again, 14 years withou t wome n could te nd to cause a m a n to idealize the o pposite sex. Given the circumstances, it's a m ost fo rgivable sin. I ro und lOO, incidences o f \\~i Lc rl y ho rtJ1and, concentrated m ostly in tJ1 c second half o f the novel, where I s lllmb lc d ove r phrases lik e "raven haired beauties." Perhaps my awareness or tJ1is was m ade keen because Marli n does such a fi rst-n1te job of d escribing thin gs in a un iq u e a nd orig in a l way wh e n he tak es tim e to u sc h is ow n words instead o r U10Se picked up from reading lesser \\'titers tJ1a11 himself. Tlw Dishwasl!Pr is a wonde rful story, well-paced a nd wel l-writte n , a j o urney imo the wo rld of the ex-co n vict to ld ho n estly by a m an who's been there . Mr. Ma rtin proves tJ1roug h h is wdling that T he Pen is mig hti er than the pen . Committing j ournalism: Th e Pr·ison W1i t.ings of Red Hog, 0' Dannie M. Marlin ami Pf'ln )1. Sussman, will bl' published in pafJedXlcil inJ une. PRISON LIFE 75 Ask Da Nurses Shep's Left Nut Dear Noice, M)' left nut is killin' me. There's li/re this lump on the epididymis. I figure if it was something like epididymitis it would have disappeared by now. Twent)' calendars back, I went to the U of W clinic, and some doc wannabe hustled me into a closet, a little disconcerting when he told me to drop the Levis. He wanted it dark when he took a pen light and held the bulb against the scrotum to spotlight the lump. Then he gave me some weak story and sent me on my way. Now, there are times when I cross one leg over the other, and I'm here to tell you, the suc/rer screams. Then there's two-fisted autoerotic moments that'll put a flaccid smile on a Southern Baptist. It's puttin' a real damper on my semi-celibate on-again-off-again affair with myself Thoughts of cancer come hard in this Age of Carcinogens; one can muster much trepidation. Is my concern substantive? Or am I merely 'noid off me lmackers? T'anllS fer yer time. In sanity, Shep WA State Pen, Walla Walla HeyShep, We understand why you're concerned given the area and intensity of your pain. Often pain, swelling or a lump in that area is caused by an inflammation of the testicles and epididymis (epididymitis or orchitis) or a combination of both. Usually, this inflammation is caused by bacteria often found in the gut, or by Mumps, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. Treatment typically includes pain medication and antibiotics. When doctors "transilluminate" (put the flashlight behind your testicles), they are checking for cystic masses like a hydrocele (fluid in the scrotum) as opposed to something solid like a tumor. Another possibility is a scrotal hernia-a loop of bowel dislodged in the scrotum. Of course, when there is a lump, swelling, feeling of heaviness or pain in the testes (two egg-shaped glands behind the penis in the scrotum), testicular cancer should be considered. Tumors in the testicles are curable if 76 PRISON LIFE detected and treated early. But if left untreated, the cancer can spread to other parts of the body. Testicular cancer is most common if you are between the ages of 15-35 or if your testicles did not descend or only partially descended into the scrotum following birth (cryptorchidism). Testicular cancer is more common in white men and men whose mothers used medication like DES or estrogen while pregnant. Injury to the testicles does NOT contribute to developing testicular cancer. A weekly testicular self-exam (TSE) may detect testicular cancer. Here are the steps to perform TSE: 1. Examine your testicles during or after a hot shower when they are fully descended. 2. Put the index and middle fingers on the bottom of the testes and the thumb at the top of the testes. 3. Gently but firmly roll the testicles between the thumb and fingers. 4. If you notice a lump, swelling or area of tenderness, report it to your health care provider right away. (Do not mistake the soft tube-like structures found at the back of the testicle for an abnormality; these are the epididymis, or the connecting tubes that store sperm.) For more information call the Cancer Information Service at 800-422-6237. To help diagnose testicular abnormalities, you should consult a urologist who may order an ultrasound of the testicles. Shep, whenever a health care provider gives you a "weak story" or tells you something you don't understand, you should ask some more questions. Doctors and nurses are responsible for the health care of hundreds of patients-but you are only responsible for one. And where the family jewels are concerned, we think you'd be especially vigilant. Vertebrae Victim Dear Nurses, I had back surgery in July to remove a fat tumor (Lipoma) from my back. What was supposed to be minor surgery ended up being a 4 1/2 hour operation. The doctor removed a 2 1/2 pound tumor from my back leaving a hole the size of my jist. The wound formed into a massive hematoma within a week and I caught a gangrenous infection. I was rushed to the