I

i

Ill

,

PRIZES
1st Prize-$250 and 2 subscriptions
to Prison Life.
2nd Prize-$1 50 and 2 subscriptions
to Prison Life.
3rd Prize-$50 and 2 subscriptions to
Prison Life.

CATEGORIES
WRITING:
Fiction-short stories or excerpts from
longer works; limit 20 pages.
Nonfiction-essays, memoirs or articles; limit 20 pages.
Poetry-limit 2 poems, 5 pages.
Drama-excerpts from plays or screenplays, limit 30 pages.

VISUAL ARTS:
Paintings, drawings, collage, sculpture, photos-any medium.
Con test Rules: Entries accepted only fro m incarcerated contestants. YOU MUST BE I JAIL OR IN PRIS01
TO E TER T HIS CO TEST. Ma nusc ripts must be
typewritten or legibly handwri tte n in English. Name,
priso n ID numbe r , n a me a nd a ddress of institutio n
must be o n front page o f all e ntri es. Contestan ts may
ubmit only one enll)' in each categot)'. Entries will no t
be returne d unless accompa nie d by a self-addressed ,
stamped e nvelope. Only unpublished manuscrip ts and
art will be conside red , with the excep tio n of pieces that
ha ve a ppeared in prison pub licatio n s. All e n tri es
become the property of Prison Life, and the winners will
be published in Prison Life magazine. Send en tr ies to Art
Beh ind Bars Contest, PLM, P.O. Box 537, Sto ne Ridge,
NY 12484.

Conte st Deadline : Decemb e r 31, 1996.

OCTOBER 1 996

m
w

44-

AN OF HE YEAR:

EDDIE ELLIS AT LARGE

by Pam Widener

a:

After 23 years in New York's toughest joints, former Black Panther and Attica veteran Eddie
Ellis is back in t he 'hood. The m essage he brin gs fr om behind the wall is one of selfrehabilitation t hr ough education, community awareness and political action .

24-MORE INSIDER ART

:J

the art of ronnie white
by Phyliss Kornfeld

1<(

w
u.

the nr~r. pJace wmner of our '9 5
Art Behind Bars Contest and see h1s
tunmng portfolio of Jailhouse art.
MtA:J£

3D-CONFESSIONS OF A
CONVICTED MURDERER
by Larry Bratt
It 's all about redemption through selfawareness in the second place essay from
our '95 Art Behind Bars Contest.

34-TWO CONVICTS
by Terry McClain
Second place fiction: a chilling stor y of life
and death in the penitentiary.

40....~_;.[1I.-.__. .~)~I_. .l{I}~J.-&
Fielding Dawson by Anthony Papa
Fielding Dawson runs the writing workshop at
New York's Sing Sing penitentiary. His convict
students are producing some notable writing.

{Jmoll I.Jjr l S.'-,~ # 10GEH)i09 O ctoht.• r 199{). PriMm Lif~ m.lg.l!illt.' j, publb,hcfl hitnOIIthl)' h) J oinl Ve nture Media o f Texas, Inc., 1436 West Gray, Suite 531 , Ho uston, TX 77019. Prisor~
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ch.m gc~ to l"riw" 1.1f1' rnag.-a7inc Sub"rip1ion Dcpanmcnt. 14!\G \\'eM Gr.l)'· Suilc 5~H. I Jouston. T X 77019. POSTMASTER: Please forward address change~; 10 Priwu Lift! magazine,
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4 PRISON LIFE

72-UNCLE SAM'S TAX SCAM
by Irwin Schiff
Irwin Schiff says organized crime begins with the government
shaking down citizens for a tax they have no legal right to collectand he's been to prison to prove it.

DEPARTMENTS

EDITOR & PUBLISHER
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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Edward Bunker, Michael Chavaux,
Mansfield B. Frazier. Alex Friedman. Dannie
Martin, Susan Rosenberg, Jon Marc Taylor,
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
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Thierry Marignac, Catherine Salmons, Irwin
Schiff, Pam Widener
NY OFFICE MANAGER
Elizabeth Aprea

&-Voice of the Convict
The End of Rehabilitation by Richard Stratton
9-Contributors
1O-Mail Call
13-Biock Beat
17-Post Release
Going to Meet the Man by Mansfield Frazier
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22-Guest Editorial
Parole Makes Old Fashioned Cents by William Lincoln
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The Choke the Courts Act by Michael Montalvo
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THE END OF REHABILITATION
By Richa r d Stratton
Co nse nt Dec r ees, like mos t r ece nt
prison reform in this country, came o ut
o f th e aftermath of Atti ca. I remember
September, 1971 during th e siege a nd
ultimate m assacre at Attica, watchi ng
n ews of th e riot o n TV. Even then ,
befo re I had been to priso n, I was o n the
co nvicts' side. I watched the ri o ts a nd
negotiations before the bloodbath and
felt wh at the prisoners we re dema nding
was r easo n ab le. Eve n the mo st
unreasonab le of d e m a nds seemed
reasonable to me considering what h ad
been do n e to th ese me n . It was clear
th en and it is clear now that if you u·eat
Bob Marley, Burnin' and Lootin'
me n like vicio us beasts, if you de ny the m
access to o pportuniti es to
tti ca. The word co njures
im prove their lives, th ey will
im ages o f state-sa n c ti oned
rise up and resist.
mayh e m a nd butc hery. Official
Wh a t th e prisoners debrutality. Helme ted, faceless men
manded at Attica still makes
in b l ack u n iforms swinging
sense to me. Humane living
trun c h eo ns. H e lico pte rs dropco ndi tions: Try li ving in a
pin g tea r gas bombs . P o l ice
filth y cage, a brutal a nimal
sh arps h oo te rs in fl ak jackets
factory, as anoth er ex-con
picki n g off caged, d e fen seless
named Eddi e labe led ou r
men as th o u g h the y were
penitentiaries, and see how
shooting ducks on a pond.
long it takes you to eithe r kill
Th irty-three prison ers a nd
yourself or kill someone else.
eleven civilians were murdered by
An end to racism: I know that
state police at Attica. Eddie Ellisif I were mistrea ted and
Prison Life's first Ma n of t h e
d en ied what o th ers were
Year-lived thr o ugh th e 1971
r eceiving b eca use o f m y
prison uprising and is back on the
color or my heritage I would
Sunny K1·esse1; Pam Africa, Richard Stratlon and Kim Wozencrafl at
streets now to remind us that the
fight th ose who so ug h t to
an anti-death penalt)', anti-police brutalil)' 1·all)' in Woodstock, NY.
revo lt a t Attica resul ted in th e
u·eat me unfai rly. Education
a nd rehabilitatio n: Again, if
la r ges t number of d ea th s to
Arne1·icans by gunfire since the Civil War. elimi nate g ross d ispad ty in the crack those in authority to ld me I could not
Attica may well be th e pivotal battle in ve rsus p owdere d cocaine se n tenc ing take part in programs desig ned to help
the la test pe rmutation of our o n-going laws, the Congress of Doom and the me make a better person of myself and
civil war, The First Battle of Bull Run in Wimp of the Year, Bi l l C linto n , give me mo re of a shot at ge tting out of
the struggle between th e co ndemned h a mm e r e d a noth e r sp ike into t h e prison and staying o ut, I wou ld resist
and the keeper, yet just one more melee stinking corpse of de mocracy.
them with ever ything I could muster.
in a n endless conflic t be tween the haves
In july federal j udge Harold Baerjr. of
Wh en I was in prison the Pell g ra nts
a nd th e h ave-n o ts. Attica was th e the Southern District of New Yo rk, citing were in place and I was able to com plete
turning point, the first major post-'60s the Prison Reform Litigation Act signed the co llege edu cation I' d aba ndon ed
exercise of p olice violence. The line by Clinton in May, caved in to demands whi le o n the outside. I was h oled up at
between th e fascistic forces of wealth by Mayor Rudy Guiliani and eliminated the Metropolitan Correctional Cente r in
a n d power-greed, oppression, sta te- th e Co nsen t Decrees that regulate Manhattan for nearly two years figh ting
san ctioned killing and brutality-and the conditio ns in New York City's jails.
a second prosecution for "engaging in a
All we have got it seems we have lost. The continuing criminal ente rpri se. " I was
positive u rges of man to be tte r his lot

This morning I woke up in a cmfew.
Oh God, I was a prisone1; too.
Could not recognize the faces
standing over me.
They were all dressed in uniforms
of brutality.
How many rivers do we have to cross
Before we can talk to the boss?
All we have got it seems we have lost.
We must of really paid the cost.
That's why we're gonna be
Burnin ' and lootin' tonight.
Burnin' all illusion tonight.

A

6

PilSON LIFE

was clea rly delineated at Attica. After
Attica we saw the fire bombing of MOVE
in Philadelphia, the return of the death
p e n a lty, Waco , and t h e continue d
su·ipping away of the basic principles of
me rcy, decency and com passion fo r the
d ownu·odde n.
H o w m a n y Atticas mus t we live
th ro ugh before o ur leaders recognize
the lessons of history? The men at Attica
revolted for th e same reasons that men
and women in fed eral prisons went off
last year at this time after Clinton signed
yet a n ot h er pi ece of shit legislation
deny in g the bas ic ri g ht of equa l
protection unde r th e lmv. By refusing to

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facing life in prison for esse ntially the community an d help o th e rs stay out of
sa me c rim es fo r wh ic h I had already priso n . Educa ted convicts who com e
r ece ived 15 yea rs. MCC was, and I'm back ou t and use the ir prison learning
sure sti ll is, a crazy j oint. The no ise and to improve their communities a re a vital
in sa nity o n th e h ous in g units was fo r ce aga in st the c rim e-gene r a tive
re lentless. One of the few ways to escape co nditi o ns Eddie d e fin es as being the
the din and c haos was to go d own to th e prima ry reaso n most me n a nd wo me n
li brar y. I began my study o f
the law at MCC. If I had not
had t h e b asic e du cation
n ecessary to read an d
unde rstand the law, I would
n ot h ave been ab le to
co m p r e h en d th e c har ges
aga inst me a nd I wo uld not
have been able to exercise my
rig h ts und er the Constituti on
t o d e fend mys e lf. H ad I
lacked t h e ed ucatio n to
understand the language of
th e law, I wo uld never h ave
A
been able to see that wha t the
gove rnm ent was a tte mpting
6l..001J ON
to do to me was in violation
of their own statutes.
MY l-lANOS.
While leaving the law library
at MCC o ne d ay I saw som e
prisoners sitti ng in a classroom
h av in g what loo ked like an
e ngag ing discussion wit h a
civilian teacher. I knew one of
t h e me n , later I aske d him
what he was studying a nd how
he happened to e nro ll in th e
class. H e to ld me it was a
writin g cou1·se offe re d by
Empire State Co llege to
sentenced p1·isoners. Because I
h ad a lread y rece ived o n e
senten ce and was serving that
time whi le fig hting the n ew
case, I was ab le to e nro ll
in Empire State Co ll ege.
EvenlUall}' I earned a BA whi le
locked up.
When I a r rived at the penitentia r y, I wind up in prison. Education is the only
go t a job as a n 01·d e rly in the education proven a ntidote to recidivism. With the
departme n t. At first I was cleaning elimination o f the Pell grants, a nd now
toi lets, mopping and wax ing floors, but with the new restrictions o n prisoners'
wh en my duties were done I could read, access to law libraries and th e courts, a ll
write, conti n ue my sllldy o f the law th at th a t has been lost.
evemually freed me and he lped land me
You cannot ch arge a man with a crime
my first j o b with a law firm o nce I go t a nd deny him the rig h t to unde rstand
o ut of priso n . In time I was ab le to what that crime is or deny hi m the skills
enroll in some classes through the Pe ll and opportu nity to answer the charges.
grants a nd to 1·eceive credits toward my Th e la rgest si ngle cause of cri me in this
degree. I m e t my first computer in a country is illite racy. Education is basic
prison education class. And I met othe r t o th e fundamenta l struggl e for
men who we re trying to use the ir time equality. To de ny those who have bee n
to improve the ir m inds a nd e n h ance cha rged and punish ed for co mm itting
th eir chances of staying o ut o nce they crimes the right to unde rstand what it is
we re r e leased . Th e ed u ca ti o n de- socie ty doesn' t like abou t their be havior
partment was an oasis of sanity a nd calm will o n ly assure tha t they do it again.
in the mad world of prison.
H ad th ere not b een laws in place
Eddie Ellis too availed himself of every gua ranteeing me th e right to access to
education opponuni t}' h e could during the courts through habeas corpus and the
the 23 years he was locked up. Now he is right to access a law libra ry and obtain
us ing th at e duca tion t o improve h is th e mate ri a ls n eeded to prepare my

OOOOOH ....
LiiTLE

8

PRISON LIFE

pleadi n gs, I would still b e in prison
today serving a sente n ce th at thre e
federal judges found illegal. The law is
imme nsely co mplex and diffi cult even
fo r judges to understa nd . To punish
people for committing crimes and then
deny them the r ight to understand their
predicament is barbaric.
T h e P r is on Litiga ti o n
Reform Act is a throwback
to pre-Attica times, just as
the resurrection of th e
chain gang is an atavistic
mutatio n in the deformed
evolution of o ur criminal
j ustice syste m. The eliminat ion of ed u catio n
programs in priso n , th e
e nd of rehabilitatio n is a
gross big h ouse mi rro rimage
of
wh at
is
h appe ning in the socie ty
at large. No mercy. Kick
th e m wh ile they're down.
Write the m off and h ope
they \viii go away.
What d oes rehabilitation
mea n ? Just wh at Edd ie
Ellis says i t m ea ns:
learning about the causes
of our be havior, learn ing
from o ur mistakes and
m ak in g c h a n ges i n ou r
lives through ed u ca ti o n ,
through takin g respons ibility for o ur actio n s a nd
our envi r o nment and
st ri ving to improve i t
through community work
th a t b enefits everyone .
The e nd of rehabilitatio n
m eans a r et ur n o f the
co n d i t ions that c r ea ted
A tti ca. Th ere are ove r
fo u r t im es as man y
people in priso n now as th ere were 25
years ago when the first major ba ttle in
the new civil war took place.
The Voice of tl1e Convict is th e voice
of Eddie Ellis call in g for ex-co n victs
to o rgan ize and in spire th e p eop le
in th e ir co mmuniti es . It is the voice
of Mumia Abu-Jama l fr o m death
row ca lling for an end to s t a tesanctioned m urd er. It is the voice
of Eddie Bunker, the voice of Jimm y
Ba ca, Susan R ose nb e rg , D anny
Trejo, Sadia Zoe Ali and C h a rl es
Dutton. These prisoners an d e xco nvicts kn ow: By ending opportunities
to make positive changes, by resorting
to the tactics of brutali ty a nd making
s ur e o ur pr isons remain anima l
factories, we force the convict back to
violence.
All we have got it seems we have lost.
But it is society at la rge that will pay
th e cost.

Contributors
IRWIN SCHIFF is a leadin g a nti-tax
advoca te whose latest book is The Federal
Mafia: H ow It Illegally I m fJ oses a nd
Unlawf u lly Collects Income Taxes. H e was
quo ted in The New York Times as saying,
"Re pressive regimes always send people
who speak the truth to prison. " H e was
on the ballo t for the Libe rtarian Pa rty's
presidential no minatio n this year.

specializes in sla ng a nd crime ficti on
a nd tra nslated Smack Goddess. H e d oes
not wish to comme nt o n the reasons for
his inte rest in th e subject ma tte r, except
to say that Pa ris, d ee med th e C ity of
Lig h t, is foreve r to him a ci ty of tiny
da rk streets and sh ady action .
CATHERINE A. SALMONS is a writer
who li ves in Bos to n . H e r wor k has
a pp ea r e d in The B oston Phoenix, th e
Boston Globe, and Boston Magazine. H er
poems and translations into Fren ch have
appear ed in Partisan Review, the H arva1·d
Review, and Exquisite Corpse.
PAMELA WIDENER is a contri b uting
writer to Prison Life magazine. She g rew
up in New York City a nd spent five years
working in scree nwriting in Los Angeles.
H e r work h as a pp ea r e d i n Creative
Nonfiction.
RONNIE WHITE wo n Fi rst Prize fo r
visual a rt in Prison Life's 1995 Art Beh in d
Bars Co ntest with hi s R eflections of a
Convicted SouL H e is curre ntly finish ing

up a pa role viola tio n in Massach use tts.
PHYLLIS KORNFELD is a n art ist,
autho r and educator who has spent the
las t 30 yea r s teac hin g art o u tside o f
trad itio nal sch ool settings. Since 1993
sh e h as o rgan ized th e ex hibi tio n, The
Hands of Time: American Prison Art fo r
th e Phyllis Kind Galle r y in New Yo rk
City. H e r boo k, Cellbloc/1 Visions: Prison
Art in America will b e publi s h e d by
Princeton U nive rsity Press la te this fall.
ANTHONY PAPA is se rving a 15-to-lifc
sente nce at Sing Sing in New York state.
His paintings were recently exhibited at
The New York Theological Seminar y.
WILLIAM LINCOLN is a fed e ral p risoner servi ng ti me for stock violations.
DENNIS D. DECHAINE is a poet doing
time a t th e state prison in T ho masto n,
Maine.
RICHARD A. STREET is loc ked u p in
Massachuse tts a t Walpole Sta te Priso n.

LARRY BRATT is a life r a t MCIH in
Mar yla nd whose work has a ppeared in
Yoga j ournal, National Health magazin e
a nd A merican L ibraries. Hi s essay
"Con fession s of a Con victed Murde rer"
won Seco nd Place in Prison Life's 1995
Art Be hind Bars contest.
MANSFIELD FRAZIER is a con tributing
edito r to Prison Lif e m agaz in e. His
collection of essays, From Behind the Wall,
was published by Paragon H ouse and is
availa ble through Books on the Block.

JUNE LEAF lives in her studio, wherever
that is, and h as d on e so since she was o ld
enough to walk. She was born August 4,
1929, and is still alive.
TERRY McCLAIN, wh ose shor t sto r y
"Two Convicts" tied fo r second place in
Prison L ife 's 1995 Art Behind Ba r s
contest, has been down for the past 21
years. H e is presently a t El Dorad o in
the Kansas state system. H e has received
num e r o u s award s fo r his wri ting,
includin g Best Column in th e Pen al
Press Awards in 1986 and 1989.
THIERR Y MARIGNAC is a Fr e n c h
write r, tra n sl a tor a nd edito r wh o

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PRISON LIFE 9

"All the News
You Can't
Confine."

Block Beat

Arnerica 's National His on Newspaper

ROLL BACK THE CLOCK:
USJUDGE STRIKES RULES ONJAIL CONDITIONS
J udge Haro ld Bae r Jr. of Federal
District Court in Manhattan struck down
a series of legally binding agreements,
known as consen t decre es, that h ave
governed conditions in New York City
jails fo r nearly two d ecades . The
d ecrees dictate standards in a number of
aspects of priso n life includi ng overcrowdi ng, access to phones an d to the

lawsuits over the conditions and
legality of their confin e m e nl. The
Prison Refo rm Act, fa r from reforming
anythi ng, esse n tially wiped out all the
gains m ade in pri sone r s' rights
legisla tion si n ce th e Attica rebe lli o n
over prison conditi ons 25 years ago .
"Th e d egree of civ ili za tion in a
soc iety is revealed by enter i ng i ts

October 1996
in wr ning th e land of th e free into a
fascist police state.

PRISONERS HIT
HARD BY AIDS
Prisone rs are almost six times more
l ikely than other Americans to have
AIDS, according to th e Ce nte r for
Disease Co ntrol a nd Preve n ti on in
Atlanta. The CDC r eported that in
1994, the rate of AIDS for prisoners in
the nati on's largest prisons and j ails was
5 .2 per 1,000. Most of t h e infected
prisoners already had AIDS o r ca rried
the virus before they e n tered prison,
said Juarlyn Gaiter, a psycho logist with
the CDC D ivis ion of HIV I AIDS
Prevention.
-contributed by Brent A. Ellis

STICKEMUP,
CONVICT

law library for p d soners awaiting trial.
Mayo r Rudolph G uili ani has been
trying to have the consent de crees
resc in ded sin ce s h o rtl y afte r tak ing
office. But not until P1·esident Cli nton
s igned into law the Pri so n Reform
L itigation Act last sprin g was Mayo r
Gu ilian i able to find a judge c raven
enough to d o hi s d i rty work. (See
re lated story, The Choke the Cou1·t Act, InHouse Counsel, this issue.)
Judge Baer is the sa me fede ral lackey
who caved in a nd overturned his own
ru ling in a co ntroversia l drug case
after h e became the target of fi e rc e
cri ti cism from Guilian i , Governor
Pataki and Clin ton earlier this yea r. I n
h is 52-page ru l ing, J udge Ba e r
expressed stro ng rese r vations about
th e new federa l law, pu s h ed by
Re publicans who control Congress, to
make it much more difficult, if not
imp oss ibl e, for prisoners t o bring

The Supreme Court su rprised c ri minal
defendants and defense lawyers on June
24, 1996, when it reversed the double
jeopardy-forfeiture decis ions in consolidated cases, U.S. v. $405,089.23, 33
F.3d 1210 (9th Cir. 1994) a n d U.S. v.
Ursery, 59 F.3d 568 (6th Cir. 1995). The
court severely narrowed it~ recent prior
forfeiture ruling in Austin a nd its double
p ri so n s," Judge Bae r wrote, quoting jeopardy precedent in Halper to hold that
the great Ru ss ian n ove li st Fyodor civil forfeitures do not co n sti tute
Dostoyevsky, who spent seven years in punishment under the double jeopardy
the gu lag for a lleged political crimes. clause. The Court relied on a rarely used
And though Judge Baer derided the alcohol prohibition case where a distillery
Prison Reform Act, saying, co rrectly, was forfeited, Vmious Items of Pe-rsonal
th at it had bee n "sig n ed as part of a Proper/)' v. U.S., 282 U.S. 577 (1931), and
budget bill in the midst of an e lectio n th e standards set out in a c u sto ms
yea r," h e did n ot h ave t h e guts t o importation claim case, One Lot of Emerald
stand up to the p o liticians and refuse Out Stones v. U.S., 409 US 232 (1972) , and
to he ed a law th at is pl ai nl y a giant a gun case, U.S. v. One Assortment of 89
Fire-arms, 465 U.S. 354 (1984) .
step backward.
T h e Justices found th a t tak ing a
Preside nt Clinton h as continu ed to
d isting ui sh him se lf as the best defendant's home and property in rem by
Democratic Preside nt th e Republicans a civil action is not punishment, although
have ever had. In the four years Clinton it is punishment if the same prope rty is
has been in the White H ouse, h e h as taken from the defendant in personam, by
done more to undo the progress made indictment. A lawyer close to the $405
in uphold ing the Constitutional rights case called th e dec ision '·in te llectually
of the accused a nd the human righ ts of dishonest," the same words Justice Soute r
t h e condemned than any Preside n t used to describe t he government's
since ixon. Four more }'Cars of Clinton position during oral argumen t.
Justice Steve n s concu rred with th e
and the Republ icans will have succeeded
PRISON LIFE Ill

majority's decisi o n in $405, tha t
forfeitures of proceed s under 881 (a)
(6) are n ever puni shm e nt, but he
dissente d on Ursery beca use he
consid ered forfeiture of a working
man's h o me-because ma riju a n a was
smoked there-to be punishm ent under
the double j eopardy clause.
There was one r ay of hope left fo r
defendants in fooU1ote 3 of the opinion,
which states that doubl e jeopardy may
a ppl y to c ivil forfe itu re where the
"clearest proof' indica tes that it is so
punitive "as to b e e qui va lent to a
criminal
proceeding. "
Mi c hael
Monta lvo, the jailhouse lawyer wh o
represe nted the Lompoc prison inma tes
in the Ninth Circuit appeal of $405, was
shocked by the decision, which h e fe lt
demonsu·ated a total lack of fairness.
"The courts will protect the
government's massive misconduct at the
sacrifice of Consti tu tiona! ri g hts,"
Montalvo sa id. "It's tim e to rep e al
prohibition laws and release the drug war
prisoners, and if those in power won't do
it, we must elect officials who will."
Montal vo felt that Chief Ju stice
Rehnquist's opinion relied on the "legal
fiction " that inanimate property, not the
owner of tha t prope rty, is guilty of th e
crime and is thus subject to forfeiture to
the government.
"But it is co mfo rting," Monta lvo
commemed, "to know that the decision
relies on a 1931 alcoho l prohibition
case, when those ve r y prohibition laws
were rep ealed in 1934."

THE REAL
SKINNY

MilAN, ITALY (Weekly World News)
Authorities h ad to le t Dominico Patti
out of jail after his conviction for a uto
theft-because the 6'2", 127-pound man
could slip between the bars of his cell.
The warden of t h e prison sa id Patti
cou ldn 't leave the in s titution , but
caused pro blems by wandering th e
hallways day a nd night.

FCI DUBLIN
WALKATHON

Women Prisoners Fighting AIDS
Ove r Memorial Day weekend , m o r e
than 600 women prisoners at th e federal
priso n a nd priso n ca mp in Dublin,
California walked 8,266 miles to raise
over $4,500 for AIDS se rvices. $1,500
was donated from women prisoners who
earn an average of $5.25 a month.
Th e FIGHT AIDS Walkatho n funds
we nt to the Ambassador Hote l, a
residential h otel in San Fran c isco's
14

PRISON LIFE

Tende rloin distri ct providing h o using
and se rvices for people with HIV an d
AIDS, and fo r sc h o la rships to Camp
Sunburst, which offers a s up portive
atmosphere a nd help for childre n with
HIV or AIDS and their famili es. For
many of these childre n, the 2-week camp
is th e only place they can be free of the
stress of hiding their HIV condition.
Women prisoners spe nt four days of
the long weekend walking in a stiff wind
around the third-of-a-mile track in the
recreation yard. For that brief pe tiod, an
unu suall y
p ositi ve,
coopera ti ve
atmosphere prevailed in the priso n. It
wasn'tjust that th e women prisone rs were
walk ing toge ther, o r that th ey we re
joining d1e effort to extend their support
to the ir co m m u nit ies a nd fa mili es
outside, caring for o m ers enduring hard
circumstances. It was also that we were,
for a time, powerfuJ instead of powerless.
"Fig ht AIDS" is not just a slogan; the
wome n ptisoners were struggling against
m yri a d obstacles to ta ke o n th e
e normous pro blems we all face in the e ra
of AIDS. The Walkathon was a project of
PLACE: Pleasa n to n AIDS Co un se ling
and Education, a peer advocacy a nd education group started by prisoners in 1991.
When th e AIDS p a nd e mi c began
hitting our communities, it was clear to
us that if we didn't educate ourselves and
care a bout women getting HIV, no one
else would. PLACE has since sponsored a
variety of activities, including classes and
seminars o n HIVI AIDS, TB, h e pa titis,
a nd a H ealth Fair. We adopted th e
Oakland Children 's Hospital HN/ AJOS
p a tie n ts, ma king toys, gifts a nd holiday
card s for them. We've d esi g n ed a nd
produced pa nels for the Names Project
AIDS quilt, and sponsored a showi11g of
pan of the quilt here in the prison. The
FIGHT AIDS Walkath on Me morial Day
weekend was our second Walkathon.
Reachi ng through the prison walls to
care for tJ1ose wid1 HN and AIDS breaks
through some of the isolation of prison.
In this, we have had essential help from
Carol Ghilardi and the AIDS Ministry of
St. Augustin e's Cath o lic C hurc h in
Pl easan ton . Carol a nd the minis tr y
generously serve as our outside volunteer
sp o nso rs. Several peopl e fr om St.
Augustine's communi ty joined us in the
walk, and they receive and disburse funds
donated fo r the mil es we wa lk ed.
Donations can still be sent, earmarked to
the PLACE Walkathon.
The Walka thon was a way for us LO do
so methin g for our co mmunities. We
need support from our communities too.
Fight for compassionate re lease and
decent medical care for women and men
in prison wi th HIV and AIDS.
-Laura Whitehorn, for the women of
PLACE

ESCAPED
CONVICTS EATEN
BYUONS
DINf\JPU R, ZIMBABvVE
Three hardened convicts broke out of a
ju ng le prison cam p n ea r here- a n d
were eaten by Lions before mey'd gone a
quarter of a mi le. Prison authorities
discovered t h e inmates' re mains an
hour afte r they were reported missing.

TO SERVE AND
PROTECT
Prison Life magazine was honored
in UTNE READER 'S 8th Annual
Alternative Press Awards. The
service award said, "This in-yourface magazine gives us a realistic
picture of a much-mythologized
world-by offering everything
from recipes for in-cell cooking to
exposes of human rights violations
in our nation 's prisons. With
growing prison populations,
maintaining perspective on the
huma n issues involved is critical,
and Prison Life does just that-with
courage and integrity.

• MU$T BE A

fOUC£ DOG!"

*Plea agreements
*PSI review
* Guideline analysis
*Appeals

R ONALD E. SCHWARTZ
Attorney At Law
8060 Mon tgomery Road,
Suite 202
Cincinatti, OH 45236
(513) 792-0606
Fax 792-0606

PRE-TRIAL &
POST-CONVICTION

DEATH ROW PRISONER'S RIGHT TO
INTERVIEWS UPHELD
P ITTSBURGH, Jun e 6 (AP) - Priso n h a d expected to fi nd evidence of a
officials unfa ir ly d e n ied a d ea th row c r ime or vio la tion of p ri so n r ules .
inma te the right to g ive imerviews in Citing Abu:Jamal's Constitutional rig ht
r e tal iat ion for a b oo k h e wrote to free speech, Benson criticized prison
describing his life as he awaits execution, officia ls for barring him from talking to
repo n e rs for three months soo n afte r
a federal magistrate ruled today.
Ke nne th J. Be nson said state prison th ey lear n e d in February th a t he
officials also violated Mumia Abu:Jamal's pla nn ed to publish Live From Death Row.
civil rights b y opening a nd photoor we re officials justifi ed in taking
copying private mail sent to him by his lega l do c uments addr essed to Abulawyers.
J a m a l a nd p ass ing th e m to state
Abu-Jamal, a form e r radi o repo rte r officials outside th e De partm e nt of
and Black Pa nth e r, is on death row in Corrections, Ben so n said. Prison
the State Correctional Institution after a officials h ad defended th e ir actions
1982 murder conviction in the d eath of by say ing they were in ves ti ga tin g
Phil adelphi a police officer D a ni e l whether Abu-Jamal h ad viol a ted rules
Fa ul kn e r. Abu-Jamal's attorneys have agai n s t co nductin g a pub l is hing
asked for a new u·ial.
business from prison.
Benson issu ed his 66-page ru ling in
Benso n d ism issed Abu-Jamal's claim
respo nse to Abu:Jamal's request for an th at priso n officials vio lated his civil
order prohibiting prison officials from rights when they refused him access to
b locking future inte rviews or ope ning a pa ralega l who had also visite d him
soc ia ll y. And th e magi s tr ate sa id
mail from his lawyers.
Be nson recommended a court orde r offi c ia ls had a rig ht to ins ure Abuth a t wou l d prohibit officials from J a mal didn ' t o perate a business from
opening the prisone r's mail outside his pri so n , which is a violation of the
presen ce un less th ey cou ld show they prison's regula tions.

H.R. COX
Retired, BOP
corrections consultant
817·596·8457
. a\ p..ssistance irr.
profeSSIOn
.
fOI'
·gnatlons
\nitia\ oesl
•
ff nders
pre-lria\ o e
.,.. ansfers
• ,r
tainers
ues & oe
• \NS \SS
.
\ p\acement
federa
• state or
\-\earinQS
. Remedies
• paro\e
• p..dministrat\Ve

PO BOX1551
weatherford, TX 76086

PRISON LIFE

15

BON APPETITE
Convicts at Kingston, Ontario's Collins
Bay Institution recently opted to refuse
work a nd r e ma in in their cel ls in
protest of serious food shortages in tl1e
facility. Corrections Canada released a
statemen t claim ing the strike was in
protest of a new, su·ict, an ti-d rug policy.
J o hn Sch aener, Inma te Co mmittee
Chairman, suspects th e government
all egations were fabricated to reduce
public sympathy for the pri so n ers'
nutrition con cerns by bringing drugs
into th e issu e. Collins Bay priso n e rs
must use their own funds to purchase
food to supp lement the m eage r
institutional dietary offerings, yet th e
prison is noted for its fai lu re to offe r
e mpl oyment to most priso n e rs. An
adde d complicati on is lim itations on

access to moni es depos ited in
i nsti lll tiona) accounts, whether from
ou tside sources or prison jobs. The
d e monstration remained peacefu l in
the historically volatile facility.

Drastic cutbacks in the Corrections
Se rvi ce of Ca n ada budgets h ave
resulted in an estimated reduction of
the convict food supply by as much as
40 percent.

WRITERS WITH CONVICTIONS
Th e journal of P1·isouers on P1·ison
publi sh es essays, inte rvi ews, book
reviews and graphic a rt by prisoners
a nd former pr isoners on topic s
r e la te d to crime , ju stice and the
ex perience and politics of puni shmenl. Prisoners a nd former priso n e r s are e n couraged to s ubmit
indi vidu a l papers , co ll aborative
essa ys, discussion s and inter views
tran sc ribed from tape, book reviews,
and ph oto or g raph ic essays. JPP

RESOURCES

does n ot publish fict.ion or poetry.
For m o r e inform a tion , or to
s ubsc rib e : j ou rn al of P1·iso nen on
Prisons, Box 54 Universi ty Centre,
Un ive rsity of Manitoba, Winnipeg,
MB R3T 2 2 Canad a.

Write to Robert Rowbotham
PO Box 4510
Kingston ON K?L 5E5

416/ 466-3852, offers services for prisone rs in the Metro
Toronto area.

FROM PRISON NEWS SERV!CE.~ WINTER 1996

TORONTO
Ami-Racist Action, P.O. Box 664, Station C. Toronto, 0
MQJ 3S1 , 416/ 631-8825, spon sors the Anti-Fascist Prisoner
Support Network.
Association in Defe nse of the Wrong ly Convicted, 438
University Avenue, 19th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 2K8.
Black Inmates a nd Friends Assembly, 189 Duffe rin street,
Toronto, 0
M6K 1Y9, 416/588-9910, offers counseling
a nd pre-release planning fo r Black priso n ers, as well as
counseling, support and assistance for tl1eir fami lies.
Prison er HTV I AIDS Support Actio n e twork , 5 17
College Street, #237, To ro nto, ON M6C 4A2, 416/ 9209567, offers peer health education, prevention and support
for prisoners.
Prison e rs' Justice Day Committee, c/o A Space, 110-401
Ri chmond St. West, Toronto, 0
MSV 3A8, 416/ 463-9129,
coordina tes Prisoners' Justice Day o n August 10.
Quaker Committee on J ails a nd Prisons, 60 Lowther Ave.,
To ro nto. 0 1 M5C l C7, run s Allernatives to Viole n ce
progTams in pri o ns.
Ritte nhouse -A ew Vision, 736 Batl1urst Street, #213,
Toro nto, 0
M5S 2R4 , 416 / 538-6900 , s p onsors
Alternatives to Prison workshops a nd campajgns.
Sp irit of the Peo ple, 25 1 Gerrard St. E., Toron to, ON
M5G 2C 1, 416/ 967-5650, provides a variety of services for
AbOJ;ginal ex-offenders.
StreelLink, 558 Gerrard St. E. Toronto, 0
M4M 1 X8,
16 PRISON

LIFE

\NI NNIPEC
J ohn Howa rd Society, 583 Ellice Avenue. Winnepeg,
Manitoba R3B IZ7, 204/ 775-1514, provides info rmation
a bout a varie ty of priso n-re lated topics.
PETERBOROUGH
Prison Violence Project, OPIRC-Trent, Pe ter Ro binso n
College, Tre nt University, Pe terboro ugh, ON K9J 7B8,
educates t11e public about conditions in Ca nadian p1·isons.
O'fTAWA
Canadian Association of Elizabeili Fry Socie ties, #600-25 1
Bank St., Ottawa, ON K2P 1X3, 613/ 238-2422, lobbies for
review of ba ttered women's self-defense cases an d o ffe rs
otl1er services for women prisone rs.
Infinity Lifer's Liaison Croup, Box 772, Station B, Ottawa,
ON K2P 5P9, a support group fo r life rs a nd thcir families.
HAMILTO / BRAMPTO '
Bridge, Box 83007,J a mesville Station, Hamilton, ON L8L
8E8, 905/ 648-6879, sponsors self-help groups inside a nd
outside of prisons.
KINGSTON
Pe n to Pen Club, 829 orwest Road, #1207, Kingston,
ON K7P 2 3, provides pe n pals for prisoners.
Project Recon ciliatio n, 100 Sydnam Street, Kingston , 0
K7L 3H 5, provides services for ex-prisoners and their families.

