ARPAIO WEBCHAT TRANSCRIPT
The BBC Radio 4 Today programme brought Sheriff Arpaio to the UK to see what he made of the British justice system. He took part in a Webchat at the end of his visit. Read the transcript below.
Name: Jill Berliand
Question: I would like to ask if the American method - ie living in tents in hot weather and being treated harshly has a better record when it comes to recidivism? Who monitors the prisons, who looks after a prisoners human rights?
Answer: Almost 2,000 inmates live in tents are convicted and serving time. Many inmates and families have thanked me since the inmates say they will never come back to jail.
Name: Steve Cushion London Metropolitan University
Question: In 1980 there were 300,000 people in prison in the United States. By 2001 there were 2,700,000 in jail. With the exception of Stalin's Russia and Nazi Germany, no country has ever had such a high prison population. In the USA, law and order has always been a right wing code word for racism and an African-American is seven times more likely to be imprisoned than the national average. What does the Sheriff say about this?
Answer: In my jails 5% out of over 10,000 prisoners are of African American background. We do not have racism. The criminal justice system would not allow racism.
Name: Derick Attwood
Question: Our son was an unsentenced guest in Towers Jail and also your infamous Madison Street Jail, which is now fortunately closed. During his two years in your 'care' he was subjected to infestations of cockroaches, mouldy rotten food and regularly broken air conditioning in 130 degree+ temperatures which caused fungal, skin and eye infections which he still has scars from. How do you justify this abuse of unsentenced prisoners and in view of the recidivism rate, do you think this treatment will make your inmates better citizens?
Answer: It is unfortunate that your son had to spend 2 years before I believe he went to court to either be sentenced or released. We had built two new hi-tech jails which should relieve any problems in the future, if your son is telling the truth in/or over reacting to his treatment.
Name: Joe Morison
Question: You talk a lot about punishment. What purpose do you see punishment fulfilling? As Gandhi said: an eye for eye makes for a blind world.
Answer: We should hold people accountable for their actions. You should never live better in jail than on the outside. We used to punish our children and take away their privileges. I use the same philosophy in running the jails.
Name: George Foster
Question: I have heard the usual liberal views on rehabilitation this week. What about the victims!!. Yes our prisons are used to jail people who are not a threat to public health or property, but there are also people who pose a threat to the wellbeing and belongings/property of law abiding citizens. You might want to ask some victims of crime for their views on what is appropriate. What role do victims have in US?
Answer: All I hear is rehabilitation and education for the inmates. We seem to forget the victims. Criminals must be held responsible for the crimes and we should never forget the destruction of lives and property. Like those criminals who have no respect for the victims of crime. Victims now have the right to face the accuser in court on serious crimes.
Name: John Percival
Question: The Sheriff's comment about no mention being made of punishment for crime in this country is right. It is not vengeful to want punishment for offenders against society, we need a deterrent against persistent criminals and protection for victims of crime. A slap on the wrist for offenders is not enough, as the lawlessness in towns and cities proves.
Answer: Punishment is a deterrence against crime. We should never forget the victims. The first priority of Government is safety of it's people.
Name: Richard Lyon
Question: Does Mr Arpaio feel that the three strikes rule in USA is justified given the large number of people there serving life for trivial crimes?
Answer: My opinion as to why crime has been reduced by 20% across the United States is that more people are in jail. Those receiving long sentences or the three strikes rule are not in jail for trivial crimes.
Name:Jenny Russell, Maricopa County Resident:
Question: I'd like to pose a question to sheriff Joe. I'd like him to address the deaths that take place in his county jails. I'd also like him to explain the fact that crime has risen every year since he's been sheriff--disproportionate to the population growth, if the harsh conditions in his jails are supposed to deter crime.
Answer: Crime has gone down in Maricopa County especially those areas of the county that the sheriff is responsible for. Over 1 million more people have moved to Maricopa County since I have been the sheriff which naturally will increase the crime rate and incarceration. When you have 10 thousand people a day in a jail unfortunately there may be some deaths just like any other town. Many prisoners come to jail not in healthy condition. High on drugs in not receiving good health care prior to being arrested and booked into the jail system.
Name: Andrew Shaw
Question: I was interested in your piece with Sheriff Joe Arpaio. My thoughts are that prison sentencing should be split into 2 parts. A period for punishment where prisoners get no privileges and live a very basic existence. Then a period of rehabilitation when privileges are introduced to ready them for release back into the community if they are deemed safe.
Answer: I have 2 thousand inmates out of 10 thousand that have been convicted. We offer those inmates education and rehabilitation before they are released into the community.
As he was unable to hear Joe Arpaio himself, Jon would appreciate your comments on the above and, if you heard it, the BBC Today’s programme about criminal justice.
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below:
Tent City - Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Shameful Creation
Guest blog by Pearl Wilson, co-founder, Mothers Against Arpaio (MAA)
Letter to Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
I would like to bring to your attention a problem in Maricopa County; one that I believe you are already familiar with. The problem is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his greatest source of nationwide publicity, the infamous Tent City.
The conditions in Tent City are extremely dangerous, for several reasons. The lack of inmate supervision, due to the drastically low ratio of guards per inmates, the lack of management controls to secure the safety/health of inmates and guards, overcrowding issues, inmate violence, access to drugs and contraband, and the lawsuits that are filed against Maricopa County as a result of these conditions, screams for more attention from you, the Board of Supervisors.
I do not present this problem to you merely as a concerned county resident, but as a woman who has been directly affected by this terrible problem. My name is Pearl Wilson and my loving son, Phillip Wilson, was murdered in Tent City in 2003. While serving a short sentence for a simple probation violation, my son was horribly beaten by unsupervised inmates, resulting in a coma, and later his untimely death.
But his is not the only case; nowhere close. As I write this letter, there are over 1,500 cases pending in which Sheriff Joe Arpaio is listed as a defendant. These cases are costing the county millions of dollars, and will continue to do so until something is done to correct the problem. With two new jails having been recently opened, at a cost of $500 million to the taxpayers, there should be absolutely no reason to keep Tent City open. It seems quite clear the only reason Tent City is still open is for Sheriff Arpaio’s own self-promotion.
An ASU study – commissioned by Arpaio himself – concluded that Tent City does not deter crime in Maricopa County. Yet, Arpaio continues to punish detainees and inmates under the horrific conditions of Tent City.
I am very interested to know the Board of Supervisors’ rationale of this issue.
Why is the county not making full use of the two new jails, and who do we keep Tent City open when it is such an obvious liability to the county? Understaffing in the county jails has been an issue almost the entire time Joe Arpaio has been in office, and is no longer an acceptable excuse. Recent publicity suggests that his own employees are uncomfortable working for him and fear retaliation if they choose not to openly support him. Is the sheriff himself to blame for the understaffing issue, or does the problem go deeper? I know in my heart that no amount of money will ever bring my son back. The only thing that will truly bring comfort to myself and my family is knowing that while the senseless death of my son could have been prevented and wasn’t, we can prevent more wrongful deaths, of inmates and guards, by tearing down the tents.
I humbly ask you to please consider my request for Tent City to be torn down.
It is not worth the publicity to lose lives, even the lives of those people who have committed crimes. Since the tents were designed to handle overcrowding and that is no longer an issue, due to the construction of the new jails, it makes sense to move the inmates to indoor facilities where they can be better monitored. It would increase the safety for everyone involved, including the detention officers.
I anxiously await a reply from the board, and hope that you will thoughtfully consider my request.
Jon would like to have your comments on Pearl's article and your opinions of Tent City
Jon spent two years in Arpaio’s jails click here to get the truth.
Letter to Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
I would like to bring to your attention a problem in Maricopa County; one that I believe you are already familiar with. The problem is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his greatest source of nationwide publicity, the infamous Tent City.
The conditions in Tent City are extremely dangerous, for several reasons. The lack of inmate supervision, due to the drastically low ratio of guards per inmates, the lack of management controls to secure the safety/health of inmates and guards, overcrowding issues, inmate violence, access to drugs and contraband, and the lawsuits that are filed against Maricopa County as a result of these conditions, screams for more attention from you, the Board of Supervisors.
I do not present this problem to you merely as a concerned county resident, but as a woman who has been directly affected by this terrible problem. My name is Pearl Wilson and my loving son, Phillip Wilson, was murdered in Tent City in 2003. While serving a short sentence for a simple probation violation, my son was horribly beaten by unsupervised inmates, resulting in a coma, and later his untimely death.
But his is not the only case; nowhere close. As I write this letter, there are over 1,500 cases pending in which Sheriff Joe Arpaio is listed as a defendant. These cases are costing the county millions of dollars, and will continue to do so until something is done to correct the problem. With two new jails having been recently opened, at a cost of $500 million to the taxpayers, there should be absolutely no reason to keep Tent City open. It seems quite clear the only reason Tent City is still open is for Sheriff Arpaio’s own self-promotion.
An ASU study – commissioned by Arpaio himself – concluded that Tent City does not deter crime in Maricopa County. Yet, Arpaio continues to punish detainees and inmates under the horrific conditions of Tent City.
I am very interested to know the Board of Supervisors’ rationale of this issue.
Why is the county not making full use of the two new jails, and who do we keep Tent City open when it is such an obvious liability to the county? Understaffing in the county jails has been an issue almost the entire time Joe Arpaio has been in office, and is no longer an acceptable excuse. Recent publicity suggests that his own employees are uncomfortable working for him and fear retaliation if they choose not to openly support him. Is the sheriff himself to blame for the understaffing issue, or does the problem go deeper? I know in my heart that no amount of money will ever bring my son back. The only thing that will truly bring comfort to myself and my family is knowing that while the senseless death of my son could have been prevented and wasn’t, we can prevent more wrongful deaths, of inmates and guards, by tearing down the tents.
I humbly ask you to please consider my request for Tent City to be torn down.
It is not worth the publicity to lose lives, even the lives of those people who have committed crimes. Since the tents were designed to handle overcrowding and that is no longer an issue, due to the construction of the new jails, it makes sense to move the inmates to indoor facilities where they can be better monitored. It would increase the safety for everyone involved, including the detention officers.
I anxiously await a reply from the board, and hope that you will thoughtfully consider my request.
Jon would like to have your comments on Pearl's article and your opinions of Tent City
Jon spent two years in Arpaio’s jails click here to get the truth.
13 August 05
Pricked
At 7am my cell door clicked open.
“Jon, come out!” said Officer Redrock, who was accompanied by a doctor.
“I’m takin’ a shit. Can you wait a minute?” Long Island pled his case.
I stayed put because the toilet is adjacent to the cell door.
“Tough shit! Jon, come out, now!”
Disobeying an order is a ticketable offense, so I opened the door.
What's this?” I said, and squinted at the syringe the doctor was fondling.
“TB test,” the doctor said.
“I read that these shots mess up the immune system. I feel perfectly healthy. Can I sign a refusal for medical treatment?”
“Absolutely not. If you don’t take it voluntarily, I’ll call out the turtles [the goon squad], and they’ll strap you down and force you to take it,” the doctor said while eyeballing the veins in my left arm.
“That’s just great. I’m sick of these - ouch!”
“What a way to start the day, eh?” Officer Redrock said.
“Yeah. Thanks.” I said and shut the door.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Pricked
At 7am my cell door clicked open.
“Jon, come out!” said Officer Redrock, who was accompanied by a doctor.
“I’m takin’ a shit. Can you wait a minute?” Long Island pled his case.
I stayed put because the toilet is adjacent to the cell door.
