Prison Life magazine, November 1996
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NOVEMBER 1996 22-.ANIMAI..:: FACTDR}V by Edward Bunker In the third andJ inal installment of Edward .Bunker's classic San Quentin novel, t he animal wants' out of his cage-but not as a domesticated house pet. 26- KEVS by Jorge Antonio Renaud Our 1995 Art Behind Bars third place nonfiction winner explores the poignant, ·sordid reality of the repeat offender. COVER STORY 34-\ttt. ~~ ot t~-Q by John Ittner Artist, dope fiend, Riker's Island habitue, FA-Q chronicles his life behi11d bars in bizarre, haunting · images of prison life. by Charles Huckleberry Art Behind Bars tie for second place in the fiction category is an in-depth look at the machinations behind a parole hearing. 52-THE POLITICS OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT The Prison Life interview with Harry Browne by Richard Stratton Prison Life talks with the Libertarian Party candidate for President, Harry Browne, and comes away convinced Harry is the man to save us from our headlong rush towar d a police state. Prno, I..Jjf' l ~')~ # 1()6.).(}7(.19 OcwiX'r I!~Ki. l~o11 I.Jjr motbrazinc iii published bimo n thlr b ) J oin t Venture Media of Texas, Inc., 1436 West Gray, Suhc 531, Ho us to n, TX 77019. Prwm /Jfr '"·'bra~ine is prir11t.•cl i11 the L"S.·\ and .til righ~ an.· rt•wncd. () 1996 b) J oint Ven ture ~lcdia of Texas, In c. No pan of t hi~ book rna)' be re produced o r t~ll31lli t tcd in an)' form or b)' any mc.tn ~ without writcc n Jkrmi,~ion 1)1 the pubJi,h cr-,. Umo lici tccl manu'<' r ipL" :md ph o togr.tpll'~ arc the I C.'lJ>Oibibilit)' o r the senders. ,\ltlcttc ~ ~c ntto P(i.wr~ I .if~ magazine " ill be t reated ItS unconditionoally :t~igncd for the public.umn 01 brochure. and arc subjt.'Ct to Pn ror~ l.1f~ magazine·~ unres tri cted right to edit and comment. Sin gle co pies in the U.S. S-1.95. Subscription r.nes o ne rear in U.S. 528.00 fo r 6 i~ue5; in c~madJ. S='~: .tn additional Sl2 ci"~C\\hc:t t•; all pa,.tble in L .S. funth onl~. Plc.be maH a ll s ubsc aiption orders :md changes to Pmcm Lift ~bga7inc SubM"ription Dcp.mrncnt. 1436 \\'e!'l t Gtot)'. Suite 531. llo u.,tcu t, rX 77019. POSTMASTER: l11t·.lw fon\;ud .t<ldrc~ c hange .. to PriJo, l .1fr ~lag:uine, 1436 West Cra)'· uhc 531, ll ouston. T X 77019. Applic;uion to mail ~~~ 2nd Class posta~:;c rate i~ pending a t l l omwn . 1 X an d additional mailinH o ffirc. 4 PRISON liFE 1'\ovembcr 1996 46SUCK THIS! SEX IN PRISON by Sadia Zoe Ali There is mucho fuckin' going on in our prisons-and we're not talking just consensual sex between prisoners. In the first of a series of exposes on sex in prison, Prison Life reveals the shocking abuse of female prisoners . DEPARTMENTS *6-Voice * *of*the*Convict ******** Free the Vote by Richard Stratton 8-Mail Call 12-Contributors 13-Biock Beat 17- Call outs 18- Guest Editorial Seeking Reconciliation from Death Row by M ichael B. Ross 51-In Cell Cooking 61-Books on the Block 66- ln House Counsel Repeal the Drug Laws and Release the Prisoners of the Drug War by Michael Montalvo 78-Mail Order Mall SO-Classified 81-Pen Pals 84- Resources V I 0 TH FREE THE VOTE B y Richard Str a tton h e lates t numbers are in: our constitue ncy has emerged. Th ere are young Black men in D.C. who wind u p prison population has now to pped millio n s of peo ple in this country who in prison . H e is th e on ly pol it ic ian f 1.6 milli o n. Add th e ove r 3.5 know someon e who h as been ar rested kn ow prescient e noug h to have an exmillion who are on pa role, pro bation , a nd se nte n ced to pri so n fo r a n convict working for h im as the head of und e r house a rrest, doing co mmunity o utrageo us le ngth of time for a non- h is ex-offenders affa irs burea u. Of servi ce or in some way subject to control violent d rug offense. The re are millions course, Ba r r y was set up in a dt-ug bust, o f the cri minal justice syste m. No w add to mo re people in this country who, eve r y he did tim e in prison an d h e knows th a t numbe r (already ove r five . . - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - , what I' m ta lk ing a bo ut. And million ) t h e million s of exJ u li e Stewan, Presid e nt of co nvicts who have p a id their Fam i lies Aga ins t Ma n datory d e bt to society, survived parole Minim ums ( FAMl\II ), h as a nd re m a in foreve r c h a n gedpro ve d th at loved o ne s of rad ica li zed-by th e ex pe ri e nce. priso ners can be cou nted o n lO Fi nally, add the fa mily me mbers, orga n ize and lobby to ch a nge the loved o n es a nd fr ie nds of laws which have desu-oyecl th e ir fami li es. Juli e's brother, J eff, prisoners who have seen our socalled criminal justice syste m at d id a five-yea r b it in th e feels work up close a nd have learned for growing pot. to di sbe li eve eve r yth in g th ey Those who thi nk the voice of have been told about crime and the convict can never be raised punishme nt in America. to reach a cho r us heard o utside T hat's a lotofpeople. T hat'sa the wal ls a r e still th in ki ng in lo t of votes. More than e no ug h terms o f 20 yea r s ago wh e n to swing a n election. there were a mere two hundred H e re is the co mmon wisdo m Richard Strallon with Liberta1ian Presiden tial candidate th ousa nd so uls in prison. T he o n th e subject: priso n e r s a re Han ")' Browne in Los Angeles. more people they lock up, the powe rl ess . Wh y do yo u think more th ey set the stage for thei r politicians have d eclared open season on t im e th ey h ear of a n ot h e r dru g wa r own d ownfa ll. The prison indusu-y may prisoners? It is not o nly because prisoners ca s u a lty, c ross t h e mse lves and thi nk: be o ne of the fastes t g rowing businesses ma ke a n easy ta rget fo r the ir ge t-tough There but for the grace of Cod go f. T he re in the n a tio n to d ay, but it is a sel frhe to ric. And it is not just because many are te n s o f m ill io n s o f peo ple in this d efeating e nterprise because the product Americ ans still be lieve th e crime a nd co untr y wh o occasionally smo ke (an d this ind ustry prod uces-prisone rs-have pun ishment propaganda a im ed a t inhale) marijuana. In th e six years I have no stake in maintaining the status quo. ge tt in g o ut th e fe ar vo te . Th e re is bee n o ut of prison I have met a number Prisoners are disenfra n ch ised. The mo re anoth er reason why tough g uys like Dole of peo ple who tell me, when they learn I priso n ers we c re ate, the m o r e we an d C lin ton and th e res t of t h e we nt to pri so n fo r sm uggling po t: You unde rm ine society as a whole . po liticia n s b e at up on priso ners: sufferedformysins. Wh o wou ld eve r have thought th e re prisone rs can't voLe. It's that simp le-at We a re talking m illions of people, way would be the n eed- the market, if yo u least in the ir minds. Prisoners don't vote. more than e noug h to free the vote from wi ll-fo r a magazine calle d Prison L ife Not o nly th at, in many states, ex-cons are the confi nes of a narrow two-pany system t h a t bills itse lf as th e Vo ice of th e no t supposed to vote e ither. And why do that offe rs n o real a lte rn a ti ves. But, Convict? Yet 1ve have seen our circu latio n you think that is? What are the lawmakers conventio na l political wisdom has it, you g row 500 percent in the past year. We aft-aid of? will neve r be a ble to reach these people, have seen the rest of America, fro m talk The stra teg ists who plan ma instrea m neve r be a ble to organ ize th e m into a s how h osts to politica l act ivis ts a n d po li tical campa ig ns have missed a very tt-u e vo tin g b loc k with th e power to organizers- eve t-yo n e but m a instr eam importan t po int. With mo re and more influe nce e lectio ns. Mayor Mario n Barr y politicians- pay heed to the rising voice peo ple go ing to pri son fo r longe r a nd o f Washing ton , D.C. pu t the lie to that of conce rn over what the proponents of lo nge r pe riod s o f lime- the maj ority for th eo r y. H e was re-e lected la rge ly b y lock-'em-up-a nd-th row-away-th e-key a re drug-re la te d c r im es-a vas t ne w appealin g to th e fam ilies of th e man y doing to o ur country. T 6 PRISON Llff Novembc•· 1996 The tim e h as come to free the vote. Pri o ne rs must he lp o rganize Lhe voting powe r of those who would li te n to th e voice of the convict. 1 ovc mbc r, l 996 is upo n us; ano th er nation al e lection is at ha nd. Prisoners n eed to reach o u t to fa mil y me mbers, fri e nds, loved ones, p eo ple who unders ta nd what is happening to o ur counu·y as a result of sh o rt-s ig hted, ge t-to u g h p o li c ies espoused by cynical poli ticia ns willing to trade our future for votes. Reach out to fi ve people-more if you can-and make you r vo ice heard by urg ing your people to vo te for your freedom. Free the vole. Who, I ask m yse lf as th e person wh o wo uld articula te this d iscord ant, urgent voice, who are we going to e ndorse? I never voted before I we nt to priso n . I did no t recognize th e a utho rity of my governme nt fo r o n e c ru cial reaso n: I smo ked ma rij uana a nd th e refore I was a n o utlaw. Whe n people ask why I a m so obsessed with t h e subj ec t o f il le ga l drugs, I te ll th e m it is because I see in this issue a metaphor fo r who we are as Am e ri ca n s. When I was a tee n age r growing up in the suburb of Boston, a favo rite weeke nd pastime was to c ruise a r o und dri n ki n g b ee r, ge tti n g "shi tfaced ," as we called it, a nd getti ng into stree t fights. Seve ral frie nds of mine we re k ille d in car c r as h es wh ile ou t dri ving a round drunk , bu t tha t didn ' t d e t e r th e rest o f us. It was n ' t until a fri e nd gave m e a shrive led up , h a ndrolled cigare tte, kn own in those days as a "reefer," a nd told me to u·y it whe n I go t tired o f what alco hol was doing to me, th at I became awa re o f a differe nt reality. I' ll n eve r forge t th a t first toke; nothing has bee n th e sa me sin ce. Mariju a na taug h t m e to qu es t ion authority. As an Am e r ica n , I grew up b e lievin g I h a d ce rtain in a li e n a b le rig h ts. I have never unde rstood how, in a free society, gove rnm e nt is accorded th e autho rity to te ll me wha t substances I can ingest, what books I am allowed to read , what ideas I a m free to embrace. So lo ng as 1 am not hur ting o thers by my ac tio ns, what I do in the privacy of my o wn ho me, or on my own pro perty, is Ill)' b u s iness and s h o u ld n o t b e s ubj ect to go ve rnm e nt o r po li ce r eg ul at io n . Don ' I trnul on mr is th e po li tical sloga n I live by. I we nt to prison fo r m y be liefs- n o t fo r th e mo n ey I mad e, n o t fo1· th e to n s o f wee d I broug ht in-but b eca use I r efused to de noun ce my brothers and siste rs in tl1e marUuana underground. Bill Cli n ton and I are th e sam e age, we lived through th e same times-the ' 60s. But Bill didn't inhale . And if you be lieve th at, you might as well vote fo r Bo b Do le b e ca u se it makes n o d iffe re nce which one wins a nd at least Dole is a better liar. Bill didn ' t in h ale, huh . An yo n e wh o can te ll a li e th a t wea k needs to get hig h a nd con fro nt the phony he thinks h e is. Dole is old e noug h to be Bill 's and my fa l11 e r. I do n ' t hold that against him, but it is a gen e rational thi ng. Some people g r ow wiser, mor e to le r a nt, mor e concerned witl1 u·uth as they grow o lde r. ot so with the gene ra tion o f ric h white m e n wh o run this country a nd la rge pa rts o f th e wo r ld. They so ld out th e STOP the WAR very ideals o ur fou nd e rs che rished and mad e fundam e n ta l to o ur syste m o f governme nt. The Co n stitutio n and Bill of Ri g hts a re not to b e tread on by a bunc h o f b lack-robed e ld e rs who will not live to see the harm tl1 eir trashing of tl1ese principles h as wro ught. Dole wa nts to milita rize th e bo rde rs, call o ut th e Nation a l Gu a rd to fight th e dom estic war on dr ugs. Se nd in the Ma rin es. It wo rke d in WW II. So wh a t if it is in violatio n of the Constitu tio n. T ha t's their answer to cverytl1ing: more laws, mo re police, more weapons, more fo rce-mo re gove rnme nt. Even as they mo ul11 empty promises to ste m the power or th e fed e ral g ove rnm e n t, bo th the De mocrats and the Re publicans seck to legislate mora lity by invading tl1e private lives of Americans. And if you don ' t agree wi th th e ir h yp ocritical, o utda ted vie ws, watch o ut, they have a j ail cell wailing for you. 0111' nation, behind bars. Enough. The time has come for Lh c o ld guard to ste p aside, give up the helm. It's a s h a m e Cl inton doe s n ' t have t h e integrity to live up to the ideals of our gen e ra tion : freedo m a nd j ustice fo r all , th ose quintesse nti a l Am e ri ca n rig hts Clinto n and his Republican cronies have tra m p led in th e n a m e of th e wa r o n d ru gs, t h e wa r on c rim e: t h e wa r o n freedom. Those of us who have e ndured a prison te rm kn ow wh at it is like to live in a p o li ce state; I fee l th e e n c roac hin g security crackdown acutely. Wha t they are do ing in ou1· pl'iso ns is a g ross m irro r image of what is happening in American society at large. The government is using th e drug wa r a nd tl1e war on crime to tax Americans into poverl)' and to devastate the civil libe rties no t only o f drug users and scrcallcd criminals, but of innocent, law-abiding Ame ricans. I was introduced to th e Libe rtari a n Party while locked up in a federal prison in upstate Ne w York. The priso ne r who tOld m e a bo ut t h e Liberta ri a n s a n d sh owed me th e ir lite rature was se rving time for rc f~u sin g to pay taxes. I became a ca rd-carryi ng Libe rtarian some years ago. T his is the only party tJ1at has as pan of its platform ending the war on drugs and granti ng am nesty to all those convicted of non-violent drug crimes. ot even Ralph 1 ade r will go tha t far. So when I heard the Libe rtarians had n o min a t ed H ar r y Bro wn e as t h e ir candidate, I decided to con tact Brown e 's people to see if I could get an interview. I had no inte rest in talking to any o f the o th e r ca ndida tes, a nd I'm sure th e last thing they want is an e ndorsement from a convic t magazine. The next d ay, before I got to the pho ne, I got a fax fro m Jack D ea n , o n e o f Brown e 's ca mp a ig n ma nagers, saying the ca ndida te wo uld like to do a n inter view with m e. I was slll nned. Talk abo ut synergy. Anyone wh o be lieves in th e idea ls of li berty and justice for a ll needs to liste n to wh a t H a rr y Brown e h as to say: "Cli nto n has go tte n into a bidding war with t h e Re publi can s to see wh o ca n re peal your rig hts fastest. 1 either or the two o ld er pa rties will defe nd the Bill of Rights. Only a Libertarian will speak out aga inst this h eadlo ng rush to wa rd s a po li ce sta te." And h e b ac ks up th ese stateme nts with radical yet rational plans to halt th e rush towa rd to talitarian ism . Abo lish th e IRS. Eliminate income ta.xcs. Do away with the FBI a nd th e DEA. Get th e fed e r a l gove rnm e n t o uL o f o u r bedrooms and our bank accounts. Anyone who cares a bout tl1e future of o ur counu·y n eeds to free th e vo te from tJ1e clutches of a two-pa rt)' system mi red in bullshit and corrup tio n. They te ll us we n eed gove rn m e nt to provid e m o ral lead e rship as th ough we we re igno ran t, wi llful ch ildre n . Po li ticia n s providin g mo ra l lead e rship? Do le 's ge n e ra ti on ha mm e rs bac k m a rtin is a nd uc ks up c iga r eues a nd ye t th e y wa nt to lock people up fo r life for po t? Some thing is wrong with this picture. Free the Vote. Vote for freedo m. Vo te for H a r ry Browne. Just say no to One nation, behind bars. End the insa ne war on drugs. Bring tl1e drug PO\I\1s home. Vo te fo r Harry Browne. Vote Libertarian. And if you a re sla mmed clown and can 't vote, reach o ut to at least five of your people and tell the m to elect Ha rry Browne. Our freedom is a t stake. No\'cm bcr 1996 PRISON LifE7 ~end them alove letter they can hug~ Send your loved ones a plush stuffed animal from our extensive collection to show them how much you really care! We carry a full line of teddy bears, dogs, and exotic animals from crocodiles to hippos. These animals are made of the highest quality materials and are prize-winning designs. We gift wrap and ship in protective cartons, according to your instructions. For color pictures, prices and full details, send three (3) 32cent stamps to: CHARLYNN DISTRIBUTORS Box 13003 Tucson, Arizona 85732 Contributors - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • Sadia Zoe Ali, who wo n first place in no nfictio n in the 1995 An Be hind Bars con test, was recently re leased fro m Flo rence Crane Wo me n's Facility in Michigan . She is curre ntly enrolled in the ho no rs program at Kellog Communi ty College and at wo rk o n an autobiogra phy titled Bu ttetjly. Suck This! marks he r writing debut as a free woma n. Edward Bunker is the autl1or o f o BPasl So Fierce and Lillie 80)' Blue. His latest book, Dog Eal Dog, in just o u t from St. Martin 's Press. Charles Huckleberry is a prisone r in ew H ampshire State Prsio n . His sho rt sto r y, H ow M uch? tied fo r second place in the 1995 Art Behind Bars contest. John Ittner is a n ar tist and writer who works at th e New Yorh Posl. l-I e reporL~ tha t th e latest sig hting of elusive j a ilho use a rtist FA-Q had him back in fa miliar surrou ndings o n Riker' Island . Sadia Zoe Ali Jorge Antonio Renaud's Keys too k third place in the no nfictio n catego ry of the 1995 Art Behind Bars contest. He is currently in prison in Abilene, Texas. Michael B. Ross has lived o n Deatl1 Row in the Connecticu t sy te m fo r the past eight years. James Moretti, Esq. 600 Reservoir Ave. Cranston, Rl 02910 (401) 946-7979 RESEARCH AND W RITING A PPELLATE REPRESENTATION STATE & FEDE RAL C OURTS REASONABLE RATES 12 PRISON lllf November 1996 Money Back Satisfaction Guaranteed! Optical, Inc. P.O. Box 680030, Dept. Pl1196 North Miami, FL 33168 Prism Optical has been selling prescription eyeglasses to inmates across the nation for over 34 years. You may select from a full line of eyeglass frames for men and women, including designer styles, metal frames, and sports glasses, disco unted 30-50%. You can have your prescription lenses ground by Prism Optical, and choose from a number of lens options, including photochromic lenses, ultra-thin lenses, fashion tinting, and UV-filtering and scratch-resistant coa ting. Single vision, bifocals, trifocals and invisible bifocals are available. Prism guarantees that the glasses will fit correctly, and the catalog provides guides to gauging the correct size of the temple and bridge. "All the News You Can't Confine." Block Beat America's National Prison Newspaper November 1996 GLADIATOR DAYS The L.A. Times reported recently that five officers at Ca lifo rn ia's hig h tech maximum security Corcoran State Prison have come forth with stories of torture, killing and cover up by guards. T h e ir accounts were backed up by internal memos and co nfide ntia l prison docume nts. It was common practice, the officers said, fo r g u a rd s to put rival prisoners have been shot d ead by guards an d more than 50 have been wounded , making Corcoran the prison with the most ki llings of prisone rs in the Un ited States exce pt for killings taking place in prisone r uprisings such as Attica. Guards claim th at they resorted to dead ly force in eac h ki ll in g because they were atte mpting to stop prisone r fig hts fro m prisoner was s h o t. "T h e on ly grea t bodily injury inflicted a lot of Limes was with o ur guns," a captain who re mains a t Corcoran , Tom Simpso n , to ld the L.A. Times. Gua rd s cla i med th ey were confused by conflicting instructions and policies regarding how a nd when to stop p ri so n e rs from fig hting , but by J 989 som e office rs suspected that th ere was more to th e shootings tha n confusio n. Officers say tha t "Gladia tor Days" were he ld, ritu als where SHU supervisors and officers staged fig hts between prisoners, sending known e n e mies into the yard toget h e r. Officers from other units so m etim es came to watc h and occas io n all y supervisors wo uld delay fig hts un til a female offi cer or secretary could a rrive. The FBI's civil rights investigatio n keys on t h e 1994 s h oo tin g of prisoner Preston Tate, an incide m Rigg referred to as "a bad shoot." T h e in vestigation b ega n after Officer Richard Caruso slipped o u t of the prison ca rr yin g documents tha t backed up his assertions tl1at the Tate slaying was being covered H.R. COX Retired, BOP corrections consultant 817·596·8457 Corcoran State Prison, California priso n e rs to ge th er for prizefights, complete with spectators and bettin g, and when a prisoner wou ldn ' t stop fighti ng, guards would sometimes shoot him. Another commo n occurance was an initiation rite call "Greet the Bus," where arrivin g prisoners, hand c uffed a nd shackled, were beaten by co rrec ti ons officers and at times forced to stand barefoot on scalding hot asphalt under the California sunshine. Guards said tl1e severe burns on prisoners' feet were due to the priso n e r s p laying "bar efoot handball." Corcoran was built in 1988 and billed as California's most maximum securi ty priso n and hou ses 5,500 priso n e r s including Charles Manson a nd Sirhan Sirhan. Since the prison opened, seven Photo by Bobby Adams ending in murde r. DOC r eview boards co n s is ta nt ly cleared officers of wrongdoing, but now tl1 e FBI and th e Depa rtm ent o f Justice are investigating t11e killings. Steve Ri gg, a lieutenant at Corcoran from 1988 to 1994, is coope rating with th e FBI a nd says the "g unfir e was ringing out nea rly eve ry day a nd man y of these sh ootings were not justified. The fig hters posed no immin em a nd se rious h arm to each o tl1er." Rigg stated tlnt sometimes "the wrong inma te was kill ed by mistake." Incident rep orts in the SHU shootings indicate that most of the tim e th e prisoners wh o we r e fighting did not carry weapons or face immine nt bodily harm . In five in c id e n ts, th e wrong . al p..ssistance irr. rrofesslon . for · nations • Initial oesl9 rre-lrial offenders nsfers • Ira & oetainers • INS Issues I rlacement r:edera • state or r~earin9s • rarole . Remedies • p..drninistratNe PO Box 1551 weatherford, TX 76086 November 1996 PRISON llff 13 up by his supe rio rs and gave them to the FBI. Caruso has transferred to another institutio n afte r h e and the severa l officers who are cooperating with the feds were vinually exiled by the other 900 guards who work at Corcoran. Abuses a t Co rco ran 's SHU (Special Housing Un it} are lege ndar y. I n Nove mber 1989 officers call ed for a SORT team to extract prisoner Reginald Cooke from his cell after Cooke allegedly spit o n a male officer and exposed himse lf to a female officer. The team removed Cooke to th e unit's rotu n da, where more th an twenty officers looked on as a lieutenan t ordered Cooke's pa nts lowered and j olted the prisoner's testicles wid1 a Tase r. The worst vio lence seems to have taken place on the second watch (6 a. m.-2 p.m.) in an eig h t month period in 1994, after deputy warden George Sm ith became warde n. Sm it h retired lastJuly, citing poor health. ''I'll adm it d1at some of my staff have gone crazy," he told the L.A. Tim£S, "but it was only a few who screwed up. We've got I ,700 good employees." Smith called the e mployees who had gone to d1e feels "disgrunded. " Th e cooperating office rs and investigators on the case say that Smith's n ickna me among staff m e mbe rs was "Mushro o m Geo rge" b eca use "mushrooms like to be kept in tJ1e d ark." DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR Washington, (AP) - A new report paints a dark picture of capi tal punishment trials that featu red drunks, drug addicts and charactet·s wh o could not stay awake in th e co urtro o m. They we r e the defense lawyers. The legal he l p avai lab l e to some charged wid1 murder is a far cry from the "dream team" th at helped OJ. Simpson, who did not face the d eath penalty, win acq uitta l, says Rich a rd Die te r of th e Dead1 Penalty Information Center. "Too man y states e n co urage thi s m a lprac ti ce b y offerin g tota lly inadequate pay and resources, for death p e nal ty d e fe n se," De iter's re port contends. "States allow elected judges to pi ck a ttorn eys n ot o n th e b as is of experie nce or me1it but because they wiU cause the least ' trouble' in trying a case." Most court-appointed lawyers, d10ugh underpaid a nd often inexperienced in death-penalty cases, are conscie ntious. But Die te r's report focused on some of the worst. • John Young stood trial in Georgia while represented by a lawye r add icted to dru gs. Shortly after Young was sente nced to death, h is lawyer was jailed o n drug charges. The courts rejected Young's conten tio n that his legal help at tr ia l was in e ffec tiv e and h e was executed in 1985. • J esus Ro mero's lawyer presented a 29 word argument to the jury at the trial's sentencing phase. "You are an exo·emely intelligent jury. You 've got tha t man 's life in your hands. You can take it or not. That's all I have to say," the lawyer said. The jury vo ted for death and Rome ro was executed in 1992. • Larry H ead1 's lawyer failed to appear whe n the capital case was argued before the Alabama Supreme Court. Hea th was executed in 1992. • WiJiiam Garrison 's lawyer was arrested for dri ving to Garri so n's California 14 PRISIN LifE No\'ember 1996 murde r trial whi le legally intoxicated. Ga rriso n' s mu rder co nvi c tion was upheld despite his claim that his lawyer provid ed in effec tive ass istan ce. Hi s d eath senten ce was ove rturn ed o n oilier grounds, however. • Texas d eath row inmate Calvin Burdine was represented by an a ttorn ey who, according to a n affidavit submitted by the jury foreman , repeatedly fell asleep in court. THREE STRIKES LAws RARELY UsED; CAliFORNIA MAjOR ExCEPTION Washingto n, D.C.-Th e first national survey of "Tiu-ee Strikes and You 're Out" laws reveals m at with the exception of California, these laws a re rarely used by me States and m e fede ral government. The survey was released by d1e Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy, a na tional coaljtion of criminal justice officials. D espite the wides pread po litical promotion of "thre e str ikes" during passage of the 1994 crime bill, me law has only resulted in 9 fede ral convictions to date, with an a ddition a l 24 cases p e n ding. In seve ra l states whi c h have p assed suc h laws, including Tennessee, New Mexico, orth Carolina , a nd Colorad o, not a single conviction has yet been obtained. The report attributes this limited use to the fact tJ1a t the laws in mese states apply to only d1e most serious offe n ders and that prosec uto r s a nd judges already use ex isting sta tutes to secure le ngthy prison terms for sed ous violent offenders. ln dra ma tic contrast, d1e California law Office rs say the clan of guards who con trol an individual prison is known as a "car," and the car d1a t took power after Smith became warden was a n especially brutal o n e. New guards had to pass a loyalty test before they were allowed to climb in th e ca r. One su ch test was particpation in "Greet the Bus." The car at Corcoran was na med "the Sharks," du e to t h ei r will ingn ess to attack suddenly a nd without provocation. Though the matter is currently before a grand jury in Fres n o, coo pera ting officers and attorneys believe it wi ll be difficu lt to prove th at pri so n officials conspired to put priso ners in to dead ly situations. includes any of the state's 500 felonies as a third strike and, alo ng with its second strike provisions, h as resul ted in the incarce ratio n of more t h an 15,000 offenders, creating a need for $4.5 billion in prison construction over the next five years. The Campaign report finds tha t d espi te ongo i ng claims, t h e c rime reducing impact of d1e law is unproven a nd that 85% o f th e seco nd a nd third strike convictions have bee n for nonviolent offenses. Walter Dickey, Un ive rsity of Wisconsin law professor a nd autJ10r of d1e re port, stated that, "Before policy makers jump o n the thre e strikes bandwago n, th ey should consider whe ther th ese policies are being adopted because they represent good crime control or good po litics." The r e port a lso found that th e California law is having a sig nificant im pact on court backlogs for both civil a nd c riminal cases, since m an y three strikes d efe ndants choose to go to u·ial. In Los Angeles, the three strikes cases acco unt for 3% of th e criminal court filings but 24% of jury trials. Beca use d1ree strikes defendants arc often unable to post bail, tJ1e law has also been found to crowd local j ails as well as state prisons. The Cali fornia la w h as bee n app lied uneven ly ac ro ss th e s tate as well, de pe nding o n prosecutorial discretion , and t hree str ikes d e fe nd a n ts are di sproportionately Africa n-American , raising concerns of racial bias. The report calls o n policy makers to assess the pote ntial effects of three strikes laws b e fore e n ac tin g them a nd to conside r mo re cost-e ffective mea ns of having a n impact o n crime. T he Campaign for a n Effective Crime Po licy is a coali tion of 1,100 c rimina l justice a nd elected officials in all fifty states tJ1at was formed in 1992. Campaign sp onsors h ave issu e d a "Ca ll for a Rational Deba te on C rim e and Punishm e nt," a nd wo rk to d eve lop criminal justice policy based on research and effectiveness. THE PRisoN CENsus "If I win," Bob Dole vowed last week, "the lives of violent criminals are going to be he ll. " But nearly 1. 6 mi llion Americans already are behind bars: 1 millio n in state prisons, 500,000 in local j ails and I 00,000 in fede ral lockups. A new Justice Department repo rt shows the prison count grew 6.8 percent last year. Here's how states rank acco rding to incarceratio n rate (n u mbe r of in mates per 100,000 population): STATE TOTAL RATE Virginia Dela ware District of Columbia Texas Lo uisiana Okla homa South Caro lina Nevada Arizona Alabama Georgia Mississippi Florida Michiga n Californ ia 9,800 127,766 25,427 18 ,151 19,6 11 7,826 21 ,341 20,7 18 34,266 13,008 63,879 41 ,112 135,646 U.S.Average 1,650 653 568 552 515 482 473 471 470 464 447 429 416 Maryland Ohio No rth Carolina New York Arkansas Missouri New J ersey Alaska Connecticut Illinois Kentucky Colorado 27,710 4,802 1,127,132 21,453 44,677 29,374 68,484 9,40 1 19,139 27,066 3,505 14,801 37,658 12,060 11,063 4 14 4 13 409 404 400 382 378 360 358 340 339 318 3 17 3 11 292 INMEMORIUM CLAIRE CUUIANE Humanitarian, 1918-1996 "She has a damn good head on her shoulders, and her representations on behalf of individual prisoners have had 11terit. But the tmuble is Claire will not see the other point of view. " - Ro be rt Kaplan, forme r Can ad ian So licitor Gene ral laire Culh ane, lo ngtime matriarch of Canadian Prisoner Righ ts and Canada's most pro min en t Vie tnam War protester, d ied on April 28, 1996. Clai re Culhane unselfis hly ded icated most of her life to social change and was a dear fr ie n d to ma ny. H er co urage, strength of conviction, e nergy, and determi nation earned her not always appreciation , but cer tainly the highest respect fro m all, including he r adve r sa ri es. Sh e worke d fo r reform in areas such as th e righ ts of C th e in carce r ated, wo ma n 's iss u es, labor, freedom of speech. Although best known for her prison reform a n d Vietnam Wa r protests, Claire was a dedicated social activist all of her life. Raised in post-WWI Montreal, she worked in the local gar ment indusn·y. Here she suppo rted early labor reforms against explo itative sweatshops. He r next cause was the controversial Women's Rights Movement which was in its in fa n cy in the rigidl y tradi tio nal Quebec culture. She trained as a nurse Wyoming Tennessee Idaho Indiana Kansas Penns ylvania South Dakota New Mexico Hawaii Washington Iowa O regon Mo ntana Wisconsin Rhode Is la nd Nebraska Massachusetts New Ha mpshi re Utah Vermont West Virginia Maine Minnesota North Dakota 1,405 15,206 3,328 16,125 7,054 32,41 0 1,871 4,195 3,560 11 ,608 5,906 7,886 1,788 11 ,199 2,902 3,113 11 ,619 2,01 4 3,448 1,072 2,511 1,447 4,863 608 291 287 283 275 274 268 256 231 21 7 212 207 206 204 201 186 185 175 174 173 143 136 111 105 85 at Ottawa's Civic Hospital wh ile p rotesti ng against Fascism in Spa in d wing the late 1930's. This lead to some of her earliest clashes with government officials as she was rounded up dozens of times fo r he r participa ti on in demonstrations. At this time she met her husband Gary, who was an early un io n o rgan izer. Toge ther they were instrumental in d1e establishment of the Maritime Labor Movement on the docks of Vancouve1~ in the 1940's. The 1950 's fo un d Claire, a si ngleparent, worki ng to support her fam ily as a medical records clerk. Meanwhi le she devoted as much time as possible to opposing the n uclear arms race as tens ions grew between the Un ited States and the USSR. Claire became a promi n e n t Canadia n vo ice of opposition to the death sentence of Ju lius and Ethel Rosenberg. I n 1967, Cla ire wor ked with a Canadian Medical Aid Team in Q uang Ngai, South Vietnam, com bati ng a tu berculosis epidem ic. T hen 49, she volunteered fo r th e proj ect se nsing it November 1996 PRISON llff 15 wou ld offer adventure, social purpose, Vietnam. From th ere s h e we n t to Saigon just before it fell to Comm un ist and a chance to serve the needy. She recogn ized the deceit, forces. She re-visited Quang Ngai a nd corruption, political manipulation, and toured Ca n adi a n Medical Facilities conu·adictio ns of not only the Canad ian which were still receiving funding, yet con tribution to the war effort, but the administering little or n o aid. She sent g reater senselessness o f the conflict seeth ing repo n s to t h e Canadian itself. She witnessed human carnage of gover nm e nt de scribing the coreve ry imaginable form from torture, ru pti on. The government's goa ls, ma iming, a nd slaughter as well as a though, appeared not to have changed. widespread disregard for the lives of the They we re still strictly political and local pop ul ation. She reali zed the economic rather than humanitarian. Canadian government had no concern Claire wo uld never forget Vietnam, for th e Vietnamese people and were a nd h er ex p os ur e to government reveling in the profi t they were deriving deceit a nd ma ni p ulation allowed h er from the war e ffort in retur n for to be effec tive in h er la ter battle for maintaining a token ro le as an humanitarian treatment for Canadia n inte rnational ally of the United States. p1;soners. Sh e fought cou rageous ly for th ose Claire denounced Canada's role in the conflict as "the butcher's helper." who society ofte n despises, dismisses, After a year o f se rvice in Vietnam, o r d iscards. On Capital Hill , inside Claire returned home determined to Ca n ada's Parliament, and in the comm unicate to North Americans the Warden 's office of British Colum b ia real ities of Vietnam, not the edi ted Penitentiary, Claire chained herself to propaganda released by the structures, refusing to move or eat gove rn ment. She wrote an honest, unti l sh e was heard. She was at th e h ard-h illin g repo rt criticizi n g t h e fo refront of demonstrations protesting Canadian ro le in Vietnam and prisoner co ncerns su ch as solitary submitted it, along with her resignation, confinement, capi ta l punishment and to h e r supe riors. The resignation was prison conditio ns. C la ire witn essed mistreatment, relu cta ntly accepted, bu t h e r report never acknowledged. It was suppressed deceit, and brutality first-hand during aBC Pen riot in the mid-1970's, wh ere by the Trudeau governme nt. The govern m e nt 's fa ilure to sh e vo lunteered to spend three days communicate th e truth to its citizenry and nights behind the walls with th e infu riated Clai re and encouraged her rioting cons. From that point onward to publish much of h e r report in a sh e was a true friend and ally to the book. In laLC 1968, she held a te n day Priso ner Rights Cause. In priso ns hu nger st r ik e whil e c h a in ed in a fro m th e Atla nti c to Pacific coas ts, replica of the type of so litar y C laire Culhane supported, protested confine ment cel l used by Sou th and m ade demands for th e Vietnamese forces to incarcera te over inca rcerated. She was no stranger to ar r ests, lockups, a n d 200,000 a lleged Communist political police prisone rs. courtrooms as a result of he r efforts. Claire criss-crossed North America She d esp ised the b ureauc r atic do ze ns of times, s peaking as "Th e manipulations so we ll kn own to a ll Voice of Women," with a mandate to who have bee n incarcerated and for incite orth Americans to de mand a many years was banned from visiting stop to th e Vietnam War. Sh e often all British Columbia prisons because visited cap ita l citi es Ottawa a nd of the effect sh e was deemed to have Washington, wh e r e sh e missed n o o n prisoners. It is safe to say prison officials fea red Claire's con viction to opportunity to challenge politicians. Claire provided the public with in fo rm th e public of th e inhumane valuable info r mation regarding th e misu·eatment Canada's prisoners we re horrific My Lai Massac re, whic h subjected to. Claire treated all prisoners equally, occurred just a few kilometers from her Vietnam p os ting. The publ ic was regardl ess of their crime. S h e shocked when Claire informed them the correspo nded with h u ndreds of male My Lai massacre was an example of a and female prisone rs offering words of common occurrence in Vietnam. encouragement and su pport. She She became a popular guest speaker attended the parole hearings of many for the North American media, and was who had no ot h er support. If a close::ly scrutin ized by RCMP. prisoner or Inmate Committee After t h e Pari s Peace Accords of reported wrongdoing by officials, th ey 1973, Claire was one of few Westerners knew she wo uld besiege officials witl1 im~ted to visit the City of Hanoi in the faxes, phone calls, a nd letters. She newly-recog nized Republic of North would muster rallies of s uppo rt 16 PRISON llff ovcmbcr 1996 whe never sh e felt it necessary in a ny province. She was without a doubt the most respected "ci ti zen" eve r to b e involved with Canada's incarcerated. Few believed the atrocities occurring in Canadian priso ns until Claire too k up the cause. Most didn't want to li sten about co ncerns of th e incarcerated unti l Claire made them. She wrote three books denounc ing Canada's approach to corrections. In 1995 C laire was awarded "The Order of Can ada" as recogniti on fo r he r ou tsta nding contributions to the country. The work sh e started in Canada's prisons must be co n tinue d wit h her memory in mind. She didn't work for fi nancia l gain o r glory. She labo red re le n tlessly because sh e cared. She p roved that an individual can make a difference in a complex world. She h ad faith that man y who are incarcerated can change if society a nd the system give them tl1 e opportunity. She had the insight to realize the system and society perpetuate and often cause crime. She had the guts to te ll it like it is and not believe the bureaucrats. She wi ll be loved, missed, respected, an d never forgotten. Rest in Peace Claire. - Tom Mann FEDERAL SENTENCING EXPERTS *Plea agreements *PSI review * Guideline analysis *Appeals RONALD E. SCHWARTZ Attorney At Law 8060 Montgomery Road, Suite 202 Cincinnati, OH 45236 (513) 792-0606 Fax 792-0606 POST-CONVICTION RELIEF IN ALL CIRCUITS Call Outs Sisters in Struggle is a newsle tte r produ ced as a collective effort of fede ral wome n prisoners committed to educa ting communities a bo ut th e injustices a nd a bsolute failure of "America's War on Drugs. " Con tact Ms. H a med ah A Hasan , #13847-047, Unit A, 5701 8th St. , Camp Parks, Dublin, CA 94568. Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, Pa t Bane, Directo r, P.O. Box 208, Atla nti c, VA 23303-0208. Pho n e: 804/ 824-0948. The na me says it all. If yo u ge t in to uch, please te ll he r that Michael Ross sent you (see Guest Ed itorial, this issue). The Native American Brotherhood Church, Inc. is a re lig ious support o rga niza tion striving to address th e needs of inc:ou·cerated prisone r practiti one rs of the Native Am e ri ca n Re ligion . The NABC is lo oking to form chapters in o the r state prisons and ou tside prison walls to be tte r educate, promo te and assist in legal action for Native American practitio ne rs who are be ing de n ied the God-give n right to practice their re ligio n. We seek to educate prison officials, prison ers and prospec tive o utside su pporte rs, a nd to provide practitio ners wi th re ligio us ite ms. Fo r mo re informa tio n con tact: Native American Bro th erhood Church , Inc., c/ o J ohnny J arre ll, #538412, Rt. 1, Box 150, Cof(ie ld Uni t, Tennessee Colony, TX 75884. Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) is a natio nal jury-educa tion o rganization wh ich bo th educates juries a nd pro mo tes laws to require th atjudges resume telli ng trial jurors "the who le truth" about the ir rights, or a t least to allow lawyers to te ll the m. If you wish to suppo rt FIJA, ma ke checks payable to Dave icho lson c/ o FIJA Fund 96, PO Box 184, Fo rt Edward , NY 12828. Re taliatory Transfers. Any fed eral inmate litigators wh o have a credible story of a retalia tory tra nsfe r fo r the ir having exercised the ir constitutio nal rig hts, a nd a ny a tto rneys who would be in terested in represe nting such acti ons, eith e r as a class acti on or as a Civil RICO ma tte r, con tact Be n Kalka through his atto rn ey Christo phe r Can non, Esq., 600 Harrison St., Suite 535, San Francisco, CA 94107. Visit the Prison Life website at: hHp:/ /www.prisonlifemag.com/ Novembe r 1996 PRISON Ulf t 7 Guest Editorial SEEKING RECONCILIATION FROM DEATH ROW by Michael 8 . Ross M}. n a m e is Mic h ae l Ross. I am a condemned man on Con necticut's d eath row. \1\l he n most people Lhink of d eath row priso ne rs, I' m th e one they th in k o f. I'm th e worst o r the worst, a man who h as raped and murdered eight wo m en, assa ulted seve ra l others, a nd stalked and frightened many more. And wh en I am fin a lly exec ute d , th e vas t majority of the people of this state will celebrate my death. Sometimes, wh en I close m)' eyes, I can see th e h undre ds of people who will gath er outside the priso n ga tes o n the n ig ht o f my executio n . I can see th e m waving p lacard s, drinking and rejoic ing, a nd l can h ear the ir c heers as my death is o ffic ia lly an no un ccd. 1 h ave li ved here on Con n ec ticut's death row fo r over e ig h t a nd a h alf years now. J li ve in a n e ig ht-b y- ten-foot unpainted concre te cell for 23 ho urs a day-24 hours a day o n wee ke nd s. I come o u t fo r a n ho ur of "recreation " five days a wee k. T he only othe r times I come out arc for a 15-minutc sh owe r five days a wee k, and for the occasio n al visit (one-half-hour, through glass, on a teleph one). I ea t a ll o f my m ea ls, brought to m e in a styrofoam box three times a day, in my cell. I live in a single cell so I live a lo ne, a nd because I can on ly ta lk to the two people o n e ithe r side of me, I ofte n feel quite alo ne. One of the results of th is almost total isolation is tha t, afte r a while, a pe rso n is forced to look at himself. I' m not ta lking about the cursory, su pe rficia l mann er in whi ch many people look at the mselves, bu t rather a q ui te painful, unre lenting search of one's very soul. Many prisoners, a nd many of those on death row, a rc able to lie convincingly to the mselves, to see them elves as basically good peop le who a r c th e innocent victims of a corrupt judicial system or of an unfair a n d uncaring soc iety i n general. Sometimes it is ver y d iffic ult to h ones tly see ou rselves as we truly a re, and much easier to blam e oth e rs in an atte mpt to justify our actio ns. I know this 18 PRISON LifE November 1996 -- drug e l imin ates th e previously un con tro llab le urges th a t drove me to commit the crimes tha t put me he re o n death row. T ha t monster still lives in 111 )' h ead, b ut th e m e d ica tion has c hained him and h as banished him to the back of my mind. And wh ile he is sLill able to mock me, he can no longe r co ntr o l m e - l control him ; I a m human agai n . You ca nn ot b eg in t o imag in e wha t a mi lesto n e th is was in my life. Try to im ag in e a time that a me lody o r some catchy LUn e go t stuck i n yo ur mind , playi ng over and over an d n , driving T h e agai ha rder yo u tryyou to crazy. push :~~~~~~5i~~==~;;~~~~~~~~;-over that lllne out of your mind, to be true because for years this is exactly wh a t I did. Duri ng thi s p e ri o d I was a ngry-so very angry-at ever yone and everything except fo r the one person I should have been angry with-myself. It took a very lo ng time-years in fact-for this a nger to subside and for me to begin to accep t who I was and wh a t I h ad becom e, a nd even lo nge r before I was ready an d will ing to accept responsibility for my acti ons. Two thin gs primaril y led to thi s tra n sfo rm ation . Muc h o f th e cre d it fo r th e first goes to Dr. Freel Berl in, a psychi a trist fro m th e Sex ua l Diso rd e rs Clinic a t the j o hn Hopkins H ospi tal in Ba ltimore, Maryla nd. He diagnosed me as suffe ring from a paraphiliac men tal disorder a n d was indispensable in my fi g ht to ge t t he De partmen t of Corrections to ackn owledge my d isorder and to treat it wi th the med icatio n tl1at I now receive. The drug, Depo-Lupron , clears my mind of the vile and noxious t h o u g hts of r ape and m u r der th at p lague d my m ind for so long, a nd th e the louder a nd more pers isten t it becomes. Now try to imag ine that instead o f a harmless ye t a nn oyi ng tun e, yo u expe ri e nc e filth y a nd d esp ica ble u r ges, de sires a n d fa ntasies of the degradation , ra pe a nd murder of innocent women . Day in and day ou t. They fill yo ur thoug hts a nd fa ntasies wh en you arc awa ke. They are in yo ur dreams when you slee p. Imagine trying to con trol the u rges, day by day, h o u r by h o ur. And try to imagine the self-hatre d , loathin g a nd ab h orrence that you deve lop toward you rse lf when you fail. If you can imagine this then you will have only begun to understand what I have experie nced, what I had to live with, what ! had become. And only th en will yo u begin to unde rsta nd th e tru e blessing that th is medication was to me. Bu t th e m ed icatio n was o n ly part of the tory of my personal transfon11ation. It gave me back my mind-a clear m ind free o f th e ma levolent tho ug hts a nd urges. And it allowed my hum a nity to awake n-giving me back some thing th at I thought I had lost forever. Bm th is was ' The drug clears my mind of the vile and noxiuos thoughts of rape and murder that plagued me. j u s t t h e firs t ste p , a n d p e r h a p s th e e as ies t , f o r I d id n 't h ave to d o anyth ing- the medication did it for me. ow began th e mo re d ifficult part o f my tra nsformatio n , a n exa min a tio n o f myse lf- a very p ro found , ver y pa infu l, a nd ongo ing examin ation. ow that my mind wa clear, for th e first time, I bega n to see- really see. It was li ke a spotl ight shi n ing down o n me, burn ing away th e m ist , exp osing every s ha do w of my b e in g. I b e g a n to see th ings as th ey rea lly were. I saw h ow wea k a nd afra id I r eally was- I h a d a lways th o ugh t th a t I was stro ng a nd co nfid e n t. I saw h ow I had a llO\ved the monster in my mind to take con tro l o f me. I saw wh at ! had become. An d worst of al l, fo r th e fi rst time, I saw th e p a in t h a t I h a d bro u g h t t o so many- su ch great a nd un ceasing pain. Afte r my eyes were fi nally o pe ne d and I saw the truth of what I had become and wha t I had don e, I began to feel th ingsun pleasan t, disturbing feeli ngs. I bega n A to feel th e te rrible ago ny a n d d istress t h a t I h a d b r o u g h t to so m a n y: m y victims, th e fam ilies a nd frie nds of my victims, my own fa mily. An d I also began to fe e l t h e a weso m e we ig ht o f m y resp onsib ility fo r my actions a nd o f my responsib ility to th e people th a t I h ave h arme d . And fina lly, I fe lt a profo und sense of gu ilt. An inte nse, overwhe lm ing and pervas ive g u il t tha t su r ro und s my ver y sou l with d a rk, to r me n ted clo uds f ill e d wit h a mix tur e o f se lf-h at re d , re mo rse, regrets a nd sorrow. All of wh ich leaves m e with a d ee p d esire to ma ke am e nd s a nd ac hi eve recon c ilia ti o nso m e t h in g wh ic h , u nd e r t h e c ircumstances, seems impossible. Ye t it is t his se n se o f reco n c ilia ti o n tha t I yearn fo r th e most. Reconcilia tion \Vi t h t h e s p iri t o f m y vic t im s . R eco n c il ia t io n with t h e fa mili es a nd fri e nd s o f m y victi m s . And fin a ll y, reconciliatio n with myself a n d my God . Thi s will b e th e fin a l p a rt of m y tra nsforma t io n-a n d un d o ub tedly the direct line to every winning case in the Federal Courts since "Strickland v. Washington" - 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 winning 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 t his book to save untold hours, and even days, of research. If you have ever tried to find INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEl .... 