Post Release

GOING ,.0 MEE,. ,.BE MAN
by

Mansfield B. Frazier
ou always walk in to the offi ce with
yo ur fists ba lled u p; you don't
want to be the re.
Yo u 've ste pped o ff yo ur tim e-h ad
someone looking over your sho ulder 247 fo r X nu mber o f years- a nd now you
h ave to re po rt to someone e lse, wh o is
go ing to co ntinu e to lo ok ove r yo ur
sh o uld e r fo r X m o re years. Th e o nly
o the r o pti o n was to turn d own pa ro le
and re m a in in pri o n-whi c h didn ' t
seem like too much of a n o ption at the
tim e. Sure, the re are so m e toug h g uys
wh o te ll th e p a role boa rd th at th ey' ll
"bri ng it to th e door," but th ere a re n ' t
th at m a n y of t h ose types le ft a ro u n d
anymore; you wa nted o ut.
'"'h e n yo u got busted and se nte nced ,

Y

th a t h e will b e dressed in a black suit
with a black shirt a nd tie, with o ne o f
th ose goddam ha ndcuff tie tacks, a nd a
m o n ocle in o n e eye. H e' ll s ta nd ,
rh ythmi ca ll y slappin g a ridin g c rop
against hig hly-po lished b lack boots, with
a loaded cigarette h o lde r cl e n c h ed
b e twee n hi s tee th a nd sp ea k with a
g uttura l hi g h -G e rm a n acce nt. Hi s
cubicle reeks o f the fear of the tJ1o usand
me n wh o h ave preced ed yo u th rough
these porta ls o n th e road back to the
pe n ite ntiary. The roo m is lit with o ne
bare ove rh ead 200 wat t bu lb, a nd the
on ly th ing on his d esk will be a cartoon
of a poor guy slipping o n a bana na peel
a nd ge tting butt-fuc ked before h e hits
tJ1e g round. The legend wi ll read , "One

r e qu i re d to viol a t e yo u . Th ey ge t
p romo tio ns based on how many people
they successfully negotiate through the
p a r o le p e r iod , n ot o n h ow m a n y
vio latio ns they can make a month. True,
you can draw a parole o fficer who ca n 't
be satisfied; persona lity clashes ha p pen .
But the re a re ways to h andle this type of
situa tio n , as I learn ed whil e atte ndin g
a n o ri e n tati o n m eeting a t the fed eral
pa role office in Clevela nd a few months
back.
The confe re n ce roo m was spaci o u s
an d we ll-lit. If it wasn 't fo r us- a motley
crew of twelve ex-co ns sitting aro und the
h uge ta ble-yo u wo ul d h ave th o ug ht
th a t th e board meetin g of so m e la rge ,
s u ccessfu l co rpo ra t io n was a bo ut to

Flo; ~:' t:l.t:e: m\OJ
SI: pl a.~:·t: t:h'e· new·-bre.ed pa\I.'OJI;el Dll:l:i\ceJr
r.' a\l:h: e: ~:' k:elelpl Y'DJ
UI. OJU!t: o,f: t·h.e j oi'n:l: l: h:. a~. n s;e1nd\ yoJU\
th e re we re nume rous people involved in
th e process. Even in the j o int or a t the
paro le boa rd th e re were ma ny p eo p le
involved in d e term ining your fa te, but
now you 'II have just o ne person hold ing
th e coc ked sh o tgun of r evoca t io n to
yo ur h ead : yo ur P.O. T his ma kes it an
up-close and personal relatio nship.
And the ho rro r stories yo u 've hea rd
while stepping o ff you r bid do n ' t he lp.
Eve r y co n vic t h as h eard a pri so n er,
recently re wrned for a vio la tio n, te ll how
h is P.O. was a power-crazed maniac who
ate babies fo r breakfast a nd was o ut to
ge t him straig ht off the dribb le. Befo re
th e bul lsh i t sessio n we lco min g t h e
re tu r nee back is over, eve r yo ne in the
unit who has ever been o n parole ch imes
in with th e ir favo rite P.O . ta le. Th e
co n se n su s com es q ui c kly: th e p eo p le
wh o regulate, or attemp t to regula te, the
li ves o f ot h ers a r c de m e nted , n osey,
twisted individuals. You wouldn 't piss on
th e m if they were o n fi re.
Befo re yo u meet this p e rso n wh o' ll
have tJ1e awesome power of a llowing you
to remain a t liberty or send ing you back
wh e n ce yo u cam e, yo u might imagine

slip and your ass is MI E! "
But wha t happens when reality doesn' t
jibe with yo ur preco n ceived n otio n s?
Wh a t h a p pe n s wh e n th e du de (or
d ude tte) is pleasa nt, h e lpful, d ece n t,
b rave a nd reve rent? o t th a t th ey' re
going to pe rso nally go out and find you
a twe n ty-fi ve-do lla r-an-h o ur job testing
mattresses, spring fo r a pai r of fi rst-class
tickets to Las Vegas with a pre-paid room
at Caesar's, o r a rran ge fo r you to be able
to wo rk th e la te-shift a t a local strip
j o int-but a regula r good sco ut n o n ethe less. It's got to be a trick, righ t? ot
necessarily so.
Gra nted, the re a re pro bably still some
troglo d yt es fr o m th e Shawshank
R edemptio1l e ra lu rkin g a rou nd p a ro le
offices, a few who ta ke pe rverse d e light
in te lling so me ex-con , "The only tJ1ing
tJ1at's going to bea t you back to p rison
will b e th e h eadli g h ts on th e fu c kin '
bus!" but those types a re-tJ1a nkfullyfew and fa r be tween nowadays.
Fo r th e m ost pa rt the n e w-b r eed
parole officer would rathe r keep you out
of the joint tha n send you back- if for
no o th e r reason tha n all the pa pe r work

WOJIIEd
&Jack"'

j u mp o ff. I was almost expecting some
mini-skirted little th ing (wh o co u ld n ' t
type fiftee n words a minute) to po p in
a nd pass around lea the r-covered binders
with profit-a nd-loss sta te me n ts enclosed ;
I fe lt like lig hting up a foot-long stogie,
sitting back a nd blowing smo ke rings.
The paro le supervisor, J ohn Peel, soon
b ro u g ht me b ac k t o terra firma by
shooti ng straight from the hip. He stan ed
by ac kn owledg ing th e fac t that we no
d ou bt we re n 't too t hri lle d by o ur
requ ired presen ce in th e room , n or by
th e period of supervision we wet·e about
to e mbark o n. He cited chapter and verse
th e laws whi ch give pa ro le o fficers th e
a uthori ty to govern o ur moveme n ts, living
arra ngeme nts, a nd wh a t che micals we
ta ke into o ur bod ies. He th e n outlin ed
wha t would be expected fro m us. It was
a bunda ntly clear that tl1c Nortl1ern O hio
Distri ct o f£i ce in tend ed to run a fa irly
tig h t shi p. 1 o, I co uldn 't j e t down to
South Ame ri ca fo r the wee ke nd to visit
my old friend Carlos, and yes, I would be
requjred to remain gain fully em ployedo r at least atte mpt to.
"We do n 't h ave a n y dee p , da rk
PRISON LIFE

17

secrets," said Pee t. "Ever ything, exce pt
for sp ecific info r matio n regardi n g a
pa rticu la r offender, is pretty open and
straightforward. O ur mission, fi rst a nd
foremost, is to insure that everyo ne
unde r our super vision complies wiLh the
te rms of thaL supervision as set down by
the court."
A few people around the table looked
mi ldly surprised. I imagine they tho ught
th e first prio rity was to assist them in
readj ustin g to socie ty. No t so. This is
where t h e co nfus io n begins. Th e ir
second concern is to protect the public.
Fo r in s tance, if an offe n d e r was
incarce rated for rape, parole o fficials
wou ld look d imly on him working as a
custodian a t a girls' hig h school. While
they nor ma lly don 't go to e mpl oye rs
a nd info rm them of th e offe nde r's past,
in this case Lhey certain ly would . Laslly,
they co n ce rn themse lves wi th the
offender's reintegration into society.
"Paro le-or supervised release unde r
th e new-law fede ral syste m- is fa r more
intrusive to day than it was twe n ty years
ago," Peet adm itted. "We have more
too ls at our com mand n ow: urin e
tesLing, h o me con fin e m e n t a nd dru g
treatme nt facili ties. Wh ile most peop le
don't li k e th is in c r eased l eve l o f
intrusion in th eir lives, it allows us to
spo t a pote ntial problem and take actio n
m o re qu ic kl y. I n th e pas t a p a r o lee
co u ld pretty much do a nyth ing except
caLch a new case and we'd n ever know
aboUL it un less a family m e mb e r
informed us. Now we interve ne early on,
at th e first sign of a proble m. "
The mosl prevalent proble m is drug
use. Ro ughly 60 percem o f the vio lations
in the orl11ern District of Ohio (which
cove rs Cleve la n d , Akron , Youn gstown
and Toledo) are for dirty urine. O ut of
th e 1,300 individuals o n the caseload
(77 percenl men) 946 dirty urines were
r eco rd e d in 19 95: 369 cocain e; 252
ma rijua na (a on e-thi rd increase over the
previous year); 149 opia tes; and 11 0 for
prescription drugs like Valium. 1 o t that
946 peop le tes Led d i n y, so m e were
re peat o ffende rs; a few gave as ma ny as
fi ve or six dirties befo re being sh ipped
back to the joint.
Parole officers hear every conceivable
ta lc in rega rds LO h ow u rine ca n be dirty
witho ut using drugs: being in a room
ful l o f p eo p le who we r e smok i n g
ma riju a n a a nd caLch ing a littl e passive smo ke, h aving sex wit h a partn e1·
wh o used cocaine , to u c hin g a Lab le
so m e drugs h ad b ee n o n (os mosis I
guess). Offenders te ll Lhese whoppers
wiLh straighL faces, wh ich I imagi ne is
th e h ard part. App rox imate ly twe lve
percent wi nd up back behind bars, but
not before im c rven ti on efforts by the
parole officer.
18

PRISON LIFE

Tru e, parole is more intrus ive proble m-solvi ng ski lls. I know of a guy
nowadays, buL send ing an offe nder back who got a damn good j ob as soon as he
for L11e first d irty urin e is rare. OuLpatien t go t ou t of priso n , b u L h e go t into a n
drug reha b treatment, drug n·eaunent aL o ngoing a rgume n t with his wife a nd felt
a locked faci li Ly, o r home confinement is that he couldn 't leave the house to go to
o r d inari ly tr ied first. Paro le offi cers work until t h e iss u e was se ttl e d. H e
usually try to find something thaL works. missed three days of work. a turally he
got fired, and iL LOok him over a year to
Sometimes they can 't.
"A guy gets out of prison after being ge t another job half as good," recounts
locked up for a number of years," said Peet. And l11e issue pro bably still wasn't
PeeL, "and the first thing he wants to do se tlled.
is let his hair down a biL. But he can 'L do
"I don't t h ink a n yo ne se ts out to
it; we test from day one. An d if h e h ooks vio laLe," says Peet, "b uL too ofte n Lhe
back u p with a n old girlfri end who is still offender doesn' t do e n ough to correcLa
using, he hasn't got a cha nce. Wi thin a proble m in his o r he r life."
few months he's going to be on his way
T he re are cases whe re a n offen de r has
back, g uaram eed."
a real pro blem wi th his parole officer.
P ee t readi ly adm its that for so me All Loo ofLe n Lhe ind ividua l wi ll wait
people o ld assoc ia ti ons and habiLs die until the prob le m co m es to a h ea d
hard, buL h e also admo nishes offe nders before sp ea kin g up , and by th e n it 's
to be well aware of the do's and don 'ts us u a lly too late. Ignorin g problems
o f Lhei r new siLUation.
doe s n ' t m ake Lhem go away. "What
Th e n ext biggest problem area is happens is thaL the person will come to
firearms. Some m e n , befo re go ing to me when they are a boul to get violated,"
priso n, h ad fi rearms around them all of says Pee t, "and in cases like tha L I get
thei r lives. But unless a n offe nder can susp icio us. ls the o ffe nde r saying that
get a n exemption from the rules (a one th ere's a pe rson ality conflict just as a n
-in-a-millio n ch a nce), th ey ca n n ever exc use? We don't rou tin e ly swiLch a n
eve n ge t caug lu in th e same residence o ffender to a nothe r parole o fficer, buL if
with a firearm- unless they want to step Lh e re 's a real problem , th e proper way
o ff a buffalo for l11e feels. A felon with a to handle iL is Lo h ave a ta lk with t h e
firea rm is a dead-bang case that carries a supervisor early o n, not when the papers
man d a tory minimum of five years, ye L are o n l11eir way LO th e judge."
some still ge L ca ugh t strapped. Even if
T h e bouom line fr o m J o hn Pee l is
th e pa rolee is living with someone who fairly simple a nd straightfor ward, albeit
has a permiL for the weapon, they'd still maybe noL what a parolee wants to hear.
be u e r c h eck with th e ir paro le office r
"Parole officers d on' t vio la te
and make the m aware o f Lhe situatio n.
o ffe nd e rs," h e says, "offe nders vio la te
Travel restri ctio ns are a n oth e r a rea themselves."
which m akes paro lees
chafe. Fo r th e feels Vegas is Horne on Deran e
off li mits, bul anyon e wh o r --::;;;;;;;==== =:;===;;;;:::===:;;;;:;:::;;;;:--,
can go to Vegas a nd make it
EXCUSE ME THERE, BUDDY! BUT
b ac k withouL some thi ng
I DO BELIEVE THAT YOUR ARM MAY
d irty coming across h is
HAVE INADVERTANTLY PASSED OVER
p a r o le offi cer's d es k
MY TRAY IN YOUR PLACEMENT OF THIS
proba bly doesn 't need to go
SALT, SOl: EXPECT A FULL APOLOGY
in th e first place.
BEFORE rAM TO RESUME DINING!
Cha nges in lifestyle, that's
Lhe m essage J o hn Pee t
delive rs. As socieLy cha nges,
so must the o ffe nder. A few
years back domestic '~o l ence
wasn 't such a b ig issue; it is
n ow. A dude wh o, prior to
going to the j oinL, was used
Lo punching his o ld lady's
lig h Ls out wh enever th ere
was a disag ree me n t h ad
better undersLand th at th is
Lypc of be havior to d ay is a
sure ticke t back LO prison.
If h e can' L ge t a lo n g wi Lh
his spouse wiLhout throwin g p u n c h es, t h e n h e h ad
beuer mak e o Lh e r li vi n g
arrangeme nts.
Myron's last stand .
"So me guys h ave poor

IN 1994, OUR GOVERNMENT SPENT

BILLIONS TO ARREST AIID

I II

0

E
0

'
MARIJUANA SMOKERS.
IYES. THIS IS THE SAME GOVERNMENT THAT PAID suoo FOR ATOILET SEAT.)

c

..c

0
0

co

Of these 480,COO people, 84% were arrested for simple

a.

co

Marijuana decriminalization has been supported by the

possession. The vast majority of them held down jobs and

Presidential Commission o n Marijuana (1973). the National

z

lived normal lives. But because they happened to smoke a

Academy of Sciences (1982). the C alifornia Research

0

relatively harmless plant. the government labeled them

Advisory Panel (1990). and Britain's two most respected

criminals worthy of Intense. and expensive, pursuit. It's time

medical journals (1995). Today, marijuana decriminalization

to admit that jailing these otherwise law-abiding c itizens

works In Holland. a nation with much lower crime and drug

seNes no legitimate societal purpose. In a nation with 1.9

addiction rates than the United states.

million violent crimes a year. surely we can find better ways
to allocate our criminal justice resources.

As William F. Buckley Jr. stated "The amount of money
and of legal energy being given to prosecute hundreds of

If you agree that it's time to stop a rresting people
w ho smoke marijuana. join NORML. With your donation of
$25 or more, you can help NORML change o ur nation's
marijuana laws. Write us today at 1001 Connecticut

thousands of Americans who are caught with a few ounces

Avenue NW, Suite 1010. Washington. DC 20036, and we'll

of marijuana in their jeans simply makes no sense ... it is an

send you a membership kit.

o utrage. an imposition on basic civil liberties. and on the
reasonable expenditure of social energy.·
Alcohol Prohibition was a terrible. costly mistake. The

Or call the NORML support line (1-900-97- NORML).
For $2.95/minute (18 years or o lder) you 'll get info rmation
on your legal rights. drug testing. and our marijuana law-

some is true for today's marijuana prohibition. NORML. the

reform efforts. Whether you join NORML or call us. your

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. is

confidentiality Is a ssured.

not the only group to reach this conclusion.

We hope to hear from you.

nOI\[!JL.

JJ

r

Call Outs-----------------Community Educational Outreach (CEO) is a private, non-profi t
o rganizatio n providing free in forma tio n to a nyon e a n d free
academ ic and life skills insu·uction to people in Colorado whose
educational level con u·ibu tes to their risk of being incarcerated.
CEO combines successful elemen ts of academic, cognitive, life
and j o b skills prog rams into a n ind ividu ali zed c urricu lu m
directed a t meeting tl1e n eeds of educationally d isadvantaged
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tra inin g . For inform at ion: Sa nta C ru z Barr ious
Unidos/ ational Coalition of Barrios Unidos, 313 Fro n t Su·eet,
Santa Cruz, CA. 95060. TEL: 408/ 457-8208 FAX: 408/ 457-0389.
Stop Control Unit Prisons! T h e Am e rica n Frie nds Ser vice
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r ove mb e r 15-17. For info rm a tion , AFSC Crimin al Justi ce
Program, 972 Broad Street, 6th Floor, ewark, NJ 07102. TEL:
201 / 643-3079 FAX: 201 / 643-8924.
Get Hip to Hep! The American Liver Foundation and Blues
Haven Foundation wo rk to educate prison ers and p r isoner
advocacy groups about tl1 c prevale nce of hepatitis B and C in
prisons. A 1994 survey conducted in California found mat about
half of tJ1c state's incoming female prisoners a nd one-tJ1ird of
males tested positi ve for h e patitis B virus (HBV), a n d the
numbe rs were even higher-54.5% fo r females and 39.4% for
males-for he patitis C vir us (HCV). Risk factors include body
piercing and o r tattooing with contaminated needles, sha ring
n eedles during intravenous drug u e , unprotected sex wim
multip le p a rtn e rs a nd blood tra nsfusio n prior to 1990 (for
HCV) or 1972 for (HBV). Prisoners who are at increased risk of
infection should inquire a bout a blood test to d iagno e chronic
hepatitis. Furtl1er information on hepatitis is avai lable by calling
th e American Liver Foundatio n at (800)223-0179, or write to
them at 1425 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, U07009.
C.A.P.S. (Caring About the Prison System) is co mprised of
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C.A.P.S. is a su pport grou p wh ose p ur pose is to sh a r e
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For information: Vina Payne, Presidenl & Fo unde r, C.A.P.S., P.O.
Box 12 111 24, Ft. Worm, TX 7621-11 24. Pho ne (806)273-5422.

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Initial Consultation $100.00
The more you huow the more you ca11 get out of the S)•stem.

20

PRISON LIFE

Guest Editorial

PAROLE MAKES
OLD-FASHIONED CENTS
by
William Lincoln

T

here is a wave of h eart-ha rdening
swee ping Am e r ica. T h e leg isla tures hum wi th buzz-words like
"ex p edi ency" a nd "was te," "tr uth in
se nte ncin g" a nd "throw away th e key."
One of the first targets of their wrath is
parole . De magogu es p laying to public
frustrations have fanned the emotional
embe rs a nd g utted pa ro le programs
na tionwide, bu t a close examinatio n of
p a r o le proves th a t it is good fo r th e
American commo nweal, a nd like most
t hi n gs t h a t are good for us, p a ro le
makes old-fash ion ed sense financially as
well. He re is why.

MILLION DOLLAR BABIES
Has a nyon e ever put the accoun tant's
p encil to t h e full cost o f a ter m of
imp r iso nm e n t? Over an d above t h e
thirty th o usand pe r year pe r p riso ne r,
add inflation, support to fa milies, h ealth
care, lost income tax, lost sales taxes a nd
inte rest lost because th a t same thirty
grand wasn 't invested .
With lo n g se nte n ces co m e h eavy
taxp ayer burd en s. On a ny single day in
Ame rica's fed eral co urts alone, d oze ns
of 24-year-plus sentences are me ted out.
With ever y gavel blow, an o ther "million
dolla r ba by" is crea ted-to th e tun e o f
bill io n s o f do ll a r s in long te rm
obligatio ns incurred p er year. Include
t h e s tates' l ia b ili ties a nd yo u h ave
h undred of billions of do llars added to
t h e n a tio nal d e bt, so meth in g wo r th
conside ring wh e n our n a ti on is fu eled
o n red ink.
COMPASSION MAKES CENTS.
Our fo refathe rs we re not fools. They
cou ld spot a finan cial sn owball m lling
th eir way from a mi le off. Applying their
wisd o m , t h ey b ase d pun ish m e nt o n
exp e r ie n ce and th e Scrip tures. Wha t
they discovered was tha t two chi ldre n
wh o d isobeye d a nd we r e puni sh ed
sim ila r ly res p o n de d d iffe r e ntly to
punish ment. For some kids a swat across
t he butt we n t a lo ng way, fo r o th e rs it
didn 't. Th e mo ral wisd om of the times22 PRISON

LIFE

th a t a p en iten t h eart we ll p rove n
deserved me rcy- was accepted in those
d ays. The old fo lks listen ed to Biblical
warnings no t to re pay evil with evil a nd
th a t wra thfu l punishme nt was wro n g .
O ld Abe L in co ln und e r s tood t h ese
co n ce pts too . At t h e conclusio n of a

bloody wa r, h e blan ket-par don ed th e
Confed e rates. France ig n o r e d t hi s
wisdom and after World War I brough t
its wrathful pun ish me n t o n Ge rma ny,
whi ch se t th e seed s of t h e ho r ro r we
recall as Wo rld War II.
Beyond being immoral, the exe rcise of

THE THREE WilE
LJEII •.. Uf..f ..
HMM? I ...
U~ --- 4Mt1 ...

MEN

"wrath," whether by a parent, spouse or
nation , invaria bly leads to bad results.
Every g reat leader h as mode ra ted th e
pressure for wrathful punishment. They
learned fro m th eir hol y books, their
childre n and the peo ples and nations
a round them; with a ll of their
accumu lated expe rience and wisdom,
th ey c r eate d and op e r a te d a sys tem
called parole.
But th ese d ays, a tte mpting to g rab
vo tes, o ur politic ian s di sr eg a rd t he
wi sd o m , expe ri e n ce, m o ra li ty a nd
fin a n cial co mmon se nse o f o ur p ast.
Their pogroms of wrathful punishme nt
will bring a bad end for all.
This, o f course, will h a ppe n beca use
ag ain o ur lead e rship will di sobey our
fo refa th ers' admonition tha t "you reap
wh a t yo u sow. " If yo u so w wr a thful
punishme nt and inhuma nity, yo u will
r ea p it. Our forefath e r s b e lieved in
co rny o ld books like the Bible which
told of these principles, and knew them
to be true in practice.

sh ow n
mer cy,
fo r
hi s
impriso nm e nt could h ave
continu ed , sa ve for th e
humanity of the people. Paro le
c h a n ges t he mindse t a nd
attitude a prisoner takes back to
the stree ts.
As a di sc r e tion a r y ac t o f
mercy, parole is see n as a second
chan ce, h ence its positive power
in the mind of the pa rolee.
Wra thful pu n is hm e n t di sreg a rds wh a t prison e rs t hink.
So what if the majo rity of Black
pri so n e r s think th ese inhuma n e se nte nces are ge nocidal. So what if m e n lie awa ke
drea ming o f g etting r eve n ge
some day.

BANDS:

Letters to Cleo
San~ Black Church
Bentrnen
Bi~n

Skala

Bi~n

SPEAKERS:
Ste vea Hager , Ed itor in Cbi~r, High Times Ma gnin~
Diek E...._, NORI'>fi.. Boar d M~mb~r
Richard Strattaa,
Editor!Pub lishe.r , PrUon U f t! Magazin ~
Dave LciUIOD, a uthor or On Drugs
Mel Klag , former Boston City Councilor
Ed Saud era, poet and es-Fu11
Radio Free AI G lordaao

WAKE UP, AMERICA!
It d oes matte r wha t prison e rs
think. They are the falle n sons
a nd d a ug hters of this countr y.
They will re turn to socie ty. But
MartZ Bands 6- SpeaktZrs too be annou.n£:ed
how will they return? Don't we
FAIR IS FAIR.
have eno u g h a ntisocial freaks
Huma ns have a wea ther va n e of sorts out there? Do we need a no ther
that tells them when punis hm e n t is 50 U nabo mbe rs? Do we n eed
inhum a n e ly inflic te d upon th e m. I h a rd e n e d, hate-fill e d ex-co n s
SAT SEPT 21.1996 Noon-Spm
know. I'm locked up with hundreds of se tting fire to the inne r cities?
Sponsored
M QSSQchusetfs Canna.bis Refor m
Coa.l
in.fo (617) 944-CANN
me n whom I assist with paralegal issu es.
We, as a people, will reap what
The maj o rity of these men have broken we sow.
the law and they are th e first to admit
I do n 't know about you, but I
th at they deserved to go to j ail. But for a care wha t p eople think. My sen ten ce is YOU ARE PART OF US
19 -yea r-old non vi o le nt firs t-time for stock ma nipula tio n and as a n exParole offers a power ful tool to red uce
offender, found guil ty o n th e basis o f a bro ke r I mig ht be a li ttle p reoccupied n ationa l de b t d u e to t h e costs of
witness saying the guy was "into crack," with wh a t people think. Brokers tend to incarceration and in turn lifts so me of
does n ot d eserve a 20-year se n ten ce. I co n ce nt rate o n wh e r e thin gs are th e bu rde n fro m future ge n era ti o ns.
read th e pre-sentencing re ports. There h ead e d - th e fl ow-o f-th e-mind a nd Pa role is the most powe rfu l an d lasting
is n o mo r al justificati o n fo r some of whether th a t will e nd up b e n efiting atti tud e adj us ter kn ow n , letting t he
th ese sente n ces.
th e m o r not. From th e inside , I a m re leased o ffe nd e r know: yo u be long ,
And this is th e kind o f wra th ful alarmed at whe re this is all h eading. I and are a part of us. Parole offers many
punishm e nt that grows a d ee p-seated h ave kid s. Our n a ti o n is a free an d othe r advantages in custody con trol tha t
resentme nt and h ate within these men. o pe n place. Trust begins in the minds en h a n ce th e safety of p risone r s a nd
Thi s is wh a t soc ie ty will r e ap on a of our citize nr y. It is ve ry impo rta nt correctio nal staff. Parole is in keeping
massive scale : d eep-seated h a te a nd what people think. We can not fe nce in with th e moral fi ber of America. The
di sres p ec t that will one day explo d e, a ll o f o ur n ati o n a l treas u res o r federal paro le com mission sh o u ld n ot
right h e re in America. The lighte ning vuln e r a bilities. Th ese ca n o nl y b e be allowed to sunset n ext year. It should
ro ds of dissident lead e rship are be ing pro tec te d by so wing hum a ni ty a nd be retained a nd revitalized.
forged today unde r the h a mmer blows reaping it. There will be failures, to be
Past a buses in p a ro le policy ca n b e
of wra thful punishme nt in Ame rica's sure. But the successes will fa r o utweigh p reven ted b y legisla ti on t h a t lim its
prisons.
th e m. Peo ple like Attorney Ge n eral elig ib ility. And society would be given
Why? Because again we refuse to h eed J anet Re no have been voices of reason credit by paro lees for th e granting of a
th e wi sd o m of our fo r efa th e r s. Our a mongst the clamor fo r excess. She has re mission from penal conditio ns an d
forefa thers used parole as a tool to h elp not failed to recognize th e wisdom o f th e extensio n of trust th a t goes with it.
the prison er upon release. It is like the o ur forefathers: wra thful punishment is Thus, gratitude cou ld s u ppla n t t h e
father who, after punishing his child and n ot commo n se nse. No r does it make prese nt hostili ty, resulti ng in a pro-social
waiting for it to sink in, winds up giving financial sense. She may not be the most attitude .
Lik e a l o t of th in gs th at o ur
the kid a hug. In doing so h e tells the po pula r p e rson in this read e rship but
child you still belong. You did wrong, but he r vo ice of moderatio n deserves credit, fo refath ers left us, pa ro le seems o ldyou a re still part of the family.
fas hio n ed a nd surface sim ple. A close r
p olitics aside.
My au th o ri ty as a co mm e nta to r exam in a tio n b e n eath th at s u rface
The re is n o diffe ren ce in prin ciple
whe n those being punish ed ar e adults. d o esn ' t flo w fr o m co llege d egrees in revea ls sti ll wa t e r s runni n g dee p :
Pa role gives society the powe r to say to c rimi no logy. Ins te a d it co m es fro m cu rre n ts th at tou ch the soul of who we
deser ving prisone rs, you are still part of th e uni q u e vantage p o int of d eali ng a re as Ame r icans. Parole to uches th a t
soc ie ty. Th e paro le e leaves priso n with priso n e rs day-to -day a n d b e in g so ul and m a kes ce nts too. Pa r o le
sh ould be resurrected.
realizing tha t the American people have one myself.

~BOSTONN
~OMMO

PRISON LIFE 23

the art of
ronnie white
by Phyllis Kornfeld
Wh e n Ronnie White was kept back in the six th grade, in Fall
Rive r, Massac huse t ts, he was 15, an d a ll h is frie n ds were
going on to junior high school. H e reponed to sixth grad e
again on the first day a nd made it his last. His edu ca tion
continued a t j oe's Cafe (not its real name), whe re he says he
g r ew up drink ing, sm o king dope , a nd playing pool. H e
describes it as a run-down woeful p lace but it was a good
time because he and his friends we re th e "stars o f the show."
He shined shoes and he learned how to pick pocke ts.
His newly trained slippery fingers acquired a key to the
place, and he would e nter in the middle of the night to drink
a nd shoot pool for free a nd to steal ever ything in sigh t. This
in clud e d breaking into t h e jukebox a nd te le ph one fo r
c han ge, a n d th e ciga re ue mach in e, whose co nte nts h e
un loaded cheap a t the corner store. H e wa lked off' with the
te levision se t so many times they even tually chained it to the
wa ll. To co nceal his e ntry by key, White wo uld sm ash th e
window befo re he left at dawn.
"I was h ooked o n sniffing glue and looking back, maybe
that's where my style of an originated. Wh en I sniffed I could
see and hear things nobody e lse could expe rience, like a n
o ld rag stained with grease becam e a n escaped puppet from
th e circus. It spoke to me and did u·icks. I was in a world that
I became obsessed with. "
At seve ntee n he was doing two-a nd-a-ha lf years for
burglary, car theft, a nd shoplifting ch arges. In a nd out of
institutio n s his who le life, Wh ite ser ved much o f his time
drawin g. During those pe riods he spent ou t in th e gen e ra l
popula tio n , he sur vived by mee ting th e demands of th e
comme rcial marke tplace.
\t\Thite's ski ll with pen a nd ink (such a rtists a re sometim es
called "pen me n ") was ad mired. It was diffi cult to say no
becau e he n eeded th e money, a nd becau se it ma kes life
easie r to be coo pera tive and do t h ings for one's fe llow
convicts. In between commissions, or when he d idn 't need
the money, White allowed his ballpoi nt to wander. Struggling
Faith (p. 27) is a close-up of the mass of his d reams, a swampy
undu lating scen e. Living things, a nd parts of living th ings,

24 PRISON LIFE

the art of ronnie white

Mask

PRISON LIFE

25

the a rt of ronnie white

Dreamtime, 1989, ink on cardboard panel.

squirm in and out. At the top and in the distance are traces of elegance and romantic
nights.
H e experimented with the small amount of paint h e could get his hands on at one
point and finished an untitled fan tasy with his ballpoint p en. The paint is turbulent
sky and sea, a universe in the throes of creation, and in the midst of it, something
ancient rises up, etc hed with every spirit tl1at ever lived there.
White spent frequent periods in lockup for defiant b ehavior. He would n ot allow
himself to a ppear bro ken. Segregation provided th e solitude for creation. White
would let the p en roll in the sh adows of the dim Iigh t and watch for what h e called
"the spiri ts of the medium " to reveal figures and obj ects and p laces. H e liked to work
laying down on his stomach, the pillow under his chest and he drew sometimes for
eight h ours through the night.
In ten block, White made Dreamtirne (above) with his ballpoint, one of the few
possession s allowed in this most restrictive unit. He shows himself asleep on an o ld
ma ttress in a cell also occupi ed by thousands of d e mons and me mories, and two
g hosts, p erha ps White's inner selves; the saint and the mo nster.
"Dreamtime was a response to the atmosphere, all the hostili ty, the d ead air filled
with hatred, the spitefulness, the spit and filth covering th e walls, the roaches all over
the place, the monotony."
He served eight years, and on the day of his release, White's neighborhood frie nds

26 PRISON

LIFE

the art of ronnie white
welcomed him home with gifts of cocaine. "I fell right back into my old ways because I
really didn't know how to live in society. I was programmed to live in institutio ns, I need
to be taught how to live out in the free world. Nobody understands h ow a guy feels
getting ou t of prison after a long period o f time. I was ash amed to fill out a job
applicatio n. I had no references. I don't know h ow to drive a car. I'd look o ut th e
window and see people driving cars and think how do they do that, buy cars, h ave lives?"
H e did enter a local art contest and won first prize for best drawing. H e went to th e
reception high o n cocaine, stole some purses o ut of th e cloak room a nd as he leaned
over to pose for publicity pictu res, one of them fell o u t. The art associa tio n did not
h ave him arrested. He called the next week to say he was coming over to pick up h is
picture, and they said "you'd better have a cop wi th you."
He met a woman wh o was as into drugs as he was. Th ey had a baby, and it all turned
o ut badly. Soon he was back inside. White drew The Sacrifice (not shown) when he was
in a condition of deep depression. It is meant as a monument to his self-destruction.
"The cross is buried in junk: drugs, syringes, booze. I am handing the hammer to th e
mother of my child to finish me off."
The opportun ity to paint came around again an d h e made a series of brown
paintings. H e would randomly scuff up his board to get some life going o n it and allow
the paintbrush to move as h e did his ballpoint. In Headgames, a man sits in a confined
space in the lower right of the painting. H e is bent over his work, artist's work, the very
mysterious process of uncoveri ng images. Smoky visions float in and out through
squ are walls a nd windows.

Struggling Faith, 1989, ink on cardboard panel.

PRISON LIFE

27

the art of ronnie white

Another B1ick in The Wall, ink on jJape1:
"I know deep in my soul r have the makings of
a master in my blood and it may Lake a lifetime
to pe rfect my Lalent. T realize t.his because when
I'm working sometimes I get these excitab le
feelings like I'm really on to something and the
path is easy to follow. IL's not my mind that gives
me these messages, it's my soul. I want my work
to be recognized for what it u·taly is, as pure as
snow. I want to be a pprecia ted for so methin g
I've done right for once."
As or this writing , White is serving seven to

28 PRISON

LIFE

ten yea rs, has an e igh tee n - to twenty- yea r
suspended sentence, and is a three Lime-loser.
"I don't h ave a n y c h ances left. I think I'm
gonna make it out there next Lime. I have to. I
will go to the grave before I ever come back to
prison."

Exce~pterl from

CELLBLOCK VISIONS: Prison ATt
in America, by Phyllis Kornfeld. © 1996 Princeton
Uniuersil)' Press. Reprinted uy fJermission.

~end them alove letter they

can hugl

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Art Behind Bars 1995
Confessions of a Convicted Murderer
by Larry Bratt
Hagerstown , Maryland
"The Dreamer" by June Leaf

2nd Place Nonfiction

M

y first day a t the Maryland State
Pe nite ntia ry was me mo rable. A
big black guy, j ackhamme r solid,
sidled up to me in the chow line.
"Give me a smoke white boy!"
I banged him in his mou th . My fi rst 30
d ays of incarcera tio n were spe nt in a
p iss-smelling, roach-infes ted , lo ud-as-aluna tic asylum segregation unit whe re I
lea r ne d th at m en i n p r iso n lose a ll
se mblance of hu manity.
I was fed cold, ill-pre pa red food that at
times had a n ts a nd o the r insects in it.

Medical care, if you can call it that, was
no n existe n t in t h e seg uni t; a n d, as I
la te r learn ed , thro ug h out th e syste m .
H ell, I sewed up the gash over my left
eye th at "Big Bl ac k" gave m e with a
needle and thread . Guards spo ke to me
as if I were a dog in o bedie n ce sch ool,
which in time made me bark my words
a t ever yon e, including family members.
I quickly learned to mistrust a nd hate
eve r yon e. Especially consi de ring t h a t
ph ysical a buse by g u ard s o n seg was
rampa nt, as well as prison e rs attacking

in hi m, whi c h n o d o u b t wo uld h ave
escalated into some sort of warfare with
mo re tha n o n e person, beca use nearly
all prisoners have walking b uddies.
A walkin g bud dy is so m eo n e to
bullshit with, someone who's th ere to
commiserate wi th on how you caugh t a
losing h and in the poker game of life.
Al l walking bu ddies talk sh it with you .
T h ey talk a b out the ir b ig plans wh en
th ey get o u t. But 95% of the p risoners
h ere ar e ser ving life sentences an d th e
fou r govern ors who have run Mar yland

.

·-:t~

If someone asked me for a Little Debby snack · -1
cake, I charged them a few smokes. If they ~<~-E
didn't have any, I smacked them upside the ·:·~,-~
head and ran 'em off.

.4i

o ne a no the r at the slightest p rovocation
when four me n a t a time were le t o ut for
a walk on the tier.
Regardless of h ow tough a man is or
perceives himself to be, living wi th th e
constant threat of vio le n ce soon tur ns
anyon e into a fearful human b eing. Not
even a co mbat soldier lives with fear 24
hours a day. Living in fea r every d ay for
years, perh a ps d ecad es , eve ntua lly
causes eve n the strongest of us to lose
some thing of our humanity.
Fea r, the gre a t kill e r o f m e n 's
judg m ent, r o bs u s of th e a bility to
r easo n a nd so lve o ur p r o bl ems
n on viole ntly. I discovered that my fea r
of b e in g m a ime d , g a ng-ra p ed , or
p erh a ps killed clo uded my reaso ning
and made all prison e rs my en emy.
So I wa lke d a lo n e, a nd wh e n a
str a n ger a pproach e d m e I se nt o u t
signals o f aggressio n. If someo ne asked
m e for a L ittle D eb b y sn ac k cake , I
c h a rge d th e m a few sm o kes. If th ey
did n't have a ny, I smacked the m upside
the h ead an d ran 'e m off.
The wo rd soon got around tl1at I had
a screw loose . I d idn 't make frie nds; I
d idn't want an y. I didn't loan a nything
and if someon e wanted something fro m
m e th ey h ad to h ave th e mo n ey ri g ht
the re. I could have carried the m on the
books, but I was afra id th a t some fool
would try me and I'd have to put a knife

since I got h e re ain't signing a ny p aro le
pa pers for a ny lifer.
Thank you , Willey H orton. And I do
every mo rn ing as h e slo ps my n as tytasting oa tmeal o nto my breakfast tray.
Still, a walking buddy will tell you daily
h ow h e is go ing to m a ke a b ig sco re
ripping off an a rmored car; o r ma ke a
killi ng in the d r u g g a m e; o r kill th e
bitc h who testified against him or who
wro te him a Dear J o hn Le tter. But most
of all a walking buddy is a p o te n tia l
bodygua rd.
Men who can 't stand being alo ne with
th e mselves and th eir tho ug h ts n eed a
walking buddy. Afte r all, most men in
A meri ca n socie ty h ave always had a
wo man around to support, nurture and
comfort d1em. Mo mma made life easier
fo r us all and , wi th ou t a woman to lean
o n , to spea k with, me n i n priso n will
seek out an d fi nd anothe r ma n to keep
co mp a n y wit h . Ma n y of us fear
loneliness.
Ye t, I revel in the fact that I am alone.
Th at o n e n ess with m yse lf h e l ps m e
co ntro l my fea r. I have d iscovered a n
inner peace which led me to unde rstand
wh y I d id th e t hings th a t I d id, why I
ven tured into a life of crime. Many years
passed before I achieved this abili ty. Still
my story h as merit in the telling.
From the age o f five I grew up with a
fathe r who h ad to su·uggle with his life's
PRISON LIFE

31

misfo rtu nes. For 26 years he wo rked to
re habili tate h is body a nd spi rit afte r an
auto accid e nt left h im a parap legic. He
n eve r h ad th e tim e- o r p erhaps t h e
su·eng th-to liste n to secre ts that little
boys lo ng to sha re with the ir fath e rs. I
su bconsciously fe lt d e prived of a fathe r,
even though h e tried to be th e re for me,
especially whe n I became a teenager.
I now realize that I was th e o n e who
cou ld n ' t o p e n up . Afte r a ll , h e h ad
b eco me a stra n ge r to m e a nd I h ave
always been fear ful of stra ngers. Besides,
I cou ldn ' t sha re my feeli ngs o r secrets! had so man y.
I fou n d so lace i n t h e ar m s o f m y
m o th e r, wh o worked h a rd to ca re fo r
a nd suppo n h e r fam ily. She has always
bee n my best friend, b ut inwa rd ly I felt
like a "Mo mm a's Boy" a nd soug ht ways
to id e ntify with manly pursu its. vVhe n I
reached high school, I became involved
in sports. I took unnecessary risks in my
ca r b y speedi ng a nd dr ink in g. I
acce p ted foo lish d a res fro m fri e nds,
o n ce j ump in g orr of a bridge wh e r e
wee ks earl ie r a fe m ale classmate h ad
comm itted sui cide. And I ventured in to
crim e: petty theft th at eventua lly led to
my involveme nt in a n auto theft ring.

