Prison Life magazine, March 1995
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ngb�ngers Speak out • Oliver stone ooes to Prison o 744 70 86601 s BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID Prison Life 505 8th Ave, NY, NY 1 Announcing PRISON LIFE s Second Annual Art Behind Bars Contest PRIZES 1st Prize-$250 and two subscriptions to Prison Life 2nd Prize-$150 and two subscriptions to Prison Life 3rd Prize-$50 and two subscriptions to Prison Life WRITING CATEGORIES Fiction: short stories or excerpts from longer works, up to 15 pages Nonfiction: essays or articles, up to 15 pages Poetry: no more than two poems, up to 5 pages Drama (1st place only): scenes, excerpts from plays or screenplays, up to 30 pages VISUAL ARTS CATEGORIES Paintings, drawings, collage, sculpture-any medium. Contest Rules: Entries accepted o nly fro m incarcerated contestants. YOU MUST BE 11 J AIL O R I 1 PRJ SO TO E ITER T H IS CO TEST. Manuscripts must be typewriu en o r legibly handwritte n in English. lame , prison ID numbe r, name and add ress of institution must be on fro m page of all e nu·ies. Contestan ts may subm it o nly o n e e nuy in each catego ry. En tries will no t be re turned unless accompa nied by a self-addressed, stam ped e nvelope. O nly unpublished manuscripts and ar t will be considered, with the exception or pieces that have appeared in prison publicatio ns. All e ntries become the property of Prison Life, and th e winners will be published in Prison Life magazine. Send e ntries to Art Behind Bars Contest, Prison Life magazin e, 505 8 th Avenue, 1 ew York, Y 100 18. Contest Deadline: October 15, 1995. PRISONLIFE March 1995 COVER Art Behind Bars Winner 1sf Phu·r' : "Untitled," by A/do Saul Gan·ido. Features 18 Silencing the Oppressed-No Freedom of Speech for Those Behind the Walls Departments William Kunstler and Ronald Kuby reveal how prisoners' 1st Amendment rights are routinely violated. 4 6 9 28 Everybody Must Get Stoned A Prison Life interview 12 14 17 26 34 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 77 78 81 82 with America's most controversia l filmmaker. 36 Art Behind Bars Prison Life announces the winners of our first annual Arts Behind Bars contest. 40 The Prison Toilet 1st Place Nonfiction winner, by Gregory J. McMaster. 43 The Visit 1st Place Poetry winner, by lsmael G . Santillanes. 44 Gangbangers Speak Out-From the 'Hoods to the Pen Uncensored, uncut, unbi ased stories from gang members across tne country. Voice of the Convict Word Block Beat Mail Call Guest Editorials Callouts Insider Outlook Crimejacker Iron Pile Ask Bubba Family Matters Prison Papers In-House Counsel Tattoo of the Month Jailhouse Rock In-Cell Cooking Pen Pals Mind Classifieds 56 Fiction 1st and 2nd Place Fiction winners: "The Shot," by Chester Cornman, and " Lennie's Catch," by Benton Murray. p,~j~ou Life mag;ui n c..· j, puhli~h cd bimonthly hy PRII.I FE. Inc.. r.o:, Hth An~ nu e. New York. NV 1001 8. Prison Lift· ma ~:t~inc· j, printed in llll' USA anti all 1ig: hh arc r eserYcd. 0 199.·, hy.fu int Venture ~lcdi;~ . Inc. i':n pan oft!Ji, ho ok m ay be rcprodun·d 01 1ra nsmi1tc d in any fo r m 0 1 h\' any mean:, willuHit wri Ht..·n pl·r mi,~i on of the publisher. lJn,olicitcd manu~criph and pluuogmph ' :u c 1hc: rl·~pon !loibi l ity n f \t.' ndc ·J ~. All lcucrs sent IU 1'1 j,cm l.ifc magazine will be: trc.•a tc·d a' uucunditionall r assig ne d for publica tion or hro dua rt.'. and are .'IUbjcct to Prbon Life magaJ'inc.··, unn.·,lrictcd rig ht to edi t ;nul r ou1mcnL Single: cnpie"' iu th e: US :1.!15. Subscrip tion rat<:\ one rear in GS . 24.75 ro r 6 i'su cs: in Ca nada. a n add itional I 0: an ad d itional 12 cbcwhL· rc: a ll l"'l .thlc in runcls o nlr . I'IL'a \C mail all ' u h,c.T iption order·~ and eh ang-c.·s to Pri~on l.ifc ma g:llinc. Sub~cript ion Departme nt. 4200 \\'c.·, thc.·iml.'r. Suite 160. llou, ton , T X 770~7-14 26. s us PRISON LIFE 3 viet BANNED IN CALIFORNIA by Richard Stratton )' the t ime you re ad thi s- if you get it-Prison Lijf• will be imm e rsed in the fi g h t o f its life . ·w hi le at home last wee k working o n th e March issue, I got a f~t x from th e o ffi ce info r ming m e t h at th e October Prison Life had been ba nne d from a ll alifo rnia state prisons. This is a se rious bod y blow to a struggling magaz ine . Califo rnia has th e largest and most po p ulous prison sys tem in the U nited States-over 120,000 p r iso ners. We shippe d out n earl y te n th o usa n d copies o f th e October issue to the members o f the California Priso ne r's nion. The ban o n Prison LifP in California is eq ual to barri ng m e m bers of t h e t atio n al Rifle Associatio n from subscribing to Guns and Ammo. l n o n e omi n o u s move, th e b u re a u crats wipe d out a potenti ally h ea lthy pe rce ntage o f our fl edglin g subscriber base- and co t us so me serio us bucks. Bann ed in California? I've heard o f be ing ba n ne d in Boston , b ut in Ca li fornia ? And t h e wh o le s ta te? Wh y? The me mo I got was addressed LO a ll ward e n s a nd s ig n e d b y th e Depu ty Director, Institu tio ns Division fo r th e ta t e of C ali fo r ni a , De partm e nt of Correctio ns. Subject: P U BLI CAT ION REST RICT IO t P RTSO t L1 FE , OCTOBER 1994 ISS UE. Date d: Dece mbe r 2 , 1994, wh ic h d idn ' t m ake a lo t of se n se sin c e th e O c to ber issu e had b e en sent o ut in Septe mber a n d we we re a lread y getting fe ed back o n it from a number o f Califo rn ia prisone rs. T he body of th e me mo reads: B 77te abovr liiiPd jJilblicalion is no/ to be allow('(/ inlo any insli/11/ion. The Oc/obn 1994 issue conlains 4 PRISON LIFE an article which describes escajJe jJlans and melhodology (allached). Ptmuanl /o /he California Code of Regula/ions, §3 136(d), in males may no/ recr•ive corresjJondence wh ich co n fl' rns jJla ns /o t•scape or assisl in an esmpe fro m lawful cus/ody. Plt,ase advise your mailroom slalf lo bPaware of !his Jmblicalion. The re was no article auac h ed. r ec al le d th e fe atures a n d o t h e r pieces we ran in O ctOber a nd co ul dn't fig u re o u t wha t article the y were talkin g abo u t. We' d h a d a lo t of pro b lem s wi t h t h e O c to ber iss u e bei ng reje cted fro m diffe re nt j o ints a ll o ve r t he n a ti o n fo r a varie ty o f bog us re a so n s. Th e warde n a t th e federal priso n in Otisvi lle , 1c w Yor k ban n e d it b ecau se , "The magaz ine dcpicLs detailed o rgan iza ti onal activiti es by inmates d uring eve ra l priso n di s t urba n ce s. This inform a ti o n i · d ee m e d to b e d e trim e n ta l to th e se c urity or thi s in sti tution and is th e r e fore r ej ec ted. " I t was easy e nough to fig u re h e was refe r ring to t he piece we did o n rio ts at Aui ca , anta Fe and Lu casville . 1 ot so easy was to understand how informa ti on that has been wide ly d is e minatcd in newspapers, boo ks and magazines, in film s and o n TV n ews broadcasts sudd en ly becomes d e trim e ntal to the sec u rity o f a n y in sti tu ti on simpl y beca use it a ppears in Prison Life. At an o the r fe de ra l joim in Big pring. Texas, th e wa rd e n flat out rej ec te d th e wh o le issue without ide ntifying sp ec ific co n te nt. Prison e rs with su bsc ripti o n s we re notified that Priso n Li fe wo u ld n o t b e a llo wed at Big Sp ri ng because it con tained a rticl es that were ·'anti -B.O.P. " T h ey h a d th e ir cells sh ake n dow n a nd bac k issues o f the magazine were seized as contraband . Prison Life h as had an ongoin g struggle with ce nso rship. The State Co rre c tio n a l Institutio n a t Da ll as, Penn sylva nia has consiste n Lly rejected eve ry issue I ed ited a nd p ublishe d. The magazin e was banned at a few pri son s b cca u ·e o f a s hort story I wro te, 'The Grea t E cape," published in the june '94 issue, about a hapless In dian who u·ics to escape by burrowing in th e trash compactor a nd ends up ge LLing sq uashed to death . Great p la n , that. We 've had th e magazi n e thrown o ut o n th e g ro un ds tha t we prim p icture of ta ttoos a nd tattooing is il lega l in p ri son. Ye ah , r ig ht. Anothe r favorite is th e o ld standby: Prison Life publishes le tte rs writte n by prisoners, and as prisoners arc fo rbidde n to cor respon d with ea ch o th e r, the magazine co u ld serve a a means of communicatio n between prisoners. Sure, li ke we' re going to go throug h th e thousa n d s or le tte rs we re ceive e a c h m on t h a nd print love n ote s between so m e guy in T exas and his crim e pa rtn er in 1 cw York. In anc , yet in a way, this rationale - banni ng the magazine because we p rim mate rial wri tte n by priso nersge ts closer to th e truth . Some priso ncra ts-those who loath prisoners and me re ly wan t to make th e m su fferare not th rilled by the prospect of a national magazine that bills itse lf a s t h e "Vo ice of the Co n vic t. " Ye t we have never had a pro ble m getti ng the ma g a z i ne in to se ri o u s j o ints like Lewisburg, nor even Mario n , fo r tha t mauer. I ge t leucrs and calls from guards and prison admi nistrators who say they subscri be to the magazine, read i t from cove r t o co,·c r a nd apprec iate what d1e}' reacl. We are, in the words of so many, "telling it like it is" and th at ca n on ly b e good for g uards and those who run priso ns if they have nothing to h id e because, as we a ll know, they have to live in th e pri o ns as well. T h ere is a lot goi ng o n in th e priso ns o f this co untry th;n the freeworld has litde or no understandin g of-m u c h of it as u n settl i ng to g uards and stafT as it is to priso ne rs. j ust last wee k, Sena tor Paul Simon released a natio na l s urvey of prison wardens who had stro ng cri ticism for th e politically drive n crim e-fi g hting solutions comi ng out of Washington. (Sec a rticle in Block Beat. ) To q uo te Bo b Gang i, executive director of the Co rr ec ti o n al Associat ion o f N e w York, "There are few areas where the publi c is more mi sinform ed .., Priso n Life want to h e lp ri g ht that wrong. The craziest thing about banning o ur magaz ine from prisons is that most o f wh at we p u blish is wriuen by priso n e rs. Who is be in g p rotected fr o m th is info rma tio n ? T h e pr iso n e rs a l re a d y kn ow wha t goes on be hind the wa lls. It is th e ir voice we want to make heard so that the rest of America might liste n up a nd qu esti o n the rhetoric o f po litic ians whose o n ly inte rest is in pe rpetuating th e fea r monge ring that gets the m re-elected and keeps the tax paye rs s h e lli n g ou t th e i r hard earne d mon ey to fina nce the building of mo re prisons. T h e Ca lifo rni a ba n does n ot bode we ll. In law e nforceme nt, as in ma n y o th e r aspects of o u r c u l tur e, as goe s Californi a so g oe s the res t of th e union. California is we ird. On the o n e hand it is the m ost p r ogress ive and kink ies t o f st a t es. On th e o th e r hand it is th e la nd of Ro n ni e a n d Taney and so man y of th ose g r ea t m oral leaders who say they wan t to riel us of big gove rnm e n t and yet want to contro l eve ry aspect of o ur pri,·ate Ji,·cs. What to do ? H ow to d ea l with thi s major ki c k in the tee t h to our plans for growing the magat. ine? I c all e d Ca lifor n ia . "'Thi s is Ric ha rd Stratton, editor and publisher of Prison UJt' magazin e," I said to a reaso nable sou nding woman wi th th e Department of Correctio ns who took my call. I had my you ngest son , Dash. o n my knee a nd he "·as g urgling and makin g baby noises th a t threate ned to drown ou t my words. o th ing like the so und s o r a bab y to m el t the hea rt o f el'e ll th e saltiest of b ureauc rats. "i\ li nd telling m e wh at it is you folks clon ' t like a bout my magazine?'' To my amazement I learne d that th e O ctober issue has bee n ba nne d in Cali fornia beca use of a piece we printed in Bl ock Bea t re p oning o n an escape from a pri so n in Sou th C h arleston, Virgin ia by a g uy who braided dental fl oss into a length of rop e. \Vc pic ked th e sto t'}' up from th e Asso c ia te d Press news se n ·ice. Th e piece appeared in practically eve r y n ews pape r in Amer ica. But wh e n re prin ted in Pri.1on Ufe, th e sa me story wa mira c ulously tran sform e d into "esca p e plans a nd me tho dology... I asked if they couldn ' t just clip the offend ing page and kt the rest or th e m agazin e through . She repli ed that in th e fuwr e they may do thi ~. ho weve r it was t oo late for the October issue. '·And .J a nu a r y? .. I asked. " li as th a t b ee n ban n e d as well? .. The memo I rece ive d had a hand-written note at the bottom sayin g the .Ja n ua ry issue wa · al so "n ot all owed. " .. ~o t fro m h eadquarters," sh e assured me . Sh e also to ld m e th a t n ew g uide l ines on ce n so rs hip i n California priso ns were about to be issued and imple mented statewide. I asked her lO se nd me a copy. :\ot that I inte nd to exercise a ny son of se lf~ce n so rs hip. T ha t would defe at th e wh ole purpose o f th is m agazine . But I mi g h t thi nk twice abou t incl uding a piece tha t appea rs o n one of th e newswircs if I thin k it could give th e cen sors an excuse to kee p us o ut. If you've subscribed to Prison Life and been den ied your co py, we urge you to fill out the appropria te g ri e,·ance forms and file the m rig h t away. We can 't Lake thi s lyin g down . The s urviva l or Prison Lifi' d epen d s on pen etrating Ame ri ca's many prisons and jai ls, reac hin g th e impriso ned and givi ng them a fo rum. We' ll take the cen sors to coun. We 'll fig ht the ce nsorship issue in the mainstream media. We' ll keep pu blis hin g th e truth abo ut crim e and p un ishm e nt in America. We' ll keep e ndin g th e ma gaz in e t o pri so n ers. And we ' l l keep re minding th e rest of th e world that wh at made this coun try a g rea t nation was th e idea of freed o m and justice for a ll. We want to he lp that idea become a rea lity. PL Richard Simi/on (center) with fJiisout>rs · 1ights allon//')'\ William Kunsllt'r (ltjl) and Ronald Kuby, (right). PRISON LIFE 5 Word ot of people ask me why the 11agazine's got such a n a uiude, especially recemly, whe n the su~ject of banning h_a~ co me up. "Tone it down ,., these cn llc · suggest, ··vou wo n 't hm·e any more troub le ":ith the D.O.C. a nd B.O.P. You 'II circul a te more ... .Just th ink o r a ll the money you could make!" Yea h , yea h , yea h. And ma r be we' ll stan running a rticles like 'T en Best Ways LO Ki ss th e Man 's ~ss," or "How I Sto pped 13e ing a Co nv1c Land Learned to Love the System." O r how ' bout runni n g departmen ts like, "l nrormalll or the Mo nth," o r ··Best Unicor Factoll' \<\1orker?" O h yes, I understand now wh )~ I'm mving 20 yrars for .w>/lin' a mufJlr Juts of arid at a Gratiful ()('(fd concert, or )'Pall, I see now why I deSI' IVNI a Continuing Criminal l:"ntnprise fijr bid for 110t tetlin' tltr Man what ht' wanted to lll•ar or becawrsomrmt-Jinhdid. 1 o th anks. Sure, we co ul d easil)" pro du ce a mag like that, ma)•be call it "Sons or Correc tions" or "Inm ate Today." We could eve n include yo ur favorite warden s on t h e editoria l/ ce nsor sta rr. He ll , at least we'd know it'd get into the prisons. But damn, o ur assho les wo uld sure h un from all the bendin' over. You guys better appreciate us: We muc h prefe1· the real deal we've _contin ued to produce in ce_J un ~ ? f. last yea r- the in-yo '-fac e, fuck-1t-tf-you can' t-deal-with-reality ap p roac h. We prefer the resi Lance to th ~ Machine if th at's the on ly way were go nn a earn our props and be able to sleep at nig ht, even if it means we go tta tig h ten o ur belts and sta nd tall. Hell , in more th an o ne priso n , Prison Life magazine is heavy contraband . I figure if the mag ever goes down, I ca n ge t e mployed at some prison as a guard (if I change my name) and make a Lon of mone y smu gglin g in back issues of o ur rig lueo us rag. "Hey, can ya cop me a bag o' weed?" '"No man, but I got an 6 PRISON LIFE 71ME 70 STEP UP by Chris Cozzone Editorial Executioner October issue of P1ison Ufr here ... " T he light goes on, bro the rs a nd sisters. We're ·teppin' up to the Man and we urge you to do th~ same .. We gotta ·how 1.he world that th iS mag IS the very embodiment of the First Amendme nt. T he issue you hold in your hand is a li vin g d ec la r at io n of you r Constitutional rig hts. It's a Pandora's 13ox crammed with words, images and ideas rarely seen o utside ba_rbed wire_T hat's why we ' re leadmg off wnh "S il e n c in g th e Oppressed-_ o Freedom of p eech for Those Be hmd th e Walls," by crimi nal defense_ a~tor ncys Rona ld Kuby a n d Wtl l ta m Kunstler . We also got the wi nn ers of _th~ An Be hin d Ba rs co ntes t -submiSS IOn s full a energy, e motio n and c :ea_ti ~e, raw tale nt no max imum secunty JOIIlt could ever contain. It proves that they can co ntinue the warehousing regime, th ey can lock up ph)'S_ic_al ~od i es, . but they ca n' t ta me the spmt. ) our mmds remain free. T h e m e n an d women who won, and the hundreds o f o th e rs who contributed, are a ll worthy cons, as you ' II sec when you check o ut the swff they've produced. ·w e also got gangs in this issue. Al th ough P1ison Life is not a~out promoti n g g an gs, we' re ce ~ta 1 n l y not a bou t layi ng clown when tt comes to figh ting for hu man righ ts or freedom of speech . There a re alw_ays &"on na be gangs, whethe r anyone hkes It or not. We see gangs as tremendo us P?te ntial that could be u eel constructively, but o n ly if the G' a nd the ir leaders can straigh te n out th eir acts. Before a nythi ng can be wo rked o ut wi th ga ngs, be it gang-to-gang or cops/ media / society-to-gangs, we feel t h at t h e gangs ough t to b e heard befo re judgment is m ad e. So we' re publish ing a two-pa rt series on gangs stra ig ht fro m the G's themse lves. We've give n 'bange rs a chan ce to say wa up, witho ut so meone e lse's perspective getting in the way. . Kee p in mind, th o ug h , that th1s col lec ti o n (and n ext issue) is not represe n tat ive of all gangs. Man y leade rs and G 's keep to th emselves. We respect tha t, but remembe r tha t if yo u g u ys are gonna mo a n_ about be in g forgouen, o r even misre prese n ted, th at's because you were too scared or too ca uti o us to spea k up. It's not as if we d idn ' t send the word out. (The invites are still wide ope n. All you gotta do is pick up a pen. or the phone. We' ll co ntinue to pubhsh material fro m gangs, m ay b e eve n start a col umn on th e subject. ) The rest of th e issue leans toward th e inspirat iona l. We go t ki c k-ass prison an win n e rs throughout, a nd m os t o f o ur usual departme n ts: Bubba, Iro n Pi le, C rim e jacker, In-Cell , e tc. The re's also an in terview with Oliver Stone, who wrote th e epic prison flick Midnight Exfmss an d directed the co ntrove rsial Natuml Born Killers. So keep tho e pens, penc ils and typewriter go in', and we 'll do the same he re in t h e freeworld . Reme mbe r : Hi de those back issues-ya never know when th e goon squad 's gonna be comi n ' fo r 'em. EDITOR & PUBUSHER Richard Stro»on EXECUTIVE EDITOR & ART DIRECTOR Chris Cozzone EDITOR·AT·LARGE Kim Wozencroh MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Wynn ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR Koren Cantrell DESIGN/ LAYOUT Steve Lashley, Bobo Willkie EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Myron #Hodji" Hamilton STAFF ARTISTS Rob Sulo, Marty Voelker CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: BEHIND BARS Michael Davis, D. DiDominicus, Janel Dolber, Aldo Soul Garrido, Thomas Lujan, Andrew Kish, Don Locke, Joaquin Mous, Jed Miller, Paul Mulryon, Daniel Nicklaus, John Nilsen, Enrique Ortiz, Terry Oulds, Sco» Prado, Mark D. Smith, C. Thompson, Sergiio Voii CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: FREEWORLD Stephen Conway, Deni Jovos, Muth CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jasmine Rowbotham, Sarah Willkie CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: BEHIND BARS Troy Chopmon, Chesler Cornman, Loran Douglas, Lorry Fassler, Figolo, Gregory McMaster, Benton Murray, lsmoel Santillanes, Jimmy Tyler CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: FREEWORLD Thomas Foloter, Ronald Kuby, William Kunstler, Brother Rosa PRISON UFE EDITORIAL OFFICE 505 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018 Tel: (212)967-9760 Fox: (2 12)967-710 1 CANADIAN SALES OFFICE Robert Rowbotham, Conodion Managing Director Kenny Hudson, Assistant 253 College St., Suite 444 Toronto, ONT M5T1 R5 Tel: (41 6) 536·5641 Fox: (416) 536·7687 JOINT VENTURE M EDIA, INC. PRESIDENT & CIRCULATION MANAGER Gory Tuslison OPERATIONS ASSISTANT Lewis Groce SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION & INQUIRIES 4200 Westheimer, Suite 160 Houston, TX 77027·4426 CAll: 1·800-207-2659 ADVERTISING JCI 270 LoFoye»e St, Suite 1200 New York, NY 10012 Tel: (212) 274-0400 Fox: (212) 274·0724 PRINTED IN U.S.A. AWORDTOOUR WOMEN READERS by Jennifer Wynn Managing Editor "You're /oo uwrho. " ass, }'es-man types yo u ' d find in, "Why luwPn 'I any WOIIIP/1 bePn say, corporate America. T hese o utrellmates of !liP monlh ?" laws want true crime, gritty writing "Don't we womPn fJrisonns havr• and hardcore ex poses. And we, as the 'Voice of the convict," are coma voice in yow· mag?" Yo u sure do. And that's wh y m itted to p rinting their stories in I' m wri t in g thi . That 's wh y I their wo rds. We also gotta ma ke a riske d b odi ly harm muscling my buck, so we gotta p roduce a magaway o nto Cozzone 's page .. . to zine that appeals to our majority let you know you do have a voice aud ience. G rante d , o ur first two issues we want to h ear , you do ha ve a p lace in Prison Life and we d o were pretty macho. But wh e n we want to publ is h }'Our sto ri es . b ega n ge LLing feedba c k from Pro ble m is, we haven't received fema le prisoners, we listened to many. the ir co ncerns. '"'e published a n May b e you're s h y. Maybe award-w inning story by auth or we've sca red you with our ha rd- Susa n Ro ·en berg and ran a callco re, roug h -and-tumb le style. o ut in our October issue fo r stoMaybe that ugly mug of Bubba 's ries from wo men be hind bars. We turn ed yo u orr for good. put a woman on the cover of the More likel y, it's because you .J a nu a ry iss u e, and in the next women account for o n ly six per- issue yo u 'll be pleased to find o ur cen t of America's incarcerated . So first lc malc Celly of the Month . naturally, most of the ma1e rial we Fo r an y o f yo u m e n who get is fro m m en. I'm n ot saying 1hi n k we' re mov in g into we ' ve received not hin g from Affirm ative Actio n terri tory, lowwo me n. It 's just that 1h e number ering our sLandards so to s peak, of submission s we re ce ive from you ' re dead wrong. These women yo u is mi ni sc ul e compared to ea rn ed their way into o ur magathose we recei,·e from me n. So th e zine. They re presem role models com petition is fierce. 'Nhat's new? to a nyon e behind bars-male o r You wanna be h ea rd? Roa r ! fe ma le . Yo u wanna be publi heel? Write vVc fee l we're mak in g some powerful sto ri es. Se n d a n SA E headway, but we know we have a fo r o ur g uide line o yo u ge t an way to go. We 'd li ke to hea r more idea of the kinds of articles we·re from women, because we know looking for. you have important, powerful stoAs for the macho tone, think ries to tell and profound in ight about ou r audience and our pool LO offer. Most of all, we want yo ur of prisoner authors. I'm no t saying stories because Lhis is your magathese guys aren't civilized, I" m just zine, too. saying they were neve r the candyPRISON LIFE 7 THE SELF-DEFENSE BIBLE The 1nost effective street - fighti11g techrziques revealed b a to ro essio1zal bou1zcer . In a violent street fight , the fonnal training procedures and flashy moves you practice in the dojo will be useless . Paul Wellard knows . As a top PROFESSIONAL BOUNCER , having been attacked by fists , boots , pool cues, guns, and knives , Wellard bas learned a thing or two about what goes down in a real fight. As a MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT , he has An active also learned that martial arts training is useful in a brawl , but it is no substitute for real fighting know how participant in dozens of fights where brawling is quick , dirty and very violent , Wellard has compiled a unique guide to self. defense. In this highly detailed training manuals , Wellard draws on his experience to reveal the psychology , strengths and weaknesses of a street fighter , the characteristics of a real fight ( you might be surprised ) , ways of dealing with aggressive people and lots of tips and tricks . He presents the basic defense moves that can be applied to most types of attacks , the most effective methods he used dozens of times to defeat stronger and larger opponents. Wellard uses accounts of his own fights to illustrate key points and offers straightforward training programs to improve individual techniques . He also takes a critical and practical look at the effectiveness of the most popular martial arts being taught . Do not mistake these for the usual types of self - defense books . These training manuals contain the critical infonnation no one else talks about - the stuff that will keep you unhurt and intact . The techniques will increase your odds af:!:li~~t the or troublemaker 1000% . 1 1 • .........,IIBI!. REVEALS * Why this book is different from any other self-defense book you have read * I B things you should know about street fighting * The 'rules' for street survival * Inside the mind of a thug * The martial arts and their relevance to real Life street fighting * How and why fights occur * Awareness and avoidance * Dealing with confrontational situations * How to psyche out an opponent * Essential principles of street fighting * Some commonly taught nonsense * Using surprise to your advantage *Learning how to punch- real Izard *The importance of correct targeting * Blocking techniques *How elbows and knees are used in a street fight * Combination attacks * Vital tips * Street Self-Defense training program and much , much more* '!IP!tll!!llli!PII!I!!~!II REVEALS * Introduction to advanced Street Self-Defense * Improving your street fighting skills * The warrior mentality * The most effective advanced street fighting techniques and how to use them *Defense against knife attacks *Defense against bottle attacks *How to defend yourself against more than one attacker * Using your fists and legs to maximum effect * Using your hands * Head butting *Advanced targets *Advanced level combination attacks * Sorting the .men from the boys * Physical conditioning for peak performance *Advanced level Street Self-Defense training program * SPECIAL OFFER Order hooth fantastic manuals for onl~' $29.92 postpaid MONEY BACK GUARANTEE If you don't think these manuals are worth what you have paid for them, simply return them in good condition within 30 days for full refund , no questions asked . YES I want to learn lhc techniques for real self-<lefense . Please rush me the following publications . I understand that if I'm unhappy with !hem, i may return them for full refund - NO QUESTIONS ASKED . The Secrets of Self-Defense-Volume I : Price $19.45 ..........The Secrets of Self-Defense-Yo!. 2: Price $ 19.45 .......... Both 1+2: Price $29.92 ........... SWORN DECLARATION - I hereby promise to use lhc knowledge i will gain from these books for defensive proposes only . (SIGN) ........................................... . I enclose a Check/Mo. payable to Natural Research in !he amount of$........................... ( Foreign add $4.50 ) MAIL TO : ELITE SERVICES, EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, SUITE EP1825, 350 FIFTH AV, NEW YORK, NY 10118. NAME......•..................................................•...............................................·-·················································································································-······················ ADDRESS ......- ...........................................................................................................................................ZIP.........................................•..............................•..•••........ All otders di>pa1dx:d under plain cover. Plusc allow 7-28 day• for delivery. Over h&~lf of the men nnw in fede ral prbon are incarcerated for drug offense.. (B.O.P.) America's National Prison Newspaper March 1995 Prison Life Canadian Managing Director Gets 18 Years Toronto, Ontario-Robert ''Rosie" Rowbot ha m, Canada's legendar y marijuana ou tlaw and Prison Life's main ma n north of the border, was sentenced to 18 yea rs in prison for conspiracy to traffic in 400 lbs. of pot. The fresh 18 is to run consecutively with a 13-year sentence Rosie was paroled on last Jul y. H e'll have to serve a minimum of 17 years before release. T he unprecede nte d sen tence s tunned frie nds, fam ily and loyal supporters who ga thered at a federa l courthouse in To ronto on December 19, 1994 to hea r Judge Bruce Hawkins pronounce sentence. No t two weeks earlie r, Rosie was convicted on a five-year-old unconsummated or "dry" conspiracy, the result of an undercover s ting operation cod e-named Project Amigo. After th e trial, Jud ge Hawkins a llowed Rosie to re ma in in a halfway house and continue his new job as Pris011 Life's Canadian managing director. All indications were that the judge did not intend to punish Rosie too ha rsh ly for wha t was clearly old business. Rosie is no stranger to the criminal justice syste m. H e was o nce d escribed by Ro ya l Canadian Mounted Police and DEA agents as a "hippie godfather" reputed to control an international family of freak dope d ea lers. ove list Norman Mailer and rock star Neil You ng are among the luminaries w ho ha ve testified on Rowbotham's beha lf at various tria ls. He holds the record for the most amount of time given to a p o t defendant in Canada and has already done a total 16 calendars out of his 44 years. At court proceedings over the past 25 years th is no-bullshit marijuana martyr has consistently admitted his involv e ment in th e pot trad e. H e chooses to fight the government on ground s that trafficking in a Godgiven substance he and many others believe is a sacrament and a medicine is not criminal, the laws against it are. Rosie's life s tory is a harrowing, absorbing saga of life in the marijuana subculture worthy of a major motion picture. ln the seventies, he emerged as the kingpin of the infamous Rochdale College, a Toronto experimental school that became a mecca for pot and hash smugglers from all over the world. Rosie was known for his prima Lebanese hash. In 1982, he was arrested and sentenced to 20 yea rs (reduced to 13 on appeal) for his role in a massive North American marijuana and hashish smuggling conspiracy. (Priso/1 Life's editor and publis her, Richard Stratton, received 25 years in the U.S. on the same case.) Govern- (continued on page II ) Rosie and grandron a/ Collins Bay p1·ison. Photo byjasmine Rowbotham. Wardens Criticize Crime Bill Solutions Prison ward ens unifo rmly reject the popular crime-fighting solutions coming out of Washington, according to a national s urvey conducted b y Sen . Paul Simon's (D-lL) Subconunittee on the Constitution, a panel of th e Senate Judiciary Committee. Instead, wardens call for additional prevention programs, smarter use of p rison resources, the repeal o f mandatory minimum sentences and an expansion of alternatives to incarceration. Eighty-five percent of wa rdens s urveyed said tha t elected officials are not offering effective solutions to America's crime problem. Simon sponsored the survey of 157 wardens and also poiJed 925 prisoners in an effort to introduce "a reality check" as Congress prepares to renew its deba te on crime p olicy . Noting that Congress will be asked to consider popular but overly simplistic remedies for the nation's epidemic of violent crime, Simon sought the input of those on one front of the criminal justice system: wardens who oversee the nation's prisons. The surveys were d is tributed by the Departme nt o f Corrections in California, Delawa re, Florida, Illin ois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Sixty percent of wardens responded. "We've just passed the dubious milestone of having 1 million people in prison," said Simon. "But for a ll the new prisons we've built and filled over the last two decades, we feel less safe today than we d id before. Loading our prisons with nonviolent drug criminals means that, today, we a re co mmi ting more non v iolent offenders to hard time than we are viole nt criminals, and there's little room left for the violent offenders who should be put away to make our streets safer. "Chase Rive land, a corrections official in Washington State who looked a t the survey results, said that focusing only on prisons and ignoring prevention is 'd rive-by legislation,' at best," Simon continued. "He's right." Despite the curren t "tough on crime" rh e to ri c favored by many politicians, the wardens who particiPRISON LIFE 9 pated in the survey generally call fo r a more balanced approach that mixes punis hment, prevention and treatment. For example, when asked how they would spend an additional $10 million in resources, warde ns sa id they would allocate only 43% to law enforcemen t, while spending 57% on prevention programs. That ratio contrasts sharply with the spending in last year's crime bill, which allocated only a quarter of the $30 billion bill to prevention programs . The s urvey results also raise questions about proposals in the "Contract for America," which call for the repeal of much of the remaining prevention funds. Wardens also urged a more intelligent use of prison space, expressing concerns that the nation is wasting scare prison resources on nonviolent offend ers. Warde ns no ted that, on average, half of the offenders under their supervision could be released wit hou t representing a danger to society. Similarly, 65% declared that the nation should use prison s pace more efficiently by imposing shorter sentences on nonviole nt offenders and longer sentences on violent ones. Wardens also questioned the use of a "one size fits all" approach to sentencing: 58% rejected mandatory minimum sentences for dru g offenders. And 92% said that greater use should be made of alternatives to incarceration, sud1 as home detention, halfway houses and residential drug treatment prog ra ms. These results were confirmed in general terms by prisoners, who indicated that longer sentences did not represent a particularly effective crime deterrent. When asked to identify the mos t effective way of fighting crime, wa rdens overwhelmingly chose prevention programs, especially those that address basic huma n development need s. Seventy -one percent said improving the educational quality of public schools would make a major diffe rence in fi g hting crime; 66% favored increasing the number of job opportunities in the community; and 62% endorsed d eveloping progra ms to help parents become better mothers and fathers. In contrast, only 54% said longer sentences for violent criminals would have a major effect on crime, and only 8% supported longer sentences for drug users. Sim ilarly, wardens and prisoners were nearly unanimous in calling for an ex pansion of rehabilitative prog rams in prison s the mselves. For example, 93% of wardens recommend a significant expansion of literacy and other educa tional programs. Again, the result stands in sharp contrast to Co ngress' actio ns du ring the last yea r's crime d ebate when Congress elimi nated aU fund ing for Pell grants for prisoners. FEDS' NEW TOY: PRISONER STUN BELT Looks like the Federa l Bureau of Prisons has approved a new vehicle of torture: the Remote Electronically Activated Technology (R-E-A-C-T) Stun Belt. (How long did it take them to make up tha t acronym?) A Program Statement dated September 30, 1_994 fro?1 t~e U.S: Department of justice outlines the various uses of the device, wh1ch ts des1gned t~ prevent prisoners from escaping while being .escorted to .cour~, to the hospital or to another prison. But firs t- the gory details, as explamed m the document: The Custody Control Belt discharges 50,000 volts of electricity. By means of a remote transmitter, an attending officer ha.s the ability t? activate the stun packnge attached to the belt, thereby caus111g the followmg results to take place: JmmobiliZlltion, causing you to fall to the ground. Possibility of self-defeca tion. Possibility of self-urination. Only maximum custod y convicts "re.quiring g reater security than can be a fford ed through conve ntio nal restraints" ca n be forced to wea r the stun belt. The document states that the officer-in-charge of the escort detail "must exercise sound judgment when making a d ecision to acti vate the Custody Co.ntrol Belt." But it goes on to say tha t "verba l orders are not reqUired 1f the s taff member reasonably believes a danger of death or gn evous bodily harm is imminent." In addition, prisoners ca n be stunned if they tamper with the belt, fa il to comply with s taff's verbal order to halt, or if the officer-in-charge experiences "any loss of visual contact" with the prisoner. Hmmm. Guess the days of handcuffs and s hackles are over. 1o PRISON LIFE Prison Life Article Enrages Congressman U.S. Rep. Scott Mcinnis, R-Colo., is fuming over an article depicting the gor y details of life behind prison bars that appeared in the Jan uary issue of Prison Life. The "disgusting" article by a former prisoner at the Florence federal prison prompted Mcinnis to ask an advertiser to boycott the period ical. Prison officials said although the article was reckless, prisoners have a right to speak their minds. The offend ing a rticle d e tails the horrors of Jiving with a " twisted, psychotic, pe r verted, disgusting, smelly, farting, belching, nose-picking, abject creep." The author, Thomas Falater, who served 14 months for mail fraud in the minimum security prison, complained that his "celly" used his job in the kitchen to sully the silverware, scratching himself with a spoon and using a fork to pick his nose. Mclnnis said he was "stunned" by the article, which arrived on his desk even though he is not a su bscriber. In addition to writing to the prison's warden, Mcinnis a lso wrote to the Priso11 Life's largest advertiserUniversaJ Labs, a company that advertises on the magazine's back cover. "Given the trash in this magazine a n d the gene ra l public's desi re to stop this a buse in the American prison system, I believe tha t it is irresponsible for a company, s uch as yours, to advertise in a ma gazine directed toward prison inmates," Mchmis wrote. Mcinnis said inmates shouldn' t be allowed to write such trash. "It's not about freedom of speech. You give up that righ t when you go to prison," sa id Mcinnis, a fo rmer police officer in Glenwood Springs. Lee Stennett, executive director of American Society of Newspaper Editors, disagreed. " Th a t is con stitu tiona 11 y very wrong. In prison, you still have freedom of speech. You don' t have freedom of movement, bu t the Bi ll of Rights still applies." T he magazine's editor-i n-chief, Richard Stratton, sa id the Fa later article is filthy, but termed it "jailhouse humor." '1'd stand by it. I admit it was not the most pleasant of reading, but it does kind of capture an aspect of prison life," Stratton said. Tire De11ver Post 18 years (continuedfmm page 9) ment agents and prosecutors from New York, California, Texas, Maine and Can ad a charged the Rowbotham / Stratton orga ni za tion with importing and distributing multiton loads of hig h quality has h a nd marijuana for over a decade. Some 60 people were arrested after Leba nese heroin dealers caug ht red-ha nded with ten kilos of jWl.k flipped and traded evid ence on the pot organiza tion for their freedom. Seven years la ter, Rosie won a n appeal, overturning his '82 conviction . While in a holding ce ll at Toronto' s Don jail a waiting release on bond pending a new trial, he had the misfortw1e to meet a Uruguaya n coke dealer named Sa ul Spatzner. Unbeknownst to Rosie, Spatzner had been busted h.Yice w ithin a yea r on a variety of cocaine trafficking charges and had rolled o ve r, ag reeing to work for the Mounties and set up alleged members o f a C olo mbian cocaine cartel operating in Canada. Once th e two we re both ou t on bail, Spatzner lured Rosie to a couple of m eetin gs where the informant taped conversa tions in w hich Rosie agreed to hook Spatzner up with a friend who would supply him with a load of weed out of Austin, Texas. The deal never happened . Spatzner's ra tting netted 25 d efendan ts in just und er a yea r. Rosie was ca ug ht in the coca ine-laced web. Mea n w hile, ret ri a l on th e big importing case resulted in a second co n v ictio n and Rosie re turned to prison, th is time with a 13-year bid. He wound u p ser vi ng a total of 12 yea rs o n t he '82 beef. T he new cha rges were left unresolved for over f ive yea rs until a fte r Ros ie was released on parole early last summer. With the '89 case still hanging over his head, Rosie moved into a Toronto ha lfway house a nd immed iately went to wo r k as Prison Life' s Canadia n managing director, using his solid credentials in the prison culture to s prea d the Voice o f the Convict to our bro thers a nd sis ters up north. In the six months he was on the s treets, Rosie threw himself into his new career with the sa me brilliance and gus to he once brought to the pot trade. Within weeks, Prison Life had a presence in a ll Canada's penitentiaries. Rosie put Prison Life's edito rs in to u ch w ith Ca na dian prison writers, editors and activis ts, and he s upplied us with first-hand information to bring us up to s peed on the Canadian prison scene. To everyone' s shock and dismay, Judge Hawk ins ig n ored e loqu e nt appeals from Gayle Gilbert, manager of th e ha lfway h ou se, as well as p leas fro m Ros ie's empl oye rs to leave him out of prison so he could continue to pursu e hi s firs t legitima te career. Ins tead, the judge chose to sentence Rosie to more time than the heaviest of the co ke d ea le rs s n agged in th e un de rcover tra p . While he said that he fo und Rosie an engaging and likable enough character, he felt compelled to give him 18 yea rs based on the weird logic that Ros ie s ho uld get more time than he'd received on the '82 conviction. Priso11 Life w ill continue to work closely with Rosie in-house. The editors p lan to cover Canadia n prison li fe w ith the sa me fra nkn ess and com mitment we bring to exposing the vast prison indus tria l co mplex d ominating the U.S. Still, Rosie is a bro and will be missed sorely. Now we'll be communicating collect via Bell Canada. He called from the Don jail a few days after the sentencing and told us to send magazines. "Send m e te n, twe nty, a hundred ," he sa id, as though he we re ordering ki los of hash. "I can sell a lot of s ubscriptions to guys on their way to the different joints." You can lock 'em up, but you can' t keep a good man d own. PL Prison Life, HBO plan docu series by Rex Weiner Life behind bars will be the subject of a documentary series produced by HBO in association with Prison Life magazi ne, a controversial periodical published for the captive audience. "Prison Life Presents: Prisoners of the War on Drugs" is the first hourlong installment, according to publisher/ ed itor Richard Stratton. The docu, to be produced and directed by Marc Levin (HBO's "Mob Stories," "Gang War: Bangin' in Little Rock") starts shooting this month. Future series installments will cover a range of issues including deatl1 row and sex in prison. Executive producer for HBO is Sheila Nevins an d the coordina ting producer is Kary Antholis. Based i11 Gotham, the glossy bimonthl y has publis hed three issu es under Stratton, previously editor of the Fortune Society newsletter and a former inmate of the federa l prison system. Lis ted as editor-at-large is Stratton's wife, Kim Wozencra ft, w hose autobiogra phical book about life as a n und ercover-cop-gone-bad was the bas is of the 1991 MGM m ovie, ,,.Rush." Oliver Stone is the subject of a featured interview in the upcoming issue of Prison Life. According to Stratton, the director speaks of his own jail experiences resulting from a long-ago marijuana bus t, and explores his fascination with prison subjects. Mostly written a nd illus trated by prisoners, Prison Life was recently banned from the California state prison system. Stratton plans a legal challenge to the ban, and told Daily Variety, "Wha t are they going to d o nextbanHBO?" Sland-up lifer Herby SfJed ing, f eatured in thejwu' 1994 issue o.f Prison Life, pia)'S San/a Claus for I! ids and fa mily members iu the visiling room a/ USP Lewisburg. llerb)' :S been down fo1· nea1·ly a quarte-r of a century, but still manages /o l1eep his spirits high. Reprinted from Daily Variety. PRISON LIFE 11 Mail Call that pu r ports to se rve co nvi c t s. Soliciting ra ts is bcs1 le ft to th e gove rnm e nt, th e a ll-tim e g r ea te st ratma ke r working 10 kee p us a ll down. P1ison Lifi', as a \'Oicc from behind bars, has the potc niial to bring about positi ve c hange. Do n ' t a llow the perceptio n that yo u arc j us1 o n e mo re shark feeding ofT 1hc mise ry or incarcera tion. OfTcring a $200,000 reward to rat takes you too close LO the othe r side. l?esjlectfully, i\lilton E. Robins Floren ce, CO WHAT IS THIS SHIT? I really like yo ur rag, especiall y the sta nd-up, down-on-rats-and-snitches a ttitude. If it were n ' t for rats a nd snitches, most of u would be ho me with our fa milies. You can imagi n e my surprise , then , when I noticed in the October issue a 200.000 r eward offer to sn itch! \\'h at the hell is going on? I thi s an advertiseme n t ? Offering a reward to nitch is completely at o dds with the mi sion of Prison Life. The e ntire cheme that put most of us in prison is based on paid inform ants , paid by ei th e r money , r educed en t cnces or so m e oth er secre t con sideratio n . Has Prison Life j oined the snitch-for-hi re sc he me? Supposedly, a "prom inent businessman" had two au c mpts made on hi · life. "Ve il, as I sec it, if any selfres p ectin g co n reall y wanted him dead we wo uldn ' t be t a lking "au e mpts." Maybe thi s prominent busincs ma n ripped someone o ff. Ylaybe that' why he's scared . You can be t t his gu y h as s uspects. H e know exac tly who h e burned. The reward even states that '·possible" suspects a re a lready known. If thi reward article was in fac t a p a id advertise m e nt, Prison Life h as take n th e man's money a nd his side. As co nvicts, we kn ow the m a n with th e money is usua lly right no matter how wro ng. I don' t think taking his side is appropriate for a m agaz in e 12 PRISON LIFE OkaJ. 1\fe admit it. 111Pfu clted ujJ. II won't happm again. 