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 most diffic ul t p a rt. I am fortunate to have a good fr ie nd a nd gu ide fo r th is pa rt of my jour n ey. A me mb er of a group called Murde r Victims' Fam ilies fo r R eco n c i li a t io n , R eve r e n d J o h n Gilma rtin, ma kes a sl,x-hour ro u nd-trip drive to see me once a mon th. I h ave trave le d a great d ista n ce a n d h ave gone t h r oug h qu it e a tran fo rmation since that day when I fi rst se t foot on death row - most of it alone. And I am very grateful an d th a nkfu l fo r th e h e lp that Reverend Gilmartin h as given me over the past 18 mo n tl1s. With hi s h e lp, a n d if it is Go d 's will, I will ac h ieve t h at reco n ci liatio n that I so desi r e, a nd h o p efu ll y co mp le te m y transformation in to one who is worthy o f redem ption a nd forgiveness. My journey is still fa r fro m over, bu t a t least now I can see tl1at there is a ligh t at the e nd o f t h e tun n el. May Go d g ive me t h e strength, p e r seve ra n ce, an d m o r al fo rtitude to co mplete my journey before I a m fi nally executed. If you want to know more about victim- o ffend e r r econcilia tio n , co ntac t: P at Bane, Director, Murder Victims' Families fo r R e con c iliation, P. O . B o x 20 8, A tlanti c, VA 2330 3-0 208 . Ph o n e : 8 04 / 8 24-09 48. Ple a se te ll h e r that Michae l Ross sent you. led to the fi nding of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. Seeking an evident iary hearing? Yo u'll find the case law you need to support your argument s in Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. In a large looseleaf binder, this book is supplemented at least twice annually. The S120.00 purchase price includes all supplements issued during the following 6 months. Supplement service is $42.00 per year thereafter. To order send your pay· ment of $ 120.00 plus $8.00 S&H to: SOUTHWEST LEGAL SERVICES P.O. Box 57091 TUCSON, ARIZONA 85732 November 1996 PRISON lifE 19 Call 1-800-207-2&59 or send check or money order plus $3 P&H made payable to : PRISON LIFE 143& W. Gray, Suite 53 Houston, TX 77019-494& TX residents add 8 .25% sales tax. ~rcrJ VOIC.E' of ,. J $14.95 0 Regular $15.95 0 Pocket Style Size 0 L 0 XL 0 XXL Color 0 Black 0 White 0 Check or Money Order OAmEx 0 MasterCard 0 Discover 0 Visa CARD NUMBER: - - - - -- - - SIGNATURE: - - -- -- CITY: - - -- - STATE: - -- ZIP: .. In the first two installments of Edward Bunker's classic prison novel [published in the Nov.-Dec .'95 and the MarchApril '96 issues of PLM) we followed Ron Decker, a young, white middle class dope dealer who has been given an indeterminate sentence and sent into the animal factory that is San Quentin penitentiary. Ron is befriended by an older, experienced convict named Earl Copan who teaches him how to survive the brutal day-to-day tightrope walk of prison life. When a predator-rapist attempts to turn Decker into his punk, Decker stabs him to death with a shank. The young man has been converted into a product of the system . In this final installment, when Decker is taken back before the judge for resentencing, the animal wants out of his cage, but not as the house-broken pet His Honor envisioned. cyond havi ng mo re graf£iti penciled and carved in to its walls, the courtroom bullpe n hadn ' t changed, nor had the h uman d ebris jamming it. The puffed, doughy faces and dirty clothes were th ose o f th e helpless and poor, not of crimin als. But wh e re Ro n 's atti tude toward the m h ad on ce been pity necked with conte mpt, now conte mpt for weakness was uppe rmost. Also missing was the slight sense of fear tha t he 'd known before. He leaned against a corner, legs extended along a bench, not le tting a tre mbling wino sit d own . When a hus ky yo un g bl ack bega n c ursi n g th e wor ld, the r age u·embling in hi voice, Ro n half smiled a nd fe lt be mused . Once the sigh t of such fury would h ave caused his stomach to knot u p; now he knew it was proba bly a d efensive bluff, noise to hide fear, a nd even if it was real, it was n o threa t. He'd l ea r n e d th a t ph ys ica l to u g hn ess d idn ' t m ake for real dange rousness. Be ing a tough guy was in the mind, in being able to steal someone's life without a qualm . He now knew he was capable o f th at. Wha t was it Earl said: "Rattlesnakes give off a noise, but cobras a rc silent. " On the heels of th ese nih ilistic thoughts came realizatio n that t h ey were a reactio n to th e d evasta tin g n e ws J acob Ho r va th had brough t to the jail 's attorney roo m last night. H o r vath 's drooping lower li p a nd pained eyes sign aled the reality eve n before he spoke. H e'd gone to see the judge in the aftern oon , to get the feel of th e situation, but ex pecting no tro u ble. The j udge had sh own h im a n incide n t re port about the murde r (H o r va th h adn ' t known ), a nd a le tte r sign ed by the a sociate ward e n a nd th e warden , saying that R on D ec ke r was a m e m be r o f the n o torious White Brotherhood , whic h group was responsible for at least h alf a doze n murders in Cal ifornia prisons within L11e past two years. Al though the evidence was insufficient to prosecu te him for this latest killi ng, a number of a no nymous but re liable inma te II info rma n ts had linked Decker to it. J acob Horvath 's voice had ri sen from sad conce rn to near indig nation, a if Ro n had some how failed him. Ron's first sense of de natio n had bee n re p laced by cold a nger a nd con tempt. He would meet the defeat with sco rn; it diminished pain . And that had been his attitude a ll night long. H e d idn ' t even wan t to a ppear in court; it was all a ritual sham. The matte r was already decided and he wasn ' t going to give an yon e Ll1c satisfac tio n of shmving th at it h urt. He could be precisely what th ey thought h im to be. Life was a ll th e playing of roles anyway. All games; a ll bull hit. Whe n the de puty she riff acting as bailiff called Ron to the ga te and faste n ed th e bright steel brace le t over his wrists, Ron fe lt a mi ld scorn , an d a bizarre sense of pride or power, for if they were fe tte rs, th ey were also symbols of socie ty's fear. T he courtroom was to ta lly witho ut spectato rs. J ust the clerk a nd court re po rter were the re, and Hor vath be hind a sea ted de p uty distri ct attorney. H o rvath was lean ing ove r, ta lki ng in to the man's ear. Both of th e m la ug hed softly, but it sounded lo ud in Ll1e e mpty stilln ess. Ro n felt a tug o f a nger. 1 ot long ago h e wou ld h ave b ee n be n ig nl y indifferen t to suc h fri e ndlin ess betwee n compe tin g a ttorneys, bu t now he though t it was u·aitorous. The prosecutor was the e ne my, a nd wa r was never friendly. Without b e ing to ld by the accom pa n ying d e puty, R on push ed thro ugh the low ga te a nd sa t o n a ch air in ide the railing. The de puty hove red nex t to him. The cle rk, a pudgy ma n in rimless glasses, saw the ar rival of the defe ndant a nd we nt L11rough the door at th e left of the bench . This was the only ca e being heard th is afternoon and he was no tif)~ n g L11e judge Ll1a t a ll was ready. Ro n was wearing khaki pa n ts and shirt a nd prison shoes, the issue give n men going to court. Once h e wou ld have fe lt selfco n scio u s; n ow it didn ' t maue r th a t he was bra nd e d as November 1996 PRISON LifE 23 diffe rent. H orvat h waved b u t seemed read y to conti nu e talkin g to t h e prosecuLO r until Ron becko n e d with a pe re mpLOr y ges LUre. Then H o r vath ca me over, p u uing his attache case on LOp o f the coun e l table en route. "Anything new?" Ro n asked. " ope. 1 othing. I tried to ta lk to him in chambe rs, but his mind is made up. I do n'L unde rstand wha t the h ell happen ed to you up th ere. You knew-" "Qui t it. Wha t's don e is clone." "''m going to make a p itch , but-" He shook his head. "Don 't waste your breath. I've got som e things to say. In fact, you tell h im I'm making my own statement. You don't have to do a thing." "Instead of me?" "l{igh t. " "You can ' t do that. " "Bullsh it!.Just te ll him-" Before more could b e said, the clerk came out, banged the gavel, and inton ed , "Please rise. Department Northeast B, Supe rior Coun o f th e State o f Califo rnia, Cou n ty of Los Angeles, is now in sessio n , th e H onorable Arl en Standish , judge presiding." It was the same as before, the few people getti ng to th e ir feet as the blacked-robed jurist came out and gai ned m<Uesty as he stepped up to th e bench. That is, everyone stood except Ron. When the deputy tugged his arm, he leaned forward a nd raised his ass three inches from the ch air. H e wou ldn ' t have 24 PRISON lifE November 1996 done tha t much except complete refusal migh t have broug h t a later ass-kic king. H e managed thus to com ply whi le showing how he felt. The judge, however, didn 't look up u n til everyone was again seated. "Peo p le versus Decker," th e clerk sa id. "H eari ng und e r Eleven sixty-e igh t of the Pe nal Code." When Ron sLOod beside H orvath , he was assailed by the fragrance of t h e lawyer's afters ha ve; his awareness was magnified by a year of smelli ng nothing fragra nL except fa n s. "I suppose we h ave to ... u h ... h ave d iscuss ions on this matter," th e judge said. As before, he sh ifted unseen pape rs. H e p u t o n g lasses, read so m e th ing; then looked ove r t h e glasses toward Horvath. "I imagine you have something to say, Counselor. " "Yes, Your Honor. " Before Horvath could say more, Ron poked him with a n elbow and hissed from between cle n ched teeth, "Tell him. " "Rrr-u h ," Horvath stuttered, his articulate circui ts jammed. "Your Ho nor," Ron said loudly, even more loudly and more shrilly than he wanted, 'Tel like to address the Court in this n1atte r." "No, no, Mr. Decker. You wi ll speak through counsel. That's what coun sel is fo r." "In that case, Your H o n o r," Ron said slowly, "I wish to remove Mr. Horvath as counsel of record and invoke my righ t to proceed in propria persona." The j ud ge hesi ta ted. "Are yo u d issa tisfied wi th Mr. H o r vath ?" "That isn 'tthe questio n . I simply want to re prese m myse lf a t this h earing .. .and according to decisio ns, I have a n absolute right to do so if I can mak e an ime lligent waiver of my right to counsel. I believe Lhe standard i tha t I know th e e le me n ts of Lhe offe nse, the defe nses, a nd the penalties. It isn ' t n ecessar y that I be a tra ine d a ttorney. The first two are m o ot a t th is point ... and I obviously know th e p e nalties." As soon as he b eg a n spea king , the te n sio n we nt a way, and h e kn e w he sounded articulate. It surprised him. "Do yo u have any comment, Mr. Horvath?" "It's a surprise ... I.. .I've do ne my best. I have n o o bjectio n. Mr. Decke r is far from illite ra te a nd he knows what's a t stake." The judge lo oke d to Lh e youthful de pu ty disu·ic t a ttorn ey. "Do Lh c People have anylhing to add?" The prosecutor came to his fee t. "The People wou ld like to make s ure this is an intellige nt waive r ... that the d e fe ndant doesn ' t do uble back la ter with a pe titio n for ha beas corpus claiming Lhe waiver was invalid." "I d o n 'tthink Lhat the record will reflect incompetency," th e judge said mildly. "If we we re in a critical proceeding whe re le ga l tra ining ... ! would ce rta inly m a ke a le n g thy inquir y be fo re a ll o win g a d efe nda nt to a ba ndon th e pro tecti o n of counsel. But, as I recall, Lhe decisio n s indicate th e right to selfre presen tati o n is absolute if Lh e waiver is in tellige nt.. . and this d e fe nd a nt has re cite d th e pro per sta nd a rd s." The judge n o dde d to Ro n. "Proceed , Mr. Dec ke r. Yo u a re yo u r own atto rney as lo ng as you ma in tain decorum." Con fro nted with pe rmissio n to speak, Ron was te mpora rily un able to . He'd in tended to express disda in fo r the sham , but tl1e avunc ular judiciousness o f the judge had ignite d a flicke r of ho pe . Pe rha ps it wasn ' t already d ecided. Yet he didn' t want to show wea kness, didn't want to snive l. H e wo uld take th e m idd le course and play it according to the response e licited. "Yo ur H o n o r, th e r e 's n o qu es tion th a t I so ld a lo t o f ma rijua na a nd co ca ine, but th a t mean s the re we re a lot of peop le buying it. In fact, millio ns of people d o n ' t see anylhing wrong with it. It's pre tty well established that it isn ' t a ny wo rse tl1a n ciga re ttes, and less h armful Lha n alco ho l. I d o n 't feel a ny g uilt about doing it. I didn't hurt a nyon e. Ge tting ca ug ht was ... like ge tting hit with lig htning. Not just or re tribution. Just an act o f God. "Whe n you sent me to prison, I was afraid of it. But I didn't expect prison to cha nge me ... no t for good, not for bad. But afte r a yea r I have ch a n ge d , a nd th e c hange is for th e wo r e ... at least by society's sta ndards. Trying to ma ke a decent huma n be ing o ut of some one by sending the m to prison is like tr yin g t o m a ke a Mosle m b y putting someo n e in a Tra ppist mo n aste r y. A year ago tl1 e idea of hurting some one physically, hurting some one serio usly, was abhorrent to mebut afte r a year in a world wh e re nobody eve r says it's wrong to kill, wh e re Lhe law of the jungle prevails, I find myse lf able to contemp la te doing violence with equanimity. People h ave bee n killing each othe r fo r eons. whe n I was selling marijuana, I pre tty much had the values of society, right and wrong, good and evil. 1 o w, afte r a year-I'm be ing ho n est-whe n I re ad about a po liceman being killed I'm o n the sid e of the outlaw. That 's whe re my sympathies a re turning. o t comple tely ye t, but with see ming inevitability. "What I'm trying to say is simply tha t sending me ba ck isn 't going to do a nything . Prison is a factor y tl1at turns o ut human animals. T he chances are Lha t whateve r you ge t out of prison will be wo rse than what you send in. I'll have to ser ve at least Hve mo re years before I'm e ligible for pa role. What will tl1at d o? It wo n ' t he lp me. It won't de te r a nyone e lse. Look around. No body will even know .. .so h ow can it d e ter? "I d o n ' t kno w wha t I ' II be afte r a h alf a d ozen years in a madho use. And I' ve alread y lost ever ythin g o utside. I tJ1ink I've a lread y suffe red en o ug h punishme nt-" His voice tra iled o ff. His mind sea rche d fo r mo re wo rds, but h e could find none. "Tha t's all," he said finally. Wh e n h e sat d o wn , b rea thl ess a nd flu s h ed fr om hi loquac ity, the judge nodd ed to th e de puty distric t a tto rney. "Do th e Pe ople h a ve a n y co mm e nt?" As h e fi n ish e d th e questio n , the judge 's eyes swive led almost pointe d ly to look a t a clock on th e opposite wall. The prosecutor, wh o was pushing back hi s ch air to rise, le t his eyes follow those o r the judge. "Uh ... th e Pe ople ... uh ... co ncur wi th the le tte rs fro m th e prison officials and submit the ma tter." The judge fa ced Ro n aga in , a nd th e visage of kindly pa tie nce seem ed to h arde n , o r maybe it was the timbe r of his voice that made his face seem like gra nite. "Mr. Decker, you o rigin a ll y cam e b e fore thi s co urt and we re co nvicted of a se ri o us offe n se . Becau se o f your youth and b ac kground , I tried to leave a n ope ning to avo id se nding yo u to prison fo r a long te rm. I wa nted to give you a ch ance bo th to sec wha t th e future could hold a nd to h elp yourself. From Lhe informa tio n se n t m e by th e prison o ffi cia ls, you a re a d a n ge ro us man . Wh e th e r you we re a lre a dy that or became so in pri son is immate ri al. The ultima te facto r is not wh ethe r prison will he lp you , no r whe th er your imprisonme nt will deter a nyone e lse. Th e ma in thing is to protcCL soc ie ty. Anyo ne who ca n kill a notJ1e r pe rson in cold blood-and you n early admitted that you ca n-i sn ' t fit to live in socie ty. I know socie ty will be pro tected fo r a t least fi ve years. After that the parole board , if th ey wi sh , ca n le t yo u o ut. I' m n o t go ing to m o dify th e sente nce. Mo tio n d e nie d ." 'The n fu ck you! " Ro n said lo ud ly, un exp ec tedly, sca rcely be lieving it himself. "Rig ht in your o ld wr inkle d ass! " The de puty's finge rs digging into h is arm and tugging him stoppe d Lhe words. "Wa tc h yourself, " the de puty said, his voice quiet but taut. "Tha t's a judge." "Yeah , o kay." Ron was up, his eyes flicking over Ho r vath 's asto n ish ed face. Then he was going up the aisle, the d e pu ty reaching fo r th e handc uffs. He sto pped at th e d oors a nd put o ut his wrists. By h ead gesture a nd a hand o n his sho ulder, the d eputy told him to turn. The o utbu rst caused the ha ndcu ffs to be pu t o n be hind him, ma king him more he lpless. He turn ed a nd co mp lied , th e sh ad o w o f a sn eer on his face. He was wo nd e ring how long it would be before h e go t bac k to San Que ntin. 'J, he sanctuar y of Lh e psyc h wa rd was also a gilded cage. Earl lu xuri a t e d in th e solitud e, but he a lso fre tted a t th e inactiVl ty. ow th at tl1e mu rde r cha rge was n o threat he was ready to go bac k to "B" Sectio n and do wh atever punishme nt the o ffi c ia ls wante d . It was a ga untl e t th at ha d to b e run befo re he could get back o n th e big yard. The psyc h ward Lime didn 't count toward the segregation term. And if he stayed too long in his "nervous breakdo wn," they would u·ansfer him to the Medi c al Fac i lity, wh e r e h e might b e g ive n s h oc k treatme nts- and r umo rs o f lo bo tomies we re sifting back. T he o ld-fas hi one d bruta lity o f "B " Sec ti o n was p r efe ra bl e . Mo reover, o nly two su ccessfu l escapes had bee n mad e fro m withi n Lhe Medical Facility during tl1e fifteen years it had been o pen; bo lh escapees had used the gamble of cu tting cell bar s and going over do uble fe nces in tl1 e shadow o f g un towe rs. Still he hesitated un til wo rd came Lha t Ro n was back from court and in "B" Sec ti o n . The next mornin g h e to ld the d oc to r th a t h e was fee li n g b e tter. Dutc h a nd th e o th e r attendants ma rke d th e c ha r ts to show an e nd to his delusio ns. Afte r a wee k, th e d oc to r diag nosed a Ga n zer synd ro m e , a fo rm o f psyc hosis tha t convi cts call going "stir c razy." The following Mo nday the docto r discha rged him . H e kn ew the pa pe r was sig n e d within minutes and h ad hi s gear packe d Continued on j)(lge 69 No,·e mbc r 1996 PRISON LifE 25 Art Behind Bars 1 995 3rd Place Nonfiction Jorge Antonio Renaud Abilene, Texas o und again, I listen to th e jaile r 's keys, brassy intruders clicking into th e ir caviti es with a we ll-o il e d exa c tn ess . Th e sound soo th es. It h aunted my dreams during fo ur years of freed om . H earing it while awake is no less terrifying. Mter a six-month d aze of guns, cocaine and strange, fo ul sme lling apartme n ts, I awaken certain o f myse lf. I drift into the routine. I a m less fie rce this time, more brooding and analytical. I ga uge my fe llow fe lo n s, loo king fo r n u a n ce a nd r e li ef. I sh a re th e ea rl y newspapers wi th a teenager called Driveb y. H e sca n s the obitu a r ies eac h m o rnin g, sea rc hing fo r th e d ea ths of fe llow gangbangers. A scheduled burial of a rival ma kes him ecstatic; a bro th er's death reddens his eyes and coarsens his voice. I have to re mind myself of his age. Drive-by pro claims to th e ta nk o n e mo rn ing tha t he has figured how to pick the lock of the massive door tha t keeps us from the world's throat; a ll he n eeds is a h airpin. He dreams of escape a n d luc ra tive n o toriety. No o n e hoots him d own. Pure-bred Texans, no n e of us a re p eaceful m e n. Whil e t he air h e r e is usua lly j ust irascible, vio le n ce is but a pe rceived threat away. Besides, pe rha ps he can u·uly free us. I tell myself to hunt dro pped hairp ins during my visits. T he n the re is Frankie, trading d e tails of his misery fo r a shot of coffee. H e says h e was fra m e d. Th e fa mi li a r r efra in assum es a sad lite ralness in Fra nki e's case. He is charged with burglary, an d his lawyer assures him the police have found his palm print on a window fram e of the burglarized h om e. Frankie insists it is a misun dersta nding- h e h as visited a nd partied with the owners of the ho me in questio n. He is unhappy at the cynicism of the police, who are reluctant to be lieve ,..-- - e:=t'- l B 26 PRISON Llfl November 1996 1 \ ,,. i l Art by Fa-Q th a t Fra nki e- with two priors fo r burglary-could, through sheer accident, leave a p a lm pri nt o n th e s h a tte re d window fra me of a burglarized dwelling. T h e prosec utor, also u n move d , h as offe red a 25-year sente nce . Fra nkie is aggrieved , feeli ng betrayed by the whorls, lines a nd curlicues that stamp him as an individual, unique if on ly in his palm. Fran ki e is li ke m ost of us h ere , accu sed of crim es co mm itted in d rug lust. We d rea m of n eedl es a n d whi te lin es. Awa k e n ing in t h e t h r oes of with d r awa l does little to sate o u r a ppe ti tes o r our fa ntasies. O ne talka tive acq uaintan ce-a fo rme r m a th teac h e r a nd vo lleyball coachg rew so e n raptured by he ro in th a t he took to ho lding up fast food e mpo riums to finance his o pia te flings. Hamburger h ave ns fell o n alte rn a te weeke nds; pizza palaces we n t down in be tween. He took a fa n cy to a seafood resta ura nt's timeloc k safe a nd rob bed three o utlets o n su ccessive Saturdays. Th e tim e r gave him ample time, he says, to cha t wi th the ca p t ive m a n age r a b o u t t h e safe's intricacies. He wanted th e safe to help con tro l his habit. He always sho t up his dope as fas t as h e could buy it and tho ught th a t if he co uld stash his h e ro in in th e safe a nd ga in access o nly whe n th e time r allowed, he would be o n the road to recove ry. H e was d efeated in this admira ble yearning by the fact th at th e safe functio ned only if m o unted sec ure ly to th e wal l. Th is re nde red it useless as a pawna ble object, the primat·y consideratio n in any maj or purchase by a hardcore junkie. To pass the tim e, t h e ex-teach er has d evised a se t o f equa ti o n s th a t fig u re how many ha mburgers had to be sold, a nd the receipts then sto le n , to satisfy a night o f noddin g bliss. H e mu mbles of side o rd e rs and p ea k n ow h o urs. His scribbling rese mbl es the ch aoti c tracks on his arms. He looks like a scarecrow in need of a n o pium-dealing Wizard of Oz. But the re is no wizardry he re, and less truth. Time has ki lled o ne, and fear has put one he ll o f a hurt on th e o th e r. It is foolhardy to te ll a man wh o is facing two life senten ces tha t you think he is lying. T hus freed into fa ntasy, th e truth gets e mbe llished. Take the windshield factor. This, says a self-assu red kill e r, is wh at the lacque r-h aired , joll y, local weather pe rson is refe rring to-it's wha t happe ns wh en cold meeL~ car. According to him, a th e rm o m e t e r is a u ac h e cl to th e windshield o f a la te m ode l sedan-he reco mm e nds Me rced es-an d d rive n o nto th e freeway, into th e wind , a n d upo n r eac hin g 60 mph , a reading is ta k e n f ro m th e th e rm o m e t e r. T h e resulting n umbe r is what convinced this gun- toting m e teo r o logis t to g ive Hou sto n th e p o i nts at Buffa lo-too muc h cold weathe r driving for the wa r mweath er Oilers. T his murcle rer-I sho uld say alleged , but h e h as s p o ke n of hi s g uilt, th e co mplica te d , ritu a l is ti c, a lm os t in e vita bl e d a n ce o f d ea th be t wee n urban drug deale rs-is th e funniest ma n I h ave ever met. His crazed raps ligh ten th e clays. H e is wi t h out ra n co r, see min g ly incapab le o f h o ld in g a g rudge. This is one o f j ai l's ironies: you mee t people befo re knowing wha t they a re acc used o f, a nd th e n yo u find it difficult to calibra te you r abhorre nce to wh a t co n ve nti o n al m o r a li ty says it should be. Yo u n o ti ce th e se lf1ess gestllres of a man wi th n othing to gain a nd the n see him in iro ns o n th e eve ning news, the m a ni c ure d vo ice o f t h e a nn o un ce r intoni ng th e "especially bruta l" na ture of th e c ri me a nd )'OU t h in k , "H e d id th at?" a nd you dou bt your judgme nt of peop le you 've known all yo ur life, a nd you unde rstand a n yo n e is ca p a ble of anything. Even you. Whi ch , as far a insigh ts go, isn't bad. As iro ny, it can' t touch th e co urtroom wh ere sen tencing takes place. Ra re ly qui e t, th e c h a m be r vibra tes with the murmur o f a tto rneys consulting th e ir cl ie nts, th e n sc urr ying to m a ke deals with the prosecutors. At times th e startle d cries of fam ily m e m be rs rise a b ove th e babble as a n u nex p ec tedl y h ars h se nte n ce is p assed , a s tone thro ug h th e kidn eys of Texas justice. In between outbursts, as lawyers reu·eat to fi g ure th e ir fees, I fee l th e u rge to ge nun ec t a nd s udd e nl y rea li ze th e ovcmbcr 1996 PRISON Llff 21 couru·oom seating consists o f worn churc h pews. I a m stunned . vVhat group of churchgoe rs wou ld agree to h ave its h ighly polish ed pews d esecrated like this? T he mostly illitera te graffi ti e tched into th e wood yie lds few clues. Sch o la rl y C a t h o lics wo u ld sure ly lea n more to La t in-Morituri te salutamo~'--and not resort to "T h is sucks!" Me thodists would pe n o des lO th e Buffys le ft behind. The ir WASPish sub tle ty wou ld lack th e directness of "Ma ry, Mary, smooth o r ha iry." This leaves the Ba plists, a nd I imagine a fin e East Texas ch u rch , devoid o f pews, echo ing with H a lle lLuahs, fund am e n talist flock o n its fee t, following the pastor in thunderous song. The ir collective corns • must ach e but the ir h earts a re pure, kn owin g th a t so m ewhe re in a co urtroom d edicated to in ca rce ra ti o n , th e h ea th e n a re seate d o n ha rdwood be nches still haunted by the pie ty of God-fearing folk. T he hymnal racks o f the pew in fron t of me a re sp lin tered but in tact. T he so ngs of salvation are missing, replaced by ca ndy wra ppe rs a nd two e mp ty ta m po n b oxes. Th is excites me, a d esire I find a lmos t blasphe mous, consideri ng I am unde r the gla re o f both churc h and sta te, conde mned by God a nd con servative Democrats ali ke. This conflue n ce of j udgm e n tal powe r d eep ly d e presses me . The intimations of inevitability- Hun tsville, and thus He ll, is bu t a fo ur-hou r drive away-crack some branch within me. My will to fight crumbles. T he state has deemed me institu tio nalized. I confess. The pmsecutor says my sense of mo ra li ty, once me re ly somno le nt, now lies dead . l concur. My in tegri ty sta nds accused o f a ba ndon me nt. 1 agree. I sta nd before the judge and can think only of rust-colored lips a nd weep ing brown eyes. T his is p roof of my de pravity. Co urtroom s a re wh ere love, lic king its wide wou nds, goes to d ie. I wh ispe r good-bye to mi ne: Aimee, a imee. l am asked if 1 have comment o n my sen tence a nd I carefully spit o n the gavel, oche r mu cus d ribbling down the ridged hamme r. The bailiff j e rks me away an d I return to tl1e land of thrumming keys, whe re the locks a re commanded by others a nd starl ight is impa led on tl1e wires. ~ I 1 JAILHOUSE ROCK Rap • country • Jazz • Reggae • Blues Prison Life wants to hear from prisoner musicians making music behind the walls. send us your tapes with full details of your musical accomplishments tOJr~l.O!!isible recording. Send to: jailhouse Rock c/o PLM, Box 537 Stone Ridge, NY 12484. Art Behind Bars 1 995 2nd Place Fiction by Charles Huckelbury, Concord, NH A pound of a man's flesh, Taken from a man. Is not so estimable, profitable either, As flesh of mullons, beefs, or goats. William Sh akespeare, The Merchant of Venice u nta T rase ra la y festering und e r th e August sun , a runnin g so r e on t he corrupting body of a state that fu nctioned as the necropolis fo r the terminally bored of the othe r contiguous forty-eight. The town was o n e of Flo rid a's Gu lf Coast enclaves, th e last bastion ho ldin g t h e lin e aga in st th e encroach ment of c ivi lization sou thward from Sarasota and northward from Fort Myers. Proud of the ir two stoplig hts and three Black fami lies, the residents of Charlotte County spent their days ridiculing the tou rists who wandered off Highway 41, and congratu lating th emselves on th eir good fortune in be ing born among the saw-grass a nd sand , dead fish a nd decaying foliage that gave the area its distinct sme ll. T h e nig hts were for sitcoms a nd domestic beer; there was no library. Em me tt Thomas was Punta Trase ra's she riff and had been fo r e leven years. Usua lly runn ing unopposed, he justified his perpetual re-election by so lvin g th e o n e or two monthl y fe lo n ies occu r r in g in the t own , u su a ll y a b u rg la r y committed by one of the local drunks or a wifebea tin g by a redneck wit h auiwde. Once in a while, one of th e town 's teenagers wou ld run his pa1·e nts' car off into one of the canals. In twenty years, the town had only had three homicides, all of them solved by informan ts. At fifty-six, Thomas had grown comfortably soft, having nei the r th e desire no r th e n eed to P Art by FA-Q NO\·cmbcr 1996 PRISON llff 29 exercise, tn1sti ng instead to the pistol o n hi s hip a nd th e coope rati o n of th e LOwn 's citize ns, a ll of whom knew hi m a nd invariab ly wave d wh e n he passed the m o n th e s tr ee t. H e wo r e h is pro fessio na l smi le beneath a Stetson as he pu lled into th e state attomey's office at 9:15 o n Mo n day morn in g, but th e heat blasted him as h e le ft th e car's a ir co nd ition in g, m ak in g him win ce a nd bur y hi s eyes inside deep , doughy wrinkles. He g roa n e d and tu c ke d h is pisto l belt up u n de r hi s b elly as h e sh uffl e d towa rd t h e co urthou se, c hoo sin g th e elevato r instead o f th e stairs to the prosecuto r's office o ne floor above him. "Hi, darlin ' . L.T. in?" Thomas d idn ' t bother to stop at th e receptionist's desk as he walked in to th e o ffice. "Yes, h e is, Sh e ri ff, " repli e d a tire d looking blond e. "He said fo r you to go righ t on in." T h e s h e riff mo ve d past h e r d es k toward the o p e n door behind he r. H e stuck his massive head inside and tipped th e Stetson to the rea r of his h ead. "Mornin ', L.T. " L u th er Travis Anderso n loo ked up fro m his desk a nd shi fted the LOothpic k in his mouth to one side. "Come on in, Emmell," he said. An de rson was five-six a nd ve r y touc h y a bou t hi s size sin ce bein g cu t fro m h is hig h-sch ool football team. Balding si nce h is fres hma n year in coll ege, h e n ow p a rte d hi s hai r just above h is left ear a nd co mb e d ever ything over the top in a n e laborate ritual th at took the be u e r part of thi rty minutes eac h m o rnin g whil e h is wife and th ree children sn icke red behind h is back. He go t up and concentrated o n giving the she ri ff a fi r m handsha ke, b ut T homas's paw dwarfed his own. The sh e riff carefu ll y eased h is bulk into th e c h a i r o ffe re d. "Wh at's so importa n t it co u ldn ' t wa it until after lunch?" Anderson sat back down and shuflled throug h so me papers on h is d esk be fore finding a powde r-b lu e folder. H e opened it and read fo r fiftee n seconds before looking back at the sheriff. "You remember a guy nam ed Richard Rowland?" Thomas sh ook hi s h ead slowly, th e e ffo n of concentra tio n furrowing his sh iny brow. "No," he said slowly. "Should !?" ''Convicted of mu rder back in '73." 'J esus. '73?" H e looke d at th e ceiling fo r a moment. 'jake Barnes was sh e riff back then, but I thi nk I remem ber th e case. Yankee fro m Tll inois or somewhere came dow n h e r e a n d k ill ed a construction worker. Tha t the o ne?" "Ohio," Ande rso n n odded, "but yeah, that's him. " 30 PRISON Llff No\'clllbcr 19\lli "Got n in ety-ni n e yea rs o r life o r some thing?" "Li fe. I r ead th e clipp in gs. Kind of nu uy. The g uy he killed was a local bad boy, beat up some people and generally m ade a n ui sa n ce o f h i m se l f un t il Rowl a nd kill e d him . J udge Sh e rm a n tried the case, and lot of people aro und he re wante d h im to g ive Rowland th e chair, but you know how Sher man was." T homas gr un te d an d shi fted in th e chair. "Goclclamn li be ral. I was g lad to see th e so n of a b i tc h re tir e . Wh ere's Rowla nd now? T ha t what this is about?" "Still in prison." "You ' re shi ttin' me? T wenty-two years? Nobody does that ki nd of time ." "vVe ll, Rowla nd has, a nd he wa n ts out. Tha t's what this is." And e rson tapped th e blue fo lder on the d esk. H e ll, I was in th e sixth g rade when h e committed th e murder." "So wha t's this got to do with me and yo u?" "Parole board notifies th e u·ial judge, pro sec u to r a nd sh e r iff wh e n eve r a priso ner b eco mes e li gi ble, and the y wan t our inpu t. Rowland 's lawye r sent your copy of the brie f to this office, e lse yo u 'd h ave it a lre ad y. Pic k it up from Margie o n the way o ut. " Thomas was puzzle d. "It's an administra tive rul e , Emmett. The board notifies th e jurisdiction whe re th e felo ny occur red whenever a prison er is up for parole . The victim 's fa mily also got the word, a nd they're invited to reply by m a il or atte n d th e pa ro le h ea ring itself. The board wan ts ou r reactio n to Rowlan d 's p a r o le , to fin d ou t if we suppo rt o r o ppose his release." "Bu t I d o n ' t kn ow a fu c kin ' thin g about hi m o r the case." "D oes n ' t m a k e a damn bit of diffe re n ce; it's procedu ra l. Th e tria l j udge a nd prosec u tor a re retired, an d J a ke Barnes is dead. We get the job." T ho mas shrugged and be lched. "Seem s odd , bu t if th at's what th ey want, then I' ll give it to 'em. It's easy; I do n ' t want Rowla nd to ever get o ut. " "Yo u 've got to write th e letter yourself. I'll have Marg ie type it up , if you wa m , but yo u 've got to sig n it. It has to be a se para te d ocume nt. " H e p a used. "You mig ht wa nt to take a look a t th is brie f b e fore yo u m ake u p yo ur m in d. Rowland 's no ordinar y punk." Thomas waved h is h a nd . "It d o n ' t ma tte r none, L.T. The guy co mmitted a mu rd e r h e re in Pun ta Trasera, a nd the re's no way I ' m gonn a do a nything but o bject to his pa role." "Eve n a fte r twe nty-two yea rs? You kn ow th e g uy's neve r had a disciplinary report writte n against him ? Got a n IQ of I 36 an d cou ld pro ba b ly work for ASA if he wanted." "Even after a hund red and twenty-two fuckin ' years, L.T. , and if they've n eve r caug h t him doing anythin ' up th ere in Ra iford , it 's b ecause h e's too smart. That's al l. You go t a n y idea what th e peo ple of thi s town wo uld d o if th ey fo u nd o ut I voted fo r thi s ass hol e's pa ro le? I ca n 't remember the nam e of th e g uy h e killed , bu t th e fami ly'cl have my ass j ust th e same. He ll, I'd be out of a job, that's wha t." H e leaned ove r the desk and poimc cl at Anderson. "And it's some thi n' you need to think abo ut, too, L.T. Elections a rc com in ' up nex t fall. " "Yeah, I know a llthaL, a nd I agree wi th you: we' ll vote no when th e ti me comes, but I thi nk you should take a look at this brie f. It's interesting reading. " Th o m as h au le d him se lf out of th e chair. "Don't need to look at it, L.T. I a lready know what I'm gonna say. All yo u have to do is ge t little Margie o u t the re to fi x it up fo r m e a nd se n d it o ve r to my office. Fuck Rowla nd a nd a n y oth e r gocldam ned convict up the re in Raiford. It's o ur job to pu t 'em the re, and I'll be damn ed if I'll he lp th e basta rds get o ut. An y o f 'e m . " H e pull e d th e Ste tso n d own o n h is fo re head and aqjustecl his pistol. "Anythin ' e lse?" "Nope , th a t 's it. I' ll ge t th e letter to you th is week. We've got thiny clays to respond." "t ext tim e yo u ge t o n e o f t h ese th in gs, you d o n ' t ne e d to b o th e r m e with it. J ust copy the le u e r a nd se nd it o n back to those silly bastards. Imagine that," h e said, shaking hi s head sadly. "They though t we m igh t want to vote fo r someo ne geui n ' out afte r we worke d so ha rd lO put hi m in. Crazy." H e touched the brim of the Stetson . "Be seein ' you L.T." Anderso n watch ed hi m d isappea r a nd hea rd hi m Oirt bri efly with Ma rgie befo re leavin g. H e p ul le d hi s c h a ir closer to h is desk a nd went over the file in fro nt of hi m o nce more . "Gentlemen, we have a pro ble m here. " J udge Har o ld M. Ross li ft e d a b l ue fold er ide n tica l to the o n e And e rso n had shown the sh e riff' two d ays be fore a nd le t it drop to hi s desk. Ross was kn own as t he h a ng ing judge, and was proud of h is repu tatio n. H e did no t care if h e was r eve r sed by th e a ppe ll ate cour ts; indeed, he d id not lose any slee p because he was the judge with th e most reversed cases in th e state. H e believed Ll1e rest of the c ircuit judges a nd many sitting o n t h e a ppe ll a te co urts were simply too soft. Judge Ross a lways h a nd e d our th e max imum an d often went beyond the s tatu t o r y g uid e l in es i n impos i n g se ntence. Now h e sal in hi s c ha mbe rs with L.T. Anderso n a n d Emm e tt T homas in front o f him. H e was not a h ap p y man. "T hi s Row land is up for parole aga in, " h e sa id now, "a nd thi s time he's go t himself a hot-sho t attorney o u t of Ta l lah assee. If we d on ' t d o some thin g im me diate ly, he damn we ll m ight make iL Any suggestions?" T he state attorn ey clea red his throat, but T ho mas bro ke in. " l don ' t see what's all the fuss, Judge. All we have tO do is wri te le tters sayin ' we don't want t h e basta r d to m a ke paro le, a nd that o ug ht to do it." Judge Ross looked at the sheriff over the tops o f his g lasses, his full h ead of g ray hair gave him a lio n 's appearan ce. H e spoke as if lect u r ing to a slow swdent. "E mm e tt, form le u e rs wo n ' t be e nou g h th is tim e . H ave yo u read th e brief yo u got?" "I started to, Judge, but 1 got. ... " "If you h ad read it, you 'd know wh at we ' re up against. " He opened the fo lde r in front of him . "Row land 's fifty-o ne now, a n d that puts him o u t of th e "Suggestio ns?" Ande rso n shi fted th e o mn ipresent toothpick. "''ve bee n thi nking. His priso n record is remarkable, and his accomp lishme n ts mak e a ny attack during Lh e tim e he 's been ser ving his sentence unreasonable. But if we could dig up something in his past, say some evide nce to counte r all th ese lette rs a n d ce rtifi ca tes, then we m ig ht h ave a chance . We co uld sh ow t h at h e 's mi sled a ll th e peop le who s upport him wi th o ut attacki n g th e m personally. " "LeBlanc," said the sh eriff. "What? " R oss an d An derso n as ked simulta neously. "LeBlanc . .Joe Le Blanc. l-Ie's a retired h o mi c ide in vestigato r wh o must h ave worke d Rowland 's case." Anderson frowned . "vVh at possible use could he ... ?" "Wait a m in ute , L.T. ," the j ud ge interrupte d. "I th ink Emme t t's got something he re . You mean this LeBlanc might h ave somet hi ng that doe s n ' t a ppear in Rowla nd 's file?" "He might," said Thomas, "and if he doesn ' t, I've kn own him a long time, and "People don ' t c hange," h e contin ued , "an d you ' ll never co n vin ce me th a t a fe lo n wi ll ever be a n yth ing e lse but a felon. They' re scum , gentleme n, and it's our j ob, o u r ho ly duty, to keep them in prison fo r as lo ng as we can to bring th is co unu·y back tO what it used to be." A nd e r so n s tifled a yaw n , and th e sheriff fidgeted slig htly. Both had heard th e same s peech du ri ng e lections and Rotary meetings. Ross re p lace d th e bandann a a nd n o dd ed to An d e rso n and Tho mas. '' I guess that's it the n , gentle men. Ge t back to me as qu ickly as you can, LT. " "Rig ht, .Judge. Emmett and l will try to see LeBla nc tomor row." "Make it today." "Ri g h t. Today." Ande rso n loo ked a t T h o m as, a n d th e two ro se t oge th e r. Judge Ross didn't bother saying goodbye as they left his chambers. "I hope you know what the fuck you're do ing, Emmett. " Anderson drove while Thomas sea rc h e d th e radio cha nnels. "You kn ow h ow Ro ss is wh e n t hin gs ' ' f uck Rowland and any other goddamned convict up there in Raiford. It's our job to put 'em there, and I'll be damned if I'll help the bastards get out. " d a nger o us age sta tisticall y. H e has no prior record , so we ca n ru le out the argum e n t fo r a ca ree r criminal. H e's d o n e twe nty- two yea rs, so we ca n ' t c r e d ib ly a r gue t h at h e h as n ' t done enoug h tim e. According to a ll the le tters of suppo r t he's got in his jacke t, he's got a fa mil y n e two rk in p lac e, job placeme n t, even acceptance in g raduate school. He's earned a B.S. a nd p la ns to go in to cou nse ling wh e n he gets out, working with trouble d tee n agers. " H e closed th e fo lder a nd looked up. "The lis t goes o n a nd o n. It seems th at ever yone wh o has mel Rowland thinks he's th e best thing sin ce sliced bread. You see the d ifficulty?" "Yo u m ea n ," Ande rso n a n swe r e d , "we've got to actively oppose the parole this time." "Rig h t, " said Ross. "Th e last tim e he was jJro se, and it was easy to kn ock him dow n , ju st a m atte r of ge ttin g th e objectio n s o n record. " H e nodde d to T h omas. "T hi s time it's g o ing to b e toug he r. I think o ur Mr. Rowland has a n exce ll ent c h a n ce of wa lki n g o ut of Raiford." I think I could convince him to .... " "Good." Ross's voice stopped him. "We don ' t need to cove r th e detai ls now. If De tec tive Le Blanc ca n he lp us out o n thi s, I' m sure h e will. " H e tu r ned to Ande rso n. "L.T., will yo u coord ina te things with the she ri ff a nd le t me know wha t develops? vVe need to get this thi ng in th e mail as quickly as possible, so the soo n e r Em m e tt sees LeB la n c, th e be tter." "We' ll ta ke ca r e of it, Yo ur Hon o r. An ything else?" T he j udge sat back in h is chai r. "I thi nk th a t just aboUL does it. " He laced his finge rs over hi s pa un ch , o nly partia lly cove red by the pla id shirt h e was wearing . "You know, it really burns m e up to see guys like th is Rowla nd. T hey' re so da mne d sma rt unti l th ey ge t into my courtroom. The n th ey get up t h e r e to Raiford , ge t invo lved in a ll these prog rams, and they really think it makes a ny gocldamne d differe nce at a ll. I t's just a ga me for the m, like we sent t h e m up th e re t o ge t ed u ca ted. " He sn eezed and pu lle d a r e d banda n na fro m his hip poc ked to wipe h is nose. do n ' t go hi s way, and you just a bo u t promised hi m LeB lanc co u ld shut th e door o n Rowla nd. " "Stop wo r ryin ' so m uch , L.T. " T h e sh e riff settl ed o n a co untry statio n o u t or P or t C h a rlotte a nd lea n ed back against th e seat. "I know Le Blanc. H e'll be glad to he lp us." A n d e rso n tri e d to ta lk over Travis T ri tt , gave u p , a n d turn e d down th e volu me . "What if he can ' t? What if he doesn't know a nyth in g? .Jesus Ch rist, Emmell, it's bee n nearl y a quarter-ce ntury and th e d e partm e nt didn 't eve n h ave co mpute r s ba c k th e n . I 've alrea d y checked , a nd th e file was desu·oyed righ t afte r Row land lost h is a pp e a l , so LeBla nc can ' t have any notes left u nless h e ke pt th e m a t his house, a nd I can ' t see any cop kee pi n g notes on a n investigation fo r two goddamn ecl years, m uch less two decad es." Th omas pau e d the sta te attorn ey o n th e sho ulde r. "Le Blanc will be all rig ht. Just relax and le t me handle th is. By the e nd o f th e wee k, we' ll h ave eve r ythi ng we need." No\"l; onbcr 1996 PRISON LIIE 31 "I ho pe yo u 're rig ht, Emmett. 1 d on ' t wa nt to go bac k in there and face Judge Ross if we d o n ' t co m e thro ug h ." H e squinte d thr o ug h th e g la r e of th e windshie ld , th e beginning o f a headac he making itse lf felt be hind his le ft eye. "Ro wl an d ? Sure, I re m e mb e r hi m. Ki lled Ro nnie Dixo n , used to live over off fifty three about a mi le. Didn ' t seem like a bad sort at a ll when we arrested him . We he a rd stories fro m o ur snitch about a ll the guns he had, bu t a ll he did was open th e door and put up his h ands whe n he was a rreste d ." Le Bla nc too k a gu lp of b eer a n d sta r e d a t T h o m as before turning his atten tion to a couple of cats ma ting in th e fa r corne r of the yard. "Never did find any guns. I we n t to C leve lan d with J a ke Ba rn e s a nd two de puti es to extra dite him back. Man tha t and me. If we don ' t do o ur best to sh oot h im d ow n , th e n it's go nn a loo k ba d co m e e lec tion tim e, a nd th a t 's rig h t aro und the corne r." LeBlanc smiled and nodded his head . "I still don' t see why you ca me to m e. Al l yo u have to do is write the lette rs to th e parole board." "judge Ro ss says we n e e d more thi s tim e. H e says Ro wla nd 's record is so goo d th a t we h ave to co m e up with some th ing real stro ng or e lse h e's gonna walk o n us." Le Blan c turn e d his c h a ir t owa r d Tho mas as the she riff finished his beer and wiped his mouth with his ha nd. "Such as?" "We ll, you being a cop and a ll. . . " "An ex-cop, Emmett." "Sa me thing, and you kn o w it. You be ing a cop and a ll, we th o ught you ' d d o wh a t you could to h e lp us o ut o n lo ng time be fo re answering. "Inte re sting;" he said finally. "Suppose I did . H o w d o yo u ex p la in hi s life sente nce instead of death ? A dan gerous guy like th at would have been given the chair. H e ll, he wo uld b e d ead now, a nd you wo uldn ' t be sweating his release." Tho mas grinne d , his eyes b eginning to shine under the influe n ce of the beer. 