Th is c ri m ina l acti vity laste d for two
years, until I gradu a ted . Afte r scho o l J
join ed th e Unite d States Ar m y's e lite
Airbo rne Rangers, wh ere I expe rie nced
many wondrous th ings in sunny Vie tnam:
thin gs th a t o n ly en h a n ce d th e
impressio ns of ma nhood th a t I learned
from m ovies, ath le ti cs, a nd inte racting
with pro fessio n a l thi eves. Vio le n ce.
Weapo ns. Physical tisk taking. I j ust knew
1.hat if I were 1.rong en ough , bad enough
and had the balls to "bust a cap" I could
own my own piece o f the world. I got cap
b ust in g ex p e r ie n ce in ma n y a vio le n t
mission wi th the Ran gers and I e njoyed it.
T he o n e key ele m e m missing fo r me
d u r ing m y e ig ht-yea r mi lita r y sojo urn
was mon ey-Big Mo n ey. So I left the
Army a nd eve n tua lly fe ll in with dr ug
ru n n e rs. Vio le n ce, unfo rtu n a te ly fo r
me, became my compa nio n . ow I have
a d o ub l e co n sec u 1.ive l ife se n ten ce
h a ng ing ove r m e. The bitc h is t hat I
d id n ' t d o it, but no bo dy, not even you ,
wi ll believe th is state me nt.
So, like eve r yo ne e lse be h ind bars, I
live in fea r o f violence. T he fear is always
in th e back of my mind: Will l be forced
to ki ll today? O r b e ki ll ed ? It g n a ws
si le nt ly a t m y n e r ves. Ye t I avo id a

I was preparing to cut my jugular with
I was a n excelle m stud e nt with go od
grades and a n o utsta nd ing reputa tion as
a n a thlete. The wee ke nd s we re fo r my
e nj oym e n t; th at was whe n I a nd a friend
bega n steali ng ca rs fo r a p ro fessio na l
a uto th eft ring. My friend was a Corveu e
e nthusiast who in time was approached
b y a pe r son wh o r esto r e d wrec k ed
Veues. He asked my frie nd if he wa nted
to ma ke some b ig mone>' stealing Ve ttes;
my frie nd bro ught me into th is venture.
T h e ma n purchased key g un s for each
o f us a nd taught us how to cu t keys for
a ny ma ke auto, how to disengage alarm
sys te m s, a nd h e sh o we d us wh e re to
d rop off tl1 e ca rs afte r we stole tl1e m.
Soo n my p o cke ts fi lled with money;
th e adre na line rush I go t fro m what l
was d o ing was in tox ica ti ng . And I had
n o t ro u b le li vin g li fe as a n up r ig h t
stud e n t by weekd ay a nd a ca r th ief on
wee ke nd n ig h ts. I easil y sooth ed th e
co n cer n s of m y good a n d h ones t
hardworking mid d le class pa re n ts wh e n
they asked why I was staying o u t la te. I
caressed th e m with my sta nda rd we llfor mu la t ed li es o f swd yin g wit h m y
foo t ba l l tea mm a tes fo r th e co l lege
e nu·an ce exams, o r told th e m-since I
was also ba bys iu in g to ea rn m o n eythat th e a lleged coup le I was sitting for
stayed o u t la t e r t h a n ex p ec te d. My
fa m il y n eve r kn ew a nyt h ing a bo u t my
secre t life . Too bad I never go t caugh t.
32 PRISON

LIFE

ill

so m eo n e- to t h is clay I d on' t kn ow
who- slid a copy o f T h e Was hin g to n
Post in my cell. There was a lo ng a rticle
abo ut e lso n Ma nde la, in whic h was
qu o ted a po r tio n o f a leue r he h a d
written to his daugh ter Zin za.
"Wh ile yo u h ave ever y reason to be
angry with the fa tes fo r the setbacks you
m ay have suffe red from ti me to time,"
Ma n de la wro te, "you must vow to tu rn
th ose misfo rtu nes into victories. There
are few misfo rtu nes in t h is wo rld yo u
can n ot turn into pe rsonal triumphs if
you h ave t he iro n will an d n ecessary
skills."
It seemed as if Mandela 's words h ad
been wrillen fo r me. My m isfortun es
could not compa re to h is a nd he never
gave up ho pe. When a ll looked b leak,
his iro n wi ll saw him th rough . He mad e
his own ligh t. With th ese wo rds I now
h a d a gl imm e r o f h ope th a t I cou ld
possibly survive my shipwrecked life. I
vowed , af1.er reading those words, tha t I
wou ld do no less than Mandela-live for
a purpose. l made a conscio us decision.
I would assas in ate time .
Conve rti ng my ti me to useful pu rpose
wh i le in p ri so n p roved n o easy tas k .
Altho ug h l was hi red to wo rk in t h e

jagged tuna fish can lid...

wa lking b udd y, b eca u se h is tr o ub les
become yours. Some th ing I d on ' t need.
Afte r all, I know, if forced to, I would kill
in orde r to save my life or positio n in
the p rison s1.ructure. Many m en feel tl1a t
way. Even tho ug h I face the likelihood
of d ying of o ld age in p ri son a nd my
assassin ation would be a blessing, I have
the heart o f a Spa rta n warrio r. Ho n o r
co mpe ls me to fig h t. If I felt omeo ne
insu lted my ma nhood, I wo u ld assault
them. T hus I contribute to th<; cycle of
fear tha t kee ps the wh eels o f vio le n ce
tu rnin g t hro ug h o u t eve r y priso n in
Am e rica.
It was this a ttitude of always fig ht a nd
n eve r ta ke fli g ht th at led m e to mo re
stays o n locku p tha n I care to recall. In
fac t, during a p a rti c ul a rl y to u g h six
mo n th s in th e segrega ti o n u nit, in my
ten tl1 year of incarcera tio n-when I lost
th irty po u nd s fro m the shi tty food and
s uffe red th ro u g h a b o ut of wa lki n g
p ne umonia witllo ut medical Lreal.rne nt1 was o n the verge of suicide. I j ust gave
up. I ca re d abo ut n o th ing-n o t eve n
myself. I sough t refuge in death from th e
stenc h of sh it a nd piss th a t priso n e rs
we r e flin g ing at g u a rd s a n d o th e 1·
p risone rs, and fro m th e ho pelessness o f
t h is psycho logically a nd p hysically sick
world that is ho me.
As I was pre p a rin g to cu t my jugu lar
with a j agge d t u n a fi s h ca n l id ,

pri son prin t sh o p (on e o f 80 ava ilab le
j obs) th is did not fulfill me. So I began a
physical fiu1ess regim e n of r u nning and
calisthen ics. T his helped to keep me fit
and healthy. Still it wasn 'l e n ough.
While in the li bra ry one d ay I picked
up a book o n yoga. It held my inte rest
an d so l ordered The Complete /lluslmled
Book of Yoga, by Swa mi Vis hn u d evanando. Dai ly I prac t iced t h e
exe r cises. J read hi s tene ts o n
meditation a nd also practiced th e m. In
time I ca me to agree with the Swam i's
ph ilosophy:
"Wh e n b ody, m i n d , and so ul are
h ea lt h y a n d h a rm on ious, t h e highe r
mind can easily triumph over the vicio us
i n s ti nct ive lower mind . Obstacl es
become stepping ston es to success, a nd
life is a sc hool fo r t he deve lo pment of
characte r, compassio n , a nd realizatio n
of th e Divine All-Pe r vading Self. "
By incorporati ng the yoga philosophy
of inner peace into my life, I discovered
to my amaze me nt th at my alti tude of
calm t ra n scen d ed fear in my d ealings
with fe llow prisone rs a n d g uards. o
longer was I th e hard-ass striki ng out at
a ll t h ose aro un d m e beca u se I was
fea rfu l o f b eing assa ul ted. I b eca m e
poli te in ma nn er a nd a ppea ra n ce; my
daily interactio n with o th e rs was easier.
Te nsion le ft m e as I tr ied to find th e
good in all situatio ns. I fou nd tha t I had

the stre ngth to simply wa lk away from
situations th a t h e ld th e p o te nti al for
viole nce. This re prieve fro m the su·e s of
always havi ng to be ready to fight p roved
a godsend.
When I d ecided to stop livi ng in fear,
fea r of seeing co nfro ntatio n in eve r y
fa ce, m y hun ge r for vio l e n ce was
satisfied. Othe rs saw th at I no longer was
Alp h a wo lf loo kin g to a ttack a n y
potential rival in the pack. They all knew
I could sti ll go a t it ha rd if necessary, but
m y fe ll ow p r isoners res p ec te d m y
tra nsfo rma ti o n. Like me, they sig h ed
with relief.
Altho ug h m y li fe was beginn ing to
take sha pe through these activiti es, I still
yearned to con tribute something to th e
ou tside wo rld eve n though it did n o t
recognize my existence. I th ought a bo ut
what I cou ld do that wou ld improve my
life a nd show that I have worth.
ove lis t Pa t Con r oy provided t h e
answe r in an inte r view I read , in wh ic h
h e sa id h e wrote to "save h imse lf. " I
d ecided to become a wri ter in th e h ope
tha t writing wo uld become my salvation.
I began writing without the be nefit o f a
p r oper wr iti n g e du catio n . After 30
rejection slips for my first essay, I realized
I need ed to educate myself. I enrolled in
two writers co n espond e n ce co urses:
chil d re n 's short stories a nd no nfic tio n.
My instru ctors e n cou raged me to read

everything I cou ld get my ha nd on a nd
to make sure that I studied the various
wr iting tec h n iqu es used . Th ey a lso
suggested that I write ever y day an d that
I write about wh at I know.
I LOok th e ir ad vice literall y. Whe n I
wrote my sh ort stories a nd essays, I wrote
a bou t what I know best- myself. I soon
discovered th at writi ng had a meditative
e ffec t. I t ca lled to m e l ike th e
priesth ood ca lled m y fa vo r ite co usin
many years ago. It was inescapa ble.
Thro ugh my studies a nd writing, selfd iscove r y slowly unfold ed. I t was n ' t
always comfortab le telling my stories. My
life was beginning to resemble a n onion.
As I put m y thoughts d ow n I wou ld
u ncover m a n y la ye r s beneath t h e
surface that led to hidde n meanings and
feelings. For example, I discovered that
my mar ri age to a loving wo ma n h ad
failed as a result of my dom in ee ring and
philande ring ways. When my wife finally
bega n to exert he r free will, I e nded the
re latio nshi p . By wri tin g a bo ut t h is I
unde rstood I was selfish and immatu re.
Although at Limes wri ting has dee ply
sadden e d me, m y ep iphani es have
convinced me that setting my experien ce
to paper is beneficial. Understanding why
I made so many wrong cho ices in life has
e nabled me to change for th e be uer. I
now eagerly h elp oth er priso n e rs wh o
kn ow that I a m a successful write r with

ove r 50 major b ylin es. A few have
succeed ed in getting published.
It's become im portant for me to share
my experiences wi th others. It shows my
readers that I am alive a nd that I a m
able to contribu te to society. Pe rhaps my
wo rds may help save someon e fro m the
pitfalls tha t used to e nsna re me.
This abili ty to speak o pen ly about my
life, ex posing secrets and th e sha me I
fee l, has bro ught me a freed om a nd a
feeli ng of acceptance I d o ubt I co uld
have known a ny other way in prison. My
work also a tte mpts to convey a message
taught to me by elso n Mande la, th a t
life cannot be lived with biue rness. Tha t
fee li ng d e feats th e h uman sp irit. Life
sh o uld be lived in the sh ining, h ealing
lig h t of hope and fo rgiveness.
Although I have been incarcera ted for
the past thirtee n years and most like ly
will spen d t he r e ma inder of m y life
be h ind bars, it is due to my involvement
with meditation and writing that I have
changed fro m an antagonistic person to
that o f caregiver. My p ositive interactio n
wi t h othe rs is s imilar to b ei n g a
lightho use kee pe r. I hope tha t my life
expe ri ences will act li ke a shinin g
beacon and guide readers safely through
the treac h e rous shoals b e n eath life's
deceptively calm waters. And I pray every
nig ht that my efforts make it easier for
some to deal with th eir struggles. ~

EXPER'
LEGAL HELP
IS AVAILABLE
AND THE POST CONVICTION LEGAL
ROUP® MAKES IT EASY TO SECU
We are in the process of forming a cooperative association of the
best and m ost experienced criminal d efense attorneys in the country.
One phone call will provide you with the name and credentials
of the attorney tha t best suits the specifics of your case. Our members
are responsive. They have demonstrated their skills in the criminal courts
and earned the respect of their clients.
If you are in need of legal representation, your calls or letters are invited .

Calll-800-207-2659 for further information.
Post Conviction Legal Group, 1436 Gray, Suite 531, Houston, TX 77019.

Additional attorney participation welcon1ed. Pl~a:;e La1L
PRISON LIFE 33

Art Behind Bars 1995

2nd Place Fiction

Two Convicts
by Terry McC/ainl El

Dorado~

Kansas

ay after d ay I p assed his cell and looked for the
paste l-on-ve llum portrait of a J ap an ese ge isha
framed on his wal l. If h e was d ead , the wall
would be bare and his cell empty, for I knew the guards
would pack his be longings as quickly as possible. H e
often said to m e: "I'm an old m an and I'll die soon ,"
and I thought his words idle .
But I watched him shrivel, waste away to a shell of what
he on ce was, and I knew now they were true. There was
no hope for him. The cancer had m etastasized , spread
through out his body, and was killing him.
Every night as I lay in bed listening to the sounds of
the prison , I softly said th e word m etastasized. It h ad
first sounde d innocu ous in my ears, like a technical
pro cess common to muffler-and-bra ke shops. Now it
was the ugliest word in our language and sounded to
m e like the name of some m alevolent and evil being. It
filled m e with fear, and yet I longed to b e n ear to it and
to look upon its deadly work.
I overslept that morning. Amos Ca lvert a nd Darryl
Purvis were at our table when I straggled into the mess
hall for morning chow. Purvis spread margarine on a
piece of toast.
"No," Calvert said, continuing his con versation with
Purvis. 'J o hn was a good man alright, but there was
som ething strange about that old boy. I'll tell you what I
think." H e slurped at his coffee, no doub t arranging his
announcem ent in his mind.
I loathed Calvert. When I first knew him, h is tales of
riots and killings were interesting, but I soon grew tired
of him and his end less boasting of his prison exploits.

D

34 PRISON

LIFE

Art by Ronnie W hite

"Not a lot of these gu ys knew ol' John h ands a nd mind. l gave no more and often pu nctua ted his wisdom with a
like I did," he said. "H e was d ifferent, n o though t to Calve rt, excep t to recall the thin su·eam of brown j uice o n to the di rty
doubt about it, but it's ha rd to say how." distant formality Cavan augh had always concrete.
It was a testament to how widely John
H e b ega n to s lu rp h is coffee aga in sh ow n him , the p r o per a ui tude of a
convict towa rd a jai lho use pho n). As I Cavanaugh was ad mired t hat the
withou t giving us his theory.
stacked h eavy highway sign , I tho ught n ormally raucous sha ked own line was
Purvis saw me stari ng.
back to what Purvis had said abou t John somber and subdued th a t afternoo n,
"The old man's gone," he said.
moldi n g m e into a convict. I h a d each of us melancholy in our respective
"Who?" said I.
stumbled into the priso n a g ree n kid memories of him. I stood in the clear
"J o hn Cavanaugh."
rig ht off a college campus. Cavanaugh sunlig ht and the image ofJ ohn in his last
"ls he d ead?"
"Calve rt was just saying how the cops was watching a few weeks later whe n I d ays came to me. His g ray face was thin
pulled him out o f his cell this morning, piped a d ummy who had ordered me off and tired, su-icken with pain. T here was a
the weight pit after a disagreeme nt over new guard assign ed to shakedown an d I
before breakfast."
I was unpre pared for the sudd e n , a squat rack. After I got out of th e hole, mo ve d to wa tc h him , but t h e image
inte nse grie f that seemed to we ll up J o hn introduced him se lf a nd , li ke a would not de part. It was sole mn and th e
from my bo nes. It must have given • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •. .• • • • • eyes were Light wi th a look of qu iet,
me a start, fo r a fork clattered off
dete rmi n ed ange r. The i m age
th e ta b le o nto th e fl oor. Calver t
spoke and, while I could hear no
stared a t me, th e n looked to Purvis
sound, the face was fu ll of anxiety,
for a n explanatio n.
as if it wa n ted to remi nd me of
"Afte r you got o ut tha t last Lime,"
so me thin g. Then I remembered
Purvis said to Calven, "h im a nd ol'
0
0
Cavana ugh had asked me a month
John were pretty th ick. Before j o hn
'
or so before, if he died , to call h is
got sick he swore he was going to
b rother and let him know. The
m a ke a convic t ou t of th e boy,
phone number was in a box under
come hell or high water."
my bed. The face qu ickly receded
Calve rt crooked his eye brows. I
and was gone.
Thirty minutes later I was at the
fe lt his rh eu m y b lu e eyes o n me
but I refused to look into his face.
telephon e booths in the dormitory
•
lobby. I punched in the number of
H e r etu rn ed to hi s co ffee a nd
gulped it audibly.
his brother in Kan sas Cit)•. Afte r a
"I wou ldn' t think," he said , "th at
•
•
few beeps, a voice came on the line
youngste rs o ug h t to have m uch to
and said th at t h e number h ad
do with a ma n like tha t. "
bee n d isco n n ected a nd that n o
"vVhy, wha t do you mean, Amos?"
fur the r info rma tion was available.
asked Purvis. The indig na ti on in
Later that evening I wen t down
to his ce ll , pa r t ly to see if his
his voice seemed to spur Calvert to
trucule nce.
master sc ulptor c hi se li n g a bl oc k of neighbor knew h ow I co uld co n tact
"What I mean is tha t youngste rs ough t roug h stone, patie ntly se t himself to J ohn 's brothe r, a nd partly because that
to stay together in the joint, stick with teach me how to survive in tl1 e g utte r fam iliar haven o f cells at th e end of the
their own kind. They ge t into trouble world of pri son. H e never explained why flag might h elp me seal away forever
runn in g with o lder g u ys, ge t wro n g he c hose m e to be th e obj ect of his memories of Cavanaugh fro m th e gray
ideas abo u t how th ings should b e done." labo r s a nd , afte r aw h il e, I was too indiffe rence o f prison. His n eig hbor,
Leo McGogary, was a s h ort, e ld erly
A qu ick su rge of a n ger fl as h e d grateful to ask.
through me . I h ad a vision o f my fists
H e gave me my first sha nk, a sinister man with a smooth-shaven h ead a nd
slamming into Calvert's dried out face; nin e-inch piece of sharpened steel I hid heavy j owls. If J ohn h ad still been alive
an image of him lying b leeding and by gluing it unde r th e ho llowed-out flap a n d ab le to ge t a r o und , Leo and I
broke n on the crusted brown tiles.
of a cardboard box. A ro ll of adhesive wou ld have partnered up aga inst him
"Wha t are you trying to say, Calvert?" I tape and a stack of th ick Life magazines and Wayn e Estes in p inoch le, p laying
barked a t him. My body te nsed, ready to to se rve as body a rmor again s t stab cards and sip pi ng Wayne's infamo us
poun ce.
wounds beca me permane nt fixtu res in p o tato hooc h u n til th e gua rd called
"Hey, I didn 't mean nothin ', man, fo r my cell. For wh e n it was necessary to be lig hts o u t.
rea l!" h e s tamm e r ed, eyes sudd e nl y su-apped , I learned to hide a sha nk in
Leo and Wayne we re in Leo's cell
wide, palm s fl yin g up in co ntriti on. my crotch or in a rolled-up newspaper swilling hooch a nd watch ing a TV gam e
"Don't get me wrong; I mean, J o hn was lO get by sha kedowns. Afte r the riot of show with the sou nd off when I eased
a great guy, one hell of a convict, and I '76, we we n t strap ped for wee ks a nd, onto a wooden stool. Leo reached unde r
really liked him !" Seconds passed; he with two oth e r convicts from the dorm, the bed fo r a plastic jug while Wayn e
felt safe e nough to co ntinue. "It's just watched each othe r 's backs wherever we ha nded me a glass tha t I filled with the
that J o hn seemed to stay in the midd le we nt in th e prison. I read ily a bsorbed pale, fou l-smelling liquid.
of troub le. I remember h e a lm os t injunctions to avo id drugs, punks, and
Wayn e was a small, wiry man with a
stabbed a cop named Barnes to d eath, gam bling. Di scretio n is keepi ng yo u r scruffy, unwashed look h eighte n ed by
and Barnes neve r messed with anybody. mouth shut a nd mind ing your ow n hi s fai lure to sh owe r reg ul a rl y. No
And he ki lled a friend of min e, Albe n
business, a nd I learn ed to sh un inmates matter; after a glass or two of his hooch,
Knig ht, over nothing. J o hn just seemed who did neithe r.
body odors became immaterial.
to kee p thin gs stirred u p to o mu c h
"It's n o t e nough just to h ave heart,"
"At least he won't have to d o time in
around here."
J o hn to ld me . "If you ' re going to walk th is sewe r n o more," Leo said to t h e
Fo r o n ce I was g lad to go to work, do wn a life se n ten ce, yo u 've got to be silent, flickering television.
"Did he ... peacefully?" I asked.
relieved to h ave so me thing to occu py smart, tool" He c h ewed tobacco th e n

fter he riot Of '76, We
ent strapped for weeks
nd With t W
the r
.onuicts from the dorm
atched each other's backs
herever we went ·In the

I

d•l

b

b

riSOn. rea I v a sor e
.d d
n)UnCtiODS to 8VDI rugs
UOkS, and gamblina.

36 PRISON

LIFE

"Yeah, I think so," said Leo. "I got up
to pee about three this morning and he
was slee ping okay. About five, the cop
was ma king his rounds and found him.
The cop said it looked like he died in
his sleep."
"What a re they doing with the body?" I
asked.
" o one kn ows for sure," Leo
answered. "They usually take them down
to the cou nty for a n autopsy and the n
wait for t h e famil y to claim the body.
Nobody cla im s it, the y bur y it in a
potter 's field somewhere."
A Ay buzzed lazily a round the cell
and settled on the television screen.
Wayne hawked and spat into a tin
coffee can Leo ke pt at the foot of
the bed . In the distance, the sounds
of dominoes sla pping tabl es a nd
th e c ri es of p layers reviling each
o th er ec h oed fa i ntly down t h e
s ton e ca n yo n that was t h e
dormitory.
"J o hn asked m e to ca ll his
brother," I said. "I t ri ed t his
afte rn oon, but th e number was
disconnected. You guys have a n y
ideas how I can get word to him?"
Wayne and Leo excha nged quick
glances and finge red th eir g lasses.
I sensed something was wro ng.
'The number's been disconnected,
maybe you should forget it, just le t it
go," Leo said quie tly.
"I told John I'd make the call," I
a nswe red stiffly, maybe a bit too
much so. These were frie nds. "Why
did yo u say that, th a t l s h o u ld
forget it?" I asked more reasonably.
"Because that broth e r, th at Russell, is a
m aggot p iece of ga rb age!" Wayn e
exclaimed loudly. These were his first
words a nd th ey left m e thoroughl y
bewilde red. Leo saw my confusion.
"I double-celled with J ohn in B when
he first came in in '61," Leo said. "We
g rew up in th e same n eighborhood in
Kansas City, butJohn 's dad died and he
went to work to support hi s rna and
bro th e r wh ile th e rest o f us raised h ell
a nd go t into troub le. Th e brother,
Russell , was the a pple o f his rna 's e ye;
hell, even j o hn doted on him. T he kid
was smart, good-looking, popular, even
made good grades in school. Everybody
said he'd be th e one to make his people
p •-o ud. H e was nin etee n o r l\ve nty,
g oin g to so m e co mmunity coll ege,
whe n he took up with a floozie and she
h ad him r ob a j e we lr y store. Pre tty
soon, J ohn's rna came crying to him to
do something to keep 'their baby' from
prison. What ha ppe ned was, J ohn took
the fall. They gave back all th e jewelry
a nd h e pleaded to a simple robbery, a 210. Since it was his first time, they told
him a year, maybe e ig htee n months,

and he'd walk. j ohn told Russell to quit
th e tra mp and take ca re of their rna_
The boy promised h e wou ld , so J o hn
came to the joinL. "
I liste ned raptly to the old convict, for,
otl1er tha n wh at I had seen of J ohn and
the little h e had told me of himse lf, I
kn ew almost nothing about his life.
"Wha t was he like the n ?" I asked.
Leo paused a mome nt.
"He wasn't much d ifferent. But I think
h e was happie r, he could laugh and have
a good time th e n. Like one time when

fight then was only seve n days in the
hole and maybe the n all th at came later
wouldn't have happe n ed. But h e split
the g uy's head o pen, so they gave him
120 days in solitary.
"Right after John went to the hole, his
b rotl1er Russell got busted for a burglary
in Kansas City," Leo continu ed. ''Their
rna was sick in t h e hospital so there
wasn't anybody around to help. T he boy
pled guilty o ne day, got sen tenced to a 520 the next, and was on his way here a
couple of days later. That's how they did
t hin gs th e n. " Le o seemed to
gather himself.
"Prob lem was, Ru ssell just
sh owed up a nd, b efore anybody
cou ld look out for him, they had
him in C ce llhouse hooked up
with a r ea l mutt n ame d Albert
Knight."
My ears perked u p at the name
Calvert had menti o n ed at
breakfast that morning.
'This Knigh t was bad news," Leo
said. "H e was always looking to
tri ck yo ungste rs into ceiling with
him whe n they first came in . He
was real frie ndly and he had dope
and m o ney and h e could make
scared youngsters trust him. But as
soo n as h e got them in his cell,
he ' d turn th e m o u t a nd make
them h is punks. He h ad j u st
worked a boy so bad that the kid
went and hung hi mse lf in the
showe rs. So as soon as we found
ou t what was going o n , Wayne
went ove r th e re to st r a ighten
thi ngs out."
Wayne seemed to have fallen into a
d eep reve ri e. At t he m e nti o n of his
name he shrugged.
''Yeah," h e said softly, "I worked in the
Electric Shop th e n so I made up an
exc use to get in a nd ta lk to the day
sergeant, a real jackass named Barnes. I
tried to convince him to move Russell in
with a friend o f ours who had just come
in from Wichita and needed a cellie, but
Barnes wouldn' t hear of it. He said, 'Boy,
once I move an inmate, that's it. I ain't
going to have inmates jumping around,
causing me a lot of problems. ' I tried to
tell the puke that if Russell stayed in that
cell, he was going to have all kinds of
problems, but h e wou ldn 't listen and
told me to get out of his office.
"I figured then I b e tter go talk to
Knight," Wayne continued_ "I went up
to his cell and him and Russell were in
thei r boxer s h orts snorting c hicke n
powder. I called Kn ight to tl1e bars an d
told him Russell was John 's brother and
the best thing he could do was get him
out of the re, fast. Knig h t was cranked
up p retty good o n that stuff and h e
copped an attitude a nd started talking

"He was always looking to
trick youngsters into
ceiling with him when they
first came in. He was real
friendly and he had dope
and money and he could
make scared youngsters
trust him. But as soon as
he got them in his cell, he'd
turn them out and make
them his punks."
these two guys, Steve and Jason , lived
next door, eve r yb od y was o n J aso n
'cause h e snored so loud h e kept the
who le tie r awa ke at night- Earl y on
Saturday mo rning, j o hn got a can of
shavi ng cream a nd snuck ove•- to their
cell on his ha nds and knees. Steve made
J ason slee p with his head toward the
door, so john waited u ntil J ason was in
mid-sn o re and sh o t his mouth full of
sh av in g cream. Boy, I te ll you!" Leo
laug hed. 'Jason came o ut of that bunk
flapping a nd screeching like a gut-shot
turkey buzzard! He went around roaring
and tl1reate ning everybody, but no one
to ld him wh o done it until John was
already in tl1e hole."
Leo and Wayne were still laugh ing as I
refi lled our g lasses with the last of the
h ooch. I mourn ed the end of i t; th e
powe rfu l elixir was a pleasant fire in my
stomach.
"What happened ?" I asked. "Why did
h e go to th e hole?"
"H e got in a fight with a puke in the
tag factory," Leo sa id. "There was a
hamme r n earby, and J oh n c racked the
guy with it. H e told me later he wished
h e h adn't see n the h a mmer, 'cause a

PRISON LIFE

37

loud and cussed me. I didn't care much h e was out at the rec-shack where we
for that, so I told him if he did anything kept our shanks. We racked out for
to Russell, John would kill him when he chow and the cellhouse emptied. When
it was clear, he ran into the cop's office
got out of the hole. "
Wayne ran his fingers through and stabbed Barnes in the neck. Didn 't
thinning hair. "While I was trying to kill the mutt, but he was paralyzed for
talk to Knight, Russell just stood years. Then John walked straight to the
behind him watching. But when I told chow hall before anybody knew what was
him john would whack him, Russell ran going on. He eased up on Knight while
up and put his face right up in the bars. he was eating and stabbed him twelve
He was a real small kid; he looked like times. Knight made it to his feet, but
he was only fifteen or sixteen years o ld. John left the shank buried up to the hilt
But I'll be damned if he d idn 't start in one of his eye sockets. "
I knew the rest. The four years in
cussing and calling me names like no
one ever called me before. He said he solitary, the nineteen calendars he
could take care of himself, that John stacked in this joint after he came in with
didn 't call any shots for him, and that just the one or two, and the cancer that
me and my friends should
leave him alone and mind our
own business. I looked at
Knight and he was smiling,
real smug-like.
"I don 't mind telling you I was
a little rattled," Wayne confessed. 'Just didn't expect that
from somebody who was John's
brother. I tried to talk sense to
him anyway; nied to tell him he
was getting in a mess and he'd
better get out while he still
could. I offered to wait while he
packed his stuff; told him I'd
get him out of there, take him
to the Captain's office if
nothing else worked. But he
wouldn't pay attention; he just
screamed and cussed louder.
Knight put an arm around him
and laughed. There wasn't
anything I could do, so I left."
He raised his eyebrows.
stalked him like a maleficent fiend and
"About a week later a night cop was killed him just before he was due to get
making rounds in C and caught Knight out. A silence took possession of the
and Russell naked together, Knight up small cell and, under cover of it, I got up
on Russell's back. They took them to the and walked down the tier toward the
hole for a while, then put Knight back in toilets. Before I got there Wayne caught
C and moved Russell to A with the rest up with me.
of the sissies. " Wayne pulled out a
"I don't know if this'll mean anything,"
he said, "but right before he died, John
rumpled pack of cigarettes and lit one.
"But the cops didn 't stop there," he told me that you had become the son to
said, blowing out a plume of smoke. him he never had." He looked at me a
"Back then, when guys were caught like few seconds and turned away.
that, the cops wrote letters to their
"Wayne!"
I stopped him.
people on the streets and told them.
They figured that letters would cut down
"What happened between john and
on the faggot stuff. So Barnes wrote to Russell later, after Russell left?"
John's rna and told her about Russell.
"john hated his guts. Russell kept
She was already sick, but when she found writing and tried to visit, but John
out that her darling boy had become a wouldn't have anything to do with him.
jailhouse queer, it killed her. She died He asked us all early on not to mention
three days after she got the letter; it was him anymore. "
in her hand when she died."
"Then why did John want me to call
"My God," I said softly. "What did him?"
John do?"
"I don't know ; that do es sound
"They put Russell on the farm a few strange. Guess you'll have to find out as
days before he got out of the hole, " best you can."
Wayne said. "John didn't say anything to
The next afternoon I worked through
anybody that morning, but I heard later all the metropolitan phone d irectories

until I found a Russell L. Cavanaugh
listed in Shawnee Mission. I called the
number and a woman answered and
said Russell was at work at an insurance
company. I dialed the company and,
after a secretary put me on hold,
someone picked up the phone.
"Russell Cavanaugh, " a voice said
smoothly.
"Are you John Cavanaugh's brother?"
I asked.
''Yes ... YES! I am!" he replied quickly.
"I'm just calling to tell you that John
died of cancer yesterday."
''WHAT! What did you say?!" His voice
was loud and unsettled.
'John died yesterday," I repeated. "He
asked me to call you when he
died and let you know. "
I watched a cockroach forage
through detritus in a corner of
the booth while Russell groped
with his shock. It took him a
while; I was tempted once or
twice to ask if he was still there.
"John? Cancer? Dead? " He
choked the questions out
slowly.
"Yes," I said. "I'm sorry."
"NOI .. . NOI John can ' t be
dead !" Russell exploded . "I
need him! I waited for years ... to
forgive me ... no.. John ... no."
Had I been a better human
being I wou ld h ave felt a
measure of pity for Russell
Cavanaugh as his voice trailed
off to a frantic, incoherent
whimper. Instead, I waited for
him to regain his composure.
"Who are you, anyway?" he sniffed
several moments later.
"I'm j ust a convict, a friend ofJohn's," I
said.
"Did john ... did he give you a
message for me?"

"He eased up on Knight
while he was eating and
stabbed him twelve times.
Knight made it to his feet,
but John left the shank
buried up to the hilt in one
of his eye sockets."

38 PRISON Lin

"No."

"Are you sure?" he pleaded. "We were
brothers, and .. . "
"Yes, I'm sure," I answered. "He only
mentioned you once, and that was just
your name and phone number."
My duty to John was finished, but
before I could say the usual things and
close the call, Russell blurted: "Didjohn
still hate me?"
"Yes, he hated your guts," I replied
laconically.
A distant crack came over the line
as th e receiver at the other end
slamm ed down. I turned from the
booth, and again I thought of the
stricken face of the cancer victim. His
visage was still gray and solemn , but
instead of anger, a fierce joy now
burned in his eyes . A smile of
triumph flirted on his lips.
I smiled, too, and walked to my cell.

fflt

//One of the finest
achievements of prison
literature, and, indeed,
of that much larger body of
literature about criminals.11
- H. Bruce Franklin

Prison Literature in America
11

1n No Beast So Fierce,

readers will be able to
discover urgent truths
about crime and punishment
-and therefore about our
ultimate concern with freedom
-set down by a vigorous
and important writer."
-William Styron,
from the introduction to

No Beast So Fierce

In a recent interview, Fielding revealed that slave laborex.ists
in prisons suc h as Clinton , in Dannemora, N.Y He spoke of
CORCRAFT, a pr ison industry that pays convicts 70 ce n ts a
day to produce steel desks, chairs, tables, bedding, uniforms
by Anthony Papa
and many othe r items for all New York State offices.
Fielding has also found a popular inside / outside audience as
Eig ht of us journey thro ug h the maze of steel doors an d
co n c r e te corrido rs towa rd our week ly meeting with our a regular gu est on Be rnard White's Morning Show at 6:45 a.m.
li terar y guru, t h e man wh o teac h es us hovJ to ex press eve ry T h ursd ay on radio statio n WBAJ in New York Ci ty.
ourselves wi th the powe r of the word. It's a Tuesday evening in Fielding reads letters from prisoners across the U nited States,
the sweltering heat o f August. The small classroom is tucked fo rging a link between the incarcerated and those in the free
world. Many o f th e le tters are from convicts who have no way o f
away n ear th e hospital here at Sing Sing.
releasing their anger except through writing. T hey look to him
When we e nter, Fielding Dawson greets us
as a prophet: n o t
with a big smile. He's a maveri ck writer who
o n e wh o read s th e
takes no shorts and is proud to tell the world
fu ture, but o ne who
a bout th e li tt le-k nown genre of pri so n
raises consciousness.
writing. For most of the last d ecade Dawson
He h as enco u raged
has been teaching writing in Sing Sing and
students l ike Leslie
many other priso ns.
Rodgers,
now a
H e ca u g ht hi s first taste of teac hing in
published writer, who
1984, at Attica prison in upstate New York.
is c urrently writing a
"I was amazed by the talent," Dawso n says.
book
on
prison
He mad e a vow to u·y to release some of the
theology.
weal th o f ta lent b e h ind t h e wa lls in to the
"Th e sp on ta n ei ty o f
la rge r world.
the classroom," he says,
Fielding has lived in ew York since 1956, a
a nd r espond ing to
lo n g way fr o m hi s c hi ldhood roots in
individ u a l
stud ents,
Kirkwood , M issouri , just west of St. Louis.
infor ms what I say in class.
H e's th e son of c rea tive paren ts, a nd the
When stud ent writers
grandson an d grea t gra ndson of craftsme n
make mista kes, I try to
a nd teach e rs. H e atte nded Black Mountain
learn from those mistakes.
College, a well-known experimen tal school in
Teaching writing workshops
North Carolina, whe re his skills as a yo ung
in prison has gotten me out
writer, art ist a nd p oet we r e furth e r
of myself, into others' lives,
d evelo ped. After two years in the Army h e
and this has caused a change in my writing."
moved to ew York, wh e re he has lived ever
Fielding teac h es us to p ay attention to detai ls in o ur
since, though he's travelled wi d ely. H e is the a uth or o f 20
boo ks: short story collectio ns, novels, poe u·y a nd memo irs. observations, dreams, j ournals, stor ies and poeu·y.
"Prisons a re the e n e my," he says. "Do n ot g ive in to state
H is work has ap peared in The New Ym·k Times, The Village Voice,
H a·rper's Bazaw~ and Arts M agazine, and in nume rous literary language."
magazines.
H e says prison, not correctional facility. He says guard, not
Besides teaching a nd lecturing, Dawson lead s workshops correction officer. Warden, n ot superintendent. Prisoner no t inmate.
and gives readings a t universities a nd colleges thro ughout the We were the on es who told him that prisoners don't like the
word "inma te" because it means mental illness to us.
United States a nd abroad.
Beyond tall, barbed-wi1·e-topped, chainlinlled fences, rolling hills of
"On e differen ce betwee n teac hin g in p ri so n s a nd in
universities," he says, "is that intuitive connectio ns with convict neighboring farms... where the guards were bored, hostile and picky
on details as I cleared securit)' before being escorted to classrooms. Or
students are made much quicker and ar e mo re durable."
I think the difference lies in the makeup of his studen ts. H e the big, ugl)' maximum securit)' prisons, with their vast, high walls,
n ever knows wh at to expect in his prison workshops, and h e gun towers, long con ·idors (that define tunnel vision), and always the
stee rs the class dialogue toward breaking down bar riers that dim, grct)~ drawn faces and expressions of male and f emale guards on
can prevent priso n write rs from getti ng to th e core of th eir guard, lleefJers of the llept, wherever I went, and I went wherever I
could, lille j ohnny Appleseed, loolling for talent, scattering seeds to
e motions and th ough ts.
"Prison writing is more a udacious," he says, "more honest and grow t1·ees inside heads so after I'd gone, in the wilderness of the
o u tspoken than con ventional wri ting." Ma ny great li te ra r y future, somewhere some way, pen or pencil might connect with pafJer,
writers were co nvi c ts, in clud ing Me lvill e, Vo lta ire, and in a poem.
Dostoevsky, as were some of th e most popul a r write rs, li ke
-from T he Rose, a short stmy by Fielding Dawson
Fielding has tou ched ma ny lives behind th e walls of many
Chester Himes, Nelson Algren and j ack London.
But most writers wo uld not d are to en ter th e dungeons priso ns, a nd th e seed s h e h as planted h ave n ot sto pped
where we're housed, le t alo ne ch allenge us to turn ourselves growin g. Writer, te ac h er a nd hon orary convict Fie ld in g
inside o u t th rough creative writing. Wh at I li ke best abou t Dawson is a unique, caring man who has given many prisoners
Fielding is his wi llingness to be one with us. And beyond the a chance to discover themselves through creative expression,
and we che rish Lhis.
walls, h e's always in th e mix, advocating for prison e rs.

The Fielding Dawson Story

40 PRISON LIFE

.