“Tough shit! Jon, come out, now!”
Disobeying an order is a ticketable offense, so I opened the door.
What's this?” I said, and squinted at the syringe the doctor was fondling.
“TB test,” the doctor said.
“I read that these shots mess up the immune system. I feel perfectly healthy. Can I sign a refusal for medical treatment?”
“Absolutely not. If you don’t take it voluntarily, I’ll call out the turtles [the goon squad], and they’ll strap you down and force you to take it,” the doctor said while eyeballing the veins in my left arm.
“That’s just great. I’m sick of these - ouch!”
“What a way to start the day, eh?” Officer Redrock said.
“Yeah. Thanks.” I said and shut the door.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
11 August 05
Futures Trading Update
In a previous blog, I wrote about Long Island’s and my futures trading results. (We are trading on paper, not with money.) The good performance has continued. As of the 8th July closing prices, Long Islands equity is $5549.36 and mine is $4695.75. Our accounts have both more than doubled initial investment stakes of $2000 in less than two months. My soybean position shot upwards, and Long Island scored big gains in gold and corn. We’ve been letting our profits run, and stopping our losses quickly.
I’m wondering if we’ll still be significantly ahead of the futures trading pros by year's end?
Addendum
Jon wrote in a letter:
It looks like back home outside. Rain clouds, pitter patter. Puddles everywhere. We arrived here at the hottest week on record, but now the brutal humidity is gone and it’s much better than Buckeye, 10 degrees and less in temperature. Our window is open and there’s a sweetness to the air.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Futures Trading Update
In a previous blog, I wrote about Long Island’s and my futures trading results. (We are trading on paper, not with money.) The good performance has continued. As of the 8th July closing prices, Long Islands equity is $5549.36 and mine is $4695.75. Our accounts have both more than doubled initial investment stakes of $2000 in less than two months. My soybean position shot upwards, and Long Island scored big gains in gold and corn. We’ve been letting our profits run, and stopping our losses quickly.
I’m wondering if we’ll still be significantly ahead of the futures trading pros by year's end?
Addendum
Jon wrote in a letter:
It looks like back home outside. Rain clouds, pitter patter. Puddles everywhere. We arrived here at the hottest week on record, but now the brutal humidity is gone and it’s much better than Buckeye, 10 degrees and less in temperature. Our window is open and there’s a sweetness to the air.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
09 August 05
Arpaio’s Sci-Fi Slammer
Maniac Mack is now housed in Arpaio's new jailhouse. Mack wrote:
I have graduated to a level of classification reserved only for the most violent, dangerous, and seasoned inmates.
Here, no chances are taken. Indeed, for any and all human contact we must be shackled in leg irons, and belly belts with handcuffs attached. To come out of a cell, two officers must be present. All officers must wear stab vests at all times. Shankings – with homemade knives and sharp stabbing objects – are common practice. Stab vests cover all vitals not located on the face, and below the belt. The neck is covered by flaps attached to the vest.
‘Respect’ is the name of the game. A wrong word spoken in jest or seriousness can result in a shanking. This applies double to detention officers. If an officer disrepects an inmate, he is an instant target for up and coming youngsters to earn respect, and make a ‘name’ by turning that officer into a human pin cushion.
We are routinely strip searched. Any time we go to court, a special chair known as ‘The Boss’ awaits our return. Stripped to boxers, inmates sit on ‘The Boss’, and this miracle of modern technology lets the officers know if any metal is hidden in your rectum.
Visits are through video visitation. Games with our snail mail are common. You’d have to see it to believe it, and I don’t wish this on anybody.
Our cells are 6ft x 20ft. One man cells. Narrow little boxes of despair. Freezing cold they are. Punishment for blocking up the air conditioning ducts is to be stripped out for 72 hours. Mattress, everything, gone! Just you and your chattering teeth, hard nipples, and goose bumps.
'Restrictions got nothing on being stripped out,' says Vanilla Gorilla – spokesman for the whites. 'Fucking blizzard-like conditions, I didn’t sleep for almost three fucking days!'
Sheriff Joe has done everything to make this place a no-joke area, and still we laugh and joke around. It’s a subtle 'fuck you!' to the Man, saying you can’t break us. Starve me, freeze me, put me in solitary, I’m still laughing. The 'fuck you!' is for you Joe Arpaio, you still haven’t made a facilty that can break the indomitable human spirit.
Maniac Mack
Many thanks to Maniac Mack for what possibly may be the first insider account of Arpaio’s new jail to find its way onto the Internet.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Arpaio’s Sci-Fi Slammer
Maniac Mack is now housed in Arpaio's new jailhouse. Mack wrote:
I have graduated to a level of classification reserved only for the most violent, dangerous, and seasoned inmates.
Here, no chances are taken. Indeed, for any and all human contact we must be shackled in leg irons, and belly belts with handcuffs attached. To come out of a cell, two officers must be present. All officers must wear stab vests at all times. Shankings – with homemade knives and sharp stabbing objects – are common practice. Stab vests cover all vitals not located on the face, and below the belt. The neck is covered by flaps attached to the vest.
‘Respect’ is the name of the game. A wrong word spoken in jest or seriousness can result in a shanking. This applies double to detention officers. If an officer disrepects an inmate, he is an instant target for up and coming youngsters to earn respect, and make a ‘name’ by turning that officer into a human pin cushion.
We are routinely strip searched. Any time we go to court, a special chair known as ‘The Boss’ awaits our return. Stripped to boxers, inmates sit on ‘The Boss’, and this miracle of modern technology lets the officers know if any metal is hidden in your rectum.
Visits are through video visitation. Games with our snail mail are common. You’d have to see it to believe it, and I don’t wish this on anybody.
Our cells are 6ft x 20ft. One man cells. Narrow little boxes of despair. Freezing cold they are. Punishment for blocking up the air conditioning ducts is to be stripped out for 72 hours. Mattress, everything, gone! Just you and your chattering teeth, hard nipples, and goose bumps.
'Restrictions got nothing on being stripped out,' says Vanilla Gorilla – spokesman for the whites. 'Fucking blizzard-like conditions, I didn’t sleep for almost three fucking days!'
Sheriff Joe has done everything to make this place a no-joke area, and still we laugh and joke around. It’s a subtle 'fuck you!' to the Man, saying you can’t break us. Starve me, freeze me, put me in solitary, I’m still laughing. The 'fuck you!' is for you Joe Arpaio, you still haven’t made a facilty that can break the indomitable human spirit.
Maniac Mack
Many thanks to Maniac Mack for what possibly may be the first insider account of Arpaio’s new jail to find its way onto the Internet.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
07 August 05
Apples And Oranges
Some inmates, aware that Long Island’s release date – 10 December 05 - is fast approaching, have asked if I am shopping for a new cellmate. I was surprised when Ogre put himself in the running. Fortunately, I was with Two Tonys when I was approached by Ogre.
“I think we should be cellies when Long Island leaves,” Ogre said.
“You’re kiddin’ right?” I said.
“No. I’m serious. All you do is read and write all day. You don’t smoke. You don’t do dope. You don’t get involved in any drama. You’d be a good celly.”
“You’re too volatile. I need peace and quiet. You snap when you don’t take your meds. I heard about you recently choking Tom and almost throwing him off the upper tier.”
“Are you sayin’ you don’t wanna be my celly?”
“Listen, Ogre," Two Tonys said," this ain’t fuckin happenin’. Datin’ agencies make fortunes matchin’ motherfuckers. I’m lookin’ at his profile 'n’ I’m lookin’ at your profile - no fuckin’ match!”
“Whaddya mean?” Ogre said.
“You’re too fuckin’ crude for him. He’ll be writin’ an’ tryin’ to do his fuckin’ yoga, and you’ll be fartin’ and gigglin’ all fuckin’ day long. You’re gonna hafta fuhgeddaboutit.”
“Whatever,” Ogre said.
“It ain’t gonna work, Ogre. In the mornin’s this guy runs a fuckin’ office in his cell. How’s he gonna do that with you takin’ a shit every forty minutes?”
“I gotta shit when I gotta shit.”
“An’ the last celly you had, all he did was read his fuckin’ dictionary. He made Daniel Webster look like a fuckin’ chump. An’ you almost choked that motherfucker too!” Two Tonys said.
“So who do you think would make a good celly for Ogre?” I said.
“He can live with killers, robbers, psychos – any violent motherfuckers. No chomos or rapos. But really he needs to be by his fuckin’ self.”
Ogre went silent.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Apples And Oranges
Some inmates, aware that Long Island’s release date – 10 December 05 - is fast approaching, have asked if I am shopping for a new cellmate. I was surprised when Ogre put himself in the running. Fortunately, I was with Two Tonys when I was approached by Ogre.
“I think we should be cellies when Long Island leaves,” Ogre said.
“You’re kiddin’ right?” I said.
“No. I’m serious. All you do is read and write all day. You don’t smoke. You don’t do dope. You don’t get involved in any drama. You’d be a good celly.”
“You’re too volatile. I need peace and quiet. You snap when you don’t take your meds. I heard about you recently choking Tom and almost throwing him off the upper tier.”
“Are you sayin’ you don’t wanna be my celly?”
“Listen, Ogre," Two Tonys said," this ain’t fuckin happenin’. Datin’ agencies make fortunes matchin’ motherfuckers. I’m lookin’ at his profile 'n’ I’m lookin’ at your profile - no fuckin’ match!”
“Whaddya mean?” Ogre said.
“You’re too fuckin’ crude for him. He’ll be writin’ an’ tryin’ to do his fuckin’ yoga, and you’ll be fartin’ and gigglin’ all fuckin’ day long. You’re gonna hafta fuhgeddaboutit.”
“Whatever,” Ogre said.
“It ain’t gonna work, Ogre. In the mornin’s this guy runs a fuckin’ office in his cell. How’s he gonna do that with you takin’ a shit every forty minutes?”
“I gotta shit when I gotta shit.”
“An’ the last celly you had, all he did was read his fuckin’ dictionary. He made Daniel Webster look like a fuckin’ chump. An’ you almost choked that motherfucker too!” Two Tonys said.
“So who do you think would make a good celly for Ogre?” I said.
“He can live with killers, robbers, psychos – any violent motherfuckers. No chomos or rapos. But really he needs to be by his fuckin’ self.”
Ogre went silent.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
05 August 05
Average Day
Martine, from The Netherlands, recently asked what I do and what I study all day.
Every day is similar. I try to write for five hours in the AM. In the PM I try to read at least one hundred to one hundred and fifty book pages.
My in-cell breaks consist of yoga, meditation, and naps.
Most of the out of the cell time is spent between chow, showers, and chess. On an alternating basis, I get either two or four hours of rec each day. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, I am assigned to the education building for independent study, where I practice Spanish or Chinese using books and cassette tapes that I have purchased. I am also enrolled in several ADOC programs.
My favourite study areas are: behaviourial finance, the classics, creative writing, economic history, forensic accountancy, literary criticism, Mandarin, military science, penology, psychology, political philosophy, Spanish, and the subject that I’ve studied the most: the stock market.
I am grateful to all of you whose book contributions have kept me busy.
Cheers! Jon.
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Average Day
Martine, from The Netherlands, recently asked what I do and what I study all day.
Every day is similar. I try to write for five hours in the AM. In the PM I try to read at least one hundred to one hundred and fifty book pages.
My in-cell breaks consist of yoga, meditation, and naps.
Most of the out of the cell time is spent between chow, showers, and chess. On an alternating basis, I get either two or four hours of rec each day. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, I am assigned to the education building for independent study, where I practice Spanish or Chinese using books and cassette tapes that I have purchased. I am also enrolled in several ADOC programs.