'j esus, j oe . Tha t pa rt's easy. She rm a n was the se nte ncing judge, and you know wh a t p eo p le th o u g h t a bout him . A bleedin g-h eart libe ral judge le t a coldblooded ki lle r off wh en he should have fried him in O ld Sparky." Le Bla nc nodded tho ughtfully. "So if I we r e to come up with some thing to indicate that Rowland was a real ga n gste r, yo u guys c ould cove r yo ur e nd r ega rding hi s o r igin a l se nte nce?" "You be t your ass we could, especially liliAnd to job security." He laughed and pointed with his beer as the cats in the corner of the yard began to wail loudly when the big male mounted the smaller female. "That's what we're gonna do to Rowland, Joe. Long and deep." was a lo ng time ago. Wha t about him?" "He 's up fo r parole." "Pa ro le? H e ll , I th o ug ht h e ' d h ave b ee n o u t by n o v1. T h a t h a d t o be e ighteen , tlve nty years ago. " "1973 to be exac t, and h e 's sti ll up in Ra iford." 'J e sus, h e mus t b e a ru c k-up to d o th at kind o f time. I n eve r wo u ld h ave fig ured it. " ''That's th e funn y pa rt, J oe. He 's pre tty m uch a su·aig ht arrow. No trouble, n o t eve n a d isciplinary re port in the twen tytwo yea rs he's bee n down. He's finishe d co ll ege a nd got a c loset f ull o f ce rti fica t e s . H e ' s eve n got so m e preach e rs writin g le tters fo r him , but th ey' re always easy. All you got to do is say a fe w ame ns, an d th ey' ll do whatever any son-of-a-b itc h asks." "So Rowla nd 's up for pa ro le. So wha t? After t hat kind o f tim e, m aybe h e d eser ves an o th e r cha n ce. I mea n , he's go t to be at least fi fty now. H ow much tro uble can h e ge t into a t tha t age ?" Th o m as sc r a tc h e d hi s j aw. "T h e pro bl e m , J oe, is Ju dge Ross a n d L.T. do n ' t wa nt him to ma ke pa ro le. We got this fa n cy pa ro le bri e f fil e d by so m e high-powe red lawyer in Talla hassee, and we've go t to a nswe r it. T he judge, L.T. , 32 PRISON llff Novem be r 1996 t h is. No o n e wants to see a ki ll e r pa ro led , J oe. You know that. Wha t if he does it again?" Le Bla nc shoo k his head . "Save th a t s tuff for th e co urtro o m , Emme tt. I t wo n't work. Murde re rs a re yo ur b es t pa ro le risks, a nd most of th e ir crime s a r e unique- on e fu c k-up in a pre lly n o rm a l li fe . Ro wl a nd 's a p e rfec t exa mple . Un less you can prove he 's a d ange r, you don ' t have a n a rgum e nt. " Le Bla n c reac h e d for th e bee r o n th e floor beside the c ha ir. Tho mas sat up a nd tossed his e mp ty beer can into the waste basket a long with the o the r five. "What if we could do that?" "Do what?" LeBlan c said after a sip. "Prove that Rowla nd 's a d anger. Show that if he gets paro le d , he 'll go right o ut a nd do it again." LeBlan c ra ised an e ye brow. "And just how do you propose to do tha t?" "Didn' t you investigate the case?" "Sure, but what. .. " "You must have fo und evid e n ce th a t made you think Rowland was d a ngerous a nd would ki ll someone e lse if he 's ever re leased . H e mig ht eve n h a ve ki lle d so m e one e lse be fore we caug ht him ." T ho mas raise d a n eyebrow. LeBla n c lo o ke d a t th e s he riff fo r a since you ' re th e o nly one le ft with a ny co nnection to the case." "Te ll yo u wh a t , " Le Blan c sa id , finishing the beer a nd crush ing the can. "I'll write th e le tte r sayin g th a t m y inves tig a t io n turn e d up evid e nc e to co n vince m e th at Ro wla nd had kille d before and wo uld kill again if re le ased. H ow abo u t tha t? It's standard bullsh it, but it might work in this case as long as th ey d on 't ask for specifics." "H ell yes, that's great. " T homas bit his lower lip. ''VVait a minute. What if th ey co m e bac k a nd wa nt to know wh y h e wasn 't cha rged with a ny more killings?" "Th at's a l so easy: ther e was n ' t suffi c ie nt evid e n ce . D o n't you re me mbe r Bundy a nd all the women he was supposed to have ki lled? Ever y time they found a body, they gave it to Bundy. I' ll make it sound like Rowland 's more o f the same. Besides, the p arole boa rd is n ' t go ing t o take up a lot o f tim e inve stigating wha t I tell them . I'm an excop , th ey' ll be lieve m e a utomatica lly. It's Rowla nd 's word against mine; h e's go t to prove I'm lying, and he can ' t do that because I won ' t give him en oug h." Sheriff Thomas laug he d and grabbed a beer for a toast. LeBlanc quickly ope ne d a no the r fi·o m the cooler sitting between them and touched Thomas's can. "To law and order, making the streets safe for widows and orphans." T homas n odded . "And to j ob security." H e laughed and pointed with h is beer as the cats in th e corne r of th e yard began to wail loudly wh en the b ig male mounted the smaller fe male. "Tha t's what we' re gonn a do to Rowland, J oe. Long and deep. " Gwe n Simmo ns h ad te n minu tes to convin ce Florida's p a r o l e b oa r d to release Rich ard Rowland, and she did n 't think sh e wou ld n eed h alf th a t t im e. H er brief was compreh ensive an d clearly d e m o n st ra te d wha t a n ou ts t a ndin g pa ro le pros p ec t Rowla nd was . In h e r o pinio n , h e was the best clie nt she had r e prese nted i n eig htee n yea r s o f practice. She wished h e co uld b e the re so t h e b oard co uld see him , but t h e r ules preven ted it. "Ms. Simm o n s , a r e you rea d y to proceed?" th e c hairma n of the pa ro le board asked. Gwe n glanced up fro m th e table wh ere she sat. "Yes, Mr. Chairman. I'm ready." "Okay th en, this is in refere nce to th e a pp l icatio n fo r p a r o l e b y Ri c h a rd Row la nd , c u r re ntly se r vin g a li fe se nte n ce fo r first-degr ee murder. Mr. Rowla n d h as b ee n in car ce rate d sin ce 1973 and has a pplied once before, three yea r s ago . H e was d e ni e d wit h out a h earing . Le t th e record reflect that Mr. Rowland is be ing re prese n ted a t t h is h ea rin g by Ms. Gwe n dolyn Simmons. Ms. Simmons, you have the floor." Gwen rose and walked to the podiu m in fro nt of t h e seve n m e mb e rs o f the parole board, all sitting in a row o n a raised d ais. "Tha n k yo u , Mr. C h a i r m a n ." Sh e lo oked a t th e six men and o ne woman . "I think you wi ll recogn ize th at Richard Rowland is an unusual man, " she began. S h e spe nt e ig h t o f h er a ll otted ten minu tes reviewing what was in he r brief, co n cl udi ng wit h a l is t of Row la n d 's accomplishme n ts and refe ren ces. "T ha nk yo u , Ms . Simmons," t h e chairma n said . "As always, your brief was clear and very we ll don e." H e nodd ed to the assistan t attorney ge neral wh ose j ob it was to a rgu e against each pa role. "Mr. Brewste r." Brewster got up slowly, a serio us look o n his thi n face . He s p oke wit h o u t loo king a t his n otes, h o ld in g o n ly a single page in his hand. "I will n ot take th is board's valuable time by addressing each point counsel h as mad e . Judging by th e b rief a nd co u nsel's a rg ume n ts, Rich ard Rowlan d is singu la rly deserving of parole co n sider atio n ." T h e par o le board 's me m be rs looked puzzled; such an admissio n was totally ou t of character for Brewste r. Gwen frown ed and tapped h e r finge r s lig h t ly o n h e r brief as Brewster continued. "But, like so m any oth er inmates, Rowla nd 's record is a facade design ed to conceal his real personality. That is wha t ma kes h im so dan gerous. I have h e re," he said, waving the pa pe r, "a le tter from De t ec tive Jose ph Le Blanc, th e chi ef investigator during Ric ha rd Rowla nd 's trial in 1973. Copies a re availa ble fo r the board and cou nsel. It is Mr. Le Blan c's professio n al o pinio n th at th e murder fo r whi ch Rowla nd was con victed was not his first- an d it will no t be his last." Gwe n was o n h er feet im m edia te ly. "Mr. Chairman, I must obj ect. We were never shown any kind ofl e tter, and .... " "Th e State received it o nly recently and d id n o t have time to include it in our response," Brewste r sh o t bac k. H e walked to Gwen 's table and laid a copy of the le tte r in fron t of he r, then p assed each of the board 's me mbers a copy. Gwe n still p r o tested. "Rea ll y, Mr. Chairman. T his is prej udicial and out of o rde r. I h ave n o idea wh o Le Bla n c is a n d n o o pportun i ty to r e bu t a n y allegation s. May I h ave a min ute to read this le tte r?" "Certainly, Ms. Simmo ns. T h e boa rd will do likewise." Five minutes la ter, the h ear in g r es um ed with a ll seve n me mbe rs of the paro le boa rd loo king like morticians. "Ms. Sim mons, if yo u wo ul d li ke to address these allegatio ns, we can allow you three m ore m in utes. Mr. Brewster, we'll get back to you." Brewster n odded and sat d own. Gwen 's anger was visible as she approach ed the podium. "Neve r in e ig h te e n yea r s as a n atto rn ey h ave I see n a n yt h i n g th is fl ag r a nt. T hi s is n oth i ng but a n atte mpt by an unq ualified , retired civil servant to r e nd e r a psyc h o logi ca l eva lu a ti o n f r om a di sta n ce of 300 m i le s a nd r e m ove d by 22 yea rs. L eB l a n c off e r s n o corro b o r atin g eviden ce, n or does h e ind icate on what h e b ases his o pi n io n . H e h as never see n or talked to Mr. Rowla n d- ever ; how o n earth can h e say that h e ' has no remorse or sh ame'?" She argu ed for her three minu tes a nd sat back down , st a rin g a t Brews t er, wh o refu sed to m eet h er gaze . Whe n t h e boa rd recog ni zed him , h e stood a n d too k o nly two minu tes to kill a ny ch a nce of R i c h ard R ow la nd 's p aro l e, u s in g LeBla nc's lette r as h is weapo n . O u tside th e h ea rin g room, Brewste r wai ted until Gwen came o ut. She walked straigh t up to him, fur y in h er eyes. "Yo u 're a disgrace, Ed . I've seen you guys pull a lot of stunts, bu t th is is the lowest. You know wh at you've don e?" "I've ke pt a kille r from being paro led , Gwen . I've kept him off the streets whe re he might kill you o r someone you know." "Don't feed me th at bu llshit. Yo u 've read my brief and you kn ow godda mn ed well Rowland 's an excellent p arole risk. Now I've got to d rive u p th e re a nd tell th is man he's no t getting out. " "And th at's part of yo ur j o b , Gwe n. You can't expect to win them all. You 've go t your j o b to do, a nd I've go t min e. Today, I d id mi n e better th an yo u d id yo ur s . Next ti me, i t m ig h t work diffe re ntly." "Bu t that d oesn 't m ean an yth ing to Rowland. H e's the one who's got to sit in th at cell for three more years." Br ewste r b lew o u t a sh arp brea th. "vVh at do you wan t from me, Gwe n? You kn ow h ow this is. I do n ' t und e rsta nd why you ' re so u pset." "Beca use you guys ch eated , and you know you cheated. " "I don't unde rstand yo u. It's my job to o bjec t to a n y p a r ole, n o ma tte r h ow good the inmate m ig ht sound o n paper. It's your j ob to get them ou t, no matte r how bad th ey m igh t sound. What's th e big deal?" He looked a t his wa tch and bu tto n ed h is j ac ket. "I've rea lly got to run , Gwe n. I'm sorr y yo u ' re so upse t, but what t h e he ll? It's j ust a job. Yo u sho u ld n't let it get to you." H e tried a sm il e bu t got n ot h i n g back. l-Ie sh rugged and walked quickly ou t of th e build ing . "Rowland , you 've got legal mai l in the control roo m. " Richa rd kn e w at t h a t mome nt that he did no t ma ke paro le. If t he n ews had been good , Gwe n would have called hi m; bad news always came in the mail. Back in his cell, he sat o n the edge of his rack a nd slowly tore ope n th e blue e n velope. T h e message was short and a po logetic, li ke th ey all we re. She was sor ry; sh e had done all she could , but tl1e rebu ttal was just too strong. Best of luck. Call if there is a nythi ng I can d o . Et ce tera. Rowland tossed the letter on the floor and lay back. T h ree more years until h is next elig ibility date. Tha t wo u ld give him twenty-five in , and he would be fifty four years o ld . H e was st ill in good sha pe; three years wasn ' t th at lo ng really, at least tha t's th e lie he told h imself, and he still migh t be able to get a d ecent j o b. H e drifted off to sleep thinking a bou t graduate school, abou t the feel of a real bed, abo ut a woman an d he r two sons in Phoe nix who were waiting for h im. T he fo u r o f the m were having a cookou t on th e Fourth of Jul y when t h e g u a r d kicked th e cell door and told hi m to stand up for count. ~ November 1996 PRISON Ulf 33 By John Ittner H e's like a deer. Whe n you ' re not hunting, they' re everywhe re. Pic k up a rifle, they vanish. I'm o n his trail and h e's o n the run. FA-Q got ou t of Rikers Isla nd in May. Now he 's homeless and ha rd to find. During the day h e roam s th e b oo kst o res a nd a rt galle ri es stealing exp ensive books, which he sells fo r o ne fo urth of th e cove r price to stree t vendo rs in SoHo or aro und St. Ma rk's Place. This is his j ob; he's a professio nal shoplifte r. If he d oesn ' t ma ke e n ough fo r a t least three bags o f h e ro in , h e co u ld ge t sick. H e ' s busy s tea lin g, se ll in g, scoring and using. When he sits still, he draws. H is drawings ar e his diar y. They track his life, prove he exists. It is the thing h e does extre mely well a nd the on ly thin g o th e r th a n d o p e th a t h e must do . H e never quits. Whe re drawing is concerned h e is like a n Olympic a thle te, always in training . In prison or out of it he d oes three or fo ur a day. When he is drawing he fo rgets where he is. T h is is very useful in prison . His Rike rs sur vival kit is a ball-p oint pe n and a torn e nvelope. I have been looking for him fo r a month. I'm no t having much luck, but I see sig ns of him, th e way a h u nte r mi g ht n o ti ce a p a t c h of fla tte ned grass where a deer has lain . Some times h e slee ps in th e Riving to n Sch ool Scu lpture Garde n on East Sixth Su·eet. O n the dirt floor is a foam matu·ess a nd some cove rs he found on the street. Tho ugh h e is an o riginal m embe r of the Rivingto n Sch ool, he is not officia lly allowed th e re. No one gave him the key to ge t in the fron t gate. The way he is now, n o o ne in their right mind would give him the key to anyth ing. La te a t nig h t, afte r sh oo ting his last bag, h e climbs the fence and c urls up on the d irt floor of the sculpture sh o p. Th e welco m e h e ge ts there is as thin as h e is. His presence is to lerated 34 PBIIDN UFENovember t 996 ·\ \ \ \ \ \ \ 36 PRISON llff November 1996 by Ray Kelly, the cowboy artist who runs th e pl ace . It's like th e Ro be rt Frost poem, Death of the Hired Ma n. "H ome is the place tha t wh e n you h ave to go the re, they have to take you in. " His d r u g add ictio n ma kes hi m a criminal. It h as stole n his life, which h e buys back day by d ay thro ug h m a king ar t. FA-Q is hi s a rti st nam e a nd th e attitude h e puts on like a clown suit. H e draws clown s often-insa ne, ha unted , suicidal, leering faces- chro nicles of a life in h ell. Sometimes I think they are self portra its. Tha t ma kes th e m eve n scarie r. His th o ug hts ta ke him places whe re I do not want to go. His world is frighte ningly authe n tic. The bullshit was burned ou t of him years ago. His real n a m e is Kevin Wen d e ll. H e's fro m Clevela nd, Ohio and 41 years old. Cowb oy Ke ll y l ets FA-Q stay a t th e sculpture garden, bu t gets a ng ry if h e brings othe r junkies a ro und. T hey will give the garden a bad nam e. FA-Q is bad e no ugh. Ray Ke lly and Kevin We nde ll go bac k a long way. Ray likes Kevin a nd respects his art. It's hard not to like him. Kevin is fu n n y and down to earth an d they used to b e great friend s and Kelly sticks by a frie nd. Tha t's the \\laY they d o things in Amarillo, where he came from. Nevertheless, the sculpture gard e n is set up so th at FA-Q can't do mu ch h arm . Anything of value is eith e r und er lock and key or, like th e arc welder, too h eavy to lift over the 10-foot fe n ce. Since FAQ's been around, tho ugh , my b icycle has disappeared. FA-Q swears he didn ' t steal it and I want to believe him, but it's best th at everything is n ailed down. I don ' t know if he took it o r a frie nd of his took it. Eith er way, I blame myself more than I do him. I should have locked it up. He's an incorrigible thief and an addict. If it's lying around a nd he needs a fix, it's his. He's stole n fro m his best frien ds, people who were trying to he lp him . O nce he eve n sto le a police radi o out of a fi re house. It takes $50 a day just to stay even with his heroin habit an d eat. In the past eigh t years he's been arrested 28 ti mes, mostly for shoplifting. Wh e n I me t hi m in 1987, he'd n ever been to prison. T he n he was a rising star in th e a rt worl d , gettin g as mu c h as $2,500 fo r a pain ti ng he could do in a d ay. H e wor ke d fast a nd t h e stockbrokers who bought his work made m o n ey even fas te r than th a t. T h e a r t ma rket was booming in th e 80s and he looke d like a good b e t t o b eco m e fa m o u s. He h a d dr ive, ta le nt a n d ambition . H e was a star, a rough genius in th e a rt ho tbed that ce ntered a round th e Lower East Sid e of New Yo rk City. He hung o ut with the Rivington School, a group of metal sculp tors, blacksmiths, painte rs, p er fo rma n ce artists, rockers, Photo by Toyo poets, vid eo artists and ha ngers-on wh o ca m e together to work and play at a sculpture garden o n a formerl y vacant lot a t th e corne r of Rivington Street a nd Fo r sy th e. FA-Q s t ood o ut in that r e m a rk ab le g r o up. H e worked co n s ta ntly and courted c h aos like a d e m o n. Hi s mouo was " Make S hit H a ppe n-FA-Q" a n d h e m ea nt it. He wrote it o n the walls all ove r town with the thick black marker he carried like a gu n in the back pocket o f his j eans. A lot of sh it has ha ppe ned since then. And h e has made a lot of shit happe n. Bac k th e n h e was ma rried to a ta ll , dreamy, red-haired Ge rman girl named Monica who h ad followed him to New Yo rk from Be rl in, where they mel. She was a n artist too and called he rself Miss Unde rstood. She married Kevin for the gree n card. I re me mbe r seeing th e m toge th er at a Rivington School event in October, 1987. An Austrian band called Fis hm ac was pl ay ing. FA-Q a nd Miss U nd ers t ood-poetic, is n ' t it-we r e dan c in g. S h e was wea r ing a tall c hartreuse velvet ha t tha t looked like a caterpillar a n d m ade h e r look about seven feet tal l. She wasn ' t wearing a bra a nd h er tits were flopping a round inside a Oimsy blo use. He had his face be tween th e m with a three-day o ld beard and th ey were banging him in th e cars. After Miss Understood, h e marr ied Mano n , a Fre nch-Canad ia n girl wh o p layed bass in an all-girl scum rock band called Blood Sister. They played p laces like CBGB. She was toug h looki ng with sh o n bl ack h a ir bleach ed white li ke Andy Wa rho l excep t it wasn 't a wig a nd th e ro o ts sh owed. Blood Sister was a pretty good band if you like no ise. They we re living in a subl et sto re front on pregna nt, FA-Q gave a ll th e puppies away exce pt o ne that they named Robo. FA-Q suppo rted th e famil y by selling his work and sh oplifting. Manon made a li tt le with the band. But t h e puppy, Robo, was a proble m. You n eve r knew wh en h e was go ing to bite so m eo n e. Kevin called him "a dog \vith a ttitude." Robo bit a 2-year-old Puerto Ri ca n g irl who tried to pe t him. The chi ld lived in the neigh borhood and he r pare n ts were furious. Ro bo was d ecla red an o ffi cial menace to society and ba nned from tJ1e sc ulpture garde n. It turn ed in to a big con trove rsy, a rg ued abou t for days with h e was in and out of prison and doing a lot of d rugs. The city tore down the o ld garde n to build low-income h o using. Ke lly got a good lawyer who pushed th e city for a new lot for ano th e r Rivingto n Sch ool. Ke lly won but it took years an d the o ld gang d rifted away. The re was n o place to ge t togethe r aga in until Ke lly got a lease fo r a lo t on East Sixth Street and started a ll over with Tovy Halleck, a b lacksmith. The two p ut the Riving ton School back together. "If I build it, they will come," Ke ll y said. He was rig ht. I came back. Freddy t h e Drea m e r ca m e bac k . New faces Ave nue B, do ing a lot of drugs. T h e stor y is a sad one. Ma non go t preg nant, th ey h a d a b a b y g irl a nd named her Angel Louise. A few months la te r, they woke up o n e m o rn ing a nd Angel Louise was go ne- a middle o f the n ight crib death. FA-Q lost it. Since the n he 's been on the road to hell. Whe n you add up his time in Rikers it comes to two yea rs. It wasn't all trage d y with FA-Q a nd Manon, but su·ange things h appen ed to the m. Soon after they m e t, before t he baby, Kevin and Manon fo und a wh ite p it bull bitch on th e street, aban doned after a figh t and all 1·ippecl up, covered with so res and eating ga rbage. I think FA-Q identifi ed wi tJ1 the clog. They took he r ho me, n amed he r Lucy and nursed h e r bac k to h ea lth. Wh e n Lucy go t Ma non insisting that it was alr ig ht fo r Robo to bite people because h e was o n ly following his nature whic h eve ry living being had a right to do . Ray Ke lly said th at ma y b e t ru e but th at h e s h o uld follow his na ture somewhere else. Robo had to go. Kevin walked Robo out to the middle of the Wi llia msburg Bridge, picked him up a nd thre w him ove r th e rai l. H e watched Robo sail downward. The dog mad e a sma ll splash whe n viewed fro m t h a t h e ig lH, but Kevin \'latched in amaze m e nt as Ro b o swam ash ore to Brooklyn . We pitied the poor people o f Brooklyn whe n we heard tJ1e sto ry, but la ug h ed o ur asses o ff: Robo Dog, too mean to d ie. I lost touch witJ1 FA-Q. Wh atever n ews I got was from Kelly. All I kne w was that ap peared. Th e place is a m agne t -all tJ1at iron , I guess. It's a place to make an a n d be inside of a work o f art. But it's more tJ1at d raws people to th e Rivington School: it's freedo m , a crazy c hemistr y of an , friendshi p, laughter, mad ness and wo rk. It's a place whe re people wh o do n 't belong any pl ace e lse fe e l com pletely a t home. You can always find somebody crazier than you arc the resomeone like FA-Q. I found the Rivington School in 1987 when it was a lready estab lish ed a n d thriving. I had leased a sto refront on Rivi ng ton Street to live in a nd use as a st udi o. Across t he street was an an gallery. This was at tJ1e he ight of tJ1 e East Vi llage art scene a nd h ig h r e nt had p ushed galleries d own beneath Houston Street. If th e East Village was the cutting Angel Louise, Manon, and FA-Qat the Avenue B strorefront. No,·embcr 1996 PRISON LifE 37 edge of o u tsider a rt, RivingLOn was th e J a panese fellow who was sweep ing up. I lis sharp point of that edge. name was Mako. I was thi n kin g about One cl ay I n o ti ced a wrec ke d co mplain ing about the day-glo j unk next moto rcycl e o n th e sid ewalk in fro n t of doo r to my p lace, b ut held my tongue the abandoned b uildi ng nex t to m y wh e n I stepped into th e long n a rrow store fro nt. It d idn ' t have a ny wheels and galle ry. T here was an all over th e walls, was painted clay-glo orange a nd p ink. I covering the llo01·- a n more ime re ·ting was wond e rin g what t his piece of junk than a ny I'd seen in a long time. was and noticed that d irect!)' across th e A s how was bei n g h u n g wit h a street there was a galle ry being filled by a comro lled a na rchy oddly directed by a cre w of determined man iacs. I we nt over fellow in a straw cowboy h at, smo ki ng a to st·e wha t was g oi ng o n , and m e t a Ma rlbo ro. T he guy re min ded me o f a n 38 PRISON lifE Nm .-mbcr 1996 igua na, btH handsome. He appeared in charge, ye t not in charge. I co u ld see imm e diatel y that no one cou ld b e in charge or this crew. Then he stood a .22 cal ibe r bullet up rig h t o n the floor an d dropped a forged stee l pen is-loo king thing on it. T he cartridge we n t o !T with a lo u d ba n g. Cod kn ows wh ere th e bullet went, bu t he looked like he knew what he 1vas doing and the rest o f them seemed to Lake the wh ole th ing in su·ide like, "He just dropped a 20-pound p iece of stee l on a bullet in a room fu ll of people, big deal. " I was inu·igued. It was the beginn ing of a bea utifu l frie ndship. Mako in trodu ced me to the cowbo y and to my su rprise, he was fr iendly. "Welcome to the Rivington Sc hool," Ray Ke lly sa id. Somebody came over and asked if I wan ted to contribu te to a bee r r un. I gave him a dollar an d a few minutes late r I h ad a tal l boy. Kell y opened his and pou red a sip out on the n oor, "For the spirits o f th e dead ," he said. Some kind of Texas th in g, o r Puerto Rican-! liked it. Whe n th e beers were go n e but fo r one, a tall , c ur lyhaired guy shou ted, "Hey, fuck you, you clicln 't pay for a beer. That's my bee r. I paid lor it. " FA-Q yelled back, "Fuc k you too, Higgins." Higg ins did not take it lying clown. There was a beer at stake, not to mentio n ho nor if yo u want to call it that. H iggins tried to grab the 16-oz. Bud Oll t of FA-Q's hands and it went a ll over the fl oor, foa m ing u p . "Coddamn it, fuck you," he sh o uted and we nt for FA-Q's ne ck . But FA-Q was qu i c k. Higgins c hased him down and pretty soo n had h im on the galle r y floor. They rolled around an d Lh e ca n got squished a n d th e beer spill ed o ut. FA-Q p u lle d out his marker a nd drew on Higgins' fore h ead wh ile they wrestled. !Iiggins had hi s own ma r k e r and th e baule t u rned into a con test ove r who co ul d llll·n the other g uy into a drawing and not get beaten up. They were pretty well m atc h e d a nd b e fore long they we re both too ti red to contin ue. By th e time it e nded th ey had put black lines a ll over eac h ot h er. Hi ggi n s r e t ir e d and got himself a beer, the p lace calmed down. Tha t was the first of man y beer-fueled fights between those two painters. Despite all th e commoLion, whe n the sh ow fina lly did g et h u ng, it loo ked g r eat. Th e openi n g a few d ays la te r attracted a b ig crowd t h a t spil led out o nto the sidewalk. It was a good scene. The re was an auct ion afterwa rds to bencli t th e school and I bo ug ht seve ral pieces at prices th a t ranged from $10 to 50. Some of them were by FA-Q. O the rs were by Ray Ke ll y, Ed Hi ggin s, Linus Can-agio, Robe rt Parker, Toyo, Rola ndo Vega, .J e ff Perre n , Tovy Halleck, David, Gizmo, Winny, Mo nty Cantsi n. I wa lked Photo by Toyo away from that a uctio n with a te rrific collection. Over the next three years, I became a r egul a r collec tor of FA-Q 's wor k . I never k n ew when he wou ld knock on the door of m y Ri vi n g ton Str eet sto r efr on t with a h andfu l of drawings to show and sell, never more than te n bucks eac h . That was all h e needed to buy a bag. His habit wasn ' t so expe nsive then. This was the highest poin t of FA-Q's success. He had been to J a pa n twice with th e Rivin gto n Sch oo l, making hu ge paintings that were p a n of installation art sh ows sp o n so re d by department stores. The shoppe rs wa tched him pa int g ia n t p aintings, so big h e had to use ro lle rs. H e eve n dipped his hands into th e buckets. FA-Q was a hit. Th e J apanese were paying the tab. H e was o n a ro ll until l 990. Then the b aby di ed . His add iction spiraled. He we nt to Rike rs. Manon left him. The sculpture garden was razed. One day I was drinking beer with Kelly at the new p lace whe n he handed me a clear plasti c bag full of drawings that FAQ h ad done while he was in Rikers. It wasn't a very large package, but it was p acke d with liul e pieces of p a p e r covered with FA-Q's n e rvou s sign a ture s tyle . Nea rl y a ll t h e draw in gs we r e fi g ur es d o minate d by la rge h ea ds. Because I knew th ey' d b ee n done in prison , the drawings seemed to have an ex tra edge. FA-Q's fo rced co nfin e m e nt seemed to intensify the images. Strange h ow the p eop le wh o see m to love freedom most often lose th eirs. In prison FA-Q's on ly freedom is art. The drawings were done on little pages from a spiral notebook, torn pieces of e nve lopes, the backs of signs ripped off the wall of Rikers bathrooms, whatever was close a t ha nd. I took them o ut of the bag and put them in my lap. I had not seen FA-Q fo r six years. Now I was seeing him again . I peered into his d a rk , ye t some how radiant soul. These scra ps of pape r seemed eerily alive a nd suffe ring in my hands, stripped of a mbition a nd pre tense. I h ad to loo k a t t h e m a ll , inte n se ly, indi viduall y, eac h a wor ld apa rt. Ke lly waited until I was fi nished before saying, "Kevin gave th ese to me a nd asked me to see wh at I could do with them. What d o you think?" ''They should be a book," I said, "FA-Q's Rikers Drawings. They're amazing. He's even more intense tJ1an h e used to be." "Why d o n 't you see if you can fi nd someone to publish tJ1em?" "l don't know anybody, but I'll try." FA-Q has no home or telephone, no fixed address. H e li ves like a wild a nimal. I had to track him d own. l knew h e s le pt so m e tim es in th e sc ulpture garde n, but he was never th e re when I Manon and FA-Q with one of Manon's paintings in background. was. I wro te my number with a no te to call m e on th e wall of th e sh op n ear whe re h e had been sleeping. I left word with Ke lly that Prison Life wanted to pu t him in t h e m agaz ine. Most artists ge t exci ted if a magazine \Vants to do a story on th e m , but FA-Q n eve r call ed. I started go ing to t h e ga rd en in the morn ing. He was never there but he left tantalizing sign s in his wake. One day I fi nd a lurid, frenzied drawing of frantic heads, all within one large demented h ead , surro und ed by indeciphe rable writings, o bviously a FAQ. It's lying on the trod -down path to the shop whe re it has been both rained o n a nd walked on. Pa rt o f tJ1e Rivington School's style is to not make a big deal out o f a rt, even tho ugh an is the heart of the matter. The co lored pencil is mel ted in to the pa per like watercolor. A dirty bootprint fin ishes it. Th e bootprint is too well p laced to be an accident. I see Cowboy at wo r k. He would do something like tJ1at, fi nish a drawi ng by stepping o n it. Cowboy the collabor.:llor. He's li ke FA-Q in that he works all the time a nd in strange ways. T he rai n has given the drawing a patina of age. The bootprint says so mething about the fragility of art, a message in a bottle. FAQ was here. I want to take it, but I leave it there in the d irt s ubject to t h e ele m ents, cast to the win d like Kevin. Next time I go there it has vanish ed. I begin to fee l some pressure to find November 1996 PRISON lifE 39 him. The magazine needs photos and I have to talk. So mu ch h as happened. The gaps need filling in. Finally, I resort to th e hunte r's oldest u·ick, bait. I tell Ke lly to te ll him I h ave fifty bucks for him. Mo ney is the best be t whe n you ' re looking fo r a junkie. I write it o n th e wa ll nex t to my te le pho ne number. FAQ, $50, ca ll J o h n . The next night at I 1:00 p.m., I get a call at work 'J o hn , it's FA-Q. H ey, can I have 20 bucks? I can come get it. Wh ere is your office?" "Don't come here," I say. l don't wa nt to h ave to ex plai n him a nd it's almost tim e fo r me to leave. ''I' ll meet yo u a t midnight at the Sidewalk Cafe. Do you kn ow where th a t is? I h ave $50." The place is a popular bikers' ha ngout half a better than I expected. "Ke lly's downstairs," he says. I follow him d o wn th e s t e p s. I t 's n o isy a nd crowded. Ray Kelly is there playing pool with a g uy named Tom . I've got to get FA-Q out of the re. It's too noisy to talk. "Let's go to th e scu lpture garden," I say. We leave Ray and Tom there. On the corn e r I stop in the bodega a nd buy a six-pack of Budweiser. H e asks if h e can get a grape d rin k. He doesn ' t drink any more. That's funny because I just got my hands on old picntres of him and there is a Bud in eve r y one . I ca n't quite believe I've fo u nd him a t last. Actually, he found me. The hunte r is hunted. I un loc k the gate and we go into the yard. The street ligh ts make it easy to see. The rusted metal is silhoue u ed in the glow. FA-Q in Japan with some local kids. b lock from th e R ivington Sch ool. H e ob,·io u s ly n eeds to score. H e will defi nite ly be the re. I bo r row a camera from the photo de partment and stop at h o m e for m y tape r ecorde r. I don ' t know when I'll see him again. I get to the Sidewalk ten minutes early, look inside. He's no t there. I ta ke a table outside a nd wait. I have mi xed feelings about seeing Kevin . I don ' t want to see what he h as lost, the harde ned junkie t h a t h e has b eco m e. I'm waiting to orde r whe n a gaunt figure in a hunting jacket a nd black cap sudden ly walks o ut of the bar. It's him. He doesn't see me. "Kevin ," I s h out. I don't want to scream Olll, "Hey, FA-Q," in this crowd ed cafe. He turns a nd co me ove r, smiles. His missing teeth give him the air of a jack o ' la nt ern. O th er tha n tha t he loo ks 40 PRISON llll No,·cmbcr t99G Ti me h as s lowed down, m oving b ac kwa rd s to a happi e r tim e. It feels good to be with Kevin again . Eve rything is n ew, ye t fam iliar. H e's essentially un cha nged in spirit. He's been out for two mon ths now. I ask him what they busted him for. 'They cha rged me with robber y. They say I pu sh e d the g u a rd . I was o n ly sh oplifting. But I didn 't really push the guard. What it was, the guard tried to gra b me and I pulled away from him. He h it his hand on a door frame a nd cut h is ha n d. When the police got the re they said, 'Oh, your hand is bleeding. I hope you ' re all right. Did he push you? ' The gua rd said, ' Uh yeah , sorta.' Tha t's it. The ew Yo rk, ew J ersey cops they' re really strict. So I was hoping for a OAT to be released right away, right. " A Desk Appearance Ticket wou ld have meant he could walk un til his court date. "I neve r show up for those," FA-Q says, "and it ends up turning into a warrant." Did he get convicted each Lime he was arrested? "No," he says. "No, most of the Lime t h e re 'd b e li ke three or four ar rests. Then I'd go through Central Booking o r get taken downtown. I'd get a OAT a nd wou ldn't show up fo r court. It takes 30 to 90 days to come out. During that four months I might be arrested three tim es. By the third arrest there's a warrant out for the first one. So when they find the \Varr a nt they ca n ' t give m e a D es k Appearance Ticket. I have to go through the system. So I go through the syste m a nd eve rything pops out. They find all t h e-you kn o w-so eve n wh il e I'm locked up for 60 days, a warrant would pop up while I'm in jail and l'd have to go back to court again from injail." I as k h o w many times h e's b ee n arrested . "I have some thing like 28 arrests," he says. "Eight years, 28 arrests, something li ke that. T h e first 22 yea rs I lived in New Yo rk I had no arrests." Wh e n I first m et him , in '87, h e'd never b een arrested. I as k wh a t he thinks of this new sculpture garden. "Great," h e says. "Do es n ' t see m so d isorga nized . The old one was like sort of haphazard . Not as ma ny rats eithe r, right. Not as many spies hanging outnot supposed to say that. Niggers, spies we're all-it doesn' t matter. Like the old black man told me one time, ' Yo justa a nigga like eve rybody else.' It m ad e me feel comfortable." He draws every day when he's inside, on whatever he can get. "Like backs of flyers," h e says, "even th e ru leboo k is the first p lace I start drawing on cause they have a couple of pages for notes. The prison ru le boo k. Th ey take yo ur p h oto wh e n yo u get d1e re and you hold the book up so that yo u ca n't deny eve r be i n g give n a rulebook. Le t's say they make a mistake and do n 't give you d1e rulebook to hold up for the photograph a nd yo u ge t a ticket like fo r fighting or something. You can say you didn 't know d1 e rule ." On th e inside, h e usua ll y lived in a dormitory. "It's like a huge room, " h e says, "almost like a she lter or something wid1 58 beds. The next bed is like 3 feet away. You got a locker, your bed, one righ t n ext to yo u. It's just a big roo m fi lled with beds, no privacy. You go to take a shit, d1e CO's can look out the window and see you, you know. 'The first time I went in to Rike rs, uh, the first time, like d1e first hour was the l I / worst, the mental thing abo ut being u·apped like an an imal. That drove me nuts. I felt like punching wa lls or breaking out, whatever. Now I go to sleep right away. That's wha t I try to do the whole time I'm going through the process. Centra l Boo kin g yo u ' re handcuffed all the time. Your hands are ha ndcuffed in front of you , fuck up and you ' re ha ndcuffed behind. So I usu ally just try to sleep." "You don't seem to be that changed to me," I say, "but you 've been th rough a lot of shit since I've seen you last time." "Everybody c hanges, but they can lock up your b ody, but not you r mind. That's the thing that keeps me going. Whe n I ' m drawing or reading I'm n ot even there. That's what I.. .I try to live in my own world . The difficult part is the privacy, not havi ng any privacy. The first thing I e njoy is be ing in a room alone, or taking a shit alone. That drives you nuts after a while, being a round p eople a ll th e time and most of th e pe ople you're locked up wi th are not the people you want to be with. Especially in the beginning. About 8 years ago I'd be the only white guy in the house. I guess the o nly thing-it he lped me learn how to figh t be tter." "Did you h ave to get in many fights?" "Years ago more than now. Now no. You get a re pu tatio n too. You get in one fig ht a nd everybody ta lks. They're a bunch of o ld ladies. They all talk. Don 't fuck with this guy- you can't push h im a rou nd. That's the thing. Once you step back once or pussy out. They test yo u. People test you. Once you're willing to fight, the n th ey back dovm-usually." "D o you get any specia l status for being an artist? Do people look a t you with any more respect?" "Some people do because they want portraits drawn of their gi rlfri e nds, or e nve lopes d esigned which I d o n 't do. You know, like when they send a letter to their girlfrie nd they like to have some customized drawing. They' re impressed , actually. Toyo sent me so me photographs of the Rivington School and Japan when I was th e re. They were impressed with that, defin itely. They hear you talk. Everybody talks, but they a ll lie. You hear peop le in there talk about how they wear clothes from Saks Fifth Avenue, or whatever. Then you see them on the street and they're bums, you know? You see th e clothes they go h ome i n-th e same as the ones they came in. They're all fucki ng disgusting. People talk a lo t better about themse lves than they are. So they don ' t be lieve a lot of the things I ta lk about like being in J apan and a l l that st u ff. But the photographs, I show 'em a nd they say "What are you doing here?" Drugs is th e reason I'm here. My da ug hter died of crib death an d I started doing d rugs. No excuse but that's what happened." "Do you ever hear from Manon?" "Yea h , s h e ca lls the Emerg in g Collector, but I don't really get along with the owner. So I get messages from oth er people. Manon robbed me too, you know, she kept all my paintings a nd never paid me, told me that the show in Paris was canceled when it wasn 't. She has auctio n s and sells my pictures off and keeps the money." Fa-Q's paintings cou ld fe tc h $2,500 back in 1988. I ask him if he watches much TV in prison. "No," h e says. "We ll, there 's a day room with a TV, but nobody wi ll shut up. You know what I mean. Th ere's always some asshole gonna tell you the e nd of the movie. It's ridicu lo us. I never go there. I had a bed that was close to the day room. T he re are windows so I can watch t h e TV from m y bed. I saw one movie. It was a good movie, The Professional. It's about a professional hit man and h e hooks up with this 14-yearo ld gi rl. That was a good one but otherwise? Maybe watch the news once in a while, sports is a big tJ1ing, ya know? There's a lot of arguments about the TV too. T h e guys who knock the TV down. You know, people wh o are goi n g to desu·oy-people in jail will like kill each oth er over the TV, telephones, like that. That's the big thin g, teleph o n e. Some guys want to be on the phone all th e t im e. This last time whe n I d id eig ht months I made one phone call to home and that's it. Even o n the street I don't use it. I don 't have a fam ily. I don 't get along with my mother tJ1at well e ither. I never had n o he lp financiall y, or any other way. On ly c riti c is m and that's about it." "Is your mothe r still in Cleveland?" "She moved to Ca lifornia with my stepfather. I've never been to Californ ia. I call my mother whe n I get married. •ovcmbcr 1996 PRISON lifE 4 1 I've been married three times. I have a baby or something like that." "Since Manon?" "No. I'm still married to he r, legally I guess, but not practically. She can 't even come to this country. She has to get a wedding license or some thing. They told her if she tries to come across the border again she'd be banned for life. She has no proof that sh e's married to me, her fau lt. But I d o n ' t know. She wasn't faithful to m e a n yway. I got locked up fo r 30 days. First time I got locked up I was with h er getting money for both of us. She cheated on me while I was locked up. " "Do yo u always do the same th ing, stealing a rt books?" "Sometimes I get CDs. But I've even gone into a fire station and sto le n a police radio. Whateve r pops up yo u know. But mostl y books, lase r di sks, someth ing like that. I sell them right away, but I loo k at the m o n the way, 42 PRISON Ufl November t996 riding the train. I look at th em a lot of times in the store. Some times you have to go through eve ry p age to find the alarm." Where does h e go? "The re 's a lot of book stores in New York," h e says. "Also gall e ri es- a n y p lace that has books, yo u know, a lot of galle ri es have books, a libra r y on th e wall, nice to look at but nobody ever to uches them. I ju st d us t 'e m off. T hey're bra nd new but they got a lot of dust on top. Nobody eve r uses the m. I redistribu te books. In Germany there were two major stores. I used to steal from o ne a nd se ll th e m to th e othe r. Like about a mon th later I wou ld take the same book back to the store I got it from. I'd go back and forth , same book . But in New York I usually sell them to the g uys who sell them on the stre et, around St. Marks, SoHo. Originall y it was a ll Korea n s doing that, selli ng books. Now it's a lo t of Africans doing it." I comment that his n ew drawings seem even stra n ge r th a n th e ones h e d id before prison. "Th e drawings t ha t I d o in jail," he says, I wasn't on a ny d r ugs. It's a n escap e. A lot of c razy shit happens in there, you know? Like petty shit. Stupid shi t , so mebody stealing somebody's und e r wea r. It's ridi culo us . Who's cleaning, who's dirty, who's wiping their ass clean. It's a lot of gossip. Everybody watches everybody. Some people can get away with anyth ing cause they're afraid of t h e m and other p eo ple no b ody's afra id o f t h ey co me d ow n o n th e m. They're bullies, a lo t of assholes. There's gangs tha t control some of that." "Are you a part of an y gang?" "Nah," he says, "I don 't want to be part of any boys club. I wasn't a b oy scout so why sh ould I be one now? Sometimes yo u have to be a one-man army to su rvive which I th ink is righ t. An oth e r gang might agree with you though. " "Wha t about sex?" I say. "Do p eople prey on others?" "There's a little bit of that but n o t a lot. A lot of people agree to h ave sex with o th e rs. There's a lot of homosexuals who dress in drag or have breasts, hormone injections or implan ts. So there's-! think Spanish p eople are a li ttle looser about h avi ng sex with anothe r man. They find it easier to do it. There's so me h o mosexuals who look like a woman, you would think it was a woman. And whenever they come into the h ouse .... At one point we h ad three of them like that. It go t pretty wild. They'd b e in the bathroom .... Yeah, you know they hi t 'em off fo r ciga rettes, things like th a t. Some guys go in and out so much it's like their life to be in j ail. Those guys that are nothing on the street, but in th e re. This guy that was across from me-he was like Macy's. He had all the j ewelry, watches, comic book collections, a lot of valuable stuff in jail. Cigarettes a re like money. Like you take one pack and pay two back. Things like t h at. They make money doi n g t hat. Gangs do that kind of thing too. T his one gang had like all their profi ts on the floor, showing off. Securi ty came in and confiscated it all." "So what d o you th ink th is time? Are you going to be out for a wh ile?" FA-Q assumes that as l ong as h e's doing drugs, he 's going to be in and out ofjail. "But it gets longer in b e tween ," h e says. "I t takes lo n ger for m e to get caught. I learn whe re not to go, what no t to do, like I don't en d up as desperate and also my habit is smaller. I don't do as many drugs as I did." H is habit is mostly heroin a nd cocaine. A-Q a nd I are still in th e sculpture ga rde n whe n Ray Kelly F arrives with Tom, a n artist a nd fi lm make r. KELLY: What's that you ' re drinking? FA-Q: Yeah. Possible. Send me somewhe re nice. Har-ha r. TOM: Fuck it man. KELLY: Like a h, Baha mas. FA-Q: Gra pe juice. FA-Q: Ma ke drugs legal. Amsterda m. KELLY: Yo u 're sitting in my scat. Get up. JOHN: Whe n you 're in prison, wh at kind of guys g ive you the FA-Q: H ey, I spilled your beer. most troubl e? KELLY: Aaa h , go a h ead . Yo u d o n 't d r ink anyway. Aaaa h. FA-Q : Five prese n te rs, Muslim s. I ge t along with th ose Aaagh! Spanish guys bette r than I do Black guys. Spanish a nd White FA-Q: I feel like I've talked a lo t, ge t to the poin t. get alo ng pre tty good . A Rasta can get a white girl. Black g uys KELLY: Tired ? You read the magazine. Give me a break. You from Africa a rc diffe re nt. For Black America ns racism is the know what the d eal is. You're going to be o n the fucking first e xc use th ey use for e ve r ything . Some mothe rfu c ke r wo uldn ' t give you no thin g fo r e ig ht mo mhs a nd a ll o f a cove r of the magazine, published. Are you pro ud of it? JOHN : How old a re you Kevin? sudd e n you ' re go ing ho me a nd FA-Q: I'll be 4 1 the sixteen th of h e ex pec ts yo u to g ive him July. some thing. You 're giving it to th e JOHN: Ca ncer. guys who looked o ut for you. H e KELLY: Wha t i that? says, "Wh a t a b o ut th e Bl ac k JOHN: Cra b. ma n. "? Wha t a bo ut him? Yo u ' re KELLY: What docs it mean ? go in g hom e a nd e ve r ybody JOHN: I d o n 't know. crowds a round your locke r. FA-Q: I like home. JOHN: Eve rybody g ives their stuff TOM : Ha rd on th e o utside soft away whe n they leave? o n the inside. FA-Q : Yeah. JOH 1: You go sideways. KELLY: Th ey m ay be A froAme ri ca ns but I still d o n 't wan t KELLY: Yo u r ead a ll th ose astrolo gy boo ks? Do you believe the m to fu ck with my d aug hte r. I' m sorry I can 't be tha t li beral. in that? FA-Q : What about the prosecuto r FA-Q: I don 't believe in nothing. in the OJ case? Darde n, wha t's his KELLY: Ke vin. h e r e's a n exjunkie, To m. n ame, Dryd e n. J O H : Was th a t thing going o n FA-Q: How' re you doing , To m? wh e n you were in the re? KELLY: Bo th bea u tiful g uys, so we' re all beautifu l guys. FA-Q: Eve r yb od y was c h ee rin g wh e n h e was fo und not guilty. I FA-Q : Homos. thought he was guilty, still do. KELLY: Boys, let's just a ll hu g each othe r. KELLY: Tho ught? Evc r yb o d )' kn ows. FA-Q: Put rha t dress on £irst, Ray. KELLY: Put that dress o n o ve r FA-Q : I g uess Blacks we re happy a Black go t off one time. H e's go t there. e no ugh money. FA-Q: Whe re a re those pa nts? TOM: Tha t's like a weird thing. KELLY: Le t's all dress up? FA-Q: Jn Am e rica, if you ' re not JOHN: Wh e r e are th ose r ed rich, or a cop, you 're prclly well pan ts? fucked . KELLY: Let's b e r eal. Let's b e Photo by John Ittner KELLY: Kevin, I don 't think we' re interested in your prison cool. FA-Q : Mo the rfuckers n eve r wipe their ass o n the stree t. They thing . Arc they guil ty. You' re guil ty. Of course )'Ou' rc guilty. Yo u did il. come to j ail a nd talk about hygie ne . FA-Q: Yo u cop a plea. They say admit you did this murder TOM: Talk about what? a nd we' ll give you te n days and it's o n your record. Tha t"s FA-Q: Hygie ne. extreme but tha t's the way it works. If you do n 't cop a plea JOHN: Is race a big thing in prison ? FA-Q: Yeah . I think I got more racist for being locked up. you have to get up at fo ur in the morning and sit in a n eightvVhcn you ' re whi te you ' re a n und e rprivileged mino ri ty in by-eight room wi th fifty guys all day until midnight the next th e re. It used to b e th e CO s we re mos tly white, but n o w nig ht. It's ridiculous. So ruck thal. You cop o ut so tha t you th ey' re mostly Black o r Hispan ic. Lo t more white peo ple, ca n go get a bed. Or th ey put you in a paddy wagon a nd mo re and more . We had 15 out o f 58 one tim e . Fifty-eig ht leave you the re for hours. You pass out. That's the wo rst parl. g uys, 15 we re white. Tha t's the most I eve r e n co unte red . KELLY: Yo u' re guil ty. FA-Q : Yo u 're d r unk. Eight years ago I was the o nly one. KELLY: To t d r unk. It's o kay. I 'm n ot drunk. You ' re guilty. JOHN: Wha t. are most o f the guys in for? FA-Q: Drug-related ch arges, wh ich is the biggest pro blem in Syste m wants you oul. Like OJ , like you a nd everybody else. th e sys te m . For vic tim less c rim es like tha t I ca n ' t think System's got so many catch ... FA-Q: Catch 22. anybody sho uld be locked up. KELLY: Yo u bea t the syste m. KELLY: Har-har-ha r-ha r. FA-Q: You beat the system . JOH N: Do you think a nybody could re ha bilitate you? November 1996 PRISON lifE 43 KELLY: I don ' t have any crimes. I haven 't do ne a ny crimes. FA-Q: Why do you wear goggles all the time? KELLY: Safety, safety first. He hasn't done any crimes. FA-Q: T hat's bullshit, you 've d one crimes. FA-Q: Wh e re 'd yo u get you r h ai rcut. I d id mine with a KELLY: H e's a n exjunkie. It doesn't mean junkie, you' re a lighter. Burned it off. Il d on ' t hurt. criminal. ll doesn'L necessarily go togeth e r. JOHN: Did you go to a rt school? FA-Q: You do a crime every day. You get behind tl1e wheel of FA-Q: Yeah , Cooper School of An, Cleveland. your truck whe n you 're drunk, you 're d o ing a crime. Yo u JOHN: What were you doing ilie n ? Same tl1ing? take a piece of steel off a construction site. FA-Q: ah h , I had a grant and a loan. KELLY: I don ' t have a truck. .JOHN: I d o n ' t mean that. (Everyone laughs.) I mea n the same kind of heads. FA-Q: I' m sure everybody does a crime ever y day. KELLY: I totally agree, but your fucking friend comes in here FA-Q: I went through all kinds of shit there. Realistic, kind of and steals his bike. a Van Gogh style maybe. Absu·act Expressionism. FA-Q: He didn 't steal it. He wouldn't do iliat. JOHN: vVha t artists did you like? KELLY: H e did it. FA-Q: Back th en? Van Gogh. FA-Q: I kn ow he wo uldn 't do th at, but there's a lo t of people KELLY: Kevin cut his ear. that would. Ha, ha. FA-Q: I liked Dal i for a wh i le. I liked de Kooning , Motherwell. I liked 'em all. Rothko . KELLY: Maybe you did it. FA-Q: They see a n unlocked bike inside a fe nce. They'll jump KELLY: All tl1e people who killed themselves. over and get it. FA-Q: It's too late. I'm too o ld now. JOHN: vVhe re do you stay most of tl1e time nowadays? KELLY: Curt Cobain or somebody like tl1at. KELLY: H e re. FA-Q: You gotta be famous to kill yourself. FA-Q: No set place. I move arou nd. TOM: They got a cool show at the Whitney, Keinholtz. KELLY: His last known address is Rike rs Island. FA-Q: Yeah, he's good. FA-Q: Th ird park be n ch on the left. 1 still give the add ress 172 Forsythe. KELLY: What if so mebod y wa nted to write you. FA-Q: 172 East cardboard box. JOH : H ow ma ny names have you got? FA-Q: About 10, Mc Kabe, Kelly. JO l iN: You call yourself Ray Kelly? FA-Q: Kevin Ke lly. KELLY: (P ulls up his s hirt sleeve to show his ta ttoo ) .Kevin , Kevin look at UliS. FA-Q: T his g uy' · got a tattoo of a six o'clock on his righ t a rm. r-.11inc's on the left. (FA-Q pulls up his sleeve and puts it next to Ke lly's.) J OH 1: f'd forgow::n you had tl1a t thing. FA-Q: Tovy probably stole th e bike. KELLY: You kn ow wh o stole the bike Kevin? JOHN: Sit over next to Kelly and le t me get a picture of your six o'clock tattoos. FA-Q: Is that yo u r bra nd or yo ur Fa-Q and Ray Kelly show their Rivington School six o'clocks, at the New vaccination ? Rivington School Sculpture Garden JOH , : Let's see those tee m. KELLY: Naaah. KELLY: You gotta be like .Jim Morrison. JOHN: Do they work on your tee th when you ' re in tl1 ere? FA-Q: He did like that taxi cab and a b ar. FA-Q: They wanted to put me 10 slee p and work on the m. I TOM: Yeah, he did a ll that shit. don 't care. KELLY: (Poin tS to Tom) He's got a show at the Whitney. You KELLY: Put you to sleep. (Laughs) never had a show a t the Whitney. H e's gonna be in a show at FA-Q: Yeah. My mouth is fuckcd up. the v'l'hitncy. TOM: I've got u·ouble with my teeth. FA-Q: So wha t? I don't wan t to be at the Whitney. I'm not in FA-Q: l can see your tee th ain 'tlike mine. I look at myself in the Museum of Modern Art or The Mcu·opolitan. the mirror. There's hardly any mirrors on Rikers Island. KELLY: You're gonna be on the cover of Prison Life. Pretty KELLY: I hate mirrors. good rag, right. FA-Q: In j ai l ilie mirrors a re fucked up, righ t. There's a piece FA-Q: I don't know. of Mylar o n tl1 c wall. Yo u see a real mir ror and you go Oh KELLY: Shu t up! Like Billy tl1e Kid. man. TOM: You write at all? KELLY: I n ever go in front o f mirrors. It' ll make a g rown FA-Q: On my d rawings, I write. man cr y. TOM: T his movie I'm u·yi ng to work o n , like a he ll movie, J OH 1: What are iliose heads all about that you d raw? like a bunch of different people who are doing shit like if FA-Q: I just doodle around a nd see what comes o ut. A lot of you want to work on that. tim es they say that ilie work looks like ilie ani t. FA-Q: You know what th ey say. Drug addictS don' t have 10 go KELLY: l sec head s all a round. to hell. They're already there. 