hospital where my life was saved. After 90 days my wound healed. I now have a three-inch indentation in my back. But the surface is not my problem, I'm not exactly an underoJear model anyway. My problem is the pain I still have in that area and others. I have serious pain running down the left side of my spine, around the side of my left buttock, circling around and running down my inner left thigh. The problem is the witch doctor who butchered me knows I have a case pending against him and refuses to treat me. I've done all I know to do and I'm at a loss for the next step. I've written grievances and written my attorney, but I'm in pain every minute of every day. Thanks for any advice you can give. Painful in Tucson, TwoRivers Dear TwoRivers, Sorry to hear you're hurting. It's hard to say whether the pain radiating down your leg is related to the surgery, since you did not say exactly where on the back the lipoma was, and since it is impossible to evaluate without a full history, exam and diagnostic tests. But pain originating in the buttock and radiating down the leg could be, among other things, inflammation of the sciatic nerve. This is a large nerve running from the lower back area, through the pelvis, down the back of the thigh and in to the legs. Spinal disc compression, infection or injury to this nerve can result in pain, numbness or loss of function in the leg. Uncomplicated sciatica often improves with several days of bed rest (on your back, in a position of comfort, with a (continued on page 78) ODKS ON Send me these books: 0 Soledad Brother by Georgej achson 0 Smack Goddess by Ridwrd Stratton $14.95 $18.95 0 Prison Literature by Bruce Franlllin $12.95 0 The Bad Guys' Quote Book by Bob Singer $2.50 Send check or money order plus $2.50 P&H to: J o int Venture Publishers 175 5th, Ave, Suite 2205 New York, NY 10010 - - - - - - - - ST ATE ZIP _ __ sma ll pillow und e r n exc d kn ees) . So me m edicati o n s (n o n steroida l antiinf'l am m a tories) li ke ad vil / m o trin (ibuprofe n ), o r aspirin ma)' h e lp, but these ca n cau e ·t o ma c h blee din g and sh o uld be take n un der th e su pervis io n of a comp e ten t h ea lth care p r ov id e r. Aga in , yo ur pai n mi g ht haYe an c mire ly diffe rem cause a ltoget h e r. Yo u mu s t find, in s h o rt, a goo d d octo r o r nurse practiti o n e r wh o m ay r e fer you for a CAT scan an d if n ecessary, to a neuro log is t , o rtho pe dist o r ph)'sia tri st. T woRivc r s, )'O il h ave a rig ht t o he alth care. The Supre me Court sta ted th a t "d e lib e r ate indi ffe r e n ce LO th e se ri o us m e dical n eed s of p r iso ne rs constitiiLe s th e unn ccessar)' a nd wa nton in flictio n o r pai n .... proscribecl b y the Ei g h th Amen dm e nt o r Lh c Co n s ti LU Li o n. " In ot h er wo rds, yo u ha,·e a leg al r ig h t t o ge t m e dic a l a tten tion. If yo u n eed h e lp, yo u can contact th e Am erican C ivil Libe rti es Unio n , Nationa l Prison P roj ect, 1875 Co nn ec ti c u t 1\\-e , N. W . Su ite 4 10 , Washin g ton , D.C. 20009. H o pe you're fe e ling beu er soon . FREE Listing of thousands of Cassettes's as low as $1.99 C.D.'s as low as $7.99 Popular titles and groups as well as hard to find and o ut of print titles. 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OUR HOUSE 22 Huron Street, Dq>t.P-2 Terryville, NY 11776 78 PRISON LIFE Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sutures Dear Nurses, The {JicturP is this: 48 s utu rl's wn e ajJ/1Iied to a del'jJ, fow~in ch razor laCl!mtion arross the right cheek. Now, the qur•stions art•: 1) . \!\''h at is the minimum time these sutur!'s could/should be removed ? 2) \1\f!wt is tht' maximum tiuu• these sutures ran be left i11 this cut ? 3) Could premature removal of lhesl' sutu res cause the wound to begin disadhesing? R.PS/Jf'Ctjufly, Brian WalU1ill, N Y Hey Bria n , Pe r haps you know tha t the purpose of sti t c h es (s utu r es) is to c lose a wo und th a t m ay not h ea l as well b y itsel f. So stitches h elp p revent o r minim ize scars an d improve h ealing. O f co urse, si n ce r ates of h ea lin g vary, we can o n ly o ffer you an approxim ation of wh e n stitc h es s h o uld be re moved . Sutu r e re m o val Lim es may vary d epe nding o n blood su pply to the ir'Uurecl area, anticipated h ea ling ra tes, and move menL of or n ear th e su tu red area. Here's the general rule for suLUre re moval: Fo r th e face 4-5 days, scalp 1014 days, neck 7-10 d ays, a rm s and legs YOUR ONE STOP SOURCE FOR LEATHERCRAFT SUPPLIES As the fastest growing leat hercraft company in America, we offer the most complete selection of leat her & leathercraft 5upplies found anywhere. And wit h 19 distribution centers located nat ionally, we ca n 5hip your order with great speed. Call or write for ou r complete cata log. It's a $3 charge, but it's free when you place your first order. Check out t his super-saving offer: Four In One Hole Punch All steel punch evenly produces round hole5 (3/32") with one mallet blow. Tubes are easily replaced. 