71/f guy who let that ad in is no /ongn with UJ. 771e matnial for the ad rame in a/the last minute, and no one rPuiewed it before sending the film to the jJiin lers along with the rest ofthe ads. \Ve nenl all the advnlising and s ubsnijllion mollf')' we mn get to keejl lhis magazine llfljJjJening, but wP willnroer run ruls that go against the edit01ial mission of this magazinf'. Thrmlls fo r keeping us honest. who's wea k or evil a "fa ggo t" or "punk," o r saying a p h o to makes a man "look like a ho mosexua l," it turns my stomach . First of a ll, it's a ll backwa rds: Gay prisone rs arc n ' t usually Lhe cell block bullies, and I' II be L thai. gay prisone rs arc never th e ones who rape o 1.h cr prison e rs. Some of Lhc mos L stand-up prisoners arc gay. Look aLLhe people who've f'o ug hL for AI OS educat io n , co un selin g, and dc ce nL trcaLme nt of prisoners wi th AI OS. EquaLing gay wi Lh "wea k" promoLcs a distorted and sexi t view of what su·engll1 is. Ptison Life pushes the position Lhat prisoners need unity among ourselves againsL Ll1e enemy-the pri on syste m, guards and prisoncrats. So how can you then turn around and insuiL one sector of prisoners o lely because o f our sexua lity? II. so n of re minds me o f those wh o go to Lh c c h a p e l to ta lk about "God is love,'' and then wrn a rou nd and disrespccL people of o Lher races, religions and ex ua l orie n ta tions. Priso ners more t h a n a n yo n e sho uld und ersta nd first hand whaL it me ans 1.0 be eli ..-cspecte cl, o ui.cast ~ f...,vr' ' 1- ') ~· t' I " ' STOP BASHING GAYS I like yo ur magazin e a lo t and read it cover to cove r. I especially like you r posi Li ons aga insL white supre macy a nd snitching. There 's o n e Lhing, tho ugh, that bothers me dee pl y and it runs th rough the magazine: 1he co nstani attacks on gays. Whether it 's ca ll ing so meon e and si.c rcotypccl. It seems 1.0 me Lhat our power even inside 1.hcsc cages ca n g row from o ur human iLy, n oL from our adopLi ng the inhuma n a nd dehum anizi ng c haracte r of our jaile rs. By th e way, I' m a political prisone r, a convict a nd a lesbian . Lattm WhilPiwrn Marirm:na, FL PRAISE FOR UNICOR EXPOSE Wow! T he article in the J anuary issue regard ing U 1lCO R was fantastic! I h ave been imme rsed in thi s project day and nig h t since its birth: july 8, 1992. Hats o fi and kudos to my copl a in tiffs, j oe Mow is h a nd Do n a ld Sa rgeant, a nd big h urrahs to C hris Cozzone and Prison Life. As you probably know by now, Warde n Vic Loy of FCI j esu p se nt me a memo banni ng t h e .J a nu ary iss ue from t h e co mp o und . O n that sam e day, a copy of the article, "Busted," a ll te n pages, was place d in m y h and. Some 100 copies were run o iT, a nd in two h ou rs, said article was all over the co mpound. On ce aga in , the s taff fa iled to recogn ize that t.h cy'rc partt.ime rs an d we live here! With co-pla intiffs like Mow is h and Sarge, wit.h cou rage to te ll it like it is a nd print it, i.e . Prison Life, and wit.h the continue d assistan ce of othe r prisoners, our goal will be achieved! We' re a ll in the sam e boat., a nd if we row toget.her, we ' ll get. to whe re we want to go ... home! Now, I go t. thi fro m th e mail roo m su p e rviso r. An yway, d o what you feel is best. I fi le d o n this e nd with a 602 appeal. It's a start! Woodron Witlroxon Varaville, CA I a m a convict at California State Prison a nd a subscriber to yo ur magazine, which I c ruoy very much , whe never the g uards don't steal it. I'm not h appy with th e Screws' larceny. To th at e nd , I have file d sui t in Su perior Co urt, Sac rame nto over the matter. P lease le t m e kn ow how m a n y copies of Prison Life you've sent to me. So fa r I've received on ly o ne issue of yo ur fin e magaz in e since I o rdered m y subscription. The Screws stole the rest. (They usc "faci lity secu rity" to excuse the ir theft.) Sinrerely, .fohn C. Williams Vam uille, CA ~ j SUBSCRIBERS FIGHTING BAN As you can see fro m the e nclosed memo to all wardens, your magazine seems like it's not welcome . I was to ld that our captain here read a n issue and said, "Shit. I ain 't le tti ng this mag in!" Thank fo r running m y two articles, es p eciall y the Plantation o n e (" Life is C heap on the Plantation," Oct. '94). l have heard that c hanges h ave a lr ead y b ee n m a d e a t. th e Flo re n ce complex as a resu lt of th e publicatio n . H o pe fu lly, Prison Life will continue to be a catalyst for change and the o nly pu blicatio n wi th th e g uts to print the trut.h from behind the walls. Thomas Falaler Recently released from Flormce, CO A PLEA FOR HELP FROM THAILAND Right now the re are 31 American women and the same number of men incarcerated in T hailand priso ns o n d rug charges . .Justice a n d impartia l legal re prese ntation are not part of the equation he re. Trials take yea rs; gu il t is assumed upon arrest. Some American s here hm·c received the death cntence. Some people d idn't even have drugs in their possession and most of us arc first Lime ollcndc rs. The USA has e nforced a li mi t.at.ion, but it. bans a nyone havi ng more than one kilo from ever using it. And T hailand has a mandatOTl' minimum le ngt.h of stay of e ig ht years for those with life sentences (the m~ority o r us here have received life) and four yea rs for those wi t h a nu mber sent.en ce. Condi t ions are horre ndous, t.reaunem barbaric, language barrie rs almost. insurmoun ta ble. We sleep in quarters d1e size of cat.t.le pens. The prison has a pay-asyou-go policy: Nothing's free, not eve n soap or toil et paper. Exorcism is s till a valid medical t.rea t.m e nt. in Thai lan d. For example, Lh is past week a poor, hil l-t.ribe woman was suffering fro m hallucinations a nd spontaneously bleeding from t.l1e eyes, nose, mout.h a nd skin. A mon k was brought. in t.o help t.he officers exorcise th e demon from t.l1e body! Yet. whe n we need a nti biotics for t.he freq uem infections we get fro m o u r d irty enviro nm e nt., it.'s like pu lling teeth. Which, by t.l1e way, is what. t.he denList would rat.h e r do t.han fix our teet.l1. The worse t.hing we suffer from is the culture d ifferences and isolation !To m our own people and coun t.ry. TV, newspapers a nd radios are pro hibit.ed. We are expect.cd to work in th e prison sweat. boxes ye t. have to buy everyt.l1ing we need. The USA has an int.e m ational trade law banning convict.-produced goods from be ing im port.ed int.o th e counlll', yet. most. of the th ings we make are marketed in America. Americans s h ould be aware of wha t. is going o n he re, but. most. o f all we need you r support, even if it's j ust a leuer. Diana Smith Nwnnltwo .Jacllie Lynn Samjlle 3313 Ngamwang-wan Rd. Bangkhen, Brmglwli Thai lrmrl 10900 PRISON LIFE 13 AMERICA'S OBSESSION WITH PUNISHMENT By Troy Chapman, Kincheloe, MI e arc a nation th at see ms to cnjO)' in fli c tin g pain on o th e r huma n beings. Mostly, we do it in the name ofjuslice and as a response to crime, but no netheless we a pparently e nj oy punishin g peop le. We are e nte rtai ned by the who le process of in nicting pain . On TV, we sec one long glorification of the process of bringing people to punishme n t. Sh ows like "America's Most Wa nted ," "Crim e Stoppers" a nd "Cops" exemplify the point. vVe like to te ll o urselves these a re honest eiTo rts to reduce c1·ime, but who are we kidding? They are e nte rtainme nt. Walk through any prison a t 7:00 p.m. EST a nd you'll find 70 % o f 1h e co nvic ts watc hin g these shows. 1Nhat do they care about reducing crime? They don ·t, a nd neither do most othe r viewers. We watch these shows beca use we like crime and viole nce. To th is "info- W ta in men t" we ca n add a host o f fi ctional crime dra ma shows, wh ich have a long his to r y o f p o pu la r i t y in Ameri ca. T oday, we have reached the poim wh e re it·s d ifficult to find a nything on TV tha t isn ' t eithe r subtly or bla tamly rela ted to some variation on the cops and robbers th e me. Enjoying watch ing othe rs be ing hurt o r punish ed isn 't res tric ted to T V. Peo pl e a ll ac ro ss Am e ri ca c h ee r e d wh e n T e d Bund y was strapped in to th e e lec tric c hair a nd tho usa nds of volts o f electricity we re jolted in to his body. And le t's n ot forge t th e fo rward-thinkin g e nt re prene ur who created "Bundy Que" chi cke n , no r the good Ame ri can s who a te it whil e admi ring his wit. Life in co n te mporary Ame ri ca is ful l o f exa mpl es o f our vica ri o us e njoyme nt of pain . How lo ng did it take George Bush to convin ce us that Saddarn was a bad ma n who needed to be pu n ished? And wh en we finished siccing o ur high-tech whipping m ac hi nes on the n asty Iraq is, Americans in sm all town s and large stood around palling th emselves o n th e back, r e h as hin g t h e bas h i n g, reliving it all and weari ng T-shirt that sa id , "Dese rt Storm : These Co lors Do n ' t Run " a nd othe r th o u g h tful , inte lligem social comm e ntaries. \<\lh a t do o ur po l i t ic ia n s ta lk about more th an anythi ng else? Is it o ur fa iling schoo l sys te ms? Is it th e p overty a nd Third World cond itions here in Am e ri ca? Is it our childre n dying? Is it th e ha u·ed and racism that poison us like a ca ncer? Io. They ta lk about two tl1ings mo re than anythi ng e lse, two th ings we love t h e most: m o n ey a nd punishment. They d o it because we te ll th e m that's what we want to hear. We don ' t discus s c rime at a ll , except as a lead-in to ta lk abou t punishme n t o r money. Any citize n can see that we ' re obsessed with punishment. We like it like sex, and we wil l leave no sto n e unturned in our search to find someone to pun ish. vVhy, here's a man in Alaska who likes to smoke a joint now and then. He keeps a little in his house for h im and th e wife. What but a n o bsessio n bo rd e rin g o n addiction wou ld lead America ns in tl1 e form of DEA agents to this man 's doo r? Ye t tl1e re we are. T here we are all over tile natio n with o ur so-call e d "war o n drugs," kicking in doors, dragging people from the ir ho mes, taking possession of their childre n and their property, witl1 a couple of claps on tile back of the head for good m easu re, shipping tl1em off to overnowi ng prisons. The questio n is n o t wh e ther a nation needs to e nforce its laws. The questio n is: Are th e laws th e mselves just? And wh at does it mean whe n a nation begins to thorough ly enjoy th e process of inflicting pain in the nam e of law and order? Wh e n it begin s to be tl1rille d and e m e rmine d by it? The answer is frig h ten ing. Freed o m begins to stan d as a n obstacle to punishmen t. And de pe nding on which is stro nge r, the d esire to punish o r the d esire to be free, one of tl1 e m has to go. Lately, o ur d esire to punish has been su·onge r, and we not only g ive up our freedom to ge t it, we he lp the gove rnment canl' this freedom to th e truck, load it, shake the offic ial's ha nds and thank th e m as they drive away with it. \•Ve ' re at a point where we n eed to se ri o usly exa m in e th e d e pths of our d esire to punish and wha t we arc givi ng up in re turn . On an individual level, what would we say of parents who derive pleasure from punishing th e ir childre n? Such people would rightfcllly be recognized as sick. Such be havior wou ld rightfully be condemned as intole rable. Even if the pare nt ca n point to good reasons for th e punishme nt, if we recognize tl1at the motive is self.gratification, we would neve r condone it. Why, the n , do we apply a differe nt standard to our collective action s? It is sim ply a matte r of d e nial. This de nial is so dee p a nd colossal it resembles the smog over L.A. Until one le aves the ci ty, there is no way of kn owing how polluted the a ir is. No refere nce point exists, so people have g rown accustomed to il. But th ere is such a thing as clean ai r, an d there is such a thi ng as a clear motive. 1 o in tellige nt citize n wou ld make an atte mpt to d efend or exo n e rate T ed Bun dy, but in ce lebra t ing h is kill ing b)' ou r ha nd, we become on e with him in spirit. At that point, no inte lligent citize n would a tte mpt to de fe nd us. Wanting to h urt people, actually loo kin g fo rwa rd to it, ritua liz ing it an d ta king pleasu re in it, for a ny reason whatsoeve r, is wrong. It is a sic kness that a rises fro m sp iritua l poverty, fro m se rious disconnectedness. If we m ust pun ish, le t it be attended sole mnl y, with a sense of sadn ess that it is necessary at all. Whe the r it be tile tak ing of a life or tl1e impriso nme n t o f a huma n be ing-both a re d esig n ed to inO ict punish men t a nd pain-the re is no humane way to hurt people. The idea i · pe r..-erse . Pu ni shing people is o u t. of hand in America. It is o ut. of hand because we li ke it. Loo much , because we are zealo us about it. It is 110 lo nger a bo ut red ucin g cr ime, o r even abou t.j ust.ice. It is sim p ly about. ge t tin g our kic ks. Whe n we begi n to sec that and reduce o ur hu nger for hurting, we will have enLered t..he first stage of healing. !\lcanwhilc, our sickness con tinu es. And if c rim e says so m e thin g about. th e m o ra l ch aracte r of c riminals, o ur response to crime, equal ly, says volumes abo u t our moral c haracte r as a nation. PL Holy Qur'ans Translation & commentary of the Qur'an with Arabic text. By A. Yus ufali Cloth $25.00 Payable to: Kamco Ente rprises P.O. Box 123 Hinesville, GA 31313 Also send $3.00 fo r catalog of educa· tiona! video tapes and Islamic items. FREE Listing of thousand. of Casset tes's as low as $1.99 C.D .'s as low as $7.99 Popular titles and groups as well as hard to find and out of prim titles. Here's just a sampling. Rock - Bcatles, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, and more. BluegraiiiCountry - J . Cash, M . Haggard, W. Je nnin~ and mo re. Big B...s/EaiJ Listening - N at IGng Cole, Miller, Goodma n a nd more . Gospel - Rev. J . Cleveland, Mahalia Jackson, and more. Jazz Benson, C. Parker, D. Wash and mo re . Comedy - Rcdd Foxx, Moms Mablcy, Pigmcat Markham, Cosby and mo re. Blues - B.B. Bland, B.B. IGng. L. Hopkins, M . Waters and more. Claulcal - Beethoven, Ravel, C hopin, and more. Soul-S. Wonder,] . Brown, Jackson, and mo re. FREE Shipping on your 1st o rder and valuable coupons to be used on future orders. FREE MUSIC We allow you to choose 1 FREE Recording of yo u r c hoice absolutely FREE fo r ~ 7 recordings you buy. FREE MOIIEY Send is a list of people you know that would like to receive o ur FREE- NO O BUGATION listing and we'll send you a coupon worth $2.00 O FF your nc:xt o rder for ~ single person who places am: size order w it h us. OUR HOUSE 22 Huron Street, Dept P-2 Terryville, NY lln 6 16 PRISON LIFE Bleeding with Words by Thomas Falater Whe n Prison Ufi' asked me to be a sta ff correspo nde nt. I jumped a t th e c h a nce. Eve n tho ug h I've a lways e njoyed writi ng, before I was arrested for mail fra ud and sen t 10 prison , I never had much to write about.. \h cxpet;ence mer the la~t two years have fo rever changed me and the image~ of incaret' t<Hion still haunt me: men in g rev overalls waiting in li ne for craps of t.astck s food; long. un end ing corridors I hat echo with the sou nd of ke)S and sla mm ing doors; and tall rows o f k nee a nd barbed wi re in an empty fi eld. In priso n te rms, my se nte nce was short, but! e nded up payi ng fo r it wit h my life. Afte r Llw posta l inspecto rs looted m y bank accou nt, I lost all my poss(·ssions. M)' fami l) left me a nd m y ch ild re n fo rgot my name. While I was imprisoned in Florence, Colorado, I beca me a jailhome htwn'r ju<;t so I could be rclca~cd to my home sta te of Californ ia and haw the chance to st•t· Ill\ kids again . Prison oflicia ls were too laZ)' to do tlw paperwork to Lransft·r 111~ release to where I acllla lly lh·ed , a nd wh en th e court fina ll~ forced them Lo, I was grudginglv scm Lo a g ht·no half-way ho us<· over a mo n th la te. My pro perty a lso myste r iouslv disappeared . I now have to d eal wi th probation oflice rs who conside r it a part of the ir job to com inually harass my employe rs a nd landlord . T he very people d esignated and paid 10 help me ge t back o n my ICc t n)llld care lt'ss. To th em. I' m just another n umber and fi le of paperwo rk to be <1\'oidecl. \\'hat is ocntring in our criminal justice syswm is a pe rversio n o f punish mclll a ncl re habilitat io n . Ou rju l ice syste m is like a long, h eavy cha in choking soci<' t:) a nd cldayi ng progress. Eac h li nk of th e c hain is unaware of its OV('rall sin', shape or destructive powe r. \\11Cn the j aile r ahsc ntmi n ckdly sla ms th(• door on a priso ne r , h e is a lso closing the d oor o n the man's wife and ch ildren ; whe n th e probation oflin~ r visits a job sitt·. he is ruin ing the l'x-oJlc nder's fu tu re cha nces of pro mo tio n . The people c nt.rustt·d wit h stopping crime a rc feecling the fire o f recicli,·ism by pulli ng o ut the ve ry structure upo n which the o Jle nde r n ·lit·d lo H'tna in ewn marg ina lly in society. Strip ping convicts of possessions, fa m ily ti cs a nd ca rens o nl y com pounds the o rig in al pro ble m a nd creates more crim e. Socie1v is too muddled in rigid it\ a nd ncar-sightednc s to solve the problem. T he war on cri me is fough t with jailers rathe r than psycho log ists. The \\'ar on d rugs is fo ugh t with cops rathe r tha n d octors a nd lead w rs. Somewhe re alo ng the way we have become e n trenched. Vlhy does a young ma n pick up a gun a nd walk into a liquor stort·? Why d o so ma nv o f us become add icted to d rugs and steal? \ Vhy docsn ' t o ur sysLt·m o fjuslicc work? \\1 w han·n ' t wt· searched fo r th ese a nswt·rs? Before I wen t. 1.0 p rison, I n ever aske d nwse lf s uch questions. I nt•n·r en·n knew that such q uestions ex isted .. \ nd a t. the same time, I nt'\'l'r knew that. pri5ons were a secret place- a p lace people we nt to to cut tlw ir hearts open and bleed. Some convicts bleed th ick, red b lood o n the streets and allcvs; o thers bleed tears in the ir cells for Lhe rest of their lives; some will bleed in to dir ty needles stuck in thei r arms. Unfo rtu nate ly, most blec·d mo re crime th at se nds th e m back into the syste m . We all have o ur ways of coping, a nd a few o f us, a \'(TV few, bleed with words. 7/mma.\ Fala1t·1; mt•ntl_v ll'll'ft,\Nl from prison in Florenu. CO. lives in La 11.1 ht' wnrh~ I I h01111 a day a/ a "rnnnmy .\(/If'\ job" in addition to (m·lanring for Prison Life. jolla. C \. lit· It'll' lfm u'd like to be a Prison Life corr<'sponden t, send cli ps, resume (if possibk ) a nd a n SASE to: Prison Lifi' Editorial De partmen t, 505 8th AVl'llll(', 1'\Y, NY 1001 8. Callouts "8-0 'Ciock, Local Time" Pray-Ers INCARCERATED HEARTS SUPPORT GROUP From tltr point of U gltt witltmthe Mind of God Incarce ra ted Hea rts, a Co rp us Christi, T exa -based organiza tio n , se nds le tte rs o f e n co urage men t a nd h o liday ca rds to p ri o n e rs th ro ugho ut the co um ry an d ho ld s weekly support gro ups fo r T exa ns with loved o nes be h ind bars. Fo unde r Te n)' Silvas started the grou p in May 1994 afte r he r d aughte r a nd son-in-law were se nt to prison for ba nk robbe ry, and she became despera1e fo r suppo rt h e rself. "In a way, f~1 m il y m e m be rs a re incarcera ted , w o," she says. "\'lie wa lk a ro und with feeli ngs of helplessness, shame a nd gui lt." During meetings, membe rs display pictures of th e ir captive relatives a nd frie nds and sha re co ping strategies. T hey also write le tte r , birthday a nd holiday cards to a growing nu mbe r of prison ers. The grou p already has 200 me mbers, mainly in T exas, a nd is aimi ng to expand nationally during 1995. To j o in , write to: Te rry A. Silvas, Incarcerated H earts Support Group, P.O. Box 7086, Corpus Ch risti, TX 78467-7086. (5 12) 855-3792. i'vlembe rsh ip is free. utligltt \lrramforth into tltr mimiJ ofmm. 1.-l'l U gltt tlr.rtml on l~•rtlt . Fromtltr Jmint r![ Lnvr witlrintlrt llta r1 of Cotl Let/ow 1tm1111 forth in/11/lr• lu•m1.r of mrn. Ma)' C:lt ri.•t m um to &mit. Fmmthr rnriPT whn-,. lllr \\'ill ofCod i~ kt~onm Let p111p111f guide t!tr lilllr will<of mm7/~r JlllljiO.<r whirh tlrr Ma.\lm /wow am/ ;e~w. From I hi' rn11n which Wt' cal/thr mce of lllt!tl Letthe I'/an of /..ow amll.iglrt rt'ork out A11d may it <1'0/ tlU! door w!tnr t'uil tiUN'/1!.. ut Light a11d 111!Jf a11tl Ptm.,. m tort tltr Pla11 tm Earth. Co n victs i n m ax jo i nts who shared in establi h ing th e "8 o'clock, local ti me" praye r n el\vork: Good job! We ' re back on th e ca e. It's your w rn to write. Linda e t al, P.O. Box 15 17, Redon d o Beac h , CA 90278. Envelope Art Wanted T he Idaho State Historical Socie ty an nounces a competition for decOJ-ated e n ve lopes an d paper. ' "'inni n g d esigns will be featu red on stationery sets sold in the O ld Pe n Gift Store. Proceeds from the sales will go toward pre erving the Old Pen histOJic site. Submit your en try on a whi te, letter-sized (# I0) enve lo pe. The desig n must be con (i ned to the left half of the envelope. A rela ted design must be submitted o n white, u nli ned standard-sized pa per (8 I / 2 x 11 ). Do not fo ld. Black o r blue in k on ly. 1o pe ncil. Incl ud e yo ur n ame, in mate n umbe r (m ust be in ca rce ra ted at time ofsubm i io n ), and address. Winn ing en tries wi ll receive 50 or th e eq ui va len t in Old Pe n G ift Store m e rc h a n dis e (as per t h e require menLs of your institution) and one sta tio n ery set. v\'inning design s beco me the propert}' of th e ISHS, wh ich retains th e copyright. All other submissions will be re turned. Contact: Old Ida ho Peniten tia ry, Contest, 2445 O ld Penitentiary Road, Bo ise, Idaho, 83712 (208) 334-2844. Deadline: Apri l 28, 1995. TWO BOOKS FOR BIKER CONS Road Mangler Deht.XP chronicles the life a nd ti mes of one wack dude: b iker Ph il Ka ufman . T he g uy's been a j ai ler, a stu nt man, an interna tional d r ug sm uggler a nd-get th i '-Cha rles Ma n son's reco rd produce r. His autobiograph y wi ll take you on a wild ride. Order from Wh ite Boucke Publishing, P.O. Box 55 1, lontrose, CA 9 102 1-0551. 9.95. Dream of buying a gorgeous Harley when you get out? H oping yo ur o ld lady will buy you o ne a a welcome home gift? eil Feld ing's Guide lo America :5 Bille lists over 2,000 independ e n t and fra nc h ised deale rs, repair shops, magazines, club , o rganizations a nd other businesses that specialize in Ame rican motorcycles. The step-by-step g uide will help you Gnd, evalua te and buy Ameri can bikes. It includes an outl ine of the me thods used by successfu l m otorcycle buyers. 24.95. Published by: Ve hicles-In-Mo tio n , 1425 Dunn Drive, Carroll ton , TX 75006. 1-800-292-7376. PRISON LIFE 17 SILENCING THE OPPRESSED No Freedom of Speech for Those Behind the Walls by Ronald L. Kuby and William Kunstler n a ny given day in America, more than a mi llio n and a ha lf people I in p riso ns a nd jaits2 spend their days subjected to th e most rigorous censorship, denied Lhe fund ame ntal rig hts protected C\·erywhe re else by th e freedom of speech guarantees of th e First Amendment.3 T h ey are de n ied readin g mater ia l dee m e d objec ti o n able by th e ir captors, exposed to re ta liatio n for expressing opin io ns at o dd s wi th those of the ir jailer , re fused acces to the new media, punishe d for possessing "radical" views, and rewarded for renouncing th e m. Th e pr iso n au th oritie s, more o fte n than not, arc persons of limite d intellectual capacity and o f authorita rian attitudes whose primary pe no logical goal is lO main tain o rder. As this country aban do ns whatever liberal pretensions it o n ce had abou t achieving a n equal ociety, the population o f priso n s and jail h as grown apace with th e poor a n d th e dispossessed. The United States now leads the world in per capita incarceration , ha\·ing finally ovcn.akcn the Soviet Union.4 Approximate ly 6 15,000 perso ns a rc confi n ed lO slate and federal co rrectional institu tions on a ny g iven day. l\llorc th an one million arc confi ned to coum}' o r mun icipal jails, e ithe r awaiting a r rai g nm ent o r tr ia l or se rvin g sho n sem enccs for pe ur oOc nses. 5 Opposite Page: Art Bl'hind Bar:. ' ffonombll' i\lentio11: "Censorship, ·· by Sl'lgiio Voii, Shawang11nk Com,cliOIIal Facility. O 18 PRISON LIFE Only in th e area of imprison mcm d ocs a perso n with b lac k sk in or Latino he ritage have a better chan ce th an does a white person . More tha n 63 % of the n a ti on' priso n popul atio n is black a nd La tino.6 Nationally, a black youth between the ages of 18 and 22 has a bcuer chan ce of going to jail than go in g to c o l lege . l n Washington , D.C. , on any g iven day i n 199 1, 42% of th e c ity's Afri can Ame rican me n betwee n the age of 18 a nd 35 we re in jail or prison , o n probation or pa role, awaiting trial o r se ntence, or sought o n warrants.? In Baltimore, :'5 6% of th e c ity's yo u ng blac k ma les were under so me fo rm sanction bv the crimin a l justi ce v ' ' tc m.8 Th e n a tio n's pen a l sys t e m has become the primary means for socialit.ing a n emire generation of minority youth. 1l is to the j a iler that we have en truste d th e task of in culcatin g in these youth th e che ri shed notions of d e mocracy a nd th e values of a free socicry, th e fo re mos t of th ese being freed o m or speech . The nation's ward e n s have shown the soli c iwd e fo r free expressio n and the ma rke tplace of ideas that one might expect fro m th ose whose life's work is caging th e ir fel lows. A nd pri so n e r s h ave b ee n utte rl y aba nd o n e d b y th e fe d e r a l co urts, wh ethe r the winds or th e nited States upre me Co urt blow left or right. THE SUPREME COURT'S APPROACH TO THE FREE SPEECH RIGHTS OF PRISONERS The doctrinal infra tructurc that has permiued prison officials around th e coun uy to crush free ex pression is not a pro duc t of th e "ga ng o r five"-th e Reaga n-Bu s h a p po in te e s lO t h e uprcme Co urt. Indeed, the foundatio ns were laid in the early L970s by a Court that was still one of the most "libe J<tl,·· in te rm of civil rig hts, of any in the histo ry o f American jurisprudence. In Procunin v. i\larlinn.,9 the Cou rt faced a variety of content-based restricti o n s o n o utgo ing p ri so n e r mail. Begin ning its analysi with what was to become a famil iar paean to the tasks and toils of priso n adm in isu·ators, th e Cou rt n oted th ose who run priso ns faced "he rculean o bstacle ·· th at were •·too apparcmto warrant explicat.io n."IO Court!> arc "ill equipped " to deal with these problems, which require expertise "peculiarly within the provin ce of the legislati\·c and executive" omcials. l I With \·inually no discussion of th e over-arching value of free speech g uarantees in American history, the Court in tHmtinez stated that a regulation limiting free expression would be upheld if it was directed to one o r more "substantial " governmental interests and was "n o g reate r than is n ecessa ry or essen tial to the protection of the particular governme n1al interest invoh·ed. " 12 The idea that this c reated a "least res tri ctive means tes t "' of th e t)'pe th a t wou ld a ppl y to anyo n e e lse's rig hts was scotch ed a few paragrap hs la ter, whe n , in a n o ften-quoted passage, th e Co urt noted: Tlu:f does not mean, of coursP, that Jnison administrators may be req~tired to show with certainty that adverse rons('(1umce~ would flow fromthP failure to rensor a prn~ ticular lelle~: Some latitude in anlirifmling the j1robable consequences of allowing m~ lain sjJeerll in a prison mviroument is rssf•ntial to the jJroiJer discharge of all administmtor's duty.13 1 o whc re d id the Court in Marti11n. explain why th e standard se t forth in Tinlu•r v . Des M oinrs l ndP/JP11lll'ut Community School Distlirt,l4 requiring proof of so me actu a l h a m 1 n owin g fro m th e exe r c ise of free speech, should no t a pply in prisons. The Cou rt in Martinez c ited o rder a nd d iscipl ine, main te nan ce o r security aga inst escap e and un a uth o ri zed e ntr)'• and re ha bilitatio n as inte rests that would j ustify limi tations o n a priso n e r 's freed om o f s p eec h . ' 5 Th e Court did trike clown the regul atio n a t issue, largely because of th e cliflicult)' it had u nderstanding how outgoing prison er mail could lead to proble ms insidr• th e p ri son .l 6 Oth e r co urts were to be more imaginative. I 7 Less than two mo mhs late r, in Pt41 v. Prorunier,IS th e Co urt uph e ld a bla nke t ban by the Sta te o f California o n face-to-face im e rviews with priso nc rs.19 The Co u rt in Pr/1 h e ld t h at 'lawful in carce ra ti o n brings about th e necessat)' withdrawal o r limitatio n of many privileges a nd rig hts, a retracti o n j ustified by th e co nsideration s unde rlying o ur pe nal syste m ."'20 However , a "p rison inma te retains those Fir t Amendmen t rights that arc no t in consisten t with his sta tus as a priso ner or with th e legitimate penal obj ec ti ves or th e correc ti o n a l syste m . "2 1 Res tri c ti o n s o n pri so ners wou ld be j u dged "i n li g ht of legitima te pena l o bj ec tives. "22 I n two mon th s. " ubstantial" an d "im portant" in te rests h ad fa lle n to m e re "'leg itimate" ones. An d o ne o f those legi timate goa ls was securi ty a nd "rel a ted administrative problems. "23 Retreating still further fro m the suggestio n th at its d ecision in 1\llartinn. req uired e levated scrutiny wh e neve r the First AmendmenL is implicated, the Cou rt in Pelt h e ld th at de ference would be the to uc hstone, as security proble ms in priso ns were pec uliarly within th e provi nce a nd professional expe rtise of corrections o fficia ls, and, in the absence of substan tia l evidence in the record to indicate tha t Lhe o (Ti- PRISON LIFE 19 cials have exaggerated their response to these conside rations, courts sh ould o rd ina rily defe r to their expert judgemen t in such matters.24 Thu , the Court decreed th at me re adm inistra t ive prob le m s related to security cou ld be th e basis to deny free speech, a nd that suc h d en ia ls required the d efere nce o f the cou rts. T h e d ec isio n in Pell was wide ly regarded as establishing a "reasonable relation hip"' test,25 both by its terms and its resul t. According to th e Court, all reporters may be barred from faceto-face meetings with prisoners by th e warden 's assertion of security con cerns that were so "obvious" th at th ey did not even require explication. But attorneys a nd clergy, 11 · well as friends and fam ilies of the prison ers, e ntered the priso ns for h1ce-to-face meetings on a regular basis. T he Court in PeU did not even question why the same securi ty precautions used for those visits could not be used for the press. 1 or did the Court co nsider th e fac t that excluding t he news media, while pe rmitting other visito rs, suggested th at priso n officials had an agenda more d irected to the su ppre sion of e xp ressio n th an th e suppression of disorder. 26 After Pell, the Court had no difficulty upholding regulations that proh ibited meetings of a prisoners' unio n, solicit."lt io n of o th er priso n e rs to j o in the union, and the disuibutio n of union literature by p riso ne rs. In j ones v. Nort~ Camlina Priso11ers' LabaT Unum, Jnc.,21 the Court deferred to the clete nn inaLion of prison officials that a gathering of prisoners for a union meeting created hosts of fea rsome secu ri ty threats. T hat tho e same threats mysteriously evaporated whe n those same prisone rs whe n to meetings of th e JayCees, Boy Scouts and Alcoholics Anonymous did no t troub le the Co urr. 28 Unl ike a uni o n , those orga n iza ti on fu lfill a '·re habil ita tive" function, according to the prison ad minisu·ato rs. That North Carolina officials mig ht invoke "rehabilitative" or "security" as a subterfuge to pre,·en t the exp1·ession of views d ifferen t from the irs appare n tly never occurred to th e Court.29 Finally, in Bell v. Woljish,30 the Court held that pre-trial detainees were e ntitled to no better treaunem than convicted mass murderers, and '·deference·· was e nshrined as a value of almost rel ig io us magnitude. In th e process, th e Court in Wolfish upheld a rule prohibiting hardback boo ks fro m e ntering t11e institution unlc · they were mai led by a pub lishe r, book club, or book store. T h e prison argued that con traband could be secreted within t11e hard co,·20 PRISON LIFE e rs, a nd scree ning th e books Ouo rosco pically, although not impo ible, would consume "substantial and ino rdinate a moun t of available staff time. "31 Because the rul e was a "ra ti o n al" respo n se to a sec u ri ty issue, it was upheld.32 posse sing such materials. Furt11ermore, he contended tl1at tolerating the expression of opi nion tolerant of a h o mosex ual lifestyle co uld lead to more homosexual ity, which he perceived to be a danger in prison. The United States Co urt of Appeals fo r t he Sixth Circuit fo und the first THE GRIM APPliCATION BY conten tion who lly unsuppo rted by the THE FEDERAL COURTS record, but agreed that th e second j usThese cases estab lished th e frame- tification fell well "witl1i n the wide d iswork for the free speech rights o f the cretion" accorded t11e warden.39 millions of Americans to pass through Similarly, in Wm·den v. Thomas ,40 t11e American penal S)'Stem in the 1980s the United States District Court for and ea r ly 1990s-th e d ecade t h a t th e District o f Texas uph eld a regulawould see the greatest rowt11 in prison tio n p rom ulgated by th e Dallas cou n ty population in histoty.3 The lower fed- jai l prohibiting publ ications that e ral courts, packed with Reagan-Bush depict "nudity, pander to sexual interclones a nd aided by a Justice De part- est, advocate rac ial prejudice or prement eager to h ave as man y peop le se n t a secu rity threat to th ejai J. "41 ~ nj oy as few civil libe rties as possible, Inclivid tals se~ n g to obtai n reading were fre to savage th e free speech materials were required to consult th e righ t of ptiso ne rs. Jndeed , entrusting 'jail commander" before subscribing. u-ained chimp to paste up cliches fro m T here is no ind ication that the j ail Pel' Mmtinez, j ones an d Wo?fish able ilie commander had any particular experword "denied" would achieve roughly t ise in t h e areas of co mRa rative or t11e same result as seeking redress from mode rn literature. Indeed, the opposite wa the case. He testified that the the federal judicial]'· commercially available magazines such CONTENT-BASED RESTRICTIONS: as Playho)' a nd Penthouse would be PRIOR RESTRAINTS ON banned, blll he was not sure about the INCOMING MATERIALS Na tional EnqttiTeT o r Rolling Stone, As th e Supre me Cou rt h as no ted, b eca use h e was "not fami liar wi t h "Prio r restraints on speech and publica- [the m ]."42 He claimed that th e ru le tion arc the most sclious and the least was ju tiliecl because materials that to le rab le in fr ing e me nt o n First depict nudes might cause prisoners to Ame ndment rights. "34 Justif)~ ng a prior fi ght ove r the magazi l} cs, altho ugh restraint req uire "proof tha t publica- there was no ind icatio n that this had tion must inevitably, d irectly and imme- ha ppened in that j a iJ.43 Nonethe less, diately cause t11e occurrence of an event the Dallas jai I commander was e n ti tJed ki nd red to imperi ling th e safety of a to great defere nce. There is, apparenttransport already at sea."35 However, if ly, no "ignorant peckerwood " excepyou are serving a two-month se nte nce tion to t11e rule of deference. 1or a re p ublications ex pressin g fo r marijuana possession or are in jail awa iting u·ial, too poor to make bail, political speech given any greater prothen a detenn ination by a prison \\"ar- tection. In Vodicka v. Phelps,44 a prison de n , no maue r h ow ig n o rant, that reform o rganiza ti on published a receip t of a par ticula r book will affect newsletter called Inside, a nd regularly the secu rity of the instituti o n is suffi- mailed it to priso ne rs at a Mississippi cient lor the publication to be banned. state prison. O ne edition reported t11at In Espinow v. Wilson,36 officials at a a prison er work-stop page had taken Kentucky sta te prison proh ibited pe r- p lace live weeks earlier. The warden sons from rece h~n g gay rights publica- refused to a llow the publicati on in to tions, even an issue-orien ted, national t11e prison, based both on tl1e content pub licatio n like th e Advocate. T h e of the article and the philosophy of the priso n "officials" d e te nninecl that if a group that published it. Although the specific publica tion advocated o r l.egit- article neither advocated future workimi.zed a homosexual lifestyle in totality, stoppages nor claimed t hat the past then it would be ''~thheld."37 The war- one had been justified, the warde n statde n put it eve n mo re b lun tl y-any- ed tl1at t11e "tone of the article" soundth ing that could be consu·uecl as "con- ed as if t11e group had approved of the cl o nin g h o m o ex u a lity" wou ld be stoppage.45 He was not more specific. barreci.18 As to th e nature of the group, the The wa rden asse rted t h at such warden tated that the article was cenmaterials were a th reat to the security so red because the group existed to: of th e institutio n, claimi ng that prison- Encourage convicts, ex-offende?·s and e rs m ight be p hysically assa ul ted for friends and families of fnisoners to come together lo make themselves heard and 10 demand I hal changes be made by our elecled officials and p rison adminislralors. II seeks to emjJowerlhost' who lwvt' never had a voice in Ihe system. -l6 law cler k at an Illinois sta te l~t c ility, was to ld that so m e guards and wh ite inma tes were sol iciting me mbe rship in th e Ku Klux Kla n . Caru th o btained a copy of a KKK applicatio n as p roof. He surre ptitio usly pho tocopied it and se nt it to correc tions officials a nd to th e news media. Prison officia ls, after an investiga tio n , charged Carmh with imprope r u se of th e prison copie r , placed him in soli ta l)' con fine me nt for 30 days, and dismi ssed him from the position of law c le rk. T h e U nite d S tates Co urts o r Ap p ea ls ror th e Seventh Circuit up h e ld the pun ishme nt, holct ing thai the regulation was a reasonable time, place and manne r restricti o n , and that the punishm ent was no t a pre text for le tting th e public The ward e n d e LCrmined tha t the g rou p foc used on "re d ress a nd / or c h a n ge o f th e e ntire d ilemma o f inca r ce ratio n . "47 Thi s c reate d a "po tential for tro u ble. That pote ntia l must be avoided. "48 In credibly, the Sixth Circuit agreed, fi nd ing that u nder Pelt a nd M arli11l'7., th e priso n 's d e te rm ina t ion of like ly ad ve rse conseque nces was e nough to j ustify th e exclusio n of th e article.