My favourite study areas are: behaviourial finance, the classics, creative writing, economic history, forensic accountancy, literary criticism, Mandarin, military science, penology, psychology, political philosophy, Spanish, and the subject that I’ve studied the most: the stock market.
I am grateful to all of you whose book contributions have kept me busy.
Cheers! Jon.
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
03 August 05
Humidity
Why can’t I sleep? Did someone sprinkle speed into this evening’s chow? Maybe the whirring of the fan is keeping me awake? Should I shove more wet tissue into my already blocked up earholes? Maybe I should change sleeping position? But I’ve changed position over and over for the past two hours – to no avail. Actually, my left arm does feel a little dead. Go on, move around one more time. Maybe it’ll work.
Why is my mind racing with trivialities? Who cares that you got bland navy beans for dinner when it was supposed to have been one of your favourite trays: veggie chillie. Who cares if you can’t make phone calls. T–Netix doesn’t give a damn. Who cares that your Investors Business Daily arrives a day late. You’re in T-town now, you’re on Tucson time.
Calm your mind. Stop thinking about silly things. Didn’t you just read Nietzsche’s words this evening, “The worst things…are the petty thoughts”? Endure gracefully like Nietzsche’s Ubermansch (Superman) would.
Why does the air feel as if it’s eating my skin? Why can I feel pimples erupting on my head and face? Why are my back hairs tickling me? I already tossed my cover sheet, which was cling wrapping sweat to my body. I’m so sick of scratching my clammy skin.
“It’s humid tonight,” mumbled Long Island who was also playing semi-naked Twister on his mattress.
Humidity! That’s it! Humidity has come to itch and scratch and nibble my skin, to make me rotate like a kebab, to bully me to make me stronger.
Now that I know my invisible enemy’s name, I can move on. Silence petty thoughts! Ponder only this mantra:
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
ZZZzzzzzzzz……
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Humidity
Why can’t I sleep? Did someone sprinkle speed into this evening’s chow? Maybe the whirring of the fan is keeping me awake? Should I shove more wet tissue into my already blocked up earholes? Maybe I should change sleeping position? But I’ve changed position over and over for the past two hours – to no avail. Actually, my left arm does feel a little dead. Go on, move around one more time. Maybe it’ll work.
Why is my mind racing with trivialities? Who cares that you got bland navy beans for dinner when it was supposed to have been one of your favourite trays: veggie chillie. Who cares if you can’t make phone calls. T–Netix doesn’t give a damn. Who cares that your Investors Business Daily arrives a day late. You’re in T-town now, you’re on Tucson time.
Calm your mind. Stop thinking about silly things. Didn’t you just read Nietzsche’s words this evening, “The worst things…are the petty thoughts”? Endure gracefully like Nietzsche’s Ubermansch (Superman) would.
Why does the air feel as if it’s eating my skin? Why can I feel pimples erupting on my head and face? Why are my back hairs tickling me? I already tossed my cover sheet, which was cling wrapping sweat to my body. I’m so sick of scratching my clammy skin.
“It’s humid tonight,” mumbled Long Island who was also playing semi-naked Twister on his mattress.
Humidity! That’s it! Humidity has come to itch and scratch and nibble my skin, to make me rotate like a kebab, to bully me to make me stronger.
Now that I know my invisible enemy’s name, I can move on. Silence petty thoughts! Ponder only this mantra:
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
ZZZzzzzzzzz……
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
1 August 05
Phone Farce
T-Netix is at it again. Numerous inmates have been without phone service since the move to Tucson. The official excuse is that T-Netix only has one service repair worker covering several state prisons.
Our phone calls start at $2+, yet T-Netix is too skimpy to hire enough people to provide us consistent service. It seems that the contract to shaft inmates enables T-Netix’s management to provide a lousy service.
Being incommunicado was stressful when London was bombed, as my sister is a London resident. Fortunately she was OK.
Emails Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post a comment below:
Phone Farce
T-Netix is at it again. Numerous inmates have been without phone service since the move to Tucson. The official excuse is that T-Netix only has one service repair worker covering several state prisons.
Our phone calls start at $2+, yet T-Netix is too skimpy to hire enough people to provide us consistent service. It seems that the contract to shaft inmates enables T-Netix’s management to provide a lousy service.
Being incommunicado was stressful when London was bombed, as my sister is a London resident. Fortunately she was OK.
Emails Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post a comment below:
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
28 July 05
Bridge blogs give voice to the marginalised
Irish Times Online article by Quinn Norton
Blogging - posting personal commentary to a web page - is different around the world. For some, it's in a non-native language or several languages. Others blog when they get to cybercafes, or when the electricity is on, in places where such things aren't a given. Some use anonymous services to keep safe or avoid prosecution. Shaun Attwood has a particular difficulty blogging. Although he's in the middle of the United States, he writes paper letters to be posted on a blog he's never seen. These are bridge blogs - blogs that give different cultures a new medium of communication.
This concept of a blog that connects two worlds largely started with Salam Pax's "Where is Raed?". In 2003, this Baghdad blog offered something new in a war zone - a day-to-day account of civilian life and opinion. Readers were riveted and, in the politically charged climate leading up to the Iraqi war, many people came to trust Pax's blog exclusively. Since then, blogs from the edge of human life have blossomed. The number and range of these blogs is daunting even for the most enthusiastic internationalist. Ethan Zuckerman, founder of Geekcorps (an IT-focused volunteer aid organisation) and a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, was as enthusiastic as they come. He followed many of these blogs, but with a lack of media attention and growing body of publications, he felt that a central clearing house was needed. Together with fellow academic and former journalist Rebecca MacKinnon, Zuckerman founded Global Voices (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/) to address the problem.Global Voices is an online hub for international bloggers. It provides an aggregator, collecting together blogs from other sites, as well as a blog of its own, featuring roundups of reactions to international news and issues and profiles of the bloggers. The aggregator covers English-language blogs from most of the nations of the world, representing a huge cross section of cultural regions. Now, if you really want to know what the locals think, you know where to look.
At the conference that spawned Global Voices, blogger Hossein Derakhshan defined three metaphors for global blogs: "windows", which give you a glimpse of life in another culture; "cafes", which allow members of a culture to interact although geographically disparate; and "bridges", which allow online interaction between cultures where little or none existed before. It is this last type, bridge blogs, on which Global Voices focuses. Many bridge blogs start with a cause.
The most unusual and somewhat shocking bridge blog is http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com/. It's the blog of Attwood, a British stockbroker convicted of drug and money-laundering charges associated with raves in Phoenix, Arizona. Attwood has been imprisoned for three years, two of which have been spent in one of the most notorious prisons in a country already notorious for a huge and inhumane prison system. Attwood began writing letters to his parents from jail, describing in plain terms the conditions under Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's regime. Shocked and concerned for their son's life, Derick and Barbara Attwood took a cue from Pax, the famous blogger in Iraq, and started posting the letters to a blog. At first they kept the blog anonymous, fearing retribution."We wanted people to know what was going on inside. Several people have died in restraints and we wanted to get the conditions exposed," says Derick. Jon's Jail Journal did attract press attention: it was used as a resource for a campaign against Arpaio. Although Arpaio was re-elected, Attwood was relocated and eventually the jail was closed."We don't know if Shaun's blog had anything to do with that," says his father, "but it would be nice to think it did." The blog has connected Attwood with family and the world in general. "Having your son arrested and put in prison, it's been terrible - but it's strengthened us as a family. Shaun gets through it with his writing." Feedback has been almost universally supportive and readers regularly send Attwood books and publications. Recently, he thanked "Barry in Tonopah for the subscription to the Investors Business Daily, the arrival of which is now the high point of our day". Attwood writes about other inmates with their permission, and many of them are thrilled to be seen by the outside world, receiving correspondence from Attwood's readership. Of the evolving nature of the blog, his father says: "It's his lifeline really. He gets printouts back. The other inmates get copies as well and they're quite pleased. It's a link, not just for him to the outside world, but for his inmate friends as well; a lifeline to the outside world."
Perhaps more than anything, that lifeline describes the motivation of the bridge bloggers. "I think what it really has to do with is being listened to," says Zuckerman. He notes that, for many African bloggers, it's a way of correcting media perceptions as well. A lot of bloggers in Africa and the Middle East don't like the way they are presented in the media. "These people are saying 'please don't presume to speak for me'." Prior to the web, there wasn't an obvious way for these figures to speak for themselves: war victims, citizens of developing countries, prisoners in desert town jails. And when they did, their words were re-interpreted by the media who covered them. But as Attwood's lifeline, and countless other voices - from an African feminist's Black Looks blog, to the daily life of an aid worker in Somaliland show - there's more to say in these edge worlds than the news is willing or able to pass along. "We have a fascinating backdoor open with blogs... it really is diverse and complicated," according to Zuckerman. And sometimes, perhaps, it can be a little too much. It's not always easy to be the blogging proxy of your son in jail. "Sometimes it's more than a parent wants to know," Attwood's father says, "but we'd rather he was like that. We want him to tell us everything."
Quinn, thank you for the article about global bridge blogs, which included a focus on my journal.
You are right about the blog being a lifeline. The emotional fulfilment I obtain, from bringing computer users into the world of prison and from reading their feedback is beyond description.
It is my hope that increased public awareness of injustice to prisoners will lead to changes. It is thanks to reporters such as yourself that this important message is spreading.
Appreciatively yours,
Jon
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below:
Bridge blogs give voice to the marginalised
Irish Times Online article by Quinn Norton
Blogging - posting personal commentary to a web page - is different around the world. For some, it's in a non-native language or several languages. Others blog when they get to cybercafes, or when the electricity is on, in places where such things aren't a given. Some use anonymous services to keep safe or avoid prosecution. Shaun Attwood has a particular difficulty blogging. Although he's in the middle of the United States, he writes paper letters to be posted on a blog he's never seen. These are bridge blogs - blogs that give different cultures a new medium of communication.
This concept of a blog that connects two worlds largely started with Salam Pax's "Where is Raed?". In 2003, this Baghdad blog offered something new in a war zone - a day-to-day account of civilian life and opinion. Readers were riveted and, in the politically charged climate leading up to the Iraqi war, many people came to trust Pax's blog exclusively. Since then, blogs from the edge of human life have blossomed. The number and range of these blogs is daunting even for the most enthusiastic internationalist. Ethan Zuckerman, founder of Geekcorps (an IT-focused volunteer aid organisation) and a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, was as enthusiastic as they come. He followed many of these blogs, but with a lack of media attention and growing body of publications, he felt that a central clearing house was needed. Together with fellow academic and former journalist Rebecca MacKinnon, Zuckerman founded Global Voices (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/) to address the problem.Global Voices is an online hub for international bloggers. It provides an aggregator, collecting together blogs from other sites, as well as a blog of its own, featuring roundups of reactions to international news and issues and profiles of the bloggers. The aggregator covers English-language blogs from most of the nations of the world, representing a huge cross section of cultural regions. Now, if you really want to know what the locals think, you know where to look.
At the conference that spawned Global Voices, blogger Hossein Derakhshan defined three metaphors for global blogs: "windows", which give you a glimpse of life in another culture; "cafes", which allow members of a culture to interact although geographically disparate; and "bridges", which allow online interaction between cultures where little or none existed before. It is this last type, bridge blogs, on which Global Voices focuses. Many bridge blogs start with a cause.