Prison IJefined
Three HAIKU Poems
by Dennis J . Dechaine

Home for the homeless;
Employer of last resort,
Concrete-walled refuge.
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of the Judea-Christian;'
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43

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I

( MAN OF THE YEAR )

EDDIE ELLI
By Pam Widener

" ...... LIFE

I

Man of the Year

at Large
by Pam Widener

The Negro race, like all races,
is going to be saved by its
exceptional men.
W .E.B. Ou Bois
ith his usual red-faced exuberance and
borde rl ine H e ll 's Angel demeanor, th is
evening's moderator, activist-lawye r a nd
William Kunstler p rotege Ron Kuby never for a moment
lets us forget why we have gathered. We are in the Puffin
Room, a small gallery in downtown Manhattan hung
with hauntingly beautiful art created by and for political
prisoners the world over, a large number of whom are in
the US. The panel is The Politics of Incarceration.
'Just imagine," Kuby says, "that there was some sort of
disease that hit one white high sch ool student in four.
And what t his disease d id was it robb ed th ese young
white people of three, fou r, five, ten years, 20 years of
their you th-their most productive years. Some of the m
it would cripple, and some of them it would kill. First it
hit one in four young whi te high school stud en ts. And
tl1en one in three. And th en finally people predicted
th is plague would hit o ne in two. You know what would
h a ppe n in this country. The r e wo u ld be outrage.
Hundreds of billions of dollars wou ld be spent to cure
this problem; no expense wou ld be spared.
''That's the reality of what happens when white people
are affl icted. As those of us he re tonight know, when
African-Americans and Latinos and when poor people
generally are afflicted, the syste m is much differen t.
"I want to introduce to you a man," h e co n tinues,
"who has suffe red tremendously, and in his suffering has
given incredible things to a generation of young people
this cou ntry is trying to destroy. A man who is truly one
of society's unsu ng heroes."
Enter Eddie Ellis. He is a tall, lean, dignified man in
his early 50s, b espectacled, with soft white hair and a
white-speckled moustache. H e looks his age, but has the
bearing of a wise village e lder. Nothing about him
suggests he spe n t 23 years in prison. He seems calm, a t
ease, grounded in thought. Yet th ere is a n e n e r gy
h overing with studied patience be hi n d h is e yes and
th ere is a constant purse to his lips, making them seem
like a floodgate about to g ive from th e intellectual
pressure behind th em.
"It is a tremendous honor and a pleasure to be asked
to speak h ere," he says, "particularly in the company of
such distinguish ed panelists. Indeed, I th ink that we've
come a long, long way for just being asked."
His voice is distinctive. Once you h ear it yo u ' ll

\N

Eddie Ellis speaks in New York City, 1996.
Photo by Chris Cozzone.

r ecognize it in a h ea rtbeat, eve n fro m
severa l r oo m s away. It is th e first of
countless times I will h ear Eddie refer to
him se lf as "we," a nd I will come to
unde rsta nd tha t it's a reflec tio n of h is
community-based world view.
"U nfor t u nate ly," h e continues, "I
h ave-since I got ou t of prison, whic h
h as b een abo u t t h ree yea r s- a se t,
pre pa red sp eech t h at I normally give.
And over th e three yea rs I've gotte n
fairly go od at delive ring it. " Laug hte r.
"Whe n I spo ke to Ro n Kuby abou t what
I would talk on tonig h t, of course I had
in mind my se t speec h. And h e as ked
me to devia te fro m th at speech. H e said
th a t the o th e r prese nte rs- th e oth e r
illustrious prese nte rs-wou ld b e using

"The title of the speec h," says Eddie
slowly, pausing between each phrase a nd
dragging his s's like snakes, "is From the
Pla n ta tio n s to t h e P r oj ects to t h e
Priso ns.
"And I thin k that somewhat d escribes
the j ourney that African-Americans have
ta ke n in th is countr y. We we n t from a
p la n tation ... to a p roj ect.. . to a p rison."

THE WAR COMES HOME
Th e sa me se n se of ou trage a nd
u rge n cy t hat d isside n ts took to the
streets in the '60s to p•'otest th e war in
Vie tn am now drives countless se minars,
co n fe re n ces, l ec tu res, m a rc h es a nd
rallies tl1rougho ut the nation and across
the World Wide We b in respo nse to the

men now u nde r some fo rm of criminal
justice super vision, with pred ictions tha t
t h e num be r v.rou ld in crease to o n e in
two in th e next several years. Al ready in
some cities, like Balti more, the n umber
was more than one in two.
T he report docu me n te d t h e cost of
criminal j ustice control for these n early
one million you ng black males at about
$6 billion a year; a nd wen t on to say that
African-American women are the fastest
g rowing p r iso n popul a ti on, ri sing 78
percen t be twee n 1989 a nd 1994. Th e
n u mbe r of blac k wo men incarce ra ted
fo r drug o ffe nses increased 828 pe rcent
fro m 1986 to 1991; Africa n-Ame ri cans
an d Hi span ics co ns ti t u te a lm os t 90
p erce nt of o ffende rs se n tenced to sta te

"From the plantations to the projects to the prisons.
I think that somewhat describes the journey that
African Americans have taken in this country."
all of tl1e mate rial tl1at I h ad in my set
sp eech." La u g hte r. "Whi c h th ey did."
Mor e la ughter. "So I'm left h e re with
this se t speech tha t eve r ybody else has
already spo ken about."
In the last three years, tl1e set speech
Eddie e merged fro m priso n wi th has
evolved into at least fo ur version s, each
of which can be customized o n the spot
to m eet any occasio n . His h a bi t is to
scribble a list of key words on wha tever
piece of paper is nearest while the other
g u es ts a r e s p eaking. Wh e n his t u r n
comes, he speaks off the cuff, waving the
piece of pap er as though cond ucting his
o wn sym p h o n y, co n sul ti n g it o n ly
occasion ally to ma ke sure h e hasn 't left
a nything ou t, whic h is high ly unlikely.

trag ic fai lure of th e War on Cri me. In
1990, the debate was sign ificantly stirred
wh en T h e Sen te n cing Proj ec t, a n onp ro fit researc h orga ni zation in
Was hin gton, D.C., r eleased a repo rt
called Young Black Men and the Criminal
justice System: A Growing National Problem.
The report revealed that almost o ne in
four Afr ican-American males in the age
g r ou p 20-29 was under some form of
criminal justice supervision on a ny given
day: in prison or jail, on probation or
parole.
The Proj ect's u pdate in October 1995,
Young Black Men and the C1iminal justice
System: Five Years Later, revealed an even
mo re o utrageous situatio n: the nu m bers
were up to o ne out of three }'Oung b lack

pr ison for drug possession.
"It wo ul d behoove us," th e re p o rt
ad m on is h ed, "to lear n fro m t h e
m istakes of rece n t years a n d to begin
im ple me nting a strategy tha t will insure
that the next generation of child ren will
face a future fi ll ed wit h g rea te r
op portu nity a nd prom ise."
In the months following the report, a
n ew war has ensued. Specia l in terest
gro u ps b en t on b uil d ing more prisons
and p rosecuting tha t "next ge ne ratio n
of c h ild ren"-already labe led "superpredators"-as adu lts to insu re th at the
n ew huma n wa r e h o uses a r e we ll
stocked, a re u p agai ns t comm u n i tybased o rga n iza ti o ns wor kin g to sto p
the m before the bottom of the pyramid
PRISON LIFE 47

Eddie Ellis and Cardell "Blood" Shaird in Woodbourne prison.
er up ts. It's a wa r being waged o n o u r
own soil, and if th e p r iso n e xpa n sio n
lo bby isn ' t h alted by the mille nnium ,
T h e Se nte n c ing Project's year 2 000

33 p e rc e nt of t h e Am e ri ca n pr iso n
p o pulat io n a n d 9 5 p e rce nt o f m os t
priso n po pula tion s in the South. Black
priso n e rs we r e separ ate d fr o m white

I n th e late '50s, m i r ro rin g t h e
a tti tu d es and actlv t tJes i n t h e
communi ties, black pr ison ers began to
protest segregation and d iscri mi nation.
B lac k Mu sl im s ini t ia t e d t he p riso n
protest movemen t, fi rst by c halle ng ing
d iscriminator y treatme n t o f Muslims,
a nd late r expan d ing th e str ugg le to
include the co nsti tu tional r ig h ts of all
prison ers.
T h e late '60s a nd ea rl y '7 0s saw th e
b irt h of r a di ca l u r b a n p o li t ica l
moveme nts. The burgeoning Black a nd
La t in o p r iso n pop u lat io n, m a n y o f
wh o m we r e invo lve d in ra d ical
m oveme n ts such as t he Black Panther
Party a n d the Yo ung Lo rds, began to
a pply th eir u rban p h iloso ph ies to th e
prison struggle. Black pr isoners argu ed
th at they should be conside red political
prison ers; wheth er or n o t th eir crimes
were political, their co n di tion d e r ived
fro m p o li t ica l , econo mi c an d lega l
inequal ity.
Also in the '60s, the FBI began their
in fa mo u s COINTE LPRO o pe ratio n , a
syste matic attack o n o rganizatio ns li ke
the Panth ers and oth e r rad ical g rou ps.
Eddie Ellis was one o f scores of leading
Pan th e rs targeted by COINT ELPRO.
Th e ill egal o p erat ion d ecima te d the
Panthers with 768 arrests and almost five
million d o llars in bail bon ds between

es e
as o eo
" 1
'
that I haue ever been in. There as o rehabilitalio , there as no
education. There as nothin oin on exce t rutalitv."
re p o rt m ay ve r y we ll b e calle d Slave
Times, a nd n o n e o f u s will be a ble to
afford it.
''Ve ry soo n ," Edd ie says, "we will see
prison colo n ies all ove r th is counu·y th at
feed the local economies. And very soon
we' r e go ing to r un o ut o f inn e r-c ity
p eo p le to put in th ese priso n s. And I
t hi n k at th at point all of us will be in
some se rious, ve ry seri ous trouble."
As s tagge rin g as Th e Se n te n c in g
P roj ec t 's fin d ings we r e, th e di spro p o rt io n a t e r a te o f Bl ac k m a le
incarcet·atio n is n o th ing new. Afri ca nAme l"ica ns have been over-re prese nted
in priso ns sin ce the begin n ing o f th e
Am e rica n pe nitentia r y system in 1790 .
During the p eriod of Reco n str u ction
fo ll ow in g t h e C ivi l War (1865-66),
Southern states enacted the Black Codes
as a system of social control. Blacks who
we t·e un e mp loyed o r with o ut a
p e rm a n e n t res id e n ce were d ecla re d
vagra n ts; th ey co uld be a r res ted a n d
fined and, if unable to pay, be bound fo r
te rms o f la bo r. By 1878, just fi ve years
after e mancipation , Blacks re presen ted
48 PRISON

LIFE

prison e rs and subj ected to more brutal
an d in huma n e co ndi tions th a n th ose
suffered unde r slavery. During the 1880s,
the death rate of Black prison ers was as
h igh as 25 pe rcen t in some sta tes- even
wh ile th e dispropo rti o nate n u mbe r of
blacks in prison con tinued to grow.
"Pri o r t o 1954," wr ote n o ted ' 60s
prison e r Eldridge Cleaver, "we lived in
a n atm osph e re o f Novoca in . Negroes
fo und it n ecessary, in order to main tain
wh a teve r san ity th ey co uld , to remain
somewhat aloof and detach ed fro m 'the
p ro ble m .' We accepted indig ni ties a nd
t h e m ec h a ni cs o f th e ap p a r atus of
o ppression without reacting by sitting-in
o r ho lding mass d e monstra tions."
In t h e pri son s, Blacks we re seve re ly
pu nish ed fo r protesting th eir con d itio n .
T h ey had no poli tical o r legal infl ue nce,
a nd n o op p o rtuni ty to co m p la in or
press cha rges against the ir white j aile rs.
T h ey lived with the constant threat a nd
fear of lync h ing. Black p riso ners we re
fi·equ ently take n fro m jails a nd ha nged
wit h the supp o rt a nd assista nce of lav;
e nforce m ent o ffi cials.

1967 an d 1969 . T h ir ty-eight Panthers
were killed.

AMERICA AFTER ATIICA
Bo rn and raised in H arle m, by 1966
Eddie was 25 years o ld a nd direc tor o f
community relations for th e New York
City branch of the Black Panther Party.
In J 969, as p art of CO INTELPRO, h e
was arres ted a n d accu sed of killi ng a
man h e'd never see n before, h ad n o
con nection to, and no m otive for ki lling .
T here was no physical evide nce linking
hi m to the crime. H e was sente nced to
25-years-to-life a nd wound up at Attica
pe n itentiary in New York State.
"I was convicted," Eddie says, "on the
testimo ny of two police officers who got
o n the stand a nd pe rjured themselvessaid tha t they actually saw me sh oot th is
in dividual."
To thi s day, Ed d ie m ai n ta in s t h a t
evidence exists wh ich ca n exone ra te
hi m, but t he New York Ci ty Po li ce
De partmen t and th e FBI refuse to turn
th e records ove r on t h e b asis that it
would com prom ise national secu rity. A

mo re like ly reaso n is th at in t h e few
i n c id e nts wh e r e reco rd s h ave b ee n
mad e availa b le-most pro mine ntly in
the case of Dho ruba Bin Wa had-th ey
e xpo se d ill ega l co ve rt op e r a tio n s
sp ecifica ll y des ig n ed to p e rve rt t h e
c rimi n a l j ustice syste m a n d use it to
r e m o ve p e op le wit h und esi r a b le
political views.
Dhoruba Bin Wah ad, like Eddie, was a
Black Pa n th er convicted o f mu rde r a nd
sente nced to 25-to-life. It took h im th ree
yea rs o f his prison tim e just to r ead
t h r o u g h t h e 300 ,000 p ages o f
doc um e nts turn ed ove r to hi m u n der
th e Freed o m of In fo rm a tio n Act, b u t

11 state e mployees we re ki lled .
"Mte r Attica, the re was a tre me ndo us
spo tl ight focused on the criminal justice
syste m an d o n th e p•-ison syste m. The 19
de ma nds made by th e brotl1ers a t Attica
u ltima tely became the grou ndwo rk fo r a
mini ma l se t of standa r d s by whi c h
prisons wo uld be run ."

THE THINK TANK
In th e wa ke of the Attica re bellio n, a
n umb e r o f poli tica l p r iso n e rs from
throughout the state we re transfe r red to
Green Haven prison near Po ug hkeepsie,
N ew Yo r k. Mos t of these priso n e rs
s h a r e d a bac kg rou n d of p o li tica l

activism a nd consciousness raising, and
th ey we r e co n ce r n ed with t r yin g to
ma ke se nse o f th e prison ex pe rie n ce:
wh a t th ey we re d o in g t h e re, wha t th e
purpose o f p r iso n was, a nd h ow th ey
cou ld b es t pre pare t h e mse lves and
o t h e r p r iso n e r s to r etu r n to t h e ir
co m mun ities.
By th e tim e Ed d ie arrived a t Gre e n
H ave n , he h ad already been in five o f
e w Yo rk 's 13 priso ns. T h e re a re now
close to 70 p risons in the state.
"Ever y p riso n I was in ," h e sa ys, "I
seemed to know everyon e, they seemed
to be ver y fa m iliar to me . Peo p le who
ca me from th e neigh borh oo d . And if I

"The day they took the prison back was the day I witnessed statesponsored murder. That was a turning point, not just for me, but
for criminal justice in America."
eventually h e d isco ve red th a t th e FBI
evid e n ce
a nd
had
wi t hh e ld
"di sap p e are d " witn esses, l eavin g
D h oruba in n o positio n to m ou nt a
credible defense. In 1990, afte r servi ng
19 years, his conviction was reversed a nd
he was released.
Seve r a l o t h e r poli tica l priso n e rsso me sti ll in ca rce rated , so me fin ally
r e leased a fte r se r vi n g t h e ir e nti re
se n te n ces- co n tinue to a r g u e t h ei r
cases. Edd ie, thoug h h e sp e nt eve r y
m o m en t o f h is 25-yea r b id wo rking
toward his exon e ration and release, has
neve r been incl in ed to dwell o n his own
case. l-Ie's too busy moving for ward .
"Attica was o n e of th e mo st bruta l,
oppressive and racist prisons that I have
ever been in," Eddie reme mbe rs. 'T here
was no reha bili tation taking place, the re
was n o edu catio n . The r e was n o th in g
goin g on except br u tality an d racism.
And it was tl1 is bru tali ty and oppression
which ultimately led the guys to rebel. "
In Se pte m b e r, 197 1, t h e g r ow in g
revolu tion ar y consciousn ess e rupted at
Attica. At the first sig ns of revo lt, th e
sc h ool wh e re Eddie was workin g was
sea le d off a nd a b a nd o n e d by t h e
guards, who joined fo rces to repel the
prison e rs back thro ug h B-Biock a n d CBioc k to D-Biock, wh e re th e stan d o ff
took place. Ed d ie was locked down in CBiock, wi th a window overl ooking the DBlock yard.
'Th e day the y too k the priso n back,"
h e r ecall s, "was th e d ay I witn esse d
state-s p o nso re d murd er. T h a t was a
d e fi ni tive turn ing po int, n o t just for
me, but fOJ- crim in al j u Lice in Ame rica.
Attica was a wate rsh ed ."
In wh a t s till s ta nds as Am e r ica's
dead liest prison revolt, 32 prisoners a nd
PRISON LIFE

49

Clockwise from top left: 1989, Sing Sing masters degree graduation ceremony; late '80s, Green
Haven Resurrection Study Group; 1989, a surprise visit from daughter, Greer, at Sing Sing; early
'8 0s, with parents, daughter and aunt at Green Haven.
didn ' t know th e m p e r so n a ll y, som e
fri e nd o f min e kn e w th e m. We
discove red that we kn ew almost eve ryone
in th e prison syste m. Whic h seemed to
s ugges t th a t th e p oo l fro m whi c h
prisoners come is a very small pool."
Und e r th e "gu idin g inte llec tu a l
spirit" of Pa p a Rage, a / k / a La rr y
Whi te, wh o h ad bee n tra n sfe rre d to
Gree n H ave n as a leade r of th e 1970
Aub u rn pri son r e b e lli o n , a n d
e n e rg ized by th e c rea tive mindse t of
Senior Cha plain Eel Mu lle r, a group of
pri so n e r s-m os tl y life r s- fo rm e d a
"think ta n k" to begin in vestigating just
how sm all th a t p ool was. Th ey soo n
di scove re d th a t ove r 7 5 pe rcent (th e
figure is close r to 80 pe rcent n ow) o f all
so PRISON LIFE

the people in the New Yo rk Sta te prison
sys te m co m e fr o m ju s t seve n
n e ig hb o rh oods i n New Yo rk C ity:
H a rl e m, th e Lowe r East Side, th e So u th
Bro nx, Bedfo rd SLUyvesant, Brownsville,
East New York, a nd South J amaica.
H ow is it, th ey asked , that in a state as
la rge as ew Yo rk, with 15 0 asse mbly
districts, j ust 18 o f the m produce such a
dispro portionate numbe r o f p eo ple in
the prison system?
"If you loo k a t th ose seven
co mmunities," says Eddi e, "yo u find
so me commo n ch a rac te ristics. On e of
t h e m , of co urse, is th a t th ey're
po pulated by p eople who are of AfricanAmerican a nd Latino descent. You find
so cial conditio n s tha t by eve ry possible

measure-health care , housing, family
structure, substance a buse, e mployment,
edu catio n-rank a t th e very bottom in
the sta te."
As Eddie explains it, p eop le born and
raised in in ne r-city a reas where basic
social institutio ns tha t should support
and sustain their lives are dysfunctional
d eve lop a diffe r e nt wa y o f seeing
th emselves and a skewed world view.
"We ca ll it a ' crim e-ge n e r a tive
attitude.' And tha t a ttitude basically says
th a t I ' m living in a so cie ty where my
community h as b ee n written off,
relegated to the back of the bus... a nd so
conseque ntly I have to ge t mine; I have
to do what I can d o fo r myself; and I
have to do it howeve r I have to do it.

"By the time children get to be eight
or nine years o ld , they've a lready
formulated some ve r y concrete ideas
about themselves, about th e wo rld ,
about law enforcement, about wh at's
acceptable and what's n ot acceptable.
And in communities su ch as this, where
unemployment is as high as it is, people
automatically gravitate towards income
generation that is marginal at best, and
in the worst case scen ario is c riminal,
so-called.
"One of the first things that h appe ns
in prison ," h e continues, "is you become
very isolated. You begin to feel that the
prison experience is a total experience
in which you are totally powerless. And
that feeling of powe rlessness on the part
of prisoners, I think, feeds a feeling of

vocational u·aining and were welcomed
into union positions whe n they got out
of prison. But as the min o ri ty prison
p op ulati o n grew, the j ob marke t for
r eleased convicts shran k, and so the
notion of reha bilitation was discredited.
The Non trad iti o n a l Approach says
that edu cation in prison can no longer
b e b ase d in a white, m idd le class,
Eurocentric foundation , but must be
r ooted in Afri ca n-America n / Latina
value systems.
In th e tol era n ce for r efor m that
fo llowed Attica, the prisoners at Green
Haven began to develop programs they
could suggest to state prison authorities.
Among the ideas that were ultimately coopted from prisoner proposals were prerelease centers, regula r pho n e calls, and

priso n baccalaureate program in the
state in 1973, a nd, by 1982, the first
masters degree program.
"I spent most of my time in prison in
some degree program," says Eddie. "And
th e oth e r portio n o f t he time I spe nt
d eve lop in g programs and teachin g
various kind s of ed u catio n al classes."
Eddie went into prison a college dropou t
and came out holding associates degrees
in liberal ar ts and in pa ralegal studies, a
B.S. in business ad ministration, a n d a
masters degree in th eology.
"If I had m o r e tim e," h e says, "I
probably would have gotten more."
H e cred its one man in p a rti c ul a r,
Marist College professor Lou Howard,
with h elping to develop his command of
language.

"Ninety percent of all the people in the New York prison system are
either Black or Latino. Three quarters of them come from
seven neighborhoods in New York City."
powerfulness on the p a rt of the
administrators and the guards. And that
power relationship is the re lationship
that dominates th e entire time th at
people are in prison. "
Over th e n ext 10-15 years, the Think
Tank's five core members-Larry V\'hite,
Carde ll Shaird, Charl es Ga le (all of
whom are still locke d up ), Lawr ence
Hayes and Eddie Ellis-continued to
ana lyze t h e umbilical re l at io n ship
between the com munities and prison.
They began to publish papers, using
what they described as a Nontraditio nal
Approach to Criminal and Social justice,
emphasizing th at th e fund amental
solutio n to crime, violence and drugs
lies i n the co mmunity and that th e
rela tionship between prisoners and the
communities should be e nhan ced.
"It's a n a nalys is based in fact," says
Eddie. "It's a fact that close to 90 percent
of all the people in the New York pt·ison
system are either Black or Latino. It's a
fact that over three quarters of them
come from seven n eighborhoods in New
York City. It's a fac t tha t approximately
90-95 percent of everybody who is in the
prison system wi ll one day co me out.
And it's a fact tha t over 90 pe rcent of the
people who co me out go b ack to th e
same communities they lived in prior to
going in."
The Think Tank did a study of th e
New York State p riso n p opul at ion
b etween 1940 and 1990 a nd discovered
that most of the prison ers in 1940 were
Irish, Italian, German and J ewish , a n d
up until the 1960s the rate of recidivism
was re la tively low. T h e reason , the y
found, was that the wh ite prison ers got

special trailers for weekend family visits.
Under an umbrella prison organization,
Political Action Committee (PAC), they
developed model programs, such as The
Resurr ection Study Group, tha t teach
prisoners i"ndividua l and c ivic
responsib ilities a n d pre pare th e m to
return to their communities committed
to edu cating young people before they
too get into troub le. The p r ograms
teach Afrocentric va lues, hi stor y,
economics, poli tics, a n d be lief systems
d esigned to build self-es teem, en hance
self-confidence , a nd e n cou r age
constructive social attitudes.
Th e Green Have n think tan k was
instrumental in imple me nting the first

"H e had a dri ll," says Eddie. "I still
remember it- A p arts a nd B p artsyou've got to know the m backwards and
forward s, yo u 've got to be ab le to
diagram se ntences and pick out the verb
and th e preposition , a nd understand
the relationship of adj ective to adverb. It
was almost paramilitary the way the g uy
drilled it into us. Bu t most of us really
needed that kind of app r oac h to
education, a nd certain ly to the English
language."
Professor Howard remembers not so
much what he taught Eddie as what he
learned fro m him.
"I think we assessed Eddie's progress,"
h e told me rece ntly from his office at

M ar tin Luther King's Birthday commemoration at Green Haven.
PRISON LIFE

51

Manhattan Borough Community College,
where, a t age 7 1, h e con tinu es hi s
language drills, "by the extent to which he
co u ld h elp m e to see that a particula r
a utho r had written so mething tha t was
relevant to some social problem. " For an
e ntire se m este r, the two studied world
literature togeth er in private, one-on-one
classes. Eddie had e nro lled in a course
that wasn't actually being o ffered , a nd
Howard had shown up to teach it anyway.
Eddie r e m e mbers it as th e m os t
rigorous-20 books in 12 weeks-and the
most e nriching of his career.
"It was in c redib le," h e says. "For a
who le se mester I was imme rsed in the
classics. It really broadened my scope,
gave m e a who le oth e r dime n sionexp e riences I would n o t h ave go tten
othe rwise."
Prisone rs, prison administrators, a nd
eve n p o liti cia ns kno w t h at lac k of
education is largely wh at lands people in
prison in the first place. A 1994 study by
the federal Bureau of Prisons found that
the more education a pe rson rece ives in
prison , the less like ly he is to re turn to
prison. Ye t a n a me ndme nt to the 1994
c rim e bill bann ed fede r a l g r a nts to
prisone rs fo r post-secondary education,
a nd in Jun e, 1995, prisom throughout
th e na tio n faced th e pa infu l reality of
co mm e morating th e ir last co ll ege
gra du a tion
ce rem on ies.
The
amendme n t was sponsored and pushed
by a ha ndful of po liticia ns who claimed,
falsely, th a t prisoners were receiving a
significan t amount of federal money th at
should rightfully go to more deser ving
stud e nts o n t h e o uts ide. In fact,
prisone rs received about 6 cents of every
10 program d o llars, a nd no qu alifying
student on the ou tside wou ld have been
de nied a grant, regardless of h ow many
p risone r a pplicants there were.
At G r een H ave n , where higher
educatio n in New York prisons had b een
co n ce ived 23 years ea rli e r, th e last
graduatio n was a n especially c h a rged
occasio n.
"This cer e m on y," said g radu a te a nd
pri so n e r Ma ri o An dre in hi s
valedictorian speech, "marks the e nd of
a 23-year re la tionship b etween Mar ist
Co ll ege a nd this pri son. Like many
o ther effo rts a t engineering a more just
a n d equitable society in this country, it,
a lo n g with co ll ege prog r ams for
priso n e rs a ll ove r America, h as falle n
victim to a ch illin g wind th a t at the
mo me nt is blowing uncompromising ly
hard to the political right."
Former prisone r Latif Islam re minded
th e gradu a tes a nd th eir families that
th ere was a tim e wh e n you n g m e n
e ntering th e syste m we re immediately
tak e n und e r the wi n gs o f priso n ersc h o lars lik e Edd ie Elli s a nd sh ow n

52

PRISON LIFE

Eddie Ellis in his Harlem office.
so m eth ing in themselves th ey h adn 't
seen before.
"Mayb e," said Latif, in a practiced
sp eec h-maker's vo ice with a hint o f
stree t in it, "we n eed to begin to see
som e thing in those bro th e rs wh o are
n o t he re tonight enjoying thi s. Maybe
we n eed to begin to see so m e thing in
them that they don ' t see in themselves.
Don' t le t this adversity knock us down.
Don ' t le t it stop us. Make this degree
your teaching d egree."
During slavery, whe n literate slaves
risked losing th e ir finge rs-th e penalty

for breaking the illite racy law-to pass
th e ir kn owled ge on to th e o th e rs, a
tradition deve lo ped in African-American
scholarship : a Black sch o la r owes th e
res t o f th e Blac k co mmunity a
commitme nt to ser vice. W.E.B. Du Bois
ca n onized the co mmitm e nt a t th e
beginning of this century in The Talented
Tenth, a nd today, the gra ndc hil dren o f
the talented tenth , scholars like Cornel
West a nd H e nry Louis Gates, Jr., are
vocifero usly keeping that comm itme nt
a li ve a nd in th e mainstr eam. In The
Fu ture of the Race, published earlier this

year, Gates and West explore the paradox
of th e la rgest black midd le class eve r
coexisting today with on e of the largest
black underclasses. In the last quarter of
a cen tur y, the size of the black middle
class- prima rily beca use of ex pa nd ed
opportunities afforded by gains in civil
rights-has quad rupled, while th e size of
th e b la c k und e r class h as g row n
dispropo rtion a tely as wel l. In 1995, 45
percent of all black ch ildre n were born
at, or be neath, th e poverty li ne.
"If it is th e best of times for the black
middle class," write Ga tes and West, "it is
the worst of times for an equally large
segme nt of our community."
Whe n Eddi e Ellis e n te re d priso n in
19 69 , West a nd Ga tes we re e nte ri n g
th e "fi r s t-g e n e rati o n Ivy" B l ac k
stude nt bo di es a t H a rva rd a nd Yale.
Wh il e Edd ie was h e lping to c r e ate
Afro ce ntri c prog r a m s in the New
Yo rk priso n sys te m , Ga te s a nd Wes t
we r e h e lp i n g to e s ta b l ish Afri ca nAmer ican S tudi es as an acad e mi c
f ie ld a t un ive rsi ties thro u g hou t th e
countr y. T h e und e rlying pre mises o f
Th e Fu tu re of the Race ar e th a t
American society h as failed to pro tect
th e b as i c, os t e n sib ly i n a li en a b l e
rig h ts of its p eople- e qu al access to
edu ca ti o n , a d e q uate h o u s in g,
afford a b le medi cal care, a n d , fin ally,
e qua l eco nomi c o ppo rtun ity, "equa l
ac cess, in d eed , to h o p e its e lf"- a nd
th a t the l ead e r sh ip o f t he Afr i canA me r ica n co mmuni ty h as a sp ec ia l
r es p o n s i b i l i t y t o a tte nd to t h ese
r i g hts and t o "d es ig n , p ro m o t e,
l o bb y, a nd ag it a te fo r b o ld a nd
im ag inat ive r e m e d i es t o t h e
co ndi t io ns of in e qu a l i ty a nd
injustice." Th e u nde r lying pre mise of
t h e T h ink T a nk 's N ontraditi o na l
Approach is tha t t h ese fai led socia l
i n s titu t io n s (e duc a tion , h o u si ng ,
m e di ca l ca r e, ec on o mi c o pp ortun i ty) - and h o p e
itse lf - ar e
d i r ec tly resp o n sibl e for gen e ratin g
crim e a nd impriso nm e nt, a nd tha t
pri s on s mu s t b e co nv e rt e d from
"wareh o uses fo r the li vin g dead" in to
u ni ve r sities that teac h se lf-id e n ti ty,
se nse of co mmun ity, commitme n t to
soc ia l c h a n ge and e mp owe rm e nt.
A nd tha t i t is th e spe c ia l r es pon s ibi l ity o f t h ose w ho hav e b ee n
imp riso n ed to atte nd to t h ese r ig hts
a nd ag itate fo r refo rm.

NEIGHBORHOOD DEFENDER
Edd ie Ell is sits in h is o ffice a t th e
Ne ig hborh ood D efen d e r Se r vice of
H a rlem on 125th Stree t. Below, b eyond
th e fl oo r- to-ce il i n g wind ow of t h e
second fl oo r o ffi ce , th e prid e a nd
tr age d y of t his legenda r y b o u levard
bustles by as Eddi e rega les me with

an o ther breath less maratho n senten ce.
"So wha t I 'm saying is tha t in these
communities, t h e r e a re th ese c rim egen e rative facto rs that produce a certain
kin d of an a ttitude, a nd if you live in a
community you acqu ire tha t a ttitu de,
an d you begin to act it ouL Now, if that's
tru e- a nd we wo rk on the assumpti on
th at it's true-the n th e prescription for
law e nfo rce me n t th a t deals sp ecifically
wi t h c rim ina l b e h av io r, th a t is, th e
identification, appre he nsion, conviction,
sente ncing and incarceration of so-called
criminals, th a t approach is doomed to
fail, because the peop le who are involved
with this crimin al beh avior are involved
in this c rimin a l b e havio r because of
larger, syste mic, socioeconomic reasons."
Looking down a t th e stream of activity
in the s tree t , I th i nk a b o ut h o w
extraordinary it must be for Eddie to be
in th is office eve ry day- to be o n this

nobody calls th e m for help, they go out
o f b usi ness. Part of Edd ie's job is making
sure th e com muni ty kn ows the service is
avai la ble . Most peop le who get in to
trouble with the po lice don't know that
they can call a lawyer. Most people, even
if they know wha t their righ ts are, do n ot
kn ow how to exercise the m in a mome n t
of c risis. Eddie wo rks to e du ca te t h e
communi ty about how to respond if they
or somebody they care ab out is arrested;
how to avoid con fron tatio n with police;
h ow to avoid making the legal troub le
worse than it is.
When d esign ing NDS, Ve ra Institu te
Director C h r isto ph e r Sto n e d r ew
p ri marily on h is experiences as a Ya le
Lmv School student in th e early 1980snot h is time a t the school, but the time
he spe nt worki ng in prison . In 1980, as a
first year law studen t, he h elped develo p
a p rogram eventually known as PACT, or

Think Tank members at Green Haven.
block-to be in this vi llage of Harlem.
"Al l the time I was in prison," he had
to ld me, "the 23 years I was in prison, I
j ust tho ug ht abou t and worked towards
o ne thing, and tha t was coming out. "
Tw e nty-six yea rs la te r h e's t h e
Coordinator of Communi ty Education
fo r the Neighborhood Defende r Service
of H arlem, a n agency se t up in 1990 by
the Vera Institute for Justice to provid e
free, hi g h -quality lega l d efe n se to
reside n ts o f H a rl e m a n d East H a rl e m
wh o are accused of crimes b u t cann o t
afford to hire p1·ivate lawyers.
One of the ma ny distin ctions between
N DS a nd othe r legal d efe nd e rs is th e
d eg ree to wh ic h it main ta ins a close
connectio n with the co mmun ity. Unlike
most p u blic d efe nde rs, th ey d on 't ge t
appointed to cases, wh ich means that if

Project fo r a Calculated Transition, that
b ro u g ht Ya le law st ude n ts to G ree n
H aven prison for d iscussio n groups. In
th e classes, stude nts kept prisonersmostly lifers- up to da te on cur ren t law,
and prisoners lec tured stud e n ts about
prison a nd c rime in th e streets.
From these early d iscussion groups at
G ree n H ave n , Ston e gain ed va lu a ble
insigh ts th at hel p ed h im meet h is goal
o f d esig n ing a tru ly he lpfu l, cl ie n torie n ted public defend e r.
Tho u g h h e wasn't wo rk ing close ly
with Eddie, Ston e met h im o n several
occasio ns ove r the two-and-a-half years
he visited Green H aven . H e remem bers
being par ticularly impressed with how
s m a rt a nd orga n ized Eddie was a t
ed i ting a n d p ub l ish ing t h e Gr een
Haven newspap er; and at how little he
PRISON LIFE

53

The Editor of the Woodbourne Word in the late '80s
focused on his own case.
"A lot of tJ1e more sophisticated life rs,"
says Stone , " h ad fi g ured ou t th a t it
was n ' t the first th ing t h ey should talk
aboul. But it was ra r e that I ' d mee t
someone who over time wou ldn 't find a
way to bring up his case and as k for
h elp. Eddie was always focused on th e
people, o n organizing."
About a year afte r NOS was fo rmed, a
staff member came into Stone's office to
ask h im if h e would add his signature to
a petition to urge th e release-or workrelease- o f a priso n e r by the na me of
Eddie Ellis. Aliliough Stone hadn 't seen
Eddie in almost te n years, h e recognized
the p icture of hi m immed ia tely.
"Does h e h ave a j o b?" h e a sk ed ,
"beca use a j o b is probab ly m o r e
important th a n an extra signa ture o n
this petition." Whe n h e discovered that
th e r e was in fac t n o job wa iti ng for
Eddie, Stone created o ne for him.
"Most g uys," h e says, "wh e n they get
out, if they have a job at all, they' re lucky
to have a ma nual labor job. And those
things are hard-tough hours, occasional
work, low pay. It's really hard."
Having not o n ly a j ob, but a job with
a n organization that understood where
he was coming from, what his own need s
were, and th at meshed with his personal
gifts a nd interests, h as pro bably mad e all
th e diffe re n ce in the world for Eddie.
54 PRISON

LIFE

As much as Stone was doing Eddie a
favor, it felt more like he was repayi ng a
de bt.
"Th e men at G ree n H ave n ," Stone
says, "really taught me a huge amount,
a nd it influe n ced the work I've done in
my life a lot. Being able to create that
job for Eddie fe lt like we were g ivi ng
h im some thing h e d eserved. H e did a
lot for other people along the way, long
befo re h e ever go t out of prison."
Anyone who's eve r h ad a n y kind of
i n vo lve m e nt with th e priso n syste m
knows that there is priso n time and
the re is freeworld tim e, a nd th e two a re
e ntirely diffe re nt. In prison, no matte r
h ow mu c h yo u try to ma intai n yo ur
con n ec tions to the o u tsi d e world, it's
ultimately impossible to h o ld o nto the
big picture. Even Eddie, who was known
fo r how a ble h e was to kee p up with
th in gs whil e h e was lock ed up, was
stunned when he got o ut.
"H e j u st co uldn ' t b e li eve it, " says
Sto n e. "H e co uldn 't b e li eve wha t
h a ppen ed to Ha r le m . H e cou ldn ' t
believe the way the kids were acti ng, he
couldn ' t believe the music, he couldn 't
believe life in the streets."
One of the things that carried Eddie
throug h 23 years in pdson was a tireless
fascina tion with the world-a n ability to
kee p learning a nd to kee p m ovi n g
forward. H e ca m e o ut of pri so n

co nvin ced th a t community education
s h o u ld b e based in a n Afr oce ntri c
curriculum, a nd within a few months, he
was able to incorpo ra te it into a much
broad e r political view of the world a nd
how rich a nd dive rse it is.
"It's a rare gift," says Ston e, "and it's
why h e's so good at what he does. And
it's why the connection be tween what he
does for a j ob-education and ouo·each
work for NOS-and what he does as an
avocation with his political work in the
commu ni ty, is s u c h a ni ce mi x. H e
man ages to use th e co nnections in his
life -hi s tim e in , his tim e o ut, his
politics, his professio n , his skills-in a
powerful way to advance the causes he's
interested in. "
Eddie's avocatio n is his wo rk as cofo und e r an d president of th e
Communi ty Justice Cente r a few blocks
east of NOS o n 125th Street. One of the
things the Think Tank resolved was that
they n eeded to develop an organization
in th e street th a t co ul d carry out the
work-the research, p ublishing p apers,
policy advocacy and deve lopmen t- as
we ll as con tinu e to c reate innovative
program s for priso n e rs a nd a n a lyze
existing programs to d e te rmin e their
efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Shortly
after Eddie 's release, h e h elped se t up
this outside arm. The uniqueness of CJC
is that it is operated e ntirely by prisoners

a nd ex-priso n e rs, an d t h e Board of
Directors, with one or two exceptio ns, is
comprised of people in prison.
J ust as the Non trad itio n al Ap proac h
provid es a n a n alys is o f th e p r iso n
populatio n a nd dete rmin es what kinds
of p rogra ms th at specific pop ul atio n
n eed s, th e Com mu n ity Justi ce Cen te r
strives to d etermin e and d efi n e wha t
p eo p le
in
inn e r-c i ty
c h a n ges
communities want to see in the crimi nal
justice system.
"One of th e big pro bl e ms," Ed d ie
maintains, "is tha t someone e lse always

to make specific reco m menda tio ns to
the Legislature a nd th e govern or.
Th a nks la rge ly w Edd ie 's u n usu a l
organizational capacity, the CJC has a
d ozen m aj o r prog ra ms i n action or
deve lop m en t, in cl u d ing Ope ratio n
Cease Fire, the ir maj or youth program ;
a Food Se rvices Program whic h works
with d isa bled ve terans; a Post-Re lease
Program; a Drug Elimin ation Program,
wh ic h wo r ks wi t h the H o using a nd
Urban Developme nt Corporation to ri d
dr u gs
fro m
p ub li c
h ous in g
deve lo pme n ts; a Work Study Program

of land i n n orthe r n H a rl em in to a
m o d e l co m mu nity with co mm ercia l
b usin esses, pu blic h ousing for specialneeds popula tions and a state-of-the-art
ed ucati onal & entertai nment complex.
Becau se of th e ir expe rt ise a nd
educatio n , t h e CJC is fast becom ing
one of t h e DO C's most val u ab le
r esou r ces . Soon t hey will wo r k
exclusively on a consulting basis, hired
b y state offices su ch as H U D ,
Corrections, Parole and Pro batio n , to
solve problems th at u p to now have
bee n u n so lva bl e, large ly b eca u se,

"More Americans were killed by gunfire at ttica t an
at any other event since the Civil War."
ge ts to speak fo r us. T h e academicia ns
s peak f o r u s, th e p r ofessio n a l
p e no logists s p ea k fo r u s, t h e law
e n fo rceme nt peo ple speak fo r us, the
po litician s speak for us, the media spea k
for us. We haven't real ly h eard from the
people in our communities." CJC holds
fo rums and confe re n ces a ll ove r t h e
state in predomin antly black a nd Latino
an d poor commun ities to get a sense of
wh a t t h e lead e rsh ip, th e com m u n itybased o rganizations, the clergy a nd tl1e
elected officials want to see the criminal
justice system d o, so tl1at they' ll be able

whi ch u n ites C ity Un ivers ity stu dents
with recen tly-released prison e rs; a rally
to commemorate the 25th a n n iversary
of t h e in s ur rect io n at A t t ica; an
ed u ca t io nal a n d voca ti o n a l sk i lls
prog r am for ad o lescents o n Rik e rs
Is la nd ; a vote r ed u ca ti o n and
registra tio n ca mpaig n called Opera tion
Big Pr ison Vote, whi ch will soon be in
eve ry coun ty j ail in the state; a nd their
m os t a m b i tio u s u ndertak in g, t h e
Up town Development Proj ect, a m u ltimi llio n do lla r plan in iti a ted a nd ru n by
prisoners to rebuild fo ur square b locks

according to Ed d ie, "th e perspective
has not been as good as it could be."
"Eddie is a real fo rce fo r p r ogress,"
says Ston e. "H e neve r sto ps work ing,
moving th e ball forward. And as a result,
he b rings people who are working with
him forward. It's very rare. Not just fo r
people who 've been inside, it's very rare
a mo ng hu manity."
"The re's a g roup of men who fo rmerly
we r e in ca r ce r a ted in m a n y priso n s
t h rough o ut the state of New York ,"
Eddie says, "who mad e a comm itme n t
wh ile we were in p rison that o nce we got

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o ut of priso n , we wo ul d try to do so m e thing to assist o ur
brothe rs and sisters who we re still in prison to come o ut; but
even mor e im po rtant ly, b eg in to try lO mak e so m e
f-undame ntal cha nges in the society out here so tha t ma ny o f
our you nger brothe rs a nd sisters will n ot ultimately have to
go in."