44 PRISON liFE Novembe r 1!!96 "H eroin is the one that's necessary," he says. "You get sick. At one time I was doing a bout eight to ten bags a day. ow I do about three. That's 30 dollars. I can make 60 to 100 in o ne trip. To get a hundred , I have to get special, or out-of-p rint books. On the street you get o ne quarte r o f the price. I've done some burglrui es." "You go in some body's house?" " o," he says. "Usually I'm a lookout, sta nd a round and see if so me b o d y is co ming . Some tim es so mebod y will go d ow n in a b ase m e nt fo r s h r imp or alco ho l, like in a ba r. I n ever went into someone's house." I ask h im wha t he thinks is the wo rst thing h e ever d id? "Th a t I eve r did ?" h e as ks . "C hild a buse." He la ug hs. "Stealing fro m my frie nds maybe. Tha t's the worst. Wha t I fee l the most g uil ty for." "How does art help you?n "It h elps pass the time. Takes my mind off th e n egative thin gs in m y life . It seems like the one positive thing I can offe r ma nk ind. Th e r es t o f m y life . Otherwise my life is useless. If I had th e ch o ice I mig h t no t have c hose n to be bo rn." Ma ny of FA-Q's drawings h ave subtle or n ot-so-subtle suicide refe re nces. 'The suicide thing?" I ask. "Some times I wish 1 was dead," he says, "but I guess I d o n 't have the guts to do it. ot ye t a n yway. Yeah, I don 't kn ow but the re are mornings I wake up and I wish I didn 't have to . I wish I could sleep forever some times." H e d oes three to five d rawings a day, whe the r in prison or out. "Is it easie r to d o the m whe n you can 't ge t a ny drugs?" "I ha ve m o r e tim e to d o th e m I g u ess. N ot r eall y t h o u g h . It do es n ' t ma ke a ny diffe re nce. I still do th e m a lot. What it is, in j ail I read mo re. On th e stree t I still have time to d o th e m but I d o n ' t read th a t mu ch. Readin g tim e I spe nd running .n "I guess in prison eve rything is ta ke n care of, you don ' t hav e to do an y running." "Get ready for chow. Go and eat a nd come back to your bed . They fuck with you o n purpose too. Like a meal t hat yo u need salt, they d o n ' t pu t ou t a ny salt. A meal th at yo u d o n't n eed salt, th ey put the salt out. They also h ave a me nu tha t's what you 're supposed to be ge tting right? You ge t half of wha t's on th ere, a nothe r pa rt o f th e corruptio n. The COs all steal. They ta ke th e food h o m e to t h e ir kid s . Yo u n eve r ge t Frosted Flak es cause th e co ps ta k e •!hem . The good meals like roast beef, th ey just n ever show up. Yo u smell the g o o d m ea ls coo kin g lik e fr o m th e cap tain 's o ffice. T hey got a microwave a nd th ey' re co o kin g. They ea t th e m . They ge t a ll th e jui ce . We n eve r ge t juice. Some times they give you bananas that a re so ha rd you go tta throw 'em. Yo u can 't eat 'em." "So whe re d o you kee p your stuff, your private stu ff?" "A loc ker, nothin g's p ri vate. Whe n th ey have a sea rch th ey loo k th ro ug h eve r ythin g o n ce a m o nth o r more often. Say if th ey find a weapon. The n you ' re going to h ave a sea rc h, or to o mu c h contra b a nd , o r if p e opl e a r e wearing clo thes they' re no t supposed to have, o r if peo ple are ac tin g up a n d th ey h ave a lo t of fights. Strip searc h, anytl1ing, squa t." "H ow a re the guards?" "It's j ust like an ything else. Some of the m a re OK. Some of the m are n 't. The old gu ys a re be tter. I ge t a lo n g be tter wi tl1 th em. Some of the young guys a re too g un g-ho . Whe n t he ca p ta i n is a rou nd, th ey' re trying to impress h im. Th ey' re trying to ste p u p th e ladd e r. Th ey'll act di ffe ren t whe n th ey' r e in front of a captain than when they' re not in fr ont of a captain . Ac llla ll y, o th er prisone rs ma ke it worse fo r you t h an the g uards." "What kind of prisoner makes it bad?" "L ike a guy that wor ks in th e sto r e h o u se a nd yo u go i n to th e sto re house and want to take some coffee or sugar and he acts like he owns it and he wants you to pay him to take it. It's j ai l sLUff, but he works in the re a n d he acts like it's his." He gives me a look. "Sometimes," he says, "afte r 1 get o ut I feel like it's not much d ifferent out here tl1an it is there." ~ November 199G PRISON llfl 45 SEX IN PRISON • I always fee/like somebody's watchin' me. Michael Jackson T h e fastest growing population in this co untry is wo m en in prison . Th e r e are a l most 95, 000 of us locked up now. That's a lot of pussy to be had. And those who are e mployed to keep u s unde r tigh t lock and key a re d o ing eve r ything th ey ca n to e n sure tha t pussy doesn't go to waste or catch dry rot as it slips through the c racks o f th e injustice system h e re in the good old USA. The re is mucho fuckin'-not lim ited to un au thori zed sex u a l inte r co ur se between prisoners--going on inside the womb of the beast. There a re women c hild-abuse rs and murde rers doing time, but they are rare. Most women in prison a re serving time for no nvio le nt, drug addictio n related crimes. We live in prison a nd some of us di e h e re. Mo re than 500 women a nd girls have bee n put to death a t the ha nds of the state in this country. T here are a t leas t 47 wome n in 16 states awa iting execution. Many of the female convicts wh o are re leased e m e rge fro m a hell th at n ot on ly str i p s them of a n y o ppo rtu nity to be reha bil itated, but lite r a ll y r apes them a nd r ips thei r bodies, minds and souls to pieces. I a m fini sh ing up a three-to -te n-year se n tence for go ing into my ban k a nd cashi ng one of my own checks. The fact th e re was no m o n ey in my accoun t at the time was the li ttle glitc h th at got my ass he re. I wonder if th e bank te lle r who gave m e the money-$2,785.00 in cash and money o rders-even though the e lectron ic ledger read $0.00, still h as h e r j ob. November 1996 PRISON Llff 47 SEX IN PRISON I wouldn't want anyone to think I was a little bitter about my sente nce, but on the same day that I was given three-to-te n, a we ll edu ca ted , e mployed drug dea ler with a long histor y of crimin al activity (n ot represen ted by a court-a ppointed auorn ey) was g ive n six month s of weekend-only reporting to th e county jail. He h ad no d e p e nd e nts and was wearing a designer outfi t wh ich cost two times as much as my damn ed restitution, and that's with court costs figured in. New Yo rk , Ne w Yo rk , bi g c ity of drea ms, eve r ything in New Yo rk ain ' t always what it seems. You mi g ht b e bobbing you r he a d when you hear Dogg Pound 's rendi tion o f th e song, but I bet the State of 1ew Yot·k wasn't wh e n it awa rded 85 fe male prisone rs at Albio n Correctional Facility $1,000.00 each. The wom e n h ad been video-ta ped while being strip-sea rch ed. T h e co mpl aint, file d by Pri o n Legal Services, sta ted tha t "Male guards had forced [ th e women] to remove th eir c loth in g a nd touch t hemse lves 111 faced 17 co unts-three of whi ch were first d egr ee crimin al sex u al co nduct cha rges which each carry a maxi mum of li fe-involving fi ve pri so n e r s, was allowed to plead because, as prosecutor Arthur A. Bush put it, "The victims are convi c ts ... a jury mi g h t not b e lieve the m." So Bond , who faced three counts o f first-degree rape , nine co unts of gend e r intimida ti on and five co unts o f fourth-degree criminal sex ual co nduct, was give n an "alta boy p lea" a nd sent on down the road. Will so mebody te ll me why th e fuck it's so hard to be lieve these wome n ? They risked taking some se rious sanctions- including d isciplinary action which could result in th eir getting more time-by exposing th e guard. Vio le nce against and sexual vio la tion o f wome n and c hildren is d eal t with unfairly in th e courts; vio le nce aga inst women priso n e rs is ra re ly eve n dealt with a t al l. Pe rha ps if th e p erpe tra tors of suc h cr im es were purs u e d a n d prosecuted as zealously as crack addicts, then the guards a nd adm inisu-ators who this had ha ppen ed to he r." The o rficial reply to the grievance: "Officer X does not ad mit to condu ctin g a n improper sea r c h of yo ur p e rso n. No furth e r evid e n ce s upports yo ur contentio n . Office r X h as been train e d i n th e pro p er tec hn iqu e for pri so n e r s h akedow n s and has the ri g h t to p e rform a p a td ow n sea r c h of yo ur breast area. Personal observation of th e p e r so n a l s h akedown te c hniqu e of Office r X ... d o not ind ica t e any improprie ti es. Officer X wi ll be asked to revie w th e training modu le o n search tec hniq ue. G ri evance d en ie d ." How ma ny women does th e officer ge t to feel up before he is t·eprimanded? I d on 't ge t it. If th ere wasn' t anything wro n g, wh y th e hell does he n eed to review th e freaki n ' module? Moreove r, d id they really th ink this guy was going to fo ndle the woman 's breasts in front of his supe ri o r officers-who, by the way, h ave bot h h a d sex ual h a rass m e nt grievances lodged agai nst the m? In fact, th e office r in question has a history of "The victims are convicts ... a jury might not believe them." sexually p rovocative ways," while "other mal e gua rds we re wa tching throug h a p a rtly-o pened door. " ew Yo rk DOC spo kes man J a m es Flatea u sa id in respon se to the claim , "Th ere was no fee ling t h at a n yt hi n g in ap pro priate occ urred. " Pri son Lega l Se r vices co unte re d with : "T h e n wh y did they settle?" We all know if the stale ain't got to, it ain ' t gonna g ive up sh it, especially to a bunch o f cons. I'm n o t ta lking about so me midd leclass Black heroines who are "waiting to exhale." I'm talking about incarcerated wome n, the majority o f who m are poor a nd minority, a nd ar e mor e l ike ly 1vaiting to throw the fuck up. H ere in Michigan, th e Flin t j o urna l re ported rece ntly th a t "Former prison g ua rd, Rand y A. Bo n d , pl e ad ed no co n tes t to o n e co unt each of founh degree c rimin a l sexual co ndu c t a nd ge nde r intimidation. He was sente nced to three years probation and 90 days in j ail. " Randy's j ail te rm was to be ser ved in coo peration wit h th e Work Re lease Progra m so he wouldn 't lose out o n any of his livelihood. Mr. Ra ndy Bond's "no contest" plea a nd his sente nce may see m like a pre u y fa ir d eal. After a ll , th e women in question are convicted felons a nd we a ll kn ow that th e Am e ri ca n inju sti ce sys te m d oes n o t pro tect women, the poo r, or the unpo pular. In fact, form e r guard Bo n d , wh o initially 48 PRISON lifE November 1996 comm it these c rim es be hind th e walls would be exposed. j o hn Truscott, spokespe r so n for Mich iga n Governor J o h n Engles, to ld the Flint j ournal, "Fed eral investigators h ad n o h a rd eviden ce of th e sex u a l a buse a nd intimidation in the Michigan prisons .... All they have is hearsay from a couple of priso ne rs." Being as I am a convicted felo n with a h isto ry of theft-by-check and c redit-card fraud , I m ay n ot be th e m ost re lia b le source. So le t's hear it from a credible, tax-paying law-a biding a tto rn ey-at-law, who, in a le u e r to t h e Wa rd e n a t Flore n ce Crane Women 's Facility, wrote, "As ea rly as 1988, t h is office r [Ra nd y Bond] h as been th e su bj ec t of a llegations of physical and ve rbal abuse against women prisone rs... .ln 1988 [he] was n ot discip lined d espite an allegation of sexual assault which was substantiated by a polygt-aph exam ....The deparunent stated that they ' ... did n o t recog ni ze prisoner testimony, no r d o we recognize results of po lygraph examinations."' Th ey don ' t r ecognize pri so n e r testimony? Prison er testimo ny d id see m irre leva n t when a Fl o re n ce Cra n e priso ner initia ted a grieva n ce alleging th at "duri ng tl1 e sh a ked own Officer X cupped each of my breasts in his hands and lifted them up." The staff response to h e r claim was "Othe r prisoners were also inte r viewed and only o ne said that a ll ega ti o n s o f sexual h a ra ss ment g ri eva n ces lodged aga ins t him. H ow d oes h e avo id e mployee disc iplina r y ac ti o n ? He r etal ia tes with m ajo r misconduct c ha rges, wh ich can be pre tty intim id a tin g . Officer X c harge d th e woman who lodged the above complaint against him with a n 026 insole nce . She was eve ntual ly found n ot g uilty, not beca us e th e h ea ring inves tiga t o r d isbelieved the officer's a llegations, bu t b ecause a hearing on the charges "was n o t r esc h ed ul ed in a tim e ly m an n e r .... Acco rdin g ly, the c h arge is dismissed without findings of fact as to th e allega tio ns." It would appear that th ey d eliberately le t the time expire in order th a t n o rulin g wou ld have to be hand ed down. Howeve r, one prison e r did n ot esca p e major miscon du c t disciplinary actio n in retalia tion fo r h er cla im s of sex u a l harass m e nt aga ins t O fficet· X. The prisoner had won local acclai m in Michiga n State Unive rsity's a nnu a l Art Be hind Ba rs co ntes t, e nte rin g a coll age whi ch in c lu ded a maj o r misconduct ticket from Officer X. Th e pri sone r, h av in g just ta ke n a sh owe r, re turn ed to he r c ubicle wrapped in a towel. The office r claimed h e was making his rounds. However, Ms. Neal claims tha t the officer stood the re a nd observed h e r in h er towe l and aue mpt ed to e n gage h e r in conve rsati o n , eve n after sh e asked him SEX IN PRISON Art by FA.Q to leave. His 032 Creating a Disturba nce s tates, "At 2150 h r s, 11 / 20/ 95, [P r isoner] #22 1115 was lo ud and abusive at th is officer's desk. Sh e was given three direct orders to quiet d own and return to h e r a rea of con trol. Sh e went back to h e r a rea ye lling in th e Long Wing h allway 'Yo u can ' t kick me ou t of the sh ower,' b ring ing the Lo ng Wing area inmates to th e ir respec tive doorways during a critical co unt tim e. She co nti n u ed yelling in h e r cubi cal area a nd upon investigation , I found her ye lling "H e can't ki c k me ou t of th e showe r. I'm not a dog!' from a d istance of no less than four feet. [Prisoner] #221115 was agai n given a d irect order to qu ie t down a nd keep her opinions to he rself. At tha t time Neal replied, 'If you do n 't leave me a lone right now, I ' m goi n g to press sex u a l h a r ass m e nt c h arges o n yo u. ' T his was said loud e nough for the wh ole of the Long Wing population to h ear in a n a ttemp t to humiliate, emba rrass a nd intimidate this office r a nd im pede his effective ness in th e un it at a critical count time." Whe n d1e prisoner was asked to give a statement a t the time of review for the charge, she simply said , "I grieved Officer X on that night for sexual harassment and he is retaliating." The prisoner continues to p ursu e th e matter with outs ide age ncies. She is distra ught that priso n offi cials refuse to relocate he r from the unit, where Officer X fi-equendy works. "So me days it is ve r y difficu lt," sh e confides. "I a m angry, but still I just cry some days, realizing t hat whenever they wan t, they can fuc k you , squ eeze you, touc h you, watch you and, even though there is at least one fema le office r a t this fac ility who has gotten positive court action in a case invo lving co-wo rkers who sh e a lleged sex ua lly ha rassed her, the female officers just go rig ht a lo n g with it. Ta lki n g t o a wo m a n staff member about sexu a l h arassme n t is just as in timidating as talking to a man and just as degrading." Th e New Yo rk Tim es repo rted recently t h a t Feli ta Dob bin s, d o in g t i me a t Bedfo rd H ill s Co rrectio n a l Facility in New York State, was awa k ened o n e morn i ng by so m eo n e tapping on h e r shoulde r. The re was a gua rd 1 standin g n ext to h e r bed, s t e pping o ut of hi s pants. Dobbins told prosecu tors tha t the guard demanded oral sex and left her with a war ning, "You te ll a nyone, yo u know what I'll d o." The prisoner kept he r wits about h e r, savi ng the gu ard 's semen in a perfume bottle so it could be used as evide nce. But she didn't th ink a nyon e wou ld believe he r. "In their eyes I was a c rimina l," sh e said, "so why no t go with th e officer?" The state of Illinois, like ma ny states, has no grievan ce proced ures or policies forb idding prison gua rds from having sex with prisoners. T h e Chicago SunTimes reported that "National H uman Rig h ts Watc h Wome n ' s Proj ec t is ex p ecte d to blas t t h e Illi n o is De parunen t of Correcti ons fo r a lack of ove rs ig ht a nd blam e th e syste m fo r alleged massive sexual misconduct at its facilities .... State prison officials d e ny a proble m exists, but last year there were 51 comp laints of sex u a l assa ults in Illi nois priso n s, and adm in istrators co ul d n ot say whethe r t h ey in volved priso ne rs against prisonet·s or em ployees agai n st pri so n e rs, n or co ul d th ey provide statistics for p rior years." A 1995 repo r t t itled "Rape of Incarcerated Americans" states that "the on ly d ata o n sex u al assa ult aga inst female prisoners derives from [a] survey of a m idwestern state's women 's prison which found d1at 7.7 percent had been 'pressu red or forced ... to h ave sex ua l contact against t11eir will' in that prison." Some of you may be thinking: those wome n h ave been co nvic ted o f crimes such as solicitation , possession of drugs, th e ft, eve n mu rde r, in cludi ng th e murd e r of c hil dren. So what if some guard wants to get his d1ing off on them, so fuckjng wh at? You can't expect the State to protect every woman who claims rape as th e result of a prison guard's action or inaction. Well, boys and girls, I eve n have a littl e some thin ' for yo u skeptics. Priso n Legal News repo rted: "In Septe mbe r, 1995, a jury held that a prison gua rd who was raped by prison er Eric Davidson should receive $995,093 in damages. The jury h e ld that a n oth er guard, Roosevelt Sherrod, prodded Davidson into comm itting th e rape by mak ing sexua l jokes wit h him and placing a bet as to who wou ld be the first perso n to have sex with th e fe mal e guard. Davidson won the bet o n J anuary 27, 1993, wh e n h e g ra bbed t11e gua rd, dragged her into his cell a nd raped her repeated ly for 90 mi n utes dur ing a standoff with prison offic ials. It is u ncl ea r who will pay the j ur y award, Sherrod or t h e State. Davidso n was transferred to a Control U ni t, and two weeks la ter was 'discovered' hung in his cell, an 'apparent suicide.'" Pe rh aps it is too much to expect th e p u b lic to be appal led by the sexual vio lations of women behind bars, those who reside there a nd work there. But could somebody please tell me how we can ignore a visiting room sexual assau lt against a child? T he American Friends Serv ice Comm ittee reported in its newsleLLer th at prisone r rights gro ups were outraged after the sexual assault of a three-year-old at a Muskegon facility. "Since the assau lt on April 3, 1994," according to the article, "no fewer than five officia l investigations h ave b ee n conducted : three by th e MDOC, o ne by the legislative correctio ns ombudsman, a nd one by the Mus kego n County Prosecu tor 's Office. T hese investigations reveal that the h ig h est-ran king priso n officials at the facility adm it that they knew in advance of t11e p lot to assault the child, but did not know the options available to them to ensure the child was pro tected. " The news that eve n c hi ld visito rs cannot avoid rape behind prison walls (even when high-rankjng prison o fficials know it is about to happen) should get some asses moving, phone calls made, and serious activism happening. More an d more prisons are being b uilt every day. More a nd m or e women a re November 1996 PRISIII UIE 49 SEX IN PRISON being ware h o u sed in t h ese priso n s. Many, like me, have painful h istories of so m e typ e of sex ual vio la ti o n aga inst th e m. I' m no t trying to make women in prison o u t to be victims, but I think we have a n obli gati on to h e lp th ose who ca nn o t h e lp th e mselves. Ma ny wo me n "don 'ttell" because they are a fraid. Le t me tell you a bout a woman who was bulldaggcr women to fuck a pretty young thing like you, and you and I arc going to watc h ." Every day that he worked, he came by he r cell, g ra bbing h is d ick and asking he r if she was read y to "suck this." She wou ld cry and not talk to h im. She p rayed every day to j ust di e. We ll , she didn't d ie. She moved on to the general po pulation and she got schooled on her I wrote this story for every guard who has ever patted me down and felt me up ... sex ua ll y vio lated startin g a t the age o f three, who lived a care less, e mo tio nallywrecked life tha t led to criminal be havio r, which lan ded her in prison. Whi le she was still in quarantine, a guard harassed her for 14 days sua.igh t. During h is shift he would call her out of her cell to shake her d ow n . He fo nd le d her breasts, pinched her vulva lips throug h her pants a nd wo uld st a nd beh ind h er erec t , whisperi ng things like, ''You are so pretty, I' m goi n g to fuc k you. If you do n 't le t m e, I' m goi n g to get o n e of th ose rights. Before she could file a g rievance, the same o fficer, who beca me a sergeant, ' vas arrested o n murder charges. So m ew h ere in so m e priso n that former guard migh t be reading this. He mi g ht eve n kn ow the humili a tion o f some strange r whispet·ing in his ear o n his first day of prison, ''You are so pre tty, I'm gonna have to make you my pre tty Iii' bitch," o r o f having a gu ard wa lk by ever y clay and ask him "Ar c you ready to suck th is?" as he exposes his erect pe n is. I wrote this story fo r every g uard who Mark R. Lippman has ever pa tted me down and felt me up while doing so. I wrote it for every gua rd who has loo ked up my ass in sea rch of co ntraba nd , fo r every tim e I h ad to shake, grab and raise my breast.~ as some n a t-c h ested, si lico n e-wa ntin ' fe m a le g ua rd co m mented about the "largeness and nice size of my nipples" o r wanted to know perti nent information about my 36D's like, "Does your man miss those?" I wrote it for a ll o f th e m , beca use I wanted to say, "Suck this!" ~ FOR MORE INFORMATION: StofJ Prisoners Rape, Inc. is devoiR-11 to ball ling against the rajJe of incan;emted persons of all genders and ages. Reach them on the lntemel at: http://ru!llTu. igc. ape. org/spr or write: StojJ Prison Rape P.O. Bux2713 Mrmhallcmville Station New Yorh, NY 10027-8817 Human Rights Walch is CU1Tently dcing reser£rdt into I he fJivblem of jJrison rafJI': when it occurs, wh)' it occurs, how it occurs and how to stofJ it from occurring. 17U!)' arc at: Plison Project, Human Rights Watch, 485 Fifth Avenue, 3nl Flo01; New Yorlt, N l' 10017, 111/enlion:j. Mminer. Appellate Practitioner Federal Criminal Appeals White Colla0 Drug, Fraud, Bank RobberYt and other federal cases Briefed two cases and argued one before the United States Supreme Court NACDL white collar criminal defense committee member Advisory panel member of "The Champion " Represent clients throughout the federal system Mark R. Lippman Attorney at Law 8070 La Jolla Shores Drive, #437, La Jolla, CA 92037 (61 9) 456-9228 so PRISON Uff No,·ember 1996 \N (ELL CooKING PA~TA P~i~O BODA,XOU~ BU~RXTO~ 1 medium onion 1 jalapeno pepper 1 tomato 1 can V-8 juice 1 bag Ramen noodles (Texas beef or chili flavor) 1 beef salami 4 teaspoons lemon juice (or to taste) salt and pepper to taste 8 flour tortillas Half a bottle hot sauce 1 six oz can w hite chunk t urkey 1 hot beef summer sausage, diced 1 eight oz jar jalapeno cheese spread 1 fifteen oz can chili with beans 1 sandwich bag shredded lettuce 17 crushed saltine crackers 2 jalapeno peppers, diced Slice up the tomato and onion into fairly thin slices. Dice jalapeno pepper. Cook/microwave these items for two minutes. Add Ramen noodles seasoning packet. Once these items are tender, dice up the beef salami into bitesize chunks and add to the vegetables. Cook for another two minutes. Boil the Ramen noodles and drain. Add the V-B (3/4 of an 11 . 5 oz can or 3 small cans) to the noodles. Mix the meat and vegetables in with the lemon juice and sauced noodles. Stir and set aside for five minutes. Enjoy! Tip: Serve hot-goes great with tortilla chips. -Ortiz FCI Phoenix M~~. MOO~E.'~ E.tf,XL-LOT'A-BU~~XTO~ Mix hot sauce, turkey, sausage, cheese spread, peppers and chili in crock pot and cook for four hours. Stir thoroughly every 30 minutes. [Add crackers at last stirring). Boil a 3 qt. bowl of water with stinger till you get a rolling boil. Then stretch a clean T-shirt over bo~l and secure it with a rubber band. Keep water at a rolling boil to steam tortilla shells (one shell at a time turning every 15 seconds till soft). Add 4 heaping spoons of mix to shells, adding chilled lettuce. Roll and eat. Wash down with frosty chilled sodas. Clean-up Note: use left-over boiling water to soak crock pot. -Brent A. Ellis, MCC Moberly ~LAM DOWN TAMALE. 2 or 3 three oz cans white ch icken meat 1 five oz summer sausage (or substitute hot links or bacon) 2 pkgs cheese (2 different kinds) 1 six oz can olives 1 six oz tub salsa 1 bottle Ranch dressing 1 pkg tortillas 2 tbs butter jalapeno and garl ic powder 4 Ramen or Marachuan soups, 2 beef and 2 chili 1 can roast beef drained and cut up (you can substit ute summer sausage) 2 boiled eggs chopped 1 jalapeno optional, cut up 1 large bag chili Fritos 1 large bag crunchy Cheetos 1 large bag hot pork skins 1 trash bag small 1 newspaper 4-5 cups boiling water Chop chicken, sausage and jalapeno (to taste). Combine in hot pot or bowl for microwave. Season to taste with garlic powder. Heat. Chop olives and grate one of the cheeses. Add both to meat mixture. Butter one side of tortillas, steam one at a time over hot pot. Spoon heaping amount of mixture onto tortillas. Top mixture with Ranch dressing to taste. Roll up like a burrito. Top burritos with second package of grated cheese. Spoon salsa on top to taste. Heat burritos in microwave 1 1 /2 to 2 minutes [till cheese melts). -Sara Harder Nevada Women's Correctional Center Open soups halfway to remove flavor packets. Crush the packages of Ramen or Marachuan. Crush Fritos, pork rinds and Cheetos in their own bags. Add 1 / 2 bag of crushed Fritos, 1 /2 bag crushed pork rinds and 1 /2 bag crushed Cheetos to trash bag. Add crushed soups. Mix all dry ingredients together until mixed well. Add beef, egg, pepp.er and mix up some more. Add fiavor packets to 2 cups bo1hng water, mix up and add to bag of dry ingredients. Mush up "really well" adding next two cups of boiling ~ater. The . consistency should be thick, not soupy. Roll 1nto a loaf, be bag and wrap in newspaper for approximately 5-1 0 minutes. Open up and Pig Out. Feeds 34. Note: Remember you've got enough Fritos, pork rinds and Cheetos for another round. - David R. Egbert E.S.P. November 199() PRISON LifE 51 F reedom mea ns diffe re nt things to diffe re nt people. To the ave rage Ame ri can , who has neve r bee n locke d up, neve r h ad his o r h e r li b erty c urtail e d muc h beyo nd being to ld how fast th ey may dri ve and how much of the ir pay c h ec k th ey must turn ove r to the government, free d o m is take n fo r grante d . We live in th e United Sta tes, land of the free a nd h o m e o f th e brave. We sp eed a nd ch ea t on o ur taxes, o r we o bey th e speed limit a nd p ay Uncle Sam ever y ce nt o f his blood mo ney. We a re no t in prison , th e refo re we must be free. Even if the governme nt-and, by exte nsio n , the po lice, who a re me re ly the stro ng a rm o f th e governme nt- has gradua lly asserted m ore a nd more contro l over the day to day aspects o f o ur lives, mo ·t Ame ricans still believe we a re a free people. T h ey have fo rgouc n , o r n ever knew, th e wo rds of Tho mas J e ffe rson, who to ld us tha t libe rty re quires co nstant vigila nce. To many of the reade rs of Prison Life magazine-th ose who a re servin g time, those wh o have b ee n in priso n a nd we re fo reve r cha nged by th e exp eri e n ce, o r those wi th a fri e nd, fami ly me m be r or loved on e locked up-freedom is as real a nd as fe lt as the re lief fro m pa in. To be in prison, to have a fri e nd o r loved o ne in prison , is to be in pa in, to feel th e 52 PRISON Lllf Novcm her 1996 consta nt gn awing ach e o f lo ne liness a nd se pa ra ti on , a nd to fe el acute ly the loss of libe rty and th e hum ilia ti on of captivity. We kn ow all th e be tte r what freedom means once it has bee n take n away from us. But by the n it is too late. Ha rr y Browne, th e Libertari a n ca ndida te fo r President, bases his p la tform o n the theo ry tha t the unwi edly, expe nsive bureaucracy we know as the fed eral governme nt not o nly does no t wo rk to preser ve o ur libe n y but ac tua ll y su bverts the fund a m e nta l pre mi ses o f o ur sys te m o f gove rnm e nt by intruding o n m a tte r s th a t s h o uld n o t b e s ubj ec t to governme nta l co ntrol. In the na me of de fe nd ing us aga inst Communism , wh ich collapsed of its own bureaucratic we ight, a nd now drugs and crim e, the fed e ral governm e nt a nd the hu ge co r poratio n s th a t own it h ave d es troyed th e g r ea t expe rime nt tha t was American de mocracy. Wha t we have now is a n ascent police state run by inc reasing ly powerful federal agen ts. If you want a look at the Ame rica of the future, e nte r a m ax imum sec urity fed e r a l pri so n . Tec hn o lo gy a nd governme nt have mutated to become a beast called Security. Security h as beco me th e co mm odity th e gove rnm e nt se lls best. T he idea is that if we can just build e no ugh prisons, we will a ll be secure . We will beco me like th e Prison Life logo , one nation behind bars. room in the prisons because the cells I m e t wit h H a rr y Brown e in Los a r e ta ke n up with pot s mok ers and Ange les. H arr y was o n the West Coast other p eo pl e who are n o threa t to makin g a numbe r of ca mpai g n a nyone e lse. The typical po litician sees a pp ea r ances. We arranged to ge t th e o nly solutio n to any socia l proble m toge th e r in H o ll ywood where I was as more governm ent, whe n actua lly the h a n g ing wit h so m e ex-co n fri e nd s. real solutio n is less government, to get Wh e n th e ca ndidate a rrive d , Da nn y th e gover nm e nt o ut o f th e socia l Trej o, whose striking visage-a face that a re na. And, in this case, to let people wou ld stop a runaway train-graced the out of p rison . cover of our Marc h-April '96 iss u e, RS: H ow do you fee l a b ou t th e opened the door to leave just as Harry esca la ti o n of law e n forcement by and company arrived. Can you imagi ne . fed e ral police agenc ies? wha t Bob Dole or Bill Clinto n or even HB: T h e founding fat he rs wou ld be Ross Pe rot wou ld have done if th ey had a g h ast to kn ow t h a t th e r e a re a n y showed up for a n intervi ew a nd bee n fed e ral police forces at a ll, because th ey greeted by Da nny Trej o? They wou ld wa rn e d aga inst the idea of a natio n al h ave ru n a nd h ad th e Secret Service po lice fo rce. T h a t 's wh at t h ey h ad in guys bust Trejo just for looking like such Europe , and the idea o f hav ing a a bad dude. Harry Browne took it all in nati o na l police force was an a thema to stride. We sat on a patio at th e rear of th e m . But tod ay we have the DEA, the m y friend's hom e a nd th e man wh o BATF, the FBI, and a ll these o the r police sh ould be the Preside nt did no t seem age n c ies. Eve n FDA agents go in to the least bit uncomfo rtable at being in vita min stores carrying guns. It makes the prese nce o f ex-convicts. He looked no sense a t a ll. And it leads to events li ke me right in the eye a nd I had the feeling Waco an d Ruby Rid ge, whi c h , whil e th at h e believes wh a t h e says, a n d, if s p ec ta c ul a r exa mpl es, a re n o t e lected, h e would carry out his pa rty's exceptio na l examples at a ll. Things like p la n t o preserve o ur li berty by th a t are going on a ll the time; th ose dismantl ing the federal governme n t. were the most egregious examples, the most vio le nt examples. But tha t kind of in timidation a nd th a t ki nd of aggressive n ess h as b een go ing o n fo r Richard Stratton: We're inte r ested in years a nd yea rs wit h fede t·a l p o li ce what you have to say abo ut releasing forces. An d those p olice fo rces are too n o n-viole nt drug prison ers a nd n o n- far re moved from the people and from vio le n t, victim less crime o ffe nd ers. any kind of control or an y kind of public Yo u ' re probably awa re that around 70 ce nsure whatsoever. If a local sheriff gets percent o f the people who are locked up too tough on people a nd starts creating in federal prisons are there for drugs pro bl e ms, h e's brought d ow n by t h e a nd drug-rel a ted crim es. C linto n h as peop le in that community. But nobody pro mised to continu e o n th e prese nt can bring down th e federal police forces di sas t ero u s co urse. D o le wants t o exce pt th e po liti c ia n s, a n d the escalate the war o n drugs, bri ng in th e po liticians don't want to do it. Any time we turn som eth ing ove r to military. What is your position? Harry Browne: We do n ' t need tough e r government it becom es a political issue. se nten ces. We d o n 't need more And it tl1e n becomes a case of who's got priso ns. We don' t need hi g h e r taxes. t h e m os t p o liti cal influ e n ce to We d o n ' t n eed m ore invas io ns o f our de te rm ine how some thing is go ing to be civil libe rties. What we nee d is to get decided . And in the case of crime, tl1e the no n-vio le n t c rimina ls o ut of p rison . poli t ical influe n ce is main ly co min g Get the victimless crime offe nde rs out fro m law enforceme nt age n cies, fro m of priso n a nd m ake room for t h ose b u rea u cracies wh o adm in iste r th ese who really are terrorizing people in the th ings. Who is the re to stand up fo r our stree ts. Those p eople are very ofte n rig h ts? T here's th e ACLU a nd peo ple getting out on early re leases o r by plea- like that. But th ey are ofte n d ismissed ba rga ining simply beca use there's n o out of h and as simply, "Oh , he re comes ****** t h e AC LU again . They object t o anyth ing," wh en in fact what they're doing is trying to say tl1at the innocent n eed to be protected. The q uesti o n is always framed in te rms of, "Should we suspend civil liberties for th e gui lty? We are not going to be able to catch them un less we do." But when we suspe nd civi l liberties fo r the gui lty, we're also suspen din g them for th e in nocent. And n o law enforcement agen t knows fo r sure who is in nocent a n d who is gu il ty. We are giving th e po lice m an th e powe r to m ake t h a t d ecision; to search and to seize, to hassle somebody. H e's maki ng the decision in advance. T he Bill of Rights was designed to defend against that. To co n t in ue in this vein, my on ly litmus test for a federal judge wi ll be: Do you believe in the Bill of Righ ts as an abso lu te, unqualified , un exceptio n a l d ocument? T ha t mean s that Americans have th e rig ht to free speech, even if th e gove rnm e n t doesn't like what we say, even if the govern me n t can demonstrate a compe lling interest in stopping us, we still have the r ig h t to speak freely. We have the right to keep and to bear arms, even if some lun at ic sh oo ts up a restaurant in Texas. We have a rig h t to be s<tfe from search and seizure, even if a DEA age n t thinks you or I fit t h e profile of a drug deale r. T h e Ni n t h and Tenth Amendme n ts say that tl1 e federal govern ment should not be involved in anything that isn ' t spelled out in tl1e constitution, that isn't spec ifi call y delegated to th e fede ra l gove rnm e n t by th e constitlltion. If a fede ral j udge agrees with that, tl1 en I'll p r o babl y n om inate hi m eve n i f r disagree with him on othe r th ings. But if he doesn't agree with that, I wouldn ' t nominate him even if I though t he had the wisdom of Solomon. RS: Do you see any role at a ll for federal law enforceme n t? HB: No. All crime is local. It takes place in t h e jurisd iction of a po lice d epartment, a sheriff's department, somewhe re. And tha t's whe re it sh ould be determined, that's where the criminal sh o uld be c h ased , that's where they should be prosecULed, that's where they sho uld be judged. And that's the only place tl1a t those tl1ings should take place. Novcrnbc•· 1996 PRISON llff 53 All that has c ha nged because of the If so mebody c rosses state lines, we already have all kinds of facilities for war on drugs creating th is blac k market coope ration b e tween law enforcement and this illegal enterprise with huge agencies. They extradite criminals back profits that give everybody an incentive to the state whe re the c rime took p lace. to get into the business. And of co urse local law en forcement RS: What about prisons? How do you age ncies can subscribe to a data bank or see prisons being managed? I think if we anything e lse th at provides fingerprint d id wh at yo u 're proposing, wh ich certainly we advocate too, you'd empty information , all o f that. We need to get away from relying on out the prisons. somebody that we can't get o ut from HB: You would need, at the very most, under the thumb of. And this a pplies to one federa l prison, which wou ld be a ll kinds of things in government, like about the size of this house. Because the the FDA and othe r regu lations that are only federal c rimes are treason , piracy supposedly for o ur safety. Le t us choose and counterfeiting. So, what would you need fede ral prisons for? The first thing whom we put our trust in. RS: T he re's a case I'm sure you ' re aware we'd do is sell the federal prisons to the o f, the case offederal judge Ha rold Baer states and let them use th e m for in New Yo rk. He threw o ut some drug common c rim es. There are a lot of evidence beca use h e said it had been things that cou ld be done to improve seized illegally a nd the cops had lied. Fro m Clinton, right on down from the Preside nt, th e politicians exerted such pressure o n judge Baer, t h reatened to re m ove h im from the Be n c h , th at he reversed his own ruling. HB: Which is a good exa mple, once aga in , where it's become a political issue-n ot a sc ie ntifi c iss u e, not a c riminal o r forensic issue , not a medical issu e o r a n e ducationa l issue. It's a po litica l iss u e. And it a lways will be when you turn these th ings over to the government. That's why we Libertarians don ' t loo k to manage government better, or to try to reform it, but to get as muc h out of the h a nds of prison co nditions. But those would be gove rnm e nt as possibl e. Everything state m a tters and local m a tters; they having to do with drugs should be out sh o uldn ' t be d ictated by t h e federal of the hands o f government. Peo p le government because th e federal who a rc going to ruin their lives with governme nt will just make them worse, drugs are going to h ave to rely on the ir as it has with everything else it stuck its family a nd friends. Th e police can't nose into. stop drug a buse, all the police can do is But as individuals, we can't he lp but make a ll of ou r lives miserable by trying think that there are a lot of things that to stop those people who choose to use the states could do to improve priso n illegal drugs. conditions. The way it's se t up nowThe point is, we cannot turn this over obviously I don't need to tell you thisto the government because government somebody who is not a criminal goes in h as made a mess of it. Crime a nd drug th e re and he comes o ut a criminal. u se have both escalated trem e ndously Somebody goes in b eca use h e was sin ce the war on drugs started in th e caught with marijuana, or whateve r it 1960s. The crime ra te and the homicide may be, but when he comes out a few ra te from the end of pro hibition to the years late r he is a criminal. He's lost all early 1960s went down year after year his self-respect, he's lost the ability to get until the war on drugs started . And now, a j o b, h e 's lost all th ese other rights. i t's been so lo ng, 30 yea rs, we don't And he 's also become bitter and cynical, reme mbe r what it was like to walk the because the people who are supposedly streets. I'm 63 years o ld , I g rew up here protecting him in prison turn th eir face in L.A. a nd 1 can remember what it was away and let the prison be run by gangs like to wa lk to the movies in Sherman and corrupt guards. The prisoner h as O a ks o n a Friday night. Come home at no faith whatsoever in any kind of a 10:00 at night, there were no muggers system whe n h e or sh e comes out, and on the stree ts, there were no pushers, the only thing that makes any sen se is to n o gangs, n o ne of t h is existed . But I go into crime, start getting into stick-ups wo uldn ' t walk through there now, I and things like that. I ' m not saying don ' t know tha t I'd even do it at 10:00 everybody, obviously, but this is where in the morning. the pressure lies. 54 PRISON Ull November 1996 It's a very bad system. And it's made worse by putting in one pot all of these different people whose conditio ns are so drastically different. A pot smoker is not a r e p eat violent offender, and he sh ouldn't be punished like that. A tax evade r sh o u ldn't be in prison a m o ng violent offende rs. I mean, an accountant who has defrauded somebody shouldn't be there e ith e r. Now, so me politician will say it will teach him never to do it again, but the fact of the matter is that the punishment is supposed to fit the crime. And th e way it is now, it doesn't. RS: What you have said ab o ut making criminals repay their victims is wha t we call restorative justice. As the system now operates, if yo u steal someone's car, then the state takes over a nd the whole process has nothing more to do with the victim; whereas, with t h e co n cept of restorative justice, the communi ty would say, "You stole this pe rson's car, now you owe t h at p e rson for th e ca r, a nd you have to repay them directly." The pe rson who was injured by the cri m e is recompe nsed. HB: I agree with that. And if you have someone who just keeps doing these things over and ove r aga in and never does m a ke restitution, then you m ay have to take more drastic steps. But to imprison people as a matte r of courseto lock them up in prison a nd throw away th e key for minor crimes-makes no sense whatsoever. Not surprising ly, we h ave this eno rmou s prison population as a result. The only answer we h ea r from the other candida tes seems to be more prisons, more police and higher taxes an d more bond issues and on and on and on. RS: What we hope to do with t h is magazine is to get pri so n ers-n onviolent drug prisoners by a nd large, but all prisoners who ar e interested in tl1ese issu es- to reach out to th eir family m e mbers- at least five people- reac h out to p eo ple who ca n vo t e and te ll t h em to get in touch with l oca l politicians a nd le t them know they're not going to vote for these people un less they change their policies on crime and crime control. HB: CreaL That's a good plan. RS: I think it cou ld become a ve r y powerful voting block. HB: Oh, yeah . The prison population is getting to be the largest mino.