-+9 And the co urt in Vodicka de fe rred to th e priso n a uth o riti es e\'Cn th o ug h news stories substantially sim ilar to th e o n e in I nside h a d a lread y e nte r ed th e institution from mainst rea m n e ws p a p ers whi c h cove red t h e work-sto ppage. 50 In the same vein , the Un ited Sta tes Court of Appeals fo r the Fourth Circ u it , in Pillman u. H ullo,S L up h e ld t he pr iso n adm inisua tio n 's suppressio n of one issue o f an awa rd-winnin g priso n news pape r . Ass istant Superinte ndent Sue Kenned y de termin ed that some o f the articles were no t "factually correct," "out of line Ronald Kuby and I IIi/limn Kuusllt'r 1~ th good t.-'\Ste," and not "fair to the adminisuation:•S2 Ke nned y know abolll KKK activity. Sure. Bu t th e prize goes to the Un ited was pa rticul arly concerned with t h e trULh of th e articles. Relying on } OIIt'S, States District Cou rt for th e North ern the Fourth Circuit tossed away two hun- Dis tri c t of Ca lifo rni a in M arlin v. dred years o f First Am e ndme nt doc- Rison.56 Dannie Marlin, a fcde1a l pristrine regarding the search for truth in a oner, 1vro 1c a fca LU re for th e San demoCJacy, and upheld the ban. 53 Fmnrisco Chroniclt• c n tiLied 'The Gulag Me nta lity,·· sha rp ly criticizin g priso n PUNISHMENT FOR THE EXPRESSION officials. Immediately after the publicaOF UNPOPULAR VIEWS tio n of LllC piece, he was placed in soliI n th e d e m o n o logy of the f ree ta ry confinement, and Ll1en transferred speec h vio lations, re taliatio n for th e to a no th e r instituti o n. Priso n officials ex pressio n of unpo pular views ranks alleged tha i Martin had viola ted r ules second on ly to prior res tra in ts. But that pro hibited conducting a business prison o ffi cials have not hesita ted to while conlincd, and acting as a reporter use th e ir positio n o f total con trol over or publishing under a byline.57 every aspect of a p ri so n e r 's li fe to The disuict court. held that "engagi ng pu n ish 54 a n inmate for expressing in writing activities is not a constitutionunpopu lar views. And th e fe d e ral ally protected 1ighl... uch activities arc courts, usually o n guard against th e delegated by Congre. s to Ll1e discretio n natura l tende n cy o f th e powe rful to of the Bureau of Prisons.SS As long as lash o ut agai nst the vo ices of th e po w- the restrictio ns arc rmionally rela ted to e rl ess, show unbeco min g c redulity pro moti ng pri ·on secUJity, thC)' will be when ad ministrato rs dutifull y in sist uphclci.59 The district court had no dir: that their goa ls we re proper. ficu lty coming up with llstfuls of possible In Ca ruth v . P inhn ey,SS Alsan sa harms that the regulation was geared to Caruth , a black prisoner, wo rking as a preve nt, a ll o f the m spec ulative and un uppo n ed by any e\~dence. 60 Pri so n offic ials r ece ive d so m e threats after th e article was published, o bsen ·ed a n increase in te nsions, and noticed an u n usually la rge numbe r of prisone rs in clusters. 6 1 T he distri ct court somewhat sheepishly noted that t h ese ma n ifestatio ns may well h ave bee n respo nses, no t to the a rticle, bu t to th e action of prison aULho ri ties in placing Martin in solita ry co nfin e m e nt. Wheth e r or not t h e prison's censorship c rea ted th e ve ry secu r ity threat tha t was being used to justify the ce nso rsh ip in the first p lace was irrelevan t to th e district co urt. 62 Prison officials also a re free to punish prisone rs for showing "d isrespect." In Srmym u. Ponle, 63 the Chri> Cozzonc . pnsone r wrote a Iener to a gua rd wh ic h was "a rg u ab ly mockin g, tatmting a nd disrespectful. ··6-1 That provided a suitable basis fo r imposing discipline, as long as the o ffi cials the mselves were acting with a good faith belief that the pu nishment was nccessaJ)' to m a in ta in o rd e r . Simi la rl y, in Gibbs v . King,65 the Unite d States Court o f Appeals fo r th e Fifth C ircu i t upheld a p rison regulatio n p ro hi biting a priso n e r from m ak in g or writin g "d e roga t ory or d egrading remarks about a n e mployee," fi nd ing that the "clear purposes" of the rule were to "prevent the escalation of tensio n" an d to a llow g uards to work with o ut "verbal challe nge s to thei r au thority. "66 The Un ited States Court of Appeals fo r the T hird Circuit went o n e ste p furt h er in 1/arlden v. f-loward,67 pc r mining inte rnal pri son d iscipline for "insolence," "d isrespect," a nd '·lying 10 an employee," eve n when such conduct took place in th e fo rm o f a n offic ial grievance fi led by a prisoner.68 VIOLATION OF FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE If pun ishing someo ne for expressing certain views is o di o us to a free society, in nic tin g tortu re u ntil o ne renounces his o r her views is medieval, yet permined by the federal judic iary. In Bamldini v. Meest',69 prisoners challenged th e co nditions at th e federa l H ig h Security U n i t (" H SU") fo r \•Vome n , at Lexin g to n , Kenwcky, as we ll as the criteria by whi ch they were PRISON LIFE 2 1 placed the re. The HSU was a priso n within a pri on , loc;n ed in a specia lly modifie d basement. Little, if any, na tural light e n tered the institution. T he priso n ers h ad n o p e rson a l co n ta c t with each o ther and virtua lly no visitors. They were mon ito red by came ras 24 hours pe r day, e ve n wh e n th ey showered . Every time they left th e ir cells, even for me di cal care o r for a sh owe r , th ey we re h andc u ffe d a nd sh ackle d . Afte r a year in the HSU, th e wome n experienced me nta l de terioration , sensory disturbances, perceptual d isto rtio ns, and concentratio n difli cultic _70 Expe rts, includ ing the forme r Secre ta I)' o f Mai)•Ia nd 's Public Safe ty a nd Correcti o n a l e rviccs, tes tifi e d th a t such condi tions we re im prope r for a nyone.'l How we re prisone rs se lected fo r thi s trea tm e n t ? Burea u o f Prisons Director Mi ch ael Quinlan ackn owled ged th at "a prisoner's jJast or Jnesent a.ffiliation, association or membership in a n organization wh ich .. .a u e mpts to disrupt or overth row the govcrnmenr of the U nited Sta tes.. .is afaclorconsidered" regarding p laccmem.72 Another BOP offic ia l was mo re. blunt, noting th at p lace men t was based o n "committed alliance to terrorist-oriented ideals and politically revolulionary 01ganiw tions.•>7 3 T h e women we r e sp eci fica lly info rmed by priso n staff tha t the only way th ey wo uld be a bl e to m e rit a u·an fe1· wa if they would '"disavow any assoc ia ti o n with left is t p olitical groups."7-l BOP oflicials admitted that "if th ey received re lia ble o u L~ id e in formation th at pl a i nti fl:~ were no longe r a!Ti liated with such o rganizati ons, d1ey wo uld conside r re locming thc m ."75 In find ing bo th th e co nditi o ns of the prison as well as the crite ria used fo r place m e nt un co nstitu ti o n a l, th e United Sta tes Distric t Court for th e District of Columbia held: "Co nsigning an yone to a hig h securi ty uni t for past politi cal associations th ey wil l n ever shed un less forced to renoun ce the m is a da ngerous mission for thi s cou nu·y' prison system to continue.'"76 The nited States Court of Appeals fo r the District of Columbia Circui t reversed , fi nding th a t the right of th e prisone rs to "co ntinue to ho ld viole nt, revolut io n a ry views ... d o[es] n o t r e qu ire priso n ad min istrators to ig nore th ose views ... in assessing the dangers of the ir esca pe fro m c u st ody wi th o uts ide hclp."77 Re nunciatio n of th ose Yi ews simp ly meam that the securi ty th reat had diminished. The fact th a t two of the plainti ffs had no prior escape histOiy, while many o the r prisoners with prio r escape histo1y remain ed in gen22 PRISON LIFE the courts. "8-1 The d ecisio n in Dooley presaged the Supreme Court's ruling in Tumer v. Saj7ey ,85 wh ic h uph e ld a ge ne ra l ban of le tte rs betwee n prison ers in diffe ren t instillltio n s. Ove rturning th e lower co urt's strict scru ti ny a na lys is, the Court in Tumer placed its imprimatur on tJ1e reasonable relationship test a lready in gene ra l use.86 The Court th en fo und tJ1 at tJ1e security j ustification- preven ting transmis ion of esca p e p la n s a n d p la nnin g o f assau lts-warranted the ban . Even whe n prisoners arc allowed to communi cate with each otJ1er, prison o llicials arc e ntitJcdto censor th e conte nt o f th e ir co mmuni ca ti ons and pu ni sh c riti ca l sp eech. In Adams v. RESTRICTIONS ON PRISONER-TOCwwe/1,87 three priso ne rs were placed PRISONER CONTACT in so li tary co nfineme nt, a nd th e n A judiciary that permi ts the punish- g ive n a n in stituti o nal "tri a l" whe re m en t o ( a priso n e r fo r wri tin g an,.. they were co m~c te d an d se ntenced to unnauc ring news stOI)' fo r a na tional loss or all "good time"88 because th ey publication on the gro und of "institu- had signed and suppon ed an "illegal tio na l securityN has hao no trou ble petition ."'89 T h e pe titio n , gentle in pe rmitti ng pri on officials to deny per- ton e,90 a lleged th a t black pri o n e rs sons within the prison o mmun ity the we r e d c.ni e d so me o ppo r tun iti es righ t to commu nicate with each other. granted to whi tes, and requested tha t Injones, th e Su pre me Co u rt h e ld "ave nues a nd strategies" be developed broadly tJ1at wha tever righ ts prisoners to a ddress thi s proble m .91 The petire tained to associate with eac h o the r tio n was se nt to the wa rden , a loca l could be "curtailed whcm·vcr th e insti- p a per a nd th e ACLU.9 2 Th e Fi fth tution 's o ffic ia ls, in th e exerc ise o f Circ uit, n o ting that th e warden h ad the ir info rmed discretion, reasonably cited sev ·raJ con stitutio n ally impe rconclude tha t such associations... pos- missible reasons for the rule, noncthese th e like lihood of di sru p ti on to lc found o ne of the rcasp ns acceptp rison orde r or stabilit}, or o therwise a b le-th e fear th a t so m e inm ates inte rfere with legitimate penologica l might coerce othe rs into sign ing th e objectives. "80 peti tion.93 Faced with this invocation Prison oflicials arc free to de ny pris- of prison ecudty rationale, the Court o n ers a ny ri g ht of associa ti on with uph e ld th e res tri c tio n , fi ndi ng tha t each other by confining tJ1e m in soli- Firs t Ame n dm e n t r ig hts wee tary confinemcnr.81 But as a practical "touc h ed, but n ot se ri o u sly mauer, few prisons are run u nder such in fri nged .··9-1 conditio ns; it is inevitable that prisonNO RIGHT OF ACCESS TO THE PRESS e rs will come into p hysical proximi ty, or at least sighL, of each o the r. Prison lt should come as no surprise th at o ffi cials are still given vast auth ority to whe n eve r there is a priso n re be llio n , regul ate th e co mmun icatio n a mon g one of th e ke y dema nd s is direc t them . In Dooley v. Quich,82 two prison- access to th e news media. Pri oners e rs were placed in d iiTe re n t modules a n d p ri so n o ffi cia ls a like know t h e within the prison, fo llowing u nproven importa n ce o f a free, inve tiga tive al lega ti o n s o f h o m osex u a l co n tac t press in exposing wro n gd o in g and between tJ1cm. This placement ended arousing the public conscie nce. They th e ir physical co n tact, a ltho ugh th ey see k it a nd shun it, respectively, fo r still tried to communicate. T hey were this ame re aso n . In bo th Pf>ll a nd then punished fo r atte mpting to pass a Saxbe, total bans b)' tJ1e prison or facelette r and fo r twice "wig-wagg ing hand to-face inte rviews we re upheld by th e sig na ls .. .thro ug h a g lass window."83 Su pre me Court. Wh e n prison ollicials T he nited States District Cou rt fo r do p ermit som e re p orters access to th e Distri ct of Rho d e Islan d u phe ld pdsone rs, they "re free to de ny access the punishment, ruling that "thi · is at to otJ1 ers. lnjersawilz v. Hanbeny,95 a bottom, preci e ly the son of adminis- j ourn alist who had produced a public tra tive d ecisio n which is best le ft to the access cable televisio n show wished to tra in e d custodi a l professio n a lism of inte rview Fathe r Raymo nd Bourgeois, correc ti onal managers, rather than to an o utspoken c ritic of th e Unite d e ra ) pop ul atio n , did no t affect th e analysi . In 1 ichens v. I l'lzite,78 pri o n oflicials at a m ed ium sec urity in s tituti o n placed a n inma te in solitai)' confin ement a nd the n tran fe rrcd him to a max imum f~t c ility whe n he refused to ta ke his name ofT a petitio n . T he pe titio n , sig ne d by abo ut two hun d red prisone rs, was directed to a tate o!Iicial and protested prison co nditions. The United States Cou n of Appeal fo r the Eighth Circuit uph eld both the po licy against pe titi o ns as we ll as its p ec u l iar e n for ce m e n t. Th e co u rt fou nd no First Ame ndme n t proble m in punishing a priso ne r for re fusing to re no un ce his prior specch.79 States foreign policy imprisoned for civil disobedience. Prison regulations permitted the entry of only those reporters who worked· for media holding an FCC license. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the ban, finding that the prison's desire to ensure that the reporters who entered the prison were "responsible persons" who were accountable "to recognized media organizations" was legitimate.96 two of whom had to be family members, and the third, if not a relative, had to be a female. No male nonfamily members could be called. The Eighth Circuit upheld the determination of the prison officials that "male to male" telephone contact served no important rehabilitative value, and posed potential security problems. lOG TWO DECADES OF SUPREME DISHONESTY For almost two decades, the Supreme Court and the lower federal Even a prisoner who has no desire courts have created an apartheid applito obtain, distribute or even discuss cation of the First Amendment. anything objectionable faces grave Perhaps the most striking aspect of the impediments in pursuing his or her history of prison free speech litigation own intellectual star, however innocu- is the general absence of any genuine ous. A plethora of prison regulations, First Amendment analysis. There was designed to facilitate prison adminis- no acknowledgement in Martinez, Pel/, tration, impose formidable restric- jones or Wolfzsh that free speech rights tions of a prisoner's access to ideas hold some special place in American and information. society or that they fulfill some unique In Wolfish, the Court upheld a rule role in the democratic process. To the permitting entry of hardback books contrary, the courts have treated such only if sent from a publisher, book claims, both analytically and rhetoricalstore, or book club. 97 In Wagner, the ly, in the same way they treated claims district court approved a similar rule that prisoners are entitled to single for all books and magazines, citing cells or to conjugal visits. Two centhe same justification-administrative turies of high-minded judicial lantime and effort to leaf through every guage about the primacy of the First single page.98 Going even further, Amendment is conspicuous for its the Third Circuit, in Hurd v. absence in prison opinions. Williams,99 allowed to stand a rule It is a truism that the freedom of that required all publications to come speech values of the First Amendment only from the publisher.IOO have endured and flourished because Neither can prisoners expect any of their value to all individuals and, by privacy in their incoming or outgoin~ extension, to society as a whole. But all correspondence. In jackson v. Norris, of the justifications that have been incoming mail that was not privileged advanced for free speech guarantees was read by the jail staff. In upholding over the ages of American law should this practice, the United States District apply with equal, if not greater force, Court for the Middle District of to persons in prisons. Prisoners do not Tennessee refused to require the value freedom of speech any less than prison to make any particularized free citizens, nor is the right of any showing that the correspondent or the less use to them than to nonincarcerrecipient posed a danger. In Norris, ated people. the writer was presidential candidate The quest for self-fulfillment, recReverend Jesse Jackson whose letter ognized as a central value protected were read (for escape plans?) by the by the freedom of speech guarantees staff.102 And in Gaines v. Lane, 103 the of the First Amendment,107 does not Seventh Circuit allowed prison offi- end when sentence is pronounced. cials to read all outgoing correspon- Given the limitations upon a prisondence, noting that the regulation was er's other means of personal advancedesigned to foil the transmission of ment, reading, speaking, writing and escape plans or other, unspecified painting often become the central security threats. The certainty of harm focus of daily life. Malcolm X noted: I did not have to be shown.l04 have often reflected upon the new vistas There is also no general constitu- that reading opened to me. I /mew right tional right of access to the tele- there in prison that reading had changed phone, at least for calls to person forever the course of my life. As I see it other than lawyers. In Benzel v. today, the ability to read awoke inside me Grammar,IOS the Eighth Circuit some long donnant craving to be mentally upheld a Nebraska regulation that alive... My homemade education gave me, permitted prisoners in the punish- with every additional boolt that I read, a ment unit to call only three people, little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, OTHER RESTRICTIONS dumbness and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America.l 08 Among others, John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress, Oscar Wilde wrote the Ballad of Reading Gaol and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote his Letters From A Birmingham Jail while behind bars. Alexander Berkman wrote a political manifesto;109 Caryl Chessman exposed the roanny of the criminal justice system; I 0 and Bobby Sands wrote ~oetry and songs while incarcerated. 11 Closely related to personal fulfillment is the First Amendment's protection of the quest for political and social truth, and the concomitant idea that such truth is only discoverable when people are free "to think as they please and ... speak what they think."112 Prisoners have no lesser need for truth than free citizens, nor is truth ascertained differently behind prison walls than across the street from them. The prisoners in Pittman no doubt believed the truth of their criticism of penal authorities, as did the plaintiffs in Vodicka. Indeed, if one proceeds from the assumption that persons are in prison because they have erred in some way, then granting them the same tools possessed by the rest of us to search for truth is an unquestionable penological good. Free speech rights are also cherished as a vaccination against tyranny and abuse of governmental power.l13 Underlying this "checking value" is the well-founded suspicion that every government has a natural tendency to suppress the unpopular and maintain the status quo. Within a prison, the hand of government is far heavier and more frequently involved in one's daily affairs than outside the walls. Prisons, after all, are total institutions with every aspect of life regulated by the state. In Martin, the prisoner wanted to alert the public about prison conditions; in Caruth, the prisoner wanted to alert the public that the KKK was recruiting. The potential for abuse when one has complete control over other people needs little explanation. Effective participation in the political process is also dependent upon freedom of speech. While prisoners, by virtue of their own incarceration, sometimes have no access to the ballot box, voting is but one means of participation. Writing, speaking and seeking to influence public sentiment are activities of equal use to prisoner and free person alike. The prisoners in Nickens and Gunnell attempted to petition corrections officials, while the plaintiffs in Baraldini maintained PRISON LIFE 23 the ir belief in co mmun ism a nd refused to denounce their comrades. Lastly, freedo m of speech has been co n ce ive d o f as a "safe ty va lve. " '·Puni shin g people for speech docs no t discourage th e speech ; it only d rives it undergro un d, a n d encourages con sp iracy. In the ba ttl e for publi c ord e r, free speech is the ally, not the e ne my."' 1-l If this is true o u tside the walls, the re is no reason to think tha t th e op posite rule app lies o n ce se nte n ce is pron ou nced . nfonu na te ly. prison ward e ns have been permitted t o procee d from th e o pposi te assump tion-that punishin g speec h wi ll prevent that speech and, accordin gly, prevent the realiza tion of th e ideas ach·ocated by the speakers. The cou rts h ave n ever evaluated the im portan ce of free speech righ ts in light of the va lues protected by the First Ame nd ment, prcfeiTing instead to address th e o the r side or the eq uation, in vo ki ng th e famili ar sh ibbole th s that priso ns arc d ifficult places to run , that ru nn ing th em requires th e exe rcise of j ud g me nts uniqu e ly u ited to cor rec t ions officials, a nd that co urts arc u n suite d to m ake th ese dete rmi natio ns. But these arguntc nts ca nn ot with sta nd a nalysis. Runn ing a prison ccrt inly is di!lic ul t a nd dangcrou . But th is hard ly supports th e conclusion fo r which it is invoked . The d i!liculty of the government's task has ne,·er pr0\1dcd a ba is fo r suppressing the free spc<.;c h righ ts of th e c itizen ry. Cou rts, d · pile two d eca d es of b lath er a bo u t di fficu lt tasks, hm·e ye t to a rti culate the reason wh y adm in is te ri ng thre e cells in a county j ai l, for example, is so much more d iflicult tha n. say. running the City of New York that the managers of the form er shou ld be g ive n vast powe rs th at are denied to th e latter. Nor has a n y evide n ce ap p eare d in the record of a ny prison case that prm·es running a prison is so much more diffi cul t than running a nuclear power plam, the Center for Disease Comrol, a satellite researc h facilit)', o r som e oth er enterprise which leaves the free speech ri ghL~ of its members more or less in tact. or co urse, wh en speech raises some g rave r isk of immi ncm dange r, the n and only th en is the govcnuncnt free lO ac t, in the narrowest o f f~1s h i o n s, to avert that danger. T he courts have n e ver ex plained why a "least restri ctive means" test, ·triking th e proper balance between order an d rig hts in the o utside world, is un suite d for priso n free speech. Nor have the\' <·ver expla ined whv the ma nager of a ll prisons and ja il~ a rc given th e same a u th ority to suppre free speech righh. despite ob\ious diflc rcnccs a mong in titu Lions that directly affect the difficult)' or the task o f admin istration. Som priso ns arc h uge insLitu tions housing thou a nd of p(:opk; others arc o nly a few cells in a municipal building. Some prisons contain ma xim um-security prisoners sen·ing long cntcnce~ for viole m crimes, whi le OLlters bouse a population of low sccurit)', nonviolent offi•ndcn; who participate in work release p rograms by clay. ,\la nr, indeed most, incarcerated pe rso ns ha ve not bee n co nvi c ted o f an yt hin g . Yet t h e Su pre m e Cou rt accords cxaCLly Lhc same a uth ority a nd requ ire!> precisely the same de ference to th e Podunk Co unty Sh e riff as it do cs to the head of t h e Federa l Bureau of Prisons. A prisoner with a perfect record, serving the last weeks o r a short se nt e nce in a n hono r camp can be t rca ted, for Fi rst Amendme nt purposes, the same as a d eath-row prisoner on the eve of cxecuLion. It also is simply unu·uc tha t prison administrators, as suc h , possess ome myste rious expertise that requires deference from the federa l courts. Prison a dmi n istra tors differ wide ly in bac kgrou nd, education, skills a nd social attitudes. There is no penological consensus that literature ..condoning·· ho mosexua li ty, fo r example is dangerous to institutio nal security. The Ke ntuc ky warden in /~.1jJinoza was m ore li ke ly moti\·ated by h is own prej ud ice than a ny _gcnc rall)' . bared expertise. Indeed , Ow mayor of cw York City recently signed legislation perm itting gay a nd lesbian .. domestic part n e rs·· o fj a il inmates the sa me visita tion ri!fhts as he terosexual maniccl couples. I b An d eve n assum ing th at p ri so n admi nistrator: a a who le do po sess training and c ducaLion differe nt fro m that of the citizen ry as a 1\' ho lc, n o co urt h as eve r su gges t d t ~1at suc h training is so far beyond th e ke n or the federal judiciary tha t the fo rmer arc incapable of being understood by th e Ia u e r . Eve ry d ay, fed e ra l co urts deal with th e inu·icacics of C\'CI)•thing fro m g ia n t financial empires to Dt A r e ·carc h. They d eal wi th bodies of kn ow! dge far more specialized tha n that req ui red for an associate's d egree in priso n manage me nt. ENDNOTES (l].See Colman McCanhy. Thornburgh's Solution: Lock ·em Up Wash. Post. July t3. t991 . at a19 ]2!.Cf. Black·s Law Dictionary 1194 (6th ed. 1990) dehnlng -pnson· as "(al public building or other place lor 1he...1mpnsonment ol persons conviCted ol the more senous cnmes. as d1st1nguished lrom relormatones and county or city ja1ls-). [3).See U.S. Const. Amend. I. The F~rst Amendment prov1des in relevant pan. ·congress shall make no law... abndg1ng lhe freedom ol speech.- ld (4). See Sluan J. Taylor, Locked Up 1n Ja11. Locked Out ol Coun. Legal Times. June 24. 1991 . al27. (5). See Eugene H. Methvin. An Anii·Cnme Solulion: lock Up More Cnminals. Wash. Post Oct. 27. 1991 . al C t . [6). See Violence Threarens Dream. Atlanta J . & Const., Jan. 20. 1992. al t O: Richard Pnnce. The Forgotten Prisoners ...H1spamcs Behind Bars. Gannett News Serv.. Dec. 13. 1992. (71. Nalional Cenler on lnslnulions and Allerna11ves. Hobbling A Generation: Young Alncan Amencan Males 1n lhe Cnm1nal Jushce Syslem ol Amenca·s C11ies: Baltimore. Maryland (1992), ciled in 2 Washinglon Digesl . Nalional Ass·n ol Criminal Defense Lawyers. (Nov. 1992). 18). ld. 191. 416 U.S. 396 (1974). (101. Procunier v. Marhnez. 416 U.S. 396. 404 (1974). overruled by Thornburgh v. Abbo\1. 490 U.S. 401 (1989). [111. ld. At 405. [121. ld. a\ 413. [131. ld. at 414. 114). 393 U.S. 503 (1969). [15). Maninex. 416 U.S. At 412. [16). ld. at 4 18· 19. [17). See intra noles 56·62 and accompanying text (dlscuss1ng Man1n v. Rison. 741 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Cal. 1990). vacalod sub nom.. Chronicle Pubhsh1ng Co. v. Rison. 962 F .2d 959 (9th Cir. 1992). (1 8). 417 U.S. 817 (1974). [19). ln the companion case ol Saxbo v. Washington Post Co.• 417 U.S. 843 (1974). the Court uphold a similar blanket ban established by federal authorities. See Saxbe. 417 U.S. al850. [20).Pell v. Procunier. 417 U.S. 817. 822 (1974) (quoting Price v. Johnson. 334 U.S. 266. 285 ( 1948)). In Maninez. the Coun noled that the issue before 11 was no\ only the First Amendmenl nght of prisoners but also !hose to whom lhe correspondence was addressed. Accordingly. 11 left for another day the issue ol "prisoners· righ ts.· The Coun in Pell heralded the coming of lhal day. [21). ld. Thus. tree speech righls are not taken away as part of the punishment imposed by sociely upon tho malefactor. Indeed, although some CIVIl nghts are expressly Wllhdrawn lrom the mcarceraled by stalute. no penal law has auempted to abrogate freedom of speech as a penalty. II also should be nolod !hal many of those persons behind bars are pre·lnal delainces who have been conVlcled of no1h1ng and cannot be -punished- cons1stent With !he Due Process Clause. [221. ld. a1 823. [23). ld. al826. (24). ld. at 837. 1251. See Turner v. Salley. 482 U.S. 78, 88 (1987). Follow1ng Poll. the elevated scruliny suggesred"' Manmez was limiled 10 analysis ol reslric· liOns on oulgoing correspondence. Thornburgh v. Abbott. 490 US. 401 . 424 (1989). and some11mes nol even !hose See Manin, 741 F Supp. AI 1409. 1261. The Coun 1n Pell. in a neat piece of conshtulronal pres\idrgrlalron. actually creared !he opposno ol a teas1 reslnchve means test lor such claims. aniCulatmg a sort of -teas! m1rus1ve nghrs- lest The tact !hal pnsoners could communicale wilh the press through the marls led lhe Coun In Poll to uphold the ban on lace·tO·Iace meehngs. Pell. 417 U.S. Al827·28. (271. 433 U.S. 119 (1977). 1281. Jones v. Nonh Carolina Prisoners· Labor Union. Inc .. 433 U.s. 119. 122·23 (1977). 1291. That Nonh Carolina ofllclals regarded a pnson labor union as subversive is hardly a surpnse. grven that Stare·s drsmal record roward organrzed labor generally. (301. 441 U.S. 520 (1979). (311. Bell v. Wollrsh. 44 t U.S. S20. 549 (1979) (32!. So eiiiCIOntly drd this quanet ol cases demolish tho tree speech rights of prisoners. th e Reagan·Bush Courllcll the need to address lhe queslion only lwlco. wreaking comparatively minor damage. In Turner. lhe Court upheld a llat ban on prisoner·to·prisoner correspondence. And in Abbot!. the Coun ratified the right ol prison administrators, already widely recognized by lower federal couns. lo censor Incoming writlen malerials I hal lhrea\ened !he secunly ol !he inslrlulron. l33J. See Porer Applebono. With In males a\ Record H1gh. Senlence Polrcy rs Reassessed. N.Y. Times. Apr. 25. 1988. at A t . C4. 1341. Nebraska Press Ass·n v. Sluart. 427 U.S. 539.559 ( 1976). (35). Now York Times Co. v. United Stales. 403 U.S. 713. 726·27 (1971) (Brennan. J .. concu rring). (361. 814 F .2d 1093 (6th Cir. 1987). (37]. Esprnoza v. Wilson. 814 F .2d 1093. 1095 (6th c1r. 1987) (emphasis added) (381. ld. at 1096. 1391. ld. at 1098·99. Permitlrng a ban on tree expressron to sland as long as one ollhe asserted fUSIIIicaiiOns lor r11s constrluiiOnally valrd hardy promoles honesty and rnlegrrly erlher '" lhe promulgallon ol regulations or rn federal ht1gation. 1401. 608 F. Supp. t09S (N.D.) Tex. 1985). (411 Wagner v. Thomas. 608 F. Supp. 1095. 1097 (N.D. Tex 1985) (quolrng Dallas County Jail Polrcy No. 21 1.80.4 t (IV)(A)(7)). (421. ld. at 1097 n.6. 1431. ld at 1103. (441. 624 F 2d 569 (5th Cir. 1980). l45J. Vodrcka v. Phelps. 624 F .2d 569. 573 (Sih Crr. 1980). l46l. ld at S72. (47l ld. (48) ld. (49). 1d. al574. (SO!. Id. at 574. (511. 594 F .2d 407 (41h Crr. 1979). IS2). Pollman v. Huuo. 594 F .2d 407. 409 (41h C1r. 1979). IS3l. In 1989. lhe Supreme Court 1Abbon approved s uch censorship whenever a warden lrnds !hal pnnted material would be -delnmenlal lo secunly. good order. or d1scrplrne of the rnstitu110n , or mrghl lac1hlate cnminal aclrvity." Abbou. 490 U.S. At 403 n. t & 404 (quotrng 28 C.F.R. 540.71(b) (1988}. Given the praclrce of lhe lower federal couns. the decrsron in Abbotl broke l~tle new ground. (541. Prison adminrstrators have a wide varrety ol means 10 punish prison· ers who violate 'nslrlulronal rules. These rnclude ( 1) limrla11on or suspension of marl. telephone. comm1ssary. and recreatronal pnvrleges: (2) ISOlation 1n solitary confinement lor anywhere lrom a lew days 10 decades: (3) \ransfer to a more · secure" lacrlrly or loa more restriclive depanmont wrlhin lhe prrson; and (4) loss of s\alulory · good 11me." Depending on ! he jurisdic· tlon. every day of good behavior can reduce a senlence by as much as one day. Hence. loss of all good time can ellectively double the sentence \hat a prisoner actually musl serve and. accordrngly. is considered by stall and pnsoners alrke as one of lhe hars hest punrshments. And any rns\r\uhonallnlraction could allecl a pnsoner·s parole. ISS). 683 F 2d. 1044 (7th Cir. 24 PRISON LIFE The argument that federal courts are unsuited to running prisons also unravels when pulled a bit. In the first instance, protecting the free speech rights of prisoners should not require the federal court to "run" the prison. It simply requires in this country, something the feder.il courts presumably are suited to do, even in this benighted era. Of course, sometimes the intransigence or incapacity of the prison administration requires courts to assume responsibility for day-to-day functioning. Federal courts are as unsuited to run prisons as they are to operate public schools, large financial institutions, airlines, newspapers, grocery stores, or bus companies. However, they do end up running such institutions, usually quite capably, when the original managers are unwilling or unable to meet their obligations.116 The notion that the judgments of prison administrators are entitled to wide-ranging deference is a concept utterly alien and antithetical to the rest of First Amendment jurisprudence. Prison administrators are the persons who are least likely to be trusted with the power to censor inmates. It is they who feel the lash of prisoners' freedom of speech most keenly; it is they who are called to task when corruption and brutality are exposed. The idea that governors, by virtue of their roles as governors, should have the power to silence the governed is absurd in any other context but penal institutions. Lastly, if the suspension of First Amendment rights was somehow justifiable because prisons are so unique and so dangerous that some special rule should apply, the free speech rights of all members of the institution, including prison guards, administrators, as well as prisoners, could be suspended or adjudicated under a separate constitutional standard. Not surprisingly, this has not been the case. In Curle v. Ward,111New York's Third Appellate Division applied a "strict scrutiny" standard to a prison regulation prohibiting staff members from belonging to the Ku Klux Klan. The Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services determined that such membership was a threat to the administration, programming and security of the institution. In Curle, there was no talk of the difficulty of running prisons or of "deference" to a method that "treads too broadly on constitutional" choices.l18 There was no Baraldini-type analysis, permitting prison authorities to take preemptive action based upon organizational affiliations. The difficulty of running the prison could not permit the abridgement of fundamental rights of guards. Similarly, in Babcock v. Michigan Department of Corrections, 119 the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan held that prison administrators could not punish a guard who spoke to the press regarding prison conditions, notwithstanding the contention by the warden that the statements were false, reflected poorly on the department, and caused a security threat. The court held that the guard's "statements concerned potentially illegal drug activity occurring in a publicly funded institution, and the treatment of persons who disclose such activity. These are, by any standard, matters of public concern. "120 In Harris v. Evans,121 the Eleventh Circuit struck down a prison policy prohibiting staff members from communicating directly with the parole board regarding the merits of any particular case. The prison authorities' invocation of the talismanic phrase "security" left the court in Evans unmoved as it held that "citizens who comment on individual parole decisions are offering input on the working of the state's criminal justice system. "122 CONCLUSION Prison free speech cases demonstrate, in the starkest possible terms, the hypocrisy of the federal judiciary and its high-minded pronouncements when the liberty of the poor and oppressed is at issue. Our prisons are vast warehouses for entire generations of black and Latino youths who are being taught the meaning of power and authority, but most certainly not the meaning of democracy, or the importance of free expression. There is every reason to believe that these youths emerge from prison imbued with the same tolerance for ideas and discourse as their wardens. A frightening thought. . PL 1982). [56]. 741 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Cal. 1990). [57). Martin v. Rison, 741 F. Supp. 1406, 1410 (N.D. Cal. 1990), vacated sub nom., Chronicle Publishing Co. v. Rison, 962 F .2d 959 (9th Cir. 1992). [58). ld. at 1420. [59). ld. at 14. According to the district court, heightened scrutiny under Martinez was not required because the ideas did not just exit the institution, they also returned through the newspaper.ld.at 1412. [60). See id. At 1414-15. These harms included creating a danger of threats of violence, focusing attention on an individual prisoner, which could lead to unrest, creating fear on the part of the staff that their statements might be reported, encouraging a prisoner to be more loyal to his paper than to the prison, and preventing a prisoner from becoming too well known, which could result in his having disproportionate influence In prison. ld. There was evidence that the "prison staff was upset about the artlcle."ld. at 1415. [61]. ld. at 1414. [62). Other facts that would, in any other context, have called into question the sincerity of the prison in even-handed application of prison rules were that two other federal prisoners had written under by-lines but were not punished, and that Martin had written about eighteen prior articles for the San Francisco Chronicle, that were published as regular Sunday features. Martin's writings were known to some prison authorities and cited favorably in his parole file.ld. At 1420. [63]. 638 F. Supp. 1019 (D. Mass. 1986). [64). Scarpa v. Ponte, 638 F. Supp. 1019, 1020 (D. Mass. 1986) (footnote omitted). [65). 779 F .2d 1040 (5th Cir. 1986). [66). Gibbs v. King, 779 F .2d 1040, 1045 {5th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1117 (1986). [67). 713 F .2d 1003 (3rd Cir. 1983). (68). Hadden v. Howard, 713 F .d 1003, 1006 (3d Cir. 1983) (citing Pa. Code 95.102a(b)(25), (31). [69). 691 F. Supp. 432 (D.D.C. 1988). [70]. Baraldini v. Meese, 691 F. Supp. 432,445 (D.D.C. 1988), rev'd sub nom., Baraldini v. Thornburgh, 884 F 2d 615 (D.C. Cir. 1989). The conditions of the Lexington HSU and the effect they had on the women confined there was documented by filmakers Nina Rosenblum and Alexandra White in the Public Broadcasting Network film Through the Wire. [71). Baraldini, 691 F. Supp. At 445. [72]. ld. at 437-8. [73]. ld. at 438. (74]. ld. at 443 [75). ld. [76]. ld. at 449. (77]. Baraldini v. Thornburgh, 884 F .2d 615,620 (D.C. Cir. 1989). [78]. 622 F .2d 967 (8th Cir. 1980). [79). Nickens v. White, 622 F .2d. 967, 971·72 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1017 (1980). (80). Jones, 433 U.S. At 132 (19n). [81]. See Baraldini, 884 F 2d at 618. [82). 598 F. Supp. 607 (D.R.I. 1984). [83]. Dooley v. Quick, 598 F. Supp. 607,611 (D. R.I. 1984), all'd, 787 F. 20 579 (1st Cir. 1986). (84]. ld. at 612. Prison officials are also free to curtail discussions among prisoners while they are in the mess hall, prison corridors, and working. See Lamar v. Coffield, 353 F. Supp. 1081, 1082, 1084 (S.D. Tex. 1972). [85]. 482 U.S. 78 {1987). [86). Turner, 482 U.S. At 91. [87). 729 F .2d 362 (5th Cir. 1984). [88). Adams v. Gunnell, 729 F .2d 362, 365 (5th Cir. 1984). [89]. ld. at 364-65. [90].1d. at 364. [91]. ld. [92]. ld. [93). ld at 368. [94). ld. at 367. [95]95. 783 F .2d 1532 (11th Cir. 1986). . [96)96. Jersawitz v. Hanberry, 783 F .2d 1532, 1534 (11th Cir.), cart. denied sub nom., Jersawitz v. Noonan, 479 U.S. 883 (1986). [97). Wolfish, 441 U.S. at 550-51. [98). Wagner, 608 F. Supp. at 1102. [99]. 755 F .2d 306 {3d Cir. 1985). [100). Hurd v. Williams, 755 F .2d 306,308 {3d Clr. 1985). (101). 748 F. Supp. 570 (M.D. Tenn. 1990). [102). Jackson v. Norris, 748 F. Supp. 570,573 (M.D. Tenn. 1990), aff'd, 928 F .2d 1132 (6th Cir. 1991). (103). 790 F .2d 1299 (7th Cir. 1986). [104]. Gaines v. Lane, 790 F .2d 1299, 1304 (7th Cir. 1986). The Court in Gaines upheld the regulation under the Martinez elevated scrutiny standard. ld. See Burton v. Nault, 902 F.2d 4,5 (6th Cir.) (allowing prison officials to read outgoing mail, even if privileged, to learn whether drug use played any role in a prisoner's unsuccessful suicide attempt), cert. denied, 111 S. Ct. 198 (1990). (105]. 869 F .2d 1105 (8th Cir. 1989). (106). So much for Damon and Pythias. [107). See Martin H. Redish, The Value of Free Speech, 130 U. PA. L Rev. 591, 593 (1982). (108]. Alex Haley & Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X 179 (1965). [109]. See Alexander Berkman, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist (2d ed. 1920). (110]. See Caryl Chessman, Cell 2455, Death Row (1954). [111]. See Skylark Sing Your Lonely Song: An Anthology of Prison Writings of Bobby Sands (1982). [112). Mary H. Maguire, Attack of the Common Lawyers on the Oath Ex Officio, in Essays in History and Political Theory of Charles Howard Mclwain 212-13 (1936). See Thornhill v. Alabama, 310 U.S. 88, 95 (1940) (stating that the First Amendment "safeguard[s) •..The rights to the ends that men may speak as they think on matters vital to them1. [113]. John E. Nowak & Ronald D. Rotunda, Constitutional Law 16.6, at 940 (4th ed. 1991). [114].1d. 16.6, at 941. [115]. N.Y. Newsday, Jan. 27, 1993, Part II, at 50. The legislation went into effect on March 3, 1993, and applies to all20,000 persons, mostly pretrial detainees, in New York City's jails. [116). Actually, federal courts have shown themselves to be quite good at running prisons. Throughout the 1970s, numerous prisons and jails were placed into federal receivership, and run by the federal courts, because they were unable to meet the constitutionally minimum standards of health, safety, and dignity required by the Eighth Amendment. The termination of those receiverships in the 1980s says more about the lowering of constitutional standards than it does about the upgrading of prison administrations. (117]. 399 N.Y.S. 20 308(N.Y. App. Div. 1977). [118]. Curle v. Ward, 399 N.Y.S.2d 308, 312 (N.Y. App. Div. 1977), modified, 389 N.E.2d 1070 (N.Y. 1979). [119). 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3644 (W.O. Mich. Apr. 2, 1990) (unpublished decision). [120]. Babcock v. Michigan Dep't of Corrections, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3644, at •7 (W.O. Mich. April2, 1990) (unpublished decision). [121). 