8-12 clays, bo dy 7-10 d a)'S, ha nds and fee L 8- 12 d a)'S, a nd th e in sid e o f th e m outh I 0-1 4 clays . You ca n a id the healing process and help reduce scar form ation b)' minimi zing move m e nt, kee ping th e area ve ry clean , and makin g sure yo u have adequate nu trition , especially vitamin C a nd prote in. If stitche s are left in too long, th ey m ay become difficult to rem ove or may cause an infection. If stitch es arc taken o u t too soon, the edges of the wound split apan, which may cau se in fectio n and scarring. Be aware that the signs of infection (\\~ Ul or with o ut titches) arc pus, pain, swelling, redness and heat. If an infection is developing you will need fu rth er treatmen t, probably amibiotics. Ho pe yours are o ut by tJ1e time you read tJ1is, and uy to avoid being a CUL-up. Da Nurst'S arr both RPgistered Nurses and Certijin/ NursP Pmclitioners. Hit' caution thai information in this rolumn is offered as geneml advir.e, and WI' recommend that anyone with }IP{i/th jnvblems seeh jJJVjessional mediral carP. Although jii'Oblnns jJres!•nted herf' may bear similarity to yozn:5, each requires personal and individual attmtion. We wrlcome your 11!/ters, a ud thanh you for asking Da Nurses. Coming Soon in PRISON LIFE: The Craft Corner 0000~ SUPER SAVINGS! Order #PL3052 Retail $7.95 ea. Inmates Only $3.98 ea. Order Today! Offer Expire5 June 30, 1995 J!i l1le L..eaU ter Factory, Inc. P.O. Box 50429, Dept. PL695 Fort; Wort;h, Texae 76105 (817) 496-4414. (800) 4:3:3-:3201 Save up to 50% Off Retail! FREE CATALOG S&S Enterprises Inc. PO Box 2 13 1 Aberdeen SO 5740 2-2131 1-800-456-3955 • ANABOL NAIURALS • • • ' • • BKHN[RGY RESEARC H CHAMPION NUTRITION DASU D<C£L f[RG t(S GlOV£S IUIE CH • ICO PflO • L& S I!ES[ARCII • • • • • MLO NAIIONAl llEALIH NAJUHE"S WAY NEX l NIJTfHl iON POWER rooos • SOURCE Nl\fURAlS • S TRENGT H SYSTEM S lWlNLAB • • • • • ~IPRO \J'IIVLRSAl. VAl£0 DElfS WEIO( U In-Cell Cooking Chef's Special of the Month: Barbeque Burritos Spice Flour Tortillas 1 tsp baking powder 1 cup flour 2 cups water Dash of black pepper 3 tsp. minced chile peppers 1 can Barbeque Beef 1 can whole kernel corn (Drained) 1 small can mushrooms (Drained) 1 block Velveeta cheese 4 flour tortillas Steam to nillas. Cover with plasti c & set aside. Combin e Barbeque Beer, corn a nd mushroo ms in h o t pot. Heat fo r I 0 to 15 m in utes. Fill each tortilla with beef comb ina ti o n . Sli ce Velveeta ove r the to p. Fold in burrito a nd e njoy! William J. Casey Sheridan, IL Almost Menudo 2 small bags picante-flavored corn nuts 1 small can boned chicken 1 small can chile & beans Chili powder & red peppers (to taste) Ga rlic powder & onion flakes (to taste) Empty corn nuts imo three cu ps bo il ing water. Simme r fo r 30 minutes. Lo \\·er heat o r remove all bu t o ne stinge r fro m bowl. Add c hili & bea ns. Shred c hi cke n a nd a dd with j uice to m ixture. Seaso n to taste with chili powde r, reel peppe rs, ga rli c, o nio n Oa kes. Stir con stantly fo r 5 to LO minute . Re move from hea t, cO\·er. le t sta nd fo r 5 to 10 m inutes. (O p ti o na l: Add 1/ 2 c up in sta n t ri ce fo r hearti e r soup.) Sen ·es o ne o r two. J. Stewart Central California Women's Facility Mix a ll ing redie nts with your hands. Make little ba lls th e size of black hand balls. Roll out each ball o r d o ug h a nd Oa tte n to ma ke to rtillas. Bake to rti ll as until do ne. Use fo r bu rritos o r se1vc as Mexican bread . Ed Chaparro Pittsburgh, PA For Dessert: Pudding Cake 2 four-packs chocolate pudding 1 small jar peanut buHer (creamy or crunchy) 1 box graham crackers 2 large bananas 1 1/ 2 can of peanuts 18"x 15" piece of cardboard covered with plastic She ll and crush pea nu ts. Set asid e . Coat each cracke r with peanu t bulle r. Arra nge o n cardboa rd. Slice bana nas and arrange over c racke rs. Spread pudding o ver ba na nas. :\1a ke two mo re layers or pean ut butte r and pudding. T o p with crushe d nut ·. Le t sit fo r 12 h o urs. Slice a nd sen •e. Sh are with celly. William J. Cosey Sheridan, IL PRISON LIFE ; g t six issues of Prison Life are nearly can still score issues 1, 5, 7, 8 and vu''" L.U''-' Inside, these issues will never go outta includes postage & handling. oall~NP!fl Send me back issues of Prison Life! Issue: Enclose~ 01 05 07 is $10 per copy. 08 09 NA~ IE ID# t\ C ITY ·SS ST ATE ZI P Send to: Prison Life ,175 5th Ave, Suite 2205 New York, NY 10010. Bruce Cutler O nce yo u 're convic ted of crimi na l contempt, the licen sing people ta ke So the First Am e ndm e nt a bility, over a nd do their thing. " th e a bility of free speech can be limI. asked Bruce what he fo resaw as ited by ce rtain prope r ru les. They his future in the legal profession. Is didn ' t li tigate th e va lidity o f Rule the ir life after Gotti? Seven per se, they litigated o n e th at "As far as L.he future, someL.imes I was similar but was not as vague, so think o f t h ese c r azy th ings . it's hard to a n