The most unusual and somewhat shocking bridge blog is http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com/. It's the blog of Attwood, a British stockbroker convicted of drug and money-laundering charges associated with raves in Phoenix, Arizona. Attwood has been imprisoned for three years, two of which have been spent in one of the most notorious prisons in a country already notorious for a huge and inhumane prison system. Attwood began writing letters to his parents from jail, describing in plain terms the conditions under Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's regime. Shocked and concerned for their son's life, Derick and Barbara Attwood took a cue from Pax, the famous blogger in Iraq, and started posting the letters to a blog. At first they kept the blog anonymous, fearing retribution."We wanted people to know what was going on inside. Several people have died in restraints and we wanted to get the conditions exposed," says Derick. Jon's Jail Journal did attract press attention: it was used as a resource for a campaign against Arpaio. Although Arpaio was re-elected, Attwood was relocated and eventually the jail was closed."We don't know if Shaun's blog had anything to do with that," says his father, "but it would be nice to think it did." The blog has connected Attwood with family and the world in general. "Having your son arrested and put in prison, it's been terrible - but it's strengthened us as a family. Shaun gets through it with his writing." Feedback has been almost universally supportive and readers regularly send Attwood books and publications. Recently, he thanked "Barry in Tonopah for the subscription to the Investors Business Daily, the arrival of which is now the high point of our day". Attwood writes about other inmates with their permission, and many of them are thrilled to be seen by the outside world, receiving correspondence from Attwood's readership. Of the evolving nature of the blog, his father says: "It's his lifeline really. He gets printouts back. The other inmates get copies as well and they're quite pleased. It's a link, not just for him to the outside world, but for his inmate friends as well; a lifeline to the outside world."
Perhaps more than anything, that lifeline describes the motivation of the bridge bloggers. "I think what it really has to do with is being listened to," says Zuckerman. He notes that, for many African bloggers, it's a way of correcting media perceptions as well. A lot of bloggers in Africa and the Middle East don't like the way they are presented in the media. "These people are saying 'please don't presume to speak for me'." Prior to the web, there wasn't an obvious way for these figures to speak for themselves: war victims, citizens of developing countries, prisoners in desert town jails. And when they did, their words were re-interpreted by the media who covered them. But as Attwood's lifeline, and countless other voices - from an African feminist's Black Looks blog, to the daily life of an aid worker in Somaliland show - there's more to say in these edge worlds than the news is willing or able to pass along. "We have a fascinating backdoor open with blogs... it really is diverse and complicated," according to Zuckerman. And sometimes, perhaps, it can be a little too much. It's not always easy to be the blogging proxy of your son in jail. "Sometimes it's more than a parent wants to know," Attwood's father says, "but we'd rather he was like that. We want him to tell us everything."
Quinn, thank you for the article about global bridge blogs, which included a focus on my journal.
You are right about the blog being a lifeline. The emotional fulfilment I obtain, from bringing computer users into the world of prison and from reading their feedback is beyond description.
It is my hope that increased public awareness of injustice to prisoners will lead to changes. It is thanks to reporters such as yourself that this important message is spreading.
Appreciatively yours,
Jon
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below:
25 July 05
Chess With Frankie
During rec (which alternates between two hours one day and four hours the next) I have been playing chess with Frankie. For the first three days the scores were 2-1 to him, 3 –1 to me, and 4 – 3 to him. Then he thrashed me consistently for almost two weeks. More recently, I’ve begun to beat him.
Early in the game, Frankie likes to move his kingside bishop in order to menace my left flank. I’ve managed to block this tactic by running my queenside pawns up against his bishop, thus preventing his bishop from attacking my king-side, whilst hemming in his left flank.
Dealing with Frankie’s body language is difficult. Mostly, he maintains a penetrating squint, as if he were in a duel. Occasionally, he puts on a homoerotic look, and says things like:
“Englandman, you wanna jump in the shower with me later on. There’s plenty of room for two. I’ll scrub your back, and its okay if you drop the soap. I’ll take good care of you, Englandman.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Chess With Frankie
During rec (which alternates between two hours one day and four hours the next) I have been playing chess with Frankie. For the first three days the scores were 2-1 to him, 3 –1 to me, and 4 – 3 to him. Then he thrashed me consistently for almost two weeks. More recently, I’ve begun to beat him.
Early in the game, Frankie likes to move his kingside bishop in order to menace my left flank. I’ve managed to block this tactic by running my queenside pawns up against his bishop, thus preventing his bishop from attacking my king-side, whilst hemming in his left flank.
Dealing with Frankie’s body language is difficult. Mostly, he maintains a penetrating squint, as if he were in a duel. Occasionally, he puts on a homoerotic look, and says things like:
“Englandman, you wanna jump in the shower with me later on. There’s plenty of room for two. I’ll scrub your back, and its okay if you drop the soap. I’ll take good care of you, Englandman.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Xena On Prison Rape
“What motivates prisoners to rape other prisoners?” I asked.
“Two things: sexual desire and anger,” Xena replied.
“In what proportion?”
“I’d say more than half are out of anger or hatred.”
“Hatred of themselves or their victims?”
“Probably both. Taking anger at themselves out on their victims.”
“Have you been raped in prison?”
“Yes”
“How did it make you feel?”
“Pretty fucked up. It’s very degrading.”
“What happened?”
“The first time was a gang rape. They beat the shit out of me. It was definitely motivated by anger. They stuffed things inside my body, beat me until I was unconscious, raped me while I was unconscious.”
“What did they stick inside your body?”
“A broomstick.”
“How do you know, if you were unconscious, that they raped you?"
“When I had to excrete afterwards. I could tell by what came out.”
“What did you do after being raped?"
“I sat in my cell for two weeks waiting for the physical scars to go away. I got moved to another yard where the same thing happened. They beat the shit out of me and raped me and used me afterwards as a sex toy, a prostitute, or as far as prison terminology is concerned, a punk.”
“Emotionally, how did you feel?”
“Degraded. There was no recourse, no one to talk to. Someone who’s raped can’t go to admin or they’ll throw you in the hole for months, or years, in a dungeon. They’ll say it’s for your own protection. A person can do absolutely nothing other than killing the perpetrators. There’s no way to have someone prosecuted. The victim is labelled a rat and a punk – considered less than a human being.”
“The guards won’t help you? There are no remedies?”
“Who would believe you? Even admin won’t believe you. They just think that you’re playing games.”
“Did you think about killing the people who did this to you?”
“I thought about killing myself first. I wanted to. I still do sometimes.”
At this point I stopped the interview because Xena was crying.
Xena returned an hour later.
“I’ve got more to tell you.”
“OK.”
“When prisoners are being used for sexual purposes they are told to appear like men – to grow moustaches, to shave their heads or to be clean cut – so nobody believes that so and so is using them for sex. The belief that we’re treated like females is a false belief. Looking how you’re told to look is denying who you are, what you are.”
“Do you have any advice for parents whose youngsters have been imprisoned for weed or DUIs? Does this happen mostly to youngsters?”
“Yes. Especially if they don’t have money. But it can happen to anybody. I’ve seen it happen to big mad mo’-fo’s, to skinny people, even to the ugliest people in the world. People who come to prison who aren’t street smart, who aren’t schooled, who don’t understand the mentality of the ghetto life, who have never been subjected to the hardships of street life, those are the people who get preyed upon.”
“How did you stop it?”
“I took the abuse for as long as I could, and then I started fighting. I won most of the fights. When I stood up, and told them that I didn’t care about getting killed, it stopped. You’ve got to be ruthless.”
“Well, Xena, I’m going to post this with your permission, hoping that your account will help the public to understand the prison-rape problem. Thanks for sharing such personal information.”
“You’re welcome.”
She-Ra is one of my prison friends in my new book, Prison Time.
Click here to read about the prisoners at this blog who range from Mafia hit men to giant transsexuals.
Shaun Attwood
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
“Two things: sexual desire and anger,” Xena replied.
“In what proportion?”
“I’d say more than half are out of anger or hatred.”
“Hatred of themselves or their victims?”
“Probably both. Taking anger at themselves out on their victims.”
“Have you been raped in prison?”
“Yes”
“How did it make you feel?”
“Pretty fucked up. It’s very degrading.”
“What happened?”
“The first time was a gang rape. They beat the shit out of me. It was definitely motivated by anger. They stuffed things inside my body, beat me until I was unconscious, raped me while I was unconscious.”
“What did they stick inside your body?”
“A broomstick.”
“How do you know, if you were unconscious, that they raped you?"
“When I had to excrete afterwards. I could tell by what came out.”
“What did you do after being raped?"
“I sat in my cell for two weeks waiting for the physical scars to go away. I got moved to another yard where the same thing happened. They beat the shit out of me and raped me and used me afterwards as a sex toy, a prostitute, or as far as prison terminology is concerned, a punk.”
“Emotionally, how did you feel?”
“Degraded. There was no recourse, no one to talk to. Someone who’s raped can’t go to admin or they’ll throw you in the hole for months, or years, in a dungeon. They’ll say it’s for your own protection. A person can do absolutely nothing other than killing the perpetrators. There’s no way to have someone prosecuted. The victim is labelled a rat and a punk – considered less than a human being.”
“The guards won’t help you? There are no remedies?”
“Who would believe you? Even admin won’t believe you. They just think that you’re playing games.”
“Did you think about killing the people who did this to you?”
“I thought about killing myself first. I wanted to. I still do sometimes.”
At this point I stopped the interview because Xena was crying.
Xena returned an hour later.
“I’ve got more to tell you.”
“OK.”
“When prisoners are being used for sexual purposes they are told to appear like men – to grow moustaches, to shave their heads or to be clean cut – so nobody believes that so and so is using them for sex. The belief that we’re treated like females is a false belief. Looking how you’re told to look is denying who you are, what you are.”
“Do you have any advice for parents whose youngsters have been imprisoned for weed or DUIs? Does this happen mostly to youngsters?”
“Yes. Especially if they don’t have money. But it can happen to anybody. I’ve seen it happen to big mad mo’-fo’s, to skinny people, even to the ugliest people in the world. People who come to prison who aren’t street smart, who aren’t schooled, who don’t understand the mentality of the ghetto life, who have never been subjected to the hardships of street life, those are the people who get preyed upon.”
“How did you stop it?”
“I took the abuse for as long as I could, and then I started fighting. I won most of the fights. When I stood up, and told them that I didn’t care about getting killed, it stopped. You’ve got to be ruthless.”
“Well, Xena, I’m going to post this with your permission, hoping that your account will help the public to understand the prison-rape problem. Thanks for sharing such personal information.”
“You’re welcome.”
She-Ra is one of my prison friends in my new book, Prison Time.
Click here to read about the prisoners at this blog who range from Mafia hit men to giant transsexuals.
Shaun Attwood
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
17 July 05
Quote of the Month
The following conversation occurred between two convicted murderers. Two Tonys is a Detroit Irish-Italian whose wit could upstage Rodney Dangerfield's. Slope is a hillbilly with a tattoo of a broken heart on his penis. Slope is near the end of a twenty-five-year sentence, whereas Two Tonys is serving multiple life sentences. Two Tonys speaks like an old mobster. He used to be an associate of the Bonnano and Licavoli crime families.
Here’s Slope telling Two Tonys about the new reclassification system:
“There’s a new reclass system coming into effect. Education 'll help yer get yer score down,” Slope said.
“Great! I’ve got a GED and I’m only in here for killin’ two motherfuckers, maybe I’ll get some play,” Two Tonys said.
Slope laughed.
