,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

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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
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Fox: (2 12)967-7 10 1
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PRISON LIFE

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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
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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

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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

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PR.ISON LIFE 59

WANT TO BE AN IN-HOUSE
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Conceive of a theme for a specific issue, solicit articles,
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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

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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

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NIKE AIR UPTEMPO-MID-MEN .................... 69.95
NIKE AIR MAX 2 UPTEMP!>-MID-MEN ...... 104.95
NIKE AIR GO LWP-MID-MEN ....................... 89.95
NIKE AIR GONE- MID-MEN _......- ................. 59.95
NIKE AIR STRAIGHT·MID-BLK OR WHT-IAEN 52.95
PUMA SUEDE-lOW- BLACK OR BLUE-M . 39.95
PUMA BASKET- LOWWHT W/ NATURAL OR BLK SWOOSH·MEN 35.95
PUMA SKY JAM-MI!>-BLACK-MEN ........... 38.95

TENNlS SHOES
ADIDAS TORSION RESPONSE-LOW-loA-SALE 42.95
AVIA 1•2 LEATHER-MEN & LADIES .............. 29.95
FILA CLASSIC TENNIS-t.IEN .....- ............... 48.95
HEAD RADIAL 500-LOW LEATHER-Mil. •.••. 43.95

NEW BALANCE CT 68()-8. 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

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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)

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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
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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
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Unio n , Nationa l Prison P roj ect, 1875
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Washin g ton , D.C. 20009.
H o pe you're fe e ling beu er soon .

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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

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Da Nurst'S arr both RPgistered Nurses and
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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.

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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

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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
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Please tell us your educational interests.
GED/H.S. Degree 0
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a me

84

PRISON LIFE

D An

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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
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RADIOS AND OTHER GOODS .
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CLASSIFlED RATES: Straight classified ads are $75 for 35 words.
Additional words are $1 each. Prepayment required.
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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

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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

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