swer wh e th er Genlile Eve rybody will be in prison , there'll was a win or a loss fo r us. It's a loss in j ust be a few people out. It's crazy to th e se n se th a t it l imited F irs t say and I don ' t mean to be a sma rt Ame ndm e nt a bility for a lawyer to alec, but, to m e, wh a t th e governsp eak o ut, but it was a win for th e me nt is doin g is crazy. And as yo u lawye r in qu es ti o n b eca u se th ey wr ite a b o ut in your m agaz in e, so reversed it and sent it back because correcLiy, it's a business fo r th e govof the safe harbor provision. Anyway, e rnm e nt. T h ey m a ke mon ey b y tha t case came down and the j udge warehousing people. They give them who h ea rd my cr imi nal con tempt sente n ces th at a r e j u st o ut of this case told us to be aware o f Genlile. So world. I mea n young guys get twenty we were guided by that case, we we re o r thirty yea r s, get li fe wi thout guided by Rule Seven, we we re guid- pa ro le, and th ey j u st wa r e h o u se ed by the American Bar Associatio n the m. Fo r '"h a t? "I do n ' t know, I' m hoping the re sta ndards, we were guided by all of these th ings and tried a case in the wi ll b e a c h a n ge . Some p eop le courtroom . th ought tha t J anet Re no was go ing "As a result of state me n ts tha t the to b e th e Attor n ey Ge n e r a l who governme nt said I m ade in violation wou ld be p leasing to th e d efe n se of Rule Seven , the judge sign ed a n bar. I d on' t really kn ow h e r a nd I o rder to show cause why I sh ould be don ' t kn ow muc h abo ut h er. People he ld in conte mpt. They a ppo inted a say good things, people say midd lespecial prosecu tor, who investigated of-the-road things, but I d o n't know it a nd brought cha rges against m e. wh at k in d o f c h a n ges th e re a r e We we nt to u·ial. Since I was o nly goi ng to be. Th e co n se rvat ives o f fac ing six mo nths in jail it was no t t hi s wo rld , they j ust wa n t things a bou n d to a jury tri a l. So I didn ' t ce rta in way. Th ey wan t lives to be have ajury. We tried the case before conducted a ce rta in way, whi c h is j udge Platt, who sa id he th ought not the Am e rican way but it's thei r that th e re were su bs ta n tive lega l way now. If the Am erica n p eo p le issues h e re th at he fe lt we re impo r- wa nt it, I don ' t kn ow wha t to do ta nt e n o ug h to stay the executi on a bout it. I'm just hoping thin gs will get better for eveqrbody. That's how a nd sente nce pe nding the appeal. "So fa r, I fee l o ptimisti c. We' re I feel. "As a criminal lawyer, you just go ta king the safe h a rbo r p rovisio n , we're usi ng that upstairs in front of from j ail to j ai l a nd it's no t pleasan t. th e d isc ip li n a ry co mmittee, a nd T hat's why I don ' t like to be cavalier we' ll proba bl y argue th a t in th e abou t wh a t I d o a n d I do n 't like Second Circu it, in March o r April o r ma ki n g fun o f th e m isfortune s of the reabouts. o the rs a nd 1 don ' t like getting off o n "Th e se nte n ce th a t judge Pla tt th e mi sfortun es of o th e rs a nd I gave m e was nin e ty d ays h o u se don' t like ta king ad vantage o f t h e a rrest, six m onths suspe nsio n from misfortunes o f oLI1e rs. I like to he lp the Eastern Disu·ict, three years pro- a guy. If I ge t paid for Ll1e job I do, b a ti o n, three years community se r- fin e, a n d I d o it to th e best o f my vice-one hund red hours pe r year- ability. I can ' t be li ke som e peo ple a n d a $5, 000 fin e whi c h was wh e re th ey d o great j obs but they ch anged to th e costs o f probatio n. d o n ' t have any feel, th e re's no visThat's the sente nce as it stands now. ce ra l feel fo r the clie nt o r fo r th e We' re in the Second Circuit with th e work. Of co urse you don ' t have the appeal, bu t there's bee n n o date set same a ttac hm ent to eve ry clie n t, I for argume nt. We're o ptimisti c we'll kn ow that. You do n 't have th e same win in Seco nd C irc uit, but wh o feeling for eve ryo n e, I unde rstand kn ows. At the same time, George St. th a t, too. But it 's certai nl y m o re Angelo, who 's my lawyer, is handling pleasant to re prese nt som ebody you the matte r in th e discip linary com- have rega rd for , li ke j o hn , than PL m itte e up st a irs i n thi s bui ldin g . someon e you don ' t. " (continued f rom page 3 1) Federal Appellate and Post-Conviction La''' " .llaldu;.: . I D(fll!reul'e 1.\· Our llu.\ iuess" • Direct Appeal from Trial • Direct Appeal from Plea and Sentencing - 18 USC 3742 Direct Appeal by Defendant on Issues of Sentencing Hearings • Post-Conviction Motions - 28 USC 2255 and 2241 - PostConviction Motion Based on an Illegal Sentence and Habeas Corpus Relief • Modification Imprisonment - 18 USC 3582(c) Modification hnposed Term ofhnprisorunent • Motion for New Trial- Rule 33 • Motion for Reduction Sentence - Rule 35 Law O.lfice.\· t~/" illiller & Shein 7 1o l.ah· \"i1.'\\ : \ \ l'lllll.'