920 F.2d 864 (11th Cir. 1991). [122). Harris v. Evans, 920 F.2d864, 867 (11th Clr.1991). PRISON LIFE 25 TEXAS SUCKS, TOO I'm a three-time loser doi ng 2 5 o n a Bitc h (25-99 ). Fro m everything l saw in Prison Life, I was very surprised there were no le tte rs fro m T exas. You have all th ese suppo sedly stiff co nvicts who bitch every day but have no nuts to be heard . Ot me: f wa nt all my fellow co nvicts o ut the re to know th at their ra tho les ain 't the o nly pieceo-shit prisons arou nd. Texas brags about being th e large t prison system but can they run it? H ell no. We' re trea ted like ca ttl e h e re, only they care less about us. It's all about money, not rehab. We got big proble ms with o ur syste m. Crooks arc run n ing it. In ou r sta te, we h ave law e nforce me nt of!icers getting bu ste d for stea lin g coca i n e, s h e ri ffs ge ttin g n abbe d , too-all kinds of shit. O u r govern or is an o.ld drunk. In Texas, law o ffi cers credit the mselves with good work. But they don't do shit. T h e law he re ca n 't bust no one without too l pigeons. Ha! l can go on a nd o n. Our country is hurting wi th homeless an d hunge r a nd these punks are over the re plucking Cubans outta the water. Know what they see? Dollar signs. Those fucks will be in prison in no time. Texa ha a syste m no better than th e oth e r states. Soon, o ur mayo rs will all be wa rde ns an d all Texa ns will h ave a pre-# for t h e T exas Depa rtme nt o f Co rrec ti o ns. T h ey' ll 26 PRISON LIFE need to put a fence around T exas. I know what I'm sp ea king abo ut. I was arrested with a j udge in '89 in sou th Texas. We we r e impo rti ng 2,000 pou n d s o f d o pe from South Ame ri ca. You have noth ing but rcdnecks as g u a rds in T exas priso n s. Th e few Spanish guards have all tu rned cowboy and the black guards are Uncle Toms. The circus goes o n. Alfredo Gonzales Alfred 1/ugltes Unit, Te:~as WHAT LITTLE WE HAVE People who don't have much get ugly an d mean when Lhey have to gi,·e up wha t liLLie they have. Back in 19 70 , when I sta rted doing time, the prison yard was divided into litLle co urts. Every clique had o ne-the Italians, whi tes, Latins a nd Blacks. It didn ' t break down j ust to race. Bank robbe rs h ung o ut toge ther, con men had Lhcir own spot, the iro n freaks d idn ' t mix with Lh e baske tball junkies. If you ste pped into another 's cou n, you did iL Lhe same way }'Ou 'd co me in to a no th er's cell wiLhout an in vite-with a sha nk in ha nd. Survival means thinking abouL and seeing Lhose arou nd yo u. And that includes knowing each prison "shi ft.·· On the first shi ft, cons arc o n th e ir best b eha,•ior because th a t's whe n th e visiwrs arc allowed in an d freeworld people come around: th e j e rkofl' therapists, counselo rs a nd religious n uts. The second shift is when you setLie all your disputes-if you're serious about the m. Prison fightS usu all y Ia t on ly a fe w cco nds, someone dies a nd someone walks away. Jf the guy you stab lives, he's enlitled to a rematch. The third shi ft is whe n yo u c h ec k o ut o f t h e hote l if you ca n ' t stand the room. It's when th e wea k o nes hang it up in their cells. Pri on, j u t li ke the freeworld , is bullshi t, vio le n ce a nd death. O nly here it's on a tig hter schedule. Inside th e wa lls they don' t leave you with much. That's why th e bodybuilders treasu re the ir m eas u remen t more th a n any fashi on model. You ca n die for ste pping on a nothe r ma n's li ttle piece of space, or h is name. You either stand up to wha t they th row at yo u or you go dow n . It's t h at simple . And i n prison, if yo u go down, you stay down. Clayton Phillips Colorado State Prison STOP BASHING PECKERWOODS I 'm writ i ng thi fro m Pee kerwood's H ell. t>.ly na me's Wess. an d I'm doing a 27-ycar bid fo r robbery a nd assault here at the Mississippi O.O.C. I 've been d own fo r even an d have ano L11er seven to go. I noticed in the O ctober i u e's article o n Attica, it said "a wh ite man has little c h a n ce of mak ing it ... " Da mn su·aight! I ' m sick a nd tired o f eve ryo n e bash ing the Peckc rwoods a nd Featherwoods with chea p shots every c hance they get. You want to know what rough is, asshole? Try doi ng a bid he re where 94% of the population is Black-the police as we ll as th e prisone rs. Try being L11rown in an open donn 1\~th 75 and only two arc white a nd 50 arc gang me mbers. Let me tell you omething: The Peckenmods I h ave done time with here know what it's like to have their backs to the wall. We know what trust, honor and survival a rc all about. Me n lik e P yc h o, Man iac , Hobo, H o ll ywood, Ca t Dadd y, H o ss, O z, Sn a ke, C. Pope , Roy I 1. , Da n ny W., Billy J. , L arry 0. a nd m yse lf h ave ea rn ed eve ry o unce of res pec t a n d ho no r o ur na mes carry. Il's no t abo ut you r time, p lace or race. It's a bo ut your h ear t. Witho u t h eart, yo u d o n ' t h ave h ono r , a n d wi th out h o no r , you ain't go tjack in this H ellhole. So sto p b as hin g us an d ou r wome n. Stop te lling us whe re we can and can 't ma ke it. Speak for yourself, not us! Us Pecke rwoods are he re for the duration and we ain 't running. So put th at in yo ur pipe a nd smo ke it! Tell 'em Wess said that, too! Kenneth Bowers Unit 32/C, Pa.rchman J\ITS MADE IN PRISON I'm a 50-yea r-o ld d o ing two life sen te nces in Arizona: on e for murde r, o ne fo r assault by a prisone r (a "sticking"). I' ve go t a bo u t 17 fla t in n ow a nd 19 more to go o n th ese cases. I'm a prod uct of the Californ ia system. I started soldiering in the CA Youth Au tho ri ty a t 15 a n d made my bo n es 30 yea rs ago. Wh en I was bran ded you had to take a life to wear the brand a nd it was a thing of respect in the j oint and on the streets. Le t m e g ive you a slan t a b out priso n creating cri mina ls. I di d my time in se ri o us prisons wh en I was yo ung: San Que ntin. Fo lso m, T racy and oth ers. I also did ti me in Raifo rd, Flo ri da. My time was for real. vVh e n I was pa roled fro m San Quenti n I came to Arizona wh ere I wound up killing a guy because he snitched o n me. An yhow, wh a t ha ppens when we do a lo t of ti me is we get programmed with a set of ru les a nd reactions tha t are not o nly correct bu t often are the only reactions that ~~ 11 allow us to sur\~ve in these places. Th ey become normal and set in our minds and d1en we a re released and somethi ng happens. And we react. Of course, to a normal freeworld person, we will seem savage and brutal, even though all we did was what kept us alive d1e week before we were released. As I look back I can see my reacti ons to the situa tion whic h cost both th e ma n I kill e d hi s li fe a nd me, mine. I can a lso see h ow I was prog ram med in these places. o excuses, only a n o bservatio n. Lee McVay Arizona Stale Prison i nsider Outlooli a11: "Te:ws, "by Dan Locke, TDC}; "Hand," by Daniel Nicldaus, Staleville, !L; "Death," by Michael Davis, Corcoran State Prison, CA. "WHAT MORE CAN A FAG ASK FOR?" In you r Octob e r iss ue yo u ask: Are yo u ma n o r wo man e n o u g h to tell us a bout sex be hind ba rs? Haven't you liste ned to th e prison ad min istrato rs? Sex in p riso n on ly ha p pe ns on TV a nd in th e movies! Yeah, righ t. Let me tell you, sex goes on he re eve ry day. It goes o n in th e cells, the stairwe lls, the sh owers, a corn er in the ya rd-everywher e. T h e ad m inistrators of these places remain silent or deny it happens. Believe me, ho ney, it' goi ng on. I've sle pt with mo re men th a n are na med a nd n umbe red in th e Bib leO ld a nd ew Testament combin ed . An d most of 'em while locked up. otjust inma tes, eith er! I thin k it's impo rta nt to rea lize that we are, by defini tion, a nimals. As such, we h ave basic appetites: food, water, shelter-and sex. V1le are d riven to satisfy these h ungers at all costs. Being o penly gay, I'm frequendy hit Im ag in e on. that! I gotta tell ya', so m e of t h ese boys a r e th e me n some of us use d to d r ea m a b ou t: b ig, thi ck, c u t bod ies, an d too stupid to ca rry o n a real co n ve rsation. What mo re can a fag ask for? I get what 1 want, he gets wh at he wants, and I don't have to talk to him or cook breakfast in d1e morning! Cotta like that! L et me stop ba b bl i ng here an d ge t serious. Al l of us, inclu d ing the administ rators, kn ow wh at's u p . We can ignore it, but it's n ot going to c hange. Sex will no t go away. Due to th is fact, th e re are some important decisions to be made here. Fo urtee n years ago, sex was sex; noth ing much to worry abou t un less your herpes fl ared up. Sex can now mean death. Blow the wro n g dud e a nd end up d ea d o r with h epatiti s. Q u ite fr ank ly, n e it h er a p pea ls to m e . But th e ad ministrators' den ial is costing prisone rs their lives. With tha t in mind , h ow do a ny of us know wh o's sa[e and wh o's not? We d o n't h ave a clue! O n the street, at least two ca n grab a rubber, but no t in prison. Hey now, the re's a th oug h t: Sell condoms a t t h e co mmi ssa r y. Silly m e, th a t would mean th e st.-'lff would have to ackn owledge what's go ing o n. Fucking a n d suckin g wi ll go o n behi nd the walls and fences of eve ry prison in this nation fo r as lo ng as they exist. Isn't it ti me th e State ack nowledges it a nd does something to protect those ad ults who a re e ngaging in consensual sex wh ile locked up? Let me wrap this up with a warning to my q ueer bro th ers and sisters o ut there: P lease b e car eful wh o you' re doing. Jay Twidme-1~Baum fowa City, JA OLIVER by Richard Stratton INT. PRISO N CELL- DAY MOVE II O N: Billy a nd Eric do yoga exer cise . As t h ey stre tch in ri tua l m ove m e nt, bod ies g li ste nin g wit h swea t , th ey r e peat a mantra-l ike p h rase. BILLY/ ERIC Prison-monastery. Cloiste r-cave. T he ce ne is f r o m M idnigltl Exj;ress, th e classic dope sm ug- g le r 's pri so n h o rror movi e writte n by O liver Stone and direc ted by Ala n Pa rke r. The wo rds, prisonmonastery, cloiste r-cave, the concept conveyed by j uxtaposing those wo rds, a n d th e mantra-like re pe tition, sustain ed m e thro ugh more than one lo ng lo n e ly d ay in a p riso n cell. A prison i a mo naste ry, a cell a cloiste r-a cave a t the ce nter of th e universe. It is all in the mind, a ll in how you look at it: your vision. I we n t to see Midnight Express wh en it first came ou t in 1978. At the Lime, th at was what I did: I smuggled hash out of cou ntries like Le b a non a nd Turkey. Watchi ng the film, I fe lt my guts tighten with fear: th e sa m e fear I fel t evC I)' time I was a pproached by a cop o r a customs oflicer, the fear I was addicted to. I thought, This is too real. Get me out of herP. O li ve r Sto n e's film s do th a t to me. They make me feel as though I should ge t up a nd run before I ge t caugh t in the obsession he 's trying to exorcise. Bu t it is too late, I am riveted to the scat, glued to the screen , a lread y h e ld in thra ll by th e sam e obsessions. During the '80s, whe n mo,~es written and directed by Stone started coming out, I \\"as in cus!ody, held in maximum sec u rity fe dera l pens. Late at nig ht, in a smo ky, crowded cellblock TV roo m, I wa tch e d Scmface ( 1983, 28 PRISON LIFE written by Stone a nd d irected by Brian De Palma) with a tough audience, me n wh o knew bullsh it wh e n th ey saw it, me n who li ved th e co ke-and-powercrazed criminal life depicted by Stone's main character, Tony Mo ntana. The convicts were mesmedzed; th e re was none of the usual jeering and hooti ng provoked by m ost Hollywood rendition of their expetience. But it was Salvador (1986), the n Platoon ( 1986), th at re ally got to me. Afte r wa tc hin g b o th film ·, I we n t bac k to my ce ll a nd hit th e bunk nearly wrung o ut from the e motions I' d fe lt. I was e nrage d , co nfused , inspired. Most of all, I wanted outout o f fucking priso n so I could join th e fig ht. I saw myse lf as a prisone r of war, a de dica ted writer searc hi ng for truth , a revolutionary burning with h atre d fo r th e sa n ctimo ni o us a rrogance and hypocrisy of a gove rnme n t t h a t cou ld wage war in Vietn a m to defen d freed om and lock me up for 25 yea rs fo r smuggli ng pot. It was all re lated: pot, Vietna m, freedom, ou r lyin g government. And Oliver Stone was o n to it. I went to sleep wondering, \l'lw is this guy? How does he /mow about this shit ? One of the first things I did a fter I got out was to re nt Bon1 On the Fourth of july ( 1989) . A wee k la ter, Wall Street ( 1987). a me thing. I was b lown away. \!\la tchi ng T om Cru ise as para pl eg ic Ro n Kovic, I ba r e ly moved. It is th e incre dible inte n sity Stone manages to ge t actors to bring to the torme nted, compe lling charac- te rs h e creates that ma ke his films so enth ra lli ng. Tom Crui se has n eve r been as tightly wound since, Mich ael Douglas never so despicable. In Talk Radio (1989), wh ic h I also saw o n video, Stone began to reveal his ha nd as a c ine matic virtuoso. Even as I watched the movie on a TV screen , I h ad a disorienting se nse of having been granted omniscient point of view, as though I were seeing each frame from somewhere in th e midd le of the action. The Doors, re leased in 1991, was the first Stone-auteured fi lm I saw on the big screen. It is the o n ly way to ex pe rie n ce that movie. Big. Loud. Overpowering. Re lentless a nd d a ngerous. Excessive. Like a rock co ncert, like a Doo rs concert, like a Doors concert o n acid, a nd like the times: the sixties. Tha t's what I like about Stone's fihns-the danger. H e h as a dan gero us visio n , a vision of c h aracte r forged through life-anddeath risk-taki ng, excess, despair an d courage. Stone h as su c h co urage, as a n a rtist a nd as a man. An o n ly c hild, son of a well-off J ewish businessman and a loving, Ro m a n Ca th o li c, Fre n c h moth er, Stone was a Park Avenue kid an d a Yalie. At twe ntyone, he quit it all and went off to war. After a bitter fight with his parents, h e dropped out of college, joined tl1e army and shipped out to Vie tn am as an infantryman. I unde rstand t h e impul se. I'm sure it came mo re from needing to discover himself than from wan ting to kill communists. I've oft.e n wonde red how I would h ave handled combat. I wou ld h ave gone to Vietnam had I not been turned on to pot and radicalized at early age. Ye t th e question remains: Would I have had the courage to fight and kill? Stone volunteered for co mba t, h e was wounded twice a nd awarded the Bronze Star for bravery. H e smoked Vi etna m ese pot every d ay for months, ate acid , listened to the Doors a nd we nt out hunting Vietcong. How's that for pushing the surreal envelope? No wonder the man is so far o ut there- far e no ugh, indeed, to discover it was a ll a horrible mistake. As a filmma ker, Ston e has bee n creating powerful testaments to an apocalyptic vision of Ame rica tllat was galvanized fig hting guerrilla war high o n psychedelics in the jungles of Vie tnam. And tllen came ]FK (1991). ever h as a f ilm excited such inflamed, polar co n troversy. 'eve r has a big budget Holl ywood movie had such an impact on ou r national psyc h e. O nl y O live r Stone h as th e gu ts to m ake su ch a mov ie. On ly O li ver Stone h as the power a n d integrity as an artist to get such a fi lm made. At a tim e wh e n most of o ur esteemed artists have chosen th e easy way out, cowering before the keepers of the bottom line, Stone remains true to his heart, true to his instin cL~. true to his creative vision. We ll before the movie was shot, a pirated versio n of th e sc ri p t \Vas making the ro u nds and the vicio us guard dogs of our national mendacity were excoriati ng Stone for supposedly ta king liberties with histo ri cal fact. So what? I thought. Every great a rti st inte rprets so-ca ll e d rea lity. What mauers is t h e trut h of t h e artist's vision. JFK, all three-pl us hours, passed quickly before my eyes and resonated in my mind and solar plexus like a pot-i nduced p arano id fa ntasy. So many of us who grew u p during the sixties are victims of the same obsessions. It's all a fucking conspiracy! Hadn ' t I a lways known that? True, the cocksuckcrs who arc co nspiring to m a nipul a te history don't know what th e fuc k they are doi n g. But th at only makes it worse. From the time 30-odd years ago (30 very odd years ago) when I took tha t first hit and journeyed forever o ne toke ove r th e li n e, I knew wh y th e stuff was illegal. You get high and you begin to question reality. T ha t is what happe n ed to O liver Stone. He got stoned a nd he 's n ever been the same since. No ne of us will eve r be th e sa me. ot Newt G ingrich , nor H u nte r T h o mp so n. Not J o h n Le nnon , God rest h is soul. Not Ken Kesey, nor Robe rt Ston e. (An oth e r sto n e d St o n e.) Not Bob Dylan. Everybody must get stoned. Only Bill C linton is exe mpt, still stee ped in bullshit because he didn 't have the guts to inhale. Sure, Bill. The a~tc rn oon I we nt to see Natural 13om Killers, I thought it might be interesting to smoke a liuJc Ulster Co unty we e d to ge t in th e p roper frame of mind. It should come as no su rprise that some of the best pot in the world comes from th e hill s around Woodstock, ew York. I got o ut o f the cab, lit up a j o int, took a couple of hits, then stroll ed around the corner and into the movie theate r. Moments into th e ope n in g sequence I was grippin g both a rmrests and ho lding on for d ear sanity. Holy sltil, I tho ught, this is madness. I'm losing it. I 'm too high. Th e vertiginous c in ematography, the ball e ti c viole nce, th e ha llucinatory colors and images dazzled me, scared me. Again I thoug h t I shou ld £lee th e th eater befo re I saw what Ston e wanted to show me about violence in America. I me t O liver Stone a couple of weeks la ter in a large, plush TV studio co n fe r ence room o n W. 5 7th street in Manhattan. We were both th ere as guests o n differe nt segments o f Politically incorrect, a cable TV show o n Co m edy Ce ntra l. Ston e h ad agreed to meet a fter I se nt h im a few copies of Prison Life witll a note saying I wanted to ta lk with h im about his prison experie n ces. I had b een warned that Sto n e liked to insult people when he first me t the m as a way o f t hr owi ng th em o ff guard. I wasn ' t worried about th at. One thing nearly a d ecade of prison will do for you is teach you how to hand le c h arged meetings with me n who like to come o n as h eavies. Sto n e wasn't at all p ompo u s or in s ultin g. H e was intense, d ressed in black, wired, lean and restless as a n outlaw in a hold ing cell. But h e was essentially cool, sincere, it seem ed to me. I had the feeling that he is still o ut l'oga in flrisonfr01n Midnight Express. PRISON LIFE 29 the re roaming arou nd in so me h airy state of co nscio usness see ki ng selfdiscovery at all costs. We b ega n b y ta lkin g ab o ut A4irlnigltt Extn·ess. Th e sc rip t wo n Stone an O sca r and j um p-s ta rted his ca reer. "Midnight f xjHess was a he ll of a story. The movi e was done o n a very low budget. lot much was ex pec ted fro m it at that time. It was a big surprise, you know, a sleeper hit. It cost about tJuee or fo ur milli on dolla rs to ma ke and mu st have g rossed o n e hund red milli o n do llars in te rnationally. It put me on the board, as wel l as Ala n Parker. "I wish they h ad shot the e nding tha i was scripte d , the o riginal e nding wh ich was his escape thro ug h Greece. Billy actually got o ut without killing a nybody. T he re \vas a c hange, drama ti c lice n se, beca use th ey d idn't have tJ1e mo ney to shoot I he overla nd escap e t h r o ug h Tu r key to G reece, wh ic h has a Great E. ·cape kind o f feeling, so tJ1ey e nded it with Billy walking o u t of the prison afte r he committed a murde r in order to give it some dramatic excite men t. We felt he had to kill th e fat g uy, th e co mma nda nt wh o ran th e p r iso n , to get o ut. Ac tua lly, the fat guy was a lot funn ier U1<111 how he's piclllrcd in th e movie. H e's ve l")' sole m n a nd serio us in th e movie. The Turks arc ve ry fu n ny to me because their p rison syste m is so screwed up. vVh c n we we re shooting in th e priso n , we would p an down one cell , sec so me poor g uy wh o's rcall}' suffering- skinn y and gau nt. In the nex t cell a nd you'd sec anoth er Turk h avin g h ookers a nd business cronies in a nd making d eals and runnin g contra cts from jai l. ome o f the m lived in suites, had a ll the good food. You co uld bu y anythin g in a Turki s h pri so n . Th e wh o le p o int about the relativity o r tJ1e syste m was a little bit lost in the movie . Every thing was fo r sal e - sex. Yo u cou ld h ave co n cubines in . We we re acc used o f sen sa ti o nalism and racism . Amn esty l nte rmui onal h as ahva}'S rega rded Turkey as one of the great abusers o f huma n r ig hts in thi s regard. Their priso n sys t e m is notorious ly bad. Yea rs la ter, whe n the Turkish priso ne r made th at extrao rdinary fi lm Yol, a bo ut his life in a T urkish prison, he actually sho t it in a prison. 'The ho mosexuality, I d ropped. It wasn 't even in th e book, bu t I son of se n sed that was go in g on . Colu mbia in 1978 was in no positio n to d o a mainstream film with a g uy buttfuc kin g o r be ing buttru ckecl. It wou ldn ' t have go ne clown ." I asked Stone what it was that drew him to the subject matter of prison. " I h ad wr itten Platoon a year before Midnight Exj1ress as an o rig ina l screen play. Everyone h ad read t hat sc reenplay, a nd they were impressed wi th the writi ng but they d idn't want t o ma ke th at m ovie. So they , Col umbia , hired me to g ive it a sh ot on this film. I was d rawn to the mater ial innatel y because I think it's a great sto ry abo u t justice a nd inj u st ice, the p ri so n system . An d I was drawn to the story because o f my own ex pe ri ence in prison, whi ch I used to g ive it the se nse of visce ra l p ro tes t. Th at al l comes from t he sense of shock a nd ou trage I ha d whe n I came back fr om Vietnam. La te i n l ovembcr of '68 I was busted. I had Vie tnam ese grass on me . Couple of o unces. You kn ow, it was g reat grass, wh y not bring so m e ho m e? I was d oing it on a steady bas is. I go t hooked over there. In a n ice way, not in a destructive way. " I ended up fr eakin g out in America, taki n g acid on th e West Coast. I just h ad to get o ut or t h is country. I wasn ' t p repa red to com e ho me yel- l had to cletox. I was not decompressed from the war yet. So I crossed ove r into Mex ico a nd partied clown there because they were a little BPIow: Tommy Lee j ones as a rlt'mngnl warrlt'n. OpjJosilt': Woody f-lare/son bust.\ out of Statroil/e. From 30 PRISON LIFE alltral Born Ki llers. diiTe rent from me. I fe lt more at home in Mexico. On the way back, I was busted at the border with pan of those two ounces o f Vietnamese grass. J<jnd of stupid o n my part. So th e FBI cam e and got me-handcuffs an d all that. I was cha rged with fede ra l smuggling. Nixon had j ust declared a drug war o n th e borde r. It was the first drug war, which became the precursor to everything that's happen ed since tJ1en. The FBI came and got me and booked me und e r fede ra l smu gg li n g c h a rges, which was serious. The guys in jail told me that if I got one judge, I'd see tJuee years' probation and pro bably get it suspe nded. They said tJ1e o tJ1 er guy' ll give you twenty years a nd you 'll have to do at least five. It was like a live-to-twenty-year sentence. That was the law, five lO twenty years fo r drug smuggling. So th a t 's wh a t th ey booked m e o n. Mugged me and eve rythi ng. Th ey paraded me through d own town San Diego in w e daylight into w e co urtroom for th e indic tme nt, ch ained lO the b a r s. Th is was ten days o ut of Vietnam. I neve r go t to make m y phone call. It was a mess. T he prison was a fucking mess. It was overpacked , people were sleepi ng on the floor. It was San Diego Coun ty J ail, a b ig in nercity prison and it was j a mmed wiw people, mostly Blacks and Hispanics, all up o n drug charges. Everyone was young , my age or a li ttle bit o lde r. They a ll hung in gangs. I talked to a lot of w ese guys and I was just amazed. It o pe ned my eyes. Kids had been in the re for six months and they hadn ' t even goue n a lawyer to co me and see them . It was like ha rd Lime, but it was preli mina ry to the trial. "I th ink I h a d sp e nt abo ut two wee ks in th ere and still couldn ' t get my ca ll in. You ' re suppose d to be a llowed a ph o n e call, ri ght? I ke pt writing no tes. Atlirst I d idn ' t want to call my fa th e r, I just wa n ted to deal with it myse lf. I thought m ayb e th e public defender would co m e an d I could work som e thing o ut with him myse lf. But h e \vo uld n ' t sh o w up . That' s th e scene from Midnight ExjJress. Waitin g for som e lawyer to get yo u out. "Evenllla lly, because o f the no tes, w e guards started to pay a little mo re atte nti o n to m e. I got a n o te o ut, "Pl e ase , I ' m a Vie tn a m vetera n , I have n 't h ad my phone call. " Fina lly, one d ay th ey let me make my phone call and I called m y fa th e r in ew Yo rk a nd sa id I was ba c k from Vie tnam. I hadn ' t even told him I was back from Vie Ln am and here I was in j a il on dru g s muggl i ng c h a rges. Within a few hours, tJ1e lawyer showed up because my father had called and tJ1 e lawyer knew th ere was going to be a payme nt in wis matter. He showed up and he was very chee•-y, like the fe l- low in lhe movie. Then he started to wo rk o n th e process o f geui n g me bailed o ut. "U ltima te ly, to make a lo ng story sho rt, I got o u t and tJ1e charges we re dismissed in th e inte rest of justice. I had to stick a round San Diego fo r a week o n a probatio n kind of thing. The lawye r implied th at somebody in th e D.A.'s o ffi ce pull e d th e fil e. I se n se d that mon ey was c h a n g in g h an d s. The re was som e thin g go in g o n. I was so n of detoxed and cleaned out, whatever the word is, a nd I made it back to ew York. Welcome back to 1 ew Yo rk. It was a we ird re turn . I was twenty-two years o ld ." "There was that g r ea t priso n sce ne in JFK," I said, "whe n Garrison goes to Ango la to ta lk to th e Kevin Baco n c harac ter. And now, with th e horre ndo us ri ot sequence at th e e nd o f Natu ral Born Killers, yo u 've go ne bac k into prison . Tell us what it was like shooti ng tha t riot sce ne." "We sh o t Natuml Born Killers at Statcville in llli nois, which is a ro ugh priso n . It's to ug h. S ta te vi li e was, I think, 70% o r 80 % vio le nt criminals. It 's th e h eavies t st ate priso n in Illin o is. A nd I think 80 % o r 90 % Blac k. So, it was a ve ry interestin g view o f Chicago. I know it's a viole nt priso n , but I loved the way the ward e n ha ndled it. He was so cool, just kind o r saying, 'They've got it,' mea n- PRISON LIFE 31 in g th e priso ne rs. ' It's th e ir thing.' me n wh ich cost us more. But still it were lig hting amongst on e anoth e r He did the minimum, he see med to worked out. The real sense of viole nce and th ere was a killing wh ile we were g ive e n o ug h leeway to play a ro und that you have is those guys goi ng mrts t h e r e. A nd th e n th e r e we r e th e a nd fuck up. I didn 't notice a h eavy on o ur stununen-beating the shit out Aryans too, fucking crazies. So there d egree of re pressio n , which I saw cer- of the m and e njoying it, climbing the was this who le crazy mi x. We h ad fairtainly in Arkansas and in some of th e walls, ye lling , screaming. Throughout ly good re la tion s. It's a be autiful o ld th e film , yo u ' ll see rea l priso n e rs. priso n , visua lly exciting. The roundTexas prisons l have visited." "Th e T ommy Lee .Jo nes c ha rac- Sometim es we we nt to th e ro und- h ouse is in c re dibl e . He re we were te r in Natural Born Killers was wi ld ," I house, the real ro undho use, th a t's a runnin g rampant in it. C laudi a said. "Amaz in g. T o mm y was g re at. h e ll o f a sce n e. Wh en yo u sec th e Schiffer came to the set o ne d ay to do Sort of every con's worst n ig htm are un cut ve rsion on lase r d isk, th at ver- a doc um e n tary o n us. Schi ffer, this ve rsion of some insa ne gcc k warden sio n \viii have the uncut riot, which is gorgeou s Germa n model, is walking yo u just know is in th e re because he an a mazing scene. People get tJ1rown down th e tier a nd all th ese black guys in ovens. It's all over th e to p, it's nuts. a re like , ' Wh a t th e fuck '. Th e g uy really e njoys inOicting pa in." "Yea h ? Yo u liked him ?" Sto n e It's li ke the music sets in and the riot who runs th e priso n system in Illinois asked with a g rin. "In Statevi lle they goes on for a bout fifteen minutes. The was reall y cool, liked to sec these guys have fun. They seemed to be had three maj or ga ngs, I be lieve. We censors went crazy when they saw that. shot in several wings of the prison. We "A few times during shooting the pleased tha t the re wasn ' t a ny h ad good coop e ra tio n . The warde n ligh ts went o ut. There were dam age . We were in a lo ng was great, actua ll y. He was th e oppo- a lot o f storms an d tim e, shoo Lin g ri o ts y' kn ow, si te of th e Tommy Lee .Jones c harac- t h e cleca nd it was toug h . I've been to ter. He was a ver1' su·ong guy, he wasn' t a lot of prisons because I've all th at popular, but he kn ew the resea rche d o th er films a bo ut right way. He le t th e prisone rs prisons. go. H e let th e m h ave th a t "I n 1980, I resea rc hed edge. A lot of th e priso ne rs Baby Boy, which is a beauti ful mad e c racks a bo ut the joint. prison novel. And I went to all I'm no t going to say it was a the prisons in the SoutJ1. l went perfect prison, but I think tha t to Pa r chman , and I we nt to th a t prison was we ll run. Arkan sas a nd Ala ba m a a nd Imagine a llowing us to shoot a Mississippi-tJ1at's Parchman. I riot in the re, with rea l prisonwe nt to Angola at that point e rs. It's pre tty mll.ly. Most pristoo. It's a good prison, if tJ1erc o n s wou ld neve r a llo w th at. is such a thing, it's a much betBut Stateville did a nd I thin k ter prison th a n so m e o f the that ultimately it \vas a good othe rs I've seen. For example, I t hing becau se th e pri so n e rs re me mber Arka nsas was horrigot paid. We also put in a new b le beca u se th e prison was ca b le TV syst e m . We hired totally regimented, run military prisone rs to work on the film . style where you walk a long the T hey offe red us, I think, a bou t e dge o f a wa ll. You ' re not 1,000 priso ners a nd we used a ll o wed to eve n wa lk in th e most of the m. In the first part idd lc. You sh ut up a nd yo u o f the film , we le t th e m usc quie t. There were all these prop g uns a nd bea t up o ur lcs. I feel like that's the kind of stunt me n . They loved it, they that's going to blow." we re having a ba ll. Th en the It was nearly time for us to press got involved, they hea rd ~~~~~~~~~~fllifl~~~~~fl~· go to the gree n roo m to preabout it, a nd th ey o f c ourse p a re for the ta ping . The segwe nt nuts. It hit th e pa p e rs. m e nt I was to d o was about The n they closed us d own. The makin g prison s to u g h e r . l governor's office said, 'Wh at is aske d Stone wh a t he th o ug ht thi s? Priso n e rs a r e wa lking a bout this who le prison bui ldaround ma king a movie? What up , th e c r ea ti o n o f an if th ey escape?' Th e usual. So th ey trr c rty we nt o ut. Our cre w go t Am e ri ca n gu lag, a massive pri so ncl osed u s dow n , s to pped u s from spooked because in th e d a rk , a cou- ind ustria l complex. shooting. It was pre tty h a iry because ple o f tJ1c m got grope d . So th ey saw " I t ' s abso lute bull shit. I t's we were facing a big linanc ial defi cit th e re a l th in g, y' kn ow. Wh e n t h e absolute ly the wrong way to go a bout h e re. We sh ot some o th e r stuff in lig hts go ou t, th ings ge t we ird. I like it. I think it's fascism. The who le conChi cago. Meanwhi le, we ke pt negotiat- Statcville beca use you have no securi- ce pt o f fearin g crime and crea ting a ing with th e prison board to get bac k ty. I mean , once you ' re in , you ' re in . mo nster o ut o f crim e is pa rt o f th e in Statcville. Finally, th ey made a new They can take you out wh e never they madn ess o f th e media. The media has dea l with us. We could usc the prison- wa n t. T h ey co uld h ave take n th e c r eated t h e fear o f c rim e. C rim e ers, but we h ad to segrega te th e m who le movie crew, if' they had wanted itself, violen t crime, has re main ed th e from the weapons, rubber weapo ns. It to. They kn ew that we were ra n - same, according to Bureau of.Justi ce made it a littl e m o re co mpl ica te d so m a b le, but th ey we r e coo l. Th e statistics, or is actua lly decli ning." because we n eeded to usc more stunt ga ngs-o n e Sp a nish , one Black"But is it th e media creating tJ1e 32 PRISON LIFE fear of crim e, or is it th e media covering wh at t h e p oli ti cia n s i n Wash ington are pushi ng- th e ir agenda?" I said. "On ce we lost the Evil Empi re as a n en e my, they n eed ed a r ep la ce m e nt, so m e b ogey man to kee p th e public in fear and get out the vo te. Crime, prisone rs, prisonsit's a natural. ' Le t's pic k o n th e m . They can't vote. 1 o bod y gives a ·hit about th em.' To get e lected. to get ree lected , they were in a fre nzy to see wh o co uld p ass the toughest laws. 'Th ree st rikes, you ' re o ut,' a nd a ll that crap. The medi a picks up o n this. The media covers it. " "1 o, I think th e m ed ia c rea ted this monster beca use they mad e a lot o f money selling crime shows during th e '70s and '80s. It's abo ut money. T hey crea ted th e concept of the bad g uy a nd th ey terro ri zed th e public with it. The lo cal n ews is now taking over. Eve rywhe re I go, th e local ne ws is u·acking a crim e a round the clock. Th e average g uy stays a t h ome, the passive consumer watches TV and he d oesn ' t want to go out to the supermarket, he wants to stay home and wa tch the bad guys o n TV, which is te rrifying. He like it, he wan ts to see th e vio le nce. But h e doesn ' t want it d o n e to him . Therefo re, yo u h ave a more passive and consum erist society. U ltimate ly, th ey don ' t wa nt yo u to leave your h o use. You ca n sh o p on Ba r ry Diller's H ome Sh op ping 1 etwork. You can call everything in . Yo u can give them your credit card number for th e u nde rta ke r. You keep socie ty at bay-it's a r e pressed soc ie ty and it's a fear-ridden socie ty. No o n e think s for th e mse lves , t h ey can ' t think through the mi asma of images of crime a nd fear and danger." "Cert.-'1in ly Natural Bom Killers has been criticized fo r its attack upon the media," I said. "But I have to tell you, I didn ' t see it that way. To me, the movie was really about the culture of viole nce, th e idea that viole nce begets vio lence. Ours has always been a viole m society. We' re a nation founded upon viole nce. The murder of the Indian in the mm~e was for m e a metaphor of Am e rica destroying its he ritage by annihi lating ou r ind ige n o u s peo ple. You h ave Mickey coming in and d ropping forty pounds of red mea t in th e middle of the Ooor, Rodney Dangerfield g roping hi s daug hte r . By th e wa y, that seque nce in the film , the bizarre, overthe-top, sit-<:o m parod)' with Rodney as the lecherous o ld man was ab olutely amazing. But what I think the movie's sa0 ng is: Violence begets violence. This is my whole spiel. You want to create a class of supe r-crim inals, peop le wh o have no feelings? Treat the m like animals, and that's how they ''~ II behave. I d idn' t see your movie as an indictment of the media so much as an indicunent of the culture of violence." Sto ne n ash ed me his e ngaging gap-toothed g rin. He took o ut a pen a nd b egan sc ribb ling notes. "vVh ere th e h e ll we r e you wh e n I n ee d ed you?" he asked and laughed. "I think you 've said it better than I have in all my ime1views. I wish I'd talked to you before th e movie came ou t. I think you've summ ed it up in a way that I've bee n struggling to say. The film works on a level which is so ha rd fo r peo ple to get. It's a harsh fi lm. It's a savage film. Peo ple say they like it o r they d o n't like it. I say that it's in·elevant if you like it o r don ' t like it-it's: Did yo u ge t it or didn ' t yo u ? It's b eyo nd whethe r yo u liked it. Wh o likes this? You can ' t say you li ke this kind of cultu re. It's a crazy cul ture. It's a culture gone to hell. " A few weeks afte r the inte n~ e w, I rented Heaven and Em·th (1 993), th e third-with Platoon and Born on th e Fourth ofjuly- in Stone's Vietnam u·ilogy. I wanted to round out his oeuvre, get the full sense of where he's been and ponder where he mig h t be going. I watched the film alone late a t night, the n went to bed to dream o n it. Stone conu·asts the beauty of pastoral Vie tn am, th e wisdom of its simple, indomitable people, with suburba n Ame r ica, sweet la nd of TV an d obesity. The film is about karm a, soul debt, as Buddhists call it. Ultima te jus ti ce. The p ai n and h o r ror yo u inflict upon othe rs will come back to you. H is fi lms a re seditious. I wonder if th ey will allow Natural Born Killers to be s h ow n in pri so n. It sh o u ld b e re quired viewing in Washington . The riot seque nce is your wake-up call. In the n a tio n 's priso ns, Ston e's nig h tm arish , paranoid vision of Am e ri ca PL h as become reality. Left nnrl Above: T wo stills from the 1·iot scene in Nawral Born Ki llers. PRISON LIFE 33 I ._ ... f -- I ~ l ' • rl ~I ~,'I ' LOOK.E.E: HERE:, C.ONV\ 'I'\JE.. G:,OT SOMETHING THAT'LL INTEREST YOU. 34 PRISON LIFE AND "rON IC:.HT SHE' S GONNA BE WITH ME. PRISON LIFE 35 by Karen Cantrell h en Prison L ife a nn ounced its fi rst an nu a l Art Be hind Ba rs Co ntes t la s t J une, we had no ide a wha t to expect. vVe kn ew th e re was a lo t o f tal e nt be hind bars, but th e response we go t was mind blowing. By th e Decem be r 15 deadline , we had accumulate d over I ,000 poems, 200 essays, 200 s h o rt sto ri es, 125 wo t-k of vis u a l a n , a n d 25 drama entrie ·. Enoug h work to fill an office. Poetry a lone grew in to fou r stacks each the size o f a sma ll ch ild. T o cele brate th e g rea t respo nse, we d ecided to throw a pan y a t Art In Gene ra l, a n ot-fo r-profi t 1 ew York ga ll e ry, o n December 19. Ex-cons fro m Cate ri ng With Convicti o n-pan of Fresh Stan , a n orga nizati on dedicated to h e lpin g ex-offende rs find work o n th e o utside-provid ed th e food a nd drink. After th e ma il a rri ve d on Dece mber 15, the edi t oria l s taff pull ed o ut the visual e ntries and started j udging . We disc ussed and conside red, argued and lo bbied for the wi nn ers . A ra nge or t hemes an d forms e me rged: impri o nmen t, ce nsorship , na ked wome n , wi ld animals, ta ttoos, g raffiti, a nd ma ke-d o an. O n th e clay o f th e party, S te ve Las h ley, o ur ass is tant art direc tor , a nd I spe nt th ree h o urs ha nging th e artwork am id mo re arg uing an d lo bbying. I a rg ue d for hanging th e show thematically. Stc,·e lobbied fo r visual stre ng th , some thing about the room's W 36 PRISON LIFE ax is a nd hang ing the larger, d a r ke r works so that th ey would a tu·act peop le towat·d the sm all er , lig h ter drawin g . We climbed ladde rs, measured the walls, th e wo rks a nd each o ther unti l we could agree o n ho w the show sh o uld look. Ove r o ne h und red people attended th e show. We passed o ut ba llots to everyone as they stepped o rr the elevator a nd aske d the m to choose the ir to p three favorites. I feel safe in sayin g that the best artists wo n a nd th e honorable me ntions will n o t be left be h ind. We plan to use many o f the en tries in u pcomi ng issues. For wee ks b e fo re th e pa rty, we evalu ate d th e writing s ubmi ss io n s. T h e writing was so rte d into"good ," "pre tty good " an d "reject" piles. Authors of th e r ejec te d piece h a d th e ir wo rk re turn e d ( if the y in c lud e d a SASE. ) A uth o rs o f th e "pre tty goo d " r eceived a le u er of e ncourageme n t fro m the editors. We the n scaled the "good " down to o ur first, seco nd and third place winn e rs with several honorable me nti ons. Like th e visual e ntries, we plan to spread o ut the good works through seve ral issues. If you a lready have ideas for next year's contest, a wo rd to the wise fo r vis u a l entries: D o n ' t wo r r y abou t whethe r o r not your matc d a ls a rc to p g rad e. Lun ch ack an, enve lope a n , handkerchief art, recycli ng whateve r you can get yo ur ha nds on is a timehon o red prison tradition. One of o ur s urpri ses was t h e d ea rth of thr e e dim ensional works. Except for a pair o f illustrated Ray Bans, the re were no ca rved bars of soap, box co llectio ns, popsickle stick sculptures, or tapestries woven from u nraveled socks. Did you keep th ese things fo r yourselves? Fo r th e poe ts, we und e r ·ta n d wh ere you' re com in g fro m . Love, mothers, lover , time, prison , d reams a nd praye rs were th e most comm on the mes. Dozens of poe ms had "love" i n t h e titl e: "L ov in g A Co nvic t ," "U n see n Love," "Love Is," "Love Is Like,·· "Recipe for Love, " "So n g of Love," even "Tasty Love." 