“It’s true. I only whacked two motherfuckers – the rest they still ain’t found. They were all pieces of shit though. They had it comin’. Just like I told the judge at my trial, ‘Your Honour, I never killed anyone who didn’t have it comin’.”
Two Tonys' admission to the judge wins the quote of the month award.
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post a comment below:
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Quote of the Month
The following conversation occurred between two convicted murderers. Two Tonys is a Detroit Irish-Italian whose wit could upstage Rodney Dangerfield's. Slope is a hillbilly with a tattoo of a broken heart on his penis. Slope is near the end of a twenty-five-year sentence, whereas Two Tonys is serving multiple life sentences. Two Tonys speaks like an old mobster. He used to be an associate of the Bonnano and Licavoli crime families.
Here’s Slope telling Two Tonys about the new reclassification system:
“There’s a new reclass system coming into effect. Education 'll help yer get yer score down,” Slope said.
“Great! I’ve got a GED and I’m only in here for killin’ two motherfuckers, maybe I’ll get some play,” Two Tonys said.
Slope laughed.
“It’s true. I only whacked two motherfuckers – the rest they still ain’t found. They were all pieces of shit though. They had it comin’. Just like I told the judge at my trial, ‘Your Honour, I never killed anyone who didn’t have it comin’.”
Two Tonys' admission to the judge wins the quote of the month award.
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post a comment below:
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
16 July 05
Orange Alert
It may take up to one month for mail to forward from Buckeye to Tucson, so I apologise for any delays in my replies.
I recently received some books from readers that had no sender information to send personal thanks to. Those books included The Evolving Self and The Dawn of All.
As always, I appreciate your correspondence and gifts of books. Your books are donated to the library when I’ve read them, thus providing countless Orangemen with reading material.
Good lookin’ out!
Jon
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post a comment below:
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Orange Alert
It may take up to one month for mail to forward from Buckeye to Tucson, so I apologise for any delays in my replies.
I recently received some books from readers that had no sender information to send personal thanks to. Those books included The Evolving Self and The Dawn of All.
As always, I appreciate your correspondence and gifts of books. Your books are donated to the library when I’ve read them, thus providing countless Orangemen with reading material.
Good lookin’ out!
Jon
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post a comment below:
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
15 July 05
The Journey to Tucson
“Lockdown! Special count!” a guard announced at 6am on Monday morning.
“We’re leavin’. Here’s the blue bags!” Long Island said. (The blue bags are used to transport our property.)
My belongings were trolleyed to a warehouse to be inventoried. In the warehouse, inmates were trying to avoid the guards they suspected would confiscate extra property such as books, clothing, magazines and cassette tapes. Having no extra property, I approached Officer Perez who has a bad reputation with the inmates. Perez was cordial. He divulged that his favourite groups include The Smiths and New Order, and that he used to frequent dance clubs in Phoenix such as the Blue Iguana and the Works Club.
The rest of Monday I spent in my cell without anything to write with– argh! To pass time I read some Buddhist literature and a book called Revolutionary Guerrilla Warfare.
At 3am on Tuesday the cell door clicked open. I was instructed to roll up my mattress, to deposit it in the day room, and to proceed to the chow hall. Breakfast was an orange and a turkey-ham sandwich that Long Island described as, “Foul-ass shit with chunks of bone in it.”
After chow, the guards led 75 of us a warehouse. They strip-searched us, ten at a time, in the middle of the room without using any privacy divides.
“Put your arms in the air. Open your mouth. Raise your balls. Turn around. Bend over. Spread 'em. Cough.”
Outside, against a fence, I was hand and leg cuffed.
On the bus I was greeted by a transportation officer: “Number!” His tone seemed designed to make us feel less than human.
Near the front of the bus, I sat next to Blackheart. Through the barred windows I saw
forest-fire flames dancing on the surrounding mountaintops. The illusion, which was confusing the inmates, was due to the angle of the rising sun.
As the bus cruised at 80mph on the freeway, the security gate separating us from the two guards clattered incessantly – a reminder that my life was rattling away.
Travelling east on the Interstate 8, road signs brought to mind past journeys spent on that freeway. Most recently I had taken my ex-wife, Amy, on a trip to Sea World in San Diego on her birthday, where we had dinner with Shamu, the celebrity killer whale. Years before that trip, I used to travel on the I8 with my girlfriend, Stormy, to visit her parents who lived on two houseboats at Coronado Island. Stormy wanted to have children and for me to quit raving. I wondered how different my life would have been if we had married and started having children.
From time to time, the driver swigged from a gallon plastic water bottle.
At Casa Grande, the bus exited the I8 and joined the I10 to Tucson.
The driver's partner fell asleep. His right leg ended up horizontal, propped up by the front of the vehicle and his shotgun. His dark eyelids and long eyelashes gave him a feminine look.
The vehicle swerved. Inmates jeered. Like a startled child, the sleeping guard opened his eyes and blinked hard. On gathering his bearings he pulled a stern face.
Passing Picacho Peak, countless saguaros appeared to be marching up the mountain. Some were lodged in the cliff face. At the foot of Picacho Peak sat the Arizona Nut House.
Entering Tucson we passed the Ina Road exit – the exit I used to take to get to my home in the Catalina Foothills
The signs Wilmot Road Exit and Arizona State Prison 4 miles marked the journey’s end.
Here's what I brought from Buckeye to Tucson.
Inmate Property Inventory
1 Radio clear tech Walkman
1 Headphones
1 Corded electric razor without case
1 Reading Lamp with bulb
1 Fan
1 Box of legal material
1 Box of checkers
7 Books
1 Bulb ‘Phillips’
15 Cassette tapes ‘Learning tapes’
1 Box of toiletries
1 Box of crackers
1 Jar of Peanut butter
1 Tumbler
1 Bowl
1 Cup
1 Sunglasses
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Jon's new address is below:
Shaun Attwood ADC#187160
ASPC-Tucson
Santa Rita, Unit 4-D-11, PO BOX 24406, 10012 S Wilmot Rd
Tucson, 85734-4406, Arizona
U.S.A
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
The Journey to Tucson
“Lockdown! Special count!” a guard announced at 6am on Monday morning.
“We’re leavin’. Here’s the blue bags!” Long Island said. (The blue bags are used to transport our property.)
My belongings were trolleyed to a warehouse to be inventoried. In the warehouse, inmates were trying to avoid the guards they suspected would confiscate extra property such as books, clothing, magazines and cassette tapes. Having no extra property, I approached Officer Perez who has a bad reputation with the inmates. Perez was cordial. He divulged that his favourite groups include The Smiths and New Order, and that he used to frequent dance clubs in Phoenix such as the Blue Iguana and the Works Club.
The rest of Monday I spent in my cell without anything to write with– argh! To pass time I read some Buddhist literature and a book called Revolutionary Guerrilla Warfare.
At 3am on Tuesday the cell door clicked open. I was instructed to roll up my mattress, to deposit it in the day room, and to proceed to the chow hall. Breakfast was an orange and a turkey-ham sandwich that Long Island described as, “Foul-ass shit with chunks of bone in it.”
After chow, the guards led 75 of us a warehouse. They strip-searched us, ten at a time, in the middle of the room without using any privacy divides.
“Put your arms in the air. Open your mouth. Raise your balls. Turn around. Bend over. Spread 'em. Cough.”
Outside, against a fence, I was hand and leg cuffed.
On the bus I was greeted by a transportation officer: “Number!” His tone seemed designed to make us feel less than human.
Near the front of the bus, I sat next to Blackheart. Through the barred windows I saw
forest-fire flames dancing on the surrounding mountaintops. The illusion, which was confusing the inmates, was due to the angle of the rising sun.
As the bus cruised at 80mph on the freeway, the security gate separating us from the two guards clattered incessantly – a reminder that my life was rattling away.
Travelling east on the Interstate 8, road signs brought to mind past journeys spent on that freeway. Most recently I had taken my ex-wife, Amy, on a trip to Sea World in San Diego on her birthday, where we had dinner with Shamu, the celebrity killer whale. Years before that trip, I used to travel on the I8 with my girlfriend, Stormy, to visit her parents who lived on two houseboats at Coronado Island. Stormy wanted to have children and for me to quit raving. I wondered how different my life would have been if we had married and started having children.
From time to time, the driver swigged from a gallon plastic water bottle.
At Casa Grande, the bus exited the I8 and joined the I10 to Tucson.
The driver's partner fell asleep. His right leg ended up horizontal, propped up by the front of the vehicle and his shotgun. His dark eyelids and long eyelashes gave him a feminine look.
The vehicle swerved. Inmates jeered. Like a startled child, the sleeping guard opened his eyes and blinked hard. On gathering his bearings he pulled a stern face.
Passing Picacho Peak, countless saguaros appeared to be marching up the mountain. Some were lodged in the cliff face. At the foot of Picacho Peak sat the Arizona Nut House.
Entering Tucson we passed the Ina Road exit – the exit I used to take to get to my home in the Catalina Foothills
The signs Wilmot Road Exit and Arizona State Prison 4 miles marked the journey’s end.
Here's what I brought from Buckeye to Tucson.
Inmate Property Inventory
1 Radio clear tech Walkman
1 Headphones
1 Corded electric razor without case
1 Reading Lamp with bulb
1 Fan
1 Box of legal material
1 Box of checkers
7 Books
1 Bulb ‘Phillips’
15 Cassette tapes ‘Learning tapes’
1 Box of toiletries
1 Box of crackers
1 Jar of Peanut butter
1 Tumbler
1 Bowl
1 Cup
1 Sunglasses
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Jon's new address is below:
Shaun Attwood ADC#187160
ASPC-Tucson
Santa Rita, Unit 4-D-11, PO BOX 24406, 10012 S Wilmot Rd
Tucson, 85734-4406, Arizona
U.S.A
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
10 July 05
Lest We Forget
“The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs nor a favoured few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God.”
Thomas Jefferson
It’s the one-year anniversary of my transfer from Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jail system to the Arizona Department of Corrections. Since being moved I’ve kept track of conditions at Arpaio’s jails via Linda and Pearl – the two founder members of Mothers Against Arpaio – who have provided testimonies from inmates and inmate family members. Here ares some excerpts the testimonies.
“…my fiancé committed suicide in Madison Street on December 28, 2004.”
“My brother…came into contact with what they call ‘Durango Rot’, a foot fungus. They refused him medical treatment for this until one toe became so large with disease that it literally exploded.”
“One lady who was in the holding cell with me…[her] uterus fell out while in the tents. She was holding it and told the sheriffs….[she was told] it was not an emergency and she could push it back in.”
“…my son has suffered constantly with anti-Semitism. He has been beaten tormented and denied medical care after a beating by a detention officer…. He suffered two hemiated discs and nerve compression in his back. He is suffering from reccurring staph infections…. He has had heart surgery due to a staph infection that attacked one of his valves. His body is covered with scars due to these infections eating away at his skin.”
“…a very close friend of mine was beaten into a coma, by other inmates in Madison Street Jail, and nearly died. Still today, he can barely walk.”
“My daughter…at Estrella [jail]…contracted an infection…. She may lose her leg; they took her [to hospital] with an open wound, a good 8 inches long, 2 inches wide cut almost to the bone and tissue….”
“…my daughter…saw a woman pepper sprayed because she had been asking and asking for medical help.”
“My son…has been beaten (resulting in broken ribs, bruises, cuts)….The jail is overheated, overcrowded and infested with bugs and lice. Sheriff Joe has NO RIGHT…to run his jail as a NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP!”