. :\ 1. -\tlanl<l (ieorgia IO_WS ( -IU-1) S7-I-•)::;(Jil 7XO \; L (1ll th Street. Suill.' :'111 i\liami. Florida 3313~ (.~():') 7:\()-0-l03 . Hahla Fspanol PRISON LIFE 81 0 Name Number Institution - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Address City State - - - - - - - Zip Code - - - - - - For 1 year6 big issues Mail 519.95 to: Prison Life 4200 Westheimer, Suite 160 Houston, TX 77027-4426 For Subscription Info, call1-800-207-2659 by Hadji Hamilton A rapper who calls himself '· Rad i o~ h as r e leased hi s firs t CD o n ln te rsco p e Reco rd s. T h e title C D, "Recog ni ze Da Re a l," fea tures the fe male and ma le vocalists Darq & Roc Chill. Wh o the he ll is Radio? l figured th is was a big j o ke. Someone name d Radio trying to rap? Ge t rea l. Be ing th e nice g uy I am, I listened to the whole CD, wh ich was pre tty difli cult. N'ter one of tJ1e \\·o rst expe ri ences I h ave h ad writin g th is co lumn , I' m gonna ask Radi o a favor: Please stop. Yo! This who le CD is wack. Pass this CD by and save your mon ey. No disrespect, Radio. Method Man has rel eased his first solo a lbum, 'Tica l," o n the Def .J am label , and of co urse i t 's a ll yo u ' d expect from th e most exci ting me mbe r of the Wu-Ta ng Clan. His fir t sing le, "B rin g th e Pai n ," is so fat it's being played a ll clay lo ng o n most of ou r local ra di o stations he re in The Ro tte n App le. "Bring th e Pain " has o ne o r those bass grooves tha t wi ll put yo u in a tra nce. Th e lyrics will have }'Ou thinking 1\fhat s ujJ wit ' dat ?, o nly to rewind t.he tape to soh·e th e riddle. In my o pin io n , his seco nd sin g le , "Re lieve yo ur De lf," is the b es t song o n th e album. Listen to thi s chorus: I \!hen I firs t stepjm l on tltPSane, Brothers were jJel rifled Na 11 bad1 lo lite lab li11e tltf')' rune being chased by homicide My rap flow does you lilie Tical And it will never stir you wrong And all )'Ou bitch ass MC's in the indusll)' Your ca rPers won 'l be lasting long. The e ntire C D is nothing but flavor. If you ' re not up o n this you ' re really missing out o n so mething good. Mad Pro ps fo r Method Man's "Tical. " Did you hear that new CD of2 Pac's? Yeah , that's right, h e has so me thing new out, and man let me tell you it's hot. T he name of the CD is "Me Against the Wo rld." It's kind of fucked-up that his CD will be re le ased a fter h e' ll be ge tting used to h is new ho me in th e j oint. It makes me think that it's becomin g a tre nd fo r o ur black stars a nd he roes; su·uggle all your life to make it o ut of the ghetto, on ly to e nd up very popular and in priso n. Da mn . So far Mike T yso n , Slick Ri ck, O J . (if he 's convicted) , and now my man 2 Pac. Tha t 's so m e d ee p s hit to th in k a bo ut, but that's all I cou ld do while listenin g to 2 Pac's "Me Aga inst T he v\'orlcl " in my walk-d og. 2 Pac must h ave bee n 1alk ing to so m e psyc hi c bitches fro m one of those horoscope ho t lin es beca use t he trac ks o n this C D tell a story of things ha ppening to him as th ey a rc in rea lity. Strange , consi d e r in g h e wr ote th e a lbum before this huge wrath of bad luck hit his ass. Maybe tha t's why I li ke this C D so much , because it's real. If you get a c ha n ce, peep th is C D o u t and pay close attentio n to th e trac k "It Aint Easy." Check it out: r\iu 't nobody down with me I'm tlwggin' Can 't go home ruz mutlwjitcliers thinll I'm buggin' r\nd now I'm in lhis high-jJowered re/1 atlhe count)• jail Puuli judge got a grudge, can't jJost no bail \1\1/wt do I do in these county blues? Cetting ballered and bruised fry the you /mow who's. 2 Pac 's CD co ntains n o thi ng but hardcore l)rrics that will have you seeing the world from the perspective of a young black male LI)'ing to sur\five in America. This a lb um do es n ' t o nl y paint a da rk pic tu re o f life, it offe rs so me songs that a re uplifting, eve n inspirational. The re are also songs that will have you remi niscing about ch ildh ood fun, especia ll y th e ong "Old School. " Yeah, I e nj oyed t his one. ft brought back good memories. Wh e th er yo u ' re Black or whi te, I think you should pay close attention to T upac Sh ak u r beca u se h e's sa yin g some thing people do n' t acknowledge until the problems start hitting home. And what he's u)ring to te ll us is that the socio-economic syste m in this coun uy, and the 'just-us·· system are fucked-up. ['m aboUL to slide off, bu t before I do, I got a message fot· you guys who are still locked clown , especially you 2 Pa c. I've bee n th e re be fore, and l know be ing incarcerated is like living in hel l. Stick your chest out a nd hold yo ur head u p. Use this time to thin k an d seek knowledge a nd you wi ll sec that life goes o n. Kee p a cool head a nd don't make t hings h o tter wh ile you' re the re. Were countin ' o n you to make a stro ng come back. Peace. PRISON LIFE 83 Don't serve the time, let the time serve you THE PRISON LIF E FOUNDA TION Don ' t incar cerate; e du cat e. e Personal Transformati on