'Time" was th e seco nd fa vo rite titl e , alone or "Loc ked in T ime," "Prison of T ime," and oth ers. Titles like with "Prison " a nd "Priso n er" competed with "My Sm a ll Dark Ce ll ," "W hite Wa lls," "Prison Walls,"' "Locked In A Box," e tc. Fi c ti o n entries we r e prcuy d iverse, a ltho ugh we had to draw the line at the racist, para no id a nd o th erwise unbe lievable e nu·ies. But don ' t think we' re pansies. We like a li ttle d r ugs and sex a nd rock' n ' rollto spice up th e stori es as ne cessa r y a n d we ap prec ia te upbeat, co ping sli ces o f pri son life. 1 o nfi c t io n wr ite rs n a tur al ly fo cused o n problems with the sy te m a nd re ha bili tatio n. A big tha nks to all of you fo r making P1iwn Life's li rst Art Be hind Bars Conte t uch a g rea t success! First Place Aldo Saul Garrido CA State Prison, Norco "Untitled"* Second Place Enrique Ortiz Algoa Correctional, MO "Facets"* Third Place Paul Mulryan Lucasville "Untitled"* HONORABLE MENTIONS Douglas Berg Eastern Correctionat MD "Free at Last"* Janet Dolber Alderson Correctional, WV "Halls of Justice"* * mnning in this issue. (Below) Art 's 2nd Place winner Janet Galloway FPC Carswell, TX "Tiger" James Gooda ll Allen Correctional, OH "John H enry" Joseph Hernandez Green Haven, NY " You thicide" Kenneth Huskey CA Sta te Prison, San Obisco "First Storm" H. Loible Pelican Bay, CA "Lunch Sack Art" Thomas Lujan AZ Sta te Prison "Face in Cage"* Robert Madaus Ozark Correction al, MO "Sunglasses" Joaquin Maus Limon Correctional, CO "Nude"* John N ilsen Pelican Bay, CA "Mama Tried"* Scott Prado NHSP, NH "Untitled"* Ty Rekshynski Iowa State Prison "Untitled" Mark Smith LA State Prison "Beyond Reach"* C. Thompson USP Terre Haute, IN "Untitled "* Sergiio Voii Shawangunk Correctional, NY "Censored"* First Place Chester Cornman Missouri East Correctional "The Shot"* Second Place Benton Murray F.S. Correctional, GA "Lenny's Catch"* Third Place (tie) David-Michael Harding, Clinton Correctional, NY "The Cats of Savone" C.W. Pyle CA State Prison, Represa "Surrendering of Spirits" Second Place Patrick Nolan CA State Prison, Represa "Inside Reasoning" Third Place Derrick Corley Shawangunk Correctional, NY "Disciplinary Hearing" HONORABLE MENTIONS Jesse Campos CA State Prison, Crescent City, "And Justice For All" Lance E. Fleming New Folsom Prison, CA "The Tao of Darkness" David Wood Baker Correctional, FL "Chowhall Blues" HONORABLE MENTIONS J.C. Amberchele Canon City, CO "Bedbugger" Randall Cole Tiptonville, TN "A Learning Experience" Alex Friedman CCA/SCCC, Clifton, TN "The Information Man" Sam McBride CMF, Vacaville, CA "Frog's Song" Joseph Raymond Pulliam CA State Prison, Represa, CA "Weekend '}ass' Ensemble" ~ ~ ~" "u Jackson Stahlkuppe Dooly Correctional, GA "Please Don't Squeeze the Trigger, Charmaine" "' 0:: "E M ·= -5 co t:: d First Place t Precious Bedell ~ Bedford Hills Correctional, NY ~ "Pieces" Second Place (tie) Nathaniel Hardy Orient Correctional, OH "The Making of a Criminal" Jorge Antonio Renaud, Robertson, TX "Poets in Prison" Third Place Greg Waleski Arizona State Prison "Honor is Everything" HONORABLE MENTIONS Marc "Baruti" Bell Dixon P rison, IL "Cold, but True" First Place Ismael G. Santillanes N orthem NV Correctional "The Visit"* Second Place Pam Golinveaux ICIW, IN "Underground Clouds" Third Place Jorge Antonio Renaud Robertson Unit, TX "This Time, This Time" HONORABLE M ENTIONS ~ "' co "0 First Place Gregory J. McMaster MCF, Stillwater, MN "The Prison Toilet"* James Griffin Atascadero Sta te Prison, CA "Scream" Jackson Stahlkuppe Dooly Correctional, GA "Dear Eve" E. Todd Evanoff Central Utah Correctional "Down But Not Out!" Lance E. Fleming New Folsom Prison, CA "Yoga and Me" Daniel L. Gorton New Hampshire Sta te Prison "A New Hysteria?" Patrick Middleton, Ph.D. State Correctional, PA "The Autobiography of an American Criminal" Shep WA Sta te Pen, Walla Walla "A Pretense of Poverty's Defense" John Kline Towner, III Huntsville, TX "Not Less than Life" Charles Young USP Terre Haute, IN "Is the Crime Worth the Time?'' £ PRISON LIFE 39 The Prison Toilet J. by Gregory McMaster MCF, Stillwater, MN os t peo ple don ' t g ive a second th o u g ht to prisons un less, o f course, th ey a re in o ne, have a friend o r fami ly me mbe r serving time, o r wo r k in the g rowth business known as the inca rcera ti o n o f Ame ri ca. Even th ose o f us wh o break o ur daily bread and wrestl e our sleepless ni g hts away within th ese cages g ive li ttle thoug ht to the s u~j ec t of this story: the prison to ilet. De pen d ing o n how ma ny diffe re rn prisons a nd j a ils a man has see n, he may have come aero s a wide va riety of toilets. The re are th e standa rd porcelain toil ets, but these a rc often round instead of oval a nd a re built far stu rd ie r than th e ave rage h o usehold mode L Stainl ess steel toile ts are th e mos t common becau se, un like the po rcelain mod e ls, they can no t be broke n into pieces and can be bolted and faste n ed d own mo re securely. Stainless ste el mode ls include the to ile t-sink combinat ion unit sim ilar to that which is commonly fou nd in the wa shro o m of a c h a rte re d bus. In so me cases a porce lai n o r sta in less steel to i!ct is blocked in by ce me n t. A form is mad e a ro und th e toile t a nd the ce me nt is poured, leaving nothing visible other than the ve r)' top o f the toile t and the actual toilet bo wL If a man is unfo rtunate e nough to have bee n in a padded ccll, strip ce!l o r some oth er variatio n o f a n isola tio n ce!l, he may have co me ac ross th e eve r popular pipe, wh ich is no th ing more tha n a ho le in the lloor a bo ut four to six inches in d ia m e te r. Good luck u ing th at. For those m e n who have been in a riot o r lived in a facility during th e a fterma th of a rio t, thC)1 have probably used the plastic threc-ga!lon po uy bucket, wh ic h is sim ilar to wha t fam ilies take on ca mping trips except the re's no p lace to clump it. T ypi cally, wa te r rese rvo ir tanks a rc not built on the back of the toile ts, a nd oth e r th an th e tempora ry po uy bucke t, non e o f th e m wi!l have to ilet scat lid s o r cove rs. At least priso ne rs ca n ' t be accused o f not lift ing up or putting down th e scat. M 40 PRISON LIFE The priso n to ile t se rves a wide varie ty of uses othe r than fo r the obvio us bodily functio ns. So me uses wi ll shoc k the public's senses; o thers wi!l catc h eve n the m os t h a rde n ed co nvicts by surprise. Alth ough it's an e normous waste of' wate r, most prisone rs usc the ir toile ts as a u·ash can for unwanted food, to rn-up le tters, ca ndy wrappe rs, tissue pape r , c iga rette bu tts, e tc. l f someth ing fi ts o r can be made to fit, it usua!!y ends up getting ll ushed. The prison to ile t is a lmost always the o nlr c hair in a ma n 's ce!l (oth e r tha n his bed) a nd is o fle n used as such by h im o r a visiti ng g uest. Many priso ne rs p refe r siuing o n th e ir toilets whi!c ha nd lin g co ntraban d in c a se the re's a surp r ise vis it fro m a guard. rr need be, they can instantly £lush th e items in qu esti o n . In m os t cases, th e g ua rd is going to look tl1 e other way si mply because you arc o n th e toile t. The visual effect of having yo ur pa nts down arou nd yo ur ankles always hc!ps. Many me n fee l t h e toi le t i · th e m os t co mfortab le re adin g s pot i n th eir cell , and mo re th an a few have used it as a masturbation sea t whil e loo kin g at so m e gi rl ie m agaz in e. A "Untitlnl, ··by C. Th omjJson from U.S.P. Trn-e Ha ute, IN. game board , such as for c hess, or any suitabl e flat surface ca n turn a toi let into an all-aro und work be nch. It's a ste pping stool to the higher recesses of a cell a nd a workout d evice for th o ·e wh o are athl e ti cally incli n ed. Many prison cells have no mirrors or r e fl ective s urfaces in them. Inte nti onal or not, a nd de pending on how ma ny h ours a day are spe nt co nfi ned to the cell, a ma n could begin to expe ri e n ce senso ry depr iva ti o n. Not seeing u·ees, anima ls o r automobi les is o ne thing, but n eve r seeing yo urself is anoth e r. The man in solita ry co nfin e m ent qui c kl y discove rs th a t h e can see himself re fl ecte d in his to ile t wate r. Just as a child peers into a still po nd, a d esolate p risone r can look into th e to il et bowl a nd ide ntify wi th himself again. For reasons unknown to me, priso ners spit wiLh an abnorm a l freque ncy. Wh ile pacing back and fo rth in a sma ll cage, th e toile t makes a pe rfect spittoon. ince our a ncestors lived in caves, man h as a lways fo und creati ve uses fo r fire. Priso n ers arc no different. Th e r im of th e sta inles steel bowl makes a n excellen t fireplace with a ll o f th e re mna nts being flushed at th e e ncl . Ass istin g in the fi replace c once pt is the fact that most cells come e quipped with a bui lt-in a ir ve n t on th e wa ll be hi nd th e toi le t or in th e ceiling above it. The to ilet ca n a lso be used as a re fri gerato r o r ice che t. On a hot, swelte ring clay, fresh toile t water can be quite a bit coole r th an th e o utside a ir. A ca n o n of milk o r a boule o f soda can be easily c hill ed. Some priso n s h ave ice m achines in the c e ll blocks, usually pa id fo r by th e priso ners th e mselves. A ho m e made lid of a lmost a ny kind turn s a toile t into a pe rfect ice chest. Whe th e r it's lo ng-term seg regatio n , iso latio n or a ge n e ra l prison loc k-d ow n , th e re co m es th e tim e when most prison ers fi nd the mselves co nfined to the ir cells fo r days and even wee ks at a tim e . These in-cell con finement pe ri ods a r e usua ll y acco mpa ni e d by a lack of clo thin g exchanges or laund ry service. Yes, sir, ladies a nd ge ntl e me n , thi is whe re the to il e t bowl beco m es a was hin g machin e. Usc a li LLie sh a m poo fo r soap , and socks and unde rwear ca n be scrubbed up real nice. If a man can get hold of some inks or dyes, he can usc the toilet bowl as a soaking tub to change the color of his clotl1es. T he same principle a lso applies for bleaching clothes and pre-soa king. Sitting back o n the bed with some crumpl ed u p balls of pa pe r, the to ilet sudde nly becomes a basketball hoop. "He shoots and he scores!" At tim es the priso n toile t becomes th e a ll-purpose recreation ce nte r. So far, tl1e lighte r side of tl1e prison toil et a nd iLS mu ltiple uses has been discussed . 1 ow it's tim e to di sc uss th e darker side. Prisons always have a darker side, and so do the ir toileLS. During a pr·ison riot, a toile t can lite ra lly save a ma n 's life. RioLS mean fi r e a n d p r iso n fir es me a n tox ic smo ke. There are a lso the multi lUde o f gasses that a re used to qu e ll th e ri ot. By itself, e ithe r th e smoke o r the gas can make bre ath ing d iffi c ult. Together, th e two can form a deadly combin atio n . Little known to m ost prisoners is th e fac t that ever)' time a toile t is flushed , fresh air comes in to th e bowl. By covering yo ur head with a bla nke t o r towe l a nd placing your "The man in solitary confinement quickly discovers that he can see himself reflected in his toilet water." h ead in th e to il et bowl , yo u ca n receive a blast of fresh ai r eve r)' Lime you flush. Most people wo ulcln ' t conside r a to ile t to be a te leph o n e, but th a t's exacLiy wha t prisone rs use the m for in cases o f e m e rge n cy or whe n o th e r fo rms o f co mmuni cati o n a re thwa rteel. Plumbin g pipe s are basica ll y e mpt}' exce pt fo r when a to ile t h as b een fl ushed . T h e on ly ta n di n g wate r in th e sys te m is in th e to il et bowl. Mos t o f thi s wate r ca n be scoo p e d o ut wi th a b owl o r c up. 1 aw ra ll y, bo th parties wh o wish to communicate must re move th e water from th e ir bowls. Once this ha bee n acco mpli sh e d , a di r ect li n e ex is ts through th e pipes a nd vo ices co me th rough with a mazi ng clarity. If using the toi let as a telep ho ne is a bit stra nge, th e n "going fishin g" is total ly b izarre . De pe ndin g o n h o w isola ted a man is a nd what his needs are, his toilet bowl a nd Lhe connecting p lum bing ca n be his life l in e. Whatever ca n fit throug h the pipes can be passed through th e pipes with surpri sing case. As commonly portrayed in priso n movies, the c urve in the pipe of the toilet bowl is frequently used as a hiding spot for co n traband. If a man uses his toilet as a comm u nication a nd transportation highway, you can bet Ll1a t he keeps it not on ly clea n, but in most cases immacula te. Th e rest of his cell m ight be a shambles, but a ma n 's to ile t can li tera ll y shin e . Upon m ovi ng into a new cell, he wi ll thor o ug hl y sc rub it before using it for even basic bodily functio n s. De pendi ng on the prisone r , h is to ile t m ay be c lea n e r th an those found in the finest hote ls o r in th e h o m es o f the m os t fastidi o u s ho usewives. A man can be very protective a nd possessive o f his to ilet. He m ay be emertain ing a visito r from th e othe r end of the cellblock who n eeds to urina te. "Well, tl1a t's just too da m n bad, a nd you h ad beuer start walki ng now because you' re not using m ine," he'll probab ly say. Some pri so n e r s will ac tu ally ki ll a nd die for each o th er, but never o nce sha re the ir toileLS. While visiting a noth e r prisoner's cell, a ma n will give the to ile t a visua l once-over before using it as a cha ir. Th e occ u pa nt of the ce ll may even o ffe r th e visitor his bed as a seat whil e he sits o n the toilet. Or, th e visitor migh t just be told to stand. If out visiting and a n individual is grossed-o ut by a d irty toi le t, he will suggest tl1at it be cleaned. He may even volumecr to d o it himself. !a ny prisoners discourage visito rs in what they co nsider to be their p rivate domai n , thus avoiding con fro ntati ons of th is nature. Living in a sma ll cage is one tl1i ng. Living in a sma ll cage with a toile t as a co nstant com pan io n is ano th e r. For tl10se prisoners who spend most, if not all, of their days confined to the ir cells, having a toilet for a roomma te creates certain d ifficulties. The average prison cell is set up with o pen faced bars on the fron t, the bed ru n ni ng clown th e length o r a sid e wall, wi th th e toile t on the back wall. Due to th e narrowness of th e cell and the extreme ly limi ted floor pace, the toilet is usually within twelve inches o f the bed , wh ich is abou t three in ches hig h e r th a n the toilet. Many me n ch oose to sleep witl1 thei r heads towards the back of th e cell. T h is is do n e fo r r easo n s of pr ivacy, t h e PRISON LIFE 41 reduced n o ise a t th e rea r of a ce ll , and feelings of safety. Unfo rtu nate ly, slee ping in this p os it io n res u lts in slee p ing right next to the to ile t. It's a m a n 's las t vi io n at n ig ht befo r e falling o ff to slee p and the first th ing he sees in the morning. It's as if e \·e•1' single morning he is wa king up from th e wo rst drunk of h is life with h is head nex t to th e toilet bowl. Whe n eaLing in his cell, a p risoner is fo rced to e ithe r use th e toile t as his seat wh ile he eaLS, or he can sit o n his bed with th e toile t in plain view as he e nj oys h is c ui sin e . T h e re 's n o way around it. With every single meal, the to ile t re mind s him that he is in prison. Priso n to ile ts o ffe r n o p ri vacy whaLSoevcr. Wh ile siu ing o n the toile t, a man is in clear vie w of a nyone walking by h is cell. This most imperso nal inu·usio n takes so me ge lling used to, especia lly wh en fe male gu ard s work in th e a rea. It is a maz ing h o w a bas ic bod ily fun ction and the usc of a toile t ca n promo te im cnsc feelings of rage, hum il iatio n and ind ig n a t io n. T h e prison toile t becomes a n une xpected c h alle nge to a m a n 's c harac te r a nd sense of dece ncy. H onornblf' J\ll rnl ion: ''i'vlnma T ried,·· by.fohu Nilsm, Pf'limn Boy, CA. 42 PRISON LIFE Even if no o ne sees, more than a few peo ple know whe n a man i using his to ile t. o so un d goes unheard . The sma ll cells se rve as ec ho chambe rs a nd carry th e no i es of urina tion a nd d efecatio n to all. vVhc n th e toile t is flu shed , d a m n n ea r ha lf the cell bloc k will h ea r it. Due to th e h ig h wa te r pressure a n d subseque m level of n o ise, the re is a n unwritte n r u le am o ng in ma1es in man y priso ns: no flu sh ing a fte r mi d n ig ht. A b iza rre se nse o f comm o n courtesy t ha t o n ly PL priso n cou ld fos te r. ''"'"' •• ,,, ,f\Ml The Visit by Ismael G. Santillanes For six hours we played cards and made small talk about the way things used to be how little Emma has found a man she thinks will care howP.apa with Ins heavy arm wrat>Ped around Henry's neck had lo hold him while mom called the cops Henry lost his mind again in a cloud sin-semilla and PCP and even though we tried to focus on the cards we held we'd catch a glimpse of each other's eyes tried to smile like strangers so our good-byes wouldn't hurt too much then some blur with green pants and a bad,e,-e 1ellect:-- like slow motion hafe "Time's up.'" and we forgot what we were sayzng zombied our way to the red line where her world starts and mine ends and I realized I was once u mbilicalled to her my mother my life blood PRISON LIFE 43 h e n I was co min ' up in Ch icago, ga ngbanging meant hanging ou t wi th the homey , p aypainti ng your set here a nd the re, maybe sell in ' weed to ma ke a li ttle mo ney. Yea h , gang vio le nce ha ppen ed, but most o f it was don e with fi sts or bats . Dri ve- by's, Uz is an d 9 mm 's were unh ea rd o r. Eve n co mmon handguns we re rare. The n crack e nte re d the picture. Wi th in te n years, local t u r f a nd priso n ga n g h ad o r ga n ize d into nati onal syndicates. In the early '80s, wh o h ad eve r h ea r d o f C ri ps a nd 131 ood s? Mos t p eo pl e th o ug h t th e 44 PRISON LIFE La tin Kin gs were a m a ri achi ba nd , and the Disciples, a re lig io us sect. o wadays, you can ' t turn o n the tu be or read the pape r wi th o ut hea ri ng so m e t hin g abo ut ga n gs. EveJ)'thi ng eems to be gang-relate d: prison riots, rap mu sic , ca1jac kings, d ri vc-bys, g ra ffiti , Sox a n d Ra ide rs sports gear. With th e war on drugs a nd the d isin tegra ti o n o f u rba n co nditi o n s, we have seen Ame ri ca's ga ng population ex plode. With th e crackd own o n crime , h undreds of street ga ngs have h ad t he ir p ower bases re located to priso ns. Oth e r ga ngs, started be hind bars, have sp illed over to th e streets. \"' he re th e recruiting takes place is inco nsequ e ntia l. The fac t of th e ma tte r is too man y kids arc join ing ga ngs, o nly to ge t buste d a nd go Lo priso n. And p ri sons a re pro vin g to be no th ing but tra ining g ro unds-gradua te school · for gang bangers. Beh ind ba rs, ' ha n gers fro m th e str ee ts simpl y ca rry o n th e ir fi g h t. Those who wouldn 't othenvise join a gang are forced to do o in o rder to urvive th e h a rsh wo rl d o f p ri on. T he vio le nce con tinues. The m e di a an d pu b l ic h ave picked u p on th e vio le nt ga ng sce ne. T h e cops, now seein g eve ryth ing as "gang-re la te d ," h ave waged wa r o n ga ngs. The resul t is m o re barri e rs b etween cops a n d G's, a n d m o re 'bangers beh ind bars. It is critical tha t society has a be tte r u nd e rstanding of gangs. T he pu rpose of this article is not to an a lyze ga ng ba nge rs. We' re n o t go in g to bo re you with meaning less o r hyp ed-up statisti cs. Yo u will, howeve r , hear from gang b a n gers t h e mselves why they join gangs a n d what they a rc abou t. Prison Life invited gang me mbe rs to speak to us about wha t was on th e ir m ind s. H ow d o th ey wa nt t o b e known? Wha t are they fig h ti ng for, or against? O ur e nd of t he d eal was to pu bl ish th e ir stories- u n ce n sor e d , u ncut, unbi ased . Th e voices in this issue a nd th e n ex t d o n ot n ecessari ly re Oec t th e creed s o f t he ir respective ga ngs. They a re m o re a coll e c ti on o f ind ividua l vo ices ex press in g th e ir co n ce rn s, experien ces an d observations with ou t the fea r of h ow the pu blic will react. In t h is iss u e, we featu re ga n gs fro m th e Midwest (th ose o riginating in Ch icago) a nd gangs from the East Coast. In the next issue, we'll highligh t Texas a nd Cal i-based o rganizatio ns. Fo rget what the media has a lready said . Forget what the cops and correctio ns people say. Sit back and listen to the real deal, straigh t from those who know from ex pe rie nce. Ch1·is Cozzone Executive t.ailor Top li!fl: Vice Lords hanging out in Ht~mboldt Parlt, Chicago. TofJ 1-ight: A prisoner at Rahwa)' signs his set. Photos by Chris Cozzone PRISON LIFE 45 IN THE MIND OF A TRUE DISCIPLE by Laron Douglas, a.k.a. Scoobie G, Gangster Disciples, Ohio Correctional Facility arc many inciden ts in wh ich the oppositio n tries to infiltra te o ur bu sin ess. Even though we ain ' t practicing that ga n gba n gi n ' trip n o more, we haven ' l forgotten how to war. No w we're teac hin g knowledge a nd money as the keys to success. I see brothaz all the tim e co min ' to th e ~~-:::.=::;;::.!:=,n joint ~~th that 'bangin' mental ity. I U')' to teach the m to get wise. Money is what's going o n. Being in the j oint ain 't cool for a real ga ngsta, Brotha, I str-uggle. a real gangsta is out on the stree ts making millions, buyi ng up businesst's been fo w· years since I was last es in the community to h e lp up lift on Lhe streets in my everyday uni- o ur na tion. I try to show t hese guys form : a b lack sweatshirt with a reality a nd make th em more aware so lo ng blueT-shirt up under it, a black th at in th e future, th ey won't make leather tweed belt turned to the rig ht the same mistake. We arc also tl')'ing to he lp edu~'~th my all-black, hard leg Levis sagg in ' to pe rfection, a black Pro-Model ca te others o n a ll th e negativity cap, also wrned deep to the right, a aga in s t ga n gs- and I spea k o n ly turkish gold rope and a beautiful six- abo ut the Gan gsta Disciples, 'cause po inted star on my rig h t index Cin- tha t's wha t I am and will always be. ger. This is what it was to be a memThe Gangsta Disciple 1 atio n is ber of the glod ous Gangster Disciple not a gang but a n organ ization. I've ation on the streets. been part of tJ1is glorious na t.i on since O rga nizatio ns in th e streets are '84. l'm from Cleveland, Ohio, but in worse t.han in the joint. There is easy Clevela nd, Disciples are th e m~j ority. access to arti lle ry a nd explosives, but I'vc lost a lot of brothaz in th is nation being in a nation doesn't make on e a due to ga ngbanging. 1 don't associate criminal. It just shows one how to be with nobody outside of m)' nation. more productive. If a brother is not Being in this g lorio us o rga nizawilling to die for any particular cause, tion has taught me a lot. I g rew up the n that brother is lost. without a father a nd I turned to my r was brough t up in this glorious Disciple brothaz fo r love. They knew natio n to help all my brothers grow exactly h ow to treat a brotha a nd a n d reach th e ir ful lest potential. were always th e r e for me, thro ug h Kickin' it on o ne of our strips called thick and thin. th e Graveyard, this u·ip is a mu lti-milI came to the joint for a ga nglion dollar industry-nuthin ' but re la ted murder I did not do. The drug sales, 24 hours a day. We make police said I was shooti n' at a riva l a ll the money we ca n to up lift our ga n g me mber (Vice Lo rd s), th at I glo ri o us nation, and a lo t of mem- missed him a nd killed someone else. bers a re meeting their quotas. The police stuck that bullshit on me, But do n't get me wrong. The re but my Disciple brothaz have hired I 46 PRISON LIFE me a good lawyer and investigato r. Things are looking good so hopefully I'll be up a nd ou t of prison before you know it. vVhe n I was young, it was cool to ' bang. But it got our nation n owh ere. Now I'm olde r an d sman e r a nd more aware. The dope game is a way to ge t quick m oney, an d th e brothaz see this, yo u kn ow, living in the ghetto. They don't have too much , and selling d ope g ives th e m th e c hance to h ave the finer things in life. See, some brolhaz o nly know how to hustle, which is good , but th e brothaz with Lhe great minds, we need the m in school and college so we can own more businesses a nd become more productive in society. We do appreciate legi t professions, but livi ng in the g hetto is hard so we got to start somewhere and move up. I know that here Lhe love is thick a nd strong, a nd a ll my brothaz is going to keep it real wit.h me no ma tter whaL. r go t a lot o f a nimosity towa rd the opposition 'cause they took ple n ty o f my brothaz away. ['ve rook some, too, but th e ' bangin ' shit got old and I got tired o f visiting my bl'Othaz in coffins, throw ing a sixpo in t st.ar over the d ead body, sheddin ' tears, then go in g b ack to th e Gr aveyard (our strip) and gelling drunk, rem in iscing about the brotha. Then a cold rage wou ld co me ove r me, a nd I'd throw my bod y up for reve n ge. We'd all stra p up and go into e nemy territory a nd take care of so me of them. But now I'm tired of that. Shit, tha t's why I fee l tha t th e prese rvatio n of my nation depends on true bro th az who want a change. Top Left: "/ was born a Gangster DisriplP," saysj o-j o of the G/D Nation in Chicago. Other Page: Gang graffiti in j o-j o's 'hood. G's GIRL: GET A GRIP by Michele Flanagan My fian ce is curre ntly se rving a te n - and a six-year se nte nc e at a prison in I llin o is. H e i h eavi ly involved in a white gang o rga nization and his ran k is extre me ly hig h . From visitin g him and ot h e r friends th roughout the Illi no is prison system, this is what I've no ticed. With all th ese ind ividua ls be ing Cau casian , it has been necessary for some of these men to do wha t th ey call "hook up" with various wh ite organizations. This is because the ratio of black inmates to wh ite is about 50 to I . I am no t a racist, but I ca n understa nd th e need and desire for· th ese indi vid ua ls to b eco me in vo lved fo r reaso n s o f pro tec tio n a nd safe ty in numbe rs. I also sec th ey have a trong need for brotherhood and friendship. My point, however, is this: In the Ill ino is penal syste m, most prison officials and guards are not accustomed LO dea lin g with racial te nsion. The result is chaos. I a m fu lly aware th at ga ng activity is fro wn ed upo n by the adm inistratio n, but ma ny people do not realize the a mo unt of reve rse d iscrimin ation occurring wi thin these pri ons. O llicers allow th e b lack o rganizations to ru n a mu ck and break many stringen t prison ru les because they' re so fearfu l of wha t m ight h a ppe n to the m if they d on't look the oth er way. Meanwhile, they harass an d try to d isband th e whi te organ iza tions, punishing them for a ny slig h t infrac ti o n. This, to me, is a blatant exa mp le of reverse discrimination . Too many people are unaware of th is, and the o nes who are don ' t seem to care, or th ey're simply too afraid to spea k up. I und e rstand th a t so me peop le have th e attitude tha t o rganizations such as these should not exist, but is it fair to try to ban o n e race ·s activities and not a nother's, especiall y in uch a dangerous environment? Don't these office rs and gua rds reali ze that they're no t o nly hurting th emselves but all of us in th e long run? Maybe it's time they sta rted thinking. Le t 's j u st b e th a nkfu l that t h e individuals within th ese organiza tio ns a re inte llige nt, stron g, a nd industriO tt eno u g h to work th eir away a ro und these pansy-operated administration ·. ed nesday nigh t, 8:30 p.m. Many of us soldiers were out that nightdrinking, sell ing dop e, shooting dice on t h e strip we call t he Graveya rd , acti ng as if nobody would dare ste p to th e stro ngest Disciple a tion in the city. My brotha Snake pulls up in his triple-green '86 Blazer with deep dish Daytons, pumpin' to the ou nds of "6 Feet Deep." He gets out, chirp his alarm and comes walking across the street wearin' his b lack sweatshirt, white lo ng T-shin up u nder it, black j eans saggi n '. When I sec my little duclc, a sm ile comes to my face. Many of these nigh ts he's dodged death by the skin of his tee th. l see my little shony a nd clinch with h im, showing h im a ll the love in the world. I notice Snake's pockets is kinda b ig. "G, what up with ya?" I ask him . Snilke tells me he's just jacked o rne fools for te n grand. Says he just got finished hitting the lick. '1n yo' truck?" I ask. "Yeah , foo l. I ain't hid in ' fro m nobody. rviy name is Snake." I say, "Yeah , cool." We go in the back whe re th e rest of my brothaz are and we start drinking so me more. T he n a friend comes up an d asks me to sell him a 50. I say, ··cool-three for $50," so the lame gives me S40 and tries walking off real fast. I' m already tipsy from drinki ng Eigh t-Ball so I ru n an d catch up with th is fool. No questions asked, I pu nch him in his j aw a nd cold-knock hirn out, ta ke my dope out his hand a nd go back to where my brothaz are. We're a ll standjng around chi llin ' when all of a sudden, a reel Ford station wagon pulls up wi th the lig hts off. Automatic gunfire breaks loose. Our su·ip is a one-way street, and on this particular nig ht a cou ple of my brotha7, all drunk, h ad come up the wrong side of th e street, so the wagon is now blocked. So me and my eludes run to the bush es, get our gats, and run down the stree t to where the wagon is trapped. We lig h t that wagon up! It pu lls up on the sidewalk. BAl'vl! It hits a lire hyd rant and the fools get out runn ing. Vle're still tiring missiles at th ey ass when I see Oashes: 5-0. We a ll retreat and h ide 'til the police leave. When everything is finish ed , th e police tow the wagon away. But my brothaz who came up the wrong side of Lhe su·eet have been pulled over by the cops. Too d runk to run , th ey get caught wi th beer, some elope, pages, a .357 Magnum a nd a .38 Snug. They're 16 so tl1eir pare n ts have to come a nd get the m. So Sn ake comes ove r to me and say , "Scoobie G, the m was th e fools l jacked for th e $ 10,000." I te ll him it' all cool. Then o ne of my sh o rties comes up and say a G got shot. I say, "Stop lying, fool," but he shows me a hole in his leg and one in his arm. "Damn!" I say. ow I go t to take my sho rty to th e hospita l so I get o n Snake's car phone and call some mo re brothaz 'cause taking my shorty to Mt. Si nai hospital is moving into the heart of th e e n emy's territory, which they call "Th e Promi eel Land." A half-ho ur later, j eeps, Blazers a nd wagons pull up. I get al l my bro th a7 together and explain to them what's about to go down. I ask if evel)•bocly' W PRISON LIFE 47 CLAIMIN' YouR SET SjJanish Cobras, a gang allied with the FolliS from Humboldt Parll, Chicago, sign their affiliation and stand b)' their marlcings. TojJ: Plinass Die. Below: Sh01ty signs her set. The "West Side" 011 her T-shirt ·refers to the division ofHumboldt Par/c.- roughly the PeojJle Alliance on the EelS/ Side, the Folh Nation on the West Side. OjJposite jHtge: Lillie, Li 'l Beans mulJ. B. stand b)' their comer. "l\le're allietl with the Gangster Disciples," saysj.B. "But/hal don '1 mean we don 't shoot at 'em if there's a jm-sonal beef 11te Kings { Ltllin Kings-PPople Nation/ are a diffi•renl siOI)'. We're King Ki llers." 48 PRISON LIFE strapped and sec p lenty of weaponry. I tell them, "Folk , Shorty got popped so we need to rush him to the hospital. Me and seven brothaz will take him, and I want a ca r parked outside th e door. In ca e word gets to them fool , I want a car circling th e hospital ready to cut 'em down before they reach us." Evcq' body jumps in they rides and pulls ouL Our car pulls up in front of the eme rgency door at the hospital and eight brothaz get o ut a nd take Shorty in. We walk up to the lad y at the d esk and l te ll h e r, "My dude got shot. He n eeds to sec a doctor. " While the lady is fumblin g wi th some p ape rs, I look behind me in th e waiting area a nd see si.x member of our e n e m y. All m y bro th az loo k around a nd stare so th e fools stand up, they hats all to the left a nd shit. l tell Shorty to go to the car a nd tell the rest of the brothaz to come in . So we a ll walk up to t hese fools. I say, "What it be a bout?" One fool says, "That 's the la me t.h a t robbed us!" pointing at Snake. I say, "H o ld on, C." O ne of the fools say, "Do n ' t call me C." Then I see o ne of th em run out the hospital door. i'vly mind thinks fast: We're in the midd le of the ir little te rritory and he's running to get more mu thafuckaz. I tell my bro tl1a Slo-Pace, "Co get that fool. Run afte r him !" Then l yell a number a nd hit Ll1e dude in fro nt of me witl1 a nice three piece o n the button, knockin ' him ou L The r ecep ti o n lady sta r ts screaming. Here we a re in the middle of the hospital eme rgency room, rumblin ' ! Me Snake a re a nd wh oo pin ' thi s o n e dude real bad. I pick up a chai r and sla m it. o n on his head. I loo k a nd see my otl1a brothaz run in . "It ' s o n , now!" I Sa)'· I h ear a "Watc h o ut!" then see a ch air flying through the air. I U) ' to move out t.hc way but. it ·u·ikes me in the forehead. One of my folks picks up o n e of the m fools and sla ms him into th e candy machine. I see my C, Polo, getting his head beat. into th e ground so I run over and kick the foe in the back, kn oc kin ' him over, the n I kick h im so me mo re. Polo ge ts up, take o ut a little Boy Scout. knife a nd sta rts sticki n g th e e nem y. The duclc is screaming now, "Oh, stop, no!" Then l g lance up an d see secu rity com ing. I h ear boom boom boo m boom , so I h it the n oor . I look up and my brotha Slowp ace got his .44 Auto o ut a nd he's ye llin', "Cittou t! Them fools is on th ey way a nd it's a n a rm y of ' em! " So I ye ll , "Le t' s pull fo lks!" a nd we all run out the hospital, jump into the cars a nd race back to the Graveyard. Wh e n we get b ack to o ur strip, we're all laug hing, talking a bo ut a ll the fun we h a d. We drop S horty off at his mo m ' s house. Everybody ta lks for a minute, th en pu ll out after show ing some love . Me and nake go up to my house and lie on the couches. I say, "Bro , what made yo u go into th e heart of those fools' territor)' a nd rob 'e m?" Snake te ll s me , "A r ea l Disciple don't bar none. I don't g ive a fuck. I'm from the Graveyard. " And I say, "You're rig ht, little bro. " \IVc fall asleep. My Family by Lamont Brown, a.k.a. L-Dogg, Gangster Disciples, Green Bay C.F., Wisconsin <:--: ca n ' t say wh en I b eca m e a Ga n gster Disci p le because I was bo rn o n e, a nd I ' ll always be o ne. Most bro th e rs ge t in a n organizatio n fo r protection , mo ney o r just because th ey wa nt to be d own, bu t I was bo rn o ne and they arc my fa mi ly. Be ing in a n orga niza tion d oesn 'l ma ke yo u a bad pe rson. It's no t like th ey ma ke you d o things you don't wa nt to d o. Yo u have freed o m of c h o ice, you just have to m a ke sure you choose rig h t. Growing up in the g he tto was all about mo n ey a nd survival. Eve ryon e has guns now, from g•·a nd mo th e rs to eight-ycar-olds. I wasn ' t a bad kid , bu t I had to make mo ney a nd carry a gu n for pro tection. I never started trouble with a nyone. It hurts to see a ll my bro th e r s locked up. I wou ldn't wish this o n my worst e ne my. It's no j oke being away from your fa mi ly a nd frie nds. I kn ow the Lo rd is punishing me for no t liste ning to my mo the r and grandpa. I didn ' t mea n to kill, but tee nagers are going to be teenage rs; th ey're go nn a do some stup id swff. In my case, it was playing with a gun . I was busted a t the age of 16 fo r a 187 . 1 to o k so m eo n c's life, tru e en o ug h , but I'm no t a cold-blooded kill e r beca u c I tru ly regret wh at I did. It could've bee n h a ndled in a diffe re nt way. l got sen te nced to life. At first I blamed myself h ard. I'd think, "Wh a t a fri en d yo u a r c to kill a frie nd ." T h en m y f'a mi Iy m ad e m e reali ze th a t it was an acciden t. 1 ow I can go o n wi th my life, neve r m ind wh at th e syste m says o r thinks. The bro the r crossed me. I d idn ' t want to do h im, but if so meone crosses you o nce, he'll d o it again . At the time, I was going to le t him slide, but he tried to hun me a nd I took care of my business. Altho ugh I've sho t a lo t of p eo ple ove r gang-re la ted thin gs, this wasn ' t o ne of th e m. Be ing a Disciple has h elped me lea rn to acce p t respo nsibility fo r my actio ns. I feel Lh at I can live with my past because I wasn 't that bad . I didn ' t ba ng too to ugh because I was too young. But I did take care o f business wh e n it need ed ta kin g care o f. No one in this organizatio n ever to ld me to take som eo n e 's life, a nd I d o n ' t feel they wi ll. I have a good fa mily, so th at wasn ' t th e p ro bl e m . But n ow I h ave a be tte r fa mi ly, o n e I'll do a nything f'o r, as if Lh cy we re my blood . Altho ugh I still res pec t my fa mi ly to th e fu llest b eca u se th ey too k ca re o f m e a nd broug ht me up rig ht, my hea r t was seeking some Lhing e lse. I' m sure yo u fe ll in lo ve with a wo m a n b efo re. The re's a love in this orga ni zati o n that can ' t be ex pla in ed . Like mos t people can ' t explain how th ey fa ll in love a nd why, I love th i organization and wo u ld die for it a nd kil l fo r it. I j o in ed th e Ga n gs te r Disciple na tio n whe n I was 13, in Mi lwaukee, WI. Th e Di sc i p les a r c bi g in (contin u.Pd onfHlge 5 1) PRISON LIFE 49 RIDIN' UNDER THE 5-POINTED STAR by Albert McGee, Vice Lords, Mississippi State Pen, Parchman, MS We ge t a ll th e bulls hit jus t beca use we're in a gang. It do esn ' t matter what you ' re in for or how you h andle your time behind bars. Just abo ut everybo d y in th e system kn ows that th e o nl y thing yo u have to do is te ll the police that a gang member h as threatened your life and they' ll go for it-because of a ll the bad press gang me mbers get. H e r e in th e M S D epartm e nt of Correcti ons, th ey don ' t give gang membe rs a c h a n ce. If your na me is broug h t up, you' re assu m ed g uilty until found othe rwise. It doesn't matter how much good I d o. The fact that I'm a kn own gang me mber is e noug h. Forget th a t I'm going to college here. Forget that I've no t had a rules vio la ti on report since I came h ere in '90. They look for the wrong in me, jus t because I 'm a known gang me mber. The m ed ia doesn't h e lp; every tim e you turn around , you see something o n th e set a bo ut gang-re lated this or that. The media plays a big pa rt in wha t the public thinks about gang members without even giving a person a chance for being human. The media is ig norant and the system is afraid. If the DOC wo u ld let us talk to and handle o ur own, it would be be tte r in he re for the average guy. See, a lot of proble ms with gang m e mbe rs so PRISON LIFE in prison is that older guys don 't get a chance to talk t o th e young g u ys com in ' in who are causi ng the most trouble. But the staff is afraid because they kn ow we just might be able to do wha t th ey ca n 't do. ~ nnr.e s4n± a ri&al's mn±4.er in hn±q kn££5 jus± in 5££ 4nfn lnuo 5q.e rnulo 5t:r.eam. . I'm 33 years old a nd I've been an Insane Vice Lord for about 18 years. Like so many, I joined a gang at an early age. Contrary to popula r belief, I d idn'tjo in because I lac ked a family. For me, it was simply a ma tte r o f my surroundings. Had I lived a bout fo ur blocks over, I would've bee n a Black Gangster Disci ple instead of a n Insa n e Vice Lord-whic h I' m ' ve ry proud of being. I s h a ll die a Vice Lord, loyal a nd true. I've don e some rath er \Vild things, some of which I was never arrested for so 1 won't get too d eep the re. But I will U)' to let you see inside my mind. There are so m e things, tho ugh, that can' t b e expla in ed, like why I would want to take another's life for so m ethin g as sim p le as a co lo r . I remember the first time I ki lle d a rival gang member. I was 15 o r 16 at the time; it was more of an act to prove myse lf th an anything he d id to me or a ny o f my brothers. 