-ity in the cou ntry. RS: A m illion and a half people locked up. HB: And all of their families who are concerned about them. RS: It's amazing how quickly the families of p eople wh o go to prison get radicalized as far as the criminal justice system is concerned. HB: Good. I'm glad to hear that. RS: It happens almost overnigh t. The next day they are saying, "This isn't right." Before they see one of their own fa mily members ge t locked up, ma ny people have this notion of crimin als being another breed of p eople; but once someone they know goes to prison, their ideas about cri me and pun ishme n t c hange drastically. HB: In my inte rest, on e thing I would like those people to know is what I say in my book, tha t on my first day in office I will pardon everyo n e wh o h as been fo und gu ilty of a federal non-viole nt drug offense, and ever yone who's been fou nd gui lty of a n o n-vi o l ent g un conu·ol offense, and ever yon e who has been fo und g uil ty of every kind of victimless crime. I will get them ou t of prison immediately. We could get laws through congress, we co uld d o a lot o f things, but that would get all bogged down, it would get watered down, all kinds of undesirable · things would happen. So the easiest and really vio lent, it's just because there was a gun invo lved, even if the gun wasn't used in the commission of the crime. If there was a gun on the premises where you were arrested, you are considered a vio lent criminal. You are the only candidate who's eve n close to saying what we believe is the r ight co urse for America. This d ri ft toward a p o li ce s tate is terrify in g. Having been in federal priso n, I know wh at it's like to h ave cops constantly con tro lli ng every aspect of yo ur life. And as you say in your book, and we have said in our magazine, if we can 't keep drugs o u t of maximum-security prisons, how are we ever going to keep them off the streets? HB: It's crazy. RS: The war on drugs is insane. Except it makes sense from the p o li tic ians' standp o in t. It's a great rall ying cry because they can talk about our children being corrupted by drugs. When really, if it's taught at home that abusing drugs will ruin your life, kids get th e message. instead of adults. And it will just go o n the way it was before except it will all be a imed at children. So one way or another, they'll do it badly. Wh e n th e reform fi n a ll y comes, like al l other governmen t re fo r ms, it will be done badly. Instead of just sim ply wiping the drug laws off the books. On the other hand, if I'm Presidentif somehow or other th at happensth e n maybe it will be done correctly. Because I won 't allow it to be done any other way; I won't sign a bill that wi ll foolishly j ust redirect all of these energies into some oth er channel. RS: Wh at is your pos it ion o n gu n con trol? I consider myself a Libe rtarian, but because of wha t the magazine stands fo r, often there are liberals attracted to our issues, and I get into arguments with them about gun conu·ol. They say, "It's the guns, stup id." And we say, "No, it's not the g uns. It's the laws. " Criminals, as you point out in your book, do n ' t buy guns legally; it's a big black market. No criminal is going to get on a waiti ng list On my first day in office I will pardon everyone who has been found guilty of a federal non-violent drug offense. sim plest and fastest way to do this is on the fi rst day in offi ce to pardon these peop le. A blanket pardon for a ll of them. Maybe in th e process of pardoning h alf a mi llion people, there may be one or two, or five or ten, or a hundred or a thousand who get ou t who maybe for some other reason shouldn ' t have gotten out. But it wi ll b e a small price to pay for getting back into society h alf a million people before they' re corrup ted beyond redemption by being in prison. And also it will free up prison space immediately, which we would th en turn over to the states to use to lock up the real thugs, and they would have no excuses a nymore for letting the viole n t thugs out on plea bargains. RS: T h ere are so few irredeemable criminals. Our experi e n ce is that less than ten perce nt of th e prison popu lati o n are vio l e nt, predatory criminals. HB: Really? RS: Yes. You see, what they term "violen t criminals," a re ofte n not really vio le nt people at al l. For instance, I know a woman who's doing 66 years in federal priso n for cocaine possession. T h ey called it violent because there was a gun in h er car-n ot h e r gun, it was h er boyfriend's gun- but the g un made the cri me violent. She can't get p arole, she's treated like she was an armed robber or some really violent criminal. So a lot of th ese so-called violent criminals are not HB: One thing I will say is that in the last two years, since I've been running for President, the public attitude on this subject h as changed visibly. You can see the difference in the calls to talk shows. It was hysterical two years ago. People would ca11 in and say, "Oh, you're going to h ave he ro in machines in th e rest rooms, eve r ybody's go nn a get high! " a nd so forth. Now, at worst, what we get is polite disagreement. And you don't get locked in th e issue, wi t h peop le screami n g, "H ow could you possibly advocate this!" The at titud e to the drug war is c hanging. And I think that in the next two or three years there will be a ch ange in the laws. But the problem is that it will b e some kind of a weasel ch ange; it wi ll be some kind of a compromise that really doesn't solve the problem. And as is so often t h e case with su c h a compromise, th e ch ange will get blamed for whatever problems ensue after that. It will be something like, it' ll be against th e law to se ll drugs but n o t to use them, or something like that, as though that is go ing to so lve th e prob lem. You're still going to h ave a black market, yo u 're s till going to h ave cri min a l e n terprises, you're still going to have a war on drugs. O r it will b e something like, th at we wil1 make it legal for adults but n ot for children. We ll, the n all the crim inal enterprises will be focused o n c hildren to buy a gun. HB: [laughs] Before he pulls h is liquor store job. RS: W h a t's i n teresting abou t the Libertaria n position is that it attracts people from both sides of the political spectrum. HB: What we ask people to d o when th ey come in to the party is we say, all right, yo u und ersta nd the prin ciple involved here, now apply it consistently across the board. Don't just apply it in this o n e area that brough t yo u to us, wheth er it's civil libe rti es o n one hand or econom ic freedom o n th e oth e r. If freedom is better t h a n force in government in that area, it's going to be in all these other areas too, where you wanted to use force, where you said the governmen t has to do this or do that. We ll, why is th e gove rnment going to work any better over the re th an it d id over here where yo u see how badly it's working? And it's a hard job sometimes to ge t people to see that, that it has to be across t he board. But at the sa me time, when people say, "You go too far," I simply say, "All you're sayin g is that I'm being consistent." I'm not going up to a certain point a nd th en throwing my pri n ciples away. Government d oes n' t work. It simply do esn 't work. So le t's qu it pre te ndin g that there are areas where government can do a good job. RS: Ri g ht. And if you b elieve th at government doesn't have a rig h t to tell November 1996 PBISDI Uff 55 people how to behave in the ir hom es, in th e ir famil ies, th en you hav e to b e consiste nt all th e way down th e line with that, like you r position o n a bortion . I was im pressed by that. HB: Good. RS: I don ' t ag ree with a bortio n , I wo uldn ' t want a n yo ne th a t I was invo lved with to have a n abortion. But by th e sa m e to ken, I thi nk it's eve r y woman 's right to ma ke th at decision for he rself. Or eve ry fa mi ly's rig ht. HB: \1\le ll , gove rnm en t certainly won ' t ma ke it correctly. RS: What's got to be done now in o rder to get yo u into the debates? HB: Eve rything th at we' re doing now is based o n wh e tl1 er or not it will ge t me into th e de ba tes. I've been o n a lot of talk rad io sh o ws-over 300 since the beginning o f the yea r. And so far, 125 talk radio hosts have e ndorsed th e idea of my being in the de bates. And acwally, probably almost a ll 300 of them would, but I just started ma king n o te of it in just the last six to eight weeks, so we ' re going back to a ll the othe r ones before th a t a nd ge ttin g t h e m to id e ntify th e mselves o n th is. And probably we will h ave we ll ove r 200 nam es to subm it to the debate commission . Th e n th e r e a re p eo ple like H ugh Dow n es and David Brode r a t th e Washington Post, a nd others who h ave come out and said d1at I should be in the d e bates. And we ' r e m o untin g le tterwr iting campaigns to th e debate commissio n , th e ne ws magazin es, to a ll tl1ese p laces. Getting people to call in to radio shows, to write le tters to tl1e editor, all of these things. To keep tll e pressure on. And it seems like every day some piece of news comes up d1at makes us close r. I would have tllought it was a long shot two mo nths ago, but right now it seems to be getting close to even running. RS: I h ave a fee li ng yo u ' re riding a g rowin g wave o f di sco nte nt with government. HB: Everybody kn ows a bout us this time. Fo ur years ago, n o body kn e w who we were. Now, n o body has to ask, "Who's Ha rry Brown e?" You don 't hea r people aying "I don ' t know anyth ing about d1e Libe rta rians, I don ' t know wh at support they have o r a nytlling e lse. " T hey all d o. And every day tlle}' know more a nd more about it. We've been com plete ly sh ut ou t by th e national media, and tlle on ly way, I think, th at we' ll break tllrough is if we get into the debates wi dwut tl1e national m ed ia. Th e n if I ' m in vited t o th e d e ba tes, my picture mig ht be o n Time magazine n ex t week: "vVho is this man?" And then we wi ll break in, we ' ll be o n th e even ing news, all those m ings. But those things don 't really get you votes, they just give peop le confidence 56 PRISON UfE o\"cmbc r 1996 in yo u ; th at yo u are a c r edi ble ca ndidate , that yo u ' 1-e respectab le because tlley' re talking about you. But a ten second so und bite is not goi ng to convince anybody to go ou t and vo te for H a rr y Brown e . T h e re a r e to o man y qu es ti o n s invo lved , like h ow are you going to fina nce d1e governme nt if you re p eal the in co m e tax. Isn ' t th a t the o nly reve nue that th ey have? Things like th aL Bu t it wou ld lend credibi li ty. In the meantime whe re we're getti ng th e s upport is th rough t h ese r adio interviews; I'm d oing press interviews all aro und the co untry, d aily newspapers, local te levisio n a nd so on. And you ' re probably aware of the Interne t polls. RS: T h e I nte rn e t is pote ntia lly ve r y powe rfu l. HB: All the politicians know about the n et. Th ey know that I ' m winnin g th e CNN Time poll, a nd these oth e r polls. So tll ey're aware o f tl1is going on. It's just come clown to a case of whe the r we have e no ugh obvio us public support that they wo u ld be e mbarrassed n o t to invite me to pa rticipate. RS: It see ms that if the Reform party can get in , the Liberta ria ns sh ould not be kept out. HB: Well, d1ere is a lot of talk this time tha t Pe rot wo uld take mo re votes from Cli nton than he wou ld fro m Dole. And if th a t's th e case then Clinto n wo uld want me to be in tl1ere, tllinking tll at I'll take vo tes from Dole. If th e race ge ts closer, the n Clinton would be a nxio us to ha ve m e in th e d e b a tes, a nd mi g ht refuse to pa rticipa te un less all four of us were in. RS: How d o you feel about th e Refo rm party? HB: All Perot is saying is I can manage big government better. You know his famous ex pressio n , "I want to look und e r th e hood and tinke r with the e ngin e." And my altitude is I wan t to throw ou t th e e n g in e a n d r ep lace it with a s mal le r moto r. But tl1 e point is th at h e has no fee lings a bo ut gove rnment itself, a bout what government is. In h is speeches late ly, he's been railing against big govern ment in tlle early pa rt of th e speech but tll e last part of tl1e speech is all of tl1e things he's going to do to ma ke governmem more efficie n t. A Pe rot presidency, if it eve r happened , would be litde differe n t fro m a Cli nton or a Dole presidency. And now t h a t he 's acce pted the $29 millio n of taxp aye r mo ney for his ca mpa ig n , h e really is discrediting h imself. Especially as he is u-ying to make me national debt a big issue. In his acceptance speech , Pe rot said it is ludicrous to think about cutting taxes. H e said , "Suppose you we nt to your boss a nd said I've got all these bills to pay and I'm not making enough money, and your boss said a ll righ t, I' ll tell you what I'll do, I'll cut your pay. We ll, tllat's what tl1ey're talking about by cutting the pay of d1e governme n t by cutting taxes when the government has a ll these bills to pay." So he's saying we can 't have a tax cut because tl1e governme n t owes too much money, and h e re he is takin g S29 mi ll io n in taxpayer money to fund his campaign. RS: What role do you see fo r th e federal governme nt? HB : j ust what's i n th e Con stitution. atio n al d efen se; th e judiciary, whic h would be far sm all er th a n it is n o w, b eca u se yo u wou ldn ' t have a ll th ese fed e r al cases b e in g ca ll ed fo r wa r d b eca u se th e fe dera l gove rnm e nt wo ulcln 't have a nytl1ing to do lvitll that. Es p ec ia ll y if we ge t rid of a ll th ese r egulato r y la ws, like th e American Disabili ty Act, the Fa mi ly Leave Act, the Civil Rig h ts Act of 1990, th e Clean Air Ac t. All these th ings tha t are the basis of lawsui ts brought in federal court. So you would have a much smalle r judiciary. And the n , minti ng coins a nd things o f th is so n , t hat a re rea lly ve ry trivial in te rm s of being a d rain o n th e federal budget. But it has to be limited to what's in th e Constitu tio n . T h e mom e nt yo u step over th e lin e fo r a ny reaso n , you evemually wind up with a trillion and a h a lf do lla r budge t a nd a five tril lio n do llar debt. RS : Yo ur position is like d1 e p osition of our magazine. People note tha t if we had our way wid1 what we're advocating, the re wo uldn ' t be any need fo r our magazine a ny mo re. And if you h ad you r way, we really wouldn ' t need a president anym ore. HB: Virtua lly. I'd love tllat. I plan afte r the first couple of years to have a lot of two ho ur days. RS: Education. That is the o the r issue I ************ FREE TBE VOTE **** PRISON llfl MAGAZINI ENDORSES HARRY BROWNE LIBERTARIAN PARTY CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT ONCE ELECTED HE Will: * END THE WAR ON DRUGS * FREE ALL NON·VIOLENT DRUG WAR POWS * ABOLISH THE IRS AND ELIMINATE INCOME TAXES PRESIDENT HARRY BROWNE WILL APPOINT ONLY JUDGES WHO PROTECT THE BILL OF RIGHTS AND GUARANTEE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, FREEDOM TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS, FREEDOM TO BE SECURE IN YOUR OWN PROPERTY ************ VOTE FOR FREEDOM VOTE FOR HARRY BROWNE wanted to talk to you abouL. Yo u'd like to see the federal government complete ly out of iL. HB: Definitely. The most importam thing we can do for education is LO repeal the income tax. When we repeal the income tax, the n you will have th e resources to put yo ur c hi ld in any sc hool yo u wa nt: religious, secu l a1~ private school; any kind. If you want praye r in your school, you simply take the child to a school that has prayer. Or no prayer. Whichever it is you want. Sex educatio n , no sex ed ucatio n. Progress ive edu ca t io n , traditional e du catio n. 1o fightin g with yo ur neighbors or the school board, no writing le tte rs to co ngress, no lo bbyin g, n o a n yt hin g. You s impl y ta ke your own resources, wh ich you will now have a 30, 40, 50 percent increase in ta ke-home pay, and use that to buy the kind o f education you want for your ch ild. You don't even have to apply to the state fo r a vouche r. You just do what you want to do a nd you those ch arities say that they couldn 't take an increased suain. Of course tlle)' can 't. ot wh en people a re b eing taxe d to death; but cut tl1at 48 pe rce nt overnight to 2 5 p e r cen t, ca n yo u imagin e t h e gene rosi ty tl1at would be unleashed. But more th a n that, t h e n eed fo r tha t ge ne rosity wi ll diminish , simply because tl1e j obs will be available. Th e clay th at I'm elec ted President, immediate ly on that clay, business people a ll over Am e rica are go ing to sta r t tl1inking: "A uillion dollars a year. All tl1e new ma rkets tha t are go ing to develop; th e d e mand for new pro du c ts and services. l'm going to have to gear up for that, and do it now to get tl1c jump on my co mp e titor. I ' m go in g to n ee d m o r e peo ple. The re 's go ing to b e a g reat sh o rtage of la b or wh e n t his t hin g happens, and I be tter act now to find the best peo ple." And they' re going to start tryin g to r ec r u it from govern m e nt worke rs, from we lfa re people, a nd the tl1e need for it. Because the governm em wasn't really involved. But once the war on poveny started, it was like tl1e war on drugs. In th e 1960s the war on pove rty started and suddenly we had a perma ne nt class of people o n welfare, people who would spend th e rest o f the ir li ves o n we lfare and bequ eath th is to th ei r children as the only legacy tl1at they had to o ffe r. This is how you pic k up your ch eck every month. Those people have been destroyed. They have no self-re peel, n o di gnity, they d on 't believe th at th ey ca n p oss ibl y su rvive wit h ou t t h e governmen t. RS: And tl1at makes the m very b itter. HB: Yes. O h yeah. I mean , you think of the scandal of the billions of dollars tl1at have been wasted, but tl1e real tragedy is the millio ns o f lives that have been lost in the process. People whose lives have just bee n ruin ed b y we lfa r e. Today, the we lfare laws, the income ta x laws, the minimum wage law, all these regu lations The government is good at one thing, and that is: it knows how to cripple you and then hand you a crutch and say, "See, you couldn't walk if it weren't for the government." don' t have to a nswer to anybody. T h a t wou ld improve educatio n tre me ndo usly. Because on ce the pa ren ts arc controll in g th e mo n ey, then t h e pare nts are not going to put up with any kind or mediocre educatio n, tl1ey're not going to take excuses. RS: So ma ny people I've talked to say, "I really feel like I' m a Libe rtalian, but-" T here's always this "but. " 1 think tha t for most o f th e p eop le I kn ow, the but is: what about tl1 e poor people? People see Libe rta rianism as being a n e litist view, because it doesn't take into consideration the kid who grows up in the ghetto, who docsn ' t have the oppo rtunities that the average wh ite, m iddle class American has. HB: It's actually tl1e opposite. The eli tist attitude is the idea that govern me m and experts can end poverty. And we've seen \vhat a ridicul ous notio n th at was. If we repeal th e in come and socia l security ta xes, we' re go ing to leave a tri lli o n d o llars a yea r in th e eco n o m y th at's currently being sucked up by those taxes. And th a t's go ing to b uy a jo b for everybody tl1at can work, a nd it's going to buy charity for ever yone who can ' t work. Today, witl1 48 percent or the national income going to fed eral, state a nd local taxes-48 pcrcem- half of what we earn, in effect, going to governmen t, still there arc hundreds of tl1ousands of chu rches in this country tha t are supported e ntire ly tl1rough volu n tary d onatio ns. There are all ki nds o f c harities th a t exist. And of co u rse th e a n swe r always is, we ll, but ss PRISON lifE November 1996 we lfa re mother who's got fou r c h ildre n and clocsn 't want to put the m out to child ca re. So m cbo d y's go ing to put a computer in he r ho me and teach he r how to e nter data and telecommute. Because that's th e only way they're going to get the people to do the job. But the im portan t thin g is t h at the transition will start the day I' m e lected. It won 't start the day the bill is passed tl1at re peals th e in co me tax and all of tl1 ese o the r tl1ings. That may be a year la ter. But the re' ll be a yea r for th e eco no my to adjust to what is coming . Because the future always gets pulled into the present in bus iness, b eca u se yo u a rc a lways looking a h ead to wha t you h ave to do next year. The price o f the stock doesn ' t re n ect th e co mp any's va lue to d ay, it re fl e c ts th e a nticipated va lu e of th e company a year away. Business people are always tl1 inking a year in advance. The point is th at the transition wi ll take place in the private sector and not under govern me nt super vision , so it wi ll be natural and right. T he re will be jobs for everybody. How o ld are you, incidentally? RS: Fifty. HB: Fifty. Well, that's a little young. In the 1950s we n eve r eve n u se d th e wo rd '\velfare" in conversation because welfare was just churches, ch arities, service clubs and foun dations and so on . Welfare was some little cleparU11ent in tl1e back of city ha ll that took care o f some liLLie th ings that nobody really knew, j ust occasionally a n indigent or some body. T he re wasn 't conspire against those people ever getting off o f welfare, because they' re going to have to ta ke a 30 o r 40 p e rce n t loss in take-ho me pay if they go ou t and ge t a job. o more food stamps, no more tl1 is, n o more tha t. So everythi ng is working against them ever getting off of welfare. And so we have a perman ent welfare class that the government has to take care of. T he governm cm is good a t one thing, and tl1at is: it knows how to cripple you and the n hand you a crutch and say, "See, yo u co u lcln ' t walk if it we re n ' t for th e government." It's clone it in eve rything. It's run up the price of healtl1 care a nd t h en sai d to old peop le, "Wit h out Medicare you 'd be dying in the streets." It's run u p the p rice of education a nd the n says to young peop le, "If it weren 't for stu d e nt loa n s yo u co u ld n ' t go to college." And then of course it's created d1is welfare class and said if it wcre n ' t for government these people would be living in tl1e s treeL~. RS: I like you r poin t about how the governm ent takes th e money away from us in taxes and d1en they dole it back o ut like a n allowance to kids. T hey u·eat the citizens like they' re kids who need to be looked after. HB: Dysfun c ti o nal childre n. Tha t's us. [la ughs] RS: When really they' re d1c ones who are dysfunctional. I mean, whe n I tl1ink of Bill C li nton running my life, it's sca ry. Bill and Hillary. HB: Ah, yes. Those moral autl10rities. ~ PRIZES 1st Prize-$250 and 2 subscriptions to Prison Life. 2nd Prize-$1 SO and 2 subscriptions to Prison Life. 3rd Prize-$50 and 2 subscriptions to Prison Life. CATEGORIES WRITING: Fiction-short stories or excerpts from longer works; limit 20 pages. Nonfiction-essays, memoirs or articles; limit 20 pages. Poetry-limit 2 poems, 5 pages. Drama-excerpts from plays or screenplays, limit 30 pages. VISUAL ARTS: Paintings, drawings, collage, sculpture, photos-any medium. ";.1.;~:~;~~,..'<!:~ Contest Rules: En tries acce pted on ly from incarcerated contestants. YOU MUST BE IN jAJL OR IN PRISON TO ENTER T HIS CO NTEST. Man uscri pts must be typewriue n o r legibly handwriue n in Engl ish. arne, priso n ID numbe r, name and add r ess of institution must be o n fro nt page of a ll entries. Con testants may submit on ly one entr)' in each category. Entries will not be re turned un less accompan ied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Only unpublished manuscripts and art will be considered, with th e exceptio n of pieces that h ave appeared in prison publicati o n s. All e ntries beco m e the proper ty of Prison Life, and th e winne rs wi ll be published in Prison Life m agazine. Send e ntries to Art Behin d Bars Contest, PLM, P.O. Box 537, Stone Ridge, NY 12484. Contest Deadline: December 31, 1996. "One of the finest achievements of prison literature, and, indeed, of that much larger body of literature about criminals." - H. Bruce Franklin Prison Literature in America "In No Beast So Fierce, readers will be able to discover urgent truths about crime and punishment -and therefore about our ultimate concern with freedom -set down by a vigorous and important writer." -William Styron, from the introduction to No Beast So Fierce on th .· THREE NEW BOOKS E X PLORE THE POLITICS OF CR IME AND PUNISHMENT IN AMERICA DOG EAT DOG Edward Bunke r St. Manin 's Press $22.95, ISBN 0-312-1 434-1 Reviewed by Ann Nocenti TOUGH LOVE Mad Dog McCain, a wife-slaughte rin g c hild-murde ring thieving racist sexist co ke-fiend maniac, acts as if he 's got a hotwire rigged to his brain. And he'll stab you just for no ticing. Big Diesel Carson is sel!~escribed as "a two hundred and fifty pound grizzly bear arm ed to the teeth," a mob con tract man with a preference fo r swee t, clean, in-and-out j obs such as a rso n . Topping thi s ga n g is Tro y Came ron, a di sta nt, cool m aste rmind who feels th e d aggers were sunk dee p into the heart of God way before he was born, and that means all bets are off, the world itself is up fot· grabs. Imagine tossing th ese three-a shortfu sed g re n ad e, a n M-80, a nd a s low ticking de to na to r- into a cocktail, a nd you're o n the road, DOG EAT DOG style. Com plex a n d hard-hi tting, Eddie Bunke r's n ew novel chronicles three exconvicts as th ey e nte r a wo rld a lie n to th em: civi lian life. All thr ee n ewly re leased from long stin ts, they hook up to d o a few m ajor sco r es; h o n o r a ble boosts by thieves' sta nda rds. They on ly r ip-off sc um worse th a n th e mse lves: pimps, do pe dealers, wannabe gangsters, a nd o ther "assh o les wh o can' t ye ll copper." The geni us of Edward Bun ker is that h e no t only rockets you along on a great breakneck roll e r-coaste r o f a c rim e n ove l, but lead s yo u to the sta rtling discovery th a t o ut of the lives o f such h ard-ass criminals rises a transcenden tal, co mpassionate love story, depicting a kind of love unique to criminals. Diesel would follow his main ma n Troy through he ll for a good sco re. Or as Mad Dog, th e uniqu e wh o rl s o f h is cr uel fin gerprints forever sta ined in dr ie d b lood, says to h is crime pal, "You' re the o nl y re al friend I got in the wh o le fuckin ' world." Seamlessly woven into this tale of love a nd robbe ry is the awake ning political consciousness o f the thieves the mselves, a n understanding th at they may be hotheaded kamikaze missiles, but someon e e lse b u ilt the rocket la un che r. Bunke r has taken h is own unde rstand ing o f the u nred e m ptive c rimin al an d crafted it into a modern odyssey--one that forces th e reader in to the revelati on that until the lowest of c riminals can lind h is way out o f th e darkness, we all have a hand in his executio n . This is wh e n you begin to get the sense you are on new terrain; new to your life, new to crime fiction. Th e Amer ica n pri son sys t e m is a wak in g ni g htm a r e thi s co untr y's populace is sti ll naive e nough to dream they can keep h idden behind h igh walls. As Troy d esc ribes Pe li can Bay, a lovely high-tech prison that's added lasers, stun be l L~. and Tho razine to the usual round of bars a nd barbed wire : "It 's unbe lievable. They inoculate 'em with h a te. They're makin ' m o n st e rs up the re ... a nd the n they turn 'em loose on th e pub lic. It's like th ey' r e g r ow in g ma niacs in hotho uses." Bunker's portrait o f prison has it ove rflowing with a new type o f ma n , so redundant b ecause of the fast track t h a t ge ts t h e m there: Gh etto born to unwed mothe r, absen t fathe r, life in the projects on welfare, or in a n o rph a nage and juve n il e h a ll , failure at school, early ar rest for so me for m of d e linq u e n cy, a s t i nt in a militaristic reform school, a few mo re arrests a nd anothe r boy's fate is sealedset in th e ston es of the prison syste m, th at luk ewarm bath of r eso undin g b oredom , s prinkle d with th e sadi sm inherent to a ny man p utting an o ther in a cage. And now tha t ed ucation programs are a bolish ed , th e re 's n o way out, no way to ch ange yourself or get off the ho tline to he ll. In DOG EAT DOG, Troy alo n e h as m a n age d to read a nd self-e ducate in priso n , but o n ly because he had a few years in an uppe r-class home, born to a wealt h y do c tor a nd hi s H o m eco mi ng Queen bride. Inside th e picket fence of th is idyllic subu rban life was actually a wife-beating alco h o lic fathe r, wh o Troy even tu ally sh ot. T h e mothe r be traye d the son by d enyi ng the a buse, thrusting Troy on to the fast-track usually reserved for the dirt poor. Early "psych " profiles la be led him a socio p a th . H e was diffe re nt from everyone else in reform sc hool, and ostracized as a "bad boy" wh e n h e came o ut. Troy's vorac io u s read ing (like Bunker's own expe ri ence) almost saved him. But unlike Bunker, Troy stopped sh ort of articulating his rage; he never picked up a pen. Instead, he for med a b itter philosophy to live by, based in a n und e rstanding th at th e Christian myth of forg iveness an d rede mptio n was bullshit, a nd that the excon, if h e was lucky, was doomed to men ial labor. Troy took his cues from the na tura l world and made a choice to become "a predatory leopa rd" in a world of "domestic ho use cats." U ltimately, h e bo r rowed from o n e of the l iterary classics of Dostoevsky: "If t h ere is n o God, tJ1en all tJ1ings are permissible." The hotJine to crimi nal life was quick work for Mad D og, as hi s mot h e r to r tured him from chi ldh ood into p remature madness. At the core of Mad Dog's self-loathing is his earliest memory o f his mo tJ1er u·ying to drown h im in a bathlllb. Born into a cradle robbed of love, his ea rly tormen ts gave him a n unquencha ble taste fo r blood. Mad Dog exploi ts his own madness, enjoying the wide berth o ther humans give him. In Mad Dog logic: "a little paranoia is a val uable tool in the land of the snakes." A few minutes in Mad Dog's brain and you' ll stan packing yourself. for D iese l, a Christ ia n As indoctrin a tion sealed his fate; "Th em n uns got m y ass righ t from t h e start. .. plan ted it so deep, I can 't get it out no matter what." Stuck in a cycle of crime a nd guilt, after a few months in the free world, Diesel h as a moment in the su n, th inking to h imself that he's "outgrown " j ail, con te nt as he is in his picket fe nce life with a son an d a wife he lusts after when he isn't ha ting her for her nagging. Gloria's so-called "nagging," by the way, involves legitimate questions like, "How many days will you be gone, dear?" and ''Why are you packing your a rsenal tJ1is morn ing, hon ey?" T h ese t hree are fresh f r o m t h at mo ment all ex-cons know: standing with your Greyhound ticket, your pissant gate money, marked by blue India ink tattoos and prison issue sh oes, standing poised before civilian life, a dim ly rem embe red thing, about to enter a world wh ere a ll despise you, fea r you, and ach e to slam you back into the cage, wrapped neatly in a stone b ox and ti ed up in barbed No\'cmber 1996 PBISOM UIE 61 wire bows. On the spaciness of re-entry, Bunker chooses a few brilliant details to place yo u ri ght there on that a li e n landscape. Feel Tr oy's discomfort when h e r eali zes his last decade in close proximity to a toi let h as r e laxed his abilities of restraint. O r wal k with the excon as he steps onto soft carpet after ten years of o nl y kn owin g cold, bare concrete floors. Anoth er released man notices that e ntir e skylin es a nd landscapes have changed, cities spro uted - and on a class note, whereas when he went in, the ri ch drove Cadillacs and the poo r Fo rds, h e now sees th e ric h are driven in lim os and the poor push market carts. Instead of the o ld and indi ge nt panhand ling, it is now t h e young an d Black. Bunke r's prose puts o n e righ t in th e skin of the ex-convic t, and once we're there m akes us squirm . But there is eve n a score, goes foul, that the gang begins a spiral in to ch aos. For looming SMOKE & MIRRORS: over them is awaren ess of the three The War on Drugs and the Politics of strikes law; an idiotic ruling that turns all Failure crime- writing a bad check, shoplifting, Dan Baum credit card scam , all cri me no matter Little Brown how small a nd non-vio lent into an $24.95 ISBN 0-316-08412-3 offense that carries a mandator y life sentence. Pa intin g ang r y m e n into and corners has never been a good idea. The SEARCH & DESTROY only guarantee three strikes g ives th e J erome Miller populace it's supposed to protect is that Cambridge U niversity Press there will be excess civilian death. And $24.95 ISBN 0-521-46021-2 when t h e cops close in , there is n o Reviewed by Michelle Stoddard c h o ice but freefall. Hold on tight, because Bunker doesn't let up t ill the TIME OUT OF MIND Dan Baum cond u cted over 200 dog eat dog end. To anyone out the re sick of the bullshit interviews with people involved in the th at pours out o f the mouths of massive tra n sformatio n of American politicians, the media, "authorities," society brought about by the War on "experts" and other demagogues when Drugs. The book opens with d e pictions they talk of crime and prisons, DOG EAT of Democratic and Republican responses to the 1967 riots in the cities an d chronicles the c hanges in gove rnment policy over th e past three decades. Its great usefulness is that it p rovides muchneeded historical perspective o n what Baum calls the "lu nacy" of current policy. The riots, the econo mic plight o f the in ner cities, and the growing resistance to the war in Vietnam led Lyndon Johnson to f und two n ew law e n forcemen t DOG is a must r ead . To anyone who agencies. The issue of crime, magnified unde rstands that "power" has become by the bright ligh t of television , rapidly deva l u e d to mean just a n y re ign in g became a n indispe n sable weapon in authority, be it an a bsent father, a cop, a electoral cam paigns and in th e imageguard, a politician, a ll t h e various s h api n g of can di dates. In 1967 , manifestations of "the man," DOG EAT prominent Democratic policy-makers still thoug h t t h at "warring o n poverty, DOG is a familiar song. Anyone h alf-awake in the last two inadequate housing, and unemployment d ecades must have n oticed that, since is warring on crime." Ri chard Nixon's sla ve ry times certa in ly, but most "law an d order" platfo rm in the 1968 obv io u sly in the 8 0 's Reagan era, a presidential campaign was a calculated certain class of p eo pl e have b ee n Republican effort to discredit this "root d eemed worthless and syste m atically cau ses" argument, a public re lations ghettoized a nd incarcerated. To a man weapon so stu nni ngly effective that, 30 o r woman wit h a prison record, th e years late r, it co ntinu es to ann h ila te n otio n of redemption h as become as mean ingfu l debate a nd a chance of dis tant a piece of bullshi t as heaven fi ndin g soluti o ns to Am erica's soc ial i tse lf. A la rge percentage of this problems. At the time, it was one aspect 'worthless' class wi ll be re leased onto th e of the Re publican's Sou thern Strategy to civilian populace, and a h ard rain o f bring the Dixiecrats over to the party by human bombs is gonna fall. advancing an image of the cities an d the Bunker's DOG EAT DOG is in a sense African Americans l iving in t h em as b eyond li te rature, as at its core is a n pathological. I n a co nc erted way, as impassioned moral force, a n unspoke n Baum describes it, campaign committees p lea for th e compassionate notion that and the media provoked a nd sha ped the hum a nity starts wit h th e crim inal. If fears and rese ntmen ts of suburban a nd people o pened th eir minds to forgiving working class whites. Beneath the shadow the lowest of men, it would open up the of an increasingly large a nd destructive whol e notion of hum a nity. But engage m ent of American soldiers in forgiveness is a ha rd lesson , a nd as Troy Vietnam, the Republicans chose c rime c ri es out, t r ying to exp la in hi s own as a substitute inflammatory campaign criminal mind: "What the fuck can you issue which would resona te con servative expect after twelve years in the garbage Americans' views of hippies, radicals and ca n ?" An d Diesel, speaki ng about t h e Blacks. world he sees: "Wh e n it's all fucked up, Ba um so·esses that until the Crime Bill that's when we fit in. " of 1968, the federal govern me nt played A few rninutes in Mad Cag,s brain and yau,ll start packing yourself. n othing cavalie r to Bunker's inte nt-he wants his reader to be unco mfortable, fo r b eyo nd t his discomfort li es understandin g . His c h aracte r s' conversations a r e peppered with a practical, matter-of-fact racism. "Niggers" ar e blamed for everything. On gun-<:razy Blacks: "They th ink ki lling makes the man. Just ig norant-ass niggers, all they know h ow to do is sell dope a nd hurt peo ple. They learn that sh it from the TV. " But hi s "rac ism " is ac tu a ll y a comp lex compassion , as the white co nvicts Bunke r wr ites abo u t fi nd themselves torn between a fearful hatred and a n uneasy ca marade rie with t he ir Black brothers. "They can't write laws that say fo r n igge rs only, ca n th ey?" Besides, now "a nybody with a record automa tically becomes a nigge r. " We follow Troy, Diesel, and Mad Dog through a series of harrowing heists that lead us to one last score arranged in a Mexican prison. T hat prison is La Mesa, a TUuana j oint where you can buy yourself a better cell, and eigh ty grand gets you th e penthouse. A priso n that m ay be a shitho le , but it ' s a shithole lV it h a n e nl ightened philosoph y; they have th e iro nic understand ing that incarceration is enough punishme nt, and beyond that, you are a ll owed to remai n a human being. A prisone r can have his wife visit, run a business, get "ahead" in life , and actually be prepared to re enter society. It's whe n this last gig, a kidnappi ng to 62 PRISON lifE Novcmbez· 1996 on ly a ve r y minim a l ro le in drug en fo rce m e nt. America ns fea red be ing robbed and mugged most but these were loca l c rim es over whi c h th e fede r al gove rnm e nt had no j u risdiction. Declaring drugs, which crossed borde rs, respo nsible for crime became the means of asserting fed e ral jurisdiction, laying the foundation for vast in crea cs in the fed e ral law e nfo rcement budge t. In an all too fam iliar way, the "law and order" pla tform pushed Preside ntjohnson a nd lawmakers to repudiate libe ral posi tions. The Crime Bill was push ed through. As budge ts in c r ease d , so did expe rime ntation with law e nforce me nt techniqu es: wiretaps, "no-knock" laws, preve n Live dete ntion , va ria tions of 3s trik es laws, u ri n e-testing, and forfe iture-most of which beca me law. Until th e la te 1960s, drug usc was not see n as sig nifi ca nt even as a public h ea lth problem , much l ess as a law e nforc e m e nt probl e m , desp ite th e ravages wrought by h e ro in in minority co mmunities . A key inn ova ti o n was m edia ide ntification of marijuana with her o in. Po t , s mok ed by million s of Americans, was sudde nly seen as leading directly to h e ro in use, a nd h e ro in was the ca use of c rim e. De b a te on th ese e m e r g ing "c ri ses" was still wide an d publi c policies were in a state of flu x. Baum sh ows th e openness in the mass m e dia a nd the public leg itim acy of organizatio ns such as 10RML, founded to lega li ze m a riju ana in 1970. But disquie ting signs a bounded. A 60 Minutes poll of Americans e licited the opinio n that th e government sh o uld be able to curta il the Bill of Rights in th e form of ce n so ring unfavora bl e n ev1s st ories, elimina ting demonstrations and abusing th e rights o f suspects, leading Attorney General J o hn Mitche ll to re mark tha t "Am e ricans don ' t like th e Constitution." The pe riod was ma r ked by a d ramatic c ha nge in e lectio neering tactics an d in Ame rican political cul ture as candidates from both pa rties bega n upping th e ante with wi ld figures o n th e costs of crime . Meanwhile th e law enforcement budge t ( minusc u le by t o d ay's s ta nd a rd s) increased twelve-fold in five )'Cars. A qu a rter ce ntur y ago, a co mpl ex burea ucra ti c a rc h itecture cr ystallized, consistin g of a reinfo r ced exec utive bran ch , legislato rs, pa rty officials a nd h andlers, multiple execu ti ve law e nforce m e nt age n c ies with n e w re la ti ons hips to s tate a nd lo ca l a uth oriti es, m edia conglo me rates a nd persona l ities an d pol li ng firm s, co n se rvat ive fou nd atio n s a nd think ta nks, unive rsity researche rs, industr y assoc ia tio ns and lobbying firms, and a more conservative Supre m e Court and judicia r y. Within this interlockin g and By the early 1 80s 1 though crime rates \Nere already dropping 1 the nightly ne\Ns • claimed cr1me \Nas an ''epidemic 11 and ''the biggest threat to our national security. 