through Educati on e Fully-accredi ted GED. College and Vocati onal Degrees Scholarshi ps and Funding for Prison Educational Proj ects Courses and Study M ateria ls Delivered Directl y to the Prisoner/Student e e Please tell us your educational interests. GED/H.S. Degree 0 Liberal Ans B.A. 0 Hi;,tory Science B.S. 0 Biology Business 0 Accounting Vocational 0 Other (Specify) 0 a me 84 PRISON LIFE D An 0 Computer Sciences 0 Chcmi;,try 0 Pre-Law 0 Marketing 0 Philosophy 0 Engineering O M.B.A. T he Pri son L i fe Foundati on. Inc. is a not-for-profit organizati on devoted to helping prisoners break free f rom th e cycl e o f crim e and incarceration through educa ti on. T he Fo undalio n, toget her w i th Prison Li fe Educational Services, Inc. , sponsor fully-accredited GED, col l ege and voca ti onal co urses th rough correspondence learnin g. If you are interes ted i n l earnin g more about educational opportunities o f fered by the Pr ison Life Foundation, pl ease f ill out and return the attached questi onnaire to The Pr ison Life Fou ndation. 350 Fifth Ave nue, Sui te 1905. New York, NY I 0 11 8. Classifieds LEGAL POST-CONVICT IO N ADVO CATES, INC. To p no tch appeal, habeas, sente n cing re prese ntatio n by crea tive, d edica ted professio n al staff. Fo urtee n-yea r me m be r of t h e ba r wit h multi-face ted post-convictio n experie n ce. Electro nic resea rc h, com petitive rates. 3061 Terrace Ave, Naples, FL 33942. Phon e 813-793-6511. Fax 813-793-2584. Ti re d of d o in g tim e yo u d o n ot d eserve? H ave you g ive n u p o n all p ossibility of a ny justice since yo ur co nfi neme nt? Please write: Freed om Press, Prisoner Sup port Divisio n, PO Box 4458, Lees burg, VA 22075. Include a n a rra ti ve, a n d co pi es o f your senten cing docum en ts. PARALEGALGRAD ED CU RRI CULUM BY BLACKST ON E SCHOO L O F LAW. App rove d h ome studi es legal training since 1890. Affordable a nd com pre he nsive. Free catalog: 1800-826-9228 o r wr ite Blacksto n e Sch oo l o f Law, P .O. Box 8 71 449 De pt. PL, Dallas, T X 75287. CALIFORNIA APPEALS. T op Notc h Appeals by To p Gun appellate attorneys. State and Fed e ral. Prepared by h ighly skilled advocates dedicated to winning you r ap peal. HUSTW!T & SPICA, 1875 Centu ry Pa rk East, Sui te 700, Los Angeles, CA 90067. (3 10) 788-2677 Collect. BOOKS & MAGS FREE CATALOG, a bsolute lowes t prices on subscriptio ns to 850 magazines; Exam ples, Newsweeli 1 yr $23.95; GQ 1 yr $7.95; Vanity Fair 1 yr $9.95; Penthouse 1 yr $19.95; P,;nthouse Letters $17.95; FREE LIST- Magazine Wa reh o use, 1243-48 th Stree t, Broo klyn , NY ll 219, (800) SAVE-SAVe. The Art of H olding Toget her Your Relationship While Doing Time in Plison. This book is way over d ue. A real manual that deals with real issues a nd creative ways in keeping the o ne you love or a re in love with as you serve your time. T his man ual is hig hly recomme nded fo r every ma n and woma n in America who is curren tly serving time in juve nil e, coun ty j ail, wo rk-release, work camp, sta te o r fede ral priso n . T hi s b oo k is so rea l, eve n O .J . Simpson h as a copy. So, o rder yo ur book now! Send $10. M.O. o nly, plus $2.50 shipping to: WARD Publishe rs, P.O. Box 1288, Spokane, vVA 99210. THE SONGWRITER'S GUIDES - EasyFun - Wi th no Expe nsive Lessons. Set includes GUIDE TO MELODIES (80 pages c rammed full of info), GUIDE TO CHORDS AND PROGRESSIONS (48 pages with 90 minute cassette gives you ideas for new and commercially p roven sounds), plus 5 double sheets of special music paper, all in a vinyl pouch. "Li ke having your own private tutor." (See "Publica tio ns o f In te rest"] 995 Son gwrite r 's Ma rke t- "Bi b le" fo r the industry.) Author, j oe Lilo re, h as writte n 25 b oo ks fo r Warner Bros., o n g roups like "Th e Ro ll ing Stones" an d "Genesis." Normally $25.90. Now only $21.90. (In U. add $1.31) Don 't miss out. Get this simple- affordable - proven me1.hod with our 30 day money-back guara ntee. You 've got nothing to lose bu t a great o p po rtunity. Se nd c h eck o r money or der to: Lio nh ead Pu blishing , Box 1272, Clifto n, NJ 0701 2 (Available with Spanish translatio n for only $2 morel!) -------- MAIL ORDER Leath er jeans, j ackets, shirts and vests!! Ho t dresses, Doc Man e n 's and Dingo boo ts!! Black, blue and red st retc h den im j eans!! S1.age Clothes, U.S.A., 13 South 7th Street, ivli nn eapolis, M l 55402, Dept I. Send for great new catalog!! $2.00 refundable. RADIOS AND OTHER GOODS . Serving th e p riso n po pula tio n sin ce 1984-We are the Conaid Com pa ny, Inc. We offer a varie ty of rad ios a nd other goods specifically for the prison p opu latio n. Free Catalog. Write to: Th e Conaid Com p an y, Inc. , 2302 230th Street, Pasadena, MD 21122. OTHER STUFF ALL INCARCERATED MEN. FREE Brochures ! C u t Red Tape! Meet Wo m e n Wo rl dw id e a n d in USA. LADIES run yo ur Ad FREE! Send SASE o r (2) 32c stamps to: Reachi ng O ut, P.O. Box 2 11 36, Casu·o Valley, CA 94546. DO YOUR VISITORS NEED A RIDE TO PRISON? MOST MAJOR CITIES 1-800-318-0500 SAFE, CONVENIENT FAMILY TRANSPORT CO. CLASSIFlED RATES: Straight classified ads are $75 for 35 words. Additional words are $1 each. Prepayment required. Send to: PRISON UFE Classified Ads, 4200 Westheimer, Suite 160, Houston, TX 77027-4426. Call 1-800-207-2659 or (713 ) 840-7801. MAGAZINES * BOOKS SPECIAL REQUEST Send stamped , addressed e nvelo pe fo r co mplete offerings to: Paper-Wings P.O.B. 