1 stole a car and told myself that the first pe rson I saw who 's conven ie nt ! was go nna kill. After driving a ro und some, there was this guy I saw going to his car. I just pulled up beside him and asked the time. The n I sh ot him in the face with a .357 five times-being a Vice Lord I ride unde r th e fi ve-po inted sta r. Mte r I sh ot him, I got out of my car and kicked him to make sure he was d ead, wh ic h he was. Th en I started d ancing a round a nd laughing, h aving a good o l' time. That was my first time, but not my last. H ad the g u y b ee n with h is brothers, I wou ld have killed more of th e m 'cause killing a rival gang me mber was o n my mind. When I saw h im wa lking with th e "fl ag" sticking out of his back pocket, I figured he may as well be a Gangster Disciple 'cause I shot him down like he was o n e. Afte r that, I fe lt as though I could take on all the m sucke rs. I even mad e a pact to try and kill, or a t least just shoo t a gangster every few mo nths or soone r if one of them did som e thing, or if we just caught o ne or two of them off by themselves. I once s hot a riva l's m othe r in bo th kn ees just to see h ow loud she could scream, especiall y sin ce she thought I was going to kill he r for sure. Guess what I've always wanted to be? A seri al kille r, so they can make a movie or something about me. 1 know you're thinking I have no regard for o th ers or myself, th at I'm sick, or that I need h e lp. Yes, m ay b e I do, but sometimes I just want someone to talk to, and som eo ne to listen . Outside, I' m no rmal; but inside, only a select few really know who I am. I'm sick if you judge me by socie ty's standards, but on the stree ts I'm just another gangbanger tr)'ing to survive the war. Be ing in a gang is truly a positive thing, if you look at the loyalty, love and disc ipline th at we h ave toward each oth e r . The respect I h a ve for other gang me mbers is also deep, but h opefully we can a ll get together a nd stop some of the killing. Top Le.ft: "Murder Town "-another name for this 'hood in Humboldt Park, Chicago where the Gangster Disciples cloim mle. Other page: Stateuille Correcti011al Facility in Illinois, which houses the stale's most dangerous Cs. My Family (conlinued from page 49) Wisco n sin because th ey've co m e down fr o m Chicag o. Wh e n I was g rowi ng up , eve ryone aro un d m e was Discip le, in cluding a lo t of my uncles and co usins o n both of m y pare m s' side. They used to te ll th eir Discip le brolhers that I was going to be a tru e Discip le, and here I am today. When I said my h eart was seeking so me thing, let me clari fy th at. T he re is n o regre t, on ly ded ication. I'm a real young brother who 's down and willing to die fo r this organizatio n. Whe n your heart is dedica ted to someth ing, it's there for life, a t least it is for me. I love this nation like I love my moth e r. What people and th e med ia fail to realize is th at we are not ga nghangers a nymo re. We a rc an o rganiza t io n tryi n g to b e tt e r o urse lves through la ws a nd po licies se t forth by ou r chai rman , Larry Hoover. And th ose laws a nd poli cies arc about g rowt h and d eve lo pm en t. We ' re a bo ut ge LLin g an educa ti on so we can move on to b igger a nd be tte r things, like college a nd geuing o ur own businesses. Then we' ll be a ble to look out fo r our brothe rs who arc locked up, an d our fam ilies. Wh e n ever a n ythi ng h ap p e n s with a gun , the media says it's gangre la ted. But most o f the in c iden ts are n ' t. The whi te ma n has orga nizati ons an d nobo d y gets swea te d. So why d o we? JJ loft£ ±4is organi1!ation ana fnoula ai£ ana kill for it. Wh e n I go t loc ke d up , I truly th o ug ht our orga nization wo uld be strong up he re in Green Bay, b ut it's n ot. T h at's b eca u se th e re a re so many fake-ass brothe rs saying they' re a pa rt o r this n a tion wh e n th ey' re n o t. Ma n y b roth e rs get loc ked u p and ride with o rga nizatio ns fo r protec tio n . T h ese bro th e rs ai n ' t shit. Th is o rgan izatio n is nothing to p lay with a nd t hese bro the rs will lea rn , sooner or late r. So many brothe rs are abo u t hate beca use of th e wa rs o n the stree t. Wh e n they get locked u p, the hate is still the re, so we can ' t get any structure go in g b ecause we' re too busy lighting each o the r. Up he re, we try not to have any wars, bu t if we d id, it would be agai n st t h e Vi ce Lords, Lat i n Kin gs a n d the 2-4 ' s from Mil wa uk ee-o r bas icall y, a n yo n e who 's n ot Fo lks, or who disrespects our organizati on. But if we ca n ge t a ll thi s h a te o ut, we ca n m ove o n to beuc rin g o urselves, so that wh e n we ca n get ou t of priso n, we can build a fo undation we can a ll live on wilho ut doing I 87's on eac h o th e r. It's a lways said that th e real recognize the fake. That's true because if you ' re a Disciple, yo ur G is go ing to shin e! T h e fake-ass brothe rs will be de alt with whe n th e time comes. These guys a rc th e ones who make this organ ization loo k bad in other people's eyes, and also in th e eyes o r the Discipl es, who are struggling to make thi s o rganizatio n abide by th e laws and policies given by our ho nOl·ablc c hai rma n . NATIVE AMERICAN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST GANGS by Larry Harris, Stateville Correctional, Illinois I got a 65-year sentence for armed robbery at Stateville Max in Joliet, Illinois. I don't understand the cons in Illinois at all. Thls join t is all gangs. When I first got here, I went out into population only to learn that you have to ride with one of the organizations to stay alive. The different gangs here have rules to tell a man how he has to conduct his life. They have ch iefs to tell a man what to do. I stopped lis tening to my fo lks at 15-years-old so how am I going to let another man tell me how to live at 35? If the men here would stop stabbing and fighting each other, and stand together as one reasoning force, think of the changes we could make here for the treatment and way of life. I am an Indian-Cherokee tribe-and I think all the chiefs here need to school the young and work together to improve thin gs for themselves and s top giving the Department of Corrections reasons and leverage to lock us down and treat us like animals ... Last week three blacks got stabbed by whites in a fight that got everybody locked down. Now when we come up out of lock-up men will have to fight just because now it'll be a racial thing. These gang chiefs need to sit down to council and smoke a peace pipe. PRISON LIFE 51 nyone wh o takes a ha rd look at so me of o ur most celebra ted heroes can see what some of them really we re: glorified gangsters. Gangsters in Ame rican cultu re have glamorized a social condition as old as hum a nkin d i tse lf a nd m ade c rime into a nig ht passage fo r urban youth ll) 1ing to cope in a concre te and glass jung le. Th e re was a tim e when gangs were regard ed as a rational response to society's "inadequate o ppo rtunity strucwre." T h at social theory goes d own th e tubes as the realitie of gang viole nce a nd economic su"'ival come unde r public scrutiny. Wh a t wen t wrong? What mutated th e o the rwise ratio nal and o rde rly grou ps a nd turned them into un reformable recidivists and socio p a th s unfit for anything except th e jungle? Was it tu rf or, as sociologi ts like to call it, "territorial imperative?" The transfo rma ti on o f this country from agraria n to urban life acce le ra ted th e ri se o f ga ngs. Ci ty street· beca me the battleground for th e young a nd the disenfranchised. Lacking skills and education, the o nly way out of poverty was the me rchan dising of vice. Passing laws that ou Llawed gambling, prostillltio n, drinking, drug trafficking a nd loansharkin g didn ' t reduce th e public's appe tite for th e m , a nd th e ir survival drew bands of aggressi,·e youths into th e ma rket. The exa mpl es o f this ugly transformation are legion. Th e wo rst c h a n ge in gangs h as become th e total disregard for human life. Th e diffe re n ce to da y is that in s tead of brass knu c kl es a nd zip g un s, stre e t ga n gs arc ar me d with automatic weapon s. Bl oody noses have g ive n way to g un sho t wounds. T oo many innocent victi ms h ave been caug ht in the crosslire-that's so mething th at didn ' t ha ppen "back in th e clays. " If it did , th ose res pon sibl e wo uld be he ld acco untabl e by their own . Wha t ha ppe ned to the morals, principles and codes o n ce e nfo rced by ga ngs in cities a nd prisons back th en? Wh y a re th ese basic hum an qualities to tally d isregarded today? No gang banger in the ' 60 could have predicted today's state of affairs. A I A Dream" of material success. Stories of 15-year-olds driving BMW's, Cadillacs and Be nzes with trunks full o f weapons and pocke ts stuffed with th o usand s of dollars are as co mmon as th ey a re true. Teach ers are afraid to ba r beeper-toting teenagers fi·om classes for fear o f re prisals. The proble m with gangs wi ll not go away overnight, if ever. The solution probably wo n ' t be realized by disarming gangs, as if that were possible anyway. Pare nts have to start educating the ir k.icls as soo n as th ey are ab le to unde rstand what all this really m eans, a nd kids have to start seeing that th e r e are too many d ead kids now and a nother needless score who will be spending a m~or part o r Ll1eir lives in prison . Man y of th ese gang members don 't understand th e se ri ous n ess of th e ir actions until th ey are caught and se nt to prison. By then, it's too late. A lo t of th ese young brothe rs and sisters are e nding up in th e ad ult di visions. In Illin o is, that m ea n s Statevill e, Pontiac a nd Menard (the most dangerous ma..x systems) , as we ll as th e state 's num e rou s m e dium sec urity priso n s. Now these fac ili t ies are expe rie ncing gang problems like never b efore, a nd th e administrators can't seem to get a grip o n it. A lot of c razy things j ump off here a t the 'Ville (Stateville). There were four murde rs in just 18 months: two prisoners, both of them Latin Kings, and two em ployees: one a commissary supervisor, k.illed by the Vice Lords; another, an officer, killed by three Latin Kings. No n e of the things I witn ess on an almost d aily basis a t the 'Ville faze me because they' re minor compared to the things I saw when I was part of th e crazy life, high up in th e La tin King Organization. I am living proof tha t gangbanging is a dead end. I got mixed up with gangs and drugs at a very early age in Ch ito wn-th e r es ult was a long prison term. I was blinded by powe r and selling drugs, and having money, more money th an I ever would've made nipping burgers at McDonalds. But ne ither the power nor th e mon ey SHOUT-OUT To GANGS by Figalo, ex-Latin King, Stateville Correctional, Illinois 52 PRISON LIFE It probably would've mad e all the difference h ad they known. Fewer people would be lying in coffin s today. Big cities a nd prisons are not the only places with gan g proble ms. Federal researchers have d iscove red that twoth irds o f th e cities re po rting gang viole n ce h ave popul a ti o ns below 500,000. Most experts say the reason gangs arc spreading to th e suburbs a nd small towns is because th e conditio ns tha t spawn the m have crept into th ese once safe h ave ns: rac ial a nd e thni c se p a ration , p ove rty, fami ly break-ups, high you th unemployment a nd lack of recreational activities. Today's gan gba nge rs !ind th e mselves d ivided into warring factions to wrest contro l of what many see as the o n ly way to attai n th e "Amer ican was wo rth m y los in g h a lf m y life inside th e j o int. ot o nly a m I losing a good part o f my life here, I a lso lost a good woman a nd have LO e ndure the ago ny o f watc hin g my son grow up with out me. W hil e I was b e h in d th e wa ll, I d ecided it was time for m e to retire and leave a ll the bu llsh it be hind. So I d ro pped my fl ag a nd left my gang status fo r good. The fi rst a nd fo re most law of the Alm ig h ty La tin Kin g Orga nizatio n Nat io n (ALKO ) is "on ce a King , always a King; you come in a live and t h e on ly way yo u leave is dea d . " Howeve r , th at law d oes n 't a pp ly to m e b eca u se I n eve r left. I simp ly resigned a n d re tired. I a lso sto pped cre ws from be in g ab le to co n tinu e sla nging na rco tics in my ' hood as we ll as in the o ther fi ve cities me and my crew he lped th e organizatio n se t up sh o p: Milwa u kee, Spa ni sh Har le m , New Yo rk , Mia mi , H o u sto n , Minneapo lis. Believe it, because the re a re La tin Kin gs eve rywh ere . There a re eve n T here a re more th an 40 m<-uor stree t ga ngs ac tive in Chicagoand most of the m have powe r bases in s id e I l linoi · priso n s. T h e st ro nges t of these are the Lati n Kin gs, Black Ga n gs ter Disciples, La tin Disciples and Vice Lo rds. In the mid -'80s, t h e Blac k Gangster Discip le Natio n a nd the Latin Disc ip les for m e d th e Fo lk alliance. Soo n after, t h e La t in Kings a nd Vice Lo rds started the ir own alliance-Peop le. lowadays, mo st gangs i n Chicago a re e ith e r Peo ple or Folks. T h is super allia nce has allowed th e s tronge r fa c tion s to branch out into oth e r states. Th u s, we h ave Disc ipl es, Kings a nd Vice Lord s thro ug h o ut th e e ntire M idwes t, su·etch ing coast-to-coast. The Latin Kin gs a re known th ro u ghout the New York area, too . Latin Kings in Connecticut. T he two bro th e rs who call it ou t tha t way are Nelson Millet a nd Pe dro Mila n . These g uys are re n egad es a n d co n sid e re d outcasts by the ALKO beca use they sta rted th at cha pte r o ut the re without pro pe r blessing (a big no-no) . T here h as b ee n a n a t io nw id e hit out o n th e m eve r sin ce . Lord G in o se n t a c rew o f g unn e rs at t h e ir r eg io nc row n s o r c h a pte r j e fes as we ca ll the m and they sh ot up th e place, but we re ca ug ht by the 5-0 a nd a re now do ing time in the ir syste m. Ma n I'd ha te to be in those brothe rs' shoes! T he reaso n 1 resign e d from the Latin Kings is because Lord Gino, who wasn 't d oing anythi ng but sitting on his thro ne getting fat off me an d the rest of the organ izatio n , ma d e some very bogus moves that made me realize o ur "cause," no longer had a cause. L o r d Gi n o go t up se t wh e n I wa lke d away f r o m t h e Kin gs a nd d ecided to pu t a h a lf-m illio n d o lla r p r ice tag o n my h ead. And wh ile I kn ow th a t ha lf a m il is asswipe mo n ey to Lord Gino, --==,...., ( I kn ow becau se we used to ge n e rate th a t ki n d o r mo ney on an almost weekly b as is s la n g in g n a rco t ics), I ' m n ot i n t h e leas t co n ce r n e d a b o u t h im b eca u se h e k n o ws th at o n th e bric ks, it's a much d iffe re nt ba ll game. And wh oeve r h e se n d s, h e' ll h ave to se n d th e m ri gh t o r h e' ll be read ing a bo u t th e m in the o bi ts a nd se nd ing their fa mi lies flowe rs, fo reve r! \1\lo rd ! Fo r n ow, I a in 't gon na lose slee p ove r it because I h ave much mo re imp o rtant thi ngs to do with my life and o n e o f the m isn ' t s p e nd ing t h e r es t o r i t inside prison , or dead. Wh e n I hu ng up m y colo rs a nd de cide d it was t i m e t o m ove o n in a much d iffe re nt d irec tio n, I too k a to ta lly di ffe re n t o u tlook o n life because I fin a lly realized th e re was so m uch mo re to · loving than be ing a shot- calle r a nd a drug trafficke r. I will always can)' the love I once had for the organ izatio n in my heart, a n orga nizatio n th at I devoted a lmost 20 yea rs of my life to, bu t I will n ever re turn to it. T here is no turn ing back, no t now or ever. I am 31 years o ld , I have a beau tiful wife and a wo nd e rful, gifted and talented son who is now 12. Wh at do I wa nt to do \Vith my life? Wh a t is my pu r p ose? We a ll have a reason a nd d irectio n for living. T hat I a m head ed toward someth ing ma kes me wa nt to p la n fo r th e fu ture. T his is what today's gang me m bers lack. I ' m no longe r involved with ga n gs b ecause I kn ow I h ave a stronge r desti ny. Ga ngbangin g d oesn ' t contribute to th e im po rta n t and m o r e wo rth wh ile th ings I wa n t LO accomp lish be fore I grow o ld. Page 52: Young recruits signing their sPl. TojJ: Twfmarkings in Humboldt Park, Chicago. Below: King Pit, a Latin King in New York, recruited at Rikers Island. PRISON LIFE 53 by Jose Colon, Neta Association, New York City have bee n a Ne ta fo r 14 years. I j o in ed when I was 16, in Puerto Rico, where I was sem to priso n fo r murder. It was th e r e that I became a Neta. This was during th e war against t.h e I nsectos. I ended up killin g five m o re p eople in pri son duri ng th at war. At o ne po im, I was facing l 03 years in priso n . I end ed up with a pa rdon from th e governme nt d espite my crimes. 1 ow th e fig ht in Pue rto Ri can priso ns is aga inst t.he syste m. For the first four years we waged war against the lnsectos-t.he weak, t.h e treache ro u , t.h e snitches who ruled all Puerto Ri can priso n . During the war, th e sy t e m h ad ·t a ye d o ut o f i t o nl y beca use inma te· were killin g eac h oth e r. But once t.hc war was over, and afte r th e - et.as ·t.aned ta rgeti ng the ad mini strat io n , it was a d iffe r e nt story. By t.h e n , o ur o rganizati on had g rown too strong to fight a nd th e syst e m h ad to comp ly with o u r demands. Sin ce J 98 1, the conditio ns of priso ns in Pue rto Rico have bee n mu ch better. The fig ht ha moved here to lew York because so ma ny Pue rto "Ricans h ave co m e h e re and b eca u se th e I 54 PRISON LIFE j oJi: Co/011 nJ tilt ,\.'tin tl mrintio11. n eed is grea t to fight fo r o ur rights agai nst t.h e system. There is a te rrible co rruptio n in the correction s syste m , esp ecially in t.h e areas of food, health and educati o n . This corrupti o n is thro ug ho ut all 1 ew York, especially Rike rs Island , where I have just left. Th is co rrupti o n h as go u e n so bad t.hat in Dece mbe r, together with the Latin Kings, Fi ve-Pe rce nters and o th e r o rgani za ti o ns, we o rganized a hunger and work strike. We we re n o t tryin g to rio t. We we re trying to send a message to the system th a t tim e is sho rt a nd we ' re n o t sta ndin g fo r th e ir co rrupti on. Now th ey kn ow we're seri ous. If a nrthing, the strike at Rike rs Isla nd gave o ut some credi t. The strike was a protest 1.0 the $23 million th e city of 1 ew York cu t from p rograms a nd drug re ha bili tatio n in c ity jai ls. Since 90 % o r ou r peo ple go ing into priso n a re d o in g so for drug-related o ffenses, we fe lt that cutting out drug re habilitat.ion programs was wrong. It called for act.io n . On e of the purposes of o ur o rgani za ti o n is th a t wh e n a m e mber leaves priso n, he sho uld never come back. By culling tra ining and re ha b progra ms, th ey ma ke th e re turn to prison inevitable. An offe nde r n eeds so me way to co ntr ibute to society. Tha t's why we need u·aining and e duca ti on in our priso ns. V\fho's gonna hire ex-co ns? Taxpaye rs sh o uld d e mand th e correc tio n system b e stronge r in the ~reas of e du catio n and trainin g. As Ne tas , o u r mi ssio n is t o d e m a nd cha n ge in th e c urrent oppressive regime. That's wh y 24 hours b efo re th e strike , th e co mmissio n er, A nth o n y Schem bri , se m a message LO me tha t I was goin_g to be tran sfe rre d-m e and a ll the Ne ta leade rs from th e o th er ho uses. A meeting was a rranged with the director of Inte rn al Affairs. They kn ew what was happe ning. We had se nt th e m le tters as a warning. T hey kn ew wha t h o uses th e le tte rs were co min g fro m (6 Bui lding ) but we d idn ' t le t th e m kn ow e xactly who se nt th e m . £ o t knowin g I was th e pt·eside m of Netas at Ri kers, and fi gurin g m e fo r a go-be twee n , th ey e nt word to me tha t they wanted to talk to the lea ders. I said no, until they gave me th e guarantee that the leaders 11·ould n ' t be move d , bro u ght up on bogus c harges o r b ecom e vict im s of abuse. Then l told them I was th e President and a meeti ng was setup. The comm ission e r talked to me, and told me he knew there were proble m s with the co rrect ion s sys tem. H e said h e kn ew there was corruption, mi suse of funds and misclealings with discipli ne, bu t the problems we re two diffe re nt o nes-state and localand the re was very little he could do about it. So we we nt a head with the su·ike, a nd it lasted seven clays. They dicln' t move me because th ey saw what was goi ng on. The co rrections peop le tried to, but th e comm ission er h ad g ive n m e h is word that I wouldn't be a victim of persecution or physical viole nce or a buse by the sys tem. I had told them that vio lence would occur o n ly if th ey didn ' t kee p the ir word. Even though most of the drug programs have bee n cut, th e food a t Rikers is bette r now, marginally anyway. And the C.O.'s have cut clown on the physical abuse. Although I a m o ut now, I have no proble ms go ing bac k in if my bro thers n eed me th e re. I' ll just ho p a turnstile a nd I'll be back in Rike rs befo re you know it. In fact, be fore th e hun ge r strike, I was supposed to b e re lease d , but I co mmitted viola tions in order to stay dwough the strike. To m e, what's worth a ll th e pain of being a leader is very often just a "thank yo u. " I'll do whateve r it ta kes fot· m y b rothers, fo r m y people, eve n though te rn wants to pa c k m e up , move me aro u nd . T h ey con sid e r me a dangerous p e rson , but th a t is ju st pan o f b e in g a lead e r , putting up wi th d1e treatme n t. That strike was n ot the firs t and it will n o t be t h e last. There will be another one soon, th is tim e including all New York sta te prisons. Everybod y we' re a gang, bu t we're not. They d1ink we' re crimina ls, that we ki ll, d o dr ive-bys, sell drugs-we do no t. The Netas d o not wan t power, we just want to be recognized and respected. You have to respect my food , my h ealth , my fami ly. We do n ot re c ruit. P eo pl e come to us. We' re not a territorybased o rgan ization. What we fight for are human rights, not turf. We figh t fo r respect a nd be tter treatme nt, not for powe r. We have a mission and we follow it. The re a re e tas in the su·ects, th o ugh , who arc corrupt and go aga inst our c ree d s. Sin ce I left Rik e rs, m y du !)' is now to d e al with these few Netas who co rrupt ou r whole assoc ia tio n. These people hav<; no business calling themsel ves Netas. They wi ll be d ealt with. The current tre nd in Gangland is to call your gang an organization. "We're not about gan gbanging," you 'll hear from more d1an one member, '\ve're about progress, about brotherhood ... " Ye t tl1e viole nce con tin ues. A lot o f "shot calle rs" mig ht be pissed with some of the n egativity expressed in more tha n one o f these articles, especially if it invo lves d1e ir natio n. Sorry bros, but it's time to do a reality check. Yo u can push your o rga niza tio nal procedures a nd teac h your brotl1erh ood creed but locs are gonna be locs. Maybe d1ese articles will open some eyes and push gang leaders and organization preside nts to get a handle on their own. ll's time for the bro d1e rs wiili the juice to realize that un less the viole nce is curbed, you ' re never going to get the respect you ' re de mand ing. Unless you get it together--deliver and enforce ilie message that the way of d1e 187 only le nds juice to th e 5-0-you' re never going to a moulll to ;:mything but fodde r for d1e na tion 's big prison business. Peace. Prison Life FROM THE "ASSOCIATION NETA" HANDBOOK: We are determin ed to progress, a d vance and spread. We have no time fighti n g for unworthy reaso n s o r co mm ittin g cri me s of ~n y sort . Association Neta has a d esire to live better in society. Too mu c h crime takes over me minds of our children . Our most wanted wish is to feel safe in our neighborhoods during the day and be able to walk our sidewalks at night. We don't h ave th e power ye t to put a stop to this proble m, but with help, we can and will put a stop to it. We are a group of Hispa nic adu lts a nd young adults getting orga nized to help others help the mselves. V•le are not a gang or a crew. We are not crimeseeke rs. We are a n asso ciation u-ying to ge t somewhe re in Life by influ e ncing each othe r to ge t an education that wi ll eventually turn us into assets for our association. We are very peaceful-but don ' t underes tim a te u s . We wi ll solve an y proble ms that o th er s may have with us a t all costs. We wi ll h elp and look after o ur famil y in time of need. At first we will try to talk our differe n ces out, but if that d oesn't work, we will use all force n ecessa•-y to solve o ur problems, witl10ut pity or regret. History: Around 1979 , in a prison ca ll e d Presidio in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, a man by t h e n a m e of Ca rlo s Torrez Jrria te, a.k.a. La Sombra (dle Shadow), got tired of the abuse that occurred in the prison system-whi ch was inmate to inma te and administration to in m a te. He decided it was time for a change and did somethi ng abou t it. _ Step by step, priso n to prison , th e Neta Associa tion was formed. An a ll-ou t war against m e Insectos (inmate operesso rs) was formed. Carlos and his Ne ta warriors spilled thei r own b lood, tighting for the peace, harmony and respect that we have in our Pue rto Rica n jails today. In 1981, Carlos w~s killed by a sh ot in th e head, but his 'eta warriors continued fighting. Now, that fight h as carried over into the prisons of the U ni ted States because mere are a lot of inmate's rights violatio ns going on there, too ... PRISON LIFE 55 The Shot by Chester Cornman, Missouri Easter n Correctional "A u e nti o n o n th e ya rd . Inmate Co rnm a n , n umbe r 44526, report to Co ntro l Center. " Da mn ! I th oug h t, vVhy can ' t th ey just leave me alo ne? I've done a few months o n a fo rty-yea r sen tence, a nd these assh o les wan t to call me to the Conu·ol Ce nte r. o doubt for some stupid reason li ke to ee my caseworke r fo r a j ob assig nm ent, a cell move, or some totally bizarre reason I couldn ' t eve n thi nk o f. Damn ! I have years to do, and they want me right now. Obviously, th ey had no idea that my h u stling pa rtne r, Cha rli e, a nd I had hustl ed a ll m o rnin g to get th e d o lla rs fo r a sh o t o f d o pe. Th e n it had taken a no th e r two ho urs of waiting a nd h unting fo r th e d o p e-man befo re we realized he was o n a visit. Mte r all that, th ere we stood, waiting fo r h im to co m e b ac k with o ur 56 PRISON LIFE a l r ea d y p a id fo r s h o t, an d the se buuh ead s wan t m e at th e Con tr o l Center. Yeah , right. T h e silly g r in o n Cha rlie's face was a ll I needed to te ll me t hat if I le ft, I' d lo ·e o ut. C harlie a nd dope woul d be go n e befo re I even got to th e Con trol Cente r-much less there and back. "Go o n , Dog, it mig h t be important," he said with that sideways grin of h i . "I'll co p a nd mee t ya back in A-Hall. " Yea h , s ure. Wh e n pigs fl y! I th o ug ht. I'd bee n down th at road before. l could hea r the SlOt)' already. "Damn , Dog, the cops rushed me just when I was getting eve t)'thing ready. I had to nush it all. " " ah ," I said , "I ' ll ju s t h a n g aro un d. T h ey ca n wait o n me fo r a cha nge." T hi rty m in utes later, still wai ting, no d ope-m a n , a nd ag a in th e lo ud spea ke r called . "Cornma n , C h ester, numb e r 445 26 , r epo n t o Co n tro l Center. IMM ED IATELY." "Wow! Dog," said Charl ie. 'T hey so u nd ed pre tty serio us th a t time. Ya beue r go man. T hey' ll write you up." "Screw you ," I said. ''I'll wait." "O.K. , Dog, it's o n yo u," he said with a little giggle. "H ey, Cornman, " I h ea rd fro m be hind me . A I turn ed a r o u nd , I realized it was Shift Ca ptain Bogart. Assho le of assholes. "Did n ' t you h ear th em call you ove r the inte rcom?" "No si r , b oss, I su r e di d n ' t ," I re plied. "v\'e ll , they d id. They wan t you at th e Con tro l Center . Ge t yo ur ass on up there n ow." "O.K., boss, no proble m," I said as I looked ove r m y s h o ulder jus t in time to see Charlie bite his hand to keep from laugh ing out loud. C harl ie's scum ! I ke pt re pea ting to myself a ll the way to the Control Ce nter. I' ll kill him ! If that worm beats me, I'll break h is j aw. Shit, not if he does, but when he does. I should just go back there and pummel him to the ground rig h t now. "Yeah, I'm Cheste r Cornman, can yo u te ll me wh o wants me?" I asked th e Contro l Cen ter gua rd. "We've been calling you for an h o ur and a h a lf. T h e casewo rk e r need s to see you," he responded . I kne w it. A j ob cha nge, a survey, some thing stupid. Be t o n it. 'just h ave a seat o n th e be nch. He' ll be with you in a minute," th e guard con tinued. Yeah, righ t. After twe nty m in utes ofwaiting, I began to nod ofT. "Mr. Cor n man , Mr. C h este r Cornman," I heard a male voice say. "Yeah , that's me." "M r . Co r nma n , d o yo u h ave a brother named j oh nn y?" he asked. "Yes sir, I sure do." "We ll, Mr. Cornm an, yo u need to call h o rn e. T h e re has been an accident o r some thi ng, a nd my information is he's d ead," h e said, a nd ke pt lookin g at his wa tch. Wow! Wh a t a bed side ma nne r, I thought, wh ich was a strange thought fo r me to have a t the time, I know, but fo r so m e r easo n I just could n ' t get it out of my mind . .H ere's a man supposed to be a profession al a nd he can't thi n k o f a be tter way to say my brother is d ead tha n j ust "He's d ead." "Come o n in he re. I'll give you a pho ne call," I h eard h im say thro ugh th e fog that see med to so mehow take over my brain. His bedside ma nne r continued as h e ha nd ed me th e phone. ''You have five minutes." "He llo. Mo rn? What's ha ppe ning? This caseworke r just said .Jo hnn y was kill ed. What's th e d ea l? Do n ' t cry Mo m , just calm down a n d te ll me wha t's going o n ," I said. "Wh at d id yo u call fo r?" J heard her say fro m th e oth e r e nd. "Yea h , he's dead , a nd it's a ll your fault. He got shot in a robbe ry." I could h ear he r sobbi ng o n th e other end. "Da mn, Morn, " I said, as I felt the tears we ll up in my eyes. "I didn't d o nothi ng. Why is it my fau lt?" "You a re his o lder broth e r. He wanted to be just li ke you. And wh at did you teach him? I'll te ll you wha t, you taug ht hi m how to rob a nd steal. We ll , h e's d ead now. l ho pe yo u ' re ha ppy." ''Your time is up," I heard corning fro m the rece ive r. "Please h a n g up the phone." "What's h a ppe nin g he re? Morn? Morn !" "I just got c u t om" I sai d to the caseworker. " o warn ing, noth ing! I just got cut om" ''Your time was up. I told you you had five minutes when I gave you the phone." Wow! Th e b rai n fog was reall y ta kin g over n ow. I co u ld h ear just fin e, I could sec everyth ing, but it was as if not hi n g was quite getting through the fog to the brain . "Well, redi al the numbe r. I. n eed a n oth er fi ve minutes," I pleaded. "Please, my mother will th ink I've just h ung up o n he r. " "There's been an accident or something. My information is he's dead." " I' m so rry, Mr. Cor n ma n ," h e said. "I d on' t h ave the a u thor ity to give yo u anoth er call. Yo u will have to make a formal request th rough your regu la r caseworke r. " Again he looked at his watch. It's Friday, I thought. I won't be a ble to get in to uch with a caseworke r until Mo nd ay morni n g. My mom ha tes me, my brother's dead, is it my fault? A th ousand th ough t~ kept reeling through my m ind, and then the re was that dam n brain fog. I just wished things wo uld slow down. I co uldn 't grasp a ll th is at o nce. -:Just give me a minute to get mysel f together," I said. "All in ma tes report to th e ir H ousi ng U nits. C lear the yard for Count," sa id a vo ice over th e lo udspeaker as I left Conu·ol Ce nter. " Damn , Dog, what t ook ya so long? I didn 't t hi nk you we re eve r gon n a get done. ow we' re gonn a have to wa it until afte r count to fi x, man," I hea rd C ha rlie say through the fog. "Da mn, Dog, what's the matter?" h e said, as h e go t cl ose r and rea lized I was cryi n g. "Are you a ll right, man?" I ran down the whole story as best I could in such a short time, and thro ugh that damn brain fog. When I had finished, a small crowd had gatJ1ered. "Let me get this straigh t," Charli e said. "Five minutes and tJ1 en they just cut you off?" ''Yeah, th a t's rig ht." "Hey, can ' t you assholcs h ear? It's PRISON LIFE 57 cou nt tim e. Get to yo u r cells rig h t now, " Captain Bogan was hollering. Oh n o, I th o ug ht. H e re we go. Now I've go tten everyon e in a wreck, and I kn ow for a fac t Charlie's dirty a nd can ' t stand a sha ke down. "Let's ge t goi ng guys. We don't need a ny problems with this creep," I said. "H ey, Bogart," C h ar li e ye l led. "We 've go t a proble m over here." "Ya d am n ri g ht ya do," h e responded. "You ' re a ll la te for count, and o ut of bo unds in the process." He was com ing in o ur d irectio n . ''We ain 't goi ng to o ur cells until Ch este r here gets a p h o n e call. " I do n 't know wh o said it first, but everyone chimed in. Captain Bogan listened calmly to our story. When we finished , h e said, ·'Ch es te r, yo u co me with m e . You ' II get your phone call. The rest of you go back to your cells. It'll be all right." True to h is word, th e captain got me a phone call. He sat the re with me for a fu ll forty-five minutes a nd even handed m e a tissu e o r two to wipe away the tears. My mo the r and I got everything togethe r. Be fo re we hun g up , I to ld h e r how mu ch I loved her. Sh e said sh e was sorry for what she had said. Sh e need ed someo ne to b lam e, and I was the most avai lab le p erso n. An yway, sh e loved me too. Whe n th e call was over , Cap tain Bogart said, "Well , C hess, I gu ess ya kn ow I' m gon na h ave to put ya in the Hole for that little incide nt o ut front. " I d idn ' t a rgue. What the h ell? I th oug h t. I didn ' t fee l lik e b e in g a round p eople anyway. T h e H o le g uard seemed s u rpri se d to see u s. "Damn , Ca ptain , were n ' t yo u supposed to get off at four o'clock? It's nearly six-thirty. " A tho ugh t struck me: Bogart hadn ' t loo ked at his watc h o nce during the whole affair. Mon d ay m orn in g ca m e . Rig h t afte r breakfast, t h e re was Captain Bogart in fron t of my cell in Ad Seg. "Well , Cheste r , it looks like you ' re gonn a skate on this o ne . It says he re in th e rule boo k that yo u must be inte rvi ewed o n a vio la tio n within 24 ho urs of its occurrence. Damn technicali ties got me th is time," he said with a smile. As I ste pped out of the Ad Seg uni t a nd le t my eyes adjust to the sunlight, I h e ard , " Da mn , Dog, you' ll n eve r believe what happe ned to your sho t." PL 58 PRISON LIFE Lennie's Catch by Benton Murray, Frank Scott Jr. Correctional, GA h e tunn el boat skimmed th e waves at full thro ttle. Carefully stacked layers of mo nofilament gill-n etting flew from the deck and left a bobber-strewn trail in the wake. The razor-tippe d oyster b ar d ead a h ead see m e d unavoidable, a nd Wanda's kn ees we re braced for the crash wh en Lennie sudden ly kicked the steering rod hard left and, almost sh avi ng t he paint from t he boat's side, gunn ed it between the school of mullet and the treacherous reef. When the boat reached the outer edge of the sch ool, Lennie looped around and drove back toward the beginning of the bobber line, hurriedly closing the webbed death trap around the shoal of frenzied fish. As he approached the fr0n t end of the net, h e raced back and pulled th e prop out of the water. The momentum swept the boat over the cork line and inside the circle. Wanda tossed the remaining 20 yards of the 300-yard n et overboard, tyi n g th e two n e t e n ds togeth e r. Lennie then did a few figure-eights inside the mesh walls, terrifying and scattering th e mullet into the nooses. "Look at 'em jump, Wanda. What a strike!" Lennie said as he su rveyed the scene . Silver flash es gleamed along the entire len gth of the n e t as thrash ing fis h fought helplessly in the mesh. In a few spots the bobbers had been drawn underwater from the weig ht of the catch . "Must h ave been ove r a hund red," Wanda ag r eed. "Anothe r couple of su·ikes like this and we'll make some real money today." It was the third strike of the morning. Lennie rubbed his back, anticipating the work of unloading and restacking the n et facing the two of th em. 'This is gonna have to be th e last strike today, Wanda. My back's killing me. I don 't remem ber fishing be ing so rough back when I used to do it," he grumbled. Wanda shot him a worried g lan ce as she snagged the tail end of th e net, straightened it, then began the job of neatly restacking the n e t onto tl1e deck. This was a j ob that had to be done painstakingly, for any slo ppiness could result in the net knotting up on the n ext strike. She worked fo r a full fifteen minutes, pulling mullet and stacking net before Lennie came back to help her. Wanda n o ted tha t he took tl1e cork side, leaving he r the much more difficult and strenuous lead line to work. T he T o ld Lennie would never have done that, she caugh t herself thinking, an d was in stan tl y as h amed of h e r se lf. Len ni e had been in prison for fi ve years on drug ch arges and had been o ut for only a week now. The two had e nj oyed a g reat marriage before his arrest, and they had a boy named Len ny Jr. who was six a nd a daughter, Sara, a year younge r. Those long five years had seemed like an eternity, but Wanda's me mo ries of Lennie's kindness and th oughtfulness h ad he lp ed h e r waiL The Le n n ie wh o came back to h e r one week ago was a c h anged character. The fun-loving and carefree Lenn ie of old was gon e. In his place was a quiet, a lm ost so le mn man. They'd once talked co nstan tly abou t everything. Now he never initiated conversations a nd expressed little interest in a nything but the kids. Most painful a nd h ard to understand was the fact that h e had n't sle pt with he r yet. H e'd not been able to get it up when Wanda had lured him into b ed soon afte r h e got home, and since then he just said he wanted to wait a week o r two and "get his head straig hL " She didn 't kn ow what th a t mea nt a nd had decided sh e didn 't care to know. She wa nted h er husband back. Throwing a mullet h a rd at the icebox, she exploded. "Lennie, we've got to ta lk! I don't know what's goi ng o n, o r just what th e problem is, but this isn't working. You know I love you; I just can't figure what's wrong. Is it me? I k n o w I put on a littl e weight after I h ad Sara and haven't gotten it off yet. Is that the proble m?" " o, Cod, no, Wanda. It's m e, ho n ey. My head's all messed up, a nd I just don't know how to act or what to d o . I asked yo u for two weeks. You waited five years for me. Can you just g ive me another week. I' m sure I' ll have things worked out by th e n. " The two fini shed cl earing and restacking the n et in gloomy silence, Wa nda near tears and Lennie keeping his head d own a nd his thoughts to himse lf. Wanda, n ot a t all happy with his a nswer, struggled with h e r feelings. She was sure of o ne thi ng, tho u g h. She 'd waited fi ve years for Lenn ie; whatever the problem was, sh e could wait anothe r wee k. "I'll wait," she said . "1 d on't know why you ca n't te ll me n o w, but I'll wait even lo nger if I have to. I'll wait as long as it takes 'cause I love you, Le nni e, and me a nd th e kid s n eed you." H e hu gged he r sile ntl y, face impass ive. As h e started forwa rd to Art Beltinll Bars' Honorable i\1/ention: "Beyond Reach" by Mark D. Smith, Angola State, L4 "The white P-Owder gleamed through the rent 1n the Dlastic: about 25 pounds of cocaine." c ra nk the motor, s he d ecided to change the subject. "Can we stop and ca tch a few sh eep head or a redfish for din n er on the way home since we 're going in early? Junior sure loves baked redfish ." "Of co urse," Lennie replied. "I know a spot that always used to ho ld sheephead, a nd I could usually find a red fi sh th e re, too . It's on Seashore Reef right off Cedar Key on ly a few miles out of the way. I used to find a lot of good driftwood there th at I could sell, and I've been wanting to swi ng by and take a look for the last few days." Le nni e cra nked up the Mercury, aimed th e boat no rth toward home but a little westward a nd offshore. H is fishing luck was ho lding, it seemed , fo r as h e approac hed the roc ky outcropping so m e minu tes la ter, he spied th e striped fo rms of at least a dozen sheephead and the long, dark shapes of several red[ish feed ing in th e s h a ll ow wa te r . "Le t go!", he h o llered , sign aling Wanda to throw out the weight auached to the n et. Th e n he raced up to th e rocks and ski rted th e edge for abo ut 20 yards before turning away sharply to begin encircling the doomed fish. Just as h e began the turn, a shin e from the ed ge of the rocks caug ht his eye, a nd h e shut down the thro ttle so fast Wanda fel l to h e r kn ees a nd c ri ed o ut. Le nni e d idn ' t; PRISON LIFE 59 h e ra n by h e r an d sh oved t h e two hu ndred re main ing yards of n e t in to th e wa ter. He the n re turned to t h e fro nt a nd idled th e board to the reef, shu t d own the motor a nd got o ut. H e'd known wh at it was th e seco nd his eyes h ad caught th e g li n t fro m t h e two-foo t sq uare p ackage wra ppe d in pl as ti c an d we d ged a m o n g th e roc ks . With tre mblin g hands he scooped it up and stepped back into the boat, avoid ing Wa nda's eyes. Lennie was an expe rie nced drug mover, h e knew full well that bales of ma rijua na we re always muc h bigge r tha n this. Pulling out his pocke tknife, Le nnie cut a deep gash in the triplewra ppe d p lastic. Afte r feas tin g his eyes fo r a seco nd , he loo ked up a t Wa nda. The white powder g lea med be twee n t h e m through th e re nt in t h e pl as ti c: a b o ut 25 p o unds of cocaine. Even at the rock bottom price of $8,000 a pou nd, which Le nni e kn ew he could easily get for the whole bale, th ere was a t least $200,000, far more th a n a m a n co uld m a ke co mm e r cial fishin g . It was e noug h to ta ke care of his kid s and se nd th e m to a good school so t hey wouldn ' t h ave to g o throug h th e hardships he'd faced . Wanda thou ght of these t hi ngs, too, but uppe rmost in her mind was fear: fear of the police a nd fear o f losing Le nnie again a fte r all these yea rs. "Thro w it bac k" sh e hissed . "Tf you wan t me and the kids, th row it in th e Gulf. I don' t want to be ric h, I j ust wan t you." She reached for the bale, b ut Le nnie g rabbed her wrist. "Just you wait a minute, Wanda. T h e r e ' s n o ru sh . Le t's think thi s tht·oug h ," h e sa id h ea te dly. Th e ir g la n ces loc ked fo r a mo me nt unti l Le nnie loo ked away. "Okay," he said, "mayb e yo u ' re rig ht. We ca n ' t ri sk coming in with it. But maybe I can tell one of the o ld t,rang whet·e it is and get some money o u t of it anyway." Le nnie picked the bale u p, ste pped back on th e ree f a nd carri ed it u p hi g her beyo nd the Lide mark. H e the n cove red th e bale with seve ral p ieces o f driftwood and re LUrned to the boat. The two began the tedious task of res tocking th e net while th e nearby cocaine we ig h e d h eavil y o n the i r tho ugh ts. Lennie agai n took the bobber side o f th e n e t a nd sto ppe d to res t t wice b e fo re th e n e ttin g was again neatly stacked o n d eck. In h e r perturba ti o n, Wand a sca rcely n o ted tl1 at she was d o ing most of the work. up the kid s, th en swung back by the Da mn my bad timin g in wantin g a fish ho use a ro und three o'cloc k, at shec phcad , she tho ught. She was so Junior's insiste n ce, to see if Le nnie furio us that if e ithe r of the sp ecies would take the young' uns for a short h ad bee n in t h e n et, sh e' d h ave boat dde. Le nnie was gon e with the thrown it back. She was startled when boat, testing it, sh e thought, or, even more like ly, tied up to o n e of the Le nnie suddenly broke the sile nce. "I think yo u ' re rig ht, Wa nda . I ma ny waterfront bars nearby. Le nnie came h o me a bo ut 6:15; d o n ' t kn o w wh at I was thinkin g . Especially with you in tl1c bo at, too. surprisingly, he was sober. "I ran into We've got to think ofilie kids. We just Darryl a t the bar ," he said as soon as he came in th e d oor. "He wa n ts me to ca n ' t risk it." "Oh honey," she gush ed. "' knew de ck hand o n his shrimp boa t for you 'd sec it was wrong. Le t's throw it him the next tl1ree d ays or so. We'll away a nd get out of h ere. I don't even be head ing out in a n hour and a hall: so I've got to eat quick." feel safe this close to it." "But Le nnie," said Wa nda. "You "We'll just leave it whe re it is," he a n swe r ed . "I'm n o t going n e ar it won't make but thirty dollars a night again. It' ll rot or a sto rm will wash it on the shrimpboat. You' re supposed away soon. Maybe somebody else will to stay away from convicted felons as find it. Who cares? Let's you and I get p art o f yo u r pa ro le. Da rryl 's b een o ut of here." busted several times. lsn 't h e still on As the reef reced ed in th e wa ke bond? T ell him n o, a nd le t's catch be hind the m, Wa nda felt as though mulle t whi le they' re running thick." the bulk o f he r worries was being left "I d o n ' t re a ll y car e a bout th e be hind , too. If Le nni e cou ld turn mo ney tl1a t much. You know I need to d own this te mptatio n fo r the sake of get my head straight o n a few things. Th ese three d ays will b e p e rfec t. I'll ta lk with you a nd le t yo u kn o w everything that's bee n bothe ring m e . I'll h ave eve ry t hin g u n d e r co n tro l by th e n , I pro mise." H e grabbed up up Jun io r, swung him up in th e a ir a nd hugged him tig ht. "Wha t do you wa nt to be wh e n yo u g r ow up, Junior?" he asked the boy. "I wa nt to b e a sp acet h e fa mi ly, th e n h e r wo rri es were man, Daddy," Junio r piped up. "And g r ou ndl ess. Sh e' d just h ave to b e Sara's gonna be my n urse for wh en I paLie nL co m e b ac k to ea rth a nd n eed a An ho ur's cruise broug ht them to ch eckup. " "Is that so, Sa ra?" asked Le nnie. the fish ho use whe re they fo und tha t mulle t prices had d ropped two cen ts She didn ' t a nswer, j ust nodded shyly. a po und. Th eir ca tc h still broug ht "Well, we'll have to see a bout this," th e m nea r ly seve nty dolla rs, minus Leonie laughed. "Don't neither of you gas money, fo r a morning's work, so two want to be a fish erman li ke your Wa nda suggested steak fo r dinner. daddy? My daddy was a fisherman and "Sounds good ," said Le nnie. "You so was his daddy." Sitting on the floor, ta ke th e truck a nd go o n sho pping . with a n a rm a ro und ea ch child, I'm go nna c h a n ge th e plug in th e Le nni e to ld Junior a nd Sa ra a bo ut Me rcury and re place the fuel line. It's h ow, b ecause of no t going to school getting pre tty rotte n. I might just sto p and studying h ard , h e, his father a nd a t the bar o n the way h ome, too. Ain 't his grandfathe r had all lived most of every day I ilirow away a fo rtune and I their lives in Yankeetown, fishing fo r a th ink I'll h ave a few beers." living . But if t hey stud ied real ha rd "You d eserve 'em, ho n ey." Wanda th ey co uld be spacemen , nu rses or smi led . "I' ll get you a six-pack from wha tever they wanted whe n they grew the sto re a nd have it waiting o n you. up. Wanda, reheating dinner , looked Dinn er's served aro und six so don ' t in a nd smiled at the rapt, wide-eyed b e la te." S h e h a nd e d him $20 , and a tten tive expressio ns on Junior h o pped in th e truck and took off. and Sa ra's faces. H e always could tell a Le nnie headed back towa rd tl1e boat. good tale, she tl10ught. Le nni e ate a nd th e n h e lpe d Wa nda we nt to the g rocery store, sto pped a t h e r mo th e r's a nd picked Wanda wash t11e d ishes, much to he r ''Lennie came home about 6:15 p.m. Surprisingly, he was sober.'' 