Email from a Guard
I received this heartwarming email from an officer who read Hard Time and now relates to prisoners in a more positive way:
I am a judicial marshal for the state of Connecticut in the US far north of where you spent you time over here. Unlike most other states we work for the court house and are in charge of safety for the court house and transport from jails and prisons for court dates. We don't work for the jails/prisons or a police force we just deal with the court house. I came across hard time last week on Amazon and I read it in two days. As soon as I was done I had to buy prison time to finish your story. I must say it's an absolute nightmare but it's crazy intriguing and I just can't put it down. Within a week I will have both done and then play catch up and read party time. I started my job when I was 19 and thankfully I got taken under the wing of a few senior marshals that had great heads on their shoulders and aren't the type to fight everyday. I don't work in a prison or jail but I deal with inmates on a daily basis on my transport truck. Reading your book it makes me sick how some of the officers you deal with treated people. I understand that yes some on the people I deal with are 100% monsters but most are people who made mistakes or people who didn't have family structure to help guild them through a life without crime. I also understand that I am one mistake away from ending up right where they are. I made mistakes as a kid with drugs and minor criminal activity and had to spend a few nights in lockup because of it. I just want you to know that I read your book and now understand the mindset of someone who is locked up a little bit better. I also hope I know understand enough to maybe offer a kind word rather then a quick smart ass remark. We aren't all bad some of us do care. I know you don't think we are all bad but I just wanted to tell you that your book will help me interact with inmates on a much deeper level. Also most of the reading was done in a lock up and I was sharing stories with co-workers in hopes they will read your books a well. My goal of to keep everyone safe and go home to my wife and son at the end of the day. I would love to tell you we are all good people but we both know that's a lie lol. I definitely work with assholes who want to fight to prove that they are tough but in the grand scheme that means nothing. Attacking an inmate when it's 5 on 1 makes you a coward not a tough guy.
Thank you for writing your journey through blogs and books.
Keep up the good work.
I am a judicial marshal for the state of Connecticut in the US far north of where you spent you time over here. Unlike most other states we work for the court house and are in charge of safety for the court house and transport from jails and prisons for court dates. We don't work for the jails/prisons or a police force we just deal with the court house. I came across hard time last week on Amazon and I read it in two days. As soon as I was done I had to buy prison time to finish your story. I must say it's an absolute nightmare but it's crazy intriguing and I just can't put it down. Within a week I will have both done and then play catch up and read party time. I started my job when I was 19 and thankfully I got taken under the wing of a few senior marshals that had great heads on their shoulders and aren't the type to fight everyday. I don't work in a prison or jail but I deal with inmates on a daily basis on my transport truck. Reading your book it makes me sick how some of the officers you deal with treated people. I understand that yes some on the people I deal with are 100% monsters but most are people who made mistakes or people who didn't have family structure to help guild them through a life without crime. I also understand that I am one mistake away from ending up right where they are. I made mistakes as a kid with drugs and minor criminal activity and had to spend a few nights in lockup because of it. I just want you to know that I read your book and now understand the mindset of someone who is locked up a little bit better. I also hope I know understand enough to maybe offer a kind word rather then a quick smart ass remark. We aren't all bad some of us do care. I know you don't think we are all bad but I just wanted to tell you that your book will help me interact with inmates on a much deeper level. Also most of the reading was done in a lock up and I was sharing stories with co-workers in hopes they will read your books a well. My goal of to keep everyone safe and go home to my wife and son at the end of the day. I would love to tell you we are all good people but we both know that's a lie lol. I definitely work with assholes who want to fight to prove that they are tough but in the grand scheme that means nothing. Attacking an inmate when it's 5 on 1 makes you a coward not a tough guy.
Thank you for writing your journey through blogs and books.
Keep up the good work.
From T-Bone (Letter 68)
T-Bone is a massively-built spiritual ex-Marine, who uses fighting skills to stop prison rape. T-Bone’s latest letter from Arizona prison:
I had to write this letter even though
these people are reading my mail to you. So check this out, as you know,
there’s a serious drug problem in places like this. How crazy people get from and
for it, especially Spice. That is some nasty stuff! They make the chemicals in
China. I swear it has sexual chemicals sprayed on it. The prisoners smoke it.
Well, they have a prison channel and they play this infomercial 24 hours a day
about “The Dangers of Spice,” but it doesn’t make a difference to people who
want to sell it and smoke it.
 |
| T-Bone |
This guy by the name of L got to smoking
it out on the recreation field. He fell head first in the hot sand and then he
got to fighting the air. He was hearing and seeing things that weren’t even
there. He was talking to demons, I believe. He’s a good-sized guy and everyone,
and I mean everyone, was scared of him.
I couldn’t just stand there and let the
man embarrass himself anymore, so I asked the Lord for help, and walked up and
hugged the man. His eyes were open, but he was possessed. I held onto him. He’s
a hard man. He stood there with his mind on something far away (something was
in him). He was sweating and his muscles were twitching from head to toe, like
the wind was blowing under his skin. I got scared for a moment, and he sensed
it and started holding on tighter, but God calmed me and out of nowhere came
medical personal who put him on a gurney and took him to Medical.
 |
| Prisoner on Spice |
I went on to my cell and prayed and out of
nowhere three buttholes who like to see things in a negative way, they stated
that I was making it hot for them. I laughed and told them to leave before
things got serious. The one who considered himself to be the leader called me a
“stupid nigger.”