THE REAL WAR ON CRIME
On a clear Apri l morning, I'm driving toward Rike rs Isla nd
to teac h wh e n Eddie's unmistakable tenor tor re n t co m es
sailing in to my car over Lhe WBAl airwaves.
T he re's some thing imme nsely approp•·iate about listeni ng
to WBAI
ew Yor k o n your way to j a il. o o th e r sta tion
devo tes so much air Lime to prison issues, priso n vo ices, and
to the di rect relatio nsh ip be tween the street and the yard. o
oth er statio n gets so man y calls fro m con cerned mo th ers
need ing a d vice o n h ow t o keep th e ir so n s from be ing
arrested o r ki lled.
Brothe r Shine, the sta tio n 's reside nt recovering prison e r
and producer of most of th e prison shows, is broadcasting a
sp eec h Eddie de livered a few days ea rlier at Medgar Eve rs
College in Brooklyn.
"Ove r the last few mo mhs," Eddie says, "I have been rapidly
coming to the conclusion th at we see m to be stuck in what
Martin Luther King used to call the ' para lysis of a nalysis. '
That is to say, we become paralyzed by a na lyz ing a nd r ea nalyzing a nd discussi ng and re-di cussing these issues over
a nd over agai n . And whil e I agree that there is a need to
share informaLion an d fe llowship and to be able to feed off
o ne anothe r's positive e ne rgy, l thin k at some point we have
to ma ke some distinctio ns, we have to draw so me lines, we
have to come to te rms with th e fact tha t wh ile we ' re a nalyzing
this proble m, it's ge tting worse a nd worse.
"Wh at we h ave h e re, esse n t ia ll y," h e co ntinu es, "is a
serious assau lt a nd auack o n poor people all over America,
a n d peop le o f colo r in pa rti c ul a r: Latinos a nd peo p le o f
African d esce nt. And de pending o n where you li ne up in
t h e spectrum, so m etim es you can see thi s wa r and
sometimes you ca n ' t. And the serio us proble m for most o f
us is th at we don ' t eve n kn ow th a t we're in a war. And
because we don ' t now that we' re in a war, we're losing the
battle very ra p idly."
Twe m y-th ree years d own , this man never lost the ability to
see himself-to see us a ll- in a larger historical perspective.
"Some people take the position," h e says, "and I think I
stand with them, th a t from the point th a t Eu ro p e in vad ed
Afr ica we've b ee n a t war. So metime s it 's a hot war,
so me tim es it's a cold war, som etimes it's mo re overt tha n
oth e r s, but at leas t sin ce th e n we 've bee n a t wa r. Our
o rgan izatio n has a n a na lysis, a nd we say Lhat we've simp!)'
moved fro m th e p yram ids to the p la n tation to th e projec ts
t o th e priso n s. T h at h as been th e sojourn of Afri ca n
peop le : from the pyra mids to the pla n tation to the projects
to th e priso ns."
In 23 years, he never lost the abili ty to expand his world view.
"We look at what's going on in New York City. T he mayor has
declared war on the so-called 'quality of life ' type crim e. I'm
not really sure what tha t means or whaL tl1at is, but I know th e
ultimate effect of it is that young Black and Latino men and
women are now being ar rested for th ings that they no rma lly
would not have been arrested for.
"We know fo r a fact that young u·uants--juveniles--are being
picked up by th e po lice, in some cases fingerprinted an d
photographed. We heard this morning about the kinds of abuses
police brutality brings. We know tllat tile police deparunent has
been picking up young men, school age, and putting them in
line-ups ''~thout autho rization from their parents.
"The re 's a wa r going o n . This is not accidental, this is not
56 PRISON LIFE

d
COMMENTARY ON CRIME,
PUNISHMENT, RACE,
AND THE UNDERCLASS
BY A PRISON CONVICT
MANSFIELD

B.

FRAZIER

'I' e el.Order,
See Be•ks •~ the Bleek,
Inside -Back Ce•er

Crabs in a Barrel
It's abou t as difficu lt for a yo un g white female 10 get to
Ri kcrs Island as it is easy for a yo un g black ma le. It takes
three passes and one g uard trai le r just to ge t to the Control
Build ing.
I exit the Control Building. Two LUrnstiles, one DOC bus,
a m etal detector and fi ve iron gates later-! arrive in the
classroom in the catacombs of one of Rike rs I 0 jails.
On any give n day, there are about 20,000 p eople at Iuke rs.
Thirteen a re in my writing class. I know how slim th e ir
c hances will be. Wh e n they are released , just ge tting home
from Queens Plaza, where th e DOC bus wi ll leave them at
4: 30 in the mornin g-after 10 hours in a s ma ll ,
ove rcrowded , stinking bullpe n-will be an unlikt.:ly victory.
ot buying a quart of beer from Broth e rs & Son De li will be
the first thing not likely to happen. Not picking up as many
cracks as $4.00 can buy from the dealer who g reets the bus
every morn ing i also a low odd. T he flow between Rike rs

en r aged. As th e semester wears o n and the drugs in
Clarence's system wear off, he has become more frustrated
with his siLUation , with th e disunity in his commun ity, with
h is own shame at being unconscious all these years, a nd with
the un conscio usness of the men a round h im.
"C rabs in a barre l," h e says now, "pulling eac h other
d own." He te lls us tha t this awa kening occurs every time he 's
in jail, but then wh en he leaves, h is Master (d rugs) takes
over again. This time feels differem: he finally understands
th e futility of complaining; he fina lly feels compelled to take
rcspon ibility for his own life. U nfortunately, h e also feels
compe lled to preac h it to the o t h e rs, who are growing
in creasing ly tired of it. Liste ning to hi m serm o nize to th e
young, headstrong guys in the class is heartbreaking-m ostly
because they don't wamw hea r him.
This mo rning , Clarence's recitation of h is epic Mosler
Plan, about how the Black co mmunity has been divided to
be at war with itself, sends some of the younger guys off o n
a violence tangem, wanting to ·hoot leaders and blow up
buildi ngs.

"If you feel so helpless because your leaders were killed,"
Clarence yells despairingly, "you need to learn what they knew so
you can continue the struggle!"
a nd the street is constam and sea mless.
Clare nce, a studen t this term, has been one of two things
for most of his life: high in the street or so be rin g in jai l.
The sobe r period s are filled with sudden c larity a n d
h ope, but m os tl y with remorse ove r a was ted and
offe n sive life. H e is weary, but still has the tri ck ter's
g lea m in hi s eye . r imagine h e' d fri ghte n m e in th e
street, an d I 'm not easily frightened.
As it turns out, Cla re nce is a wandering bard. Scores of
poems, al l in his h ead . Long, rh ym ing hi stories a nd
morality tales. Sometimes I think h e must have wri u c n the
verse lo ng ago, befo re the drugs took over, and that the
lyri cs res urface durin g his straight times. Or I imagine he
c reates the poems cons ta ntl y, whether h e's stra ig ht or
hi g h , but o nly ca res e n o ugh to rec ite them when he is
soberi ng in j ail.
At th e o th e r end of the spectrum is Kevin , one of the
younger students, a brigln-cyed bundle of con flic t cryi ng out
in subtle ways to be saved while demandi ng overtly to be
ki lled. H e's the son of kid I imagined whe n I read Corn el
WesL's desc r iption in Race Mailers of "Lh c n ihilism t h at
in creas ingly p e rvad es black com mu n ities ... a numbing
detachment from o thers a nd a self-destruct.ive disposition
Lowa rd th e world. " Only there's somelhing trying to shin e
through in Kevin. His eyes tell me 1hat, his eyes and th e fact
that he shows u p every day.
Kevin has a lot lO say, bul it's nearly impossible for him to
spea k. The language jusl i n 't there for him. He makes all
th e motions-he even ra i es his hand politely whe n he wants
to o ffe r so m e thin g-b ut what co m es o u t is a murn ed,
halting, nea rly aboncd effort. Usually, he manages to get a
key word ou t so tha t we can a ll fin ish h is thoughts for him.
Cla re nce, b eing a trickster, can so m etimes ge t Kevin 1.0
e lu cida t e- a nd he can a lways get him to smi le-by
preLCnding to be deaf in one ear.
An ongoing deba te about victimhood and empowerment
h as dominated o ur class all semc ter. The men have a deeply
ing rained belief in conspiracy theories and no ne has e noug h
ed u cation to argue h is way ou t or feeling o pp ressed and

"If you feel so helpless because your lead e rs were killed,''
Clare n ce yells despairingly, "you need to learn what they
knew so you can continu e the struggle!"
Al l Kevin knows is Lhat he has no power and no voice, and
that ta lkin g a nd marching don't see m to ge t a n yo n e
anywhere.
"Gun s," h e says. "Bo mbs. Blow u p all-just-everything.
To1al-"
I wish Eddie Ellis were here. Kevin needs to meet a man
who understands h is rage, who has taken arms for it, served
legendary tim e for it, and is now more powerfully a ble to
avenge it-with his m ind.
Nler class, moving past streams of brown an d black men
in g reen unifor ms struttin g in haph azard single-file from
mess ha ll to yard, l catch up with Kevin.
" Liste n ," I say. "I' ve been meeting a lot of these men
lately." He's listening. ''Guys wh o were leaders in the Black
Panther Party a nd who were targeted by the govern men t
and locked up and-"
"Th ose were, th ey-" he waves a h and to indicate to ta l
destruc tio n . "Set up."
"Tota lly shafted," I agree. "But l go tta tell you, these g uys
a rc doing some powerful things n ow. Th ese arc the men
who arc going to be making the ch a nges you want to sec. A
lot of th ese m e n a1-e comi n g out now after d oing 20, 25
years. They're coming ou t comm itted to fighting. And
they're th e o n es who can do i t. Because th ey know
everything. They just spen1 half th ei r lives in prison, no one
knows as much as they do-"
Kevi n noels, respectful of' th at kind of time in.
"Yeah ," he nods, "they know."
" ot on ly do they know th e syste m," Tsay. "vVhile they were
loc ked up , th ey go t educated. They got college degrees.
Masters degrees. They got as many degrees as they could.
There's n othing these guys don't know. They stand a bette r
cha nce of making changes th an a nyone."
Kevin nods some more and looks sideways a t me.
"Yo u m ea n ," h e says, "you ac w a lly met some or these
brothcrs?"-PW
PRISON LIFE

57

coincidental, this doesn' t just happen in
a vacuum."
Hearing Eddie's voice on the air waves
ma kes me consider just h ow profound
and fa r-reaching his accomp lishments
have been.
In additio n to his n o rm al workload,
his cale nda r includes cou ntless speaking
engage me n ts at high sc hools, colleges,
churches a nd comm un ity centers, talk
show a ppeara n ces, lectures to parole
boards, presen tation of prop osals to th e
D e p a rtm e nt of Corre c ti o n s, a nd
lobbying t.he State Legisla ture in Albany.
H e h as become a prima r y so urce for
local pape rs, radio and te levisio n. The re
simply isn ' t anything happe ning in th e
criminal justice system-and pa rti cu la rly
in th e ew York p r ison sys te m-that
Eddie isn 't aware of or invo lved in.
He serves as a member of the ationai
Criminal Justice Commission, a d iverse,

reco mm e nda t ion th e Co mmi ssion
makes is that "all states- a bse nt so me
d e monst rate d urgent ne ed-sh o uld
impose a three-year moratorium on new
prison construction. "
The most effective campaign for this
reco mme ndation, at least in New York
State, h a s bee n laun c h e d by th e
Community Justi ce Center. Their latest
p rogra m , th e P r iso n Mo r ato rium
Proj ect, has united comm unity-based
organ izatio ns t hro ug h ou t the state to
lobby for a ha lt to prison construction
over the next fi ve years, and to establish
a n "Alte rnative Budget" to re-allocate
th e $ 900 m ill ion d o l lars Gover n o r
Pataki cu rre ntly proposes for b ui lding
three new maximum-sec urity priso ns
and creating a n additio nal 4,300 cells.
Based o n proposals fo r c1·iminaljustice
c h a n ge and c h anges in th e juvenile
justice law (trying 13-year-olds as adul ts

hi
nonpartisan g roup o f about 40 citizens,
sc holars, crimin al justi ce expe rts and
community leader s from across the
n ation who originally cam e togeth er two
yea rs ago to assess th e state of c rime
policy in Ame rica. T he result of th e ir
efforts, a repo rt called The Real WaT on
CTime, p u b lis h ed carl ier t h is yea r,
provides the most d efini tive a na lysis of
crime a nd pun ishm e nt in the Un ited
States since the 1968 Kerner Commission
re port on civi l disorder. It offers solutions
for reducing violence and provides a set
of re commendations
that wi ll
fu ndamentally refo rm t h e c rimin al
justice system and begin to cure its deep
afflictions.
The Real War on Crime conclu des that
th e crim inal justice sys te m is in crisis.
Although th e prison popu latio n has
tripl ed
an d
law
e nforc e m e nt
expe nditures have quadrupled sin ce
1980, citizens in record numbe rs report
th at they feel unsafe in th eir homes and
o n th e str ee ts while c rim e rates h ave
re mained virtually un changed. In order
to fund jails and prisons, state a nd local
gove rnme n ts have been forced to divert
money fro m education, h ealth care, job
programs and community d evelopment.
Moreove r, o ur practices a nd poli cies
have he lped set the nation back on the
sa me "se p a rate a nd u n equ a l" r ac ia l
divide the Ke rn er Comm ission observed
more tha n a quarter of a ce ntur y ago.
The rate of in ca rce ra ti o n f01· Africa nAmericans is six tim es the rate for
wh ites, "a fac t that has much to do with
discrimination, " the report states, "as it
d oes wi th rates of c1·ime."
T h e ve r y first, a nd m ost c ri ti ca l,
58 PRISON LIFE

begin to formulate th e beginn ings of
another move me nt. A move me nt that
may have as profound an d d ee p
ramifications as th e hu man ri g h ts
move ment of the '60s and the a nti-war
movement of the '70s.
'We' re in the beginnings righ t now, we
think, of the development of a movement
that wi ll h ave major implicationssocia lly, p o liti call y, economi ca lly,
educationally, recreationally, religiously.
A m ove m ent that m ust, at thi s tim e,
begi n its forward assault on those forces
that are assaulting us.
"We say t h at we will beg in t hi s
move me n t-and we're in the process of
begin n ing this move me n t-from t h is
day forward."
Twenty-fi ve yea rs ago, Eddie E llis
survived the watershed Attica revolt. In
its aftermath, he and a ha ndful of other
prisoners initiated a wave of reforms in

e to j 1n 5
alii g fo a
n or the ne t five years."

and moving 16-year-o lds into en h anced
p e nalties), Pata ki a n ticipa tes n eedi n g
10,000 new cells between now and the
yea r 2000 to accom mo d a te th e n ew
prison e rs coming in.
"An d we don 't h ave to ask what th ose
peo p le a re go ing to loo k li ke," Eddie
tells the students at Medgar Evers. "And
we don 't ha ve to as k wh e r e t h ey' r e
coming fro m. What we need to do is we
need to begin to sto p the process.
"We' r e as kin g everyo n e in t his
a udi ence to join us in cal ling for a
moratorium on prison construction for
the next five years.
"We believe that the li nchpin of social
p o licy in Am erica is bui l t upon t h e
construction a nd the mainte n a nce and
th e d eve lopme n t of this prisonindustr ial complex. And if we do n ot
bring it to a halt-or in the worst-case
sce na ri o slow it down-w e've got a
serious proble m o n our hands. This is
what we intend to do."
T he applause ringing th rough my car
sp eakers begins to subside, but Eddie is
no t fin ished.
"Frederi ck Douglas,•· he begins again
softly, "used to say that power concedes
n o thing without d e mand. And Marcus
Garvey said th a t world histo r y is neve r
kind to wea k people . And pa rt o f th e
reason tha t we' re in this q ua ndary, part
of th e reason that we're in this proble m,
part of th e reason that we're even here
today at Medgar Evers talking about this
issue, has to do with our weakness, has to
d o with o ur d isuni ty, has to d o with the
fact tJ1at although we're all warriors in a
battle, we don't have a strategic plan .
"We say tha t if we can d o this, we can

the prison syste m, critical reforms th at
sought to enable prisoners to make the
posi tive changes in themselves that
ultimately wou ld impact o n the
communities th ey came from. Eddie and
his peers id en tifi ed th e vita l
re latio nshi p be twee n p r isone rs, th eir
neighborhoods and th e condi tions th at
create criminal behavio r.
In j ust the past few years, sh ort-sighted
politicia ns have wiped out post-Attica
prison r e for m s a nd ass ured the
perpetuatio n of t h e r oo t causes of
c rime- lack of educati o n, few j ob
opportunities a nd pove rty- and thus
e n sured t h e co nti n u ed b oo m in t h e
prison-industrial complex.
Edd ie n ow stands a t th e ce nte r of
another maelstrom. The war has spilled
out onto the streets. Men like Eddie
E llis, who li ve d thro u gh Atti ca and
d ecad es of life in some of America's
worst prisons, know how to deal with
this kind of ig norance.
We n eed to listen to Eddie Ell is, I
think ye t agai n as the applause subsid es.
He knows. He's been the re.
And n ow he's out of the cage.

For information
contact Rashid Henshaw,
Program Coordinator
Community Justice Center
103 East 125th St.,
Room 604
New York, NY 10035
Tel: (212) 427-4545

Mark R. Lippman
Appellate Practitioner

Federal Criminal Appeals
White Colla~ Drug, Fraud, Bank Robber}'t and other federal cases

Briefed two cases and argued one before the
United States Supreme Court
NACDL white collar criminal defense
committee member
Advisory panel member of "The Champion"
Represent clients throughout the federal system

Mark R. Lippman
Attorney at Law
8070 La Jolla Shores Drive, #437, La Jolla, CA 92037
(619) 456-9228

.

•., li~ ,!'~~~~.. ~ ~IFE

.-;··· ·

. ····

. ·

-· · . •

·

'"-""'''·.

··- ·

··

..-.·"

'··

'

· ·.'· ···"

· ":·. ~,. ",.-. ..::-.. _

ASK BUBBA

• • • NEWS FLASH • • •
Republican Presidential candidate
Bob Dole calls Prison Ufe a
"'nightmare of depravity," but
declares Bubba, "friendly to
families."'
AP-Presidential candidate Bob
Dole called for the of
banning Prison Life magazine,
saying the controversial
convict publication is a
"nightmare of depravity.n
The conservative Republican
Presidential hopeful did,
however, praise the writings
of one of Prison Life's
contributors, known only as
Bubba, who writes an advice
column, Ask Bubba, published
in the magazine . The former
Senator said he found Bubba's
writing "friendly t o
familiesn because the
hardened convict often spoke
of his love for his mother
and for kids. "Bubba's okay,n
Dole told reporters, "just as
long as they keep him locked
up. n
62 PRISON

LIFE

Dear Bubba:
If you could vote, who wattld you vote for? Clinton or Dole? I
1·ead )'OU1' column in Prison Life and I think you have a pretty
good idea who would be the best President as far as us convicts is
concerned.
Signed,
Ralphie Bones
Bubba replies:
Wou ldn't you kn ow it would ta ke a Re publi ca n to
recognize me for what I really am: frie ndly to fami lies! I'm
friendly with the Gambino Fa mily, the Genovese Family,
La Familia. I'm connected to a 30 Wan light bulb. Fuck
Dole. Wh o would vote fo r a g uy with a na me like that,
a nyway? Bob Dole. Rhymes with mole. I had a teacher in
gradeschool n amed Dole. She had the worst body odor
I've ever smelled on an American . Little short fat fTumpy
old bag. We u sed to draw pi ctu r es of he r on t h e
blackboard with those wavy lines coming off her like in
cartoons to le t you know something is stinking. Whenever
she came snooping around my desk to see what I was up
to, I cringed. The kid s u sed to c h a nt, "BEEEEEE
OOOOOOH," but she never got the hint. Do le. What a
j erk. What amazes me is that the re are people living in this
country who are so brain dead they might actually vote for
this fooL
And that other guy. Don't get me started o n BilL Worst
sell-o ut since Sammy "The Bull " Grava n o . You think
th e re 's a ny difference between organized crime and th e
scum who run this country? Well, you're right. There is.
Whe n these guys get caught, they do n 't go to jaiL Clinton
has done more illegal shit than I have. Forget abou t White
Wate r. Th at's j ust a smoke screen. Let's talk about White
Powde r ! Mena, Arka nsas and th e planeloads of guns
going down to Central America and coming back stuffed
with coke. Bill and h is boys washing all those coca dollars
through the banks in Arkansas. When his pal, that guy
Don Lassiter, took the fall, Bill pulled some strings and got
him a skid bid. H e says the crimina] justice system saved
his half brothe r 's life. My ass. I wonde r if he'd say that if
the guy got 30 years with no parole like some stiff whose
brother ain't the motherfucking govenor.
Forge t about voting. I'm declaring myself President by
default. At least I admit I'm a crook.

Triangle of Death
Michael Levine & Laura Kavanau
Delacorte Press
$23.95 ISBN 0-305-31475-2
Reviewed by Thierry Marignac
Unde r a bright red sunset m ore th a n
fifte e n year s ago , a t t h e e nd o f a n
a fte rno o n sp e nt in gestin g variou s
controlled substances in a Parisian slum,
we decided to split. In the dank staircase
that would h ave made a suitable set for
one of those realist Fre nch movies of the
' 30s, we bumped into a couple of guys
whos e e yes h a d t hat unmista ka ble
hunte r 's look th a t m a rk ed th e m as
hoodlums. Fro m t he way they carri ed
th e m selve s, we city b oys kn e w th ey
we ren 't City o f Light dweller s. Rivie ra
tough g u ys, mayb e. N ods we r e
exchan ged, we were on o ur way. By the
time they ran afte r us on to the su·eet and
grabbed our collars, something else had
dawned on us city boys: they were the law.
And such is the thin line between cop
and criminal tread by Mic h ae l Levin e
and La ura Kavan au in Triangle ofDeath, a
fi ctional variation on that ag e-old
the me: how much gangste r is th ere in a
cop who spends his life rubbing elbows
with the criminal ele ment, figuring their
scores before putting the m away?
Levine, a ve tera n drug agent turned
writer familia r to th e read e rs o f PLM,
takes it to the n ext level. In this rive ting
pag e-turn e r, L evin e ' s doubl e a nd
namesake seeks revenge after the brutal
murde r of his best frie nd a nd me ntor,
Rene Villa rino , an und e rcove r DEA
ope rative like himself, who was offed in
Bolivia during a sting op eratio n meant
to trace and neutralize the source of a
newly synthesized le thal drug, the White
Queen.
Exp e ri e nc ed in the solitude a nd
forlornn ess o f und e rcover wo rk , this
narc on a mission finds new lows as he
discove rs th a t th e uppe r ech e lons of
comm a nd- th e suits- are no t parti cularly inte res ted in ave nging the
death of his frie nd. They tag it on the
Colombia ns, whereas Levine kn ows
there 's more to it th a n just a n o th e r
contract carried out by the ca rtels.
At Villarino 's fun e ral , a g rim
cere mony that takes place near a little

h a rbo r in th e Isle of Beauty, Levine
takes a n oath to carry o ut the ve ndetta
-blo od for blood-ca lled for by his
frie nd 's Corsican family.
Me anwhile, th e n ew d esigne r drug
ca uses ODs at an alarming rate around
the wo rld. Headin g Arge ntin a's DEA
office, already unde r investiga tio n fo r
the many a nd various misd eed s drug
cops routin ely commit in o rd e r to
survive in this cloak-and-dagger world,
Levin e vo lunta ril y b o tc h es "th e rip "
(arrest) of the Colombian capo in Miami
who has been targeted by the suits to be
the scapegoat for Villarino's murde r.
From that po int on Levine is a Lone
Wolf: the suits wan t his h ead. But our
d r ug cop 's hectic schedule h as him
trave ling all over the world with
g overnme nt m o n ey. H e un co ve r s a
d eadly o rgan iza ti o n, th e "Tria n g le o f
Death," se t up by former Nazi refugees
a nd their offspring, connected to ma ny
a mafia, many a secre t service, h ead ed
by the coldest blonde in history, Nadia
Ricord , d a ug hte r of a fam o us Fre n ch
co llabo r a tor who esca p e d to So u t h
Ame rica afte r WW II.
Levine mounts his own one-man sting
ope ration. Be ing of Jewish desce n t, he
calls upon his cousin in the Mossad , the
Israeli secre t ser vice, to h elp. They' ll
train him to pass for a n Arab ga ngster in
thi s eve r-p a r ad o xica l wo rld turn e d
upside down , whe re th e lie, th e cheat,
and the betrayal is everyone's mothe r's
milk. H e sets up an o il-fo r-drugs-fo rarms trade-off involving the Nazis, th e
Mafia , th e Carte ls, a nd a co upl e o f
o utlaw gove rnme nts. As Levine will find
o u t, t h e Nazi orga ni zati o n h as bee n
protected all along by the CIA and most
ever ybody else, and th e n ew drug is see n
as th e ultimate ch e mical weapon . De tails
and ending are too sweet to spoil.
Fittingly to the book's topic, th e re's a
flip side to this novel. Riding the crest of
adr e n a lin e , Levin e ha s to admit to
himself h e is chasing the very thing h e is
supposed to loathe: the high. Like any
junki e, h e's r ead y to fo r sa k e mos t
ever ythin g - fri e nd s, famil y- fo r a
pursuit h e knows is d eadly. Meanwhile,
the web of d ece ption h e weaves with
every law e nfo rce me nt scam ta kes him
to th e brink o f forswea rin g the ver y
values tha t put him th e re in t he first

p lace : h on o r, lo yal ty, d edi cation. The
mind se t is yet agai n blur red by static
fro m all sides and omin ous bureaucratic
in terfe re nces.
It' s highly sig n ificant that a fo rme r
top-level d rug cop would delve into his
co nsid era ble experie n ce playin g th e
m asters o f this wo rld agai nst on e
another to project such a p icture. Wo uld
it be fo r fun? For the sake of an oth e r
book o n tl1e drug shelves?
11iangle of Death is fun to read, it never
loses its e d ge , yet find s a way to b e
existential. Acco rding to Levine, a ny
good guy in the war on drugs is likely to
be crushed. By any means necessar y.

In Time:
Women's Poetry from Prison
Edited by Rosanna Warren
& Teresa Iverson
Boston University
Prison Education Fund
$1.00
Reviewed by Catherine A. Salmons
As Am e ri can prisons strain to h o use
m o r e tha n a m illi o n inma tes,
incr easing ly blea k statisti cs fl ood th e
head lines. Ma ndato ry sen ten ci ng laws
for d rug o ffe nses mean lo nge r prison
terms for women in p articular, leaving
fragmented fa m i li es a nd c hildre n
stranded as wards of DSS. In line with
the 1994 Crime Bill's get tough rhetoric,
r e h a b ilitative se r vices h ave suffe red
sha rp cutbacks. In 1990, there were 350
higher-education programs for prisone rs
natiomvide. By 1997, there will be eigh t.
Despi te evide n ce th a t such prog ram s
lo we r rec idi vis m r ates, politicia ns
lambaste tl1em as soft on crime.
Against this grim backdro p, In Time, a
chapbook-le ngth an tho logy of p oems by
fe male prisone rs at th e Massach usetts
Correctional Institu te in Fra mingham,
stands as a record of wome n prisoners'
co u rage. As tonishingly we ll writtenespec ial ly for novices su bje ct to
e no rmous constrain ts, both lite ral and
psych ic- these poe ms g r e w o u t o f a
year-long writing workshop fo r prison e rs
taugh t by acclaimed poet and Boston
Unive rsity professo r Rosanna Wa rre n
and poet Te resa Iverson.
PRISON LIFE

63

Fie rce honesty a nd fo1·mal d iscipline
were clearly th e workshop's guideposts,
h elping each poet sculpt raw experience
into insig hts th at defy th e u glin ess of
prison life.
One student, the former ' 60s rad ical
KatheJ;ne Power, stunned th e nation in
1993 by turning herse lf in more than 20
years after fl eeing a no torious Boston
bank robbery/ murde r. In "Snatches of
Vivaldi ," Power projects he r feeling of
slow so-angulation o nto a "bare-limbed"
prison-ya rd tree, reac hin g toward the
"solstice sun /G lin ting off razor-wire
loops." Her "Sestina" is a me u·ical tou r
d e force, its stea lth y r e p etiti o n
unde rscoring a mo th e r's daily grief at
being se para ted from h er son.
An exube rant chorus of line e nd ings
makes rhyme the driving fo rce in J a mie
Papa's sesti n a "Love " a 1·a ndy
celebration of lesbia n e ros.
Guilt is also a common theme, along
with the freeing power of atoneme ntbest expressed in J acque line Dash 's crisp
lines, "I awaited th e ho p e of a world/
an d a m cu lp ab le/ n ow." "Neve r
Forgotte n ," h e r e legy for a bro th e r
tortured a nd murd e red by thu gs sh e
identifies o n ly as "gun me n ," hints at a
life plagued by incon ceivable vio le nce
and abuse.
Evoking p ersonal failure, lost love, an d
the chi ldre n th ey've b ee n force d to
leave be hind, these wome n explore the
su·ength of sha ping a ch ao tic past into
words. The poe ms h ave r ough ed ges,
but the ir emotional intensity puts many
a pol is h ed poem to shame. Th ese
women te ach as mu c h as th ey've
learned . It's h a rd to imagine a better
argument for prison education.
In an e ra when grants to support the
publication of p1;son writing have all but
disappeared, these poets owe the ir public
voice la rgely to the organizing efforts of
Rosanna Warre n. Juggling he r fre ne tic
schedu le as assoc ia te professo r of
comparative literature at BU, poet (her
widely praised second collection, Stained
Glass, was published by Norton & Co. in
1993), classicist, litera r y c riti c, a nd
translator of Creek and Latin poe try, she
secure d a g ra n t from the Li la
Wallace/Read e r's Digest Fund , with a
ma nd a te to c r eate wr iting cou rses in
Massachusetts prisons. Since she'd already
been involved with BU's prison education
program for male prisoners, wh ich was
founded mo re tha n 20 years ago by the
now legendary Professor Elizabeth "Ma"
Barker and is curre ntly di rected by Walter
Silva, Warren set out to devise a workshop
that would f-all within the rub1·ic of th e
U n ivers ity's n ew d egree prog ra m for
women, established tl1ree years ago at the
Framingham prison.
Warre n d esigned a "rigorous, college64 PRISON

LIFE

interview fo r a parole hearing. "
With in tha t d a i ly struggle, poetr y
came to represent hope, and a way for
the women to rediscove r themselves.
Warren says di scipl i n e d s tud y of
li terature allowed the p rison e rs, "some
of whom had led disorde rly and violen t
Jives, to envisio n a diffe re nt shape for
t h eir lives. Our text was th e [Norton
Anth ology] -'The Mansion,' I called it.
In each class, we wandered th rough tl1e
mansion; a nd the won derfu l tl1ing was, the gra nt paid
for th e books. It's hard to
h ave books i n p ri so n.
Everythi ng's hard in prison!
I'd te ll t h e m , t hi s is yo ur
mansion, th is is you r house,
a n d yo u own t h is . Yo u
should go in to these rooms
and take ove r : a p oe m is
if yo u
r ea ll y you rs
me mo rize it. "
Although the a tm osphere
i n cl ass was ex pl osive at
tim es, Iverson maintains the
expe ri ence
was
an
incredible gifl.
"I t wakes yo u u p aga in ,"
Warre n echoes, "to th e
inte r nal fo rce of literatu re,
and to its dangerous balancing
of forces tl1atwant to erupt"
For mer p risoner and class
mem ber Jam ie Papa agrees.
Wi th h e r waist-le ng th dark
hai r and steely eyes, Papa is
eve r y inc h a wa rr ior. She
bristles with ambition a nd
d ete rmi natio n , tra its t h a t
have see n her th ro ugh th e
Women's Poetry from Prison
worst of times. Released last
EDITED UY ROSANNA WARRI'K 1\ NI'J n:Rf.'iA IVF.RSON
Ap ri l, sh e wo rks full-time
and is finishing her degree
at BU. Sh e's trying to save
"Tha t's partly to do with a ch ange in money, negotiating to regain custody of
policy toward drug offe nde rs," Iverson he r eight year-old son- and still striving
ad d s. "Eighty to 85 p e r ce nt of t h e to improve h e r poetry.
women a re in for dr ugs-fre quentl y
L ike Warr e n , sh e bel ieves t h at
b e cause th e ir partners h ave bee n ed ucation and self-help are crucial to a
accused of such crimes, a nd n ow they' re pri so ner's surviva l. Th e pri son
a uto matically co nsidered accomplices. experience, she says, is "very degrading,
So sudde n ly th ese wo me n are ge ttin g ver y h u miliating. The food is disgusting,
five-to-ten-year sen tences."
t h e livin g co nditi ons are di sg u sti n g,
"The e thi cal qu estio n ," Warren says, every woman in tl1ere has a tl1lete's foot
"is, how do we most effective ly address because they don 't disinfect the showers.
the
ong111s
of
cr im e,
and You freeze-it was n ever warm enough.
r e h a bi lita t ion?" Edu catio n is o n e Even now I ca n ' t get war m eno u gh.
answer: wh ereas th e national recidivism You' re locked d own three times a day so
r a te is 66 perce nt, fewe 1· than five they can count. If you' re no t standing in
percent o f prisone rs who comple te BU 's fron t of yo ur bed whe n they look
degree prog ram return to prison.
through th e window, you' re locked fo r
Teaching in priso n e n tails challenges, fi ve days in isola tion."
from t h e fo rbiddi ng e nviro nm e nt to
The only hope is "to take advantage of
strictures tl1at li mit studen ts' attendance. wh at the syste m does h ave to offe r. I
"Yo u mi g ht go in to te ac h ," says went into tl1e system in Apr il '92: by June
Wa rr e n , "a nd so m e b o d y wil l be in I had my CED. By J uly I was enro lled in
so lita r y, o r h av in g so m e spec ia l college. I did every single p rogram they

level course." He r partner Teresa Iverson,
wh ose poe ms have appeared in PaTlisan
Review, Agni, Orion, New C?·iterion, Boston
Review, and Salamande1; taught poetry last
yea r at Wh eaton College. Part of th e ir
goal was to h e lp bring th e wom e n 's
educatio n program up to speed.
"Unti l recently," Warren acknowledges,
"women's sente nces tended to be much
sh orte r th an me n 's, so they didn ' t have
time to comple te a degree program."

had. I to ok English literature, the n this
poetr y wo rksho p. Also news writing a nd
journalism, business a n d ma nage me n t,
p syc h o logy a nd soc iology. I go t m y
m a ni c urin g lice n se, m y co mpute r
d egr ee, typin g ce rtifica tes- ! ta u g ht
myse lf to typ e- ! di d th e 'Wo m e n in
Building Trad es' program, join ed th e
Catho lic Church , sta rted a n AA gro up
o n Sa turd ays." Sh e e nro lle d in
recreatio n and sports, worked part-time
as a sec r e ta r y, a nd too k a co urse in
"De ath and Dying" th a t h e lp ed h e r
grieve he r mothe r's loss, nine years after
the fact. She also pursued an appeal o n
h e r convi c ti o n fo r dru g p ossess io n ,
maintaining he r innoce nce and fighting
to clear he r name.
And sh e put h e rself th ro ug h stride nt
drug reha bilitation , ma kin g use o f the
prison 's counseling resou rces.
"You h ave to be self-disciplined in the re
so you d o n ' t e nd up going back. " The
poetry workshop he lped h e r hear a nd
articulate he r most intima te though ts; it
challenged he r to build self-esteem.
"I ha ted the class a t first," she laughs.
"T e r esa m ad e m e d o a ll m y p oe m s
over! " She fe lt intimidated by classmates
who had a broad e r b ac kg r o und in
li te ra ture.
"They we re wicked inte llectual," J amie
says. "They used words I can ' t eve n find
in the dictio nar y!" In t11e e nd, tho ugh ,
"they'd com e running to my roo m all
tl1e time for me to critique t11 eir poetry."
Fro m seeing th e class as m ore stressful
than pleasura ble she grew to unde rstand
tl1at she was becoming a be tter poe t.
Wi th co nfid e n ce th a t wo u ld h ave
see m ed un thinka b le three years ago,
J a mi e was a b le last fall to recite h e r
poem at the public reading, held on the
BU campus, th a t la un c h ed In Time's
publica ti o n . Wi th th e ir a uth o r s still
be hind ba rs, the o ther poems were read
by proxy. Nosta lg ic fo r th e unity a nd
suppo rt she fo und in th e g roup, J a mie
c ri e d wh e n sh e h ea rd J ac ki e Das h 's
p oem, 'Me, Again.'
"I kn ow why the recidivism ra te is so
hig h," J amie says. "If prison e rs don 't try
to be tte r the mselves and sho re up th eir
self-esteem, all th ey learn is how to be a
better crimin al , a nd how to com e back. "
"We' re d evas ta ted by th e resul ts o f
Co n g r ess c uttin g b ac k o n th ese
progra ms," Wa rren says, "and we ho pe
tl1e BU program will survive. It's social
insura nce for a ll of us."
"I learn ed I was writing for myse lf,"
J am ie says, "to he lp myself to be su·ong. I
fee l t h a t eve r y pri so n sh o u ld offe r a
p oetr y writin g co urse. No t o nl y is it
ed uca tio nal, it's incredibly th e ra pe utic.
A lo t o f th e stuff I write is a b o ut
breaking ou t, and fighting back-the re's
n ega t ivity, but it a lways e nds o n a

positive no te. This kind of class can work
in so ma ny positive ways."