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211. * Sampl e O f fe rin gs * 6 diff. iss. Ge nt $ 12, 6 cliff. iss. Playgirl $10, 6 diff. iss. Gallery $12, 6 diff. iss. Wres tlin g $6, 6 d iff .. H o ll ywood ostalg ia $6, 6 d iff. Espio n age Magazine $6, 6 di ff. X-Words/Word Find $6, 12 Super Hero Comic Books $6 Include $2 p e r eac h selec ti o n towards UPS + handling. PRISON LIFE 85 Pen Pals N O TE: ADS I N P EN PALS AR E $10/ ISSUE. SUBSCRIBERS GET O NE AD FREE WITH SUBSCRIPTIO N. ALS O: ALL FEDERAL AND MANY STATE PRlSONS PROHIBIT C ORRESPON DENCE BETWEEN I NMATES. ALL SUCH MAIL WILL NOT GO THROUGH. Maca-Ro ni n eeds te nder-Ra n i fo r a sin cere straig h t-up relatio n sh ip. Sen d sexy p h otos ( n o nudes) . I ' ll a lso se nd ph oto. I lo ve good bu tt shots. An gelo Gomez Wrig h t, # 20544 , Y.A. C. F., Sta r 3, B-.1 1-T , P.O. Bo x 250, Draper, UT 84020_ SWM , 33 yrs o ld , 2 I 5 # , down for I I I / 2 so fa r. Likes rock & classical m usic, read in g and lo ts mo re . Search ing fo r lad y to sh are lette rs a nd laughs, n o ga mes. Will answer all. J ay Cide r, # 176-624 , Lima Corr. In st. , Li ma, O H 45802. 39, 6', 11 ", 185 # , long brn. hair,bm. e)•cs, been d own since 1985 and got awhile to go. My h ome is o n the East Coast. Searchi ng for an o pen ed-minded lady LO keep me company and possib ly have a future relationship. Caring , lovi ng and emo tio nally sincere. Age n ot impo rtant, so p lease wri te : J o hn W. Anderson , # 17627, P.O. box 250, Draper, UT 84020 . Death row p rison er, futu re uncerta in , no fam ily to care for me sin ce mo ther d ied J u ly 1993, seeks an yo n e wh o g ives a fuck! J a m es E. Big by, # 99 7, Deat h Row, Elli s One Un it, Hun tsville , T X 77343. SWM, 48, loo kin g fo r serious pen-pals who are go in g to be d own fo r awh ile a n d wi ll keep the pap er Oowing. Ph o tos excha nged one fo r o ne . O n ly women need apply. Scott Ho kker, Ellis I Un it, Hun tsville, T X 77343. Hi. I' m 39 , 6', I 95 #, blue/ green eyes, caucasia n , into weight li ft.i ng and p laying guita r. Do wn an d o ut in Texas. Lo o king for real love like g ran d ma an d g ran dpa had . Write LO: Michael David, # 648558, Ramsey I, Rt. 4, Box I 100, Rosharon, T X 77583. SBM, cul tu ral, 37 , 5' 10 ", b r h air, 182#, b r eyes, It b r complexio n , coil. eel. Drug-free, n o n-d rinke r, non-smo ke r. Enjoys bo xing, mania! arts, weigh tlifting, art, poetry, j azz. Seeks frie nd from the God-fearing. Steven Leona rd Th eus, # 17970, Ely State Priso n , PO B 1989, Ely 1\TV 89301-1989. __ _ 11VM. Real. See ks fe male desiring serio us minded, down-to-earth male. Mt~ja hid , P.O . Box 1989 #262 12 , El)•, NV 8930 I . 86 PRISON LIFE SWM, life r, see king fr ien d sh ip , poss ib le lo n g-lasting relatio nsh ip with open-mind ed, free-sp irited , intelligent lady. I have a good attitu de and ho p e for the future , alo ng with a b ig h eart. No ga mes. Ed Bowm an, # E00064 , l - 138L, POB 4 000 , Vacavil le , CA 95696-4002.:_ _ _ Native Am er ica n ma le see ks co r res p o nde nce with fe males of Che ro kee, Ch octaw, Creek Semin o le o r Catawba natio n s o r an )' serious native lad y who walks su·o ng o n the red-road. Se ll~s upponi n g, n ot looking fo r !in an ces, j ust ad vice a nd frie nd ship. Write to Christian Two Rivers, # 82976, 10,000 S. Wilmo nt, Tucson, AZ 85777. If in carce rateel, se nd le tters to: Dadd y White Eagle , 153 Weed Dr. , Colu m bia, SC 29212. DWM, 26-;51irn-;- 6· 3";160#, see k in g a fr iend and po ssibly more. Looking fo r scrio us, o p ened-minded lad)', 20 to 30. Please se nd a p ho to , will respond to all. Freddie Sp ires, # 606233 Bi ll Cle me nts Un it, 9601 N . E. 2 4 th Ave . 12- E-6 2, A m ar il lo , T X 7910 7-9 606. In m y 30's and clown fo r a 60-yr te rm b ut still lig hting. 