“Our grandchildren’s father died while in the custody of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Our grandchildren…are without a father now because of the horrific conditions that Eddie was subjected to.”
“…his tents aren’t saving tax dollars, they are making Joe rich…. His justice will come just like Hitler’s and the rest of the Third Reich.”
It seems to have been business as usual for Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post your comments below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Lest We Forget
“The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs nor a favoured few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God.”
Thomas Jefferson
It’s the one-year anniversary of my transfer from Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jail system to the Arizona Department of Corrections. Since being moved I’ve kept track of conditions at Arpaio’s jails via Linda and Pearl – the two founder members of Mothers Against Arpaio – who have provided testimonies from inmates and inmate family members. Here ares some excerpts the testimonies.
“…my fiancé committed suicide in Madison Street on December 28, 2004.”
“My brother…came into contact with what they call ‘Durango Rot’, a foot fungus. They refused him medical treatment for this until one toe became so large with disease that it literally exploded.”
“One lady who was in the holding cell with me…[her] uterus fell out while in the tents. She was holding it and told the sheriffs….[she was told] it was not an emergency and she could push it back in.”
“…my son has suffered constantly with anti-Semitism. He has been beaten tormented and denied medical care after a beating by a detention officer…. He suffered two hemiated discs and nerve compression in his back. He is suffering from reccurring staph infections…. He has had heart surgery due to a staph infection that attacked one of his valves. His body is covered with scars due to these infections eating away at his skin.”
“…a very close friend of mine was beaten into a coma, by other inmates in Madison Street Jail, and nearly died. Still today, he can barely walk.”
“My daughter…at Estrella [jail]…contracted an infection…. She may lose her leg; they took her [to hospital] with an open wound, a good 8 inches long, 2 inches wide cut almost to the bone and tissue….”
“…my daughter…saw a woman pepper sprayed because she had been asking and asking for medical help.”
“My son…has been beaten (resulting in broken ribs, bruises, cuts)….The jail is overheated, overcrowded and infested with bugs and lice. Sheriff Joe has NO RIGHT…to run his jail as a NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP!”
“Our grandchildren’s father died while in the custody of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Our grandchildren…are without a father now because of the horrific conditions that Eddie was subjected to.”
“…his tents aren’t saving tax dollars, they are making Joe rich…. His justice will come just like Hitler’s and the rest of the Third Reich.”
It seems to have been business as usual for Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post your comments below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
9 July 05
Lunch with Frankie
“Early-outs lunch” enables inmates who have afternoon work or education to eat at 10am. As Frankie and I both attend programs, I was able to join him for early-outs lunch.
After giving Frankie a hug he disclosed that his wife has stopped visiting him causing him to go “straight gay”. Him and his friends asked if I’d “turned gay” yet. They seemed sceptical of my response and declared that, “It is only a matter of time”. Ogling Xena, Frankie complained about the quality of the cheetos on his side of the building.
Frankie was in possesion of a letter from my last cellmate at the Madison Street Jail, Mark. Sadly, Mark’s parents have had to put their house up for sale in order to pay Mark’s legal bill, which has climbed near to the six-figure mark.
Since having lunch with Frankie, I received a letter from him pertaining to George:
Para mi esposa [for my wife]
After reading about George in your journal, I’m very anxious about him. As you know I’m a very jealous man and you are engaged. Don’t this guy know that I will send in the dogs on him and make him pee. You better tell George about Caesar, I go way back and I love the back door.
By the way tell George that it wasn’t your Spanish that led me to fall in love with you, it was your yoga exercises that caught all my attention, and that one time at Madison Street jail when I caught you rubbing cream into your bed sores. [At Madison Street Jail, Frankie, on his hour out, appeared at my cell window when I had just pulled down my pink boxer shorts and was applying anti fungal cream to the bedsores on my buttocks.] It was love at first sight!
Also, if you need to know anything about your Hershey Highway that’s my department. I’m an expert in that area. I’m also a certified pipe layer.
Well my friend, I’m hearing that we’re being moved to South Unit in Florence which will be dorms… It will be really cool if we end up in the same dorm. Now that will be really nice Englandman.
I’m going to close now but not forever,
Much love and respect,
Frankie
ps Tell George I’m the number one in you vida [life] and that we’re engaged. By the way I want to meet this guy so introduce him to me. Take care and forget me not!
Since receiving this letter I’ve told George that Frankie wants to meet him, and George’s response was: “Tell him I’m in Siberia.”
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post comments below
Lunch with Frankie
“Early-outs lunch” enables inmates who have afternoon work or education to eat at 10am. As Frankie and I both attend programs, I was able to join him for early-outs lunch.
After giving Frankie a hug he disclosed that his wife has stopped visiting him causing him to go “straight gay”. Him and his friends asked if I’d “turned gay” yet. They seemed sceptical of my response and declared that, “It is only a matter of time”. Ogling Xena, Frankie complained about the quality of the cheetos on his side of the building.
Frankie was in possesion of a letter from my last cellmate at the Madison Street Jail, Mark. Sadly, Mark’s parents have had to put their house up for sale in order to pay Mark’s legal bill, which has climbed near to the six-figure mark.
Since having lunch with Frankie, I received a letter from him pertaining to George:
Para mi esposa [for my wife]
After reading about George in your journal, I’m very anxious about him. As you know I’m a very jealous man and you are engaged. Don’t this guy know that I will send in the dogs on him and make him pee. You better tell George about Caesar, I go way back and I love the back door.
By the way tell George that it wasn’t your Spanish that led me to fall in love with you, it was your yoga exercises that caught all my attention, and that one time at Madison Street jail when I caught you rubbing cream into your bed sores. [At Madison Street Jail, Frankie, on his hour out, appeared at my cell window when I had just pulled down my pink boxer shorts and was applying anti fungal cream to the bedsores on my buttocks.] It was love at first sight!
Also, if you need to know anything about your Hershey Highway that’s my department. I’m an expert in that area. I’m also a certified pipe layer.
Well my friend, I’m hearing that we’re being moved to South Unit in Florence which will be dorms… It will be really cool if we end up in the same dorm. Now that will be really nice Englandman.
I’m going to close now but not forever,
Much love and respect,
Frankie
ps Tell George I’m the number one in you vida [life] and that we’re engaged. By the way I want to meet this guy so introduce him to me. Take care and forget me not!
Since receiving this letter I’ve told George that Frankie wants to meet him, and George’s response was: “Tell him I’m in Siberia.”
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post comments below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
8 July 05
Battle for my Cheerios
Previously, I wrote that prisoners sometimes fight over trivialities such as candy bars or cups of Kool-Aid. Lets add a handful of Cheerios to that list.
As Ogre has been friendly since Boxing Day Punch, even showing me pictures of his multiple children with multiple women and nude photos of his pretty ex-wife, I have been giving him my Cheerio ration, which I never eat. Last Weekend, Druid asked for my cereal first, so I gave my Cheerios to Druid instead of Ogre.
Ogre approached our table, grinning and licking his moustache. But when he saw that my Cheerios had migrated from my tray to Druid’s, his eyes widened and he yelled, “I own his Cheerios.” He grabbed a handful of Cheerios from Druid’s tray.
In prison, laying your hands on another inmates tray is an act of war. Druid – who receives counselling for an anger problem – became enraged as Ogre’s hairy fingers scooped up more Cheerios. As Ogre strode away, Druid fumed and refused to eat his chow.
After chow, Druid accosted Ogre, and there was puffing and shouting, pushing and shoving, and
almost a fight.
Now, I don’t know what to do with my Cheerios. Maybe General Mills could withdraw them from the market before someone gets hurt.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Battle for my Cheerios
Previously, I wrote that prisoners sometimes fight over trivialities such as candy bars or cups of Kool-Aid. Lets add a handful of Cheerios to that list.
As Ogre has been friendly since Boxing Day Punch, even showing me pictures of his multiple children with multiple women and nude photos of his pretty ex-wife, I have been giving him my Cheerio ration, which I never eat. Last Weekend, Druid asked for my cereal first, so I gave my Cheerios to Druid instead of Ogre.
Ogre approached our table, grinning and licking his moustache. But when he saw that my Cheerios had migrated from my tray to Druid’s, his eyes widened and he yelled, “I own his Cheerios.” He grabbed a handful of Cheerios from Druid’s tray.
In prison, laying your hands on another inmates tray is an act of war. Druid – who receives counselling for an anger problem – became enraged as Ogre’s hairy fingers scooped up more Cheerios. As Ogre strode away, Druid fumed and refused to eat his chow.
After chow, Druid accosted Ogre, and there was puffing and shouting, pushing and shoving, and
almost a fight.
Now, I don’t know what to do with my Cheerios. Maybe General Mills could withdraw them from the market before someone gets hurt.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
7 July 05
London Bombs
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
London Bombs
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
06 July 05
Bloody Hell!
Suddenly, English swear words are all the rage. In the day room and in the chow line inmates can be heard swapping insults in mock British accents. I'm inundated with requests for swear words most of these people have never heard of.
Here's an exchange I heard while standing in the chow line.
“You pillock!”
“Bloody hell! Who are you callin’ a pillock, you plonker?”
“Cor blimey! You puddled bugger. Where’s the rent boys at?”
“Who are you callin’ a rent boy, you cheeky bugger?”
“Not you, you soft get.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Bloody Hell!
Suddenly, English swear words are all the rage. In the day room and in the chow line inmates can be heard swapping insults in mock British accents. I'm inundated with requests for swear words most of these people have never heard of.
Here's an exchange I heard while standing in the chow line.
“You pillock!”
“Bloody hell! Who are you callin’ a pillock, you plonker?”
“Cor blimey! You puddled bugger. Where’s the rent boys at?”
“Who are you callin’ a rent boy, you cheeky bugger?”
“Not you, you soft get.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
05 July 05
Friends
Recently, I lost three of my friends including my dining and workout companions. Popcorn was freed after a brief stint in lockdown where he was sent after being suspected of breaking his cellmate’s arm. Fish was freed to a housing unit that caters to people with AIDS. String Bean’s institutional score was dropped, and he is now housed in a minimum-security building, where he is eligible for food visits.
In the chow hall I sometimes sit with Slingblade, Will and Kenny. It is fascinating watching Slingblade grab trays from passing inmates, and devouring the leftovers. Will was arrested in 1970 and convicted of murder. He is personable and well-mannered. Since receiving Kenny’s letter I have explained to him that I am heterosexual, and our relationship is still on a solid footing.
I usually chat with Blackheart and Xena in the chow line. I spend most of the day alone, reading, writing and studying unless I receive a chess challenge – usually from Mooga or Red – in which case I am compelled to defend my title.
Naturally, I talk to my cellmate, Long Island, the most. I am teaching him the art of futures trading. In our hypothetical portfolios I’m long soy beans, short the Swiss franc, and he’s long copper, and short cattle.
Unlike the jail environment most of the people here have been inmates for years so everybody knows everybody else. Slowly, I’ve been making more friends.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Friends
Recently, I lost three of my friends including my dining and workout companions. Popcorn was freed after a brief stint in lockdown where he was sent after being suspected of breaking his cellmate’s arm. Fish was freed to a housing unit that caters to people with AIDS. String Bean’s institutional score was dropped, and he is now housed in a minimum-security building, where he is eligible for food visits.
In the chow hall I sometimes sit with Slingblade, Will and Kenny. It is fascinating watching Slingblade grab trays from passing inmates, and devouring the leftovers. Will was arrested in 1970 and convicted of murder. He is personable and well-mannered. Since receiving Kenny’s letter I have explained to him that I am heterosexual, and our relationship is still on a solid footing.