In Time can be ordered from:
Rosanna Wa rre n
Boston U niversity
The University Professors
745 Comm onwealth Ave.
Boston , MA 02215

The Complete Illustrated
Book of Yoga
by Swami Vishmu-devananda
Reviewed by R.A. Street

The Complete Illustrated Booli of Yoga by
Swami Vish nu-devana nda sho uld be read
by all convicts. Ind eed , they should own
a copy o f it, and tl1e re is no excuse not to
because it is availa ble to prisone rs-free
of cha rge-in softcover, bra nd new from
tl1e publish er. This sa m e book sells for
$14.95 in a bookstore.
As the title states, this book is complete,
covering all aspects of yoga, from A to Z
and is profusely illustrated with de tailed
expla na tio ns ena bling you tO learn tl1e
postures (asanas) tha t stretch a nd relax
your b o d y; th e breathin g exe r cises
(pra n ayama) tha t calm a nd focu s yo ur
mind; a nd medi tatio n (dhyana m) to free
yo ur so ul fro m illusion (maya ) so tha t
you may obtain libe ration and know the
Supreme Creator.
Yoga is n o t a r e lig io n a nd will n o t
inte rfe re with your re lig io us be liefs, if
a ny, plu s it may be practiced by atheists
or agn os ti cs. Eve r yb o d y n ee d s yoga,
especially incarcerated p e rsons. This is
o ne of th e most importan t boo ks yo u
will ever read . Yo u may o btain it fro m
Inte rn a tio n al Siva na nda Yoga Vedan ta
Cente r, 8th Avenue, Val Morin, Quebec
JOT2RO, Canad a. Postage from the US
to Canada is 46¢.

Butle r, Al a n Ray and Lela nd Gre go ry,
e xp oses c rimin a ls wh o d o jus t th a t:
e mba rrass the rest of us.
How wo uld you like to share your cell
with a n accused ve nding-machin e thief
wh o p a id hi s $400 bai l e ntire ly in
qu a rte rs? Or h o w ab o ut th e guy who
ro bbed a ba nk with a n o te writte n on
t h e bac k of a n e n ve lo p e h e received
from his pro b a tion office r-with his
name and add ress still printed o n it?
This book has it all, everything from the
Beer-Box Bandit, a guy who put an empty
beer box on his head as a disguise to rob
a liquor store, to the idio t who ran from
the cops a t n igh t wearing high-tech tennis
shoes tha t light up witl1 every step. The
three a uth o rs sp e nt ove r six months
interviewing po lice o ffi cers to come up
with th e m a te ri a l fo r thi s book. As
expected, much of the material is slanted.
A quote from a police ch ief to one of tl1e
autl10rs: "Son, if you 'll show criminals for
the cold-hearted dum basses tlley are, and
if you 'll show o ur police fo rce as being
pro fessional at all times ... well, then , I'll
help you any way I can ."
If you wa n t to e nj oy a fe w laugh s,
Dumbest C1iminals is a wo rthwhile read.
But do n ' t ta ke it too seriously. You may
find yo ur se lf p r o wli n g th e yard ,
loo king for the dumbasses wh o e nded
up in this boo k.

Penn-Pals
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Danie l Butle r, Al a n Ray & Leland
Gregory
Rutledge Hill Press
Reviewed by Thomas Falater

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Since we are a ll in prison , on paro le, or
waiting fo r o ur n ex t se nte n ce, we will
a lways be-in o n e way or a n o th ercriminals in the eyes of society. Some of
you may feel offe n ded o r emba rrassed
b y t hi s ti t le a nd tr y to hid e i t bu t
p e rso n ally, with the way thi ngs are in
this co u ntr y, I ' m rath e r p rou d of m y
status as a criminal. The re is one thing
we all agree o n , however : if you ' re going
to be a crim ina l, do n ' t e mba rrass th e
rest of us.
A new book fro m Rutledge Hill Press,
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PRISON LIFE 65

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L~ L<=..L~dll. Dc..L~L'c lL'L..:.iLSl:\.:C..!ASt=.
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68

PRISON LIFE

[;::;.L

IN-HOUSE C OUNSEL

THE CHOKE THE COURTS ACT
by
Michael Montalvo, Drug War P.O.W.
h e 1996 Anti te rrori sm and
Effe cti ve De ath Pe n a l ty Ac t
passed by Co ng ress a nd sign ed
into law by Preside nt Cli nto n last Ap ril
was tho ug ht to be typical e lectio n-year
gra ndsta ndin g th a t pro ba b ly wou ldn ' t
affect too many people. Most of us don ' t
ru n a round blowing things up. With all
th e n ews about the Oklah oma City blast,
th e World Trad e Ce n te r bombing and
th e "Una bo mbe r," t.he Antite rro rism Ac t
in an election yea r was no big surprise to
a nyone .
But ex-se na to r Bob Dole and Sen ate
Jud iciary Co mmittee Chai rm a n Orin
Hatc h , who had bee n pedall ing th e ir
ve ry mean-spirited crime bill, SB 3, since
1994, saw opportunity in th e Act. SB 3,
wh ich sought to limit state and fede ral
habeas cOJtms fil ing to o ne yea r afte r final
d ecisio n in sta te courts, o n e yea r afte r
final decision in federal courts, and 180
days in death pe nalty fed e ral habeas, was
j ust too extreme and con tained enough
a nti-convict, a nti-alien mea nness tha t it
was defeated seve ral Limes. Civil libe rties
a dvo ca tes, d e fe n se la wye r s, a nd
pri son e rs wh o we r e a wa re of SB 3
breathed a collective sigh of relief whe n
th e bill a ppea red to have died.
Dole a nd Hatch simply slipped in a nd
surgi ca ll y a lte re d th e Ac t, a ttac hi n g
t h e ir SB 3 "H abeas CorjJu s Reform s "
a n d "C rimin a l Ali e n Procedure
Improve me nts" measures as a rid e r the
wee k befo re th e Act ca m e to the Ooor
for a vote.
It is a testame n t to th e sleazy nature o f
e lectio n-year po litics tha t the Act, whi ch
affects po tentia lly every state a nd fed eral
pri son e r in th e U n ited Sta tes,
parti cula rly death row prisone rs, passed
b oth h o u ses of Co ngress with l ittl e
scrutiny fro m the me mbers.

T

DRASTIC CHANGES IN FEDERAL
POST-CONVICTION MOTIONS
UNDER 28 U.S.C. §2255
Ma ny fed e ral priso ne rs and a ttorn eys
thought the Dole/ Hatch Crime Bill, o r
the 1996 Antite rror is m Ac t , on ly

affec ted death row prison e rs o r no ncapital state prisone rs o n fed e ral habeas
petitio ns. Le t me dispel a ny such rumor.
The 1996 Act states in Section 153, that
28 U.S. C. §2255 is a m e nd e d : "(1) by
strikin g t h e seco nd a nd fifth und esig n a ted p a r ag r a ph s, a nd ( 2 ) by
addin g a t th e e nd th e fo llo wing n e w
und esig n a t ed p arag r a ph s: a 1-yea r
period of limita tio ns sha ll r u n fro m the
la tes t of ( 1 ) th e d a t e o n wh ic h t h e
judg me nt o f co nvic ti o n becomes fin al;
(2) the d ate o n wh ich the impedime nt
to m a k i n g a m o t io n c r ea t e d by
gover nm e n t actio n in vio latio n o f the
Co nstitution or laws o f the Un ited States
is re moved, if the movan t was prevented
fr o m m a kin g a mo ti o n b y su c h
gove rnm e nt ac t io n ; (3) th e d a te o n
wh ic h th e rig ht asse rte d was initia ll y
recog ni zed by th e Supre me Court, if
tha t right ha been newly recogn ized by
t h e S upre m e Co urt a nd m ad e
re troAc ti ve ly a ppli ca b le to cases o n
colla te r al revie w; o r (4) th e d ate o n
which the facts supporting the claim o r
claim s prese nte d co u ld h ave b ee n
discove red thro ugh the exercise o f due
di lige nce."
Th e re is n o reason to pa ni c if yo ur
appe a l was fin a l se ve ra l yea r s ag o ,
because it a ppears th at yo u co uld sti ll
h ave on e ye ar fro m th e date th e law
beca me e ffec tive-April 24, 1996-to
fil e yo ur §225 5 m o ti o n . lt is n o t
retroactive, an d it docs not apply only to
ne w prisoners. It a ppea rs to a pply to all
fed eral prison e rs.
The re is more. If yo ur §2255 mo tio n is
d e nied, you can no lo nger a uto ma tically
a p peal. "Unless a circu it justice or j udge
issues a ce rtifi cate o f a ppealability, a n
a p peal may no t be ta ke n to the court of
a ppeals fro m ( B) the fin a l o rd e r in a
proceedin g unde r sec ti o n §2255." [28
U.S.C. §2253(a) , (c)( J)] .
Furthe r, a ce rtifi cate o f appeala bility
may issue on ly if the appli cant has made
a substantial showing of the de ni al of a
Constituti o nal right, a nd the ce rtifi cate
indica tes which specific issues satisfy that

substa n tial showi ng [§2253(2) , (3) ].
Th e r e a r c a lso n e w res tr ic t ions on
successive §2255 mo ti o n s. The econ d
or su ccessive §2 255 m o ti o n "must be
certified as provid ed in §2244 by a pane l
o f the a ppro pria te court o f a ppeals to
co nta in ( 1) n ewly d iscove red evid e n ce
that, if proven and viewed in ligh t of the
evide nce as a who le, wo uld be sufficie nt
to es ta b lis h b y c lea r a nd co m·incing
evide n ce that n o reaso nable fac t-fin d er
would have fo und the mova n t guil ty of
t h e o ffe n se; o r (2) a n e w ru le of
Co n stitution al law, mad e re troactive to
cases on co ll a t e r al r e vie w b y th e
Supre me C ourt, th a t was pre vio u sly
un availa ble ."
T h e r e wi ll und o ubted ly be se ve ra l
constitu tio nal ch alle nges to this section
153, but at this writing I a m no t awar e of
a ny fi ling exce pt tha t o f Califo rnia state
d ea t h r ow priso n e rs wh o ha ve fil e d
concerning th eir sections.
NON-CAPITAL STATE CASES HAVE
ONE YEAR AITER STATE
EXHAUSTION TO FILE FEDERAL
HABEAS
Sta te prisone rs must still exhaust their
claims in the state court syste m, but th e
Act has several ne w twists and obstacles
to watch for in fi ling fo r fed e ral habeas
corpus relief in the local d istrict court.
The re is now a one-yea r limit afte r state
cou rt fina lity on direct re view for filing
th e p e titi o n fo r writ o f habeas corfJ ttS
und e r 28 U .S.C. §2254 . Th e tim e is
to lled if the fac L~ un de rlying the claim
wo u ld n o t h ave b ee n disco ve red with
due d iligence or if state collate ra l review
is pe nding [28 U.S.C. §2244(d ) ] .
T h e Ac t r e quir es t h a t t h e s tate
ex pressly wa ive t h e ex h a u s ti o n of
re m e di es a rgu m e nt be fo r e a fe d e ra l
co urt m ay find su c h a wa ive r. Secti o n
§2254( b ) (3) says th e sla te ca nn o t be
found to have waived this requirem e nt
of ex ha ustio n. The Acl now requi res a
mo re rigoro u s stand a rd fo r a fede ral
di s tri c t co un to ove rturn a s ta te
co nvic tio n . Befo re a fede ral court ca n
PRISON LIFE 69

grant relief o n a claim adjud icated on
the m e rits in th e state co urt, th e
petitioner must prove tha t a state court
d e ci sio n was ( 1) co ntra r y to clearly
establish ed fede ral law as determin ed by
th e Supreme Court,
(2)
an
unreasonable a pplication of the law, or
(3) an unreason able decision in light of
th e evide nce [28 U.S.C. §2254(d) ] .
Th e Act a lso li mits ev id e ntiar y
h earings. A petition e r who c halle nges
his state conviction in federal court can
o nl y r e but th e presumption of
correctness of a state factual finding by
c lear and co n vin c ing evidence [28
U.S.C. §2254(e)(1)]. A petiti oner
cannot get a federal evide ntiary h earing
if h e h as failed to d evelo p the factual
basis of his cla im in th e state courtun less the claim he brings relies o n a
new rule with re troactive application , o r
the facts unde rlying th e claim could not
h ave bee n discovered earlier throug h
due dilig e n ce. Agai n , to g et an
evidentiar y hearing, the petitio ne r must
prove, by clear and convincing evidence,
t hat but fo r th e a ll eged er r or, no
reasona ble fact-finder would have fo und
him gu il ty [§2254(e)(2)].
The Act limits second o r successive
§2254 motions in the same way §2255 is
limited, and a n appeal also requires a
certificate of a ppeala bility [§2244(b) ,
§2253].
DEATH ROW PRISONERS
Th e Ac t requ ires federa l h abeas
petitions to be filed by state d eath row
prison e rs within 180 days after final state
affirmance o n direct review if the state
provides for t he a ppointm e n t and
compe nsation of com petent counsel in
state post-conviction proceedings under
U.S.C. §2261 or §2265. The 180-day
period is to lled by a certiorari petition
and any pe nding first state pe tition for
collateral review und e r §2263. Parties
are given 1 20 days to comp lete a ll
pleadings a nd any evide ntiary h ea ring
[28 U.S.C. §2266( b) (1) (A)], and the
distri c t co urt mu st d e cide t he cases
\vithin 180 days after the petition is filed.
The district cou rt may exte nd the time
30 days by submitting its reasons to the
Admin istrative Office of the Courts, but
unexte nded time li mits may be e nforced
if the governmen t petitio ns for writ of
m a nd a te u n d e r 28 U.S.C. §2266
{b)( 1) (c), ( 4)(B). Capital habeas corpus
cases are give n pri ority ove r all noncapital cases [28 U.S.C. §2266(a) ].
There a re also new dead lines for th e
appeal of a den ial o f the federal habeas
cmpus petition in state capital cases under
the new Act. The federal court of appeals
must decide the case within 120 days afte r
th e r e pl y brie f is fil ed , must rul e on
pe titions for rehearing within 30 days afte r

70

PRISON LIFE

the petition or an y responsive pleading,
and must d ecide th e me ri ts within 120
days after gran ting rehearing or rehearing
en bane [28 U.S.C. §2266(c)]. These time
restrain ts can b e e nfo rced by t h e
governmen t by a pplication for a writ of
mandate from the U.S. Supreme Court
[28 u.s.c. §2266].
Th e Act r estri cts review of
procedu rally barred claims in capital
habeas cases un less the petitioner sh ows
( 1) tha t his fa ilu re to ex h a ust claims
resu lte d from un co n stituti o nal state
action, (2) he is raising a retroactive new
rul e, or (3) th e fa cts co uld n ot h ave
been discove red with due diligence [28
U.S.C. §2264(a)] .
Additionally, the new Act limi ts stays of
execution in states that provide fot· th e
a pp ointment a nd compe n sa tion of
com p etent co un se l in s tate postconviction proceedings. Federal stays of
execution expire if the peti tione r failed
to timely fi le a federal habeas petition, or
if th e petitione r wa ives his ri g ht to
pursue federal habeas relief or the rel ief
is d e nied . A new stay may not be granted
unless a successive petition is properly
autho ri zed b y the fe d e r a l co u rt of
appeals [28 U.S.C. §2256].
FEDERAL JUDGE ISSUES A
TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
ON CAPITAL HABEAS RULES OF
NEW ACT
There h as bee n a challe n ge to th e
Act's new res tri cti o ns of federa l habeas
corjJus review by Cali for ni a prisone rs
fighting capita l case co nviction from
d eath row. The class action, Ashmus v.
Caldero n , 96-1 533, a ppli es to 439
prisone rs on California's death row. The
judge , Thelto n H e nd e rson of the
Northern District of California, has set a
short timeline for both sides to address
the issue and iss u ed a temporar y
restraining o rde r preven ti ng th e sta te
from e n fo rce m e nt of the new Act's
habeas rule as applied to capital cases.
The class action, filed in the na me of
San Que n tin priso n e r Troy As hmu s,
argues that Califo rnia's procedures for
appointing and compensating lawyers in
capital cases does n ot sa tisfy t h e
r equir e ment o f th e n e w law. S tate
prosecuto rs can on ly capitalize on the
Act's stric t n ew habeas ru les if t he y
esta blish proper procedures for th e
appointment of competent counsel and
th e payme nt of "reaso na ble expenses."
The petiti o n e r argues th a t California
has no written guidelines whatsoever for
th e se lection of co unsel in ca pita l
appeals and habeas petitioners, and that
litiga ti o n funding is inad eq uate unde r
the new federal law.
SUPREME COURT ISSUED AND
REMOVED A STAY ON NEW ACT

The U.S. Supre me Cou rt granted a n
expedited review to Georgia death row
inma te Ellis Wayne Felker's challenge to
the constitutionality of the Act' federal
habeas p rovisio ns. On May 3, I 996, the
Court stayed Felker's exec ution and
announced that it would hear argument
onjune 3, I996. In dissent, fourjustices,
Stevens, Beyers, Souter, and Ginsbu rg
said it was unnecessary and unwise for
the court to expedite th e importan t
qu estio n presented.
The Court orde r ed lawye r s for
Georgia a n d Fe lke r to brie f wh ether
section 106(b) (3) (E) of th e Ac t is a n
unconstit u tio n al res t r ict ion on the
j urisdictio n of th e Supreme Court. That
section proh ibi ts federa l co urts from
considering successive habeas petitio ns
con tain in g c la im s presented in a n
ea rli er applica ti on, or cla ims with a
factual p redicate that could have bee n
disco ve r e d previou s ly t hr oug h the
exercise of d ue di ligence.
The Court's order a lso re quire d
briefing on wh e th er Title I o f the Act
applies to petitio ns filed unde r 28 U.S.C.
§2241, and whether the Act in this case
is a suspension of th e writ of habeas
cmfms in vio lation of Article I, Sectio n 9,
Clause 2 of the Constitution .
O n June 28, 1996, the Co urt d e nied
the habeas pe tition in Fellter v. Tu1pin, No.
95-8836 (A-880), and uph eld challenged
provisio ns o f th e I 996 An tite r ro rism
Act. The Co urt held that the Act does
not violate the Constitution by requiring
pri so n e rs to get permission from a
fed era l a ppea ls [gatekeeper] pa n e l
before fil ing a second habeas petitio n in
a U.S. Distri ct Court, or by fo reclosing
Supreme Court co nsideration o f such
decis ions, or by setting toughe r
standards for such petitions.
The justices al o ruled that while the
Act does not affect the Supreme Court's
ability to en te rtain habeas petitions, it
will affect the standard th e Court will
use in reviewing prisone r petitions and
in g ranting such relief.
Th e Supre me Co urt h as g ranted a n
original habeas pe ti tio n only four times
this century, the last time in 1925.
THE FUTURE OF FEDERAL HABEAS
There is a clause in the Act that states
th at if a n y part of i t is fo u nd
un constitutional, the rest of the Act is
n ot affected. So, eve n if current o r
future challe nges to som e sections o f
th e Act succeed, federal §2255 movants
and state §2254 petitioners wi ll still be
under the Act's restrictions. As it reads,
the Act affects eve r y fede ral and state
prisoner as of April 24, I996.
My prison counselor noted that a lot of
the prison factory workers were starting
to ask fo r t im e off to do t h e §2255

motions. There could be a large number
of prisone rs in the law libra ries fo r the
next eleven months, trying to make that
one-year filing deadline before April 23,
1997. Every prisoner with a prior final
appeal will likely be in the rush.
What is finality for §2254 a nd §2255?
According to the S u preme Co urt,
judgment is "final " only afte r "the
availability of appeal [is] exha usted, and
the time for a pe titione r for certiorari [has]
elapsed or a p e tition for certiorari [has
been] fi nally denied"[ Griffith v. Kentucky,
479 U.S. 314, 321, n.6, 107 S.Ct. 708, 712,
n.6, 93 L.Ed.2d 649 (1987) ].
There is a n a ppealing theory that the
tim e res tri cti o ns for §2254 and §2255
a r e unc onstitution a l in t h a t they
"su sp e n d " th e Great Writ of Habeas
Co1·jJUs in vio la tion of th e Fe d eral
Co nstituti o n [Article 1, Section 9,
Cla use 2]. Surely, ma ny prison e rs will
make th is arg u ment b ecause t h ey
cannot get all th e ir reco rds from t h e
cou rts a nd former a ttor n eys, o r th ey
cannot with "due diligence" obtain the
new evidence of a rat's petjury in time
to meet the one year d eadline. I h ave
o bse r ved m a n y co u rts a nd attor n eys
refuse to g ive case files to a prisoner
trying to prepare his §2255 mo tio n to
vacate co n viction or sen te nc e. O n e
Loui sia n a j udge denied a pri so n e r's
request to borrow the record of his case
a nd told the defendant to just go ah ead
a nd fil e his §2255. T h e priso n e r did,

A

a nd th e judge denied the motio n as
fri vo lous s in ce it was fil e d wit h
undocumented claims.
There is no love for prisoners trickling
down from the courts. We should expect
hostili ty, tr icks a nd b a d rulings.
No n eth e less, we must challe nge our
unjust convictio ns, sentences a nd th e
politically motivated drug laws.
Prisone rs working all day in the factor y
or in various prison j obs may have a builtin exemption if th ey cannot ge t six
months off from work to research their
cases, read the transcripts, track down the
a pplicable law, write a few drafts of the
issues, and type a final docume nt. That
takes a lot o f time . I 've heard man y
prisoners, unskilled in law, estimate that it
would take them six to eight months to
prepare a §2255 motion. Perhaps prison
officials will provide a declaration th at the
prison er was not allowed time off. But a
collection of official denials of kites and
inmate requests an d grievance form s
a ttached to a late §2255 mo tio n mig ht
h elp mee t the exemption from the on e
year Limit based on "the da te on which the
impediment to making a motion created
by government action in violation of the
Constitution or laws of the United States is
re moved , if the movant was preve nted
from making a motion by su ch
government action" [§2255].
It is likely that prison law libraries will
become very busy places because of this
new Antiterrorism Act. With the one year

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do or die deadlin e fo r §2254 pe titions
and §2255 motions for all the previously
final appeals, hun dreds of thousands of
state a nd federa l p r iso n ers will be
competing for the use of ancient prison
typewriters. My prison has 13 typewriters
for about 1500 federal prisone rs.
The law offices of post-conviction
a ttorneys will receive a flood of requests
from desperate prisone rs who might still
h ave access to a few do lla r s to hire
counsel. Many a criminal trial or appellate
cou nsel will b e called upon to work on
th e lower paying habeas petitions and
§2255 motions, an area of procedural
expertise unlike a trial or appeal.
Federal cou rts a nd prosec utors ca n
expect a tidal wave of §2254 p e ti tio ns
a n d §2255 m otions, hurriedly don e,
me ri torious and frivolous, all trying to
beat th e Act's a rbitrary deadline rule.
Bu t th at isn't a ll th e courts and
prosecutors should expect. The re is a
strong possibility of increased civil rights
Bevins actions fro m fede ral prison ers and
Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complain ts fro m
state prisoners claiming a constitutional
den ial of access to the courts wh e n
prison officials do not le t prisoners take
time off from their prison jobs to spend
a few months in the library to meet the
new deadlines for habeas.
O f course, terrorists will be tl1e group
least affected by this Act. I can't recall a
single case of a terrorist a busing habeas

wrpu.s.

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In a large looseleaf binder,
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PRISON LIFE

71

tJN(~J. I~

Silll 'S

by Irwin Schiff

I I~ Yf) IJ 1\ Ill~ IN f; 1\ llf; I~ llil'r I~ I) I~ f) ll IN f; f) )II~ 'rll X I~ S ,
Yf) IJ 1\ Ill~ I N f; 1\ llf; I~ Ill\'I, I~ I) I t 1.. 1~ f;ll I. I..Y

he re arc no laws ma king a lleged
inco me tax o ffenses crimes, a nd
n o co urt was ever g ive n
ju r isdi c t io n to p rosec u1 c an yo n e for
co mm itting any suc h offe nses. There are
a n umbe r o r reaso ns for this and we will
tur n to th e m sh ortly and 10 th e rea l
c rimin a ls
invo lve d
in
yo ur
i n ca r ce r a t ion - t h e
judge
who
con d u c ted yo ur trial and the U.S.
a tto rney who p rosecuted yo u. But first
le t me prove my opening clai m .
To prove that there are no crimes- or
civil penalties-involving income taxes,
yo u n ee d only turn to t h e t ab le of
contents of th e Internal Revenue Code.
Thet-e you will sec a numbe r o f e ntries
for a va ri e ty o f federal taxes. Fo r
example, focus o n th e codes involving
Alco h o l, Tobacco a nd Occupationa l
taxes. nde r eac h o f' th ese h eadings,
yo u will sec subh eadings d irecting you
to Code sectio n s d ea lin g wit h t h e
"liabili ty," "payme nt, a nd "pe nalties," for
each of' t h ose taxes. Now tu rn to t h e
h eading for Income taxes, and sec if you
ca n fi nd similar subhead ings. You won ' t
fi nd any. T h is is because th e re a re n o
law establish ing a liabili ty fo r inco me
ta.xcs, o r re quiring anyone to pay such a
Lax. It also proves, if your arc in j a il for
tax eva ion or fo r willful fa ilu re to file
(pursuant to Code sectio ns 7201 & 7203
vio la tions), you arc in j a il illegally, since
how could you have evad ed-or failed to
fi le- a re tu rn in co nn ec tion with a Lax
tha t n o statute requ ired you to pay, for
wh ic h n o sta llltc mad e yo u lia ble and
fo r whic h no staLUtc crea tes a pen a lty?

T

72 PRISON

LIFE

I n ad dition , if yo u tur n to t h e
ju r isd ictiona l sec t io n of the Code,
sec tio n 7402 ([}, yo u will d iscove r th a t
sec tio n o n ly g ives fede ra l co urts c ivil
j u risdi ctio n in co nnection wi th th is title .
T here is no m e n t io n o f c rimin a l
j u risdictio n.
For co mpariso n , ch eck 8 U.S.C 1329.
It provides that in connection with that
t i t le, d ist ri c t co urts "sha ll h ave
jurisdiction of' a l l cases, c ivi l a nd
crim in a l , a ri si n g under a n y o f t h e
provisions of this ti tle." H owever, n o
sim ilar me mion of criminal j urisdiction
is con tained in 7402([). So, at th e ve ry
least, you have a ha beas co rp us ac tio n
c h a rg ing th a t t h e f'edcra l judge wh o
co ndu c t e d yo ur tr ia l h ad n o subje c t
m a tte r juri sdictio n to d o so, a nd tha t
you were denied your Sixth Amendment
r ig h t to a fa ir tri a l beca u se o f
"ineffective ass ista nce o f' co un sel"- since
I doubt your a ttorn ey raised th is issue in
the form of a pre trial motion to quash
yo u r in d ictm e n t or inform ation , o r
addressed this issue o n ap peal. And this
is o n ly o ne o f man y iss ues th a t I wi ll
cover here that can be raised in a habea
co rpu s petition c h a t-g ing in effec t ive
ass ista n ce of co u n c il-or in a
malpractice s ui t agai nst the a u o rn cy
who represented you .
Le t m e b rie fl y expla in why th e re are
no laws req uiring anyo ne to pay income
taxes, th oug h my b ooks cover this
su bject in fa r g rea te r de ta il. If fe dera l
income tax laws we re ma n dato r y, they
would vio late a ll o f th e Co nstitution 's
three taxing clauses, as we ll as the l st,

4th , 5th, 6 t h, 13 th an d 16th
Amen dme n ts to the Co nstitutio n. So as
not to be u ncon stit11tio na l o n these and
other grounds, the payment of th is "tax"
was not made manda to r y, which is why
t h e l. R.S. contin u a ll y refers to t h e
"volunta r y compliance" nature o f this
tax .

So wh y d o people go to ja il fo r
vio lating in come tax laws th at don't
ex ist? They do so beca u se o f t h e
rampant co rr up tion th at exists on the
federal bench and / or because o f th e
ge n e ra l incompe te n ce or the lawye rs
wh o d efend th em. If th e American
public really knew wh a t was go ing o n ,
practicall y every federal judge- and
m ost j u st icc Oepartmen L ano rn eyswould be be h ind bars, since most of
them have been involved in illegal 7201
a nd 7203 p rosecu tions. Th us they have
"conspired," in n um erous prosecutions,
"to inj u re (and) o ppress (s u c h
defendants) ... in the free exercise (and )
enj oyme n t of (nume rous) rig h ts and
privil eges sec ured to (t h e m ) by the
Constitu t ion (and) laws of the Un ited
States," in blatant vio lation of these
provisions a contai ned in 18 U.S.C. 241.
Th ese ill egal prosecutions are, of
course, designed to intimidate an d
coerce the public into paying a tax that
no American is req uired to pay, a nd
whic h the U.S . Cons titu t io n , in
numerous clause , bars the govern me n t
from collecting in th e ma nn e r it now
does. H ow does t h e Cons titu ti on do
this? Le t me co unt the ways. First, since
a ll info rm ation o n a I 040 can be used

aga in st yo u , there ca n be n o law
re quiring yo u to give it: a ny suc h law
wou ld b e in o b vious violati o n o f an
Americans' right not to be co mpe lled to
be a witness against himself. Ho weve r,
you could waive th at right, if yo u were
fi rst g ive n a Miranda warning. And, sure
e n o ug h , su c h a warning a ppea rs in a
1040 bookle t. The war ning te lls yo u ,
th at with respect LO the info rmati o n you
put on a 1040, th e I.R.S: "... may give the
info r mat io n to t h e D e p a nm c nt of
.Justice and to oth e r Federal age ncies, as
provided by law. We may a lso give it to
the states, the Distri ct of Columbia, a nd
U.S. co mmonwealths o r possessio ns to
ca rry o ut there And we may give it to
fore ign governments. "
Obviously, a ll those governme nts an d
governme ntal agencie · wh o would wan t
such information , wa nt it so th ey ca n
use it again t you . And the gove rnm e nt
te lls you this right he re. And if' you g ive
th e I.R.S. the info rmati on, d espite this
warning, you are aying "It's okay with
m e if a ll th ese agencies u sc thi s
information agai nst me." Is it really okay
with yo u ? Of co urse not. But the
government buries its Mi randa warni ng

I•J~llVEllSIONS 01~

IN

immun ity be fore the Govern ment agent
and re fuse to produce his books. After
lht' Government has go/len possession of the
info rmation with his co nsent, it (is) too
la te ... to claim coustitutional immunity."
(emph asis added)
Fro m these e ntries in the l.R. ' . own
man ua l, we can learn a good dea l about
the nature of the income "tax" a nd the
dupli city of federal courts in co nn ection
with it. Sin ce th is h a ndboo k adm it
that in d ivid ua ls-for constituti ona l
reasons-cannot be required to wrn
ove r t h e ir b oo ks and r ecords to t h e
I.R.S. ( b eca u se th e information th ey
conta in can be used agai nst the m) can
they, therefore, be required to lllrn over
a summa ry of th eir books a nd records?
Obviously not. But what is a J 040, if no t
a summ ar y o f your books an d records?
And since a ll info rmation on a I 040 can
b e u sed agai n st yo u ( in th e sa m e
manner as information in yo ur books
a nd records) - if yo u ca n n o t be
required to lllrn over you r books a n d
records on co n sti t uti o n a l grou nd s,
obvio usly yo u ca n no t be required , o n
th e sa me grounds, to su ppl y su c h
information o n a 1040. Wh at's hard

J.. Alf 1\ND

'I,HI~ (~Hilllil(~TI~ll

in th e gobbledygook of its "Privacy Act
a nd Pa per wo rk Re duc tion Ac t 1 ote,"
know in g t h a t th e pu b li c won't eve n
notice it, or recogn ize its sign ifica n ce
eve n if they do notice it. But why don't
tax lia rs, I mea n tax lawye rs, point this
wa r n in g (and its sig nifica n ce) o u t to
th e ir clien ts? If your's did n ' t, you h ave
the basis of a ma lpractice suit - especia lly
if you were convicted o n th e basis o f' a
tax return your Lax li ar, I m ean Lax
lawye r, advised you to file. For furth er
cla rificatio n o f this, let's look into the
J.R .S.'s own H a ndb oo k fo r S p ec ia l
Age nts paragra phs 342.12 a nd 342. 15 (1J 8-80), wh ich says:
"( 1) An individ ual taxpayer may refuse
to exhibit his/ he r books and records for
exam i nat io n on th e gro u nd that
compe lling him / h er to do so mi g ht
violate hi s/ h e r ri ght ga in s t se lfin c rimin at ion und er th e Fifth
Amendmen t and constitute an illeg a l
sea rc h an d se izure un der the Fourth
Ame n dment. (Boyd v. U. S.; U.S. v.
Vadner.) "
The n ex t parag ra ph ca p t ioned
"Wa ive r o f Constitu ti ona l Ri g hts"
expla ins tha t those who tu rn over their
books an d reco rds Lo the I.R.S. wa ive
co nstitutio n al rights in d o ing so, since
a n individua l, it po in ts out, ca n, "claim

ROUTINE
IN KlnU•INC;

'I,HI~ (~ONS'I,I'I,U'I,ION Alll~

I~E))J~Rlll.. (~OUR'f ))J~(~ISIONS,

lfi'I,H

5. 'There can be no question that o n e
who files a re tu rn under oath is a witne s
[against himself] within the meaning of
th e [Fifth] Amendment. " (emphasis a nd
brackets added )
T h us this 1927 dec isio n (Sullivan TJ.
U.S. 15 F.2d 809, 4th Circuit) would, fo r
obvious reasons, have e nded the income
taxes ri g ht th e n and th e r e-just o n
these gro unds a lone. T h ere fo re, th e
governme nt appealed that d ecisio n Lo
th e Supre m e Court, whic h , in a to ta lly
fraudu lcm decision, saved th e in come
tax for th e feder a l governme nt. In
reversin g th e Appe llate Co un, Justi ce
O liver We nde ll H o lmes, wh o wro te the
dec is ion fo r th e Co urt, did not
contradi ct a ny of the above claims made
by the Fourth Circuit. Space will n ot
permit me (and it is not es entia l to this
a rticl e) to a nalyze th e fraudul ent basis
of H o lm es' d ecisio n ; howeve r in th a t
decision, he d id, nevenhe less, hold th a t
Sulli va n co uld "test th a t o r any oth e r
point" on his relllrn. I n other words he
he ld that Sull ivan could have take n the
Fifth in con n ec ti o n with any ques ti o n
aske d on a n i ncome tax r e turn.
Sub se qu ently, lowe r federa l co urts

ilN)) UIJITI~
01~ 'I,Hil'l, III~N(~H.

about that?
I n 1926, a Sou th Ca ro lina bootlegger
a nd a uto m obi l e d ea le r dec ided h e
co uldn ' t fil e an income tax retu rn ,
beca use; (he correctly concluded) if he
reported his illegal in come they co uld
prosecute him with for bootlegging, an d
if h e didn ' t r epo rt i t, th ey cou ld
prosec ut e hi m fo r tax evas io n.
Therefo r e, h e did what any logica l ,
intell igent person would do unde r the
ci rcumstances: he filed nothing. He was
subseq ue ntly prosecuted and convicted
for failing to file a n income tax return.
And in wh a t is th e o nl y o th e r h ones t
federa l court d ecisio n involving income
taxes , t h e Fourth C ircu i t Co urt of
App ea l reve rsed h is co n vic ti on, a nd
rule d as fo llows:
1. R e quirin g Sulli va n to fil e a tax
re turn wo uld be "in co nfli c t with the
Fifth A.mendm en l. "
2. T h e la n guage o f th e Fifth
a m endme nt must "rece ive a liberal
construction by th e courts."
3. 1 o o n e ca n be co mpelled "in a n y
proceedings to make disclosures o r to
give ev idence wh ic h t e nd s to
incrim inate him or subject h im to fines,
penalties o r forfeitures ..,
4. The Fift h Ame ndm ent "applies
ali ke to civil a nd crimina l proceedings."

tota ll y mi sreprese nte d what H o lmes
ai el , and c laimed that he sa id that
Sulli va n could only have take n the Fiftl1
in conn ectio n with the "sources" o f his
in come, but tha t he was still required to
report tl1e a mount of his income. Thus,
lower courts took a fraud ule nt Supreme
Co urt deci sio n and compo und ed its
fraud even furth e r, and now ma intain "it
is n o t a r e turn unl ess it co nta in s
information from which a tax ca n be
comp uted." 1 ot o nl y is thi s a t ota l
pe r version of what the Supreme Court
ac tu a lly h e ld in Sullivan, b ut it is a n
impossible lega l conclusio n g ive n th e
obvious, un co ntes ted a nd irrefu ta bl e
co nt e nti o n s in the a pp e ll ate co urt
decisio n , whi ch was reve rsed on o th er
grounds. But perversion of law and tl1e
Constitution are routine in feder:tl court
d ecisio ns, and quite in keeping with the
char acte r of that be n ch .
Beca u se federa l co urts so t o ta l ly
perve rted th e Sullivan d ec ision, th ey
now enforce a totally untenable position
- the fact tha t th ey get away with it is a
tr ib u t e t o th e ig n o ran ce o f th e
American public a nd th e media when it
co m es to the Constitution. If, as ou r
"co urts'' cla im , you a r e r e quired to
report illegal income, how can you do so
wi thout in criminating yourself? We ll, say
PRISON LIFE