60 PRISON LIFE a mazed bu t secret de light. When the h orn honked ou tside sum m o ning him, Le nni e gave a ll three g reat big hugs, kissed them aU, and headed out the door. Wanda stood at the door a lo ng time afte r the tru ck drove off, p o nd e ring, a nd when Darryl's boat ca me in three days later and Darryl himself told he r that Le nnie certainly hadn ' t gon e out with him , he'd o nly talked to him a few minutes the afternoon before he went out, Wanda was more numb th an su rprised. Re turning h ome, sh e unlocked the door, he lped the kids in, then no ticed the suitcase and letter sitting on the dinner table. She o pened the e nve lope and took out the short note. Tears had already started at the corn ers of he r eyes wh en she began reading. Dew· Wanda, it began. l guess you jJrobably think this is the cowm·dly way for me to tell you, bu.t I couldn't face you with the truth any other way. Five yeats in a cage can do a lot lo a man 's mind. It can mahe him t hin II thoughts cmd do things he'd never do an)' otlw· plrue. What I 'm trying to say, I guess, is that I jell weah a little over two yean ago. I had sex with a queer in jnison. Ju st once, I swear, but once was enough. He had AIDS, honey, and I caught it. Just before I got out I tested positive. I love you and the hids too much to stay. You llnow u s anyway-we never could resist se:,, and I won 'I chance it. Cod knows I want you and love yo u. I went bach to the reef, Wanda, and in the suitcase is $180, 000. T want you to put it away and sj1end it wisely on the l1ids. It s all I can give I hem now, and it's the only thing I can leave you. I'm laking enou.gh money to get myselfJar away and outside the U.S.A. I'll be all right, honey. Don't wail jm· me this time 'cause I can 'I come back. T love you, baby. Be strong. Love Lennie. Jun io r sudd e nly tugged on her h a nd and sa id , "\.Vhat's wr ong, Momm y? You're cryin g . Where 's Daddy?" "Hush , litLle spaceman," she said. "Eve r ythin g's okay, da rlin g . Everything's gonna be all right." PL PRISON LIFE 61 BIG ED'S DREADED QUADS Iron Pile: I'm trying to build legs bigger thau God;.il/a. So I squat and I Jquat all(l I Jquat ... but, still, my thighs don't sr.nn to be popping out of m.v pautJ. All I got to show for my t'fforts is a .m rr lower back. WhCll up witlt thi.~ squat action? There no reason whJ I .\ houldn't have huge legs- s s l'm 6' and bigfmmed. Big Ed U.S.P. Your sore lower back says it all, Big Ed. Ifynu 'n: squatting your ass off and the only thing hurting is your lower back. rd say iL's time to find somet hin g l'lse for your quadriceps. Not evervonc is meant to squat. For mo~t people, the squat is a vel)' ineffecti\·e exercist• when it conu:s to blasting quads. If you're not able to keep your back straight as your legs form a 90 degree angle (the point at which you should t·nd a squat). then you arc not mechanically inclined to perform a P'' rf(•ct squat. Let me explain. The basic function of vour quadrin·ps muscles (Re'ctus femoris , Vastus intermedius, \'astus latcralis, Vastus medialis) is a knt·e cxtension-basicallv, straightening your leg from a be~t position. The most direct way of hitting your quads. then. would be an exercise which most closely rcsemblt:s this primary movement. You got it-l.t.•g Extensions. Leg Exlt'nsions arc a onejoint mo\·emt.•nt, nwaning all vou 're working on arc your quadriceps. Squats, Leg Presses , Hac k Squato;-tht~y·n· all compound, or 62 PRISON LIFE multi-joint movements. Wh e n you're blasting away on the m , you're also hitting oth er bodyparts. For example, on squats, you won't be able to help but in vo lve your lower back in assisting the lift. So if you're compl a i ni ng about lower back pain . it's o nly because that area is g e ttin g fatigued bt•fore your quads ever get a chance. And sin ce you ' r e squatting so damn mu ch, yo u 're probably injurin g your lo we r spinal rnuscl(•s. V\'hat. you're striving for is that bone-d ee p burn in your quads, and th at's something that most people do n't oftt•n feel on squats (unless th ey're mechanically gifted and able to perform that perfect squat). Takl· a break from squats, you don't need 'em anyway. Instead, do Leg Extensions. Blast the hell outta your quads in the most direct way possibl<'. Learn to love that burn , 'cause that's what's gonna gl·t them quads to pop out. If you're still up to it, after Extensions. throw in a few sets of squats or Leg Pl't·sses while you're pre-exhausted. If that don't get 'em, nuthin ' ·will. LOSIN' STRENGTH- NOT htm Pile: It's good to hea r tLI prisoners have someone to write about ou1· problem.~ with weightliftiug. I am a big guy. 23; pounds, 6'T. I've hem trying to lou weight llnd get a urelltlrfint•d lmdy before Ill)' 1·elrase in one .\'ea1·. A.\ I los(' bod)' weight-about three pounds a month- my ovem/l l11:nt·h press .W!l'11L\' to d t!d i ue. I'm taking vitamins, eating fruits, potatoes, rice, beans and foods high in proteins and complex caTbohydrates. Is there any· thing I can do to l:eep my bench pms up as I start to lose body weigllt1 Ycltlr ideas would be ofgreat heljJ to me. Steplum j ohn Koutoes U. S.P. Atlanta, CA Stephen, until yo u stabilize at a given body weight, the best you can d o is keep pushing that we ight as best yo u can. Bear in mind that losing pounds on a bench press d oes n ' t necessaril y m ean t ha t you' re ge tting Wl'akcr. In racl, you may even be getting stronger. Re member that s tre ng th is determ ined bv how much vou can lift at a give1; weight. So~ if you were benching 300 at 235 pounds ( 1.276 times your body wt·igh t), and now you're benching 265 a t 200 (1.325 your body weight). you would've actually increased your strength. All that extra fat will enable you to heave more weight, but n:member that the extra pounds are mere leverage. Fat cells arc not able to contract and pull joints (i.e. lift weights) so don 't worry about a few pounds on your bench press. Once you'vt• stabilized at your targeu·d hody weight, your body will be ready to explode with newfound strength. Just keep doing what you're doing. and eating what you' re eating. Send your Q's and problems to Iron Pile, c / o Prison Life Magazine, 505 8th Avenue, 14th Floor. New York, NY 10018. 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DEXTER BLAZER-MD-BlKIBROWNITAN-M •• 69.95 CONVERSE CONS ~OW-MEN ............. 33.95 10361-61NCH-TAN-LADIES .................. 87.95 DEXTER KLONDIKE-MID-MEN & LADIES ... 59.95 CONVERSE CONS 500-HIGH·BLK OR WHT·M 37.95 11066-61NCH-BROWN LEATHER-M .. 107.95 DEXTER CARIBOU-MID-MEN ................ ..... 64.95 CONVERSE TAR MAX--MID-MEN ................ 35.95 20081-61NCH-TAN-MEN ....................... 78.95 DEXTER ROXIE--MID-BROWN/TmLAOIES . 59.95 CONVERSE NBA THREAT·MID-BI.KM'HT·M .. 44.95 80089-B INCH-BLACK- MEN .................. 76.95 HI·TEC ALPINE-MID-MEN & LADIES ........... 54.95 CONVERSE RUN 'N SLAM '95-LOW·BLK-1.1 .. 54.95 30:l04-<lENA TREKKER-LADIES ............ 63.95 HI-TECVISTA-MIO-MEN .............................. 54.95 CONVERSE RUN 'N SLAM '95-MI().B(J(NMl-M 59.95 39001-ULTIMATE TREK-MID-MEN ..... 120.95 HJ.TEC MIDNITE BLACK-MID-MEN ............. 50.95 CONVERSE SPEEDPULL-MID-BI.K.WHT·M . 44.95 5()()()9..VEYELET CI.ASSlC LUG-MEN .... 69.95 H~TEC SlERRA UTE II·MIO.BROWWBLK-M ... 39.95 CONVERSE DESTROYER-MID-MEN .......... 63.95 50053-CH\IKKA-MID-BROWN-MEN ... 78.95 HJ.TEC LADY UTE II-MID ............................... 39.95 ELLESSE 11-4-999-I.OW-BLACK-MEN ........ ~9.95 50059--CHlJKI<A-Mlo-BLACK-MEN ..... 76.95 HJ.TEC NAVAJO-MID-MEN .......................... 59.95 Fl.AMASH 2A--Mio-BLACK-MEN ............ r;T.95 57334-KARRIE-MID-LADIES ................. 65.95 HJ.TEC SHASTA H-MEN .................................. 29.95 FILA MANTlS-MID·BLACK OR WHITE·MEN .. 62.95 59033-3 EYELET OXFORD-MEN .......... 105.95 HI-TEC HURON-MID-WATERPROOF-MEN. 81.95 NEW BALANCE BB 5~BLKIWHT-MEN ~.95 59093-7 EYELET CH\JKKA-MIO-MEN 117.95 NEVADOS WILDCAT- MID-MEN ................... 29.95 NIKE AIR JORDAN 10--HIGH-MEN ............... 119.95 89044-BUSH HIKER-LOW·BROWN-M .... 59.95 NEVAIDOS TUNDRA- MID-MEN & LADIES ... 33.95 NIKE AIR FORCE 1-LOW-81.K OR WHT·M .... 57.95 68047-BUSH HIKER--l..OW-BLACK·M . .... 54.95 NEW BALANCE MH 516-MIO.D & EE- MEN • ~7.95 NIKE AIR FORCE 1-MID-BLK OR WHT-MEN. 59.95 89056-aUSH HIKER-MID-BROWN·M ...... 64.95 NIKE CALDERA-MID-MEN & LADIES .......... 46.95 NIKE AIR FORCE MAX CB-MID-MEN ......... 89.95 89057-BUSH HfKER-MID-BlACK-1.1 ........ 59.95 REEBOK ZEN-HIGH-MEN ............................ 79.95 NIKE AIR UNUMITED-HIGH-MEN ............ 79.95 89357--0IANE-MIQ-BLACK-LAOIES .... 68.95 REEBOK TEL05-+11GH-MEN ........................ 58.95 NIKE AIR SWIFT-MID-BLK OR WHT-/.!EN 65.95 88362-0IANE-MID-BROWN-LAOIES .. 68.95 REEBOK TELOS lA.TRA-HIGK-MEN ,_...... 64.95 NIKE AIR DAA~OW-MEN ......- . ....... 58.95 83361-JAYNE--MID-TAN-LAOIES ........ 65.95 REEBOK CUFFIWIGER-MIO-MEN ........... 48.95 NIKE AIR DAAWIN-MIO-MEN ....................... 64.95 94332-RENEE-LAOIES ............................ 58.95 REEBOK VIRAZON II-MID-LADIES .............. ~.95 NIKE AIR POUND--MID-BLACK-MEN ........ 59.95 90034-EUAO HIKER-MID-MEN ............. 79.95 SKECHERS: NIKE AIR AUTHORITY·MIO-BLK OR WHT·MEN~9.95 95054-EURO HIKER-MID-MEN ............. 59.95 GIRDER W/ STEEL TOE· LOW·BLACK-1.1 .... 42.95 NIKE AIR STRONG-MID-BLACK-MEN ...... 62.95 9510C>-EURO HIKER-LEATHER-MEN .• 89.95 I-BEAM WI STEEL TOE-MIO-BROWN·M ... ~9.95 NIKE AIR UP-MI[)-.MEN .......................- .... 71.95 95310--EURO HIKER--l..EATHER-I.ADIES 59.95 TRESTLE WORKBOOT-1.110-TAWBROWN-M .45.95 PUMA SUEDE-LOW-BLACK OR BlUE-M. 35.95 95392-EURO HIKER-LADIES .............. ... 51.95 REBAfl-lOW-TAN-MEN ...................... 43.95 PUMA BASKET-lOWROCKPORT: RIPCUT-I.OW·BROWN-MEN (EVEN SIZES) 40.95 WHT W/ NATURAL OR BLK SWOOSH·MEN 35.95 3051-cHOCOLATE NUBLICK·MID-MEN ... R95 RIPSAW-MID-BLK OR BROWN-MEN ... 35.95 PUMA SKY JAM-MID-BLACK-MEN ......... 38.95 DISCOVERY 5519-BROWN-MID-MEN .... 66.95 OILSTONE-MIO.TANII!AOWN-l (EVEN SIZES) 49.95 DISCOVERY 5529--BROWN-LOW·MEN .. 54.95 BAFFIN DIJCK MID HAWK· '-! (EVEN SIZES)49.95 RUNNING SHOES K·SWISS TALARA-HIGH-LAOIES ................ 59.95 BAFFIN DIJCK MIO EAGLE-M (EVEN SIZES) 49.95 REEBOK CLASSIC LEATHER·BLKI WHT-MIL • 44.95 K-5WISS MURALTC>-4iiGH-MEN .................. 89.95 BAFFIN DUCK 8" TAUARAK-M (EVEN SIZES) . 54.95 REEBOK PYRO-MEN & LADIES ..................... 39.95 K·SWISS PONTANO-HIG!-1-MEN ................. 89.95 URBAN RANGER HIGH SNEAKER·UNISEX .. 35.95 ADIDAS TORSlON RESPONSE·MENII.ADIES. 39.95 TENNIS SHOES BROOKS HYDROFLOW CHARIOT HFX--IM.. 49.95 NEW BALANCE M 67&-B, D, EE & 4E-MEN. 52.95 AOIDAS TORSION RESPONSE--l..OW-MEN 55.95 NEW BALANCE CT 680--B, D, EE & ~E-M EN . 43.95 A VIA 742 LEATHER-MEN & LADIES .............. 29.95 REEBOK CENTRE COURT- MEN ................... 54.95 NIKE AIR PEGASUS '95-MEN & LADIES ....... 52.95 SAUCOHY JRZ. 4000-MEN & LADIES .......... 44.95 ALA CLASSIC TENNIS-MEN ..- ..................... 48.95 REEBOK OUAUFIER-MI[).BLKIWHT·MEN ... 53.95 HEAD RADIAL ~OW LEATHER-WI. ...... ~.95 WILSON PRO STAFF-MEN & LADIES ........... CAU n .95 PRISON LIFE 63 AskBubba Hi Baby! I lhinh you're so cute. I'd love lo have a man lihe you. The only problem is, I Lhinh you like dich as much as I do. "Ask Bubba "? I Lhinlt it should be "Ash Bubbella. " Why don 't you stop acting so Lough and gel )'Ourself right? Shave yow· legs, arch yonr eyebrows and get some pretty panties to wear. And girl, while I'm writing you, I'll aslt you to send )'ow· sister a subscrijJtion. !f you don '1. f'fl lticlt yo ur ass! L OVI', Steve a. lw. Stephani U. C. I., Florida Dear Stepha ni, Biaaaaaalch! Yo u man gy, niveling ho. Do n 't be dragging that slo ppy pussy of yours a rou n d h e re tryin ' to sell it to me for no subscription to my magaz ine. You wa n t to read th is, hon ey, go out and sell that ass. The n save your quarte rs till you h ave twenty bucks a nd send m e a money orde r. I just know you ' re so ugly nobody will have you, but give it a try an yway. Eve n a blind, one-legged chipm u nk omelimes fi nd s an acorn. Love and hisses, Bubba Greetings, Bubba! I read Prison Life fo r the firs/ lime a couple wr'ek5 ago. The rag is jJretty Jnchin ' good, jaclt! I mean, Bubba. So I'm as/tin ': Can l gPI a free scrijJt? I cau 'l afford cracfters for 111)' pet mouse or a mbberjor his head 'cast' it rains. Ya help a lot of peojJ!e and ya might be able to help me with this problem(violi ns jJlease): I 'm doin ' double life phts 35 years with 110 jJossibility of parole roe1; jorbank robbel)'- I never hurl anyonr', or kidnapjJPd anyone. I jus/look the monl')' and mn. (So [used a gun.) That .5111·e does jJiss 'em off in Virginia. Th e Virginia prison system considers a lifi' sentence 600 yem:5. So in reality I have lwelvP flu nd red and 35 ye(/./:1· wilhou/ parole 'causr' that 's what my time sheet says. I evm have I 0 years bac!t-up time for the Feds. They want me when the Slate is done with me, and y'hnow the Feds lihe to collect their lime, so ! figure when I die the stale will send my body to the Peds and they will stand my coffin up in the come1· and of ace{{ until my Fed I i me is ujJ. Then they'll bwy me. Bubba, m.y problem is, what color cof fin should 1 get? Ludty, A HafJ/J)' Convict P. S. Keep gi vin ' those wimpy, whinin ' short limen the blues. The)' don 'I /mow how /uc!ty th ey are. It gels me of/ when you ride their back~. Lucky, yo u a in' t, pal, First of all, le t me te ll you what I th ink abo ut th e tim e th ey gave yo u. A ma n robs a ba n k with a gun, h e gets I ,200 years. A man rob a bank wi t h a fountain p e n , h e d o n ' t get sh it. And I bet yo u pro bab l}' sto le c h ump change. You know what the wo1.. t cri m e of th e decade was? In te rms of h ow much mon ey they too k a nd how many peo ple th ey hu rt, th e biggest bank robbers of 'em all are the poli ticia ns a nd the ir cronies who ran the S&L sca m on a bunch of middle class folk who sure as he ll couldn 't affo rd to h ave t h e ir savi n gs ripped o fT. How m uch time did th ose g uys get? How m u ch time did George Bush 's kid get fo r his involvement in the Silverado bank scam? What really pisses me off a bout the people in this co un try is how fu cking stu p id t h ey a re. When a re America ns going to smarten up? The real crimina ls d on' t break th e laws, they make th e laws. And if yo u thi nk th ose fat cats "·h o just took over down t he re in Was hington , th ese so-called Republica ns, are any better, fo rge t abou t it. Bub ba kn ows wh a t th ey' re u p to . People thi nk I'm ome lily-livere d libe ral, but that's al l wro ng. I'm a rad ical fu cking rig h t win g nut! (The re, at las t I ' ve sa id it. I fee l better alread y.) I co u ld te ll o ld :-.J e wt a thing or two about wha t it mea ns to be co n se rva t ive. What the Republicans want to do is to re place th e welfare state with th e impriso nme nt sta te. They say d o away with big gove rnme nt, yet t11ey wa nt more cops, more priso ns, more laws- and less freedom for everyo ne. Lucky o ld pal, you slap ha ppy, stir crazy rucke r yo u, to hell with the coflin . Tell 'em to burn your ass in one of them oYens. the re is no such thing as death . Let yo ur spirit run free. An d the n com e back to hau n t th e m. Bubba joT President Bubba wants your questions! Send y our kites to Bubba, cj o Prison Life rnag, 505 8th Ave, NY, NY 10018. 64 PRISON LIFE 7 The first six issues of Prison Life are nearly sold out ••• you ain ~-~,JR~Illiilll ,But ou can still score issues 1, 5, 7, 8 and 9. acked with from e Inside, these issues will never go outta date. Only and that includes postage & handling. Send me back issues of Prison Life! ,...~acks a shot----..while they last Issue: 01 05 07 Enclosed is $10 per copy. 08 09 NA~ I E 11)# f J H ·.SS CIT Y STATE Zl l' Send to: Prison Life , 505 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018. Family Matters REUNITED rn the ja.nua1y '95 "Family Matters," we printed a letter by R eginald "CA$H" Alexande1· beseeching women with children by a man behind bars to let the fathers see their children. While CA$H's feller was wrillen to all women, il was based on his relationshijJ with Trinetta, thf' mother of his son, Le Cashi·us. CA$H had:n 't sf;oken to his son for several years, and for this he held Trine/la lmgely responsible. Trinella 1·ead CA$H's lel/er in the janttG1)' issue and se1t1 her Tesponse. Dear Cash, As I write this le tte r, you r son and are doing fin e. In fact, he's sitting h e re next to me looking more and mo re like you every minute. We're happy to hear you' re staying strong a nd, like you, we are trying 66 PRISON LIFE d espera tely to weather the storm. I'm sorry I haven't been more of a friend to you, and especially regre tful that I haven 't do ne everything possible to a llow you to remain a part of your son's life. T h e reasons are co mplex a nd many, and yo u may not unde rsta nd or forgive me for them, but in lig ht of your letter I will explai n. Cas h , when the y se nt yo u to prison it was as if I had been impriso ned , too. They took away your freedom-they sna tch ed away my ho pe. Eve rything I had e n vis ion e d and p lanned for Lhe future was suddenly yanked away. For the first few yea rs of }'Ou r in ca r ce r at io n I was los1, m y mind was doing ta il sp in s . Eve ry dream l h ad was desLroyed. T hen one day I sudde n ly stopped spinning and ope n ed my eyes a nd saw th e scary truth. You were gone! I was all alone, with a small child a nd facing a wo rld tha t I was not prepared to face without yo u. 1 never wanted a child until I me t you. And I told you when we fi rst met tha t I was d e te rmined no t to end up a single, struggling mo th e r like many of m y friends. I co nceived and gave birth to Le Cashi us because J loved you and that was what you wa nted . You promised m e a million times that we wo u ld always rema in a family. And although I knew you didn' t willfully leave us, I still fou nd myself b la ming you for our struggles. r tr ied In)' best to wait fo r you, re mai n fai thfu l and by your sid e. But as the years dragged along I beca me lon ely a nd unh a ppy. I won 't try to deny that I h ave fo und so meo n e to fill those voids, I'll simply ask, "If the tables were turn ed , wo uld you have waited for me?" An yway, o n ce 1 beca me d ee pl y invo lve d with th a t som e on e, it beca me e mo tion ally impossible fo r me to re main a pan of your life . H ow could 1 write you love le tte rs, visit you (smiling in your face and kissing you) fo r seve r al h ours, knowin g th a t as soon as our visit e nded my affection would be fo r an othe r ma n? You may not respect th e way J've chose n to ha ndle things, but J'm sure you wo uldn 't have respected me if I had don e the above, wo uld yo u? Still, I tell your son about you all th e tim e, a nd con tra ry to wha t you may be lie ve n o ma n wi ll eve r ta ke your p lace in his life. I've wanted to bring him to visit you a nd a t tim es I' ve sta rte d to write you , bu t dee p down inside l've felt g uilty, like I've let you d o wn , a nd I kn ow th a t you don 't forgive easily. The refo re, I was afraid to face you or to contact yo u. I believed tha t you h a ted me and tha t rum o rs h ad turned yo u comple tely against me. I was also going thro u g h ma ny c ha nges, trying to find myse lf, a nd hopelessly d e pressed ove r your situati o n. But d o n't eve r th ink th at yo u we r e forgo tte n. It's impossible to look a t Le Cash ius a nd not see you. It rea lly hurts my heart fo r him to grow up witho ut having his daddy a round. I d o m y bes t with him but h e still need s )' O U. I was so d e pressed tha t some ho w it j ust seemed muc h easie r to stay away a nd n o t co mmunicate wi th yo u a l all. You a re n ' t ve ry unde rstandi ng, and loo king back on it now I must tell you tha t whe n you first went to prison you had some very unrealistic expectations of me. The n wh e n I co uldn 't live up to all of the m, you made me fee l like a tramp. 1 avo ided co n tact wi th you because I didn 't like being made to feel that way. Life wasn't easy for me e ith e r during th a t time, but your und e rstanding of my predi came nt was ze ro! Cash, you ex pec ted mo re than I was capable o f giving. I know l've been wro n g to de n)' you your son, and I a po logize. But I have always to ld him a bo ut you and I promise you tha t he will be taught to love you. I, myse lf, think a bout you ofte n a nd I miss you a lo t. I hate tha t things have gone this way, but I ho pe that one day we ca n become frie nds. So mu c h b as h a pp e n e d sin ce yo u've been away, so muc h to ma ke me cry. I just wish you could come ho me. We may have been o lll o f your life for th e past th ree yea rs, but we have always loved a nd n eed ed yo u. And we always will. Love, Trinetla and 'Lit Cash PRISON LIFE 67 Prison Papers STORIES FROM THE YARD Iron House: Stories fmm the Yard J erome Washington QED P ress, $18.95, 164 pgs. Review by J ennifer· Wynn "So what if the food is llnfit for can ine consumjJtion?" the Niess se1geanl said. "We a in 'I feeding dogs, we is feeding you. " He gloated, then added, "The SPCA can 't squawk about that. " The last time we tried a hunger strike the warden stormed into the mess hall and ordered us to eat. When no one made a move to break our solidarity by eating, the wanlen dragged a 1{//ge challiboaul into the middle of the 111esslwll. "This is youT last chance," the warden shonled as he held u.p a jJiece of chalk for all to see, then prefJmWI to write. "If you men don 'I slaTI eating right now," the warden sc1·eamed, "I'm going to wl'ite the names of l'Vel)' informel; snitch and 1'0/ in th e jJriS0/1. ' Beforf' the challi touched the bom·d nearly evel)' plate was clean. Ri ng a be ll ? So sho ul d m ost o f the accou nlS in Iron House: Stories from thf' Yard . .Jero me WashingLOn's book, win n e r of the 1994 Weste rn States A n s Federatio n Book Awa rd for Creative Nonfiction, is exactly what its title proclaims it lO be-a compe nd iu m of ,·ig nettes and impressions cove ring the author's time in th e j oint. 68 PRISON LIFE Some a re as sh o rt as a se nte n ce o r two, oth e rs are seve ral pages lo ng . Ye t nothi ng I have read by a p risone r o r ex-co n captures with such depth and po ig na n cy th e e motional un de rcurre n ts of life in he ll. Every portra it is sha rply wri ttenun ad orn ed ye t g raceful. The author's lyri cal sLO ryte lling sta n ds in direct, a nd so m e times di sco n ce rting, co ntrast to the ho rro rs he writes a bout. In j ust a few pa ragra phs, Washi ngton man age · lO make the ma in cha racte r o f each sketch com e to life, a nd h e succeeds in leaving the read e r wi th a se nse of motive, wh ethe r c rue l, crazy o r heroic. We un de rstan d, for exa mple, why Lizard Macdo na ld only la ug hs wh e n he is clowni ng with th e g uards with his "Rig ht on!" U ncle T o m ro utin e; how Willie, afte r te n years of masturba tio n , could on ly see "his wife as a substitute fo r his fist," and why it is tha t the auth or, wh o admi lS he's been ·:jive, insensiti ve a nd fast ta lking ... " n ow watc hes as his "' help-me le tte rs co me back like stray ho ming pigeo ns, stamped 'Return to Sende r."' Th e a u th o r 's c lear wri t in g a n d s h a rp o bserva ti o n s a re m o r e th a n odes to clear thinking. They show h e has taken pa ins to un de rsta nd the syste m a nd th e p laye r s within it. Washingto n respects his fe ll ow priso ners and seeks lO te ll the ir sto ri es truthfull y. He points out in th e introd uctio n that p rison writing involves risk: "If th e writ ing is no t rep rese nta tive and doesn't ring u·ue to the prisone rs, cri ticism can come from the blade of a knife or a p unch in th e face." Wh e n J e ro m e Washin gto n we n t to priso n , he was a lread y a n acco mplished write r, teach e r and p olitical activist. In fact, he was the first black Yi ppie leader. Acco rding to the '60s activist Pau l Krassn er's autobiogra phy, the t\VO met while pissi ng side by side on the walls of the Pentagon d uring a d e monstra tion. La ter, blinded by tear gas, th ey he lped each o tl1e r up a h il l. In 1968, 'Nashin gto n h e lped his fe llow Yip p ies Abb ie H o ff m a n a nd Krass n e r d isr up t the De m oc rat ic Nati onal Conve ntion in Chi cago. His FBI reco rds fa lse ly classified him as the liaison be tween the Yippies and th e Black Pan thers. By 1972 he was in j a il fo r cha rges o f m ur d e r and attempte d murder, whi ch we re u ltima te ly dro p ped upon his re lease 16 years later. "I n ever gave in to bei ng a prisone r," says Washi ngto n , n ow living in Fo rt Bragg, Ca lifo rnia. "I a lways saw myself as a survivor." judging from his p r ison reco r d, i t see m s t h at vVashing to n did mo re tl1an "survive" life in the New York Sta te prison system. He li te ra lly tra n sform e d it. "I became successful in an unsuccessful system," he says with c h a racte ri stic mod esty. Whi le at Au b u rn Co rrecti o n a l, Was h in g ton s ta rte d th e Auburn Collective, which won awards from the American Penal Press for ilS respo nsible and powerful journa lism . Drawing fro m h is experie n ces as a li teracy teac h er in th e d eep So uth to h e lp Blacks exercise their powe r lO vote, Wash ington starte d the first lite racy p rogra m at Auburn. H e also tau ght j ourna lism in prison and gained the support of local, freeworld j o urnalislS. No t s u r p r isin g ly, t h e wa rd e n became th rea te ned by Washingto n , whom h e felt was becoming too powerfu l. O ffic ia ls co nfisca te d h is typ ewriter, ma n uscrip ts and two years of researc h. H e was se nt t o Attica in ha ndcuffs and shack les. "They tr ansfe rred m e to Attica to sile n ce m y voice as a writer." But Washington fo ught back-an d won. H e enlisted pw bono assista nce from a leading Ne w Yo rk Ci ty law firm a nd fi led a F irst Am e nd me n t lawsui t in F e d e r a l Di s tr ic t Co u rt agai n st t he wa r den wh o h a d hi m transferred to Attica. Despi te th e warden's attem pt to poru·ay Washing ton as a security risk an d a "card-carrying m ember o f t h e Blac k P a n the r s," Was hi ngto n won t h e su it for t he "right to write," as well as $5,000 in d a mages. "This was the fi rst tim e a p ri so n er eve r bro ugh t su c h a case against an institu t io n ," Washington says. "It was a major victory not only for m e b u t fo r a ll p ri so n e r s." Re flecting on th e warden's desperate last d itch efforlS to defame him , th e a uth or obse rves: "In pri so n , paran o ia works b o th wa ys. It affects the watche r as much as it d oes the watched ." While m os t peo pl e mi g ht r es t on t h e ir lau r e ls, Was h in g ton we nt on to publi s h anoth e r small magazine, a nd to write and publish severa l plays, including The Boys in Cellblock C, fo r whi ch h e wo n a fe llows hip from The e w York Foundation for the Arts. same loo k of desperation on th e face of a m a n rumm ag in g th ro ug h a garbage ca n as th e man ridi ng in a limousine." 'vVhile Wa hing ton's primary goa l in writing i ron House was to te ll with h ones ty and sen sitivity th e to rie of Ame rica's imprisone d , an e qu a II y im portan t inten tio n was to give freeworld citi zens "a glimpse o f priso n life in a way that they can grasp it." \ '\1ith billio ns of doll ars commit- "Those of us who are in prison have been convicted. Everil'one else is sti on trial." The fin a l p ages of h on H ouse are devoted to th e autho r's re lllrn to the freeworld , wh ic h was n o t at a ll h ow h e a n tici pa te d it. Pa rano ia, despair a nd cy ni c ism preva il e d. Th e po litical activism a nd collective rallying cry o f the '60s had bee n re placed by isola te d subgroups of soc ie ty at o dd s with eac h other a nd the world. "I saw th e A t e d to bu ilding more prisons every year, this isn ' t a bad idea. F or p eop l e who h ave n eve r expe rie nced incarcera tio n firs t h and , hon H ouse s h o uld be require d readi n g. As W as hington notes on th e first page: "Those of us who a re in prison have bee n convicted. Everyo ne PL e lse is still on tria l." direct line to every winning case in the Federal Courts since "Strickla11d v. Wasf1i11gto11" all gathered together and summarized in this comprehensive text. A 70 page index leads you to exactly the right case with almost 800 examples of ineffective assistance, with every reference to a win· ning case. Over 300 cases decided since Strickland. and 200 before. are gathered together and indexed according to the precise factual issue considered in the decision. Defense attorneys across the country are using this book to save untold hours. and even days, of research. If you have ever tried to find Products available from over 50 lelldlng manufacturers Including; WINNING CASES IN THE FEDERAL COURTS GOOD case law to back up your ineffective assistance arguments. you know how difficult that can be. Here it has already been done for you. Every case in this book is briefly summarized, with emphasis on specific facts which Oaamplon Otomlx- EAS NLO Twin Lab• SportPbanna NOW AVAILABLE TJII\U DSS, Inc. NEW PRODUCTS FROM POWERSTAR" ANABOL MAX 500'" WHEY STAR"' Tho hlghat potmcy Pfaltla ~ product on tho marl<d today · 500 mg ptr capsule. All Pow..Sur® products ort guuantttd 9~+ pure by 1.. dtptndtnt loboratOf)'analysb. 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Seeking an evidentiary hearing? You'll find the case law you need to support your arguments in Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. In a large looseleaf binder. this book is supplemented at least twice annually. The $120.00 purchase price includes all supplements issued during the following 6 months. Supplement service is $42.00 per year thereafter. To order send your payment of$ 120.00 plus $8.00 S&H to: SOUTHWEST LEGAL SERVICES P.O. Box 57091 85732 TUCSON, ARJZONA PRISON LIFE 69 In-House Counsel Writ Writing: GeHing Started By Larry Fassler, Jailhouse Lawyer MAKE A LIST h is is th e fi rst in a multi-part se ri es o n how to c rea te a nd wri te a new appeal of your conviction or sente nce. Most like ly, you will have already appealed your case, a nd the "writ of habeas corpus" will be you r last sho t at freedo m. It may go by ano th er na me in your jurisdi ction , such as a "2255" mo t.i on if you are fig hting a fe de ral convictio n, or a "2254" if you're appealing a state convictio n to fe de ral cou rt. ( I' ll use the g eneric term "h a b eas c orpus . ") Rega rd less o f the na me, eve ry sta te and fe d e ra l co urt h as a procedure ava ilable. T IDENTIFYING YoUR l SSUF.S Th e firs t req ui re ment fo r any writ is to ide ntify tJ1e issues. Good issues can wi n; poorly chosen issues wi ll lose. Most prisone rs who want to file a writ simply find a j ailhouse lawyer and ask him to look at th eir case and find the issues to raise. A good jailhouse lawye r can d o that. Unfortunately, not all j ailhouse lawyers are that good, and eve n th ose who a re co mp e te n t u su a ll y kn ow li ttle more tha n th e pa rti cula r issues tJ1ey raised in th eir own appeals or in o ther wri ts they he lped write. So, whil e a jailh o use lawye r ca n o fte n he lp, l suggest you start by trying to he lp yourse lf. The person who knows yo ur case bes t is yo u. You kn ow h ow yo u r d e fense fa ile d yo u. If yo ur law>re r wo uldn ' t in vestigate or pre pare for trial, you a re the on e who knows that. If th e cops vio late d pro p e r p o lice conduct in in vestig atin g yo ur case, you a re the person who kn ows about it. So th e first ste p in an y wri t is to ide nti fy the things you be lieve were wrong a bout your case. 70 PRISON LIFE Write down eac h o f the t hi ngs about your case that doesn ' t sit rig ht with you. Don ' t won)' about the law or whe tJ1e r they a re legal issues, like the Miranda warni ngs. If you feel you were wronged by a pa rticular acti on or dec ision, a dd it to you r list. Use co mm o n sense. Muc h of th e law is ba eel o n common se nse. You h a ve prob a b ly a lr e ad y app ealed you r case . We re yo u sa ti sfied witJ1 the o utcome, o r do you feel stro ng ly that tJ1e re was a n issue raised o n yo ur appea l that th e co urt ig nore d ? Do yo u fee l yo ur lawyer fa ile d to prese nt your issues adequately? rr so , add this to your list. Have other people raised iss ues that so unded good a nd might apply to you r case? Add th e m to your list. Have you read a nythin g in a boo k, magazine or newsle tte r th at sounded like it might help you? \1\'rite it down. Don ' t scrimp o n your list. Put d own evel)' possible issue yo u can th in k of. Brainstorm. Take your tim e putting the list togeth er. The re is no hurry You may be very anxio us to go to court a nd U)' to get a reversal, but reme mber-you will proba bly o nly have one chance, and if you don ' t fi le the best writ you possibly ca n , yo u a re j eo pard izing your future possibilities for appeal. It is b e tte r to take six months d o ing things co rrectl y than it is to do an e xu·a six yea rs because you we re in a hurl)' and filed a losing writ. The key he re is e ff ectiveness befo re efficiency. After yo u have compi led the list, sleep on it for a few weeks. During that tim e , yo u may think of ad d iti o n a l issues, and whe n yo u look at th e list again, you will probably think o f more. This i not a proj ect you should expect to do in a day. It ta kes th o ug ht a nd recollection , both of wh ich take time. HIT THE STACKS I strong ly re comme nd that you read a good basic text on criminal law at the early stage of th e writ-writing process. The best book I know of is Modern Criminal ProceduTe, by Hall and Ka misar (West Publishing Co. , St. Paul, Minnesota) . Do n ' t be daunted by its size. It's easy to read and wi ll give yo u a good un derstanding of the basic issues for a ppeal. You can read it in section s-taking a month or two to finish the book may d o mo re for yo ur c h a nces of success th a n an ything e lse. Most prison law libraries h ave th e boo k, but if you rs doesn ' t, it's we ll wonh th e mon ey to buy your own copy. By tJ1is time, you sho uld be looking aro und the law li brary a nd ge tting to know th e p eo p le who h a ng o ut there. You will find b oo ks and other publica tion s that catch you r eye a nd give you additio nal ideas. At this stage, howeve r, it is best to con ce ntrate o n id e ntifying issues that might be worth ra ising in yo ur case, not in d o in g legal r esea r c h o n th e m. (Resea rching you r issues wi ll be the subject of a future colu mn.) Afte r you have d evelo pe d yo ur list, start d iscussing your case with jailhouse lawyers. Undoubte dly, th ey wi ll h ave id e as of th e ir ow n , a nd you sho uld a dd th e m to yo ur list if yo u think they apply. If you ' re co nsiderin g using a jailho use lawye r to he lp write your writ, tJ1is is a good opportun ity to begin to evaluate those individuals who are offe ring to assist yo u. Pay care ful attentio n to what tJ1 ey say. If someon e in sists on a partic ular issue th a t you feel is not re levant to your case, take it as a warn ing abou t that ind ivid ual. Ma n y jai l ho u se lawyers kn ow o nly one or two issues, and they build the ir en tire ca reers o n them, o fte n to the disadva n tage of th eir clie nts. For example, 25 years ago, whe n I fi rs t sta rted doing legal wo r k, I be ca m e d eeply involved in il legal searc h and seizure law, which played an important role in my own a ppeal. Whe n I began he lpi ng others, I naLUrally tartecl by looking for search and seizure issues because I knew the law on thi s su bj ect. So m e j a ilh o u se lawyers never get beyond that stage, and if you fall into the ir hands, you may fi nd that your excelle nt Miranda issue, or your ineffective assistance of counsel claim, is ove rloo ked simply beca use yo u a re us ing a j a il hou se lawyer who is famil iar o nly with one o r two areas of the law. By th e same to ke n , if you arc lu cky eno ugh to find a jailhou se lawyer wh o is very fami li ar wi th a n a rea o f law that seems panicu lar ly suited to you r case, you may want to usc this person's help even though he or she has li mited knowledge in oth er a reas. So keep an ope n m ind at this stage, and listen carefu lly to a nybody who o ffers you advice or suggestions. In conclusion , I reiterate my ca r- lie r advice: T ake you r Lime. Develo p you r list of issues slowly an d compreh e n sive ly and don ' t wo r ry abo u t wh e n yo u a re goi ng to fi le. If yo u blow this c h a n ce beca use o f impati e n ce, it's you wh o will have to do the time. In my next colu mn, I will discuss how to go about na rrowi ng your list of issues, d eciding which ones to use PL a nd which to d iscard. Send your legal questions lo In-House Counsel, c/ o Prison Life, 505 8th Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10018. CRIMINAL DEFENSE TRIALS, APPEALS AND POST-CONVICTION 0 ND HOSTETLER Ff\CE OF MARKS A W LAWO ATfORNEYSAT LA 's I (800) 700-4J44 " (303) 333-9493 STANLEY H. Mt\RK LER RICHARD A~ - 1733 HighSlreel 80218 Denver. Colorado (303) 399-07~3 - -LAM FA" o essive 'enced effectiVe, and ag.,rd OSt•AI~~:~~~:W Office Marks an~r~~~~~~~~~:re~~~~~c\udin'g trials, appeals an .P . firm devoted ~o a\\ phases . f the Colorado Cnmma\ conviction rehef. . -founder and past presld~nt oears. He is a-v rated by BRADFORD l - •,\lwMmitt~\~&\\\';',\~ and Penn<Yh""" . o~:!~~:Y ~;r~~bd \\~~~:\~~~~~~o~~~~~~~a~a~~a~~~ ~:Er~~~;ted~:~~~~gfra~ ~~~~~~~ Martindale-Hub e . . . a\s and has expen. 1 most recently emphas~z~~gc~:itti;,g crimes while mc~~~~de~\ courts throughout Prison inmates accus~ ~efendants in numerous_state a We nave ~ep~\s~;pes of serious crimm~\ cas~s. \ d' g securities violations the country II\ a mn\ex white collar crnnesO' \1\dCCUC~ • COu•r . \ d' 0 R\C an d rs • drug cases, me u '":o cludino death penalty mur e • crimes of violence,'" inchiding pornography • First Amendment cases. buro \ary' theft • robbery • " te and international • sexual offenses . . · both mtersta ' • extradIliOn, . 0 - de\ines ·d the best • federal sentencmg .,~I strenothen our reso\v~ to p~~"\o~ed public Our years of exp~~\enf~~ ~~~;:e~~~us~d of c~me a~~:~~~~i~~t~:n:~~ments, and the resentauon possl e " \itica\\y motivate · 1 ·ohts . ~~mands for "law and order ' p~t and enforce constitutlo~a r~"r trial or appeal or IS unwillingness of court~~~ is in need ~f repr~~t~~~~~f~ce. Call us toll fre~ ~~ If you or someo~e. relief then call. wnte or d' ss your situation and provl seekino post-convlc\lot\ 1 \\e~t We will gladly ISCU 00~00-4544 or ca co . \ -& t' mate of fees and costs. Richard A. Hostetler an es I Stanley H. Marks e:: DO YOUR VISITORS NEED A RIDE TO PRISON? MOST MAJOR CITIES 1-800-318-0500 SAFE, CONVENIENT FAMILY TRANSPORT co. PRISON LIFE 71 "If I don't take anything to my grave, I'll take my tattoos." Fred D. Van Dyke n , a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe and a n a tive of Montana, h as a total o f six tauoos, all d epicting Native American culture (h e says "Indian. ") The sk ull in the warbonne t des ign ta t on his chest stands for fallen wa rriors and the inner stren gth you can get from your ancestors. H e designed it and had it ap plied five years ago while incarcerated in the Montana State Prison. Fred is curre ntly locked up in Washin gto n State. Photo by Pat Hansen. 72 PRISON LIFE FLOWERS WILT! FOOD WON'T! Thank your loved ones with a BASKET of Gourmet treats. Each basket includes a selection of fine foods including . . . Chocolates Chips Cheese and much , much Cookies Salsa Crackers more . . . A GIFT FOR ALL OCCASIONS ORDER TODAY! $29.95 each $6.00 shipping (anywhere in U.S.) ORDER A SPECIAL VALENTINE BASKET To order: Send check or money order made payable to: Dawsa ~nte rpri ses 496 Chenango Street Binghamton, NY 13901 Along with: Name , address and phone # of the person to whom the basket is to be sent. Please allow 2-3 weeks fo r delivery. PRISON FOR AN UPCOMING ISSUE ON SEX BEHIND BARS, PRISON LIFE WANTS TO KNOW IT ALL ... DO YOU MISS IT? DO YOU GET IT? HOW DOES IT HAPPEN? WHERE DOES IT HAPPEN? WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? W HO DOES IT HAPPEN WITH? HOW DOES IT FEEL? MA STURBATIO N . HOMOSEXUALITY CONJUGAL VISITS . . . IN -CE LL VISITS FEAR OF AIDS ... RAPE . . . PREGNANCY, ETC. DID SEX GET YOU INTO PRISON? DOES SEX GET YOU INTO TROUBLE IN PRISON? INFORM US. SEND US YOUR STORIES, YOUR OPINIONS. WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR PORNOGRAPHY. WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE TRUTH. Send to: Prison Life Magazine, 505 8th Ave., 14th Floor, New York, NY 10018. * The illustmtion above was an 1-/onorab/e Meutio11 iu lhe Art Behind Ban Conies/: "Untitled N ude, ·· by.foaquin J\llaus, L imon Con n lional, PRISON LIFE 73 go to th e brothe rs clown th e b loc k and tell 'e m I' m go nn a h a n g wi th the m , a fte r they sto p laughing, they see I a in ' t talking shit. "Yo ," I say to th e bro 's (a nd I do n ' t usually use the word "yo"), "it's, like, a necessary evil and shit. " Ju st like "N e ce ssary Ev il ," th e song. Chec k it out: BomDead Body Count (Virgin Records) Review by Jimmy " Snake" Tyler, Rihers Island, New York I h ave su c h kille r m e mori es o f Bo d y Co u n t. M y c r ew a nd I were blas ting BC's first a lbu m , CofJ Killer, th e nig ht we a ll got buste d fo r beating up m all security cops. ow f'm h e re doin ' a sho rt stre tch . 