11 mutu ally-reinforcing a rchitec ture, the informers, plea barga ini ng, th e rewards, both ma te rial and symbo lic, d ismantling of civil rights a nd monstrous we re e n o rmous, and the san ctions for levels of incarceration for low level drug not playing the game severe. Once this offen ses-Ba um sing les o ut forfeiture fo rmi dable machine was put in pl ace, and governme nt confiscation of citizens' the re was little liberals could do to stop prope rty as th e cog in the c rimin a l it. Mo reo ve r, Baum sa ys, their own justice machine which has converted the nearsig h tedness on issues suc h as the rise war on drugs into "one of th e top growth of cocaine a nd pot use by children left industri es in th e SO's and 90's." The th e m open to conde mn a ti o n , sca ndal seizure of citize ns ' assets is a cash cow a nd po pula r repudiation . The Wa r on ploug hin g h uge sums b ac k into law Drugs was a sh otgun blast which could enforce me nt and prison construction a t ta ke o ut multip le ta rgets-th e oth e r a tim e wh e n governme nt soc ia l political party, the poor, minorities, the prog rams a re b e in g sys t e mati ca ll y Left. g utted. And 80 percent of the citizens The cr imi nal justice system c ha nged whose asse ts are se ized a r e ne ve r profo undly. By th e ea rly '80s, th ough cha rged with a crime. crim e rates were already dro pping, the Througho ut Smoke a nd Mirrors, nightly news claim ed c rim e was an Ba um d etails egregious assaults o n the "e pide mic" and "th e bigges t threat to life and li berty of Ame rican citizens: the judge who balked at th e se nte nces he our na tional security." Under Reagan, all these chi cke ns came m e ted out t o 2,500 people , thr ee home to roost. "Beefing up fede ral law qu a rte r s o f th e m Afri ca n Am e ri ca n , e nfo r ce m en t wasn ' t so mu c h a n impri so ned for less th a n a g ram of exception to Reagan's sma ll governme nt cocaine each at a combined cost of $322 revolutio n as it was a facili tator of it. To millio n a year; the 25 years o f hard time t h e ex t e nt th a t crimina ls co uld b e g ive n fo r $40 wo r t h of c rac k ; life portrayed as a distin c t p o pul a t io n of se nte n ces for p o t; the fra min g and inhe re ntly bad individuals, the easier it shooting of a ran c h er whose property would be to ju stify c uttin g th e social was a desirable asset. Smoke and Mirrors is a necessary and progra ms Reagan wanted eliminated or d imin ished." An y va ri a nt o f a "roo t access ible c hro n o logical r eview of th e ca u ses" arg um e nt-unempl oymen t, policies which have brought the federal poverty, lack of education or fami ly and gove rnm e nt into e ve r y as p ec t of co mmunity supp ort-was viewe d with Ameri can life, converting whole sectors ridicule an d d erision a nd denounced as of American socie ty into a bra nch of the grossly insensitive to tl1e vic tims of crime. state a nd putting people by the millions Ve n ge fu l m eas ures calling for th e in priso n under conditions calculated to te rmina tio n o f re habilitation programs destroy their self-esteem, their future life fi lled th e void. Politicia ns claimed tl1 ey prospec ts, and their sa nity. It is a lso a were r espond ing to th e d esires of so ber-mi nded a ppeal to co mpre hend citizens by p assing "to ug h " laws while and hopefully dismantle the a rchitecture e liminating due process for the accused. a nd reward syste m sustaining c rimin al Despite this, law e nforcement did a nd justice as an ind usu-y o n the o n e ha nd still does liule to assist th e vic tims of and a "luna tic" form of social po licy on th e other. Th e boo k is a ca r e full y crimes. Of the many destructive aspects of tl1e foo tno ted and indexed map of the inne r drug war-in addition to swee ps, use o f la ndsca pe of our n a ti onal ni ghtm a re. Novcm bco· 1996 PRISON llff 63 The outcorne for the African-Arnerican population in the U.S.obvious to anyone who • has ever set foot 1n a visiting roorn or been incarcerated-is practically invisible to Arne rica at large. Bawn 's subtitle, 'The War on Drugs and the Po litics of Fa ilure," in sum , might actually be misstated. He brings home in no un certain t e rm s t h at for a co nsiderab le segme nt of th is country's elites, this war is a blinding success. A diffe r e nt kind of book , e qu a ll y essential, but one which homes in on the dru g wa r fro m a d iffere nt ang le is J erome Mill e r 's Search and Destroy: African-1\me·rican Males in the CTirninal justice System. Preside nt and fo unde r of the a tio nal Center on Institutions a nd Alte rnatives, Mill e r worke d fo r seve ral decad es as a commissioner of family and youth services in seve ral sta tes and as a court-appointed m o nitor of ja ils and prisons in Florida. His basic pre mise is bluntl y sta te d an d r e info r ced b y the sys te mati c u se of empirica l s tudi es . "Despite its pre tension, modern criminal justice is no more about c rime control than it is about re habilitatio n. Nor is it about deterre n ce. None of that matte rs." The war o n c rim e is about manag in g unruly g roups wh o a re di sad va ntaged a nd excluded by the operation of both economy and poli ty. T he war on drugs in the U.S. is "racia lized socia l policy" and th e numbe rs say it a ll. AFDC, the we lfa r e prog ram ju st e limin ated b y Clinton, cost the government about $25 b illio n. In 1993, th e drug war cost $30 billion . At presen t the syste m is spending more th a n $200 billion to fig ht crim e. Mille r directly confronts the prevail ing ass umpti o n trumpeted by m e d ia, law e n fo rcement, an d po liticians of a ll stripes that Bl ack Amer ica n s are incarcerated at highe r rates because they just h a ppe n to commit more vio le nt cr im es a nd use mor e dru gs. H e c hall e n ges t his ass ump tion o n two gro und s, u sin g a range of studi es to substa ntiate his cla ims. H e sh ows th e 64 PRISON Lllf November 1996 rapid r ise o f activiti es and b e haviors (such as drug use) wh ich are defined by the system as "criminal" and the degree to which those activities are e ngaged in by huge sec tors o f the populatio n. In additio n, Miller observes, th e crimes fo r wh ich most people are incarcerated are usually non-vio le nt, with m o to r vehicle violatio ns, DWI, ca r the fts, shop-lifting, pe tty larceny, public disturbances, drug possessio n a nd drug selling topping the li st. He a lso shows that th e legal de finition of a "vio lent" crime has been exte nded to such a d egree that in 68% of crimes classified as vio le nt, th ere was no physical injur y to th e victim. The gam e played within th e system be tween fe lony c h a rges a nd misde m ea n o rs is such that of 400 ,000 a rr es t s for aggravated assau lt, o nly 54,000 resulted in a felony conviction. Yet in the Un ited States, a nd o nly here, crime statistics a re based on arrests, not on convictio ns, so a n in crease in po lice ac tivity-m ore a rrests-can be made to seem like more crime, just as a d ecline in crime is often attribute d to increased po lice presence even wh en the two are u nrelated. Most people in prison are the re fo r offe nses against pro pe rty. Some 60% of all people in prison are the re for non-viole nt drug relate d offe nses. Th o u g h thi s situatio n affects Hispanics, Asians a nd wh ites, a nd th e poor in ge n e ral in dra matic ways, the fu n c tionin g o f the c rimina l justice juggern aut affects African-Ame rica ns in specia l ways. In M iller's view, th e crim ina l justice system has been the major contributor to th e brea kdown o f inner c ity co mmun ities, in particul a r the "socia l disaster" of incredible magnitude whic h as bee n visited on African-American men and, throu g h t h em, on the e ntir e co mmuni ty. Miller terms wh a t h as happ e ned as a case of "iatroge nesis"the process by which social policy creates and exace rbates th e very path o logies it was formulated to eliminate. T his occurs b eca u se the "crim e-co n tro l in du stry" continually generates a new clien tele to validate its existence a nd promotes th e exponential ri se in t h e n u mbers o f p o lice and co r rections personne l , burea u cra ts, as we ll as a r rests, co nvictions, prison cells. T his dynamic preclud es effo rts dir ected toward re ha bilitation and a lterna te settings a nd ways fo r dealing wi th crime. I n add ition to the eros ion of c ivil lib ertie s a nd b as ic protection th is re presents, Miller evo kes the devastation and despair spreadi ng to whole areas of the countr y. Once again in American histo ry, racism does no t just permeate th e crimi n a l justice syste m but is the fulcrum around which the whole logic of the syste m turns. The Wa r on Drugs is itself a "crimin ogen ic interve n t ion " because it virtually assures rearrest a nd inca rceration for lo nger pe ri ods. The processin g of a juven ile throug h the sys t e m-from th e tr ea tm e nt by th e po lice; the cond it ions a nd le n g th of preu·ial detention; cha rges wh ich d ictate stiff penalti es for sma ll offenses; escalation of charges in the prosecutor 's a nti cipation that th ey will be bargained d own; th e no n-narrative character of the po lice report a n d legal reco rds which d o n 't incl ud e info rmatio n o n fa mil y, educatio n, mi tigating circumstances yet b eco m e a p ermane n t rap sheet; elimina tion of th e right to trial and the absu rdit ies of plea barga ini n g; t h e imbalance in legal representation; the choice of incarceration over supervision; t h e adversa ri al position of paro le and p robatio n officers- invo lves racial b ias at eac h poin t. As released p r iso n ers are ac ute ly aware, th e process stac ks the d ec k in sig nifi can t ways, m ost importa n tl y by e limin at ing jo b possibili ties. The me re fact of h aving been charged , even with out a conviction, p e rm a n en tl y al t e r s e mp loyment, eel uca ti onal a nd cred it o ppo rtuni ties. This, wh en t here a r e now some 50 million crimin a l records ke pt among a p o pul atio n of 130 m ill io n American me n. Ano ther crime causing a nti-crime m easu r e is t h e widespread use of snitches and the reduction of cha rges in re turn for ra ttin g, wh ic h co m p le tely d estroys social relations and provokes a violent settling of accoun ts. The o utcome for the African-American p opu lation in t h e U .S. -obvio us to anyone who has ever set foot in a visiti ng room or bee n in carcerate d -is p ractically invisible to Am erica at la rge. Miller asks why th ese pu nitive attitudes with their man ifestly counterpro d uc tive effects, have come to do m inate Ame rica in th e 90s. A Scandi navia n observer in 1930s Ge r many lin ke d the e me rgence of these "pu n i t ive inclinat io ns" t o th e economic insecuriti es of a midd le class whose fortu nes are declini ng for reasons they can no lo nger make se nse of. Mi ller a lso examines th e profou nd innuc n ce on cu r r e nt poli cy and po liti cs of genetics-based arguments a bout th e sources of crime in race , "breeding," and D 'A . H e d esc r ib es the p resen t a n d future use of "manage rial" techniques in in carce ra tion. These bring the a u thor d irectly to th e p redictio n that ver y soon America will be covered with supe rm<Lx p r iso n s an d inte r n m e nt cam p s employing ho r rific pu n itive techno logies to co n tro l tho se li ving in s id e while marke ting the vital o rga ns o f the many prisone rs who a re con demn ed to d ie. Mille r is "gloomy" over tl1e prospects of the su 1·viva l of any se mbl a n ce of American d e mocracy g ive n th e present s pread of tota litar ian form s of socia l fact that the se c o n tro l. The deve lopments are extreme ly profitable to a growing nu mber of crime co ntro l co r po rations makes them d iffic u lt to b lock or reverse. Mi ller concl ud es with three pages of concre te p ro posals which h e t h in ks co u ld slow th e process of re n d eri n g who le seg m e nts or a po pulation "disposable." The gene ra l public has little awareness of h o w t h e c urren t crim ina l j us ti ce pa radigm acwa lly operates. T hese two books offer a nalyses a nd remedies. Bo th see tl1 e politician s use of the crime issue as a case of "bait a nd switch " away fro m socia l pro bl e m s, a n d suggest th a t d e ma n d s for re t r ibu t io n a re n ot g rounded in a realistic understand ing of the broade r causes a nd effects of crime. The nu mbe rs make no di ffere nce. The in te nse iden tifi cation with defe nseless victims on TV a nd the fron t page are not ve r y e ffec tive ly co n te ste d wit h subtle a rguments abo ut Ame rica n histo r y o r the use of statistics. e ither author tries to ex pl a in t h e fie rce e m otio n a l attac h ment ma ny Americans have to no tions of re trib utio n and reve nge, a n auach me n t whi ch lead s to deman ds fo r ha rsh puni tive measu res, no ma tter what the con equences. Emotio nal appeals and investm e nt in the plig ht (or success) of a n ind ivid ua l vic t im (o r cc le b r ity) -as an y publi c re lations expert kn ows-funne ls and sh a pes sympa thy and resentm e nts (or hope ) . Mos t people wo uld agree that education p ushes people to sort out a nd cl a r ify their p e rson a l expe r ien ces, a co nd i t io n for r e hab ilitation. But co n fro n te d wi th t h e d ism a n t li n g of sc hools and th e huge increases in th e Criminal Defense Lawyers' Resource Center & r>-~r.nnrJ 0prnrnn r->~~rvrcr:: A Professiollal Corporatio1l 401 Broadway, Ste. ll01 New York, NY 10013 212-966-3816 Toll free: 1-888-SOS-4-YOU FAX: 212-219-9212 sos4you@dti.net Criminal cases are like major surgery, so getting a second opinion can help you do the best you can with your case. SOS assigns a te am of e xperienced crim inal de fe ns e lawyers to each cas e , and as need ed , investigators a nd ex p e rts li k e f o r e n s ic psychiatrists. Because SOS do es no t take over your case, but just gives you the information you n e ed , its f ees are ver y reas o nab le . SOS is available fo r federal and New York cases at this The more you Jmow, the more you can get out of the system. cost of educa tio n, many people outside th e wa lls wh o can't affo rd it for themselves or th e ir childre n ask, "Why sh o u ld co nvicts get wh a t I can't get?". Their anger at their own situation is suc h that it doesn 't matter to them that Pe ll Gra nts fo r p risone rs take n oth ing away from freeworld stud e nts. To con fro nt a n d c h ange such se ntim e nts requ ires getting to the heart of tl1e feel ing, not to the logic behind the a rg ument. As to t h e pol iti cal a nd econom ic rewards o f the war o n drugs and crime, neither author gives ma ny suggestions on h ow that crucial syste m of profits and payoffs could be braked o r e lim inate d. Both books, vitally important in what passes in t h e main st ream for pub lic debate, adopt a vantage po int outside, looking at society as a whole. T hey do n ot a d d r ess h ow b e in g in carcerated specifica lly affects the people inside and r es h a p es th e l ives of fa mi lies. In focuss ing o n me n particul a rly, J e rome M iller pays little at tentio n t o the e normous increase in women prisoners, the majority of whom are mothers. However, in sounding lo ud , clear voices of o pposition , and in sh owing h ow State viole n ce begets vio le n ce, b o th authors bring their readers one ste p closer to th e ex p eriences of th e 1.6 m illion men, women and ch ildre n n ow behind bars in the "land of the free." Managing Attorneys • Ke nn eth D. Wasserman and Si ri Averi ll are members of the Bars of th e State of New York and tl1e Soutl1ern and Eastern Distri cts of 1 ew York. Mr. Wasser man has had ex tensive trial experience in state and federal criminal cases, incl uding complex federal cases such as the nine mo nth "plot to blow up New York" trial in the Southern Disu·ict of New York (U.S. vs. Rahma n). Ms. Averill has worked with Mr. Wasserman since 1994. Retained Experts • David Barrett has been a private investigator since 1981. He has worked on over 2600 criminal cases, including hundreds of homocides, and capital cases in Georgia, Alabama and New Yo rk. Afte r se r ving as a me d ic in Vietnam, Mr. Bar rett wo•·ked as an investigator for the New York County District Attorney's office, and the n as Assistant Director of the New York State Career Criminal Prosecutio n Program. He has taught a t workshops for th e Neigh borh ood Defenders Se rvice of Harlem and the Assigned Counsel Plan of the First Department, State of ew Yo r k, and h e is the a uth o r of that P lan's Investigation Manual. • Pe te r Sc hmi dt fo u nded Punch and jm·isls whi le incarcerated at Allenwood Camp. A fo rmer Wall Street lawyer, Mr. Schmidt b rings a pa rti cu la1· pass io n and expertise to the field of legal research. Punch and ju1·ists is a weekly newsletter containing a lively ye t thorough analysis of the latest significant federal criminal cases; and its data bank is a valuable research tool. 0\·cm ber 1996 PRISON Uff 65 IN- HOUSE COUNSEL REPEAL THE DRUG LAWS AND RELEASE THE PRISONERS OF THE DRUG WAR-unless you'd rath er do the time. by Michael L. Montalvo, Drug War P.O.W. rug War prisoners must face the fact that the cour ts are not going to give re lief, and Lhat repeal of drug laws may be lhe only way home. If a mere six percent of the 1. 6 million priso ne rs or two perce n t of th e tota l numbe r or peo ple un der justice system co mro l get the ir family a nd frie nds to register to vote-and to call candidates, to demand repeal of these vicious a nd wasteful laws- we could b ring our drug war prisoners home. Public protest and vo te r m a nd ate ende d th e ill ega l Vie t nam wa r a nd ca n a lso end thi s illegal drug war. T h is e lection year may be the best op portunity to force th e legislators and candidates to liste n. D THE FACTS The extremely addi ctive drugs that cost society most in terms of human lives a re legal. These d r ugs are not seized , a nd the manufacturers a nd traffickers are not p rosecuted or incarcerated. T he ingestion of tobacco, perhaps th e most ad d ictive d rug-licit or illicit-curre ntly ava ilab le, ki lls ap prox imately 425,000 people per year. The drinking of alcohol ki l ls about 100, 000. But instea d of loc king people in cages, at enormous expe nse to taxpayers, for possessio n o r u se o f e ith e r of t h ese d ea d ly and addictive drugs, we offer cou nseling a nd tr ea tm e nt. Th e re is no sin o r sh a m e attac h ed to see kin g h e lp to end o n e's addiction to alcohol or tobacco. About 180,000 people d ie eac h year from ingestion of perscription drugs. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental H ea lth Ad mini st rat io n 's sa mp lin g o f 43 m e tr o p o li ta n a r ea hospitals, a total of a bou t 8,500 people die eac h year from taking illegal drugs. Do the math: Death s from tobacco, alcoho l, and legall y presc ribed drugs equals 705,000. Deaths from all illigal dr ugs combin ed eq u als 8,500. There h ave b ee n n o repo rted deaths fr om ingesti on of marijuana, yet more than eig ht mi l lion people h ave been 66 PRISON lifE NO\·cmbcr 1996 processed through the justice system , prosecuted, and often incarcerated and g ive n criminal records for possession o r sale of this substance. The numb er of d eaths a nd injuries from all illegal drugs is about th e sam e each year as the numbe r o f deaths a nd injuries from household accidents. According to a preliminary re p ort released by the FBI , e rious real crime fell in 1995 for a fourth straight yea r. Re ported in cidents of crime overa ll fell by 2 percent last year compared to 1994's statistics. Vio lent crime dropped by 4 percent (USA TODAY, .June 5, J996). Th e 60 p e r cen t i n c r ease i n prosecu tio ns a nd incarcera tions across the country is due to drug prohibition-a reminder o f the 1919 to 1933 alcoho l prohibition era whic h had hi g h numbers of arrests, incarcerations, an d fo rfe itu r es a nd which r es u l ted in frequent ga ng la nd vio le n ce ge ne rated by co mp e t i t ion, hi g h b lack m a r ke t prices, and turf wars. Wh e n the laws we re repealed, the vio lence and crime associa ted with alco h o l prohibition dropped to zero. PROMINENT PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR REPEAL OF DRUG lAWS The drug laws have completely failed to ha ndle the pe rceived drug proble m. Scarcely a week goes b y in which a lead in g co n se r vat ive econo mi st, politician or medical profess ional somew h e re d oes not pu b li s h a n ew re port calling for the end of th e "Drug War " a n d r e lease of the d r ug war priso n ers. The sim ila riti es of the antiVietnam war pub lic protests in 1968 b efore the De m oc r at ic at io n a l Conven tion an d today 's anti-d rug wa r o utc ri es are strong. Wh e n the public and the voters started te lli ng ca nd idates for office a nd c urre nt legislators to "bring ou r men h ome from the war." it took less th a n six years to e n d t h a t illegal war. We are again in a n election year, and there are again public protests to end anothe r war and rewrn our men and women to their fami lies. On February 12, 1996, the headline in the mos t prominent conservative ma gaz i n e in the U n ited S ta tes, The National Rroiew, boldly anno unced that "The War o n Drugs is Lost." The writer was none other than lhe Edito r-a t-La rge and respected conse r va tive aut h or, William F. Buckley, Jr. Mr. Buckley does not write very kindl y about "liberals," b u t gathered seven prominent pe rso ns to suppo rt his conser vative statement that th e drug laws must be repea led: Eth an A. Na d el m a n n, d irector or t h e Li ndsm it h Ce nter, a drug po licy re earch instilllte in New York City; Kun Schmoke, mayor of Baltimore; joseph D. Me ama ra, forme r ch ief of police in San Jose, Cali forn ia, and Kansas City, Missouri, c urrently a resea rch fellow at the H oover In stitute; The Honorable Robert W. Sweet, Federal distric t judge in New Yo r k; Dr. Thom as Szasz, De partme nt of Psyc hi atry of Syracuse U ni versity, and Steven B. Duke , Professor of Law of Science and Tech no logy at Yale Law School. These seven prom inent writers differed in methodology and analysis as fa r as th e grounds fo r abo lis h ing t h e drug laws, bu t there was no diffe rence among them o n the primary findings: (l) the drug wa r is not working, (2)crime a nd suffe ring have greatly increased as a result of pro hibition, (3)we have seen, a n d are co unte n a n c ing, a creeping a ttriti on of authen ti c civi l liberties, (4)the direction in wh ich to head is legalization, whatever mod ifications in kind , s peed, and va r iety co mmend themselves in study and practice. The response to tl1is article in a conservative magazin e cau sed Mr. Buc kley to write another article on July l, 1996 entitled "Is the War on Drugs Really Lost?'" The bottom line was the same. Prohibitio n of alcohol from 1919 to 1933 did not work. It c reated o nl y waste an d corTup tion , th e same conditions curre ntly resu lting fro m th e n ew ( 1970-1996) prohibition and ongoing wa r on drugs. ow dozens, if not hundreds, of local, stale and nation al organizations advocate a bo lishing drug laws, free ing drug war prisone rs, and puLLing the money wasted o n in carcera tio n into educa ti o n a nd counseling, like we d o with a lco ho l a nd toba cco a buse prob lem s. All groups conde mn tl1c sale of drugs to mino rs, but advocate th e taxation and legal sale of m a r ijua na , coca in e, h e r o in , methamphe tamin e, and othe r curre ntly controlled substa nces. This wo uld wipe out the black marke t, criminal gang turf wars, dange ro u sly impure drugs, a nd c rim es committed b y addi c ts see kin g quic k cash to suppo rt th e ir expe n sive drug ha bits. Educa tio nal instilll tio n s, fro m d ay ca re ce nte rs to uni ve rsities, could use some o f the money curre ntly was ted on dru g pro hibition Lo teach a b o ut th e ve t·y rea l d a n ge rs o f drug a ddi c tion and a bo ut p e r so na l respo nsibifity and cho ice in a free society. TO ENCOURAGE FAMILY AND FRIENDS TRADE THEIR VOTES FOR YOUR FREEDOM T he re are hundreds of local, stale and n a ti o nal g roups fighting th e drug laws (sec inse t p.66) . Ask your fa mil y a nd frie nds to con tact and suppo rt the m in m e re peal of the drug laws. The Libertarian Party is o n the ballot in every state, and part of the ir pla tform is th e re p ea l o f dru g proh ib iti o n in ord e r t o r edu ce c rim e a nd b lac k ma rke tce ring . The Libe rtarian Party has been gaining recognitio n a nd me mbers ove r t h e yea rs beca use i ts p la tfo rm is based o n common sense a nd individual rig h ts a nd d oes no t ch a nge ever y year li ke th e De m ocr a ti c and Re publi ca n p la tfo rms d o . A Libe narian Preside nt, Co n g r ess p e rso n o r Sen a t o r wo u ld aggressively lo bby to repea l t h e drug laws a nd release drug wa r POWS. T he Libe rtarian Party Special Re po rt states tha t th e Libe rta ri a ns wo uld e nd "th e governm e nt's pr ice supp o rt program for drug pushe rs ... o th e r wise known as drug p ro h ibition , o r th e wa r o n drugs." "The party positi o n is t h a t drug prohibitio n ma kes pushe rs rich by driving up th e pri ce o f drugs, makes eve r yo n e less safe by fo sterin g g a n g viol e nce a nd th eft a nd can ' t e nd drug a bu se a n y m o r e t h a n it co ul d en d alco ho l and tobacco abuse. The party no tes tha t the repeal of drug pro hibitio n wi ll e nd most o f th e street viole nce that now plagues o ur cities. o more innocem people wi ll die in shooto uts between dru g d eale rs. o m o re teenagers will be corrupted by the lure of easy mo ney from drug sales. Addicts wo n ' t brea k into yo ur h o use to fund th e ir hig h-priced ha bits. Police will no t b e co rrupt e d by bribes f ro m d ru g deale rs. No mo re ra pists, murdere rs, or c hild moles te rs will b e re leased fro m prison to ma ke room lo r drug o ffe nde rs. Libe rtaria n candidates stale tha t it is n o t th e place o f o ur governme nt to po lice a nd regulate our pe rson al lives, no ma u e r how badly we may c hoose to da mage ourselves with alcohol, to bacco, caffe ine, fat, or cocaine. Gove rnm e nt's fun ction is t o pro tec t o ur li ves a nd pro pe rty fro m assau l t o r threa t fro m othe rs, and to h o ld people respo nsible to r th e co nseque n ces of the ir ha rmfu l actio ns agai nst o the rs. One pho n e call or o ne le tte r will not ge t yo u o ut of th e a bsurdly lo ng drug war se n ten ce. But fi ve mi llio n calls and le u e rs e ver y wee k until th e e lec ti o n mig ht just make po liticia ns pay au e ntion t o pri so n e rs o f th e dru g war ( P.O.D.W.s). Po liti cia n s li ke to kee p tl1 cir j obs. Alm os t three out of eve r y 10 0 Ame ri can adults we re in prison o r o n pro bati o n o r pa ro le in 1995 acco rding to the Departme nt of Justice-tha t's 5.3 mi lli on p eop le. Approx im a t e ly 1.6 mi llion people a re in prison , a nd about 3.5 million are o n parole. Tha t is a huge and powe rfu l lo bby th at co uld turn an e lec t ion if the po we r of th e vo te was u sed to b a rga in with ca ndid a tes . Alt h o u g h in ca r ce ra t ed p e rso n s a nd fe lo n s witho ut r esto red ri g hts ca nn ot vote, th ey can inOue n cc tl1eir fami ly a nd frie nds to ge t out a nd vo le o n this most criti cal issue to our freedom. Don't put too mu ch h o pe in a "fa ir trial," a ppeal or ltnbeas c01tnts. The laws and punishments are getting more severe th a n e ve r, and p o litic ian s a rc us ing c rimin al d e fe ndan ts as punc hi ng bags a nd objects o f scorn to get votes. The re is not going to be a ny jud icial relief for a ny d efe nda n t or prisone r who is no t a rat. Sure, some times the courts throw a bo ne o f h o p e to u s, b u t th a t is o n e in a hundred cases. Th e n the o th e r courts find a reaso n why tha t new break will no t a pply to you r case. 1 o j udge is going lo guard your constiwtional rig hts at the risk o f being called soft o n crime. A convicted pe rson has a bout a 2 pe rcent chance of relief from the court'> . The only hope of freed o m fo r 98 pe rce nt o f dru g wa r pl"isoners is to change tl1e law. Ta ke a n h our a day, write, phon e, tell the drug war prisone r in th e cell n ext door and get all your family and frie nds to call th e candidates and te ll th e m to re pe al th e drug la ws a nd re lease th e POWs. Ge t ever yon e you kn ow to te ll t h e governme nt th a t th ey' re sic k a n d tired o f t hi s in sa n e, co rrupt, a n d politically-motivated so-called wa r tha t is ro bbing Am ericans of the ir cash a nd costing us our freed om. PRISONERS CAN CHANGE THIS LAW Pr isoners' fam ilies a nd fri e nds a re a pote n t ia ll y la rge lob by of po werful voters. If the 5.3 milli o n perso ns now u nder so m e form o f j ud icial restrai n t each e n courage fo ur o r mo re fa mi ly me mbers or friends to register to vo le in thi s e lec t io n , th ere wi ll b e ove r 20 million voters telli ng the can d idates a nd curre m politi cia ns to a bo lish the d rug laws and to release our me n and wome n from d rug offense sem ences. Proba bl y 60 to 70 p e r cen t o f t h e people now inca rcerated , on paro le, or proba ti o n , have drug law senten ces. If you are o ne of t110se d r ug cases, and you wam to get m at semcnce off you r back, seri ously thi nk a bo ut re peal o f the drug laws as yo u r m ost like ly m et h o d to succeed. He re are so me suggestions: • Ed ucate you rself. Learn the facts about the effects o f d rug prohibi tio n o n the country. • Ed ucate o th ers. Ma ke co pies o f this a rti cle a nd g ive it to othe rs and as k them to do the same. • As k fa m i ly m e m bers a n d o u ts ide friends to register to vote and to let th e ir congressio n a l re p rese ntatives, senators, governor, and the p resi de n t know th at t h ey wi ll n ot vo te for a Penn-Pals Park yourself on the Internet The first inmate penpal service on the World Wide Web. Your ad is on line 24 hours a day, in color and accessible to anyone on the WWW. THIS IS WHAT YOU GET • Color Photo scanned in your ad • 120 words for Your Message • listing for Hobbies & Interests • Vital Stats charted along the side • Your Direct Address listed in ad • Tips on writing a good request • 30 days w / photo- $25.00 • Additional only $5.00 per month • Free change of address if needed Write to Penn-Pals for an application Penn-Pals Prison Inmate Services Network P.O. Box 609360 Cleveland, OH 44109-0360 No,·ember 1996 PRISON Uff 67 THESE ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVELY OPPOSE THE DRUG WAR: Drug Reform Coordination Network, 4455 Connecticu t Ave. NW, Suite B-500, Washington, D.C. 20008 Criminal justice Policy Foundation, 1899 L Street NW, Sui te B500, Washington, D.C. 20036 NORML, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1010, Washington, DC 20036 Amnesty International, 322 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y 10001 The Libertarian Party National Committee, 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100, Washington, D.C. 20037 (ask abou t local ch apter in your state) Concerned Citizens Making a Difference, P.O. Box 1716, El Cerrito, California 94530 The Por tland Free Press, P.O. Box 1327, Tualatin, O regon 97062 The Anti-Prohibitionist League, 3125 SE Belmon t Street, Portland, Oregon 97214 T here are many more groups d edicated to fighting the unjust drug prohibition laws, some of Vl'h ich may be found on the Resources page of this magazine. T hese groups are run by goodhearted volunteers, mostly withou t any pay, so donations for our cause of freed om are always appreciated. co ntinuatio n of th e dru g war. Ask them to call e \·ery politician in th e ir voting distr ict wh o is see kin g o ffi ce a nd pledge a vote if tha t politician wi ll repeal th e drug laws and rewrn the prisone rs of the drug war home. If that candidate wi ll no t clearly pro mise to abolish the drug laws and bring ou r POWs ho me from prison , your fa mi ly and fri ends should tell the candidate that th ey wi ll g ive th ei r vote to th e ca n d idate who will-like the Libe rtaria n Party candida tes. Do the legwork and research to make it easy fo r your fami ly an d frie nds-give the m an easy, one paragra ph script to read over th e pho ne, a nd write th e lette rs for them . You can look up the nam es, addresses and pho n e nu mbers of your cutTen t politicians in p hone books and th e American Juris prude n ce Desk Re ference Book in the Law Library. After a ll, this is fo r your freedom. • Write le tte rs weekly, and ask your frie nds and family to do the same, to curre nt legisla tors in Washington demanding an end to the failed drug war, repeal of all drug laws, a nd re lease of all non-violent drug war prisoners now. • J o in political groups tha t advocate the re peal of the dJ"Ug laws and re lease of all the drug war prisoners. 68 PRISON lifE Novembe r 1996 Start now, and spe nd at least one hour o r mo re every day, urgi ng every person you know to tell everyone they know that th is nation is go in g bankrupt o n t h e fai led drug war, the educatio nal system is d ecaying because of the wasted money on the drug war, tha t the drug laws must be repealed and the drug war prisoners must be re turned home to join the job market to bolster the eco n o my a nd th a t th e solutio n to a drug proble m is e ducatio n and personal res p onsibility for one ' s actions. Education, not incarceration . SAMPLE LEITERS He re is a sample le tte r a priso ne r can write for his o r h e r m othe r, father, brothers, sisters, u n cles, a un ts, cousins, fri ends, for m er e mployers, n e ighbo rs a nd everyone e lse he or she knows who who will hel p: Dear [candidate, senatot; congressman, etc.]: r a m a taxpaye r and voter who is fed up with the drug war. Drug pro hi bitio n cau ses vio len t crime, robberies, mass in carcerations, cor rupti o n of th e police a nd justice syste m , and it drains the d o llars needed fo 1· educatio n. You ca nn o t stop drugs, b e it alcohol o r tobacco or th e illega l ones. rr yo u want my vo te, re pea l th e drug laws and drug H & H Federal Charters 5849 Okeechobee Blvd, Ste. 201 Wes t Palm Beach, FL 334 17 SERVING PRiSONS IN THE SOUTHEAST REGIONS Over 20 years experience bus transportation! Convenient pic k-up locations in Browa rd, Dade and Palm Beach counties. Rates include: • Hotel • Transfers to & from prison L BUSES HAVE: 1\L • wi.de-screen TV's troorns . ped res • fullY eqUlP \ar service • ce\lu • VCR RESERVE EARLY FOR ASSURED SEATS( Broward Co.: 954-419-1884 Da d e Co.: 305-957- 1555 law se ntences of p r iso n e r s-b rin g th em h ome. Otherwise I ' ll vo te for someon e who wi ll. Sincerely, [Name] Write o ne fo r eac h me mber o f your family o r friend, every week, so that all they have to d o is sign a nd m a il the le n e rs. The final thing I suggest is that you make ten copies or mo re of this a rticle and send a co py to everyone you know who wants you h ome, a nd ask the m fo r th e ir he lp a nd vote to e nd th e fa ile d dru g war a nd r e lease th e POWs. You must be dedicated and a b le to acce pt so m e rejec ti on if you really want yo ur freedom , a nd it may take some time. If yo u a rc willing t o make the comm itm e nt to this ca u se an d to winning your release, n ow is the Lime to stan your le tter-w riting or te lep hon e campaign. Do not stop un ti l th e war o n drugs is abolishe d-and it will be, like all prior unju st Jaws and "wars." VIle ca n use the power of the vote to win back our f r eedo m . When it wil l h ap pen d epends on u s. Alcoho l prohibition laws an d tJ1e Vietnam war were lllrned a ro und by publi c and voter pressure. We can and will e nd the Wa r on Drugs. 1\NIII 1\I~ 1~1\(~ 'rOUY Continued from page 25 had been in h ere fo r ni ne mo nths an d awa iting t ran sfer to Folso m , see th ing wi th h a tr e d at the wo rl d. Ear l re me mbered whe n Bad Eye h ad bee n merely a wi ld kid; now viciousness and evil had permeated the ma rrow of him. "B" Sectio n had its own exercise yard, actua ll y o utsid e th e wa ll s of Sa n Que ntin . A door way had been cu t in to th e oute r cellhouse wall-facing the Bay. The hospita l ran beside it, a n area o nehundred yards long with a fence topped by co ncer tina wire, outside of wh ich was a gu n towe r. Another rifl e m an was perc h e d just over th e door fro m the cellho use. Nobody was going an}'where. Except for a n inte r ve ning h ead la nd a mile away, th e Go lde n Gate a nd Alcatraz would have been visible. Each ti e r ha d a sp ecial classifica tio n an d was unlocked sepa ra te ly for two h ours t wice a week, m or nin g o r when the guards suddenly appea red. "Get your shit togethe r, Cope n ," o ne said. "The vacation is ove r. " Wh e n th e "B " Sec ti o n doo r was unlocked a nd th e noise and th e ste nch poured o ut , Earl' s sto m ac h turned qu easy. Fuc k it, h e th o ug ht st o ica lly. Yo u 've goua know how to take a loss or you can' t e njoy winning. He walked in , carrying a pillowcase with a ll his worldly possessions. T he chtmky sergeant in c harge of "B" Section was a n old-time r who liked Earl. "H ow's it going?" ''I'm o kay." " I th o u g ht yo u mi g ht not m a ke it wh e n they took you out. " "I wo uldn ' t c h ea t th e state o ut o f a minute." 'The re's a cell near your frie nds up o n th e third ti er. That's wh ere yo u wa nt to · go , I'd guess." "Is Decke r up the re?" "Two cells from Bad Eye. Yo u 'll be on the othe r side. You'll a ll be close en ough to talk.'' "Yo u m ean close enoug h to screa m." Ea rl jerked his h ead towa rd th e ti e rs wh e r e th e vo ices were a m ag nifie d babble. "We exercise togethe r, hu h?" "Same prog ram , o ne tier at a time." Beca use th ey took Earl u pstairs a t the end and th e n down the th ird tier rather th a n a lo ng the bonom fl oor, nobody noticed his an -iva i. He looked into the cells as h e wa lked by, especia ll y th ose n ear whe re h e was going, but eve ryone seemed to b e as lee p. As th e sergean t turn e d th e huge spike key in the lock a nd m o ti o n e d for t h e ba r t o be a fte rnoon. T h e bottom ti er was th e droppe d , Earl threw h is pillowcase o n hol e, men se r ving sh o rt punishme nt th e b are mattress on the fl oo r a nd se ntences, most go ing bac k to th e big looked a ro und. One wa ll was charred yard a fterward . Th e seco nd tier was an d b listered fro m a cell fire, but th e mili ta lll blac ks. T h e th ird tie r was fo r to ile t and sin k were sti ll o n th e wa ll; a nd militant whites a nd C hi ca n os, mostly th e mattress and blankets see m e d membe rs of th e Wh ite a nd Mexican c lea n e r th a n usu a l. H e bega n se LLing Bro th e rh oo d s. The fourth ti e r was a thin gs in o rder; thi s wo uld be hi s mix, me n locked up for rules viola tio ns who were n ' t affi li a te d o r expec ted to reside nce fo r a lo ng Lime. 'o t unti l lun ch , when th e hurricane st art troub le. Th e fifth t ie r was o f no ise slackene d temporarily, d id he protective custody, full of q uee ns and call out to ma ke his presence known to informe rs, a nd very few of its occupa n ts Bad Eye a n d R o n . Eve n th e n i t was ca me ou t to the ya rd to exercise, for as necessar y to yell, a nd it was impossible they passed th e o ther cells th ey were to ho ld a real conversatio n . H e was glad c ursed , spa t up o n , a nd sp las he d wi th th e d octor h ad continu e d his Va liu m piss a nd sh it. Most of Earl's friends were o n the th ird prescriptio n . H e h ated noise a nd this was t h e World Series o f c haos twenty- ti er, some of the m having been locked up fo ur h o urs a clay. It was n eve r en tire ly fo r years, a nd during the first exe rcise qu ie t, th o ug h nea r d aw n on ly two or pe riod, a bright, cold mo rning, he was three men he ld screamed conversations. e ngulfed a t the o u tset by a d oze n men. Every few mo nths someone com mitted There was la u gh t er, e mbraces, sui cid e by h a ng ing, and h a lf the m e n ha ndsha kes, pats o n th e back. Bad Eye were on th e edge o f insani ty. Bad Eye was th e most e ffusive, squeezing Earl in a " I ' lr I~ Ill~ I~ N J)f)l\TN Sf) l .. f)Nf; il SN i\1{1~ 'S Ill~ I .. I ..Y I.. f) f) KS I.. I Iii~ tJ 1) 'rf) 111~." bear h ug and lifting h im off the ground. Bad Eye wa goin g on th e next b u to Folsom a n d was g lad to be able to say goodbye in p e rson . H e was happy to leave, hoping that he could get a parole in a year or two. "I'll never get out if l stay h e re. I need a n ew ballpark. I've been down so long a snake's belly looks li ke up to me. My fuckin ' crime partne r has been o ut fo r six years ... a nd he was five years older'n me when we got busted." While the rites of cam a raderie were going on, Ron Decker stood aside fro m th e throng , smilin g softly. He like d watch ing Ea rl h a ndle people, e nj oyed th e kn ow le d ge th at Ea rl c h a n ge d fa~a d es eas il y, being wh ateve r hi s pa rti cu lar a udien ce wanted. or was it merely to ma nipula te them; rather it was because Ear l rea lly liked t h e m and wanted to ma ke th em at ease. Soon th e g rou p broke up , Bad Eye go in g to play h a n dba ll on the sma ll co urt where th e winn e rs kept p laying ch a lle ngers unti l beate n, th e o th e rs o f th e c rowd ha vin g n ot hin g more o f impo rta nce lO say. The n Earl slapped o ne on t he back a nd said that he had t hin gs to d isc u ss with h i partner, indi ca t in g Ron wit h a n oel. It was understood a nd accepte d . "Ma n , I' m so rr y ab o u t Co urt," Ea rl said as th e two embraced. It was the fi rst tim e Ro n had used the gesture without e mbarrassme nt. "It's a bumme r," Ron said, "but wha t the fuck .... " "vVe didn 't handle that move the best way." "H indsig ht is always wise. l d o n ' t feel bad about it. " aw, tha t assho le h ad a good kill in' co min ' to h im . Still. .. you wo uld 've bee n on Broadway, a nd he wasn ' t worth tha t. " Ro n shrugged. T he pai n was gone, the wou n d turned into a sca r tha t some times itched but didn 't hurt. "Le t's wa lk," Ea rl aid. early a ll the two score convicts o n th e sma ll ya rd were n ea r th e lo oming cellhouse whe re th e handball court was. T he fe nced e nd was open to th e win d, occasio n a l g usts o f wh ic h shi ve re d it. The dark water· of the Bay h ad ti ps o f wh ite. Ron had on a coat and tu rned up th e collar, but Earl was in shirtsleeves and j amm ed his hands down inside his waistban d a nd hun ch e d his sho ulde rs, j e rki ng his h ead to indicate th a t th ey sh oul d wa lk th e twe nty yards along th e fe nce. 'What'd your mo ther say?" Earl asked. "Sh e cou ldn ' t b e lieve it. .. a n d sh e's r·eady to go broke if it'll do any good ." to th e Disc i p l in a r y "B ee n Commiuee?" "Uh-huh. They gave me a year in he re. J esus, it's an in sa n e asylum . obod}' , 0\cmber 1996 PRISDM UIE 69 to move, a nd even if h e isn ' t a fr a id , T hey'd p lay until th ey were beate n and there 's a sort of ine rti a th at's hard to t h e n wa lk and talk until lock up was called. Though the method of escape overcome." Bad Eye had now moved fifteen feet was still unk nown, t h ey ta lke d about from t h e s pec tato r s a t the h a nd ba ll wha t t h ey wo uld do. D esp ite Ro n 's co urt a nd was ca lling a nd gestu rin g. assurances that his mother wo uld g ive "Bette r go," Ron said. "But I don't see them refuge a n d mon ey an d u·ansportation o u t of th e coun u·y, Earl why he wants you ... bad as you play." "Fuck yo u," Ea rl said, wanting som e wanted to make some robberies to be horse p lay but r emem b e ring t h e in de pe ndent. H e knew two ban ks ripe rifl e m e n a t eac h e n d of th e ya rd. fo r heisting, and he had a simple type of Horse play was forb idde n , and fi ghts armed robbe ry, one tl1at did n 't require \Vere broke n u p \Vith bull ets, a nd planning, that had bee n successfu l in som e times th e guards cou ldn ' t te ll the th e p ast. "It's as easy as stickin' u p a fuckin' liquor sto re, an d you' re a lot less diffe rence. As Ea rl wa lked qui cklyeven playing the clown by skipping a few like ly to ge t b lowed away b y some ti mes-h e tho ugh t about Ro n 's words asshole in the backroom witl1 a shotgun. conce rning the changes wrought by San .Just pick a h igh-class jewele r, not Kay's Q u entin. He h im se lf wa s a l r ead y or a jun k place, bu t so m ething li ke perma nently maim ed , but Ron wasn't. It Tiffany o r Van Cleef. Go in and ask to was important tha t he not ser ve a long see some Patek Philippe's or unset twocarat diamonds. When the clerk brings sentence. "We' re nex t," Bad Eye said. "Wa nn a 'em , just open the coat a nd show 'em t h e b u tt of t h e pistol. Workin' a lone, play the front or the back?" with out much planning, a dozen two"Front. I can't play the back." Two Chi ca n os from th e Mexi ca n grand watc hes is a pretty sweet sting." "We don' t have to do th at," Ron Brotherhood, both frie nds of Earl 's, had wo n the p r evio u s game; t h ey stood protested, vo ice rising in exasperatio n, waiting in sweat-dampe n e d T-shirts . wonde ring if Earl ha d an obsession witl1 "C'mon, old motherfucker," one called. taki ng risks that wou ld bring him r ight "You can ' t play ei LI1.er p lace." back. "Yo u do n 't h ave to . Maybe I don't Earl was ta kin g off hi s s hirt. "You might h ave to turn in your Mex ican either. But I ain't leanin' on nobody. I ca rd when thi s o ld peckerwood run s carry my own weigh t, brother." you o ff the cou rt." H e borrowed a re d "Okay . .. o kay. We'll see what happens bandanna and wrapped his ha nd in it in whe n we get o ut-if we get out." "Have some confide nce in me, kid." lie u o f a glove. Earl and Bad Eye lost, bu t the gam e 'Then show me some th ing." T he "B" Section clerk went to tl1e San was close an d th ey wo u l d h ave won exce pt that Earl \Vas winded long before Quentin main line and Earl got the job. the last poinL. The stripped cell a nd the From 7:00 a. m. until evening he was out inactivity of the psych ward ha d taken its of his cell, doing a li ttle official typing toll. Whi le he was cooli ng off, the steel and runni ng th e tiers. When drugs were door opened and a g u ard bange d a smuggled in from the yard, he invariably la rge key against it, signaling tha t it was go t an issue n o matter who received tim e to ge t b ack to th e cages. The t h em. In anot h er week he u sed hi s convicts formed a ragged line and filed influence to get Ron assig n ed as "B" slowly inside. Within th e door h a lf a Section barbe r. I t was shaky fo r a few d ozen guards waited in a row, frisking days, Ron scarce ly a bl e to te ll t h e eac h convict to ma ke sure no weapons difference between clippe r blades a nd had been tossed down fro m the hospital sh ea rs, bu t th e solid co n vic ts simp ly refused t o ge t hair c uts u nt i l he'd windows. practice d on t h e fifth tier protective ~ a rl and Ron se ttle d in to the routine c ustody inmates. ecessity is a brilliant ~ of "B" Sectio n. Bad Eye was in th e t eac h er; in a week he cou ld g ive a cell adj acent to Ron's, a nd wh en he was passable ha ircut. tran sfe rred (despite thre e g uards h e sta rted at o n e e nd o f th e t ier a nd s the mon th s of winter passed , two stopped to sh a ke h a nds with a ll his 1 events bro ke th e basic routine. In frie nds), Earl moved into the cell . They February, Earl was near the door to tl1e co uld ta lk with out yelling most of the exercise yard when t h e seco n d ti e r, ' tim e . At exe r c ise un lock they we re filled with m ilitant blacks, came out. His closest to th e sta irs, he nce first on the usual cautio n had lapsed, because tl1ere yard to get th e h a ndball co urt. Earl h a d bee n no race wars fo r n early two ta lk e d R o n into p laying, a nd they years, and he was "all right" witl1 several ITIOVe." invariably had th e first game, invariably blacks on the tier. Suddenly one leaped "I've noticed that," Ron said. "After a losing for t h e first month , but t h e n from the crowd and stabbed him with a man gets a few years invested, h e's afraid beginning to win a t least half tl1e time. sharpe n ed bed spring, a piece of wire would believe a place li ke th is." "If l found a way out of h ere, o ut of San Quentin, would you want to sp lit?" Ron conte mplated just a few seco nds. "If you h ad a way out-1 don ' t really wan t to do five more years to th e pa role board . . . and th e n n ot eve n b e sure they'll let me out. Do yo u have a way?" "Naw, no t right now, but I can find a hole so mewhe re. I know tha t. The secre t o f busting o ut of o ne of these garbage cans is to keep your mind on it all the tim e, keep think in g, wa t ch in g . I do know wh at won't work, and a ll the ways that've worked before . But eve n if we get out, that's j ust part of it. It's a bitch stayin g o ut. We' ll need som ewhe re to go, someo ne to he lp-a nd really a way o ut of t h e countr y. Everybody in thi s coun try is in t h e com pu ter. The on ly place a fugitive is safe he re is he rdin g sh eep in Mo nta na or som ething. Shit! That's worse'n be ing on the yard." "If you ge t u s out, I can get us some h e lp. My m oth e r. .. and I kn ow so me peopl e d ow n in the mounta in s of M ex ico-S i naloa-wh o run thin gs . They've got all the guns in the hills. The au thorities do n 't go in with Jess than a battalio n . I know some people in Costa Rica, too. If you get us out. .. ." They sto ppe d at th e corner of t h e fence a nd looked o u t to where cloudmotLie d sunl igh t dan ced across the tops of Ma rin 's green hi lls. A highway came betwee n t\vo of the m, angling in a slig h t grade, the myriad windshi elds sparkling li ke j ewels. "Yes," Ron said, "I like some of wha t this p lace has d o ne for me, but I don't like what a lot of years will do ." Ea rl sla pped him on the back. "Yeah , you ' ll sta rt j ac ki n' off over fa t-butted boys." H e laughed loud ly as Ron made a wry face a nd shook his head. The ir atte ntio n was a ttracte d by Bad Eye calling for Earl; the n wavi ng fo r him to co m e p lay ha ndba ll. They h ad th e next ta lly. Earl h e ld up a h a nd an d gestured for him to waiL. ''I'd better go. You know how se n sitive he is. Anyway, we da mn sure can ' t escape from in th e ho le-though a co u pl e of game foo ls did it a few years ago." "Fro m "B" Section?" "Yea h , just c ut their way o ut of the ce ll s; t h en cut their way o u t of the cellh ouse-and nobody saw 'em. Not th e g un bull in th e cellb loc k, not the g un tower outside, n o body. Na tura ll y they got b usted in a hot minute when they s tarte d runnin g amo k o u tsid e. Anyway, we' ll just cool it in here, do the hole time, and get back on the yard. A sucker doi n ' time has to be patient. .. but not too patient when it comes time to 10 PRISON llff November 199(; I si milar to an icepic k, though not so str a ig ht or sh ar p. Thrus t into the sto mac h , it co u ld have done considerable harm, but the blows were ove rha nd a nd Ea rl got up an arm; the rud e weapo n punctured his bice p and the n, as h e ducked away and ran, sank into the flesh above h is sho ulde r blad e a nd was s topped b y bon e, ca using supe rficial holes. The gu n ra il guard saw the nash of movement, blew h is whistle, and loosed a shot th at so unded li ke a ca nnon inside the building. The guards closed immediately on the black. As Earl sa t o n th e hospita l g urne y whi le p e roxide was poured into the ho les, he to ld Captain Midnig ht that he had nothing to sa y about anythin g or a nyo ne. H e was told by other blacks that the assailant was dera nged , and though t tha t whites were trying to put a radio in his brain. When word came from the ya rd that the White Brothe rh ood pla nned to re talia te by indiscriminately sta bbing blac ks , Ea rl sent T.J. a long n o te, te lling him th a t su ch stupidity wou ld ma ke him want to stop talking to th e m; that it wou ld start a race war n eedlessly; that j ust o ne crazy ma n was responsible, a nd Earl wouldn ' t even take reven ge o n him b eca use h e was c razy. Tho ugh h e didn ' t add it, Ea rl had never approve d o f race war-and wh e n h e accepted that fighti ng was necessary for surv iva l because th e o th er sid e had declared wa r, h e still d isap proved of indisc rimi na t ely murd ering people b eca u se th ey were ava ilable. Indeed , bo th sides did it, and th e uninvo lved were usually the casualties; th e warriors watched th e mselves a nd stayed out of bad situa tio ns. For seve r a l days the blacks in "B" Sec ti o n we re wary, knowin g who the riOe me n would shoot if trouble tarted, disbelieving Ea rl-who went to the cell of the Muslim minister a n d to ld him the re wou ld ·be no re pe rcussions-until the tension oozed away, leaving just the no rmal d egree of para no ia. Then h e had th e respect of some of tl1 e lead e rs of the blacks, they kn ew that altho ugh he wou ld "get down " in a war, he wa not an agitator. Th e secon d impo rtant in cide nt was SLOneface's retire me nt and tl1 e arrival of "Tex" Waco from Soled ad as th e n e w assoc iate warden. When Earl got t h e n e ws, h e began p opp ing finge rs a nd d o in g a dan ce. Ro n, seated in the barbe r chair, asked him wha t was up. "\.Ve il , bro '," he began in a h eavy Sou thern accent, th e ki nd whe re every phrase beco mes a qu es tion, "this heah new 'sociate warde n ? H e was a rooki e hea h ? He was a-goin ' to U nivers ity of he let his hair grow out. A shaved head would be co n spic u o u s when they escaped. He discove red th at he was g ray a t the temples. Lieu te nant Seeman also had inOuence with Associate Wa rd e n \>\laco, havin g bee n a se rgeant whe n Waco was just a guard . T he n ew A.W. agreed to review both Earl and Ro n as soon as h e go t settled. It was a month, a nd Ron was released to th e gene ral p o pul at io n o n e cla y ahead of Earl because of a paperwo rk mixup. Bedding unde r one a rm, shoe box o f pe rsonal possessio ns in th e o th er ha nd, Earl Copen came out of th e South cellhouse rotunda into th e big yard . A dozen fri en d s we re wa iting, th ough some o f his closest were gone. Not o nly Bad Eye, but also Paul Adams, tran sferred to ca mp , a nd the Bi rd to anothe r state wh e re h e had a detaine r. Bu t TJ. Wi lkes was tl1e re, grinni ng like a Jack o' Lantern (comple te with missing tooth) and su·etchi ng a huge sweatshi rt taut across his chest an d a rms. Vito was also o n hand and took the bedding fro m Earl so TJ. could hug him a nd pat him o n the back. "Ol 'thing," TJ. said. "I was s h o' nuff worried they wasn't ne'e r gonn a let you outta there." "Boy, I ain 't gonna le t n obody mo-lest you. 