73

our ho norable judges, you can do so by
re po rting it as "miscellan eous' " income,
a nd sin ce you are n o t ide n tifying th e
"source" you will n o t be incriminating
yo urse lf. Thi s, of co urse, is pure ,
unadulte rated bullshit, since the re is no
way you can re port ill egal in co m e
witho ut incriminating yourself. How can
a drug d eale r, fo r example, rep ort illegal
income without inc riminating himself?
H e o b vio usly ca n ' t r e p o rt hi s g r oss
in com e , s in ce h ow ca n h e li s t hi s
"business" d eductions? Can he show and
report as d eduction wh at h e paid for the
drugs he sold? Can he show and d educt
wha t he might have p aid to pilo ts, h it
me n a nd co ps h e mi g ht have on his
payro ll , ove rlo o kin g the ma n y other
busin ess d edu c ti o n s in vo lve d in
distributin g drugs? Is h e, th e r efo re,
allmved to merely re p ort his ne t income
and no t his gross? But if h e can do tha t,
the n why ca n 't legitima te business men
do th e sam e thin g? Th e refo re, fo r a
taxpaye r to b e a b le to on ly rep o rt a
compos ite "n e t " inc o m e , h e mu st ,
obviously, have to claim tha t his income
was earn ed illegally. And th at wou ldn 't
in criminate him ? Ald ri c h Am es th e
C.I.A. age nt who was a Russia n m o le,
was convicted of espionage and also tax
evasio n, because he did n 't pay inco me
taxes o n the millions he received from
th e Sovie t U ni o n . Accordin g to our
courts a nd Justice Depa rune nt, had he
re ported th e money h e received from
th e Sovie t Uni o n as "mi scell a n eo us"
inco m e , th a t wo uld n o t h ave
in c r imin ate d him . So , pi c tur e thi s.
Assum e tha t Ames' 1988 C.I.A. salar y
was $75,000 a nd in th e sa me ye ar h e
r ece ived $ 1,000,000 fro m th e So vi e t
Unio n . H e was supposed to re po rt on
his 1040 th e foll o win g : "$75,000 in
wages and $!,000,000 ' misce lla n eo us.' "
And th a t wou ldn ' t h ave in c rimin a te d
h i m? Co unte r inte llige n ce o ffi cers
would h ave been all over him the next
d ay, h ad he d o n e so. An d j o n a th a n
Polla rd , who worked in th e navy code
room, was convicted of spying fo r Israel
a nd was also convi cted of tax evasion ,
because he did not re port and pay taxes
on th e mo ney he received fro m Israel,
whi c h , I beli e ve, fo r o n e yea r was
$ 100,000. So , suppose in th a t year he
r e p o rte d hi s sala r y fro m th e n avy as
$18,000 a nd also re po rted o n his 1040
"$100,000 miscella n eo us in come." If
Naval Inte llige nce d id n o t ge t on his
case the n ext day, how intelligent would
be our Naval Intelligen ce?
And, of course, if you are required to
give any in fo rmation to the gove rnme nt
on a tax re turn, the n that informa tion is
compelled . And the gove rnme nt can 't
use compelled testimony against you in
a c rimina l tri al. Let m e give yo u an
74 PRISON

LIFE

example . Suppose in passing a j ewelry
store (which h ad just been bro ken imo)
th ree cops grab you, and claim you were
the o ne who broke in and ro bbed iL Yo u
deny it, b ut one star ts twisting your a rm
b e hind your b ack, while the o the r two
ho ld you, and he says, "Un less you sign
this co nfessio n admitting you bro ke in
a nd ro bbed this store, I'll brea k yo ur
a rm o ff, right here a nd now." So what
d o you d o? Yo u sig n th e fo rm . Why?
Because you d on 't wa nt your arm ripped
off. Is your confessio n worth a nything,
assuming it could be prove n tha t your
a rm was being twisted a t th e time you
s ign e d it? S uppo se yo u we r e late r
charged with robbing th at j ewelry store
(whi ch you subseque ntly de nied) but a t
your tri a l th e prosecu to r intro du ces
your signed "confessio n." Suppose your
lawye r knew that at th e time you signed
it, t hree co ps we re h o ld i n g yo u a nd
threate ning to "twist your a rm off, if you
didn ' t sign it," but he: doesn 't point this
out to the court, do es n ' t rai se a n y
objec tio n, but allows yo ur "confessio n "
to be admitted and used agai nst you - as
if it we re volun tat·ily give n. Now suppose
your we re subsequently convicted based
on that "confessio n," wo uld tha t lawye r
be held to be ineffective in a subseque nt
habeas corpus petition? You be t he would.
And d o n ' t yo u th ink th a t you wo uld
pre vai l against him-just on this basis
alone-in a civil, malpractice suit? You
b e t yo u wo uld . Well , if yo u we r e
convicted of a n y (alleged) income tax
viola tio n in whic h tl1e governme nt used
your own tax re turns against you - and
your lawyer did not vigorously e nter an
objection to th eir being admitted-then
yo ur lawye r wou ld h ave bee n gui lty of
the same o missio n as th e lawye r in my
exa mple . Since the governm ent claims,
that unless you file a re turn and provide
"informa tion fro m whi ch a tax ca n be
d e te rmin e d ," you will g o to jai l fo r
"failure to file" -the in fo rma tio n o n
tha t return is compelled as surely as if
the I.R.S. twisted your arm to get it. In
my latte r example, o nly th e na ture of
th e co mpuls ion was diffe re nt. But
co mpul sion is co mpul sio n . A nd
in fo rm a ti o n th a t th e gove rnm e nt
co mp e ls yo u to gi ve und e r threa t o f
impriso nme n t, can't be used against you
-if the pro pe r objectio n is raised .
While incarce ra ted, I me t nume ro us
priso n e rs whose lawye rs go t th e m to
plead g uilty to both comm ittin g some
crime and also to evading th e tax on the
ill ega l in co m e ge n e ra te d b y th ose
c rim es. In va ri a bl y all su c h co nvi cts
admitted that they would have loved to
re po rt their illegal income a nd pay the
tax on it, so th ey co uld s p e nd t h e
proceeds openly. But th ey didn 't re port
it, n o t to evad e th e tax but to avo id

incrimin a ting th e mselves. Obvio usly if
an
individu a l ea rn s
100,000
legitima tely a nd o nly rep o rts $50,000,
h e fails to re po rt $50,000 in o rder to
eva d e th e tax . But if a ma n ea rn s
$50,000 legally a nd $50,000 illegall y,
d oes h e fa il to re port th e $50,000 h e
earned illega lly in orde r to evad e th e
tax? No, he doesn 't re port it because he
d oes no t want to incrimina te himself by
re p o rti ng it. So by n o stretc h o f th e
imagina tio n did such p e rso ns seek to
evad e th e tax o n th eir illegal inco me.
All those people who-on the advise o f
counsel-pleaded guilty to tax evasio n
for failure to re port illegal income were
sold d own th e river by their lawyers. At
most, they could o nly have been subject
to civil p e n alties, not c rimin a l o n es.
(Though the law, as shown in the Cod e's
Table o f Conte n ts does n ot eve n provide
for civil pe nalties.) Since th e re is no way
a n yo n e ca n r e p o rt ill ega l in co m e
witho ut inc rimin a ting th e mse lves, the
claim by the courts that o ne must report
illega l in co me is specio us o n its face ,
a nd amounts to Congress having passed
a law requirin g all those who co mmit
crimes to confess to commi tting them;
a nd if t h e y don ' t co nfe ss, a nd a r e
caught, th ey th en can b e cha rged with
committing two c rimes, th e crime they
co mm i tte d a nd th e c rim e o f n o t
re p o rtin g th e crime th e y co mmitted.
Wo u ld a n y su c h law, if p asse d b y
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Congress, be h e ld constitutio n a l? Of
co urse not. So by e nforcing their own
fraudulent a nd lawl ess d ecisio n s
(in stead of e n forc in g the s tatutes as
written) our lawless federal judges h ave,
by themselves, su cceed ed in creating
and e nforci ng a "law" that Cong ress
itself never could have passed. Can th e re
be a ny qu estio n but that th e grea test
collection of criminals in America sits
on the federal bench?
There are a number of o ther reasons,
besides the 4th a nd 5th Amendments,
which would make a mandatory inco me
tax unconstitutional. I wi ll quickly cover
some of these reasons for you, and give
yo u the supporting refe re n ces, so you
ca n check the m out for yourself. There
are t hree tax in g clauses in the
Constitution which establish two general
classes of ta.xes: excise taxes which have
to b e impose d o n th e b as is of
uniformity, and direct ta.xes wh ich have
to be imposed on the basis of
apportionment. And all fede ral ta.xes, in
o rd e r to b e mandatory, mu st be
imposed on one basis or anoth er. (See
Pollock v. Fanner's Loan and 1i-usl, sufJra;
a nd Brushaber v. Union Pacific R. R, 240
U.S. l ) Since the income tax is imposed
on neither basis (thoug h the Cou rt in
Brushaber [i ncorrectly] held tl1e tax to
be an excise). its p ayme nt can not be
m ade ma ndaLO r y. And, o bvio usly, no
one can be legitimately prosecuted with
respect to a tax not imposed pursua nt to
the Constitution.
Further, the 16th Amend ment did not
ame nd the Constitution nor did it give
the government any new ta.x ing powers
(such as the ability to impose a direct tax
on income without apportionment). See
BTuslwbe1; supra a nd Stanton vs. Baltic
Mining Co; 240 U.S. 103. Despite the
claim in its captio n, Section 61 of the Int.
Rev. Code d oes not d efin e "Cro ss
In come" (si n ce a wo rd can n ot be
defined with itself), therefore, what
constitutes "in come" is not d efin ed in
t h e Code. See U.S. v. Ballard 535 F.2d
400,404. In addition, Con gress h as n o
power to define the mean in g o f
"income," since by doing so, it would be
amending the Constitution by legi lation
alone. See Eisner v. Macomber 252 U.S.
189, 206. The Supre me Court defined
in co me to mean a "gain o r in c rease
a risin g from corpo rate activities." See
Doyle v. Mitchell, 247 U.S. 179, and
Merchant's Loan and Trust Co. v.
Smietanlw, 255 U.S. 509, 5 18,5 19.
The refore, no American can have a ny
inco me subject to an inco me tax, sin ce
th e word in come , for tax purposes,
means a c01·porate profit. If anything we
h ave a profits tax, not an income ta.x. In
additi on, if the in co m e tax were
ma ndatory, it would have to be declared

"void fo r vagueness," by a ny legitimate
coun, since no o ne (le t alone someone
of average intelligence) can u nderstand
o ur income tax laws. In a sp eech given at
Southern Me tl10dist Un iversity in Dallas
Texas, o n Apri l 14, 1993, Shirley D.
Pe terson, the former Commissioner of
the I.R.S. and head of th e Ta.x Division of
th e Justice Depa rtment said this a bout
the incom e tax: "E ig h t d ecad es of
amendment and accretions to the Code
have produced a virtual impene trable
maze. The r ules a re uninte lligible to
most citizens - including those holding
adva nced degrees and including ma ny
who specialize in ta.x law. The rules are
eq ually mysterious to many governme nt
emp loyees wh o a r e c h arged with
admin iste rin g and enforcing the law.
T he overall cost of complia nce reaches
into the hundreds o f billions of do llars.
Th e key qu es ti on is: can we d efin e
in co m e in a fair a nd reaso n ab ly,
straightforward manner. Unfortun ately,
we have not yet succeeded in doing so."
So how ca n a tax law which is
admittedly impeneu·a ble, unintelligible,
m yste ri o us and whi c h doe s not eve n
d efi n e what it purports to tax, not be
void for vagueness?
In addition to everything else, all I.R.S.
seizures in payme nt of income tax are
illega l, a nd n o t provided by law. By
statute the I.R.S. is only a n administrative
agency, and unlike the BATF (Bureau of
Alcoho l, Tobacco and Firearms) does
not have any e n forceme nt powers. In
essence a n I.R.S. agent has n o mo re
authority to seize property and impose
I.R.S. li e ns then some clerk who works
for th e Departm e nt of Edu catio nthough th ey make app r ox imate ly 3
million such illegal seizures and lie ns
eac h year. To prove this check secti o n
7608(a) of the Cod e. You wi ll see that,
pursuant to that statute, I.R.S. age nts
only ha ve the a uth ority to issue
summons, make seizures, etc. e tc. o nly in
connection with liquor, tobacco an d
firearms taxes, whi le Section 7608(b)
on ly authorizes Special Agents to do
anything with respect to all other ta.xes which supposedly includes income taxes.
Howeve r, the job descdption of Special
Agents as co nta ined in their ow n
Organization a nd Staffing manual (Mt
11 00-344, par 1132.75, 1-6-87) on ly
authorizes Special Agents to "enforce the
criminal statute a pplicable to income,
estate, gift, e mpl oyment, and excise
taxes ... involving United States citizens
res id ing in f01·eign co untri es a nd
n o nreside nt alie ns subj ect to Federal
income tax filing requirement ... " So the
combination of Section 7608 and the j ob
description for Special Agents proves
t h at no I.R.S. agent has a n y lawful
authority to bothe r anyone living within

the 50 states in connection with income
taxes. Natu rally, since there is no such
thing as an income tax with respect to
anyone living within th e 50 states, how
could tax collectors be authorized to
bother anyone in connection with such
a tax. In addition, all I.R.S tax liens are
fil ed illegally. All states r equ ire that
federal tax liens be certified by eithe r
th e Secreta r y of th e Tre as u ry or
someone with the delegated authority to
certify such lie ns. Since federal tax liens
are never certified, nor sign ed by the
Secretary of the Treasury ,or anybod y
else for that matter with the d elegated
authority to do so, they get recorded in
violation of both federal and state lawon these and o ther grounds.
Unfo rtunate ly, I have only been a ble
to cover t h e tip of t he iceberg in
connection with th e income tax scam,
bu t yo u now h ave e nough mate ria l to
get you started on a habeas corpus
action a nd a malpractice suit agains t
the lawyer who helped put you there.
A ll thin gs co n s id e r ed, the federal
in co m e tax rep r ese nts the most
extensive prog ra m of organized deceit
and extortion ever con ceived by man,
and proves that, in America, o rganized
cr im e begins wit h the fede ral
government.
((At
PRISON LIFE 75

COLLECTOR's ITEMS-PRISON LIFE BACK

Ow

ISSUES ARE SELLING OUT FAST!

Mal'\_ - --craTTVI"Ct
... and morel

OCTOBER '94
Former DEA Agent Michael Levine
Debunks the " Phony" War on
Drugs; Snitch ' n' Bitch: Confessions of a Government Rat; 3
Strikes, You' re In-For Life!; Prison
Fiction : Lee's Time by Susan Rosenberg.

JANUARY '91
PLM's First Cover Woman , Karen
White-One woman's triumph over
18 years in hell; Ground-breaking
journalism exposes the scam on UNICOR: The Economics of Impri sonment; Julie Stewa rt , fou nder of
FAMM.

MARCH '98
Art Behind Bars-Winners of P
's
1st annual
} otJ'[!
t;
Olive
SOIJ
t
Right
ers by William Kunstl er & Ron Kuby; Gangbangers
Speak Out.

Due to swift back issue sales,
many are sold out. If you move
fast, you can still score our latest
issues, packed with prison survival
strategies and hard-hitting stories
from the inside. Own a complete
set of America's hottest magazine.
Only ten smacks a shot while they
last, and that includes postage &
h ndling.

MAY-JUNE 'IS
Gangland USA: A Inside Look at
Prison Gangs; John Gotti's Lawyer
Bruce Cutler Tells Why the Feds
Want Him In Jail ; Contract On
America by Richard Stratton; Liberating Prisoners With Kindness : Bo
Lozoff.

JULY-AUGUS'r ••
Novelist Kim Wozencraft on the Controversial Case Of M
uJam
s'."oJ,)) otJ'[!
e;
esort"
The
Prisons; Prize-Winning Ex-Con Poet
Jimmy Santiago Baca.
SEPTEMBER~CfUBER'91
America's Greatest Living Convict
Writer Eddie Bunker, by Ri ard
Stratton ·
. ()U'l''
ath
Ro
SOIJ)
·
raz
oft
, ns1de the Capital's
Cage; plus fiction by Dannie Martin.
0

sm.acks a
shot-while
they last

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER '91
An inside look at Alabama Chain
Gangs; A CURE for Crime; Gettin'
Out & Goin' for the Green ... Legally! 3 ideas for starting your own business; plus Animal Factory- fiction by
Eddie Bunker.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY '96
Special HBO issue! Prisoners of
the War on Drugs: King Rat by
Michael Levine; Junk in the Joint;
Women Casualties of the Drug War.

MARCB·APRIL '96
Scoring in Hollywood: Trejo, Allen,
Dutton & Pinero; Dead Man Walking;
The Heart of Healing . Fiction by Eddie Bunker.

r
I
I
I

L..,..___-~------~ 1

--

END ME BACK ISSUES OF PRISO
Enclosed is $10 per copy. lssue(s) wanted: _ _ _ _ __
0 Check or Money Order
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Card#
Exp - - 1 - Signature _ __ _.:,_...:..,_.:...,...;:___ _ __ _ ___;:___

Nwne -------~~
ID# (if applicable) - - -- -Address _ _ _ __ _ __ City _ _ _ __
State
Zip _ __
Send to: Prison Life, 1436 Gray, Suite 531, Houston, TX 770 19-4946.

IN
(~

() () Ii I N (;

U Y U. A. S 'l'IUn~ 'I'

I~ IJ S (;I 0

IJ S

I~ IN (J IJ IN I~

1 can red clam sauce
1 can white clam sauce
1 can mushrooms
1 can jalapeno peppers
1 pepperoni
1 pkg provolone cheese or grated Parmesan
1 box linguine or spaghetti
In a hot pot, heat the clam sauces and
mushrooms. Meanwhile chop finely several
jalapeno peppers, according to taste, and
add some to the sauce. If you love it hot,
pour in some juice of the peppers. Stir
occasionally. Remove the skin from a stick of
pepperoni and chop in tiny pieces. You can
use the edge of a can to dice with but be
careful not to cut your fingers. Wrap the lid
with cloth to protect your hand. Let this
sauce simmer as long as possible .
Meanwhile cook your pasta separately. Empty
fluff containers work well for this meal, or
else any large plastic container. Pour your
sauce over the pasta , cover with a large
slice of provolone cheese and cover so it
melts. As an alternative, use grated
Parmesan. Serves 2-4 hungry cons.

Art by Virgil Bar field

)) I~«; il)) I~ N'I, )) 0 U I 'rO S
1 large bag Ooritos
1 can chili
1 pepperoni
1 can jalapeno peppers
1 pkg American cheese
In a hot pot, heat a can of chili mixed with
jalapeno pepper juice while you _dice a ~ew
peppers and add to the chill. D1ce a st1ck of
pepperoni and mix well. Add package of
cheese and keep stirring until it melts.
Continue stirring well to prevent sticking .
Dump Doritos in a large tray or bowl and
spoon the sauce over them. Feeds 2-4
convicts.
Send recipes to: In Cell Cooking,
P.O. Box 537, Stone Ridge, NV 12484
Winning recipes appear in this column and the chef
gets a free one year subscription.
PRISON LIFE

77

By Horace Boyle

Rap Sheet
Name: Cheyenne Valentino
Yakima
Age: 40
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan
Conviction: Bank Robbery
Sentence: Life-to be eligible for
parole after 7 years
Time Served: 14 years
Ambitions: To open a martial
arts school for kids ages 5 to
20, to publish my books and to
complete my mission on earth:
serving humanity.

Some folks will tell you that no
man is ever born out of his time.
But if you knew Cheyenne
Valentino Yakima (a/ k/ a The
Iceman), you might just have
second thoughts. I first met him
in 1984, at the state prison in
Reidsville, Georgia. I was having
problems lifting weights, and
since he looked like a black
Hercules, I figured he could help
me out, which he did. We all
used to wonder why they call
him Iceman.
"The nickname Iceman was
given to me in the very early
'70s, when my youngest sister
was raped . When my brother
Jack and I found the guy who
raped her, I chopped him up with
a meat cleaver, then threw him
in a large old icebox, pouring ice
all over his body. I guess that
was also the beginning of my
78

PRISON LIFE

criminal activities.
"I went to the can for bank robbery in 1978. After
serving 37 months, I
was paroled from the
federal penitentiary in
Terre Haute, Indiana.
Within a few months
of my release, I was at
it again. After robbing
a bank in Macon in
January of 1982, it all
came to an end. I had
made up my mind
whether I got caught,
got away or got killed,
this would be it for me.
"Within three months
of robbing the bank, I
was convicted and sentenced to life in prison
with
possibility
of
parole after seven
years. In mid-1 982 I
was placed on a prison
transfer bus and sent
to one of the most violent maximum security
prisons in the nation,
the Georgia State
Prison in Reidsville.
And that's where I
when I was a teenager. There stayed for the next seven years.
were seven of us-three girls Within a year of my incarceraand four boys. My father taught tion, I began not only to instruct
us long ago to look after each other convicts in bodybuilding ,
other. "
physical fitness and martial
Yakima started robbing banks arts-something I've been into
in 1975, gathering his knowl- since 1 969-but also the staff
edge from veteran bank robbers members as well as some of
who took great pride in their their kids."

long criminal career.
"My parents passed

away

In 1983 Yakima was assigned
as the photographer for the
G.S.P. Convict newspaper.
"Shortly after I started taking
and developing pictures for the
newspaper, I started writing my
own articles called Bodybuilding
From Within. I wrote about weight
lifting programs so the guys
would get a better understanding of how to lift weights properly. All the different events and
activities that took place within
the prison , I would be on the
scene with my 35mm camera."

THE ICEMAN COMETH
In the summer of 1986, the
Channel Eleven News staff out of
Savannah, Georgia, came to the
prison to do a sports presentation on the convicts , and naturally Yakima was one of the convicts who participated, doing
bodybuilding poses and martial
art forms and techniques on the
heavy bag. "After they aired the
final sports presentation from
the prison, the news editor said
that folks had been calling the
station wanting to see the
'Iceman' one more time.
"To be honest, my own change
started taking place when I
entered the system on this here
bit. In the past I never even
entertained the thought of
changing my character. Since
my incarceration, I've talked with
and shared my experience and
knowledge with kids and adults
all over the country. I have been
transferred to ten different prisons, where I have trained staff
members in physical fitness and
set up progr ams for other convicts. A man doesn't have to give
up his manhood , self-r espect, or
his mental liberty to work with
others for a common cause, a
better tomorrow for the next
generation . We either control
our own minds and destinies, or
somebody will do it for us, and

prison is a place where we all
should at least get along, 'cause
we're all in the same damn boat.
"The only type of rehabilitation
we are ever going to get is selfrehabilitation , and if we don't
have the guts to correct ourselves, then we are going to fail
every time. Education is essential, and I know if a guy like me
can obtain a college degree ,
ministerial credentials , a Ph.D.
and countless other certificates
while incarcerated, then you can
get off your ass and do even
more.
''I'm looking for ward now to getting both my books published,
Bodybuilding From Within, and
my autobiography: The IcemanA Rebel In The Midst. Once published, I'm sure they will help
somebody, somewhere, to see
things in a different way. To all
other convicts I just want to say
this, 'I dare you to make a positive change, to do something
worthwhile with your own life; to
set a good example, not only for
your own children, but for
all kids .'
The effort to break the cycle of
recidivism must be initiated by
us, while we are still incarcerated . We must begin from the day
of our arrest to develop the kind
of behavior, habits and attitudes
that w ill limit our presence
behind bars and ensure that
we'll never return. Just because
we have made our share of mistakes doesn't make us mistakes
as human beings. My brothersall of my brothers-be you black,
brown, red. white or yellow: the
only time it's too late is when we
are dead and gone. A great man
who was himself a prisoner once
said: To have been a criminal is
not a disgrace , but to remain a
criminal , that is the biggest disgrace of all.' May God-whomever you conceive him to be-bless
us all."

AN HONORABLE MAN
by
Cheyenne V. Yakima
You hold the key to your
future in your own hands. It is
limited only by the restrictions you impose upon yourself. by your inner fears and
negative thoughts. What is
the happiness of our lives?
Little courtesies, little kindnesses, pleasant words;
genial smiles, a friendly letter,
good wishes, good deeds.
Once in a lifetime we may do
a heroic act, but the opportunity to do one of the little
things that make our lives
beautiful comes every day
and every hour. If we strive to
make the apparently trifling
events of life beautiful and
good, then our whole existence will be full of harmony
and sweetness. How can we
sweeten life but by the presence of little charities day by
day? Are not kind words the
music of the world? Are they
not the antidote to vindictiveness? Nothing can constitute
good breeding that has not
good nature for its foundation. Courtesy and honor are
inseparable. Therefore, I
shall strive to live honorably.
My words shall speak honor.
My actions and deeds shall
proclaim it. My hands shall
be true to it, my feet shall
tread its path. No gold, or
crowns, or fame will bribe me
to leave it. These pledges I
make to myself and shall
strive to live by them all the
days of my life.
PRISON LIFE

79

Classifieds
LEGAL
PARALEGAL GRADED
CURRICULUM BY
BlACKSTONE
SCHOOL OF LAW
App roved home studies legal training sin ce
1890. Affordable a n d comprehensive. Free
catalog: 1-800-826-9228 or write Blackstone
School of Law, P.O .Box 70 1449, Dept. PL,
Dallas, TX 75370.

MAIL ORDER
Packages for Prisoners: Send today for our new
order fo r m. Name brand products at market
prices. New fl exibility in ordering just what you
want. Call 800-386-5120 or write PFP, P.O. Box
8213, Spokane, WA 99203.
Express your love to family & friends. Custom
designed gift baskets shipped nationwide and to
foreign counu·ies. Gift Baskets By Mail, P.O. Box
610924, San jose, CA 95161. Free color photo &
brochure. Call or write today. (408) 254-4134.
Free Gospel tracts, write for samples. We will
include a sample of o ur monthly pap er The
Libemtor ($5.00 p er year), publi sh ed fo r
in carcera te d Chri stians. Liberty Prison
Ministries, P.O . Box 8998, Waukegan , IL 60079.
J esus does care!
Sexy
California
Girls
want
to
write to you! All letters personal and confidential.
Don't be alone. Let us keep you company. Send
n ame and address to: PenMates In ternational,
505 S. Beverly Dr. #944, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.
Please includ e a $14.95 check or m.o. for 10 hot
letters (one per week)! Makes a great gift!
Jewish Spirituality Audio or video tape "Chicken

So up for the J ewis h Sou l. " 30 min. son gs ,
readings, stories. Audio $ 18.50, video $52.50
(includes S& H) . Sen d check: Ch icken Soup ,
1861 Clairmanl Rd. #412, Decatur, GA 30033.
Cassettes & compact discs delivered to you.
Huge selection , great service, great pl"i ces.
Catalog S l , includes a $2 d iscoun t coupon.
Write: Miles of Music, Attn: Peter Benjamin,
20929-47 Ventura Blvd., Suite 28, Wood land
Hills, CA 91364.
T-shirts and cards to uplift the human spirit!
Beautiful fu ll color artwork inspired by Earth
Philosophy, the Vision Quest, and the Teachings
of Tom Brown Jr. Free Br ochure . Wol f Pup
Studios, 333 Prospect Road , Springfield, PA
19064. (610) 3284504.
Radios and other goods. Ser ving the prison
p o pul atio n since 1984. We are th e Co n aid
Company, Inc. We offer a variety of radios and
oth er goods spec ifica lly for the prison
population. Free Catalog. Write to: The Conaid
Company, In c., 2302 230th Street, Pasadena ,
MD 211 22.
SENSUAL, EROTIC FANTASY e nco un te r
created personally for you according to your own
specific desires and fetishes. Letter or audiotape.
Photos and specialty items also available. Send
S.A.S.E. for details: MISTRESS GODDESS, P.O.
Box 69A24, Los Angeles, CA 90069

they can avoid being victimized . Call Samantha
Stein 1-818-763-0200.
Get Smart. Be a Player. If you work in a prison
industry, and want to greet your release with a
nice check rather than just a bus ticket, send
your n ame and address fo r free information
about an exciting new progr am (for inmates
only) (mutual fu nds) that will jump-start your
future. Market Research & Survey, P.O. Box
2980, Belleview, FL 34421-2980.
Tired of doing time you do not deserve? Have
you g iven up o n all possibilit)' of any justice
since your confinement? Please write: Freedom
Press, p,;soner Support Division, PO Box 4458,
Leesburg, VA 22075. Include a n arrative and
copies of your sentencing documents. Phon e:
703-49 1-8725 . Collect calls ar e accepted on
Saturday and Sun day only.

HOME CONNECTION
J ack-1 am all yours. Always yours. I love you.
Can you fee l it yet? Love, Shari
To All My Brothers & Sisters I left b ehind: I
want all of you to kn ow that you have truly
touched my heart with your prayers, love, cards
& support. I'm not saying goodbye-I'm saying
hello. You have given me the inspiration & the
will to carry on. God Bless All! Carl Sherlock &
Mother, Prison Program

MEDIA

OTHER STUFF

Do yo u want to b e on televis ion? Save Ou r
Streets natio n ally syndi cated n ews progr am
conducting inter views with inmates. Must talk
about crim e comm itted and tell people h ow

For God So Loved The World That He Gave His
Only Begotten Son. T hat Whosoever Believeth
In Him Shall Not Pe1·ish But Have Everlasting
Life. j ohn 3:16.jesus Loves You.

Classified Advertising
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soPRISON LIFE

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fax 713 / 694-8 1 3 1

Pen Pals

c=================~

SPARE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE:
ALL FEDERAL AND SOME STATE PRISONS PROHIBIT
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN PRISONERS.
SWM, 28, 6' 1 ", 210#, Muscular, grey eyes,
brn hair. Looking fo r good lady fo r lo ng
term rela tionship tha t wi ll blossom into
something very special. Being honest is
wha t's im po rtan t to me. I e njoy weigh t
lifting, read ing , travel ing & th e outdoors.
I go up for p aro le in April 1997. So rry,
n o prison e rs! Kevin Po nh #40656, PO
Box 1989, Ely, Nevada 89301.
Ar r! Arr! Arr ! SWM, 41, ta ttooed , g rn
eyed pira te from th e Fl o ri da Keys.
Seeking wome n to bring a little ligh t &
fu n into my life. Will exchange photos &
fun , fr ie nd ly lette rs. Co m e o n Ba b e,
"Ma ke my Day." I'm t h e cream o f t h e
crop o f the scum of the earth. Trust me!
I'm known as 'Thee Craze." Will respond
to all. Ricky H ed berg 0-892347-E1113L, Rt. 1 Box 1086, Perry, FL 32347.
WM, 38, redh ead fig htin g th e system
seg r ega tin g inm a tes. Afte r 10 yrs of
b eing d own w/ n o security pro ble ms.
On going civil righ ts complaint #CV-N95-788-ECR. H e lp is n eed e d , p lease
write: Keith A. Warre n, Box 1989-23562,
Ely, NV 89301-1989
2 1-yea r-o ld , 5 ' 8", 175#. H ealth y,
h a n d so me , buff Ch ica n o. Looking &
h o pin g fo r a d own , ri g h teo us Firm e
H in a who's tired of ge tting h e r h ea rt
broke n & looking for the rig ht person to
trust to come into her life. Atte ntio n all
you righteous, beau tifu l females! I j ust
wan t you to know I ai n 't giving you th e
r un-around. I ain't fa ke. I'll be getting
o ut in 23 months & looking for a serious
relatio nship lv/ some o ne I could ge t to
know a li ttle thro ugh letters. I'm a very
loving & caring p erson. Life is too short
to live alon e w/out someo ne to call my
own. Will exchan ge photos fo r p hotos!
God Bless Yo u! Write to: Fra n kie Cru z
#87446 CSP-F6-22, PO Box 777, Canon
City, CO 8 1215.
SWM, 28, 5'5", 140#, b rown h air a nd
eyes. Seeking wo men for pe n p als. I'm
lo n e ly & in n eed of co r resp o nd e n ce .
Age/ race unimpor tan t. I'm doing a 7-15
year sentence w/ only o ne year in. Will
an swer all letters. J o hn Braya #274973CI , Riverfron t State Pr ison, PO Box
9104, Camde n, NJ 08101.
22 yea r old C h ica no fro m Fresn o, CA.
I' m a 5'10", 180 lbs., brn hair, grey-eyed

h ue r o. I get re leased in '98 & I'm
searching fo r a firme woman who is in
need of a down vato to share a Iii of her
time & tho ugh ts with. To take a chan ce
o n m e, se nd to : A. Anth o n y Av ila
# 11 330 62 1, EO C I , 25 00 Wes tga te ,
Pe ndl e to n, OR 97801.
19 yr old Ch icano fro m Houston doing
35 agg. In search of white o r Chican a
liu le mo mma doing h a rd time be h ind
ba r s. Le t's d o tim e toge t h er! Q-Vo !
Lawrence Macias 736570, H C67, Box
ll5, Ke nedy, TX 7811 9 .
Please b e my b lue sky, my su nny d ay.
Lo rd kn o ws yo u ca n m a ke m e hi g h .
Turn your love my way. Tan, 39 year old
su r fe r. Pa ul Powers #A0706031, 2199
Ka m e h a m e h a Hig hway, H onol u lu ,
Hawaii 96819.
No t a t a ll what yo u wou ld ex p ec t.
Widowed WM Lifer. 36 yrs. old, 6', 230
lbs., long brn hair / hazel eyes. Fatl1e r of
three in cred ible sons. Cath olic conve rt
& still growing. Martial arts in structor
over 25 years. Oklahoma State gradua te
& Certifi ed Legal Assista nt. Athl e tic &
very successful. Looki ng fo r e mo tion al
support, not fina n cial. Last of the true
ro ma nti c so u ls. Wi ll a n swe r a ll. Bill
Wa n less 2 11 723, D C C C, Box 220,
H ominy, OK 74035.
Aryan-Christian, 32, 5'10", 155 lbs, brn
h a ir, blu e eyes. Free-spi r ited, e njoy
readi n g, art, m usic. H o n est, ca ri ng,
since re, supportive, adve n turous. Seek
to h ea r fro m fe m a l es w/ s imi lar
c h aracte risti cs for fri end sh ip. Fe m ale
inma tes o k. Pe rry Waynick 67711 2, Rt. 1
Box 150, Tennessee Colony, TX 75884.
SWM, 21, b rn h air, g rn eyes. Seeking
woma n 2 1-4 1. Looks un i m portan t,
personality a must. Hopes of frie ndsh ip,
maybe more . Al l le tters a nswered. Billy
J oe Preas #625672, Mich ae l U ni t. PO
Box 4500. Te nnessee Colo ny, TX 75886.
SWBF, 32, sear c h i n g fo r so m e fun ,
rea l ness fro m th e h eart a n d so u l,
serious talk also! I'm getti ng sh ort so to
meet someon e new wou ld be sweet, may
move to S.F. Afte r awh ile. Gay g irls a re
my style, o ld e r lad ies is my guest so I
know yo u're ou t th ere wheth er you ' re
free or loc kd own li ke me! Lo usy-ia na

women h ave bored me lo n g e n ough.
Can you help me smile mo re inside &
out? I'm real, loveable, affectionate, &
h andsome. AJ.·e you lonely, loyal, strongminded, & seeking someon e special to
love & c h e ri sh-th e n write me qu ick.
Pat "Pacifier " Bell #100035, PO Box 26,
LCIW-St. Gabriel, LA 707 76. Ca n yo u
feel me?
Convict seeking cor respond ence with
a n yone i n te r este d in the fo ll owin g
topics: Vam p ires, Ninji tsu, Kuji Kiri ,
psych ede lics, witchcraft, astrology, T'ai
C h ' I , C h ' I Ku n g, hy p no tis m , yoga,
T a o ism, Buddh a H a nds, Ku n g Fu,
Bob oj i Nagaraj , p o isons, explosives, &
o ther such a rca ne and occu lt matters.
R.A. Street, 2405 Main Street, Walpole,
MA 02081-1 027.
Anglo-H ispan ic male, 5'11 ", 160#, From
Ca lifas d oi n g time in New Mex ico.
Seeking o p en-minded , ho n est, sincere
fe male to correspond w/ age a nd race
immaterial. Am trying to better myself,
& do n 't have much more time to do. My
mai n h obby is lea rni ng t h e law. I ' m
already a paralegal & intend to become
a lawyer. Am lo nely after getting screwed
ove r by so meo n e I tru ly tr usted. Wi ll
answe r to a ll wh o wr ite & wi ll send
p icture fo r p icture. You only love once,
so ta ke a c h a n ce on m e. You wo n 't
regret it!!! Robert McDanie l-Ortega J r.,
#4435 1 N3Q4, PO Box 1059, Santa Fe,
NM 87504-1059.
H e lp Me Please! O n e bro ken h earted
p up py, 30, 5'6", 1 40 lbs. I was
misc h ievo u s, caug h t & t h row n away
fo rever. I have grown up some since I've
bee n locke d u p . I still h ave much to
learn. My o ne desire is to fi nd a fe male
wi lli n g to par tially own t h is loveab le
pup. Of cou rse, the system I a m in holds
full ownership. Hopefu ll y that will
cha n ge. For n ow, a ny female wh o isn't
loc ked up, please th row this puppy the
bo n e of cor responde n ce. I'm good at
fe tc h ing & re turn ing . Anyth ing would
exc ite t h is lo n e ly pup. T h is pupp y
a nswers to the name of Elme r H . Powers
930863.1 S P, PO Box 41, Michigan City,
IN 46361-0041.
SWM, 28, 6', 185#, Blo nd. Been down 10
years on life bid . I'm gorgeous & muscle
bound . Looking to write, call attractive
PRISON LIFE 81

ladie . Visits wou ld be nice! Please send
photo(s) . No inmates. Write : Ma rk
Smith #803215, Iowa Mens Reformatory,
Box B, Anamosa, IA 52205.
l'm a WM 47 years yo ung, whose been
locked up w/ in the Michigan De pt. of
Corru pti o ns sin ce 12 / 20 / 68, &
eve r yo n e th at was writin g to m e h as
e ithe r died or fell off th e face of t he
earth. So if there's any females out there
th a t's good-lookin g o r ug ly, & if you
have c hild ren, that's coo l because it
d oesn't sto p me from a nsw e ring a ll
le tters. So please help this cou n try boy
survive. I have gray/brn hair, brn eyes,
& stand 6' 1. Neve r bee n married. Love
counu·y music & Harley David sons. But
my life is lo nely & I'm will ing & a ble to
get married to the right lad}'· So come
on ladies & drop th is good-ol' boy a line.
Larry "Li za rd " Sc hl e icher # 121788,
Huro n Valley Men 's Facility, 3201 Be mis
Road, Ypsila mi, Ml 48197-091 1.
My life is j ust begi nning a t age 40. This
6'5", 200#, h andsome DWM seeks a wife.
I am ro mantic, real, sexy, educated, nonabusive, e motio n all y stab le, fa ithful ,
h a rd work ing / p laying, goal-o ri e nted,
adve nturous, ope n mind e d , lovin g,
deserving, fe rtile, h onest, disease free, &
affectio nate. I love th e o utdoors, din ing,
qui e t ni g h ts, goo d hum or, se ns u a l
e ro tica, li fe, motorcycles, & h ea rtfe lt
movies. Bee n down 9 years w/ 3 lefl to
expire, 1 if I ma ke my parole. My free
world income is medium to hig h. If you
a re an a ttractive woman proportio n a te
in height & we ight, 18-35, desiring a
good man & possibly a fa mil y in our
future, & if your quali ties & goals a r e
similar to min e, the n se nd a photo &
imro letter. Ifyou' re "down", piggyback;
ot h e rwise, send dir ectly to: Wayne
Sommerfie ld , 24894, PO Box 359,
Lovelock, N 89419.
SWM , 5' 10", 175#, Brn eyes & h a ir.
Interests include poe try, world affa irs,
sports, & prisoners rights. I wi ll respo nd
to all corresponde nce, male & fe male,
regarding priso ners' righ ts iss u es.
Knowled ge is freed o m ! Please write:
Christopher Harris, #86592, Colorado
State Penn., PO Box 777, Canyon City,
co 81215-0777.
I'm the kind of guy who dots my i's w/ a
h ean. SWM, 5'9", 160#, you ng e nough
to play, o ld e noug h to kn ow. Loo king
for Ms. Right. I love to write & receive
letters. Mike Caban #Cfvl7876, 1111
Altamont Blvd ., Frackville, PA 17931.
Ge ntle man seeks co rrespo ndence w/
co mmunicative ladies o f all ages who
are h onest & sin ce re.
Edward
82 PRISON