I usually chat with Blackheart and Xena in the chow line. I spend most of the day alone, reading, writing and studying unless I receive a chess challenge – usually from Mooga or Red – in which case I am compelled to defend my title.
Naturally, I talk to my cellmate, Long Island, the most. I am teaching him the art of futures trading. In our hypothetical portfolios I’m long soy beans, short the Swiss franc, and he’s long copper, and short cattle.
Unlike the jail environment most of the people here have been inmates for years so everybody knows everybody else. Slowly, I’ve been making more friends.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
03 July 05
Commodities Trading
Whoosh! Long Island is up 91% in his hypothetical commodity trading account started on May 27th 05.
Here are our results thus far: (up until June 7th 05)
Jon’s Account: Open price Close price Profit/loss
Short 20,000 Swiss Franc .8116 .7986 240
Long 3,000 Soybeans 6.665 Open 237.5
Long 300 Crude Oil 51.97 55 880
Short 100 Coffee 118.05 122 -420
Long 40,000 Japanese Yen .9283 Open 410
+1347.5
Long Island’s Account:
Short 200 Cattle 85.02 84.7 44
Long 150 Cattle 84.7 83.55 -192.5
Long 3000 Sugar 8.68 8.76 220
Long 200 Hogs 71.4 68.4 -620
Long 300 Crude Oil 51.97 55 880
Long 4000 Natural Gas 6.789 7.127 1332
Short 300 US Dollar 88.04 Open 158
+1821.5
Our starting capital was $2000, I have deducted $10 commission per trade, and we are operating on a 5% margin requirement.
In less than one month Long Island has almost doubled his investment and mine is up two thirds.
These are spectacular returns! Long Island’s performance is remarkable considering that I have only been teaching him to trade for two months. According to the Professors of Finance Edwin Elton, Martin Gruber and Joel Rentzler the average yearly return for professionally managed commodity funds over a surveyed nine year period was a measley 2.3%. (Source: Investments Vol 2) I suspect that Long Island and I have just outperformed most of the highly –paid professionals.
Simplicity is the key to our success. We receive no news nor do we have access to multi-million dollar computer programs. We are trading from five month price, volume and momentum charts in the Investors Business Daily.* I feel that our seclusion is helping us maintain psychological equilibria as we are not bombarded by the disinformation prevalent in the media, which could taint our decision making processes.
Long Island has become so enthused about trading the financial markets that he has written to the NASD requesting information about getting a Series 7 license and becoming a stockbroker. He is fully focussed and I expect him to do well when he gets released in Dec 05.
*I’d like to thank Barry in Tonopah for the subscription to the Investors Business Daily, the arrival of which is now the high point of our day!
***Readers please note that our trading is not for real, we haven't the facilities or cash to trade on the stock market.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Commodities Trading
Whoosh! Long Island is up 91% in his hypothetical commodity trading account started on May 27th 05.
Here are our results thus far: (up until June 7th 05)
Jon’s Account: Open price Close price Profit/loss
Short 20,000 Swiss Franc .8116 .7986 240
Long 3,000 Soybeans 6.665 Open 237.5
Long 300 Crude Oil 51.97 55 880
Short 100 Coffee 118.05 122 -420
Long 40,000 Japanese Yen .9283 Open 410
+1347.5
Long Island’s Account:
Short 200 Cattle 85.02 84.7 44
Long 150 Cattle 84.7 83.55 -192.5
Long 3000 Sugar 8.68 8.76 220
Long 200 Hogs 71.4 68.4 -620
Long 300 Crude Oil 51.97 55 880
Long 4000 Natural Gas 6.789 7.127 1332
Short 300 US Dollar 88.04 Open 158
+1821.5
Our starting capital was $2000, I have deducted $10 commission per trade, and we are operating on a 5% margin requirement.
In less than one month Long Island has almost doubled his investment and mine is up two thirds.
These are spectacular returns! Long Island’s performance is remarkable considering that I have only been teaching him to trade for two months. According to the Professors of Finance Edwin Elton, Martin Gruber and Joel Rentzler the average yearly return for professionally managed commodity funds over a surveyed nine year period was a measley 2.3%. (Source: Investments Vol 2) I suspect that Long Island and I have just outperformed most of the highly –paid professionals.
Simplicity is the key to our success. We receive no news nor do we have access to multi-million dollar computer programs. We are trading from five month price, volume and momentum charts in the Investors Business Daily.* I feel that our seclusion is helping us maintain psychological equilibria as we are not bombarded by the disinformation prevalent in the media, which could taint our decision making processes.
Long Island has become so enthused about trading the financial markets that he has written to the NASD requesting information about getting a Series 7 license and becoming a stockbroker. He is fully focussed and I expect him to do well when he gets released in Dec 05.
*I’d like to thank Barry in Tonopah for the subscription to the Investors Business Daily, the arrival of which is now the high point of our day!
***Readers please note that our trading is not for real, we haven't the facilities or cash to trade on the stock market.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
01 July 05
Distraught Pops
Pops stopped by and announced that he will be dead within six months. He followed this prediction with a ten minute ramble about the joys of farming in the first half of the twentieth century, with special emphasis on walking ploughs and the properties of alfalfa.
He also claimed that Slingblade has stopped using TV Guide pages to wipe his behind with. Pops said that Slingblade ate a whole box of Zingers on store day and guzzled down several RC Colas. Then Slingblade broke unusually loud wind and went to the toilet four times.
Pops said Slingblade is a veteran of the Vietnam war. (Perhaps he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder?) On the subject of war, Pops scolded the “Kansas City politician Harry Shit-ass Truman” for dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, “which killed a hell of a lotta Japanese children.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Distraught Pops
Pops stopped by and announced that he will be dead within six months. He followed this prediction with a ten minute ramble about the joys of farming in the first half of the twentieth century, with special emphasis on walking ploughs and the properties of alfalfa.
He also claimed that Slingblade has stopped using TV Guide pages to wipe his behind with. Pops said that Slingblade ate a whole box of Zingers on store day and guzzled down several RC Colas. Then Slingblade broke unusually loud wind and went to the toilet four times.
Pops said Slingblade is a veteran of the Vietnam war. (Perhaps he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder?) On the subject of war, Pops scolded the “Kansas City politician Harry Shit-ass Truman” for dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, “which killed a hell of a lotta Japanese children.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
30 June 05
A Peculiar Passion
George - who was formerly a funeral director - divulged that he went to the same embalming school as a high profile female nechrophile.
“Which school did you guys go to?”
“The Dallas Institute of Funeral Services.”
“When?”
“In the eighties.”
“How did you find out that she was having sexual realtions with corpses?”
“She got busted and it was on the news.”
“I’m wondering, exactly how does a woman have sex with a dead body? Can you detail how she did it?”
“Yes. She used the embalming machine, which had variable rates of pressure and flow, to isolate the arteries so as not to swell portions of the body seen at an open casket viewing. She used embalming fluid to enlargen the penis, which would sometimes swell up much larger than normal - more than blood would - and then she would get on top, after the embalming had taken place and, I assume, ride herself to an orgasm.”
“That’s incredible. When you were a funeral director, did you see many aroused corpses?”
“No. You’re not supposed to turn the machine up that high.”
“Okay. How did she get caught?”
“She stole a body, a casket and a hearse. The authorities found her and the corpse naked in the back of the hearse, and she confessed to double-digit counts.”
“Where was she when she was arrested?”
“In California, I think…Sacramento.”
“Was she sentenced to prison?”
“I believe so.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Alright. Thanks for the unusual story.”
“You’re welcome.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
A Peculiar Passion
George - who was formerly a funeral director - divulged that he went to the same embalming school as a high profile female nechrophile.
“Which school did you guys go to?”
“The Dallas Institute of Funeral Services.”
“When?”
“In the eighties.”
“How did you find out that she was having sexual realtions with corpses?”
“She got busted and it was on the news.”
“I’m wondering, exactly how does a woman have sex with a dead body? Can you detail how she did it?”
“Yes. She used the embalming machine, which had variable rates of pressure and flow, to isolate the arteries so as not to swell portions of the body seen at an open casket viewing. She used embalming fluid to enlargen the penis, which would sometimes swell up much larger than normal - more than blood would - and then she would get on top, after the embalming had taken place and, I assume, ride herself to an orgasm.”
“That’s incredible. When you were a funeral director, did you see many aroused corpses?”
“No. You’re not supposed to turn the machine up that high.”
“Okay. How did she get caught?”
“She stole a body, a casket and a hearse. The authorities found her and the corpse naked in the back of the hearse, and she confessed to double-digit counts.”
“Where was she when she was arrested?”
“In California, I think…Sacramento.”
“Was she sentenced to prison?”
“I believe so.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Alright. Thanks for the unusual story.”
“You’re welcome.”
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
28 June 05
Red & Bones
Soft-spoken Red, a new addition to our pod who I enjoy playing chess with, is one of the most likable people I have ever met. His nickname stems from his long wispy orange hair and beard. Bespectacled Red limps due to degenerative bone disease in his right knee, a condition requiring him to wear a leg brace, to use a quad cane and to take 1800 milligrams of Ibuprofin every day.
This evening, after a game of chess with Red, he revealed the injustice that got him a 36 year sentence in September 1987. He then divulged an incident that occurred in October of 2000 whereby he and his codefendant Bones saved two prison employees from being raped and possibly murdered by three inmates trying to escape — two murderers and an armed robber —who had planned to go on a violent crime spree. After listening to Red and reviewing his legal paperwork I am convinced that neither he nor Bones should be in prison.
At age 23 Red quit truckdriving and moved from Springdale, Arkansas to Tucson, Arizona to study electronics. Red was a pot smoker and partier, and one evening he rented his Tucson home to a drug dealer. After being paid with an ounce of weed, Red went partying all night.
Meanwhile, at his house, a man who had robbed a drug dealer was beaten with a billy club, taken out into the desert and shot in the back of the head with a shotgun.
The victim survived, the crime was traced to Red’s house and Red and Bones were arrested. Although Red protested his innocence and the victim was unable to identify him, the authorities pursued the case. A plea bargain for 10.5 years was offered, which Red, who was confident about winning a jury trial rejected. An inept public defender was assigned to the case and despite having alibi witnesses and the prosecutor blatantly coaching the victim to identify Red during the trial, Red was found guilty of kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated assault. The judge doled out the maximum sentence for each charge. One of the aggravating factors being that Red, by maintaining his innocence, must have been remorseless.
Red became a model inmate. Excelling in mathematics and computer studies, he earned 77 college credits, an associates degree and a paralegal certificate. Then in October 2000, Red and Bones risked their lives to save two of their captors.
At ASPC Tucson, three dangerous lifers (one of whom had shot a female cop during a routine traffic stop) attempted to escape. A shank was held to a female guard’s throat as she was handcuffed to a chair and tied up with duct tape. The same was happening to a female contractor in the sign shop where Red worked. When he heard the contractor cry out for help and one of the lifers say, “ I just wanna tie her up and have some fun,” Red and Bones sprang into action. They disarmed the lifers and freed the women. Their actions allowed backup to be called and the escape attempt was ended.
The two female hostages received medals of valour and were credited by the local press for thwarting the escape. Red and Bones were locked down, fired from the sign shop and transferred to a different prison. Red, armed with a thank-you letter from the husband of one of the captives, requested a sentence reduction but was denied.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Red & Bones
Soft-spoken Red, a new addition to our pod who I enjoy playing chess with, is one of the most likable people I have ever met. His nickname stems from his long wispy orange hair and beard. Bespectacled Red limps due to degenerative bone disease in his right knee, a condition requiring him to wear a leg brace, to use a quad cane and to take 1800 milligrams of Ibuprofin every day.