'Cept me." He reached around and squeezed Earl 's rump. "Still firm. " "Easy on th e h e m o r rhoids, c hump ... a nd sh ow so m e r·espect. I' m tl1 e senior citizen since Paul split. " T he gathe red convicts laughed. Baby Boy shook hands and patted him on the b ack, as usual less effu sive th a n the o th ers. " 1 eed anything?" Ba b y Boy asked. "I've got a full can teen draw." "I' m all right. Thanks, bro'." Ne xt Vi to gave a "b rother h ood" h a ndshake, interloc king thumbs so it Cali for ni a a t Berke ley? We ll , this o l ' was two cle nch ed fists-and whispered , convict h ea h did that o l' boy's te rm "I've got a paper of stu ff for you." papers for him ? In o ther words," h e "That sounds like a winner." T.J. p u t hi s a rm a ro und a squ aredropped the accent, "I've got long juice j awe d , lea n convict that Earl didn't with this dude ." recognize. "This is my home boy," T j. "Think he'll he lp us escape?" "No, sm artass m o th e rfucke r l But I'll said. "Name of Wayne." "We talked through the shi ner," Earl be t that 1-me-get o utta the h o le in the nex t couple of m o nths. Yo u be tter said as he cle nched hands with Wayne, knowing th a t h e'd been co n victe d of act right if you want out." "No, yo u can ' t g ive me no h ead a nd ki ll ing a blac k with a roofing h a tch et d uring a Soledad race war -and that h e you can 't fuc k me." Earl lea ped forwa rd , put a one-a rm was in p ri so n fo r a crim e h e hadn't headlock on Ron, an d the n rubbed his committed. A car was ide ntified as bei ng knuckles hard across th e scalp. "What used in a robbery, a nd the car salesma n about b eati n ' the shit outta you?" iden tifi ed Wayn e as having bought it. "C' m o n ," Ron protes ted ; h e rea ll y Actually, it was Wayne's brothe r who had disliked horseplay. "Quit fuckin ' a round purchased the ca r a nd commined th e a nd find us a way ou t of here." c rim e. So Way n e h ad par laye d a Earl was searc hin g through hi s miscarriage of justice in to murder a nd a knowledge of San Que ntin for exactly life sentence. "Ronnie's worki ng," Baby Boy sa id, tha t, and in a nticipatio n of the discover y November 1996 PRISON Ull 71 reading Ea rl 's swee ping g lance. "They assigned hi m to the texti le mil l." "Aw, fuck!" Earl said in disgust; but he was confide nt tha t he co u ld ar range a beuer job for his friend . "Wh ere'd th ey put you to work?" Vito asked. "Sheeit! You know I do n ' t do n othin ' bu t work for Big Daddy Seeman ." "He's already got a cle rk." "\1\lell, I' m th e ex oflicio clerk." "Ah do n ' t k no w wh at tha t is," T.J. piped in , "but it godd a mn sure sou nds good." "Whe n yo u go in ' back to th e o rth block?" Vito aske d ; it was a sa rdo nic question ; th e reg ul atio ns calle d for a year of clean be havior. "It' ll take a couple of weeks," Earl said, winki ng b roadl y. "But m e, I 've got a sin gle cell ... eve n if it is in the g h e tto with the riffraff. " "Let's get your shit into the g he t-to," TJ said, taking the bedding fro m Vito. "You ca n'l get in. You do n ' t live th e re. " As th ey c rossed th e yard , h e ad in g t owa rd t h e barre d ga te to th e East cellhou se, TJ. confide d th at the parole board had g iven him a r e lease s ix m o nth s away, b u t he ke pt t h at fa c t hidde n excep t from his closest partners. A m a n sc h e dul e d fo r p a r o le was vu lne ra ble; e n em ies wo uld b e a ll too happy if he d id someth ing to have the paro le take n away- a nd o th e rs mi g ht figure th ey could take advantage of him in so m e mann e r beca u e h e wo uldn ' t wa nt to lose th e parole. He wa nte d to kn ow if Ro n would se nd him to peop le ac ross th e b ord e r so h e co u ld ta n traffi cking in drugs a t a good level. "I ca n m a ke a lot o f m o n ey in Fres no, be lieve it or n ot. And I've got to stop ro bbi n g p eo p le. T h e fu c kin ' parole board to ld me that they' ll bury me if I b rin g back anoth e r rob be r y. Th ey' re seri ous abou t ro bbery." "About dealing dope, too." "Yea h , I know, I' d go to work, 'cept you know h ow lazy I a m . Fac t is, they make you lazie r in he re. He llfire, whe n I was a sprite l could pick cotton- " "Quit lyin ! Go d dam ni t , if so m eo n e listens to you for five m inutes, you gotta start Iyin ' . You talked to Paul too much. " TJ. gaped his mouth a nd aucc red his eye in a pa rody of inn oce n ce; th e n became erio us. "\\\1h y don't you talk to him? If I co uld dea l fo r six mon ths, I'd buy me a coc ktail loun ge a nd re tire." "I'll run it to him. Arc you go nn a have any bread to inves t o r d o you wan t it fronted?" "I could pull on e t·obbc ry." T hey were o n the fo u rth tier a nd th e so und o f th e security bar be in g ra ised b ro ke the co nversatio n . A g ua rd was co ming down the tie r with the spike key 72 PRISON lifE No\'cmber 1996 to un lock th e cell ga te. T h e n oor was gritty with d irt a nd the nuo rescc nt wbes had bee n torn out for some other cell. O the rwise it was in good sha pe. Ea rl's gear was put be hind the bunk where it co uldn ' t b e fi s h e d o ut. Th e gua rd loc k e d t h e ga t e a nd dr o pp e d th e security ba r be hind the m. Wh e n th ey exited th e cellhouse, Ea rl dec id e d to go to th e ya rd o f£i ce. T.J. wa lked h im as far as the yard ga te; th e n wrnc d down the stairs toward th e lower }rard a nd th e gym. Earl fe lt good walking down the road between the library a nd ed ucati on building. The warm su n was out and th e a ir was fresh. Com ing from t.h e ho le to th e main li ne wa similar to go ing fro m pri so n to t h e stree ts; h e experi e nced th e same ex h ilara ti on . A week late r th e Ca th o lic c h a p la in n eeded a c le rk. The o ld-lin e convict who had had the j ob had a lways bee n "solid," but o n e ni g ht h e was sec re tly taken out to testify at a grand jury a bout a Mexican Brothe rh ood killing. Word go t o ut imm ediately, a nd h e foo lish ly we nt a bo ut hi business. Late th e n ext a fternoon, while tl1e priest wa visitin g Death Row, a pair o f C hicanos slipped in to th e cha pe l office with sh ivs and began car vin g. Miracu lo usly, the victim lived despite thirty stab wounds. He was neve r agai n see n in San Que nti n (a nd he didn't testify at tl1e tria l). Ro n Decker go t th e j ob. H e had talked t o t h e c h a pl ai n o fte n wh e n gcuing books before th e Buck Rowa n stabb ing, a nd Lieutenant Seema n was a sta u n c h Ca th o lic a n d reco mm e n de d h im. R on was h ap p y t o esca p e t he cotto n texti le mill (ever}' day he ca me up the stairs wi th cotton lint stuck to his clo thes a nd h is hair and the rhythmic noise of looms ringing in h is cars), bu t h e really wan ted to esca p e from Sa n Quentin. Ea rl had im p la nted the idea, an d it grew to do mi nate evcr}'thing e lse. A smuggled letter to his mother brought a reply-in ve il ed words-that sh e would be on ha nd whe never he needed h e r ; sh e wou ld hide th e m a nd h e lp the m ge t o ut of the country, whatever the cost. This was kerosene on the flame o f Ron 's des ire. And becau se h e had a r ranged for the all-important outside he lp, he fe lt no qualms a bout ho unding Ea rl to find the way o ut. When Earl asked him if he wan ted to move back to the orth cellho use, Ron answered that it was all r ight for n ow, but h e really wanted to move to Mexico. As for Earl, the more th ey hashed it over and th e more h e r efl ec te d , th e more certain he was that they need ed a tru ck. H e excl uded o th e r ideas. H e' d hoped that they could use the laundry truck, a ro ute taken fifteen years earlie1· witho ut the officials learn ing how t he man got o ut. Th e la undr y fore m an watched while th e panel tru ck was loaded with bundles o f free personnel clo thi n g, and th e n h e rode it to th e · sallyport ga te and gave it clearance. But there wa a thirty-second weakness. After the tru c k was load ed a t a ve h icl e e ntrance, th e fore man locked that from inside a nd walked fifteen fee t to co me out of the building throug h a pedesu·ian door. Then he got in the u·uck. Wh ile h e covered the fifteen feet, there was Lime to burrow under the bundles be ing take n out to the prison reservation. The scheme requ ired cooperatio n from the co n vic t tru c k dri ver-a nd wh e n Earl c h ecked o n th is o ne h e fo u n d , to h is chag rin, that the man was suspected of being a stool p igeon. Earl contem plated having the d river bas h ed in th e head with a pipe-hun but n ot slain-to get h im out o f the way. He decided agai nst it because nobody knew who wou ld get th e job and because h e didn ' t want to get a ny of his friends in u·o uble. False gas ta nks an d fa lse sea ts were also run thro ug h the m e ntal grind e r. The former could be made in the sheet metal sh o p , the latter in uph o lste r y. They might work, espec ia lly a fa lsebottom ed gas tank, but just o ne body cou ld go o ut. The tru cks easiest to use were th ose loaded with products, mainly furniture, in the industrial area. A guard stood o n the loading dock watch ing eve r yt hi n g a nd the n locking the truck. It was good securi ty. IJ the p1·ocedure was followed di lige ntly, nobody could sn eak into a tru ck and th rough th e wa lls. T he naw was human natur e. Aft e r m o nths o r years of uneventfu l routine-what could be more dull th an watch ing truc ks be loaded, un less it was sittin g all night in a cla rk gun tower watch ing a wa ll?-any g ua rd lost h is concentration , a nd ma ny could be distracted for the few seconds n eeded to cluc k into a u·uck. Earl knew sent its show. Those who didn ' t go to the of two successfu l esca p es from San show cou ld watch the Bowl games in the Que n tin under exactly t h ose gym. The few who wanted to do ne ithe r circumstances. aturally they were years had to stay locked in their cells. The a p a rt, for after one happ e n ed , th e cell ho use tie rs were e mpty. Earl was the security was intense for a year, two years. South ce ll hous e cl e r k, Seeman was It had bee n eig ht years since anyone had cell house sergea nt. Correctional Office r used it. Besid es havin g a phe nom e n al Tex Waco h ad sneaked into a mattress su ccess pe rce n tage, this particular way st o rage room for a drunk e n nap. A r equ ired no commitme nt until th e lie ute na nt came around, asked for the acLUal mo ment. The guard was "turned " officer. Earl told a lie that Waco was on or not tu r n ed. I t was differe nt from the fifth ti er searching a cell, and when cutting the bars or digging a tunnel (the the lie utenant said he wa nted to talk to las t was impossible because th e prison him, Earl h ad volunteered to get him , was on bedrock a nd the wa lls went waked him, a nd straig htened him out. nearly as deep into the earth as up into The lieutenant's n ostri ls flared and his the sky) where the convict was eyes narrowed, but no thing was said. co mmitted the mom e n t the hacksaw or did Officer Waco eve r mention it. blad e made a groove. H e'd gon e up the pro motional ladder The insurmountable proble m in using qu ic k ly, mov ing from institution to industrial area trucks was a n inability to in st itut ion , a nd n ow was assoc iate reach them. Even Earl couldn't go the re wa rd e n wh e re h e' d sta rte d . H e without a pass or a phone call to th e recogn ized Earl and beckoned him. g u a rd on t h e indu str ies ga t e . Even "Wh e n the he ll 're you gonna stay out, industries cle rks coulcln 't loiter day after Earl?" he asked. 'Wh en they stop catchin' me. " clay o n the loadin g d oc k. Jus t a few Tex Waco shook his head and made a covicts-those on the clock itself an d , pe rhaps, those working in the shipping cluc king n o ise. "My cle rk is going on roo m-co u ld wait a nd watch for t h e parole in fo ur months. If you wa nt the c h a nce. I f h e, Ea r l Co pen, got a j ob job, you can have it. " c hange to loadi n g truck s in th e When Earl mention ed the o ffe r to furnitur e factory, h e mi g ht as well Seeman, who sti ll had a good cle rk so a nno unce h is p lans in the San Quentin that Ea r l ac tua l ly did no work, the News. And if Ro n a lso go t a job lie ute n a nt to ld him to ta ke the job . c ha nge ... sheeit! Eve n if it was possible, Seeman grinned. "He ll, I need a frie nd the cha nce to go m ig ht be months away, in high p laces. And it could just get you a nd Earl ' s life was much too easy to ou t i n a few years-even wi th th at exchange it for blisters, splinte rs, a nd a unfortun ate incident. " Earl wanted the j o b , knowing Waco sore back. Easy as h is existe n ce was b y co nvi ct was a poor write r in a n exec uti ve s ta nd a rds , somethin g h a ppe n e d to positio n that required lots of reports, herald that it could become even easier. m e m o randum s, and adm ini s tr a tiv e One afte rnoo n he was crossing the plaza orders. The associate warden wo u ld be toward th e c ha pel wh e n Tex Waco came depend ent on his cle rk. Earl could take o ut of the custodial o ffices e n ro ute to up the slack, just as he'd done with the t h e front ga te . T he ne w associate term pa pers years ago, a nd by doing the warde n was as plump as Stoneface had work, h e would have access to so me of been cad ave r o u s. Hi s n ot-quite-fa t th e power. Even under Ston eface, the physique was the same as the last time associa te ward e n 's cl er k was treated Earl had see n him , but the h a ir was r es p ec tfu l ly by l ie ute nants a nd thinn e r and fash ionably lon ger, and deferentially by lowly guards who didn 't where hi s uniforms h a d once b ee n wa nt to spe nd a year in a graveyard-sh ift pa tched a nd his shoes resoled, now h e wall post. The clerk co uld arrange cell was garbed mo re fashio n ably than a ny m oves simpl y b y asking t h e control o ther official. It was something convicts se rgea n t to do th e favor-a dozen a talked about; and as a group they gave a week a t fi ve carton s apiece was a ni ce few po ints to a sh a rp dr esse r. Earl inco m e . J o b assignments were even n od d ed and smi led. Wh y n o t? H e ' d easier to arrange. Even getting a ma nknown the man for a d ozen yea rs, had all o th er things being equal -a tra nsfe r eve n covered fo r h im on New Year's Day to a m inimum priso n or camp wasn't whe n h e cam e to work still reeking of impossible. Waco was easygoing, had a gin and staggering, his thermos full of conscie nce, a nd could be manipu la ted. scotc h fo r his keyman (it was a while Earl would ce rtainl y be a whale in a before he learned that h e cou ldn ' t trust fish pond. H e'd b e ab le to p atro n ize convicts and co uldn 't affo rd to be too Lieute nan t H odges, th e Christia n, and "good" without be ing betrayed). New Li e u t e n a nt Cap tain Midnight, th e Year's Day was a show in the mess hall; und e rcover racist. The average clerk nearly eve r y nightclub in th e Bay area working so close to officials suffe red the No,·embc r 1996 PRISON llff 73 suspicion of yard co nvicts. They mig ht ask a nd pay for favors, and th e me re fact of the job wa sn 't e n o ugh to brand a m an, but usually th e re was a quest ion mark after his n ame. Earl wouldn ' t even h ave that proble m, except to fish a nd fo o ls. His fri e nd s were th e mos t notorious white clique in San Quentin. H e'd known the leade rs of the Chicano cl ique since r efo rm sc h ool, a nd the mea n est black s res p ecte d him . Everything in the prison world would be his, and it was n e ith e r more n o r less ho llow a triumph tha n anything elseespecially co nsid e ring that it was a ll Vanity, or so said Eccelesties (sic). And what had Milton 's Satan said wh en God hurled him from heaven to the abyss? Some thing about it be ing be tte r to reign in the pit than ser ve in heave n . But wh e n Ron h ea rd , the yo unger man mad e a flatu le nt, di sp a ragin g sound with his mo uth. "Ea rl, brother," h e reproached, "Let's get out o f he re." "We' re gon na do that. I'm just runnin ' it down . What th e fuck. You wa nt we shou ld just go kick on the gate a nd say, 'Let us out, cocksucker?' Is th at it?" "Don ' t r idicule m e with that p h ony countr y twang. Yo u ' re the o ne who said that peo ple want to escap e wh e n t h ey get here, and then se ttle into a routine and the feve r die s . Th ey get too comfortab le , don ' t want to put it toge th er, don ' t wa nt to take th e risk." Ro n shoo k h is head for e mphasis. "I'm n o t going to le t you re st until we're sipping Margaritas in Culiacan." "Fu ck! I raised a monster. Maybe we sh ould think a bo ut h avi ng som e b od y subpoena us out to a small county jail. The g immic k is to take th e too ls with you from he re-ha ndcuff key, hac ksaw blades be tween the shoe soles. We can get it don e in the shoe shop. " "Do yo u know anybody to subpoena us?" " o t offl1and. n "Th e prin ciples-o r th eo ries-ar e wond e rfu l. I agree about th e tru cks. I agree with what you just said. But le t's put th eo r y into prac tice . Can you dig it?" Ea rl sigh ed. "Yea h , I can dig it. Say, why don't you find the hole?" "I'm trying, but ! wasn't born here." "Tha nks, sma rtass motherfuc ker." T hey g rinned at each other. 'J, whe he revelation came two nig hts la te r n Earl was somnole nt on he roin. He was o n his back, naked, a shee t over him, a ciga re tte in one hand while h e lackadaisically scra tched his pubic hair with the o th e r, savo ring th e ultim a te e uphoria. H e wasn' t really thinking, but images o f th e d ay's eve nt fl oa te d through his mind. Big Rand had looked 74 PRISON Uff November 1996 from th e yard o ffi ce window; then said he'd like to put troublemaking niggers in th e De mpsey Dumpste r. Ea rl had grunted a nd loo ked . The huge yea r-old trash truc k was h alted in fro nt of the education building. The swampe rs were dumpin g barre ls o f trash in it. Th e gu a rd sa t in th e cab of th e fla t-nosed vehicle. Earl had alread y tho ught a bout and d isca rded th e dumpster for the same reason that th e guard could sit in the cab instead of watching. Whe re the old truck had been double watched, a nd probe d with stak es at th e gate, and wa tched while dumped , the ne w u·uck protected itself. ..anyo ne climbing into th e dump ster would be co mmitting suicide: a crusher inside applied ton s of press ure. Earl didn 't know how ma ny tons, but proba b ly eno u g h to turn a convict into a panca ke. Except. .. If. .. His h ea rt pounded with his excited thoughts. H e tri ed to calm himself by looking o ut a t th e night and th e lig hts twinkling in th e hills across the Bay. It lo o ke d so easy th a t a n in exo rable pendulum of do ubt swung back through th e certainty. Ye t doubt h ad n o facts, wh ile his inspira tio n seemed to have all th e fac ts. Ruthl ess ly h e thro ttl e d enthusiasm, and stifled his impulse to wake Ron and te ll h im as soo n as th e cell doors opened. Earl wou ld check it out first. Too excited to sleep, feel ing too good because of th e dop e, h e s m o ke d cigarettes until h is mouth was raw. Near dawn he dozed off without expecting to . And dreamed of escap ing from Alcau·az, or trying to; h e was r u nning up a nd down th e sh o reline, un able for so me reaso n to plunge into th e water a nd swim for freedom. T h e n Earl ca m e awa ke, th e ce ll doors were open a nd everyone e lse had go ne to the mess hall. H e dressed ' ' quickly, no t bothering to wash or comb his h air, wanting to get into the mess ha ll before it closed. A guard was sta rting to close the steel d oor, but he ld it whe n Earl called. Once inside, he wen t throug h th e lin e, but aba ndon e d the tray th e mom e nt h e reached the table. Instead , he wen t back up the aisle into th e kitche n. It was out of bounds, but co n vi ct coo ks, pot was h e rs, a nd o th er workers were eve r ywh e re a nd provided cove r. Th e free stewards paid not o ne glance to yet a n oth e r co nvi c t. He circle d th e huge vats, tiptoed thro ug h sud sy wa ter, a nd turned down a short co rridor towa rd wire doubl e doors. Thi s was th e vegetable roo m, its air h eavy with t h e odor o f p ee le d potatoes soa kin g in barrels, of g rated carrots a nd o nions. Wh e n Earl ente red , the crew of h alf a dozen C hi canos was s hu cking cor n , c h a tterin g Spanish, a nd list e nin g to Mexican mus ic on a portable radio. Th ey we re a clique o f b raceros wh o spoke n o English a nd stayed toge th er fo r mutual suppor t. The vegetable room was the ir domain. When one left, they se lec te d another o f th e brethre n to r e p lace h im . Th ey looked a t Earl expression lessly, n e ither questi o ning nor h ostil e. H e m o ti o n ed that h e wa nted nothing from them a nd we nt to a large doubl e d oor at the rea r, made sure it was un locked, a nd pee red out throug h m es h wire at a s m a ll ya rd behind th e kitche n . It was th e loading zo n e for tru cks. Empty crates were stacked against a wall n ext to em p ty milk cans. Two co nvi cts in high boots and h eavy rubbe r g loves a nd ap rons were u sin g a stea m hose to rin se garbage can s. The road to th e small ya rd came up a ra mp t hro ug h an archway in a wa ll- though beyond the wall was only the lowe r yard. A guard tower sat on top of th e wa ll . Th is was th e first stop the trash truck mad e eve ry morning, th e beginning of its route, and Earl knew it was also th e m ost secl uded. It was the best place to see if what he though t was true, and if it was true, it would be the best place to make the gamble. A qua rter o f an h our later the truck cam e up the ramp, its fla t sn o ut hig h until it reach ed level ground. It swung a ro und and bac k ed to th e l oad ing dock-ten fee t from the vegetable room d oo r-whe re th e trash barrels waited. Two convicts ste pped off the rear a nd began d umping th e m. T he gua rd stayed inside the cab. The convict drive r waited until sign aled by a swamper a nd then threw a leve r. The compressor whined as it c rushed the trash . Earl boun ce d a nd p o pp ed hi s fingers in a d ance. It ' ll work. "lt. .. fuckin' ... will. .. work," h e said, and actua lly fe lt di zzy. H e' d seen a prayer a n swe red with a miracl e. He and Ro n a ld Dec ke r were go ing to brea k out of San Quentin. The work wh istle had blown, the yard gate opene d , a nd co n vic ts we r e streaming o ut when Earl we nt aga inst the n ow towa rd the North c he llhouse rotunda. Ro n was coming down the steel stairs, still bleary-eyed, when Earl leaped a t him a nd sq u eezed his n ec k in a head lock. "Gimme some asshole a nd I'll te ll you the way ou t or he re." "Naw, you 'd burn me." "Ifl tell you, you ' ll bum me," "That's th e c h a n ce yo u take." The n Ro n saw t h e e lat io n g lowin g o n h is friend's face. "Youjivin '?" "Not jivin '. It's th e trash truc k." H e sta rted shadowbox ing, bobbing a nd weaving and throwing hooks into thin air. "H ea r m e, broth e r! It's a winner. They don 't wa tch it 'cause they th ink a chump would get killed. But. .. th e p lay is to dive in with some kind of brace, like four-by-fours, or a couple of O lympicsize weight bars. Put them against the Be li eve me , that b ac k wa ll. motherfuckin ' crusher ain't gon na bust no weight bar." Ron was incredulous. "It can't be that easy." "I checked it out this morning." "How could they be so dumb?" Earl shrugged. "Or nobod y e lse noticed it before this?" "They we re n ' t looking. Like the bulls. The crusher stopped them." "When ca n we go? Tomorrow?" The last was obviously in jest. "C'mon, fool. We go tta find o ut where it goes, where they e mpty it, a nd a rrange . for yo ur m o th e r to pick us up .. . o r somebody. If she can 't make it-" "She can- " "-we' ll wait unti l T.J. goes o ut in a couple of months. We can 't just wander a round like lost sheep. We wo uldn 't last three days. Ma n , you 've got heat whe n yo u split fro m inside the walls. It ain 't like runnin' offfrom camp. " "I ' II get on my e nd right away. The padre wil l le t m e make a phon e call hom e. rll get her out he re. " " o, no. Yo u d on' t want a visit. That'll put heat o n h e r. We' ll smugg le h e r a le tte r. She's gotta make it look like sh e neve r left home." "How long is it going to take?" "Two weeks. We've go t to c h eck out the swa mpe rs ... m a ke sure th ey are n't stool pigeo n s ... and get' e m o ut of th e way if they are. I kn ow it uses a n outside dump somew h ere. We might ha ve to run wh e n we ge t out of th e truck. I think I'll start jogging to get in shape." "When I see you jogging, I' ll have a heart attack." "Maybe I a m being too exu·eme." 'J1 he pre para tion to esca p e, o n ce b egu n , went swifLiy. A clerk in th e mainte nan ce office found t h e tru ck's ma nual and confirmed that the crusher wou ld n ever break a four-by-four, much less an Olympic weightlifting ba r; a nd Ll1e re was enough room for several me n within the truck. The reputation of the two swampe rs was okay among convicts. Ea rl d1en had Seeman look at their files to find out if d1ere was a recorded taint in th e ir backgro und s. H e t o ld the lieu te na nt h e n eed ed to know to stop so m e troubl e a n d Seeman did n ' t question further. The records showed no pri o r s nitc hin g , an d one h ad a n uniden tifi ed crim e pa rtn e r still loose, whic h really indicated staun chn ess, for both the police a nd th e parole board exerted press ur e and t hr ea t e ned pe nalties in that situation. Ron talked to his mother on d1e chapel telephone and got the reassurance; the n they sm uggled the le tter with detailed instructions and sh e co nfirm ed with a t e leg ram. Sh e wou ld re nt a ca r, c h ange the li ce n se plates, a nd fo ll ow the tras h tru c k o n three consecutive clays from the moment it left the prison reservatio n, read y to u •~' n s1n~ N 1l 11 ltilYI~U 1\NS "r1~ u1~ n 1\TI'r 11 1\ )J I llil (~ IJ I~ . Ill~ ilNn UONiliJJ) )) I~ (~ I{ I~ It "TI~ It ·~ fiOINfi 'fO IIUI~illi OIJ'f 01~ S ilN 0 lJ I~ N'f IN. rescue them whe never th ey made their move. She would have mon ey, clothes, and a second car. Ron kn ew where to get pho n y f.D. , but prefe rred to get it himself when they we re out. She balked at h aving firea rms waiting, which both Earl and Ron had expected, but Ea rl had insisted o n asking . It didn't really matter. He kn ew where to ge t sh o tg uns a nd pisto ls as soon as they reached Los Ange les. Ba by Boy, in paint-splattered white cove ralls, push ed a h andcart up th e ra mp to the kitc hen yard . Under a ta rp , amidst bucke ts of paint a nd thinner, were two weightlifting bars, and wrapped in dirty rags were two shivs. TJ. had stolen the bars from the gym. It was afte r lun ch a nd Ll1e vegetable crew was gone fo r the clay. Baby Boy climbed on top of sacks of potatoes a nd stashed the equipme nt next to the wall . Despite the pro mi se from Ro n 's mother, th ey gath e red civilian shirts stole n from the laundry and sixty do llars in currencyjust in case. The escape was se t for Tu esd ay. On Monday evening Earl was so te n se that h e co uldn ' t ea t. Pa i ns squ eezed his c h est. He spen t twe nty do llars of th e escape mon ey on two papers of he ro in a nd they erased th e anxiety. Just before lockup in the South a nd East ce llh ouses, T.J. and Way n e co rn e red o n e of th e tras h tru c k swampers, Vito and Baby Boy the other, and to ld them what to expect and how to react-by ac tin g n o rmal and go ing o n with the ir job. Telli ng the m so late wasn 't to forestall the m from snitching, but to kee p them from goss iping to other convi cts, wh o would gossip with ye t m ore, unti l so m e wh e re down th e line a stool pigeon wou ld hear. Afte r lock up , both Ron and Earl fini sh ed disposing or what was in their cells, giving away cigare ttes, to iletries, bo n aroo clothes, a nd books. Ro n to1·e up le tte rs a nd legal pa pe rs and put his photographs in a large manila e nvelope d1at he wou ld carry inside his shirt. Earl kept two packs o f cigarettes, a spoo n of coffee in an e nve lope for morning, a nd o ne squib of too thpaste on the brush. All h e was ta king with him was three sna pshots in a shirt pocket. "Sheeit! " he muttered , "I trave l light as Mahatma Gandhi." He was soundly asleep before midnig ht, while Ron n ever really got to sleep. Ron h ad quit smoking months before, but that night he puffed nearly a pack. The mom e nt the security ba r was lifted and No rth ce llhou se convicts cam e o ut for brea kfa st, Ron we nt to Earl 's cell and fo und him snoring. The ho nor cellhouse door was unlocked and Ro n pulled it open, tugging his friend's foot through t h e blanke t. Earl 's eyes opened immediately. "H ey, " Ron said , un ce rtain if h e should laugh or be indignant. "Wha t're you doing still asleep?" Ea rl n odded in s low, dr a matic p at ie n ce . "Look, th is is the first cellho use out. The swampe rs and driver don ' t eve n leave their cells for half an h o ur. It's a t least a n ho ur b efore the truck starts rolling. Wha t should we do, go lO th e vegetable room and cut up sll·ing beans unti l it gets there?" Laughter won inside Ron. "Okay, but some times I can't believe you. Sleeping!" "Ain't nothin' be tte r to do. But I'll get up if yo u g e t m e som e hot water for coffee." Wh e n Ron ca m e back f1·om the hot water s pigot at the end of the tier, ca rr ying a s tea min g jar of wa ter wrapped in a towel, Earl was butto ning the blue jail shirt over the candy-striped civilian on e. Ron sat down on the end of th e lower bunk, b ack against o n e wa ll , feet on the other, while Earl brushed his teeth, drank coffee, a nd hacked up the gummy phlegm of a heavy smoke r. Thro ugh th e tall barred windows they could see the yard , d1e prison's dra bness eve n mo re monochro matic in th e gray mornin g light. A lin e of co nvicts was starting to e m e rge from th e East cellh o use at th e fa r end, while b elow th e m North cellh o u se reside nts we re No,•cmbcr 1996 PRISDM Uff 75 coming back. "Shouldn 't we go say goodbye to o ur frie nds?" Ron asked . Earl looked at him , smiled , "Yeah , we should-a nd I didn ' t even think of it. " They we nt down stairs, agai nst a flow of convicts, and out into th e still nearly e mpty yard-e mpty fo r th e long line of co nvicts stre tc hin g fro m m ess h a ll to ce llhouse. The ya rd wo ul d fill as the m ess hall e mptied. ow o nly a doze n co n victs we r e stand in g arou nd o r pacing back and fo rth . Ron a nd Earl walked th ro ugh a nd scau e red a nock of pigeon s waiting to be fed , and went to th e co ncr e te bench a lo n g th e East cellhouse wal l. Moments la te r a pair of convicts came from th e m ess h a ll lin e- T..J . a nd Wayn e, th e for m er hugging Ea rl a nd s h aking h a nd s with Ro n , th e la tter shak ing ha nds, in reverse o rd e r, with both of the m-and wish ing the m good luck. "Yeah , good luck, brothe rs." TJ . said. "We took ca re of tha t with that fool on the truck last night. H e's all right." "I'll see you o u t there in a couple of month s," Ea rl sa id . " I've got your peo ple's address. I'll get in touch when I think you 've raised." "If you do n ' t mak e it, Way n e said , "we'll se nd you a care package into "B" Section, smokes, coffee, a nd shit." "If we d on't," Ro n sa id, "se nd m e some arsenic." "Ain' t that bad round he re," TJ. said. "Hell, th e re's lots of excite ment." Then to Earl: "Send us a package of dope as soon as you can." "I'll r un o ff in a Th ri fty d rugstore for yo u." From th e co rn er o f th e So uth m ess h a ll, Vito a nd Ba b y Boy ap p ea red , cuttin g through the lines and angling over. "Glad we caught you," Baby Boy said , s h a kin g hands. "Sure wanted to say goodbye and wish you luck." Vito was more demo nstrative, goosing Earl and giggling. "Say, man," Ea rl said , slapping the h and away. "I'll be glad to get away fro m you." T h e las t o f th e m ess h a ll li nes was nearing the door. "We gotta go," Ro n said. The clique gave quick pats o n the back, a nd th e n they c rossed th e yard a nd got in th e end of the line. "Wh en we ge t in side," Ea r l sa id , "follow me a bout te n feet behind." As they stepped within, Earl bypassed taking a u·ay and stepped o ut of th e line, walkin g along th e rear wa ll where offduty kitc h e n worke rs we re sta nding. They gave cover. H e gla nced back and Ron was following. It was the same in the confusion of the 76 PRISON LifE November 1996 hu ge kitch en. o b ody even looked curiously at them . Just two of the brace ro s we re still work in g wh e n Earl o p e n e d the vegetable room door. They were using hose a nd squeegee to clean scraps from th e tile floor. T hey g lanced up and kept working; they were nearly do n e. Ea rl h eld the door unlil Ron d ucked through . Then Earl to ld him to kee p loo kout down th e h a llway an d sc rambled o n to the sac ks of pota toes, re trieving t h e weightlifting bars a nd sh ivs. The braceros sti ll said no thin g, but hurried to scoop up the scraps a nd ge t o ut o f the room. Earl handed o n e shiv to Ro n and put th e othe r under his shirt. H e propped bo th weigh t bars n ext to th e loading dock door a nd leaned forward, staring ou t a t th e kitch e n yard a nd the to p of t h e ramp. Ron stayed, wa tchin g the corridor. The sound of the truck came before it was visible, but the time lapse was just a fe w second s. Ron h eard, and fe lt as if some thing that sh ould h ave been in his chest had worked up into his throat and was trying to gag h im . He co ul d h ear the truck growling loud as it stra ined in low gear; then it stopped and the gears shifted . H e could hear it backing up. Earl wa tc h ed th e gu n tower on the wall against the gray sky. The guard had his back turn e d , as usua l. Th e tr uck bac ked in less than te n feet away. The swamp e rs bounded o ff, going for th e u·ash barrels. "C' mon , Ro n , " Earl said, his words pun ctuated by th e c rash of the first barrel. As Ro n m o ve d, th e t e nsion dissolved-burst and went away. He was as calm a nd de tached as a ny Lime in his life, and so keyed up his senses captu red eve r y impression inte n sely. H e eve n noticed tha t Earl's cheek was twitc hing. They each h eld one of the lo ng bars, pa using just momen tarily at the door. "You ge t in first," Earl said. "Push the ba r ahead o f you . .. and don't drop the fucker." H e o pe n ed th e door and Ron we nt o ut o nto the d ock, n ea r ly bumping into a barrel, causing Earl to step o n his heels. The swa mpers loo ked at th em with wide eyes and stopped work, step ping back to give the m room. Ron put his h ead down and plunged into th e hole, runn ing into a sten ch like a wall and instantly starting to breathe thro u g h hi s mouth, thinking that h e h a d to get a h an dk erc hi ef out to breathe into as soon as h e was seated. His knees waded tl1 rough the trash, a nd he pushed th e bar a head of him. The mom e nt Ro n 's h ea d a nd shoulders went in, Earl heard th e truck's cab ope n a nd h e kn ew th e guard was geLLing o ut. He couldn't stay where he was, and h e wouldn't h ave Lime to follow Ron . Bot11 of them would be caught. Ail of this took one second to register, and the n he ste pped around tl1e rear of the truck a nd jumped d own from the loadin g dock, a ng ling as if h eading toward the kitchen door, appearing just a few feet fro m th e o ld g u ard . "Hey, Smitty," he said as if mildly surprised. T he guard 's head came up but the re was no suspicio n as h e recognized Earl. "Cope n . You' re a little ou t of your usual run , aren' t you?" Earl held the weightlifting bar. "Yeah, somebody carted tl1is ou t of the gym to the kitchen-who knows what for-and Rand sent me to get it." As Earl fin ished the se nte nce, he h eard a barrel being dumped and knew Ron was safe. "Goddamn convicts would steal false teeth," the guard said. Earl nodded, said nothing, a nd walked away. In the darkness Ron heard the voices, recogn ized Earl 's with out th e wo rds. The fact of any talk was terrible. Ro n 's h o p es with e red, h e knew they we re caught. The n a barre l of trash n ew in, se nding dust toward him, a nd h e dug for the h and ke rchief. Another barre l came. There was n o alarm. His th o ughts an d feelings were ta ngled . Something h ad made Earl bac k off. H e cou ldn 't think further because the truck's motor started and he heard the clunk of the crushe r. H e braced the bar against the wall and held it with both hands like a lance. The u·ash crept over his feet, but whe n the crusher hit tl1e steel brace it sto pped. Everything h e ld for a few seconds tha t seem ed like minutes, and then the c rush receded and the square of light reappeared . and terror Ro n 's confusion evaporated in soaring e la tion . H e was going to be free in a few min utes. The h alf-doze n stops were routine; h e was over the hurdle. In the sme lly darkness his th oughts had already left prison and were on life. In the sh adows of tile kitche n doorway Earl Copen watched the high , ungainly truck ro ll down tl1 e ramp. His lips were pressed togeth er but drawn as far back as possible, a nd his eyes were squinted into slits to suppress the ir stinging. His frie nd was gone and he was left behind, but it was be tte r that o n e should be free tha n neither. Still, the hurt was deep-but when th e truck h ad d isappeared, Earl turned away, then sn o r te d a n ironical la ugh. "Aw, fuck i t. I run some thin g around h ere. I' d probably starve to dea th out there." It was as good a way to look at it as a ny othe r. ~ ANUNCIO RESULTADOS 0BTENIDOS POR BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ Gabriel Hernandez Gabriel Hernandez habfa sido acusado de posesi6n y conspiraci6n envolviendo multikilos de cocaina y posesi6n de anna de fuego. La evidencia en contra de Sr. Hernandez era abrumadora. El Juez Federal impuso una sentencia mfnima mandatoria de 120 meses. El Sr. Hernandez pidi6 su transferencia atraves del Consulado Mexicano. Luego de esperar casi dos aiios. el Departamento de Justicia le neg61a transferencia al Sr. Hernandez sin raz6n. El Sr. Hernandez contact6 las Oficinas Legales de BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ y pidi6 nuestra ayuda. El Sr. Hernandez fue transferido a Michoacan, Mexico, a su mismo pueblo, en solo jCUATRO MESES! BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ y pidi6 nuestra ayuda. BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ apel6 al Depanamento de Justicia alegando que el Sr. Sanchez debia ser transferido a pesar de que el Sr. Sanchez era un residente pennanente de los Estados Unidos y tambien a pesar de que el fiscal federal que llev6 el caso del Sr. Sanchez trat6 de obstaculizar Ia transferencia. Despues de apelar y ejercer presion vigorosamente sobre el gobierno por veinte meses, BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ obruvo Ia aprobaci6n de Ia transferencia del Sr. Sanchez! El Sr. Sanchez fue aprobado para traslado hacia Mexico a pesar de que era residente pern1anente y que su sentencia era de 12 aiios y medio! Juan Campos El Sr. Juan Campos recurri6 a nuestros servicios tan promo que el fue sentenciado. Su sentencia era de 10 ailos por posesi6n de metamfetamina (crista!) con intenlo de distribuci6n. La oficina de BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ consigui6 Ia transferencia inmediata del Sr. Campos para Colima, junto con su esposa e hijos. Esta transferencia fue aprobada en menos de once meses despues de ser sentenciado! Juan Manuel Aguilar En diciembre de 1994, el Sr. Aguilar fue acusado en Cone Federal de posesi6n de 22 kilos de cocaina con intento de distribuci6n. El fiscal contaba con el testimonio de 2 infonnantes, cintas de video y audio. El abogado privado del Sr. Aguilar no investig6 el caso y le dijo que lo unico que podia hacer es ponerlo a testificar en contra de los otros acusados. Luego de correr a su abogado, el Sr. Aguilar contrat6 a BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ para que peleara su caso. Durante el juicio, los dos infonnantes testificaron que el Sr. Aguilar baj6 de Ia cajuela de un carro 22 kilos de coca con sus propias manos. El fiscal present6 ademas las cintas de audio y video. BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ Jogr6 desmentir el testimonio de los informantes pues atraves de Ia investigaci6n BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ averigu6 que los informantes fueron pagados miles de d61ares por el gobiemo. Gracias a BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ el Sr. Aguilar fue hallado inocente del cargo de posesi6n de cocaina con intento de distribuci6n por el jurado. Luis Enrique Zazueta El Sr. Zazueta fue hallado culpable por posesion con intento de distribuir metamfetamina y sentenciado a siele ailos de prisi6n federal. BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ consigui6 Ia aprobaci6n de su transferencia a Culiaciin, Sinaloa, en solo 8 meses! Jose Luis Amezola El Sr. Amezola. de El Aguave, Mich.. fue hallado culpable en Cone Federal por lavado de dinero envolviendo el envio de dinero hacia Mexico. BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ consigui6 Ia aprobaci6n de Ia transferencia del Sr. Amezola hacia Mexico en solo 8 meses! Daniel Arredondo En diciembre de 1995, el Sr. Arredondo fue acusado en cone del eslado con un tercer strike al amenazar de muene a su esposa e hijos. Por ser su tercera ofensa. Ia unica sentencia posible era 25 aiios a vida. El abogado de el, le dijo que no podia hacer nada por el. Luego de correr a su abogado, el Sr. Arredondo contrat6 a BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ quienes inmediatamente comenzaron a meter mociones en cone y poner presion sobre el fiscal. BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ Jogr6 forzar al fiscal a eliminar Ia aplicaci6n de los tres strikes en contra de el Sr. Arredondo y le consigui6 una sentencia de solo 6 aiios. en vez de 25 ai\os a vida. Sotero Sanchez En 1972 el Sei\or Sotero Sanchez, prisionero federal, entr6 a los Estados Unidos yen 1988 aplic6 para ser un residente legal. Por cieno, el Sr. Sanchez vivi6 continuamente en los Estados Unidos por mas de 25 ai\os y le fue concedida su residencia legal y permanente segun Ia amnistfa. En Ocrubre de 1993, el Sr. Sanchez fue acusado de posesi6n y conspiraci6n involucrando multikilos de cocaina. La evidencia en contra del Sr. Sanchez era abrumadora, pues el Gobierno contaba con 1estigos y agen1es del DEA. El Sr. Sanchez, siendo representado por abogado particular, se declar6 culpable de Ia ofensa. El Juez Federal le impuso una larga sentencia de 12 aiios y 6 meses. A mediados del 1993, el Sr. Sanchez pidi6 su transferencia atraves del Consulado Mexicano. Luego de esperar nueve meses, el Consulado Mexicano no pudo ayudar al Sr. Sanchez y el Departamento de Justicia le neg6 rotundamente Ia transferencia. En Ocrubre de 1994, el Sr. Sanchez se comunic6 con las Esequiel Montijo El Sr. Esequiel Montijo habia sido sentenciado a una condena de 60 meses por conspiraci6n para poseer marihuana con intento de distribuci6n. El habia estado en Ia prisi6n anteriormente por droga tambien. Cuando el Sr. Montijo comenz6 a servir su sentencia , el pidi6 su transferencia atraves del Consulado y se Je fue negada rorundamente. Cuando el comrat6 nuestros servicios, BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ le consigui6 su transferencia para Ciudad Juarez para estar junto a su familia. Esta transferencia fue aprobada en menos de siete meses! Thomas Babis Lie. CHARLES BENNINGHOFF Macario Zarate El Sr. Jose Macario Zarate habia sido sentenciado a una condena de 15 aiios por ser culpable de tres cargos (I) conspiraci6n para poseer cocaina con intento de distribuci6n; (2) posesi6n de cocaina con intento de dis1ribuci6n; y (3) posesi6n de arma de fuego durante transaccion de drogas. Cuando el Sr. Zarate comenz6 a servir su sentencia , el pidi6 su transferencia atraves del Consulado Mexicano y le fue negada rorundamente debido a seriedad de su ofensa y posesi6n de arma de fuego. En Septiembre de 1995 BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ le consigui6 su aprobaci6n de tranferencia para Culiacan, Sinaloa junto con su familia. Jesus Barajas El Sr. Barajas. habia sido sentenciado a una condena de 10 aiios por conspiraci6n para poseer cocafna con intento de distribuci6n. esta era Ia segunda vez. Cuando el Sr. Barajas. comenz6 a servir su sen1encia, el pidi6 su transferencia atraves del Consulado y le fue negada rorundamen1e. Cuando el contral6 los servicios de BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ. nuestra oficina le consigui6 su transferencia para Uruapan, Michoacan para estar junto a su fam ilia en menos de cuatro meses. El Sr. Babis. oriundo de Grecia, fue hallado culpable de varios cargos serios, incluyendo serias violaciones a las !eyes de armas de fuego. El Sr. Babis trat6 infrucruosamente de obtener su traslado a Grecia para estar cerca de su familia. BENNINGHOFF & RAMIREZ obruvo Ia aprobaci6n del estado de Nuevo York de Ia transferencia del Sr. Babis para Grecia en solo 6 meses! SI USTED QUIERE RESULTADOS INMEDIATAMENTE Escriba a: BENN1NGHOFF & RAMIREZ 314 11 Benninghoff Law Building San Juan Capistrano, California 92675 Su Familia Nos Puede Llamar a!: USA 800-ENCARCEL (362-2723) MEXICO 95-800-ENCARCEL (362-2723) Los resultados aquf discutidos no constituyen una garantfa 6 predicci6n acerca del resultado de su asunto legal. Todos los casas varian dependiendo de las circurnstancias y las !eyes aplicables. c Charles F. Benninghoff ill 1996 Classifieds LEGAL BECOME A PARALEGAL Attorney instructed , acc redited diploma a nd d eg re e di s ta n ce educatio n program s . C r e dit awa rd e d fo r life ex peri e n ce. VA app r oved. Pa yment plan s ava ilabl e with co-signer. 