LIFE

H e rn a nd ez #E98461, P O Box 7500,
Crescent City, CA 95531.
SWM, 40 , 5'8", 200# . 1eed so m e
com municating with the outside world.
Bee n down 10 & got a few more to go.
Long ways from h o me-D allas, Texas.
Wi ll a n swer all le tte rs . Loo kin g for
h onest, sincere lady who can h elp me
rid e out t he rest o f this time. Sammy
Quinn #159386, Algoa C C, PO Box 538,
J effe rson City, MO 65102.
SWM, 31, 5'10", 175#, brn hair, blue
eyes. ever married , no kids. Musician,
write r, activist see king co rrespondence
w/ like-minded wome n on the inside or
out. Into alte rna tive culture/ lifestyles.
Can p iggyback, will answe r all photo for
pho to. To m Hutchins #8393156, 2500
Westgate, Pendleton, O R 97801.
Down ed Pecke rwood. 29, 155#, long
brn h air, blue eyes, tans, dig workin the
iron , h a ndle is "Snoopy. " This wood's
pulling a 5 spo t w/ a d o lla r & change
left. Love to hear from all. Interests &
expe ri ences var y w/ wh o's fl ying the
lin e. Give m e a chance. Later. j eff
Be hnk e, #8334 4 , E / POD , Box 777,
Canyon City, CO 81215.
Fat, o l' wop, 335#, Gay. Like to cruise
th e weight pile (a real turn-on ). See king
roman ce w/ young boyz 18 yrs.+, macho
fo r mach o photo, I d o it all. Serious
inquiries only. Write: "Big Daddy" J oe
Massa r o, #83 41 3-0 20 , Box lOOO,
Leavenworth, KS 66048.
SvVM, 5'10", 170#, 37 years o ld w/ light
brn h air & h azel eyes, & a lo t of time
courtesy of the state of MI. Just trying to
kee p it together in h opes that the cou rts
will give me some relief. Any le tte rs from
17-40 who would care to sh a re drop a
le tter & photo to Steve Burton, #1509803510, N. Elm Road , J ackson, MI 492018877.
Hi guys, I ' m a sexy white widow who
would love to sh a re though ts & le tte rs
w/ olde r inmates. No you ng me n will be
answered. Prefer someone 55+, who are
incar cerated. ATe you lonesome, need a
fr iend? I wou ld Hke to be your frie nd &
co nfid a nt, just for fun & p ossib le
relatio nsh ips. We'll have a h ell of time.
I'm in t h e free world & h ave wr itte n
yo u n ge r m en only to ge t m y h eart
broke n. If a ny of you olde r gentlemen in
t h e fr ee wor ld ca re to wr ite, I wi ll
an swe r. o jokers, let's j u st h ave a
wonderful tim e ta lking a b out wo rld
events, pri so n l ife , musi c, re ligion,
whatever you enjoy; keep it clean. My
hobbies are music, riding, mo torcycles,
t rave ling, d a n cing, camping, fishing,

rock hunting, talking for hours, candle
lit di nn ers, theatre & so much more. I'm
easy to p lease. See you on the flip side!
Come on guys, don ' t be bash ful. We can
exc h a n ge fun n y sto ri es that h ave
h appened in o ur lives, everyo n e has a
sto r y. Write to : Do ro th y J. Kon ig, PO
Box 73, Pe rris, CA 92572-0073
SWM, 28, 6', 185 lbs. Employed by the
State o f Wisco nsin & commissio ned to
write poetry fo r my own pleasure. One
fringe benefit include free room & board
in a semi-public building. l love you sassy
prison ladies, so write me! Prisoner to
prisoner co rresponde nce is o kay. Tim
Drummer #134769, Ke ttle Moraine C.l.,
PO Box 31, Plymou th, WI 53073.
I'm a h andsome Italian man (DWM), 37
years o ld, 5'8". Good se nse of hum o r,
play chess & read nove ls. Seeking a ver y
compassio nate white female 30-39 years
old. Please no games. Se ri o us minded
on ly. Salvato re De Sa rn o #81 A1798,
Green H aven CF, Route 216 Drawer B,
Stormville, NY 12582.
Southern Beau ty, SWF, 5'2, 110 lbs., brn
h ai r & e yes. Been down l 0 o n 12 .
Looking for frie nds to write & help ease
th e pai n & loneliness of living life alone.
All lette rs will receive a response. Ca n 't
wa it to mee t ya . Sha r o n J o hn so n
#11 7937, LCIW Capricorn, PO Box 26,
St. Gabriel, LA 70776
BM , 29 , 6' 10 , 190, p owerfull y built,
car m e l co mpl ex io n , lo n g hair, LA
kitc h en, te mp ora ril y incarcerated in
CO. See ks strong, in te lligent, o p e n rela ti onship-minded woman who is not
biased or prej udi ced against brothers
te mp o r ar ily inca rc e r a te d. Only t he
serious & sincere to reply. Send pho to &
I will d o likewise . A nth o n y Bl eve ll s
#81253, CSP F-6-11 , Box 777, Can on
City, CO 81215-0777
SWM , 24, 6' 1 ", 190#, did a serio u s
crime, do ing serious time. Looking for a
woman wh o is wi lling to give support in
both mate rial & me ntal ways. In terests
in
ea rth
r e ligion,
m ys tici sm ,
Easte rn / \"'este rn philosophy. Love th e
outdoors. Desi r e women 18-40+.
Promise to be straightfor ward & honest.
Wha t mo re could you ask for? Nathaniel
Ellibee # 55052, Box 107, Ellsworth, KS
67439-01 07
SWM, 24, 5'8", 185#, hazel eyes, dk brn
hair, college grad, law student, seeks any
good wo men th a t a re interested in a
long lasting fri e ndship & po ssible
rela tio nship w/ an innocent ma n who is
fighting fo r his freedom. See king lady
5' -5'8", w/ warm, se n sitive hea r t &

p erso na li ty, educated, kid s ok. Love
doing for you as much as you could do
for me. Many Tankleff #90T3844, Box
2001, Da nn emora, NY 12929-2001

co rres po nd w/ a n emo ti onall y strong
female for fri endsh ip , race n ot
im portant. O liver Hooker #35368, Box
1989-E. S. P., Ely, NV 89301

SBF, 26, Ar ies, l ovea bl e, kind ,
resp ecta ble, honest young lady who likes
sports, writing, movies, & love music of
a ll kind. 5' 1, 150#, GA g irl doing fed
time in TX, looking for so meone to
correspo nd w/ male or fema le, 25-45,
race unim portant. Would like to hea r
from all bro & sis especially locked down
& understand prison life. No letter will
go unanswered , waiting to h ear from all
ofyou. Pamela Thomas#08019-021, Box
27137 E.T., Ft. Worth, T X 76127

SWM, 42, 210#. Heroin has been my path
for many yr , but now I've come to a fork
in t h e road. I 've final ly chose n th e
different path but I don 't wan t to do it
alone. Looking for someon e to share
these lonely times. I'm well worth your
time and 32 cents. Photo fo r photo. 1o
forwarding fac ilities. Robert C. Lewis
#47100, Box 7000, Carson City, !V 89702

I'm a young Italian/ Irish male, 19, 5'8",
180#, release date '98. Seeki ng females
to write & h elp pass the time away. J ames
Molinari #J 52440, 3C05-247 low, Box
3471 , Corcoran, CA 93212-3471
Pu erto Ri ca n m ale, 25, brn hair, grn
eyes, 5'7", 160 so lid . H onest, caring,
loving, most of all understanding.
Seeking
friendship ,
poss ible
re lationsh ip, age, race unimportant.
Lone ly h ea rt, I ' m dow n & out. My
h o bbi es are wnun g, s p orts, &
we igh tlifting. Waiting to h ear from
siste rs in the struggle, but mos t of all
serio us, ho nest, loving wome n. Write fast
cause I'm wa iting to cor respond back!
Anth o ny Go n zalez # B42008, Box 711 ,
Menard, IL 62259
SWM, 25, 5'9", blond h a ir, g rn eyes.
Looking fo r since re whi te fe male, age,
weight, looks don't matter. I have 3 yrs
left & I sure could use some help getting
through it. I will answer all le tte rs. James
Stoke ly # 1849 02 , W.M.C.C. , 609 E.
Pence Rd, Cameron, MO 64429
SWM, 25, 5'9", 170#, Brn hair, blue eyes.
Likes are Harley Davidsons & outdoors.
ot interested in fantasy romance-been
there, d o n e th at. Th ey hurt way too
mu ch. Lookin for some thing real that
wi ll las t. Someon e sincere, mature, &
wants a good frie nd in a man they can
write to share thoughts & fee lings. Will
a n swe r all. Pic for p ic. Wesley Ki zer
#669977, Circle Dr, Sugarland, TX 77478
SWM, 27, it's difficu lt to be ha ppy in
pri so n. Mai l is a tan g ib le form of
happiness for all prisoners. It's a special
kind of escape & freedom to be allowed
in so m eo n e e lse's world & sh are w/
them. PLEASE SE D HAPPI ESS! I will
re turn it. J a mes D . Murdock # 19832,
USP, Box 250, Draper, UT 84020
My name is O liver Hooke r, 27, BM, 6',
185#, from Las Vegas, & I would li ke to

WM, 44, 5'9", 160#, bind hair, blue eyes.
Enjoys the outdoors, R&B,jazz, & country
music. Want to hear from anyone. Male
or fe male, age, looks, not important. Will
a nswer all! Pau l Hale #862345, ISP, Box
41, Michigan City, IN 46361
BM, 33, 6', 2 10#, i n sea rch of
corresponde n ce & companio nship. Ve ry
lo n e ly, sin ce r e, o p e nmind ed, n ot
violent! Wou ld like to hear from anyone
who n eed s t he sa m e. Age, race
unimportant Dwayne Williams #089862G l-1 2, CC I, Rt.7 Box 376, Lake City, FL
32055
The best things in life cannot be see n or
touched. They must be felt w/ th e heart.
Black/ Indian , 40, 5' IO, 210#, handsome
bodybuilder/ martial a rt instru ctor. PhD.
ever indulged in tobacco, alcoh o l o r
dru gs. l'v!y m o r als & values yo u "ll
appreciate. I ' m a 1 woman man,
romantic & in spi te of ci rcumstances, my
heart/ spirit is unda maged. Long ago I
tasted the swee t n ess of true love &
l•JOu ld like to fa ll aga in. Seek since re,
ma ture, intellige nt Ca ucasia n , Indian ,
Spanish or O riental lady over 21. You
won't be disappo in ted. C h eye nne
Vale ntino Yakima, ACI/145002/ G2/ Box
648, Pelham, GA 31779-0648
Sv\'M, 34, 6 ' 1", 195#. I'm looking for a
special lad y to share some lo nely times
wi th . Age, race, looks unimportant.
Been down 6 yrs & h ave 4 more to go.
I' m very easy-going & unde rstandin g.
I'm into romance, o u tdoo rs, d anc ing,
movies & quiet evenings at home. Please
write soon, I wi ll a n swe r a ll le tte rs.
Ben ny J. Ray #562984, Ferg. Unit TDC,
Rt. 2 Box 20, Midway, TX 75852
GWM, 3 1, [romS. Dakota wa nts gay
p en pals. ot a golddigger. Likes: Citizen
D og ca rtoons, Big Ba ld B uddhas.
Disli ke s: Socia l workers, Drugg ies.
Please write: Randy L. '"'ilso n #28666,
Box 5911 , SF, SD 5711 7-5911
Healthy, ha ndso me YC/ SWM Pol ishAm e ri can n ever marr ie d , co ll ege-

educated, blue eyes,5'8, 160#, 50 but look
30, somewhat financially stable, 1st time
in prison, figh ting to prove innocence. 3
yrs to parole, nonviolen t, nonsmoke r,
nondruggie, j u t a rare glass of wine. Love
jazz, classical, Cat Stevens, jogging,
camping, theater, writing, poetry(Maya
Angelou), politics. Seeking tender, caring,
loyal & emotionally supportive Italia n,
Hispanic, or Afro-Ame r mature female
over 21. I'm n ot a hardnosed ga ngste r,
I'm a soft n osed sensitive prankster.
Would also like to write a n y Libera l
Democrats if any are left! , stud e n ts,
teachers, a nyo ne who smiles, laughs &
sto ps to smell the flowers while sippi ng
cappuccino. Sam Smole n #85A4082, Box
500, Elmira, NY 14902-0500
Struggling publis h ed writer & poe t,
seeking those in te rested in helping him
w/ his writing effo rts. Straightup, I'm
no t looking for any love relationships,
just a little help-be it w/ costs, contacts,
advice or o therwise. If you've got it in
you to help, please write: Derrick 'Jack"
Corley 90T1984, Box 700, Wallki ll, NY
12589-0700
SWM, 31 , inte rested i n intelligent,
hones t co mmunicati on. I f you are
interested in t he same , contact me:
Edwin D . Wolff III #506882 Wynne ,
H u n tsville, TX 77349
Tall , clark & han dsome, 100% ).iative
America n Apac h e r ebe l. 6'2", 220#,
su·aiglll waist lo ng rave n b lack hair &
clark eyes. Looki ng for sexy, Iovi n, car ing
& sharing lady to give h e r a ll to this
lonely man. Write today & se nd photos
please. Margari to Argue llo Jr. #895698,
Box 30, Pe n dleton , J1\ 46064
BM, 26, lig h t co mplexio n, 5'9", 190#,
muscular build. Will be released by the
end of '96. H o bbies include reading,
writi ng le tters & writing poetry & weight
lifting . Interested in corresponding w/
females who are willing to explore their
erotic side & write about their fa ntasies
& hear mine. H o pefully soon I can make
so me fe ma les fan tasies a reality. Race
unimportant b ut sincerity is. Pies a plus,
n ot a must. Anthony Quander, Box
76001 Drawer A, 310 McPherson Ave, Ft
Leavenworth, KS 66027-1363

PEN PALS
One FREE ad w/each new
sub. $10 otherwise. We
reserve the right to edit for
length and clarity.
(No pictures.)

PRISON LIFE 83

RESOURCES

by Alex Friedmann , Resource Editor, SCCC, TN

These are nonpmfit and volunteer-run
agencies. Do the 1ig!tt thing-enclose some
loose stamps or an SASE. Or contribute.
Even one dollar can help.
SOCIAL SUPPORT AGENCIES
• American Friends Service CommiHee, 1501 Cherry
Street, Philadelphia , PA 19102 (215/241-7130): A
Quaker organi:rotion that works for peace and equality
can provide literature on a variety of prison issues.
There are six regional AFSC offices in the U.S.: CA, Ml,

NJ, MA, OH anCI NY.
• Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, 251
Bank Street #600, OHawa, Ontario, Canada K2PIX3
1613/238-2422): Provides services and programs for
women in Canadian prisons through 19 local offices.
• John Howard Association, 67 E. Madison # 1416,
Chicago, ll60603 (312/263·1901) is involved with
prison reform ond criminal justice issues in Illinois, but
they con provide materials of interest to all prisoners.
There is a separate JHA branch in Canada.
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP), Criminal Justice Prison Program,
4805 Mount Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215·3297
(41 0/358·8900): Offers referrals and advisory services
for prisoners who want to bneak the C)lde of recidivism.
Projects operate through regional offices and are not
available in every area. Write for local contact address·
es.
• Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR), 301 Park Drive,
Severna Park, MD 21146 (410/ 647·3806): Provides
past·release assistance for prisoners in lA, MD, NJ, PA
and VA, through 12 local offices.
•Community Education Outreach is an educational/life
skills organization providing information to anyone and
free instruction to people in Colorado. The CEO offers
essential academic and lifes skills assessment and
instruction for disadvantaged people at risk of incarceration who want to succeed in living productive, inde·
pendent lives. CEO, P.O. Box 7957, Boulder, CO
80306. (303}447-3353 Fax (303)444-3872.

ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS
• CURE, P.O. Box 2310, National Capitol Station,
Washington, DC 200 13· 2310 (202/789-2126}:
Organi:rotion for prison reform, with state chapters and
special groups for veterans, lifers, sex offenders and federal prisons.
• Citizens fora Safe America, 635 Slaters lane G·100,
Alexandria, VA 22314 (703/684.0373): Works for a
more progressive and human crime policy.
• Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy, 918 F St.
NW #505, Washington, DC 20004 (202/628· 1903):
This agency works for effective criminal justice reform.
Ask your warden to join.
• Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM),
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, #200, Washington,
DC 20004 (202/ 457-5790): Works for the repeal of
federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
• Justice Watch, 932 Dayton Street, Cincinnati, OH
45214 (513/241-0490): Works to eliminate classism
and racism from prisons.
PUBUCATlONS & MAGAZINES
• Fortune News, ATTN: Inmate Subscriptions, 39 West
19th Street, New York, NY 10011 (212/206·7070): A
publication of Fortune Society.
• Inside Journal, c/o Prison Fellowship, P.O. Box
16429, Washington, DC 20041 ·6429 (703/ 47801 00): A publication of Prison Fellowship.
• National Prison Project Journal, ACLU National Prison
Project, 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW #410, Washington, DC 20009 (202/234·4830): $2/ year for pris·
oners.
• Outlook an Justice, AFSC, 2161 Massachusetts
Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140 (617/661-6130): A
newsleHer of the American Friends Service Committee;
52/year for prisoners.
BOOK AND READING PROJECTS
• Books Beyond Bars, P.O. Box 4865, Hialeah, Fl
33014 (305/ 444·0 120): A for·profit compony that
offers a book-ordering service for prisoners.
• Books to Prisoners, c/o left Bank Books, 92 Pike St.,
Box A, Seattle, WA 981 01 is a volunteer program that
sends free used books in politics, history, literature, legal
84

PRISON LIFE

materials (when available), education. No religious
materials or mass market ~ction. Please specify subjects.
limit 1-2 pounds per package.
• Prison Book Program, Redbook Store, 92 Green
Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130: No books can be
sent to prisoners in KS, NE, lA, Ml, OR or CA.
• Prison library Project, 976 W. Foothill Blvd #128,
Claremont, CA 91711.
• Prisoner literature Project, c/o Bound Together Books,
1369 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117: Free
books for prisoners.
• Prison Reading Project, Paz Press, P.O . Box 3146,
Fayetteville, AR 72702: Free books for women prisoners.
PAROLE & PRE-RELEASE INFORMATION
• American Correctional Association, Publications Dept,
8025 laurel lakes Court, laurel, MD 20707-5075
(301/206-5059 or 800/825·2665): offers a parole
planning guide, •As Free as an Eagle; and sells self.
help books.
• Interstate Publishers, 510 North Vermillion Street,
P.O.Bax 50, Danville, ll61834·0050 (217/ 446·0500
or 800/843-4774}: Sells a parole planning manual,
"From the Inside Out:
• OPEN, Inc. (Offender Preparation and Education Net·
work), P.O. Box 566025, Dallas, TX 75356·6025
(214/ 271-1971 ): Sells "99 Days & a Get-up; "Man, I
need a Jab!" and ather pre-release guides-for $4.95 each.
• Manatee Publishing, 4835 North O ' Conner St.
#134435, Irving, TX 75062: Sells "Getting Out and
Staying Out; a parole-planning manual, for $22.45.
• CEGA Services, Offender Referrals, P.O. Box 81826,
lincoln, NE 6850 1· 1826 (402/ 464-0602) offers pre·
release referrals for prisoners (housing, employment and
substance abuse treatment programs.) S15 fee for each
city. CEGA also sells the "Survival Sourcebook" and
"The Job Hunter's Workbook:
• Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans Incarcerated
liaison, 1224 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20005
(202/628-2700): Publishes "From Felon to Freedom," a
pre-release guide for imprisoned veterans.
The Graduate Group, P.O. Box 370351, West Hart·
ford, a 06137·0351 sells a book entirled Opportunities
for Newly Released Offenders for $27.50.
PRISON AIDS RESOURCES
• Correctional Association AIDS in Prison Project, 135
E. 15th Street, New York, NY 10003 (212/674·0800):
Offers resource information concerning AIDS in prison,
especially for inmates in New York.
• HIV Prison Project, NYC Commission on Human
Rights, 40 Rector St., New York, NY 10006 (212/2335560).
• National Prison Hospice Association, P.O. Box 58,
Boulder, CO 80306.0058: Helps develop hospice programs for terminally ill prisoners.
• Na~onal ACLU Prison Project, AIDS Education Project,
1875 Connecticut Avenue NW 410, Washington, DC
20009 (202/234-4830).
• Oasis Project, c/o Susan K. Meadows, Prison Pro·
gram Director, 923 S.E. Bay Blvd, Newport, OR 97365:
Provides a peer outreach support network for those
infected with HIV or diagnosed with AIDS.
• "One Day at a Time; c/o Richard H. Rhodes
#05353·018, U.S.P. l eavenworth, P.O. Box 1000,
leavenworth, KS 66048: An AIDS newsletter for prison·
ers.
• People With AIDS Coalition of New York, Inc.
(P'NACNY), 50 West 17th Street, 8th Floor, New York,
NY 10011 (2 12/647·1415): Publishes Newsline, a
monthly magazine by and for people with AIDS, in
which they provide o space for prisoners living with
AIDS.
• Prison AIDS Project, Goy Community News, 62 Berkeley Street, Baston, MA 02116 (National AIDS Goy Task
Force: 800/221-7044).
• Prison AIDS Resource Center, P.O. Box 2155, Vocov·
ille, CA 95696·2155; or 926 J. Street, #801, Sacra·
menta, CA 95814.
• Prisoners with AIDS/Rights Advocacy Group, P.O.
Box 2161 , Jonesboro, GA 30237 (404/946·9346):
Offers support, educational materials, referrals and
political lobbying for prisoners with AIDS/HIV.
MISCEUANEOUS RESOURCES
• Families in Action for Incarceration Reforms (FAIR),
309 Mamaroneck Ave., Suite 293, White Plains, NY
10605 (914/946-2734): A volunteer group that assists

prisoners with the following: locating a non-legal aid
lawyer, reaching the media and ~nding pen pals. They
also provide how·to books below cost and legal items
and gifts at cost.
• Infinity lifers Group, c/o Julie Trovers, Chairperson,
P.O. Box 772, Station B, OHawa, Ontario K2P 5P9: A
volunteer prisoner's rights and political advocacy group.
• lntemationollegol Defense Counsel, Packard Build·
ing, 24th Fl., 111 South 15th St., Philadelphia, PA
19102 (215/ 977·9982): An advocacy agency for
American citizens incarcerated overseas.
• league for lesbian and Goy Prisoners, 1202 East Pike
St., # 1044, Seattle, WA 98122: A project of Goy Com·
munity Social Services.
• James Markunas Society, 245 Harriet Street, San
Francisco, CA 94103 (415/775-5445). A resource for
lesbian, goy and bisexual prisoners.
• Mothers Opposed to Maltreatment of Service Mem·
bers (MOMS), 8285 Black Haw Court, Frederick, MD
21701: Advocates for prisoners in military prisons and
disciplinary barracks. Offers a pre·release booklet enti·
rled "New Beginnings."
• The Prison Chess Program, P.O. Box 44419, Wash·
ington, DC 20026 (301 / 530·4841) provides chess
books and magazines for prison libraries and institu·
tiona! chess groups; they cia not send materials to indi·
viduals.
• Native American Indian Inmate Support Project, 8
Dallas Dr., Grantville, PA 17028: A Native American
group that supports the introduction of Indian religious
ceremonies and programs in prisons.
• Native American Prisoners' Rehabilitation Research
Project, 2848 Paddock lane, Villa Hills, KY 41017:
Offers many services for Native American prisoners,
including legal and spiritual support, tribal and cultural
programs and direct contact with prison administrators.
• PEN, Writing Program for Prisoners, 568 Broadway,
New York, NY 10012 (212/334· 1660): Offers o great
resource booklet for prison writers. Also sponsors an
annual writing contest for prisoners.
• Prisoners of Conscience Project, 2120 lincoln St.,
Evanston, ll6020 1 (708/328·1543): A religious-based
agency that works for the release of prisoners of con·
science/ political prisoners in the United States.
• Prisoner Visitation and Support, 1501 Cherry Street,
Philadelphia , PA 19102 (215/241-71 17): Provides
institutional visits to prisoners in federal and military
prisons nationwide.
• Project for Older Prisoners (POPS), c/ o Jonathan Tur·
ley, Director, The National law Center, 2000 H Street
NW, Washington, DC 20052.
• The Safer Society, Shoreham Depot Road, RR 1, Box
24-B, Orwell, VT 05760·9756 (802/ 897-7541 ): Self.
help materials for sex offenders.
• Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc., PO Box 2713, Manhot·
tanville Station, New York, NY 10027 (212/663·
5562); e·mail: sprdon@ix.netcom.com; Web:
hHp://www.igc.opc.org/spr/. Information and odvoca·
cy on sexual abuse and exploitation of prisoners; sup·
port and advice for victims and targets of both sexes
including info on psychological and health conse·
quences, legal action and survivors' options.
• The Poetry Wall, Cathedral of St. John, 1047 Amster·
dam Avenue, New York, NY 10025: Displays poetry
wriHen by prisoners.

CHilD & FAMILY RESOURCES
Thtrt arf mall)' orgtmiwtio11s thatlulfJ pri.solltTS who
have dliltlm1. 77""" agenrit3 prwidt literat11rt, i11jomwtion,
adviet and SllfJport on how to cofJt with family prob/nns
wilik in prison. o;,-.c~ assiJianrt is usually availablt only ;,
the loco/ m"tt~Stilattl~eSt Jnvgrmns JtTV<J.
• Aid to Imprisoned Mothers (AIM), 599 Mitchell St.,
SW, Atlanta, GA 30314 (404/221-0092): An odvoca·
cy group for incarcerated mothers. Although social services are only provided in the Atlanta area, AIM can
provide helplul information for all women in prison who
hove children.
• Center for the Children of Incarcerated Parents, Pacif.
ic Oaks College, 7 14 W. California Blvd, Pasadena,
CA 91105 (818/397-1300): Provides free educational
material for incarcerated parents and their children.
• Family and Corrections Network, Jane Adams Center
M/C 309, 1040 West Harrison St. #4010, Chicago, ll
60607-7134 (312/996·3219): Provides information
about programs serving fam ilies of prisoners.

• Fathers Behind Bars, P.O. Box 86, Niles, Ml49120
(616/684·5715): A by·prisoners, for· prisoners agency
that helps to set up ins~tu~onol parent groups for incor·
ceroted fathers. Only the serious need apply!
• Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, 474 Volen·
cia St., #230, Son Francisco, CA 94103 (415/255·
7036): Legal services ore provided in California only,
but some general information is available.
• Notional Institute of Corrections, Information Center,
1860 Industrial Circle, Suite A, Longmont, CA 80501
(303/ 682·0213): Provides the "Directory of Programs
Serving Families of Adult Offenders."
• Notional Resource Center lor Family Support Pro·
grams, Family Resource Coalition, 200 S. Michigan
Ave., # 1520, Chicago, IL 60604 (312/ 341·0900):
Provides information about family programs, including
prison projects.
• Parent Resource Associo~on, 213 Fembrook Avenue,
Wyncote, PA 19095 (215/576·796 1): Support for
child/parenting programs in prison; offers referrals and
information to inca rcerated parents.
• Prison Family Foundation, P.O. Box 1150, Auburn,
AL 36831 (205/ 821·1150): Works to support family
education programs in prison. Sells pre· and post·
release books and other publico~ons; works with prison
administrations to form institutional fami ly support
groups.
LEGAL RESOURCE5-fEDERAL/ NATlONAL
1/u:rf are mlliiJ agmdes lhaifJrouide legal mvices for

powmm; most ofthese mgrmiullions dis!JPnst illfonnation or
offi.,. repmue mall!lial. Note that these agmcies do not usual·
ly handle persona/legal seruias such as filing af>J>tals, post·
ronvictions or lawsuits-with the exufJiion offo r-profit
companies (no/listed here) thai dwrgo largojrtS.

Federal
• U.S. Deportment of Jus~ce, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section, Washington, DC 20530
(202/514·6255): Enforces the "Civil Rights of lnstitu·
tionolized Persons Act" through lawsuits against state or
local prison officials who deprive prisoners of their con·
stitutionol rights or who practice racial discrimination.
• U.S. Supreme Court, Public lnfonno~on Office, Wash·
ington, DC 20543·000 1 (202/ 479·3211 ): Con pro·
vide up to five Supreme Court decisions per term.
Supreme Court slip opinions ore available throu~h the
Government Printing Office. Contact: The Superonten·
dent of Documents, U.S. Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402 (202/783·3238).
Notional
• ACLU Notional Prison Project, 1875 Connecticut
Ave., NW #410, Washington, DC 20009 (202/234·
4830): A branch of the notional ACLU that works on
prison legal issues. Sells resource directories, criminal
justice statistic books and legal aid manuals; also offers
a prison newsleHer for 52 per year on? sells the ."Ri.g~ts
of Prisoners• handbook for $5. Doesn I handle ondovod·
ual cases; they only li~gote lorge·scole state or notional
prison reform legal actions.
• Columbia Human Rights Low Review, 435 West
I 16th Street Box B· 25, New York, NY 10027
(212/663·8701 ): Sells the •Jailhouse Lawyer Manual"
(JLM) for $30 o copy ($13 for prisoners).
• Correctional Low Reporter, Civic Research Institute,
4490 Route 27, Box 585, Kingston, NJ OB528: Case
low newsleHer; $125/yeor.
• Georgetown University Low Center, Criminal Procedure Project, 600 New Jersey Ave. NW, Woshongton,
DC 20001. (202/662·9468): Publishes the George·
town Low Journal, the annual "Criminal Procedure•
issue costs $30.
• Freedom Press, P.O. Box 4458, Leesburg, VA 22075
(703/866·1446) or: (800/370·7052): A prison project
run by volunteer paralegals. They offer legal services ot
reduced rates, sometimes on monthly payment pions;
they also offer ministry and counseling services.
• Inside/Out Press, P.O. Box 18813 1, Sacramento, CA
95818: Publishes self· help legal guides. Inside/Out is
the moil·order business for the Prisoners' Rights Union,
which focuses on California prison issues.
• lewisburg Prison Project, P.O. Box 128, lewisburg,
PA 17837..()128 (717/ 523·1104): Sells low·cost litera·
lure regarding constitutional rights, due process and
other legal issues of interest to prisoners. .
• Notional Lawyers Guild, Prison low Pro1ect, 558 Cop
Street Son Francisco, CA 94110 (415/285·5067): A
notio~ollegol agency with on interest in helping jail·
house lawyers.

• Notional Legal Services, 710 Lake View Ave. NE,
GA 30308 (404/874·9553): Post·conviction
specialists; fees for service.
• Oceano Press, 7 5 Main Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY
10522 (914/ 693·81 00): Sells prison· reloted legal
books, including "The Prisoner' s Self· Help Litigation
Manual" ($30) and "Post·Conviction Remedies• ($20).
• Paralegal Associates, 209 S. Broadway #246, Bolti·
more, MD 21231: Offers o cose·lows summary news
service; $30 annual subscription.
• Prisoner Legal News, P.O. Box 1684, Loke Worth, FL
33460: A magazine published by prisoners in Wash·
ington that covers nationwide prison legal i~sues . Sub·
scription rates ore around $12 per yeor/ 12 ossues.
• Storlite, P.O. Box 20004, St. Petersburg, FL 33742
(813/392·2929 or 800/577·2929): Sells the CITE·
BOOK which is a coll~on of positive federal and state
cose l~w, both criminal and civil. The CITEBOOK is
updated quarterly and costs $28 ($112 annually) .
Although this is fairly expensive, perhaps your low
library con subscribe; this company a lso sel.ls other
books regarding business, consumer ond legol ossue.s.
• West Publishing Company, 610 Opperman Drove,
Saint Paul, MN 55123·1340 (800/ 328·9352): Pub·
lishes "Corr~ons and Prisoners Rights in o Nutshell"
and "Criminal Procedures in o Nutshell; at $17 each.
PARALEGAL PROGRAMS

A~onto,

ISLAMIC ORGANIZATIONS
• Islamic Prison Foundation, 1212 New York Avenue
NW #400, Washington, DC 20005: Mos~y works with
Muslims in federal prisons.
• The Notionollncorceroted Muslim Network, c/o Mou·
rice Taylor, #476837, Route 3, Box 59, Rosharon, TX
77583: A prison·bosed organization that networks with
incarcerated Muslims for support and educational pur·
poses.
JUDAISM ORGANIZATIONS
• Aleph Institute, P.O. Box 546564, Surfside, FL33154
(305/ 864·5553): A full·service Jewish advocacy
agency with regional offices.
.
• lntemotionol Coalition for Jewish Prisoners Servoces,
1640 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20036·3278 (202/B57·6582): Offers support, refer·
rols, guidance, educational and religious programs,
and pen pols.
• Jewish Prisoner Services, on outreach/ advocacy pro·
gram of Congregation Pidyon Shevuyim, offers r~fer·
rols, information, pre· ond post·releose counselong,
learning materials, and morioge enrichment seminars
that assure a smoother, permanent return to the real
world. Contact Sid Kleiner, Notional Coordinator,
10188 WinterVoew Drive, Naples, FL, 33942·1520.

BUDDHIST/ MEDITATION GROUPS
• Blackstone School of Low, P.O. Box 701449, Dallas,
• The Engaged Zen Foundation, P.O. Box 700, Rom·
TX 75370 (800/B26·9228): Offers o well·known corresey, NY 07 446·0700, publishes o newsleHer for incor·
spondence program.
ceroted Buddhists entitled The Gateway Journal.
• Southern Career Institute, 164 West Royal Palm Rd,
• Human Kindness Foundation, Prison Ashram Project,
Boca Raton, FL 33432 (800/669·2555 or 407/ 368·
Route 1, Box 20 l ·N, Durham, NC 27705: Provides
2522): Offers a complete paralegal course that costs
reading material for spiritual living.
S 1595 to S 1977; monthly payment plans available.
• lskcon Prison Ministries, 2936 Esplanade Ave., New
This school is accredited by the D.E.T.C.
Orleans, LA 70119.
• The Porolegollns~tute, 3602 West Thomas Rood #9,
• Prison Dhonno Network, P.O. Box 912, Astor Station,
Drawer 11408, Phoenix, AI 85061 · 1408 (602/ 272·
Boston, MA 02123·0912: Offers Buddhist meditation
1B55): Offers paralegal courses for fees ranging
literature.
between $1290 and $2750. Monthly payment plans
The SYDA Foundation offers o correspondence course
and on Associate degree program available. Accredit·
in meditation, free of charge and available in Spanish
translation upon request. Write to: Prison Project, 1132
ed by the D.E.T.C.
Stanford Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94608, Attn: Tom
MINISTRIES & BIBLE STUDIES
Toomey.
• A/G Prison Ministry, 1445 Boonville, Springfield, MO
DEATH PENALTY RESOURCES
65B02: Offers Chris~on ministering programs.
• Emmaus Bible Correspondence School, 2570 Asbury
• American Civil Liberties Union, Capitol Punishment
Rd, Dubuque, lA 52001 (319/ 588·8000): Offers free
Project, 122 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC
20002 (202/675·2319): A branch of the ACLU that
Bible courses for prisoners.
• The Notional Convocation of Jail and Prison Ministry,
deals with death penalty issues.
1357 East Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003: A
• American Friends Service CommiHee, 1501 Cherry
notional agency for prison chaplains.
.
Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (2 15/241 ·7130): A
• Good News Mission, 1036 Highland Street, Arlong· Quaker peace organization that works to bon the death
ton VA 22204 (703/979·2200): A Christian orgoni·
penalty as one of their Criminal Justice pr~jects.
zotion that provides support, witnessing and spiritual
• Amnesty International, Pro1ect to Abolosh the Death
counseling to inmates in 11 0 prisons across 14 states.
Penalty, 322 8th Ave., New York, NY 10001·4808
• Guideposts, 39 Seminary Hill Rood, Carmel , NY
(212/807·8400): Works to abolish the death penalty
10512 (914/225·3681 ): A Christian organization thot
through public leHer·writing campaigns.
publishes Guidepost magazine. Also sponsors the FIND
• Capitol Punishment Research Project, P.O. Box 277,
information network, which provides information refer·
Headland, AL 36345 (205/ 693·5225).
• Catholics Against Capitol Punishment, P.O . Box
rols: FIND Network, P.O. Box 855, Carmel, NY 10512.
• Hope Aglow Prison Ministries, P.C?..Box 3057, tyn~h·
3125, Arlington, VA 22203 (703/ 522·5014): A reli·
burg, VA 24503: A nationwide relogoous orgonozotoon
gious organization against the death penalty.
• Death Penalty Information Center, 1606 20th Street
that offers Bible study courses.
• International Prison Ministry, P.O. Box 63, Dallas, TX
NW, Washington, DC 20009 (202/347·2531).
• Death Row Support Project, P.O. Box 600, Liberty
75221.
• Liberty Prison Ministries, P.O. Box 8998, Waukegan, Mills, IN 46946 (2 19/982·7480): Offers pen·pol ser·
IL 60079: This Christian ministry publishes the Liberator vices to death row inmates.
• Endeavor Project, P.O . Box 23511 , Houston.' TX
newsleHer.
• Liberty Prison Outreach, 701 Thomas Rood, Lynch·
77228·3511 : A magazine produced by and for proson·
burg, VA 24514 (804/239·9~8 1 ): Provi?e~ r.eligious
ers on death row.
assistance to prisoners, mos~y on central Vorgonoo; Soble
• Friends CommiHee to Abolish the Death Penalty, c/ o
Charles Obler, 802 West 3rd Street, Farmville, VA
correspondence courses available.
.
• Prison Fellowship, P.O. Box 17500, Woshongton, DC
23901 : Publishes the Ouoker Abolitionist; subscriptions
20041 (703/ 478·0 100]: A nationwide ministry that
$6/yr for prisoners.
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 99 Hudson Street, 16th
sponsors spiritual activities in prison. .
Floor New York, NY 10013 (212/2 19·1900): A legal
• Prison Ministry of Yokefellows lntemotoonol, The Yoke·
bron~h of the NAACP thot supports minority rights; olso
fellow Center, P.O. Box 482, Rising Sun, MD 21911
(410/658·2661): A religious organization thot offers
hos on onti·deoth penalty project.
• Notional Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, 918
infonnotion and literature to prisoners.
F St. NW #601, Washington, DC 20004 (202/347·
• Set Free Prison Ministries, P.O . Box 5440, Riverside,
CA 92517·9961 (909/ 787·9907): Provides on exten· 2411 ): Works to abolish the death penalty. Also pro·
vides a booklet listing onti·deoth penalty resources in
sive Bible study course.
• Southern Prison Ministry, 910 Ponce de Leon Ave.
each state ("The Abolitionist's Directory; $2).
NE, ~onto , GA 30306.
Changes, additions and new information should be
• U.S. Mennonite Central CommiHee, Office of Criminal
sent to: Prison life Magazine, Resources Deportment,
Justice, P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA 1750 1·0500
P.O. Box 537, Slone Ridge, NY 12484.
(717/ 859·38B9): Offers many publico~ions concerning
crime and religion-most ore free to prosoners.

PRISON LIFE ss

Photo: The ·wall at Joliet lllinoili! by f1oward Ande

rtt~tt sr~r~ts
~ou~~t our.
THREE MEN.

TWO CONVICTIONS.