5 '8", 170#, love an a n d th e bizarre. Anyo ne who b reath es a ir can wri te me . Down but do n 't wamto b e forgo ue n. Perfum ed lette rs worsh ipped ! Bn vn wavy h a ir , mu sta c h e . O p e n-m in d ed , lon e ly. Dan iel E. Nickl au s, N0835 1, P.O. Bo x 99, Po nti ac, !L 61764 H andsome, well hung, long tong ue, wh ite ma le, 5' II , 195 #, cla r k h a ir and g ree n eyes. Needs ge ntle touch. Will a nswe r all. Ken n y Sm ith , #C-0 156 1, P.O. Box 7500, C_ 6- 124 , Crescent City, CA 9553 1 SWM, 6', 175 #, lo ng b rown ha ir, free spirite d a rti st with a g re a t se n se o f h um o r. Wan ts to hear fro m a fe male 25-up . To m C o n no ll y, B-3 86 19, Box 99 , Po ntia c, I L 6 1764 Down for the co unt, strong & so lid wh iteman, 27, brown hai r, ,·ery blue eyes, 6' tall an d 170 #, also well built and tauoos. Very h o n e s t & loya l, no g a mes, n o bu ll shi t. See ks fe male co m pa nio n sh ip , so m eon e sp ecial to g row close to a n d become li feti me fr ie nds . J a c k Bl ac kwe ll , # 2 I 2552, Baraga Max Co r r. Fac., Rt 1, Bo x 555, 301 Wad aga Rd. , Baraga, MI 49908. WM, 32 yrs old , 6' 4", 215 #, blk h air, brn eyes. Seeking le tters fro m all lad ies (insicle rs o r o u t). Lo n ely for LO lo ng . So come on, lift a Bro's spiri ts. Wi ll answer all. Send lette rs to : Ray Gabb e rt, # 15 1364, 13 0 1 E. 12th Street, Wilming ton, Delaware 19809'-SWM , 34 yrs o ld, 6'0 , 160 #, b lo n d h air and b lue eyes. Looking for a woman I can love always. I' m a ha rd wo rker an d will b e o ut O ct '95. Will iam Bo bo , # 852202, !SF, 1500 West US 40, Green castle, IN 46 135-9275. SWM , 5'7 , 160 #, 35 yrs old. H ealth co nscio u s, loves artwork, smiles, ni ce p eo p le an d music. Very ope n-minded . Convicted fo r marijua na. Seeking fe male co r respo nd en cc : Robert Le ftwich , 061242, P. O. Box 1500-667, Cross City, FL 32628. Male "Arab", 5'9 ", 2 10 #, black curly h air, b rown eyes, and very hand some . Wou ld li ke to write to a female an d a relatio n ship. Send picture to Usama Farha, # H-6 1778, Fl-02132, 480 Alta Rd., San Diego, CA 92 179. S'vVM, looking fo r frie ndsh ip with o n ly o n e sp ecial lady, I am lo)•al b)• nature, 31,200 #, 6' 2 ", and lift we ig h ts. I am ed ucated and traYcled arou nd th e world . Fire o n e up to: j o e Florida , # 22 14 77, 3 855 Coo pe r St. J ackso n, :vi i 4920 1-75 17. __ _ Stro n g African , su rvivi ng in th e jun gle of th e op presso r, with thing s to say to yo u. Provid ing you are African siste r of calibe r. Let's do th is, Sis. J. Champio n, # C92938, P.O. Box 409099, lo n e, CA 95640. SWM , 36 yrs o ld . 5' 10"'. 200 #,search ing for Ill)' sou l mate fo r a sh <t ring & ca r ing fri en d s h ip. Will a n swer all le tte rs. T rad e p h o tos. Pl ea se wr ite : Dino G arc ia , # 73274 2, Dad e C. 1., 19000 S.W. '!>77, P.O . Bo x 567, Flo rid a Citv, FL 33034-6499. SWM, 34 yrs o ld, 5· IT ", 2 10 #, no kid s, college eel., goal-orien tated . Seeking co rr. , frie ndshi p, m ayb e lo ve fro m fe mal es o f an y race , 18-45 , h e ig ht, we ig h t, p ro p o rtio n a te a nd an y lo ca tio n . Ph o to for photo, wi ll answer a ll le tte r l rece ive . Inte rests: God , wo r ki n g o u t, h isto r y, co mpu te rs, writi ng , and music. Please write soon , yo u wo n 't be SO il)'. Earl Luna,# 198 16 8, 17601 Mo und Rd ., De troit, Ml 48212. Togethe r SBM , 49yrs o ld , 5' I I". college educated. Enjoy wri ti ng an d receiving lette rs. Publish ed p o et. Looking fo r fe mal e 25-55. Never used drugs/ b een incar. 29 ) T S. Pho to for ph o to . Ro n Dessus, A H-6 384 , II 00 Pike St., Huntingdo n , P~6 5 4- 1 11 ~ Fo lso m p r iso n e r loo kiin g for a SvVF to write to . 5' 9 ", 165 #, hzl/ b lu e eyes, ecluca teel , an d fun lo ving . Please send leuers to: Ri c h ard Kesses, It H 6 3 6 39 , Box 2 9 , Re presa, CA 95671. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ SWM , 42 yrs o ld , 6' 2", 190 #, I was hoo ked u p with a b itch th a t tu r n ed o ut to be a s nitc h . Wan t e d: wo m e n t h at k now th e mean ing o f love , honor &:. respect. Ou t o n appeal bo nd in '9 6. No restrictio ns o n who can write. An swer all. Sco tt Sours, # 42028, J CCC, Box 900 ,J efferson C it~! O 65102. NO BU LL.Sen ten cecl to life atl 7 and he re in Co lo rad o tha t mean s 40 years before I meet a paro le boa rd . Looki n g fo r so mebo dy to take u p some time, either thro ug h mail, o n the pho n e o r visiting room. Fe ll in '86, so it's bee n a min u te sin ce I last saw the bricks. Lad)' con s if you wan t to write . . .then write . I' m wh ite and I' m 26 and got what it takes. Eric Davis,# 56674, CCF, Box 600, Cano n City,__CO 812 15-0600. _ _ Lo ne!)' Mathe matician, l x l=l (h andsome x o n e of a kin d = me, lx i =O (me - freed o m = lo neliness) 1+ 1 = 2 (you and me= fl"icndshi p ). Eq u atio n : It may seem e le me ntary, however, it's mathe maticall)' impossible for true happin ess an d ge n ui n e fri e n dsh ip to avail unless you: A) write me, B) bcli·iend me C) share your feelings D) all o f th e abo,·e. Answer: D Steve Tetro,# 07983 1, FSP, Box 747, V-3-S-3, Starke, FL 3209 1. Sp an ish/ Italian , It b rown s ki n , 6 ', 200 #; with sh o rt black hai r. I am a christian male wh o h as n eve r b ee n ma r ri ed , a nd n eYe r used d rugs, n o AJ DS. Seeking wh ite fe males o n ly, ages 18-45 max. Must b e clean , d r ug free and edu cat~n o AIDS, or rag~ $ 14.95 $14.95 D XL O XXL O XXXL 0 White - - -- - - - STATE ZIP Send check or money orde r plus $2.50 P &H to: P LM Sh irts, P.O . Box 537, Stoneridge, NY 12484. KINGS Newport SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide. Lor lera 1'l'l5 Kmgs: 17 mg "tar". 12 mg mcotme av per cigarette by FTC Method.