1 0 Financial Aid Avai lable. IPAS, P.O. Box 2158, Boca Raton, FL 33437 PARALEGAL GRADED CURRICULUM BY BlACKSTONE SCHOOL OF lAW Approved hom e studies legal training 1890. Affordable and s in ce comprehensive. Free catalog: 1-800-8269228 or write Blacksto n e School o f Law, P.O.Box 701449, De pt. PL, Dallas, TX 75370. MAIL ORDER Opportunities for Newl y Re l eased Offenders, written by J osh H oe ksu·a, is a n outs tandin g refe r e nc e b oo k for those in pri so n or jai l, on parole or pro bation and see kin g e mpl oy men t opportunities. Fo r copies, send $27.50 to: Opportunities for Newly Re leased Offe nd e rs, c/ o The Graduate Group, P.O. Box 3 70 351, West H a rtford , CT 061 37-0351. Are you a guy that never receives reply on introduction letter? 1ow avai lable is 3 p age lette r that wi ll capture eve r y wo man 's hea rt, interest. Se nd SASE, 5 unused sta mps: Sherrell, Box 86594, Phoe nix, AZ 85080 Cassettes & compact discs de live red to you. Huge election, great service, great prices. Catalog $1, includes a $2 discount co u pon. Write : Miles of Music, Attn: Pe te r Benjamin , 2092947 Ve ntura Blvd., Suite 28, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Being released in the next 30 months? Rec ruiting for world voyage. We offer opportunity to escape returning priso n b y working as c r e w o n our sa ilin g vesse ls. Will h elp ge t yo u pass port, cleara n ce fro m P.O. and cour ts. Send SASE, 10 unused stamps: Sea Voyagers, 1007 No rth Federa l Highway #58, Ft. La uderdale, FL 33304 Radios and other goods. Serving th e p rison popula tion since 1984. We a re the Conaid Company, Inc. We offer a variety of radios and other goods specifically for the prison popu la ti o n . Free Cata log. Write to: Th e Conaid Company, In c., 2302 230th Su·eet, Pasadena, MD 21122. Packages for Prisoners: Send to d ay for our new order form. a rn e brand pro du c ts a t mark et p ri ces. ew fl exibility in order in g just wha t yo u want. Call 800-386-5 120 or wr ite PFP, P.O. Box 8213, Spokane, WA 99203. SENSUAL, EROTIC FANTASY e n cou nte r crea ted pe rso n a lly fo r you according to your own specific desires and fetishes. Letter or audiotape. Photos and specialty items also available. Send S.A.S.E. for details: l\<IISTRESS GODDESS , P. O. Bo x 69A24, Lo s Ange les, CA 90069 Express yo ur love to fam ily & friends. Custom d esigned g ift baske ts shipped n atio nwide a nd to foreign co untri es. Gift Baskets By Mai l, PO Box 610924, San J ose, CA 95 161. Free color photo & brochure . Ca ll or wr ite today. (408) 254-4 134. Jewish Spirituality. Audio or video tape "Chicken Soup for th e Jewish soul. " 30 min. songs, r eadings, stories. Audio $ 18.50, vid eo $52.50 (includes S&H). Send c h eck : C hi cke n Soup, 1861 Clairmo nt Rd. #412, Decatur, GA 30033 ESCAPE. Dreams are free, be sure yours are good drea ms. We have nude photos and sh ort sto ri es and other t hings to h elp. Age, signatu re, SASE, a nd $ 1 for info. Alfresco, Box 14191-BB, Tulsa, OK 74159 Free Gospel tracts, write for samp les. We wi ll includ e a s amp le o f our month ly paper The L iberator ($5.00 pe r year), publi s h e d fo r in ca r cera te d Christia ns. Liberty Prison Ministries, P.O. Box 8998, Wa ukega n, IL 60079. J esus does carel Special Interest Videos 8000 high quality, compreh e nsive titles Exerc ise / fitn ess, co mpute rs, shorts, acade mics, c hild ca re / parenting, personal growth, hobbies, etc. $12.98 & up. Money back guarantee . Sample full colo r ca ta log $3. 00 (refund ab le with first o rd e r ). Mi ll en ia Exports, 1328 Broadway Ste. 756-88, N.Y., ~.Y. 10001 Sexy California Girls want to write to yo u! Al l letters p e rso n a l a nd con fid e nti al. Do n 't be alo n e. Let us kee p yo u co mpa n y. Send name and address to: PenMates Inte rnational, 505 S. Beverly Dr. #944, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Please include a $14.95 ch eck o r m. o. for 10 hot le tters (on e pe r week)! Ma kes a g1·eat g ift! Tired of doing time you do not deserve? Have you given up o n all possibility of any justice since your confinement? Please write: Freedom Press, Prisoner Support Division, PO Box 4458, Leesbu rg, VA 22075. Include a narrative a nd copies of your sente ncing documents. Pho ne: 70349 1-8725. Collect calls a re accepted o n Saturday and Sunday o nly. MEDIA OTHER STUFF For God So Loved The World That He Gave Hi s O n ly Begotte n Son Th a t \<\lh osoeve r Believeth In H im Shall ot Perish But Have Eve rlasting Life. J o hn 3: 16. .Jesus Loves You. Classified Advertising To place a classified ad : call, fax or write to PRISON LIFE Magazine at the location listed below PRISON lifE MAGAZINE _ __ 1436 W. Gray, Suite 531 + Houston, TX 77019-9896 + 713/694-3131 + fax 713/694-8131 so PRISON lifE November 1996 Pen Pals SWM , 36, 6 ', brn ha ir, g ree n eyes . See kin g co rr es p o nd e n ce fr o m someone special for sincere & ho nest fri e n dship . Ve r y ope nmin ded w/ a positive o utlook on life. In to running, staying health y & C & 'vV. Age no t an i sue: ho nesty is. Wi ll respo nd to a ll. J a mes H . Powell #3 17639, V-C-1, PO Box 3 10, Valdosta, GA 31603 Yo un g white/ Mex ica n ma le lookin g fo r so m e thin g rea l ! Bee n hu rt & beu·ayed by plen ty of so-called wome n sin ce I' ve b ee n d own . Loo king fo r sincere, mature, compassio nate, REAL wo ma n to c rea te re la ti o n s hip o r a good fr ie ndship. I h ave n ' t give n up hope-I know th ere' one ou t there for me . Age, race d oesn 't ma tte r. Ve r y s in ce re ! H o m e r Whi sle r #54209, L.C.F., PO Box 2, Lan ing, KS 66043 DW?vl, 57, 5'8, 150#, blue eyes, g ray h a ir. Do in g 25 to life, e li gib le fo r pa ro le 9/ 96. Tired o f be ing a lo n e . Will respo n d to a ll wome n ( n o facs im iles pl ease) ove r 45. J e rr y Daniels B-94097, C.M.F., PO Box 2000, H-120-U, Vacaville, CA 95696-2000 Lo n e ly 44 yr o ld 'vVhite C hri s ti a n Pa trio t, 5' 10, 155#, brn h a ir, elig ible fo r p aro le 5/97. Wo ul d lik e to correspond w/ white laclie · proud of the ir heritage who may be lone ly & in need of a true fr ie nd , prefe rably those w/ C hri stia n Ide ntity be li efs. Will a n swer a ll. a m as te! J am es Ga r y Whi ttingto n #623245, PO Box 4500, Tennes ee Colony, TX 75886 SWM, 34, 6'1, 195#, looking fo r a special lady to share some lonely times with , age, race, looks unimportan t. Down 6 yrs w/ 4 to go. Easy-go in g & understanding, into romance, outdoors, d a ncing, movies & qui e t evenings a t home. Please wri te soon , l 'U answer all. Benny J. Ray #562984, Fergu on Unit, Rt. 2 Box 20, Midway, TX 75852 Fre n ch/ Indian, 25, 5' ll , 175#, bu il t li ke a bri c k h o u se . Look in g fo r so meone who likes to write le u e rs & poetry. I'm sincere, funn y, ho nest & easy going! Looking for clown to earth peopl e o f a n y race , sex & age. Vhll answer all. Danny Stier waltjr. #46336, E.S.P., PO Box 1989, Ely, NV 89301 WM, 35, 5'9, blue eyes, clark hair, born in P o rtu ga l. Wa rm w/ love ex pe rie nce, n eed ma LUre wo man for fulfillm e nt o f dre ams & sh a rin g o f private desires. Will exchange pho tos. Ma rco Da Costa #63835 1 , C. C. 1. , 33 123 O il we ll Rd . Box 55, Punta Go rda, FL 33955 fulfi ll yours over & ove r again . .Joyce J ones #566003, 1916 N. Hwy 36 Bypass, Lane Murray Unit, Gatesville, TX 76596 Pue rto Rican, 27, 5'10, 175#, blk hair, brn eyes. Looking for fe male penpa ls to write in Spanish. I will a n swe r all le tte rs. Mario Correa #6430 19, 2 101 FM 369 o nh, Iowa Park, TX 76367 Good lookin Arya n, college educated, single, 33, 190#, 5' 11 , blond, gorgeous g ree n eyes. Sea rch ing fo r th a t o n e special lady who is mature & looking fo r a meani ngful frie ndship. I won 't be locked up fo rever, so write soon . J eff Fields #653 160, Price Daniel Unit, 938 South FM I 673, Snyder, TX 79549 SWM , 36, 155# , 5'8, brn ha ir, g reen eyes, look in g fo r wo m e n to kic k it with . I g ive g reat m ail , write soo n . Jimmy Sherlock #674556, Rt. 3 Box 59, Rosharon, TX 77583 European, Professor Cardiac surger y, 42, brigh t, creative, adven turous spirit, h o nest, decent, selfl ess, supp o rtive. Im pressive ka rate , scuba di ving, ski teache r in excelle n t shape & h ealth . Falsely accused , o n death row, expect co mpl e te vindi ca ti o n . See k co rres po nde nce w/ lad y, prefe ra ble physicia n o r a tty. B. Geo rge Ba kalov #20907, PO Box 250, Draper, UT 84020 SHM , 27 , 140#, o ld sch ool ga ngs ta! Hispanic causing panic! 50 yrs agg. for j aywalking, been down 8 tigh t. ISO a n y Hi s pani c f e m a les who a re n ' t afraid to write someone a Iii crazy but fa r fro m du m b. Pachucas/ Ch o las a p lu s. Wi ll a n swe r a ll , p ic 4 pi c . Rigo be rto "Kito" Flores #586007, Me Co nn e ll U nit, 3 00 1 S. Emily Dr. , Beeville, T X 78102 BM , 33 , 6'2 , 2 10#, ve r y h o n es t & looking for same in a fe male , any age, ize as lo n g as yo u kee p it rea l. H o bbi es inc lud e b o d y buildin g , read ing, runnin g & real peo p le. All se ri o us m inded fe ma les n eed a pply. W ill a n swer a ll. E lli o ll W illi a m s #481914, Robertso n Unit, 12071 FM 3522, Abile ne, T X 79601 BM, 32, 5'9, brn eyes, blk h ai1~ It skin, 1 90#, loo kin g f o r a wild sexu a l re la tio nship w/ d ecentl y built, well hung white or black woman who loves passion , da ncing, swimming, movies, sports, rock n roll, blues, jazz. If you fit the description, please wri te. David Lee Burn s #426457, Co ffi e ld U nit, Rt. 1 Box 150, Tennessee Colony, T X 75884 WM, 39, 6', 200#, brn hair & eyes. In need of friendship/ relationship. Any & ever yon e welco me d . Wil l exch a n ge photos. Sitting on death row 8 yrs but h ave h ea rin g soo n th a t wil l s h ow innocence. 1 eed someone to guide & support me &just be there to love & be loved. J ames Docke tt #11 2232, PO Box 221 , 42-2075-Al , Raiford, FL 32083 VVM, 43, down 4 yrs, o ut in 14 months, Do n 't want money or ma terial things. In need of one sincere, o pe nminded wo ma n to correspond w/ & possibly start a permane nt rela tionship. Looks, age d o n ' t ma tte r: yo ur h eart does. J ames Stone #25997, Broo klyn C I, 59 H artford Rd., Brooklyn, CT 06234 WM , 38, 6'2, 200#, b r n hair, h azel eyes. H o me LOwn is C love rleaf, TX. Inte r es te d in corres p o ndin g w/ matu re ladies, age doesn ' t ma tte r. o blacks/ mud ducks please. Will a nswer a ll letters in / o ut o f pri son . Bi ll y Wayne G illil a nd #479412, Eas th a m Uni t, PO Box 16, Love lady, T X 75851 He llo h a ndso me . I'm single , 35, 5'9, 183#, n o fa tty tissu es. Ve r y b eautiful black fe male inside & out, looking for a lo ne ly male who wan ts lO spice up his life. My biggest turn on is to fulfill a ma n 's d esire s & I'm confident I can SBM , 25, 6'2, 2 10# , see k in g p e n f ri e nd s fo r in te llige nt & h o n es t conve rsation . Sincere & o penminded wome n respo nd o nly. Gregor y Smith #955620, 183 0 Eag le C res t Way, Clallum Bay, WA 98326 Anim a lis ti c-No r weg ia n / C h e rokee mixed up caged bike r, down 5 on a 10 w/ o n e to go . Brn & g ray hair, brn eyes, 180# , 5' 11 , bo rn l / 4 /55 . In need o f le tte rs & photos from kinky fea th e r wood s wh o th ink th ey ca n ta m e Jam es "Th o r " Th orn to n #63 1439, Steve n son U nit, 1525 FM 766, Cuero, T X 77954 Novembe r 1996 PRISON lifE 81 Pen Pals WM , 3 1, 5'9, 185#, h aze l eyes, brn ha ir. Solidly muscled b od y w/ solid loyalties to family & frie nds. Looking for sp ec ia l lady to tou c h m y h eart that's in te r es ted in sh a rin g r espect, ad ve ntures, d esires & laug hte r. Garrett Linderman #288749, W.S.P- TM U, PO Box 520, Walla Walla, WA 99362 Yo u ... yes you! Looking fo r a sp ecial fri e nd /so ulma te to g row w/, love & ado r e? SBM , 6'3, 45, prays for companionship/s pecial love fro m a Cod-fearing woma n who will stay by h e r man. R obert a th a ni e l Olds # 036638, Moberly C. C., PO Box 7, Moberly, MO 65270-0007 Co nscious Moo ris h Am e r ican m a n , 34, accomplis he d mind , inviting a caring woman w/ soft m anners who can demonstrate love un condi tionally to bui ld a m ansio n of h a ppiness w/ u·uth as cem ent. Deron Dar re ll We bb Bey #83029-020 , M-Unit, 3901 Kl e in Blvd. , Lompoc, CA 93436 Iris h / Cajun , 5'6, 148#, 35, see king corresponde nce w/ h o n est, o pe n & real lad ies. Enjoy redheads, brune ttes, brash ladies suffe rin g from bad boy sy ndro m e, ridin g bikes, go urm e t dinin g. Share yo ur li fe w/ m e: pl a toni ca ll y o r o th e rwise . Mi c h ae l Fa r r i II # 1 00144 , PO Bo x 97, Me AJester, OK 74502-0097 SW convict, 42, 165#, 5' 11, It. Brn over hazel, down 9, 2 left & sti ll true to the life. Financially secure, seeks female conversation . Inte lligence & ho nesty a must. No games please. Pi c for pic, convicts welcome. Ronald Kelly Sutton #3433844, 0. S. P. , 2605 State St., Salem, OR 97310 SWM, 23, blo nd, blue eyes, doing time fo r a rm e d robbery. I'm a lea th e r & c hai n s m an, h eavy in to my Scottis h he ri tage. Loo king for a ll soli d wh ite bro thers & siste rs to correspo nd with. Really love to hear from any Scottish kins men out the r e. Out in Fa ll / 97. Ro nnie Clarke #8551006, O.S.P. , 2605 State St., Sale m, OR 97310 BF, pape r sac k brn , 2 1, 5'4, 160#, h o n est, sin cere, loving, ath le ti c, in good h ea lth /s h a p e . Love mu sic , coo kin g, wa tc hin g s p o rts. S in g le pare nt of precio us 7 yr. o ld. Ser ving 20 yr. sentence & looking for a special gen tle ma n who can be ever ythin g to m e . Age , r ace unimporta nt. La 82 PRISON LifE Novc111bcr 1996 Rh o nda Kay Sa tc he l #6826 1 7, J 401 State School Rd., Gatesville, TX 76599 SV\Tf, 26, 5'5, 130#, long blondish-brn h a ir, n ever marri e d , no c hil d r e n. Doing a 12 fo r fo rge ry. ISO a cari ng, loving, su pportive, easy-going m an. o head gam es. If inte rested in a down to earth woman, feel free to write. H ope to h ea r from yo u. Ca r y Reeves #63 083 7 , 140 1 State Sc h oo l Rd ., Gatesville, TX 46599-2999 SWM seeking S\1\Tf. I'm 5'7, 140#, 35, brn hair, hazel eyes, not hard to look a t. See kin g good- h ea rted , o p e nminde d wo m e n inte r ested in wr iting a down to earth ge ntle m a n who is sensitive, kind, understanding & h o n es t . I ' m a n easy go in g m a n yearning for life's simplicities, so let's ex p lore happin ess together. Ch arl es Bran n o n #297598, Rac in e C. I. , PO Box 900-1, Sturtevant, WI 53177-0900 DHM, 32, 6', 200#, seeking fe male to co rres pond with , age & race unimportant. Sincer ity & se n se of hum or a mu s t. Se nd ph oto. W ill answe r a ll. Ve ntura J. Rivera Ri os, Halawa C.F., 99-902 Moanalua Rd., MC, Aiea, HI 96701 Chicano, 23, 160#, young, sho rt, light in th e ass but still a ma n & still real. I'm out real soon. If this is good or bad who knows? 9 mo n ths, maybe 16whatever these bitches decide. 1 have 3-way hook ups in case yo u ' r e in a situ atio n lik e min e "no corresp o nde n ce b e twee n inmates." Fuck ' e m! I say we write. Ca r los M. Pe r ez #42054, E.S. P. , PO Box J 989 , Ely, NV 89301 BM , 5' 11 , 195#, 35, go ld e n eyes, Co lg ate s mi le, ve r y h a nd so m e, muscu lar, Cod-fearin g, a hedonist, & vivacious. Into R & B, reggae, blues & o ld ro c k, dru g free lifestyle. I' m a pro fessiona l musician w/ a Masters degree & BA, o wn my o wn busi ness. Very savoir-faire . Wou ld like las tin g fri e nds hip , perhaps rom a n ce . W ill answer all. Re ube n Ross # 14680, Box 250, U nit U-4, Draper, UT 84020 SV\Tf, 37, 5'2, 135#, lo ng, stra ig h t hair, h aze l eyes. Co n side r e d a ttrac t ive. Sorry, not a llowed to write in ma tes. Wish to correspo nd w/ ge ntle caring man, a ny age. Pe rh a ps yo u ca n fill thi s lo n e ly void in m y h ea r t. O r a smile to my face . No gam es, please. Marsh a Me Cabe # 153 485 , J e fferson C. 1. , PO Dr awe r 4 3 0 , C-A 11 -B, Mo nticello, FL 32344 WM, 5' 11 , 190#, blo nd hair, blue eyes. Down doing time Texas way. Looking fo r feath erwoods doing time o r free, wi lling to correspond. I' m 29 yea rs yo ung. Michael Rose #585726, Rt. 4 Box 1200, Rosharo n, TX 77583 38, white, death row inmate . Been in p ossess io n of (s ince '79 ) fore n s ic evid e n ce, medica l ex. r e p o rt, witn esses, r ecord s provi n g m e uncl o ubtably fr a m ed. P etiti o n to gove rn or s ta rtin g . I n eed fri e nds . Good hearted wome n, too. Publishe rs, m e di a es p ec ia ll y! 6 ', mu sc ular, attractive inside, o u tside. Please write. Pa ul W. Scott #0716 15, Union C. 1., Box 22 1- .E. U nit A- 1-43-1 1-7 3, Raiford, FL 32083 AtU1: all single ladies. This Harley man is 25, 6'4, 2 1 5#, Iri s h , sec ur e & handso me. ISO oul mate. Mu t be a real lad y, no fakes should apply. Bryan "Red " Steckel, J 110 Broadway St. Suite 69, Be th le h e m , PA 18 015. In c l ud e photo if possible. I' m 35, salt & pepper hair, hazel eyes & loo k li ke a big o ld tedd y bear. I enjoy a good ga me of chess, music, art & sports. I wi ll e nj oy an swe r in g a ll lette rs o r card s . Robert C r o u se #37788, PO Box l989, Ely, NV 89301 SW?vl, 32, 5' 10, 180#, Musician , writer, pierced , tattooed, into underg ro und/ a lter na ti ve culture . Ed ucated, we lltr ave lled, pol itically active & aware. See kin g a li ke-minded wo m a n fo r corre po ncle n ce, inside o r out. Will answer all , pho to fo r photo. I have a lot to o ffe r if yo u ' re th e o n e . Tom Hutc hin s #8393 156, 2500 Westgate, Pend leton , OR 97801 Single Puerto Rican male, 23, 6' 1, blk hair & eyes, good looking, grea t sense of h um o r, li kes spo rts. Loo kin g fo r fem a le pe n pals. Please write! Do n ' t be shy. J. Anthon y Zapata #J 48689, C .S. P. Fa c. D- Bdg 2-2 16L, PO Box 931, Imperial, CA 9225 l 3 1, Mex-Am erica n , 5'9, 152#, blk h air, brn eyes , cl ow n 7 yrs . Des pe ra te ly see ks so ulmate: a good la d y (fr ee world o r sh o rt ti mer) to h e lp m e thru th e n ex t co upl e of yea rs. Seek s tra ig ht up lo n g te rm Pen Pals c================= co rres p o nd e n ce, fri e nd ship , poss. m a rri age w/ h o n es t, co n sid e rate wo man , 20+, kids O K. Will re locate w/ t h e ri g h t wo m a n. Ric h a rd Ma uricio #582648, Te lfo r d Un it, PO Box 9200, ew Bosto n, T X 75570 Lo ne ly Chicano left out in th e cold w/ this life sentence in the fed eral syste m. Loo king to penpal w/ any wo me n out th e re. No games. I'm 34, 5'6, 185#, b rn eyes, blk ha ir. This is m y sisters address, she' ll redirect my le tte rs. B. Vi ll a rea l #033 67-078, Box 7460, Alamo, TX 78516 o complexes, hangu ps or head aches, please. Perfumed pa per, flash u·aders g rab my a tten tio n qu ickest. JW Ka r r # 189197, 1576 Bluewate r Hwy, Io n ia, MI 48846 gouen 16 yrs. of my li fe / 4 to go. M)' inte rests inc lude lit., h e a lth, li fe, m usic. Share yo ur feelings & life w/ me. Paul R. Hi ll # 15508, E.S.P., PO Box 1989, Ely, NV 89301 Ch icano, 22, 5' 10, 180#, brn hair, grey eyed h ue ro fro m Fresno . Re leased in '98, ISO a fi rme wo ma n in need of a down vato to share a Iii of her time & tho ugh ts with . Alan Avila # 1133062 1, O.S.P. , 2605 State St. SE, Sale m . OR 97310-0505 SBM, 30, blk hair, brn eyes, 215, open m in d ed Mu slim , look in g for correspondence. 1 yr. to go & I'm a n e lecu·o n ic & weat p ress operator seeking e n treprenuersh ip. Knows the va lue of a good wo m an. U lysses Roberson #227784, AI Burr uss C.T.C., PO Box 5849, Forsyth, GA 31029 SWM , 36, 6', 195#, g ree n , brown , ge nuine, affec tio nate, a th le tic, loyal true h eart. Fig h ti ng d ea th pen a lty. See ks fr ie nd s hip , co mpa ni o ns hip , suppo r ti ve pe rson who kn ows wha t a tr u e fri e nd / co mpa ni o n rea ll y is. To mmy Wil son #14805, E.S. P., POB 1989, Ely, NV 89301-1989 SWM, 5'10, 190#, 31, brn ha ir, misty gr eyes, Virgo. Looking fo r a sensitive/ roma ntic ma n? I' m the one to fu lfi ll those d esires. I wa nt n othin g more t h a n swee t drea m s of life, love, frie ndship & the right wo man . Letter w/ p ic gets same. Love is in life. My life n eeds love. An y age/ race fi n e. Edward M. Oettinger, Box 351-169167, Waupan , Wl 53963-0351 Fo rm e r ow n e r of S lave Maste r Tattooing, seeks righteous partne rs fo r love & lu cre. Mili ta n t rig h t wingers a lso sought. 29, 6'2, 25, 8 tats, have thousands of designs & give good pe n! SWM , 5' 11 , 185#, 37, blo nd , b lu eeyed hun k o f burnin g love see ks fin a n c ia ll y secure, d own to ea rth fe ma le to share lifes ex pe riences w/ an ope n-minded free sp irit. evada's UNCLE GIM s 6 $8.89 SWM, 6' 1 ", 198#, b lack h a ir, h azel green eyes, fi nanc ia ll y sta ble, we lleducated, open and su·aigh t for ward, tired o f games people p lay. Looking fo r compassionate lady who kn ows wh at she wants and where sh e is going. Mus t be hea lth y, fin anc ia lly stable, we ll -educated , a n d good looking. H ead ing back to Southwest H o puston soon with g reat reso u rces a n d u nl im itied possibi li ties. Please include p hoto wi th leller if interested in living the American Dream: Lewis D. T riplell, 381079, Wynne , Hun tsville TX 77349- 000 I s I -- Name, J.D., Institution, Address, &Slyle/Ouantily. (dassi( and popeyes specify block or tortoise shell frames) Moil with check or money orderfor (ost +3.99s/h to: Unde Gimpys, P.O. Box 99203, Son Diego, CA. 92169 NO\·embcr 1996 PRISON UFf 83 RESOURCES by Alex Friedmann, Resource Editor, SCCC, TN These m·e nonfJrofil and volunteer-run agencies. Do the right thing-enrlose some loose stamps or an SASE. Or contribute. Even one dollar can helfJ. SOCIAL SUPPORT AGENCIES • American Friend$ Service Comminee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215/241 -7130): A Quaker organization that works far peace and equality can provide literature on a variety of prison issues. lhere are six regional AFSC offices in the U.S.: CA, Ml, NJ, MA, OH and NY. • Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, 251 Bank Street #600, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2PIX3 (613/238-2422): Provides services and programs lor women in Canadian pri$0ns through 19 local offices. • John Howard Association, 67 E. Madison # 1416, Chicago, IL 60603 (312/263-190 1) is involved with pri$0n reform and criminal ju$tice issues in Illinois, but they can provide materials of interest to all prisoners. lhere is a separate JHA branch in Canada. • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Criminal Justice Prison Program, 4805 Mount Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215-3297 (41 0/358-8900): Offers referral$ and advi$0ry services lor pri$0ncrs who want to break the cxcle of recidivism. Projects operate through regional allice$ and are nat available in every area. Write for local contact oddresse$. • Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR), 301 Park Drive, Severna Park, MD 21146 {41 0/647-3806): Provides post-release assistance for pri$0ners in lA, MD, NJ, PA and VA, through 12 local offices. •Community Education Outreach is an educational/life $kills organization providing information to anyone and free instruction to people in Colorado. The CEO offers essential academic a nd Iiies skills assessment and instruction for di~ntoged people at risk of incarceration who want to succeed in living productive, independent lives. CEO, P.O . Box 7957, Boulder, CO 80306. (303)447-3353 Fox (303)444-3872. ADVOCACY ORGANI%AnONS • CURE, P.O . Box 2310, National Capitol Station, Washington, DC 20013-23 10 (202/789-2126): Organization for pri$0n reform, with state chapters and special groups lor veterons, lifers, sex offenders and fed· eral prisons. • Citizens for a Safe America, 635 Slaters Lane G-1 00, Alexandria, VA 22314 (703/684-0373): Works for a more progressive and human crime policy. • Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy, 9 18 F St. NW #505, Washington, DC 20004 (202/628- 1903): lhis agency works far effective criminal justice reform. Ask your warden to join. • Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, #200, Wa$hington, DC 20004 (202/457-5790): Works for the repeal of federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws. • Justice Watch, 932 Deyton Street, Cincinnati, OH 45214 (5 13/241 -0490): Works to eliminate classism and racism from pri$0ns. PUBUCAnONS & MAGAZINES • Fortune News, AnN: Inmate Subscriptions, 39 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011 (212/206-7070): A publication of Fortune Society. • Inside Journal, c/o Prison Fellowship, P.O. Box 16429, Washington, DC 2004 1-6429 (703/ 47801 00): A publication of Prison Fellowship. • National Prison Proiect Joornal, ACLU National Prison Project, 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW #41 0, Washington, DC 20009 (202/234-4830): $2/year lor prisoners. • Outlook on Justice, AFSC, 216 1 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140 (617/ 661-6130): A newsletter of the American Friends Service Committee; $2/year for pri$0ners. BOOK AND READING PROJECTS • Books Beyond Bars, P.O. Box 4865, Hialeah, FL 33014 (305/ 444-0 120): A for-profit company thot offers a book-ordering service for pri$0ners. • Books to Prisoners, c/o Left Bank Books, 92 Pike St., 84 PRISON Llff No,·cm ber 1996 Box A, Sea Hie, WA 981 01 is a volunteer program that sends free used books in politics, history, literature, legal materials {when available). education. No religious materials or mo$Smarket Fiction. Please specify suojects. Limit 1-2 pounds per package. • Prison Book Program, Redbook Slore, 92 Green Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130: No books con be sent to prisonM in KS, NE, lA, Ml, OR or CA. • Prison Library Project, 976 W. Foothill Blvd #128, Claremont, CA 91711 . • Pri$0ner Literature Project, c/o Bound Together Books, 1369 Haight Street, San Franci$CO, CA 941 17: Free books for pri$0ners. • Prison Reading Project, Paz Press, P.O. Box 3 146, FayeHeville, AR 72702: Free books lor women prisoners. PAROLE & PRE- RELEASE INFORMATION • American Correctional Association, Publications Dept, 8025 Laurel Lakes Court, Laurel, MD 20707-5075 (301/206-5059 or 800/825-2665): offers a parole planning guide, • As Free as an Eagle; and sells selfhelp books. • Interstate Publishers, 5 10 North Vermillion Street, P.O.Bax 50, Danville, IL 61834-0050 (217I 446-0500 or 800/843-4774): Sells a parole planning manual, "From the Inside Out: • O PEN, Inc. (Offender Preparalion and Education Network). P.O. Box 566025, Dallas, TX 75356-6025 (214/271-1971): Sells "99 Days & a Get-up." "Man, I need a Job!• and a4her pre-release guides-b- $4.95 each. • Manatee Publishing, 4835 North O'Conner St. # 134435, Irving, TX 75062: Sells "Getting Out and Staying Out." a parole-planning manual, for $22.45. • CEGA Services, Offender Referrals, P.O. Box 81826, Lincoln, NE 68501-1826 {402/464-0602) offers prerelease referrals for prisoners (housing, employment and substance abuse treatment programs.) $15 fee lor each city. CEGA also sells lhe "Survival Sourcebook" and "lhe Job Hunler's Workbook: • Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans Incarcerated Lia ison, 1224 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20005 (202/628-2700): Publishes "From Felon to Freedom, • a pre-release guide for imprisoned veterans. The Graduate Group, P.O. Box 370351 , West Hartford, a 06137-0351 sells a book entirled Opportunities for Newly Released Offenders for $27.50. PRISON AIDS RESOURCES • Correctional Association AIDS in Pri$0n Project, 135 E. 15th Street, New York, NY 10003 (212/674-0800): Offers resource information concerning AIDS in prison, especially for inmates in New York. • HIV Prison Project, NYC Commission on Human Rights, 40 Rector St., New York, NY 10006 (212/2335560). • National Pri$0n Hospice Association, P.O. Box 58, Boulder, CO 80306-0058: Helps develop hospice programs lor terminally ill pri$0ners. • Nalional ACLU Prison Project, AIDS Education Project, 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW 410, Washington, DC 20009 (202/234-4830). • Oasis Project, c/o Susan K. Meadows, Prison Program Director, 923 S.E. Bay Blvd, Newport, OR 97365: Provides a peer outreach support network for those infected with HIV or diagnosed with AIDS. • •one Day a t a Time; c/o Richard H. Rhodes #05353-018, U.S.P. Leavenworth, P.O. Box 1000, leavenworth, KS 66048: An AIDS newsletter lor prisoners. • People With AIDS Coalition of New York, Inc. (PWACNY), 50 West 17th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 1001 1 (212/ 647 -1415): Publishes Newsline, a monthly magazine by and for people with AIDS, in which they provide a space for prisoners living with AIDS. • Prison AIDS Project, Gay Community News, 62 Berkeley Street, Baston, MA 02116 (National AIDS Gay Task Force: 800/221 -7044). • Prison AIDS Resource Center, P.O. Box 2155, Vocaville, CA 95696-2155; or 926 J. Street, #801 , Sacramento, CA 95814. • Prisoners wilh AIDS/Rights Advocacy Group, P.O. Box 2161 , Jonesboro, GA 30237 {404/ 946-9346): Offers support, educalional materials, referrals and political lobbying for prisoners with AIDS/ HIV. M ISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES • Families in Action lor Incarcera tion Reforms (FAIR). 309 Mamaroneck Ave., Suite 293, White Plains, NY 10605 (914/ 946-2734): A volunteer group that assists prisoners wilh the following: locating a non-legal aid lawyer, reaching the media end finding pen pels. lhey al$0 provide how-to books below cost and legal items and gilts al cost • Infinity Lifers Group, c/ o Julie Travers, Chairperson, P.O. Box 772, Station B, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 5P9: A volunteer pri$0ner's rights and political advocacy group. • International Legal Defense Counsel, Packard Building, 24th FL. 11 1 South 15th St. , Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215/ 977-9982): An advocacy agency for American citizens incarcerated overseas. • league for Lesbian and Gay Prisoners, 1202 East Pike St., # 1044, Seanle, WA 98122: Aproject oiGayCommunity Social Services. • James Markunas Society, 245 Harriet Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 {415/ n5-5445). A resource lor lesbian, gay and bisexual pri$0ners. • Mothers Opposed to Maltreatmenl of Service Members (MOMS). 8285 Black Haw Court, Frederick, MD 21701 : Advocates for priwners in mililary pri$0nSand disciplinary barracks. Offers a pre-release booklet entirled •New Beginnings: • lhe Pri$0n Chess Program, P.O . Box 4441 9, Wash· ington, DC 20026 (301 / 530-4841 ) provides chess books and magazines for prison libra ries and institutional chess groups; they do nol send materials to individuals. • Native American Indian Inmate Support Project, 8 Dallas Dr., Grantville, PA 17028: A Native American group that supports the introduction of Indian religious ceremonies and programs in pri$0ns. • Native American Pri$0ners' Rehabilitation Research Pro ject, 2848 Paddock Lane, Villa Hills, KY 41017: Offers many services for Native American prisoners, including legal and spiritual support, tribal and cultural program$ and direct conlad with pri$0n administrators. • PEN, Writing Program lor Prisoners, 568 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 (212/ 334-1660): Offers a greal resource booklet for pri$0n writers. Also sponsors an annual writing contest for prisoners. • Prisoners of Conscience Project, 2120 Lincoln 51., Evanston, IL 60201 (708/ 328-1543): A religious-based agency that works lor the release of pri$0ners of conscience/ political pri$0ners in the United States. • Priwner Visitation and Support, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215/ 241 -711 7): Provides institutional visits to prisoners in federal a nd military pri$0ns nalionwide. • Project lor Older Prisoners (POPS), c/o Jonathan Turley, Director, lhe National law Center, 2000 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20052. • lhe Safer Society, Shoreham Depot Rood, RR 1, Box 24-B, Orwell, VT 05760-9756 (802/ 897-754 1): Sellhelp materials lor sex offenders. • Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc., PO Box 2713, Manhattanville Station, New York, NY 10027 (212/6635562); e-mail: sprdon@ix.netcom.com; Web: http:// www.igc.apc.org/ spr/. lnlorrnotion and advocacy on sexual abuse anc:l exploitation of prisoners; suppart and advice far victims and targets of both sexes including info on psychological and health canse· quences, legal action and survivors' oplions. • The Poetry Wall, Cathedral of St. John, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10025: Displays poetry wrinen by prisoners. CHILD & FAMILY RESOURCES 17m·t art molly orga11i:wtio11s tlwtlulp pnso11n-s who ltm¥' cltililm!. 17U'JI' ngmrif:l prrmitk lit,-ntllrr. mfonnotioll, ndvirt a111i lli/JfJort 011 /row to rof" with family fJroblnlls wltilr iu j Jri,lOU. Dirfrl tL.Ui.~tflllrf is ll.'tl lflll)l availlzb!Ronly in tltr local nrrru that tlwsr fJI'Ogmms smN'. • Aid to lmpri$0ned Mathers (AIM). 599 Mitchell St., SW, Atlanta, GA 30314 {404/ 221-Q092): An advocacy group lor incarcerated mothM. Although social services are only provided in the Atlanta area, AIM can provide helpful information for all women in pri$0n who have children. • Center lor the Children of Incarcerated Parents, Pacific Oaks College, 714 W. Ca lifornia Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91 105 (818/ 397-1300): Provides free educational materiel lor incarcerated pcrents and their children. • Family and Correction~ Network, Jane Adam~ Center M/C 309, 1040 We~t Harri~n St. #4010, Chicago, IL 60607·7134 (312/996-3219): Provi de~ information about programs serving fami lies of prisoners. • Fathers Behind Bars, P.O. Box 86, Niles, Ml 49120 (616/684-5715): A by·pri~ner~. for·pri~ners agency that helps to set up institutional parent group~ for incar· cerated fathers. Only the seriou~ need apply! • Legal Service~ for Pri~ners with Children, 47 4 Volen· cia St., #230, Son franci~co, CA 9 41 03 (415/255· 7036): legal services are provided in California only, but ~me general information is available. • National Institute of Correction~. Information Center, 1860 Industrial Circle, Suite A, longmont, CA 80501 (303/ 682·0213): Provides the "Directory of Programs Serving Fomilie~ of Adult Offenders." • National Resource Center for Family Support Pro· grams, Family Resource Coalition, 200 S. Michigan Ave., #1520, Chicago, IL 60604 (312/341·0900): Provides information about family programs, including prison projects. • Parent Resource ~=iotion, 213 Fembrook Avenue, Wyncote, PA 19095 (215/ 576-7961 ): Support lor child/parenting program~ in pri~n; offer~ referral~ and information to incarcerated parents. • Prison Family Foundation, P.O. Box 1 150, Auburn, Al 36831 (205/82 1·1 150): Work~ to support family education programs in prison. Selb pre· and po~t releose books and other publication~; work~ with prison administrations to form in~titutiano l lomily ~upport group~. UGAL RESOURCEs-EEDERAL/ NAnONAL Tlu•re are mrmy agnt rit~,f that JlmtlidP IP~nl M'nn'res for Jnisonm; most oftht'\1' orgaui:lllions tJijJH'II\r inflmuation or offrr 17fn7nc~ matniol. Sot,.thnlthe:Y UJ..'PIIrin tin not usual· I) lwndv fxr>orwl "Krrl~nvir~ surlr m jilmj; rrJIIN'nls. pmtrmn,lflimu or lawHtlh-with thr rxrrjJiiou of for·jJrojit romJHmi~ (not/isiiYIIrn~) tlrrrl dwrgr lmgr[rr1. Federal • U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Divi~ion, Special Litigation Section, Washington, DC 2053 0 (202/514·6255): Enforce~ the "Civil Right~ ofln~titu · tionolized Per~n~ Ad" through l~uits against ~tote or local pri~n official~ who deprive prisoners of their con· ~titutionol rights or who practice rociol discrimination. • U.S. Supreme Court, Public Information Office, Wash· ington, DC 20543·000 1 (202/ 479-3211 ): Con pro· vide up to live Supreme Court deci~ion~ per term. Supreme Court ~lip opinion~ ore available through the Government Printing Office. Contact: The Superinten· dent of Document~. U.S. Printing Office, Wo~hington, DC 20402 (202/783·3238). Na~onal • ACLU Notional Prison Project, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW #410, Wo~hington , DC 20009 (202/234· 4830): A b ranch of the notional ACLU that works on pri~on legal issue~. Sells re~ource directorie~ . criminal ju~tice ~totistic books and legal aid manual~; ol~ offer~ a prison new~leHer for 52 per year and sell~ the "Rights of Prisoners" handbook for 55. Doesn't handle ind ivid· uol cases; they only litigate large-scale stole or national prison reform legal actions. • Columbia Human Rights low Review, 4 35 West 116th Street, Box B-25, New York, NY 10027 (212/663·870 1): Sells the • Jailhouse Lawyer Manual" (JLM) for S30 a copy (5 13 for pri~ners). • Correctional low Reporter, Civic Re~eorch Institute, 4490 Route 27, Box 585, Kingston, NJ 08528: Case low newsleHer; 5 125/yeor. • Georgetown University low Center, Criminal Proce· dure Project, 600 New Jersey Ave. NW, Wo ~hington, DC 20001. (202/662·9468): Publi she~ the George· town low Journal, the annual "Criminal Procedure• i~~ue costs 5 30. • Freedom Press, P.O. Box 4458, lee~burg, VA 22075 (703/866-1446) or: (800/370-7052): A pri~n project run by volunteer paralegals. They offer legal services at reduced rote~. sometime~ on monthly payment plans; they also offer mini~try and counseling service~ . • ln~ide/Out Pres~. P.O . Box 188131 , Sacramento, CA 95818: Publi ~he~ self-help legal guide~. Inside/ Out i~ the moil-order bu~ine~s for the Pri~ners' Right~ Union, which focu~ on California pri~n i~~ue~. • Lewisburg Pri~n Project, P.O . Box 128, lewisburg, PA 17837·0128 (717/523·1 10 4): Sell~ low·co~t litera· lure regarding con~titutionol right~, due proce~~ and other legal issues of interest to pri~ners. • Notional lawyer~ Guild, Prison low Project, 558 Cop Street, Son Francisco, CA 94110 (41 5/285·5067): A notional legal agency with on intere~t in helping jail· house lawyer~. • Notional legal Service~ . 710 lake View Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30308 (404/87 4·9553): Post-conviction ~peciali~t~; fees for service. • Oceana Press, 75 Main Street, Dobb~ Ferry, NY 10522 (91 4 / 693-81 00): Sells prison-related legal book~ . including "The Pri~oner's Self-Help litigation Manual" (S30) and "Po~t·Convi~on Remedies" (520). • Paralegal ~sociates, 209 S. Broadway #246, Bolti· more, MD 2 1231: Offer~ a case-laws summary new~ service; $30 annual subscription. • Prisoner Legal News, P.O. Box 1684, Lake Worth, Fl 33460: A magazine published by prisoners in Wo~h ington that covers nationwide prison legal i ~sue~. SubKription rates ore around S 12 per year/ 12 i~~ue~. • Starlite, P.O . Box 20004, St. Pete,.burg, Fl 33742 (813/392-2929 or 800/577·2929): Sell~ the CITE· BOOK, which is a coll~on of positive federal and state ca~e law, both criminal and civil. The CITEBOOK is updated quarterly and costs 528 (S 112 annually). Although th is is fa irly expensive, perhaps your law library con subscribe; this company ol ~o ~e ll ~ o ther books regarding bu~iness, con~umer and legal i~~u~. • We~t Publi~hing Company, 610 Opperman Drive, Saint Paul, MN 55123· 1340 (800/328·9352): Pub· lishes "Corrections and Pri ~o ners Right~ in a Nut· ~hell " and "Criminal Procedures in a Nutshell." at $17 each. PARAUGAL PROGRAMS • Block~tone School of low, P.O . Box 701449, Dalla~. TX 75370 (800/826·9228): Offers a well· known corre~pandence program. MINISTRIIS & BIBLE STUDIIS • A/G Prison Ministry, 1445 Boonville, Springfield, MO 65802: Offers Chri~tion mini~tering program~. • Emmau~ Bible Corre~pondence School, 2570 ~bury Rd, Dubuque, lA 52001 (319/588·8000): Offers free Bible courses lor pri~ners. • The Na tional Convocation of Jail and Pri~n Ministry, 1357 East Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003: A notional agency for prison chaplains_ • Good News Mission, 1036 Highland Street, Arling· ton, VA 22204 (703/979·2200): A Chri~tion organi· zotion that provides ~uppart, witnessing and ~pirituol counseling to inmates in 11 0 prison~ aero~~ 14 states. • Guideposts, 39 Seminary Hill Rood, Carmel, NY 105 12 (914/225·3681 ): A Christian organization that publ i~he~ Guidepost magazine. AI~ span~rs the FIND information network, which provides information referral~ : FIND Network, P.O. Box 855, Carmel, NY 10512. • Hope Aglow Prison Ministries, P.O. Box 3057, Lynch· burg, VA 24503: A nationwide religious organization that offer~ Bible ~tudy course~. • lntemational Pri~n Mini~try, P.O. Box 63, Dalla~. TX 75221 . • Liberty Pri~n Mini~tries, P.O. Box 8998, Waukegan, ll60079: This Christian mini~try publi~he~ the Liberator newsleHer. • Liberty Prison Outreach, 701 Thoma~ Rood, lynch· burg, VA 2451 4 (804/239·928 1): Provide~ religious a~sistance to pri~ners, mo~~y in central Virginia; Bible corre~pandence cour~es available. • Pri~n Fellow~hip, P.O. Box 17500, Washington, DC 20041 (703/ 478·0 100): A nationwide ministry that spon~rs spiritual activities in pri~n. • Pri~n Ministry of Yokefellow~ lntemotionol, The Yoke· fellow Center, P.O. Box 482, Rising Sun, MD 21911 (41 0/658· 2661 ): A religiou~ organization that olle" information and literature to pri~ner~. • Set Free Prison Ministries, P.O. Box 5440, River~ide, CA 92517·9961 (909 /787·9907): Provide~ on exten~ive Bible study course. • Southern Prison Ministry, 910 Ponce de l eon Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. • U.S. Mennonite Central CommiHee, Office of Criminal Justice, P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA 1750 1-0500 (717 /859-3889): Offer~ many publications concerning crime and religion-most ore free to pri~ners. ISLAMIC ORGANIZAnONS • Islamic Pri~on Foundation, 1212 New York Avenue NW # 400, Washington, DC 20005: Mostly works with Muslims in federa l p ri~n~ . • The National Incarcerated Mu~lim Network, c/o Mou· rice Taylor, #476837, Route 3, Box 59, Ro~horon, TX 77583: A pri~n-bosed organizotion that networks with incarcerated Muslim~ far support and educational pur· poses. JUDAISM ORGANIZATIONS • Aleph Institute, P.O. Box 546564, Surl~ i de, FL 33154 (305/864·5553): A full-service Jewish advocacy agency with regional offices. • lntemotional Coalition for Jewi ~h Pri~ner~ Service~, 1640 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Wo~hingtan, DC 20036·3278 (202/ 857·6582): Offers support, refer· rols, guidance, educational and rel i giou~ program~ . and pen pals. • Jewi~h Pri~ner Services, on outreach/advocacy pro· gram of Congregation Pidyon Shevuyim, offers refer· rol~. information, p re· and post-release counseling, Ieeming materials, and marioge enrichment seminars that a~sure a smoother, permanent return to the real world. Contact Sid Kleiner, Notional Coordinator, 10 188 W inter View Drive, Nople~, FL, 33942·1520. BUDDHIST/ MIDITAnON GROUPS The Engaged Zen Foundation, P.O. Box 700, Rom· sey, NY 07446-0700, publishes a newsleHer for incor· ceroted Buddhists enti~ed The Gateway Journal. • Human Kindness Foundation, Prison Ashram Project, Route 1, Box 201-N, Durham, NC 27705: Provid e~ reading material for spiritual living. • lskcon Prison Ministries, 2936 Esplanade Ave., New Orlean~, LA 701 19. • Prison Dharma Network, P.O . Box 912, ~tor Station, Bo~ton, MA 02123·09 12: Offers Buddhist meditation literature. The SYDA Foundation offers a corre~pandence course in meditation, free of charge and available in Spanish translation upon reque~t . W rite to: Pri~n Project, 1132 Stanford Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94608, Attn: Tom Toomey. DEATH PENALTY RESOURCES • American Civil Libertie~ Union, Capitol Puni~hment Project, 122 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002 (202/ 675· 2319): A branch of the ACLU that deals with death penalty is~ue~. • American Friend~ Service CommiHee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia , PA 19102 (2 15/241 ·7130): A Quaker peace organization that works to bon the death penalty a~ one of their Criminal Ju~tice project~. • Amne~ty International, Project to Abolish the Death Penalty, 322 8th Ave., New York, NY 1 000 1· 4B08 (212/ 807-8400): Work~ to abolish the death penalty through public leHer·writing campaigns. • Capital Punishment Re~eorch Project, P.O. Box 277, Headland, Al36345 (205/ 693·5225). • Catholic~ Against Capitol Punishment, P.O . Box 3125, Arlington, VA 22203 (703/522·5014): A reli· giou~ organization against the death penalty. • Death Penalty Information Center, 1606 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 (202/ 347-2531 ). • Death Row Support Project, P.O. Box 600, Liberty Mills, IN 46946 (219/ 982·7480): Offers pen·pal ~er· vice~ to death row inmate~. • Endeavor Project, P.O. Box 23511 , Hou~ton , TX 77228-3511: A magazine produced by and for pri~n e" on death row. • friend~ CommiHee to Aboli~h the Death Penalty, c/ o Charles Obler, 802 West 3rd Street, Farmville, VA 23901 : Publi~hes the Quaker Abolitionis~ subKription~ 56/ yr for pri~ner5. • NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 99 Hud~n Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10013 (212/ 219·1900): A legal branch of the NAACP that ~uppart~ minority rights; a lso ho~ on anti-death penalty project. • National Coalition to Aboli~h the Death Penalty, 918 F St. NW #60 1, Wo~hingto n, DC 20004 (202/ 347· 2411 ): Work~ to oboli~h the death penalty. Al~o p ro· vide~ a booklet listing anti-death penalty resource~ in each ~tate ("The Abolition i~r~ Directory; $2). Changes, additions and new information should be sent to: Pri~on Life Magazine, Resources Deportment, 200 Varick Sf, Suite 901, New York, NY 10014. ?\o \ clll bcr 1996 PRISON lifE 85 1. The Dishwasher by Dannie Martin _ 2. CommittingJournalism by Dannie Martin $12.95 _ 3. Hauling Up the Morning by Blunk &• Levasseur $15.95 4. No Beast So Fien:e $19.95 by Eddie Bunker $1D.DO _ 5. TheBigWhite lie by Michael Levine $12.95 _ 6. Oeep Cover by Michael levine $17.95 _ 7a.Notes From the Country Club (hard) by Kim Worencraft $19.95 _ 711.Notes From the Country Club (soft) by Kim Worencraft $5.99 B. Soledad Brother by George Jackson $14.95 9. FromBehind the Wall by Mansfield Frazier $17.95 by Robert Singer $2.50 11.Rush by Kim Wozencraft $19.95 12. Prison literature by H. Bruce Franklin $12.95 13.Smack Goddess by Richard Stratton $1B.95 by Rosenthal, logan, et.al. $19.95 _ 10.Bad Guys' Quote Book _ 14.Marijuana -laws& You Send Check or Money Order plus $3.00 P&H TO: Joint Ven1llre Media 1436 West Gray, Suite 531 Houston, TX 77019 Name._______________________________________________ 10#_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ Address.___ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ City____ __ _ _ _ _ _ _State. _ __ _ Zip._ _ _ __ Make Checks payable to: Joint Venture Media. Or call 800-207-2659 with your order. Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express cards accepted.