I kicked him in the knee and wham-wham-boom! I hit him three times. He
was out. To my surprise, some guys came to support me. They knew what had happened
to L was wrong.
The leader came back after he had woken up.
His so-called homeboys put him up to it. He wasn’t ready, but he tried. I
grabbed him and put him in a chokehold. He tapped my arm real quick and I told
him to let it go and to grow up. His people ran off the yard.
There are always guys falling out from
that stuff who know better, but they have to have it. I feel no sorrow for any
of them because they are allowing a way of thinking that’s become a culture. Now,
they go around giving hot ones (butt-kicking) to people falling out from
smoking Spice.
The guy I had to deal with, his nickname
is “Infant.” Does that say it all or what? I hope he changes his name because his
nickname is without a doubt for a kid. Ha ha! I had to throw that one at you!
Can you believe I was making it hot, because I helped a guy who had fallen out
on the rec field? Wow! It’s hard to believe, but people do think like that.
I’ve put everything in God’s hands, so please continue to pray for me.
Each one
Teach one
Strength and Honor
Steel Embrace
T-Bone
Shaun Attwood
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is Now a Convicted Criminal
Arpaio's karma finally caught up with him today. Read more here.
A New Adventure (Part 20)
Approaching the anniversary of my ten-year release from
prison, I’m pleased to announce the publication of my eighth book over that
period. The Cali Cartel: Beyond Narcos
is now available worldwide on Amazon as a paperback
and an e-book here. The audiobook will be available within
two weeks. If you live in the USA, you have a chance to win a copy of the
paperback for free at this Amazon giveaway. The Cali Cartel took over
Pablo Escobar’s cocaine business, and the book includes the war between the
cartels. Here’s the Narcos trailer introducing Gilberto –
the head of the Cali Cartel – as the new super-villain for Narcos Season 3.
For my long-term blog readers, the only Arizona prisoner I still
get letters consistently from is T-Bone, a former US Marine who uses his
fighting skills to stop prison rape. His harrowing accounts of Arizona prison
life can be read at my blog here.
My YouTube channel subscribers have risen. I should be over
10,000 by the end of the year. I’ve set up a prison questions playlist. If you have any
prison questions you’d like to see me make a video about, please add them to
the YouTube comments or email them to me at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Sales are starting to rise for my book American Made on the back of the imminent release of the Tom Cruise
movie American Made. The action-packed trailer about the CIA’s
cocaine smuggling pilot Barry Seal is here, but from watching it, I can tell
that the movie has whitewashed Barry’s story to make it US government friendly
– just like Narcos is told from the
DEA’s perspective. The DEA agents threatened to pull out of Narcos if Pablo Escobar’s son was
allowed to contribute.
I’m just finishing the final book in my War on Drugs series, We Are Being Lied To, which hopefully should be published by the
end of the year.
In August, I have three talks in London. Tickets and further info.
2 FREE Audiobook Giveaways
Audiobook Giveaway 1
If you’d like a free audiobook of American Made about the
CIA drug smuggler Barry Seal, I have some Amazon codes to give away, so just
email me your request and state your country at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Audiobook Giveaway 2
If you’d like a free audiobook of Unmaking a Murderer based
on the Netflix series, I have some Amazon codes to give away, so just email me
your request and state your country at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Shaun Attwood
A New Adventure (Part 19)
It was a real honour to be asked to judge prisoners’ short
stories for the Koestler Trust, who help prisoners rehabilitate through art.
Ten years ago, I won a Koestler Award for a short story, which I read to an
audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall. It got me a place on the Koestler
mentor scheme, and I was assigned a published author, who helped me achieve my
writing goals and launched me as an author. My sessions with my mentor are all available here.
There has been lots of Making a Murderer news.
Kathleen Zellner filed a 1,272-page notice for post-conviction relief. She
named Ryan Hillegas as the lead murder suspect and accused Ken Kratz of
fraudulent conduct. The motion was so significant that I have replaced the
chapter at the end of Unmaking a Murderer with a new chapter titled “Did Ryan
Hillegas Kill Teresa?” which you can listen to me narrate here.
The Federal Court ruled in favour of Brendan Dassey, and
mandated that some action must be taken within 90 days such as retrying him.
The corrupt State of Wisconsin is throwing vast taxpayers resources at holding
this innocent young man in prison because they don’t want to pay millions in
compensation. It’s despicable that they have not only destroyed a mild-mannered
teenager’s life, but that they continue to incarcerate him with zero evidence
of him ever committing a crime.
I’ve added several new videos to my Making a Murderer
playlist, which are all available here.
If you’d like a free audiobook of Unmaking a Murderer, I
still have some Amazon codes to give away, so just email me your request and
state your country at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Shaun Attwood
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