1o biggie. T he n the other d ay, my road dog ca m e to m e. "H ey dud e, Bo d y Count's go t a new o ne o ut! " h e said. Since I'm d ue fo r a paro le hearin g, [ fig ure d it was like some sig n fro m th e gods o r so me thi ng. Fuckin ' A! I was righ t, too! Body Count's Bom Dead kicks so me serious ass! Ki ll e r shi t h ere, Bam Dead. It 's like an a lb um fu ll of a ll ki n d s of socia l-meani ng stuff. lt's changed my life around . Aga in. I t a ll sta rted wit h thi s dre a m . T he re was this black g uy who loo ked like tha t J esus d ude. H e looke d like Elvis, too; maybe a co mbo o f the two. An yway, he says (in my dream ) to me, "White boy." Ju s' like th a t: "Whi te boy." T h e n I wen t on to drea m of God z ill a, o nly h e was a ll whi te and h ad a b lac k button nose just li ke a 74 PRISON LIFE po lar bear. But maybe th at has nothin g to d o with Bod y Count o r ElvisChrist, l d o n 't know. I do knov; I wo u ld n ' t have h a d tha t drea m had I no t bee n listen ing to Born Dead ove r an d over agai n , all godda mn day. 'ow all I wanna do is h ang o ut with th e "brothe rs." I 1van t to sha re with th e m my Metallica, my feelings. l want to smo ke a bowl with th e m , ha n g o ut an d ta lk shi t abo ut Lhe governme nt a nd cops and about how racist everythi ng is. I wa nt th e m to see me no t as a pun k-ass white boy me talhead but as j ust a nother "brother." Fuc k, m a n , for th e first time I fin a ll y un d e rstand th e O n e-Wo rl dO n e-Love bullshit. Fucki n ' A, my life has take n a 180. And Ice T hath sh oweth me th e way. At first, thoug h, I have to admi t I was sorta pissed o ff. Bod y Co un t talks abo ut tak in g o u t t h e w hite fo lks th r o ug h o ut th e who le a lbum (CofJ Killer, too). I th ough t, H ey elude, f'm white, too. But the n I figu red it o u t: Ice T just m e a n s a ll th e o ld eludes wh o run t hi s f u cke cl- u p c o u nt r y. Yeah , let's take 'e m out, Ice! I' m withya ! Nuthin ' pe rso nal he re ! Sh i t , Ice eve n dedic ates th e a lb um t o "t h e wh ite yo u t h o f t h e wo rld wh o have t h e co u rag e to go aga in st t h e ir ra c ist p aren ts an d fr iends." Yea h , way cool. Now whe n I Lillie white kid with a kool-aid smile, Training wheels on his bike thought he called me a nigga Pushed that little bastard in traffic so grafJhic He was holdin' his bike tight. He was a victim offuelled up e.>:plaining A11 Ameri.can example offuelled up training. When thejitckin' bus connected, heflew like Knievel. I was just necessary evil But I fig ure Jce isn ' t really saying to do th is for real 'cause th en all the Blacks wou ld go a round killing whi te kid s with ko o l-a icl smil es (a lot o f th e m in th e ' burbs, 'case you really want to find the m) and th ey'd e nd up in priso n a n d the n more and m o re Blacks would be be hind bars and Ice T would have to d o a n oth e r a lb um a bo u t h ow fucke d up the prison syste m is a nd h ow racist the mo the rfucke r s a re wh o run th e D.O.C. ' s a nd B.O.P. 's and that t h ey s h o uld b e pushe d into u·affic, too . The tun es are about uniting and killin g the "Monste r" (the gov' t), and how we ' re a ll pawns in th e ir game: Uncle Sam is his name, you're his slave, shallow graves, and Muthafuck your red, white and blue. In fact, Bom Dead really re fe rs to how the whi te su pre macists would wa n t to see all the "peop le o f co lor" born. (Y' kn ow: dead .) He re's what I say, a nd maybe the Black Elvis/Jesus combo in my d ream has inspire d me: 0 Boy/Man of Pa le Colo r, Offsp ring of a ll T hat Maye th be Racist, Even Slig htly So-Buy this Album a nd Drink o f its Wisd om ... An d th e n a fte r , relax, lig ht u p and j am down to so me kick ass m e tal. T hi s rules. Fat Tracl1s-the shit you should be listen ing lo-b)' lladji Hamilton. Right oulla Rilll'rs, hill in ' the briclis of New York, he's Fcdct·al Appellate and Post-Conviction La\\' ",1/aldn;.:. I DUleren£'e Is Our Jlusiness" here to tell you by :: Hadji Hamilton wassup wilh the latest hijJ hojJ /rae/is. Slick Ri ck's "Behind Bars" (De f Guua/ l n terscope Records. Con sisting J a m Reco rdin gs) is a must buy. The o f brot h e r Mo preme, Syke, tille song, "Be h ind Hars," is recorded ~l acad os hi s and The Ra ted R, Thug with special g uest rapper vVarre n G., Life has a g rea t fuLUre a head of the m. and it's as real as j a il rap can geL I t"s The lirst singl e, "Pour o u t a Little no surprise that Slick Rick wrote most Liquo r," appeare d o n the "Above The of th ese so n gs while locke d up for Rim " sound track, wh ich has already auemp t ed murd e r. ll ype lyri cs gon e plati num . With strong shit like, describe th e horror of life in prison : "A n d if I di e, it don ' t worry m e, "I should be ou t minglin g with th e Mama d o n 't cry. bury me a G," it 's stars, but instead I' m accumulatin g eaS)' to sec why th ey call th e mselves sca rs beh ind bars." vVith son gs like "Thug Life." As 2 Pac ex plains: "A "Sitting in My Car," you ' ll be bounc- thug is an un derdog, 1000 against 1, ing no matter where you are- home, a nd still fig hting. If we're not thugs, ca r or jail ce ll b eca u se thi s a lbum we don ' t survive." Althoug h Vo lume I conta ins so me ha rdcorc be ats. Slick focuses on dea th . it's death tha t has Ri c k co ntinu es 10 be th e mas te r of become pan of a Thug 's Life. Biggy sto ry te ll ing, a nd he earns his p rops Smalls an d :-\ate Dog a lso put in gu est on this o ne. lie's out on work re lease work on this C:D. no,,·, a nd word h as it h e ma y b e S t raigh t from S n oo p 's D og depon ed back to England. ~o matter Pound comes Li 'l 1/ 2 Dead with Lhe whe re he's at, I' m sure this I li p Hop same type of funk th at h as made legend is s till kcepin' it r ea l a nd Sn oop a h o u se hold n a m e. Li ' l l / 2 makin " the shit we wanna hea r. Dead's debut album, "The Dead H as Move over Snoop Dogg}" Dog . Arise n," (Priority Record s) is as fat as Biggy Sma lls is movin ' up in th e Hip Dr. Ore's "Chron ic." But wha t do you Hop Natio n . Smal ls' debut CD, "The expect? l-Ie 's a lso from Lo ng Beach , Notor ious B. I. G" (Ba d Boy CA. Seems like all 's in the fami ly over Ente rta inme nt), is no thing but !lava . he re: with co usin Nate Dog and g uest Hi s first sin g le , ·:Jui cy,'" will ins pire artist AMG & C hil l, Li ' l 1/ 2 Dead a n yo n e who 's go in g thro u g h h a rd can ' t hl'ljJ but eanr props. tim es. l-Ie te lls of g ro win g u p poo r Don J agwarr 1\"dS discovered by lee but always kn owi ng h e was gonna be Cube. I lis debut a lbum, "Padcd ," h as somebody. From dru g d ea le r to t h at raggamuffi n fl avo r th a t ' II have mega-enterta iner, he talks about it in d a n ce h a lls packe d wa ll- to-wall. "' Big Poppa ": "Livin g a littl e better .Jagwarr 's style evolve d from living a ll now, Cucci sweater now, dro pped to p over: He was bo rn in Tr-inidad, lived in BM's, I'm the man , g irlfrie nd." E1·e r~' Brookl yn lor many years, then moved so n g ha s h a rd-co r e. from-the-gut to Los Angeles. If you like that Hi p lyrics-the ki nd that make you wann a Ho p/ Reggae combination, you' ll like ge t your sh it together NO \\'. Biggy .JagwarT. O therwise, I g uess it's just O.K. Sma lls go t it goin ' on. I'll b e back in th e n ext issue of 2 Pac is back with a new c re w. Prison Ufi' wi th so me mo re good shit. The n a me o f hi s g r oup is "Thug Por now, check o ut these !lava 's a nd Life"; th ey' re represc n t in ' Out Da be coo l. I' m g host. Peace. • Direct Appeal from Trial • Direct Appeal from Plea and Sentencing - 18 USC 3742 Direct Appeal by Defendant on Issues of Sentencing Hearings • Post-Conviction Motions - 28 USC 2255 and 2241 - PostConviction Motion Based on an lllegal Sentence and Habeas Corpus Relief • Modification of Term o Imprisonment - 18 USC 3582(c) Modification Imposed Tenn oflmprisonment • Motion for New Trial - Rule 33 • Motion for Reduction of Sentence - Rule 35 Law O.lfice.\· l~( illiller & Shein 71 o l.a ke \ "i\.'\\ \ \l'llll\.'. :\L ·\ tlanta (ieorgia W30S ( -1(1. 1) :\7-1-'):'()() 7Xo \: 1·: ()IJth Street. Suite :"ll I i\liami. Florida 33138 (W:') 7:;(1-0-fO.) l·lahla 1-:spanol PRISON LIFE 75 THE HALLS Of J USTJCE ARE FALLI N6 APART Jlrl/3ehind /3a.,-s' Hon orable Mention: "Halls ofjustice are Falling Af;aTI, " by.fanet Dolbm; Alderson C. F., West ViTginia. 76 PRISON LIFE In Cell Cooking Chef's Special of the Month: Hearty Beans and Noodles 1 package Top Ramen Noodles (beef or chili flavor) 1 handful Instant Dehydrated pinto or red beans 1 tsp. mayonnaise Jalapeno peppers Minced dried onions Pinch of garlic powder Pinch of crushed red pepper Pinch of salt C runch n oo dl es a nd put in bowl. Add season packe t and handful o f beans. Add e n o ug h bo iling water to fu lly cover n oodles a n d bean s. Add o nio ns if using th e m . Cover bowl and let stand until noodl es ar e cooked. Add m ayo nnaise and j alapenos. Stir we ll. Extra water can b e adde d to ac hieve d esire d (soupy) consistency. Season to taste with garli c powde r an d crushed red pepper. Car eful with th e salt! J. StervaTt Centml California Women s Facility Cone-Cox-Shun Nutty Jims 1 bag Corn Nuts (barbecued or plain) 1 or 2 Slim Jims 1 or 2 packets hot sauce (smuggled from chow) Soak corn nu ts in water 'til a l dente. Break up Slim Ji ms an d add to corn nut m ixture. Add ho t sauce and cook over bo mb o r in ho t po t. Eat & e njoy. Bobby Lee Florence, AZ Stuffed Jalepenos 1 jar whole jalepenos 2 cans chicken 3 tbsp. mayonnaise (10 packets) Sli ce p e pp e rs le n g thwi se, re move seeds and ri nse. Place o n a pape r to we l to dra in . Mi x mayo and chicke n . Fill each pepper with c hi c ke n mi x ture a nd c hi ll we ll be fo re eatin g. C.C. Calloway Camvell FNIC, Texas 2 bags Top Ramen Noodles (beef Flavor) 1 cup peanuts 2 bags pretzels 2 small boxes cereal Find a large, empty coffee contai n er. Po ur a ll in gred ie nts in to co n ta in e r a nd sp rinkle to n avor with beef packet from Top Ramen . Sh a ke to mi x in g r edi e nts. O th e r ite ms can be a dd ed as conta in e r goes e m p ty fro m eatin g a ll t h e cone-cox-shun . Cynthia Houston Winters Chowchilla, CA The Bowel RelieverA Convict's True Relief! 1 box bran Flakes or All-Bran cereal 1 fresh orange 1 tsp. coffee Sugar or sugar substitute to taste 1 cup hot water Co m bin e all in g red ie n ts, add sweetener to taste . Eat a t individual pace and head fo r th e to ilet! Lance Ellis, CTeensville PRISON LIFE 77 Pen Pals NOTE: ADS IN PEN PALS ARE $10/ISSUE. SUBSCRIBERS GET ONE AD FREE WITH SUBSCRIP· TION. AlSO: ALL FEDERAL AND MANY STATE PRISONS PROHIBIT CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN INMATES. ALL SUCH MAIL WILL NOT GO THROUGH. SBM, God-fearing, cultural, 37, 5'10", br hair, 182#, br eyes, It br complexion, college ed. Drug.free, non-drinker, non-smoker. Enjoys boxing, martial arts, weigluJifting, art, poetry, jazz. Seeks friend from amon85t the God-fearing. Steven Leonard Theus, #17970, Ely State Prison, POB 1989, E~ NV 89301-1989. SWM,een down for IO yrs, wtll be out m 2. SeekS female for friendship, maybe love. David Armstrong, #185607, P.O.B. 97, McAlestor, OK 74502.0097. Odinist-oriented Aryan seeks female, 16-66, for lascivious letter lust, maybe phone, too. Also interested w/ swaps by sailed scrolls of naturally realistic wisdom/philosophy. Mule is 99.9% Nietzschean, 100% Danvin. Cum to me and you shall receive. Blue-eyed bearded, heavily-tauooed Dennis Lee "Mule" Marsh, P.O.B. 351, Wapunk, Wl53963. SBM, 34, 5'8," 182# Christian. Never married, never had kids, college-educated, musically and artistically inclined seeking bnmeue, mulauo & black women for corr. & phone. Must be goal-oriented and a believer in good. Been in S}'Stem since 19. Gettin' out in a few years. Need help, friendship, acceptance. Mike Brighton, 40 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14202. Creole/Blk guy, college ed., attractive, poetic & respectful. Seeking female friend, 25-40, to share photos/fun. Happy letters. Eric Martin, P.O. Box 7500, B60373, A6-122, Crescent City, CA 95531. SWM, 5'11 ", 26, brn hair, bl eyes, 172#. Loves to write to anyone who likes music and poetry. Looking for a good lady friend to share stories. Plus, I'm pret· ty good looking. William J. Blanchard, #21975, Box 14, NHSP, Concord, NH 03301. SWM Lifer. Goin' to Board soon. Handsome, hon· est, educated, seeker, published. Excellent letter writer. Have R'n'R heart and live life w/ passion. Much to offer the right woman. Looks important. No smut. No games. Jeff Walker, C49778, CA State Prison-Solano, POB 4000 (9-144U), Vacaville, CA 95696. SWM, 33, 6'1", 250#, hazel eyes, bind hair, good physical condition-got some yrs to go yet. Looking for SWF or Latina who's got heart & soul. Will answer all. Photo for photo. Curtis R. Nolen, #474467, Robertson Unit, 12071 FM 3522, Abilene, TX 79601. Out in '95. No games or drugs. Enjoys country music and sharing love & life w/ each other. Honest & straight. Want a loving & lasting woman to grow old with, enjoy laughter, nature, animals--a woman 4060 who knows how to stand by her man. Write Buck Gorby, #286-008, UCI A·P 44-1222, POB 221, Raiford, FL 32083. SWM, 35, 5'11", 190#. Seeks all and any ladies \vishing to correspond w/ very down-to-earth, serious person. Will respond to all. Been down 10 yrs so no head games, please. Steven E. Huston, #179652, POB 5000, Carson City. NV 48811-5000. Ladies: Tired of cheating, lies, head games & immaturity? How 'bout tryin' this romantic Italian on for size? Early '30s, educated, honest, handsome, affectionate, faithful. Seeking serious relationship-minded woman who's independent, appealing, mature, open and not shy of commitment. Carl Puiatti, #716927, UCI, Box 221 (A-1), Raiford, FL 32083. SWM, 33, been down 10, out in '96. Seeks female for friendship, maybe more in time. David Armstrong, #185607, POB 87, McAlestor, OK 74502.0097. Writer down again! Would appreciate correspondence from anyone interested, especially females. I'm 45, 6'1", 195#, long-haired. Interests: weightlifting, reading (political, historical, adventure, comedy). Aspiring writer-poet. John R. Sanchez, #08347-051, FCI La Tuna Cp. 1, POB 8000,Anthony, TX NM 88021. Down Wood, Irish Blood, Looking for down Featherwood. Will answer all responses. David Aguilar, #H-24170, B7-2360, POB 409000, lone, CA 95640. SWM, 24, trim, athletic, would like to correspond with attractive, trim, SWF, 20-30 yrs. Tim Caisse E48167, CSP-LAC, 44750 60th ST West, Lancaster, CA 93536. 78 PRISON LIFE White boy in Distress. 5'9", 170#, Blk hair, Brn eyes, 32 yrs young. Needs a tender touch with a warm heart. Blind, crippled, & crazy OK. Will answer all. Charlie Hurt 41069, JCCC Box 900, Jefferson City, M065102. Black, Row prisoner, 40, wants to exchange letters with folks of all persuasions, perhaps visit. Amos King #036275, Union Corr. Inst., A-1/43-2139, Raiford, FL 32083. WM, 37, 5'10", real life Drugstore Cowboy, seeks mail from adventurous females, age & race open. No gameplayers please. Will answer all letters. Thomas Reimann #79759, PO Box 19033, Green Bay, WI 54307. SWM into lifting weights & Sta}ing in shape would like to hear from anyone who will write me. I'll answer any & all letters. Roger M. Chambers, #42444, Ely State Prison, PO Box 1989, Ely, NV 89301. SWM, 32. discharging on 20 year sentence in 2 more years. Seeking caring female who appreciates the simple things in life. Age & looks unimportant. It's what's inside that counts. Timothy Crawford, D30901 B-4, HCOI, ReidSlille, GA 30499.0001. DWM, 36, Father of 3, ages 19, II, 9. Recovering alcoholic living the program. Been down 9.5 yrs; parole possible soon. Slim build, common sense, intelligent. Believes in God, love, honesty, family, & altruism. Enjoys reading, writing, & pleasant, interesting conversation. We're all in this together & living one day at a time. Harvey F. Garlotte, X60710, U-14, PO Box 1419, Leakesville, MS 39451. BM, 23, aspiring rapper with talent, 5'10", 140#, \vith 5.5" braids. H.S. grad, some college. Parole in '97. Seeks corr. from females who enjoy writing & receiving letters. Age, race, height, weight, location, unimportant. Friendship satisfies the human need for affection, affirmation, sharing, & companionship. Will anS\ver all. James Jenkins #78817, Unit 29-A, Parchman, MS 38738. Knight in Tarnished Armor, SWM, 6', 200#, 30, strong, intelligent, handsome, mature. Presently death row· proving innocence!! Future secure, present difficult, Very Lonely!! AnS\ver all. Stamp appreciated. No games Please. Jeffry A. Muehleman, 094506, Box 221·A1, Raiford, FL 32083. Author of 4 published non-fiction books, now writing novels, plays, & movie scripts. Seeks free world collaborator & rep. Whores especially welcomed! Dennis Sobin, 266816, C-4, Hamilton CI, PO Box 1360, Jasper, FL 32052. Good-looking, Italian looking to meet women who are serious about a relationship. I'm 29 & looking to settle down lvith the Right Woman. Prefer black, Spanish, or Italian. We can do it. Tommy Rosati 93A6915, Box 2000, Pine City, NY14871, South Pon Corr. Fac. SBM, 29, 6'2", 190#. Seeks that someone special who's compassionate, open-minded. Will anS\ver all. Eric Turner #873681, Union Corr Inst 43-2144 A-1, PO Box 221, Raiford, FL 32083. WM, 34 enjoys the short stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald & studied Solzhenitsyn. Please write to this honey member. Michael Heston 06525-067, FMC PO Box 4600, 2110 E Center St, Rochester, MN 55903-4600. Ex-con Stephen Donaldson ("Donny the Punk") welcomes letters from all survivors of rape behind bars, jail/prison punks who were "hooked up" for protec· tion, jockers who have or had their own punks, and booty bandits willing to write about it. Be patient on replies. PO Box 2713, Manhattanville Sta, NY, NY 10027-8817. BLACK-ON-BLACK-GAY, beautiful, fem male, 5'9", 32, 184#, light skinned, oriental looks, arched eyebrows, pretty lips, HIV negative, seeks bisexual & straight men in the free world. Can't receive letters from other prisoners! Lawrence "LaValerie" Raibon #33325-004, FCI, PO Box 1500, El Reno, OK 73036. Does anybody really care? Cherokee male, 37, 6', 155", Brn hair & eyes. Don't lie or play headgames. Seeking sincere, caring lady for friendship & possible long term relationship. If you're the type who believes in fresh starts & 2nd chances, write to Brent A. Ellis #47436 Moberly Corr Ctr 2-B-462, PO Box 7, Moberly, MO 65270. SWM, 50, semi-retired professional, likes reading, TV, weight-lifting, 6', 180#. Wants special friend & correspondent in prison. Dennis Tihansky, 206 Kings Court, Washington, PA 15301. SWM, 36, 6'1", 180#. Seeking ladies 21-45 for pen pals & serious relationship. Am kind, caring, romantic. Will respond to all. David Buckland #934897, PO Box 30 21-5A, Pendleton, IN 46064. Laurinda Hammock, Ellen Embry Fr Mo, 1973-74, old friend-write me. To that Iii Irish lass (L.E.) what I s;lid about you & your Iii boy I meant, put your heart into a real thing and leave the punks alone. Anyone else, if you want some decent conversation, I'll respond. I'm real. You be real too. WM, 38, 5'9", Lng Hair, 170#, no fat. Dakota Chad Dekoven 145274, 1576 Bluewater Hwy, Ionia, MI 48846. SWM, 25, seeking any female 18-50 for friendship/relationship. Interests include weight lifting, traveling, nature, & music. Will answer all responses. Phillip Kimble #230-864, MA-188, PO Box 740, London, OH 43140. Male, artistic & entertainment field genius seeks soon to be released, young, female prisoner to act as Chief Exec. Assistant in artistic business endeavors. Win Peters #86028, PO Box 97, McAlester, OK 74502. White Lifer, 46, goatee, tattoos, muscles, head shaved, bald & beautiful! Seeks hispanic or white lady to write/visit. Guy lvilliams C35148, Box 19024A, Tehachapi, CA 93581. SWM, 49, seeking females of any age to correspond \vith. Doing life lvithout parole and have no one who cares. Able to write to other prisons. Promise to answer ali.J Doc, 113665, Box 10, Stillwater, MN 55082. SBM, Soul Seeker, 43, 6'3", 260 robust lbs. Enjoys sharing & caring. Seeks correspondence, companionship, & love with female of the same interests. Robert N. Olds, #036638, Moberly Corr Ctr, PO Box 7, Moberly, MO 65270.0007. SWM, 35, Federal prisoner, writer. Seeks correspondence with sincere, honest lady. Age & race unim· portant. No games-no lies. Charles Young #13104075, PO Box 33, Unit 5-C, Terre Haute, IN 47808. SWM, 48, been down a long time - still has a ways to go. Would enjoy some sharing of words & honest friendship. Robert J. Ferrell #A917016, ll50 SW Allapattah Rd, Indiantown, FL 34956. Please write to a just-been-moved con. Embery McBride EF-207197, GSP G-1-#1, Reidsville, GA 30499. Tall, black, handsome, 35, male. Been down 15 yrs. Out in a couple more. In search of a beautiful, sexy, intelligent, sophisticated lady (20-50) lvilling to take a chance lvith a loving, faithful, educated man. I'll do anything to please my lady in or out of bed. Wanting a long term relationship. Race not important. Serious replies only. Julius Evans #453368, Coffield Unit, Rt 1 Box 150, Tennessee Colony, TX 75884. SWM, 30, Long blond hair, Blue eyed devil seeking that heaven sent angel, S'WF. I'm lvild & if you think you can tame me, I dare you! John Briggs C-94051, Cal State Prison- Sacramento, FC-2-B-115, PO Box 29, Represa, CA 95671. Lonely, athletic, black male, 39, 5'6", 150#, seeking anyone who is searching for a sincere friend. Any reply welcome. Will send photo. Larry E. Miles #200178,5900 Bid Rd, Lancaster, OH 43130 30 yrs old, 5'9", 152#, brn hair & eyes, very outgoing, & love people in life. Interested in meeting an honest, sincere, loyal lady who deserves to be with one man. I'm single, never been married, no children. If you're that special lady, I'll be waiting to hear from you. If you're ONE OF A KIND I may even marry you. Gary Cooksey #860825, Branchville Training Ctr, PO Box 500, Tell City IN 47586. Age 34, Mexican/Navajo, caged over 17 yrs, could use some female company. Race, age, come what may. Would appreciate whatever you wish to say. Cornelio J. Tristan B-92248, PO Box 7500 SHU C-7E#117, Crescent City. CA 95532. If you're looking for a man that's down but not out, TOTALLY in love with life, has learned his lesson, but is unafraid to move forward, has a plan and a great future, write to Pearson, Russell H-96499, PO Box 3366 (3804-129), Corcoran, CA 93212-8310. Inm ate awa it ing n ew trial seekin g true, lastin g friendship that may som eday lead to som e thi ng more inli mate & rewarding. Vel]' open & straight fonovard abou t m yself. Humorous, care-free, educated in the cap tai n s field for 12 yrs. Wish ing to share some quality time so let's do lunch. Roderick Michael Orme #726848, A- 1 45- 1280, Union Corr lnst, PO Box 221, Raiford, FL 32083-022 1. STRANGERS ARE FRIENDS-SBM from DC, 35, 6', 190#. Confined for the past I I yrs & seeking correspo n dence. \Viii answer all who write. 13rucc Gayn o r , 186312, !JO I Correc tions Way A2-322, Jarra tt , VA 23870-9614. WM. 5' T. 170#, 25, enjoys reading, physical litness. self-improvemen t. Looking for correspondence with women of muLUal inte rests. Jack Fuson #223 194, PO Box 480999, New Haven, Ml 48048. SWM. 41 yrs. I'm a VCIJ' lonely prison er who n eeds a fri end. Pl~ase write to Clay M Curlis, #0387 1.084. PO Box 1000, Lewisburg, l'A 17837':-'·---,.--....-. Convict: 6 '4 ... 265#, Blue-gray, 39, interests include exercising, karate, Indian culture. I'Cading, bikes, o utdoors. Owns a b usiness. In system 10 y•·s & getti ng short. Roy .. Mountain .. Wh itehead #944333. OCI (B233-L) 3 189 Little Silver Rei, Crest,;cw, FL 32539.{)578. LONELY! 42 yr old WM, 5'9", 15011, Bl eyes, e njoys C&W music, trucks, outd oor life, travel, histo,;c lite rature, seeks friend ship with like-minde d female, but will answer all. Paul Hale #862345, Indiana State Prison- M50, POB 41 , Michib"'" City, IN 46360. 32 yr old, vel}· good looking Italian, 5'9", 175#, in good shape, brn eyes, long light blk hair. looking to lind that special lady for long lasting relationsh ip. Will trade flicks. J ames Ferrari 112091!>3, 4008 Cooper St, Jackso n, Ml 49201-751 8. BM, 3 1, 5 '9", 175#, bowlegged-loving, intelligent, open, & hon est. Seeks correspondence with op enminded woman for frie ndship - age, race. looks unimportant. Christopher Trotter #862556, 1'0 Box 41, Michi~ n City, IN 46360. Pre-op transsexual seeking real man, honest. openminded, straight forward. O ther transsexuals most welcome. Richard 1-la mm # 133886, DCI Box 66 1, Wau >un, WI 53963. WM, 40 yrs o ld with 22 yrs down & fi g hting to come up. Seeks female to challenge the present horizons & b roaden those yet to be found. No games. O pe n minded. No promises but o n e ~ I do not turn my back o n my friends. \·Vaync Knutso n , #·1022 18, 1'0 Box 316, Ft Madison, lA 52637. Afri can-American man, 40, 5' 10", 175#, BS in Bus. Mgt. , currently wo rking toward BS in Computer Sci. Studies Biblical Hebrew & Spanish. Religion is Nature, Science, & Art. Desires to correspond wi th all beautiful-h earted women / men wh o can sec what is good & dimly understand the music which the earth produces. George E. Vaugh # 140-337, PO Box 56, Lebanon , OH 45036. 33 yr old WM, 5 '8", brn h air, grn eyes, seeks female age 24-44. for secure, loving, comm iu cd mate. SeX)' pho tos welcome d . Sincere wome n in terested in compassion, exercising. & ho n esty on ly apply to this sincere body builder . Gregory Lee Meeker #268-469 2C237, PO Box 120, Leban on, 01-1 45036. SWM Convict, 36, doi ng I OlO'l ife, in Sp ud Coun try of all places, brn eyes & hair. 165#, forced back. Looking for a compassionate SWF companion. Steve G. Brown #35353, IMSI B-Block 1'0 Box 5 1, Boise, lD 8370i.Q051. S\o\~M, 44 , 6'2", 240#, grn eyes. Capricorn into New Age lifestyle. Tarot. Ct)'Stals, h ealth , n o smoking. n o d rugs. May b e going h o m e in next 12 m ont hs. Ron Wegner. #94A0949-4A-36, Box F. Fishkill, New York, 12524. Art Behind Bw·s' Honorable M ention: ''Free at Last," by D ouglas Berg, Eastern Con ectional, Mmyland. PRISON LIFE 79 Send me these books: 0 Soledad Brother by Georgejacllson 0 Smack Goddess by Richard Sh·aHon $ 14.95 $ 18.95 0 Prison Literatm·e by Bruce Franllfin $12.95 The Bad G uys' Quote Book by Bob Singer $2.50 Send check or money orde r plus $2.50 P&H to: Joint Venture Publishet·s 505 8th Avenue New York, NY 10018 - - - - - - - - ST ATE ZI P _ __ Mind Meditating Together By Brother Rasa r ison is a place of dual i ties. Confli c ts abo und b e tw ee n g u a rd s and prisoners , a nd bel\veen racial groups. Ou tside the wal ls too, co nfli c t is a wo rl dwid e, ongoing situatio n . We a ll experie nce co nfli c t with i n ourse lves, as well. Sometimes it see ms that for th e sake of survival, we have to throw up barrie rs around ourselves. Spiritual exploratio n can h e lp us reso lve much of the connict we fee l within. My broth ers and I have bee n getting toge th e r for a couple of yea rs now a nd expe ri e n ci n g the g ifts o f meditation. \<\le p ractice eYery week - some tim es as a group , so me tim es in pairs , some tim es indi vi du a ll y in o ur own space. \Nhe n you are with a frie nd , m editating, sittin g with e yes closed , at th e threshold of the d ivine, eve n th e guards m ay hesitate to inte rrupt. They pe rceive that you a re in a sacred s p ace, that yo u are do in g some thing worthy o f reverence. An d you are. You a re opening your heart t o the prese n ce o f the Supreme Being, a nd yo u are in viti ng th at High e r Power to e nter, to e levate and expand your understanding, to transfo rm your visio n . Me ditation is li ke a prayer. Anyone can do it. It is o ne of the tools of transforma tio n that anyone ca n use to en hance wh ich ever re ligious practice he o r she might a lready embrace. In o ther words, me dita tio n is not just th e prope rty o f Eastern mystics . Whether you are Christia n , Moslem, j ewish or ative Ame ri can - or even if, like me, you don ' t put your spiritua lity into o n e of those categories yo u can use medi tation to d ee pen your expe rien ce. For me, that's wh at meditation is about. Relax. T o begin, find a place where you can sit undisturbed (as far as is possible) fo r a n ho ur or more. If you have ea rplug s, yo u mi g h t want to u sc the m. Some o f the brothe rs use headphones and play soft music. Do wha teve r yo u can to c r ea te a n enviro nment of comfort a round yourself. Some o f th e prisone rs I kn ow h ave transformed the ir cells into beautiful P Illustration by Steve Lashley te mples, spiriwal oases with in th e pdson. I surround myself with things that radia te a peaceful and nurturing energy. I h ave photos of people I care abou t , pic tures of C hrist , Kri shna, Buddha. I. have scriptures an d books th at are sacred lO me, a nd a display o f cards t h a t pri so n e r s who m 1 ca re deeply a bo ut h ave sent to me. I wra p myself in my favorite security b la nke t (win te r mornings a re a bit chilly h e re in West Virgi nia), a nd I sit com forta bl y. I prefer to sit in a ' ha lf-lo w s" posture - legs crossed with one foot resting upon t h e o th e r thi g h . Th is h e lps m e to kee p my bac k str a igh t without strainin g and lets me breathe mo re de e ply and easily a nd co n centrate be tter. The impo rtant thin g is n o t whi c h posture you c h oose, b ut th a t yo u sit co m fortab ly, with yo ur back straig h t, in a way that will en able you to best relax. C lose yo u r eyes and begin by focusin g o n brea thin g. T a ke a lo ng dee p breath a nd exh a le. All ow yo u r breath ing to slow down. Med itation mea n s aware n ess . As I breathe deep ly, slowly, I all ow myse lf to relax with each breath. I am aware of my brea thing an d aware of the g ift of th e brea th of li fe. 1 accept each breath as a gift from lhe C1·ea/01~ and I 1·eturn each breath with gratitude back to the ttnive1:1·e. Think about it. Each breath is something so precious, ye t you cannot possess it for lo ng. You h ave to le t go o f it, re lease it, re turn it to th e so urce. Give you-r mind a Test. A ll ow you r thoughts to ca lm. Alth o ugh you may have ma ny powe rfu l th o u ghts racing aro und in yo ur mind, try to give yo ur mind a rest. T ime sp e nt m e ditating is you r ow n time for pe rso nal spirituali ty, for heal( continued on jJage 85) PRISON LIFE 81 Classifieds LEGAL FREEDOM, FREEDOM , FREEDOM. # 1 Self Help Legal Book. Instru cti ons on righ ts, appeals & other catego ries. The Citeboo!t by T o ny Darwin. Send $27.9 5 to : Star lite I n c ., P. O. Box 20002, St. Pe te rsburg, FL 33742. LeaLhe rjeans, jacke ts, shirts and vests!! Ho t dresses. Doc Marten 's and Dingo boo ts! ! Blac k, blue a nd red stre tch denim jeans!! Stage Clothes, U.S.A., 13 So uth 7th Street, Minn eapo lis, M r 55402, Dept I. Send for great new catalog!! $2.00 refundable. POST-CONVICT ION ADVOCATES, I C. Top notch appeal, habeas, se nte n cing re prese ntatio n by c reative, cleclica te cl pro fess io n a l staff. Fourt ee n-yea r mem be r of the bar with multi-faceted post-convictio n ex pe rie n ce . El ectroni c research. competitive rates. 3061 T e rrace Ave, la ples, FL 33942. Phone 8 13-793-65 11 . Fax 813-793-2584. BOOKS & MAGS Sing Soft, Sing Loud, by ex-pri so ner Pa tricia McCo nn e l, ce leb rates th e courage, spirit, an d wi ll to survive o f women in priso n. A classic of prison lite raLU re . Send $ 12 plus $250 shipping to Logo rfa, Box 309, Bla ndin g UT 845 11. MAIL ORDER Say H ap p y Mo th er·s Day, H a ppy Binhclay, I' m Sorry, I Love You, with perfume, candy or nowers. Serving prisoners exclusively. Free brochure. MAlL ORDER BLUES, 2767 So. Parker Road, Suite 188, Aurora, Co lorado 800 14 . Telephone: 303/9 14-3955. PEN PALS Inm ate "pe n-pa ls" wante d b y outsiders. Lone ly hea rts, students, curi osity-see ke rs, researc h ers, e tc. desi re corresponde nce with all levels of priso ne rs. Send bri ef history & desired pe n-pa l type LO: DEI -KAY, P.O. Box 358 15, Las Vegas, NV 89 133. ASSISTANCE If you are an incarcerated victim of involuntm-y sex behind bars, you ca n get a free practica l in formation / a d vice audio tape, "Becom ing a Survivor. " U nsealed but tra nspa re nt, tapes can be scm care of a sh rink or c h ap la in if n ot allowed di r ec t ly. Req uest from : P. O . Box 2713, New York, NY 10027-8817. CLASSIFIED RATES Straight classified ads go for S75 for 35 words. Additional words are $1 each. Prepayment required. Send to: PRISON LIFE Classified Ads 505 8th Avenue, 14th Fl. New York, NY 10018 Tel: 212-967-9760 Fax: 212-967-7101 MAGAZINES * BOOKS SPECIAL REQUEST Send stam ped , add re ·sed e nve lope fo r comple te offerings to: Paper-Wings P.O.B. 4855 Baltimore, MD 21211. Samp le O ffe r i n gs * 6 cliff. iss. Gen t S 12, 6 cliff. iss. Playgirl $10, 6 cliff. iss. Ga llen• $ 12, 6 cliff. iss. Wrest ling $6, 6 cliff.. H o ll ywood 1osta lg ia $6, 6 cli ff. Es p io n age Magazine $6, 6 cliff. X-Wo rcls/ Worcl Find $6, 12 Super Hero Com ic Books $6 Include $2 p e r eac h se lectio n towards UPS+ handling. .JA'tc., .J<It wc..:t "f' a l.iu. -· A>... -H... ~..~ .. l(o.to~e.J "P !{ SUPER SAVINGS! Save up to 50% Off Retail! FREE CATALOG Yeah ... my folks is from big iron and steel industry. My Momma irons and my Pop steals! 5&5 Enterprises Inc. PO Box 213 1 Aberdeen SO 57402-2131 1 -800-456-3955 Celltl'r. • ANABO L NATURAlS • BfO.-EN(ItGY RES[ARCH • Ct w..>I()N NUTRUlON · DASH • EXCEL • F[llGI[S GL0\ {5 • UIITCII • ICOPAO • • • • • L&S UESEARCil MLO NATK>NAL UEJJ.JII NAfURE"S Wf<f NEXT NUT RiftON • POWER f OOOS • SOURCE NAl'URAlS • STRENGHt SYSTEMS • IWJNLAB • t..r'IIPRO • I.X>INf.RSAL • VAU:O UELIS • WOO(U 0 Number Institution - - - -- -- - -- - -- - - - - - - Address City State - - -- - - - - Zip Code - - - - - - - For 1 year6 b ig issues Mail $19.95 to: Prison Life 4200 Westheimer, Suite 160 Houston, TX 77027-4426 For Subscription Info, call1-800-207-2659 Don't serve the • tzme, let the time serve you THE PRISON LIFE FOUNDATION D on. ' t incar cer a t e ; e duc ate. e Personal Transformation through Education e Full y-accredited GED, College and Vocational Degrees Scholarships and Funding for Prison Educational Projects e Courses and Study Mate ri als De li vered Di rectly to the Prisoner/Student e Illustration by Muth Please tell us your educational interests. GED/H.S. Degree 0 Business 0 History 0 Bio logy 0 Accounting Vocational 0 Other (Specify) 0 Liberal Arts B.A. Science B.S. Name Address 84 PRISON LIFE 0 Art 0 English 0 Computer Scie nces 0 Chemistry 0 Pre-Law 0 Marketi ng 0 Ph ilosophy 0 Engineering O M.B.A. The Pri so n Life Fou ndation , Inc. is a not-for-profit organization devoted to helping prisoners break free from the cycle o f c rime a nd inca rcerat ion throu gh ed ucati o n. Th e Fo un dat ion, toge th e r wit h Prison L ife Educatio nal Services, Inc., sponsor fully-accredited GED, college a n d voca ti o nal cou rses through corresponde nce learning. If you a re inte rested in learni ng more about educational opportun ities offe red by t he Pri so n Li fe Fo un dat io n , p lease fill o ut a nd return the attached questionnaire to The Prison Life Found ation, 350 Fi ft h Ave nu e, Su ite 1905 , New York, NY 10 11 8. Meditation (continued from page 81) ing, growth, for resting in the Spirit. You can resume your pressing busin ess later. Rig ht now, give it a rest. T he re is a place within yourself where yo ur Hig h e r Powe r dwe lls. This power may be present to you as Krishna or Christ, Allah or Buddah or The Holy Spirit or a ny of myriad other forms. Whi ch ever it is for you, r eac h o ut to th e so urce, the life force, breath e deeply with awaren ess. Reach out to that Higher Being. We use the stre ngth of o ur souls to break thro ug h th e barri e rs o f ca res a nd co nce rn s, move beyond th e limited mind to o ur Hi g h e r Powe r. This process of reaching out through the boundaries of th e mind to the Divine is the es e nce of meditation. It is the opening into a vast universe of spiritual expe ri e n ce. As our med itatio n d ee pens, th e b a rri e r o f th e mind that separates us fro m ou r spirit disso lves and we pa ss b eyo nd the mind 's anx io us ramblings into th e p eaceful realm of sp iritual unde rstanding. The Language of the Soul In a meditative state, I repeat a silent praye r, or mantra. I sp eak to Go d , invoke God's presence, a pproach th e presence of th e Divine. Spea k as you are moved to speak. Let you r heart sing! It's your path, you r experience, your own spiritual vo ice. Liste n to the song of your soul. Allow yourself to feel the power of God surrounding you. This is prayer. Enter the rea lm o f grace, th e spiritua l realm withi n ourse lves where our hearts find healing. As we explore th e inner reaches of the soul we discover tha t we all sha re a single spiritual n ature - we a re all connected in the Spirit. PL Brother Rasa (a/k/a the Swami) conducts a meditation minist1y in West \firginia prisons. Prisoners of the West \firginia Penilentimy are putting together a collection of convicts' spiritual experiences, 1·ealizations, visions, j1oel1y, etc. and invite you to shm·e your exjJeriences on the spiritttal path. Mail submissions to: B1·othn R asa, P. 0. Box 11 5 3, Moundsville, W\1 26401. LIBERTAD TEMPRANA PARA P RESOS MEXICANOS Los prisioneros Mexicanos, especialmente en el sistema federal , pueden ser transferidos bacia Mexico para recibir libertad temprana, y vivir cerca de sus seres queridos atraves de los servicios del Bufete de Benninghoff & Ramirez. Atraves de oficinas en los Estados Unidos y Mexico, Benninghoff & Ramirez provee a sus clientes un servicio sin igual. Los prisioneros transferidos pod ran recibir libertad inmediata bajo fianza, libenad temprana para trabajar, y tiempo libre por buena conducta. Tambien, hemos tenido mucho exito con prisioneros a los cuales se les ha negado Ia transferencia anteriormente. Favor de escribir a Ia siguiente direccion para que reciba un folleto descriptivo preparado especialmente para prisioneros Mexicanos. Escriba a: Charles F. Benninghoff III Benninghoff & Ramirez Post Office Box 1355 San Juan Capistrano, Calif. 92675 ']ustlc!a yor los Mextcanos" ~:r:,.1ne· mo'st significant, your life I PRISON LIFE 85 C21S®'\lW~Uill®®~ o'f CPIT\J~®W~\1~ ot= In the last three years, America's prison Even prisoners agree that those who compopulation has grmvn threefold. There are mit murder, armed robbery, rape, child no\v 1.5 million prisoners in the federal, state molestation and the like are a menace to sociand local prisons. ety. There will always be the need to isolate, not only to punish but perhaps to rehabiliThis hasn't happened by accident-and tate, these people in order to protect society. the odds are that the rates will continue to ~""r===~~=~~~===~ But most other non-violent offendTHE UNITED STATES: ers can be penalized without incarsky-rocket. #linPRISONPOPULATION ceration and its costs. If the right State and federal US. resou rces were to legislators continue be made availab le, Soulh Africa to ignore the statisthe tnxpnyer t.vou ld tics and think nothRussia benefit. ing of America as bemg the country Hungary with the largest prisRATES OF INCARCERATION PER 100,000 POPULATION on population in the world. What they need to do is take immediate steps to address this growth problem. Instead of focusing on violent crime, those in power need to adopt a more realistic approach. Legislators, nell-bent on doina everxthing thev can to curb crime througf, "hara-corc" legislation, need to undo the crisis in the prison population they created. BROTHERHOOD OF PRISONERS OF AMERICA: Our network-affiliated with other similarlv concerned organizations and agencies-ad\·ocaies reform in pro~ccution, adjudication, correction and probation procedures. Why in the world would the Brotherhood spend so much money, time and effort to reach out to the thousand~ of prisoners, forme r prisoners and families who populate most states and bring them togeth- cr in a national association when there is a host of various prison advocacy groups abounding? There is only one answer: We need it. We needed it before, we need it no\>v and \·ve'll need it forever in the future. \Vho •.vould dare file lawsuits on behalf of prisoners, past and present, against the governmental injustices? Who would have the wherewithal to directly contact legislatures on each and every issue involving the prison system, judiciary, sentencing guideline commissions and other regulatory bodies? Who is p repa red to put its resources where its mouth is on behalf of every con and excon in America? Only the Brotherhood of Prisoners of America, with a potential membership stretching across the country, has the ability to bring together those with common problems to focus on common solu tions. BROTHERHOOD OF PRISONERS OF AMERICA: More than a union. More than a club. More than a giveaway package. More than you've ever imagined. Where once you couldn' t get credit, it's now you rs for the asking. Where once you were denied health, life, term, auto and home insurance because of your prison record, it's now yours by applying. Wh ere once you were being discriminated against when ap plying for educational enrollments and grants, now there can be an end to it. When you thought the orange, khaki or green stateand fed-issued clothing had you dyed forever, you can relish knowing these same uniforms are getting you many perks and privileges you might not have been able to get. The Brotherhood of Prisons of America is making this possible. Credit ... insurance . .. education ... perks such as family discounts, wholesale market club memberships, travel . . . these a re just some of the extras you get when you' re a member. Consider the Brotherhood YOUR resource. ADDITIONAL REFERRALS AND RESOURCES FOR YOUR FAMILY il iii' iii' iii' fil iii til til fil ONE MEMBER QUALIFIES THE ENTIRE FAMILY FOR BENEFITS. lir lir Iii( fil iii Iii( Iii( Employment Opportunities Medical, Dental & Pharmaceutical Aid Legal Services: federal, state and local Job Training Scholastic Loan Assistance, Grant Program Advice Drug and Alcohol Education & Referral Child Care Agencies Insurance Services: Health (group), Life (whole or term), Automobile, Disability, Dental , Business & Home Liability Financial Services Consulting: Bonding, Credit Union, Credit Card, Debit Cards, Mortgages, Brokerages, Portfolio Management, Pension and Estate Planning Job Placement, Executive Search , Union Placement & Resume Writing Accounting & Bookkeeping Fi rms Personal and Business Tax Companies Immigration and Passport Businesses Real Estate Service Brokerages Commercial Property Analysis Residential and Vacation Home r--------------------------------------------------- Charte r Membe rship Requ est 1995 i n itial Fee: $95.00 Re newa l fee: $35 10# .\lc mhc..·r Name & Rchu ion ship of Fa mil}' ~ l cmbc•· * HElPS OffENOERS lHE 8ROf~~~,~~En~lP tHEMSElVES. AND lHE\R 1'\Jl\ '"' Con ~ne t tel.# St.~tc City Zip Cred it Ca rd # OOOITJOODOOODOOOO Exp. 0 Am X 0 Visa 0 Maste rcard 0 Discover SignaLU re 0 Ch eck 0 Money Order For infonnation, write to: Bro th e rhood o r Pri soners o r Am er ica, In c., Em pire Sta te Bu ild ing, 350 5th Aven ue, Suite 3304, New York, Y 10 118-0069