This evening, after a game of chess with Red, he revealed the injustice that got him a 36 year sentence in September 1987. He then divulged an incident that occurred in October of 2000 whereby he and his codefendant Bones saved two prison employees from being raped and possibly murdered by three inmates trying to escape — two murderers and an armed robber —who had planned to go on a violent crime spree. After listening to Red and reviewing his legal paperwork I am convinced that neither he nor Bones should be in prison.
At age 23 Red quit truckdriving and moved from Springdale, Arkansas to Tucson, Arizona to study electronics. Red was a pot smoker and partier, and one evening he rented his Tucson home to a drug dealer. After being paid with an ounce of weed, Red went partying all night.
Meanwhile, at his house, a man who had robbed a drug dealer was beaten with a billy club, taken out into the desert and shot in the back of the head with a shotgun.
The victim survived, the crime was traced to Red’s house and Red and Bones were arrested. Although Red protested his innocence and the victim was unable to identify him, the authorities pursued the case. A plea bargain for 10.5 years was offered, which Red, who was confident about winning a jury trial rejected. An inept public defender was assigned to the case and despite having alibi witnesses and the prosecutor blatantly coaching the victim to identify Red during the trial, Red was found guilty of kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated assault. The judge doled out the maximum sentence for each charge. One of the aggravating factors being that Red, by maintaining his innocence, must have been remorseless.
Red became a model inmate. Excelling in mathematics and computer studies, he earned 77 college credits, an associates degree and a paralegal certificate. Then in October 2000, Red and Bones risked their lives to save two of their captors.
At ASPC Tucson, three dangerous lifers (one of whom had shot a female cop during a routine traffic stop) attempted to escape. A shank was held to a female guard’s throat as she was handcuffed to a chair and tied up with duct tape. The same was happening to a female contractor in the sign shop where Red worked. When he heard the contractor cry out for help and one of the lifers say, “ I just wanna tie her up and have some fun,” Red and Bones sprang into action. They disarmed the lifers and freed the women. Their actions allowed backup to be called and the escape attempt was ended.
The two female hostages received medals of valour and were credited by the local press for thwarting the escape. Red and Bones were locked down, fired from the sign shop and transferred to a different prison. Red, armed with a thank-you letter from the husband of one of the captives, requested a sentence reduction but was denied.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
26 June 05
The Move
The move of hundreds of inmates from here to Tucson prison is in progress. Every few days 75 inmates are rolled up.
Sadly, the move has claimed one victim. An inmate in his fifties with a history of heart problems is rumoured to have died.
Us remaining inmates have been housed in Building 2, pods A and B. I was moved to 2A20, an upper-story cell, where it is hard to sleep in because it is so hot. At least Long Island is still my cellmate.
Since Jon wrote this a week ago he has been moved.
His new mailing address is:
Shaun Attwood ADC#187160
ASPC-Tucson
Santa Rita Unit 4-D-11, PO BOX 24406,
10012 S Wilmot Rd
Tucson, 85734-4406, Arizona
U.S.A.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
The Move
The move of hundreds of inmates from here to Tucson prison is in progress. Every few days 75 inmates are rolled up.
Sadly, the move has claimed one victim. An inmate in his fifties with a history of heart problems is rumoured to have died.
Us remaining inmates have been housed in Building 2, pods A and B. I was moved to 2A20, an upper-story cell, where it is hard to sleep in because it is so hot. At least Long Island is still my cellmate.
Since Jon wrote this a week ago he has been moved.
His new mailing address is:
Shaun Attwood ADC#187160
ASPC-Tucson
Santa Rita Unit 4-D-11, PO BOX 24406,
10012 S Wilmot Rd
Tucson, 85734-4406, Arizona
U.S.A.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
24 June 05
Following a recent Anal Virginity Threats entry an anonymous commentator asked about prison rape.
Prison rape is prevalent nationwide.
According to Stop Prison Rape http://www.spr.org/ there are now more men getting raped in America’s prisons than women being raped on the outside. They estimate that one quarter of a million inmates are getting raped each year, that youngsters are five times more likely to be attacked, and that the prison rape victims are ten times more likely to contract a deadly disease.
Imagine a young pothead getting sent to prison, raped by older, tougher inmates and contracting hepatitis C or AIDS. Similar scenarios are unfolding in America’s prisons every day, while you are reading this, somewhere, out of the guards' view, a youngster may be being held down and raped.
The mother of a rape victim who committed suicide in prison testified in Congress that a prison warden told her before her son’s suicide that, “This happens to everbody. Learn to deal with it. It’s no big deal.”
Support Stop Prison Rape, check out their website.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Following a recent Anal Virginity Threats entry an anonymous commentator asked about prison rape.
Prison rape is prevalent nationwide.
According to Stop Prison Rape http://www.spr.org/ there are now more men getting raped in America’s prisons than women being raped on the outside. They estimate that one quarter of a million inmates are getting raped each year, that youngsters are five times more likely to be attacked, and that the prison rape victims are ten times more likely to contract a deadly disease.
Imagine a young pothead getting sent to prison, raped by older, tougher inmates and contracting hepatitis C or AIDS. Similar scenarios are unfolding in America’s prisons every day, while you are reading this, somewhere, out of the guards' view, a youngster may be being held down and raped.
The mother of a rape victim who committed suicide in prison testified in Congress that a prison warden told her before her son’s suicide that, “This happens to everbody. Learn to deal with it. It’s no big deal.”
Support Stop Prison Rape, check out their website.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
22 June 05
An English Test
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
An English Test
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
20 June 05
Violence Inside
Richard asked about prison violence, if I have to watch my step constantly, and whether I put a brave face on things.
When the cell doors are open it is essential to be aware of the surroundings. Fights can erupt at any time, and often over silly things. I’ve seen arguments over fruit, cups of Kool-Aid, candy bars and even over which TV station to watch escalate into bloodshed. Besides the random violence there is also extortion, but the most serious violence seems to occur when people run up drug debts that they are unable to pay. Riots seldom happen, but when they do people can get killed.
I think that inmates constantly watch their steps, but even trying to mind your own business doesn’t always work. Diplomacy works to an extent, but you have to be tough enough to say no to people trying to take advantage of you without being disrespectful, which may lead to further problems.
This unit seems mellow in comparison to the one next to us, Buckley. At Buckley, a high-medium facility, alarms are often going off, shots being fired, and inmates can be seen getting marched to the rec field at gunpoint where loudspeakers order them to lie face down on the ground. Sometimes our guards dash over to Buckley with extra shotguns and rifles. The shankings, murders and the incident of someone recently getting stabbed in the neck whilst in the chow line have earned Buckley the title of "The new gladiator school" by the inmates here.
Thanks for the question, Richard.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Violence Inside
Richard asked about prison violence, if I have to watch my step constantly, and whether I put a brave face on things.
When the cell doors are open it is essential to be aware of the surroundings. Fights can erupt at any time, and often over silly things. I’ve seen arguments over fruit, cups of Kool-Aid, candy bars and even over which TV station to watch escalate into bloodshed. Besides the random violence there is also extortion, but the most serious violence seems to occur when people run up drug debts that they are unable to pay. Riots seldom happen, but when they do people can get killed.
I think that inmates constantly watch their steps, but even trying to mind your own business doesn’t always work. Diplomacy works to an extent, but you have to be tough enough to say no to people trying to take advantage of you without being disrespectful, which may lead to further problems.
This unit seems mellow in comparison to the one next to us, Buckley. At Buckley, a high-medium facility, alarms are often going off, shots being fired, and inmates can be seen getting marched to the rec field at gunpoint where loudspeakers order them to lie face down on the ground. Sometimes our guards dash over to Buckley with extra shotguns and rifles. The shankings, murders and the incident of someone recently getting stabbed in the neck whilst in the chow line have earned Buckley the title of "The new gladiator school" by the inmates here.
Thanks for the question, Richard.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
18 June 05
Advice
Click here if you would like to see Rick’s prison diary
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Advice
Click here if you would like to see Rick’s prison diary
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
16 June 05
Druid’s Birthday Card
Druid, who has just turned sixty-eight, looks like a shaggy-faced and toothless Sean Connery. He claims to be a native of the Isle of Man, (a small independent island off the north west coast of England).
For Druid’s birthday, Long Island purchased a Mother’s Day card (this falls on 9th May in the US) in which he taped three homoerotic pics from one of Adam’s gay porno mags. The pics were of musclebound men mounting other men on all fours who were wearing blindfolds. Before the card was given to Druid, various inmates signed it.
“Happy B-Day you dirty old bastard. These pics are from the Isle of Man travel brochure. I always knew you were a freak!”
“Sorry we had to break into your wedding album, but we wanted to give you somethin' personal.”
“Suck an old fat cock.”
“It was interesting to find these pictures of you in your younger years. What a stud!”
“Happy B-Day you fur-faced zipper-sniffer!!!”
“I don’t want you to look at these pictures and wish I'd do you the same way. I just want to spend some time in your crack. Happy B-Day Gramps!” (Written vertically where the card folds i.e. ‘the crack’)
“I see your true side has finally surfaced.”
“Looks like you and Harley are having a good time here (ha!).”
“Happy B-Day. We found some old pictures of you in your younger days. Stay off the ‘Base Ball Field’ you’re too old.”
“Happy B-Day. We thought you'd like pictures of yourself.”
“Hey, you Queen. Here’s hoping that this is absolutely your last B’day.”
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Druid’s Birthday Card
Druid, who has just turned sixty-eight, looks like a shaggy-faced and toothless Sean Connery. He claims to be a native of the Isle of Man, (a small independent island off the north west coast of England).
For Druid’s birthday, Long Island purchased a Mother’s Day card (this falls on 9th May in the US) in which he taped three homoerotic pics from one of Adam’s gay porno mags. The pics were of musclebound men mounting other men on all fours who were wearing blindfolds. Before the card was given to Druid, various inmates signed it.
“Happy B-Day you dirty old bastard. These pics are from the Isle of Man travel brochure. I always knew you were a freak!”
“Sorry we had to break into your wedding album, but we wanted to give you somethin' personal.”
“Suck an old fat cock.”
“It was interesting to find these pictures of you in your younger years. What a stud!”
“Happy B-Day you fur-faced zipper-sniffer!!!”
“I don’t want you to look at these pictures and wish I'd do you the same way. I just want to spend some time in your crack. Happy B-Day Gramps!” (Written vertically where the card folds i.e. ‘the crack’)
“I see your true side has finally surfaced.”
“Looks like you and Harley are having a good time here (ha!).”
“Happy B-Day. We found some old pictures of you in your younger days. Stay off the ‘Base Ball Field’ you’re too old.”
“Happy B-Day. We thought you'd like pictures of yourself.”
“Hey, you Queen. Here’s hoping that this is absolutely your last B’day.”
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
14 June 05
Move
It seems we are going to be transferred to ASPC-Tucson, Santa Rita Unit some time in the next couple of weeks.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Move
It seems we are going to be transferred to ASPC-Tucson, Santa Rita Unit some time in the next couple of weeks.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
12 June 05
Telephone Swindle
Inmate phone calls generate multi-million dollar profits for the telephone service contractors at the expense of prisoners families and friends who are mostly members of the lower-income groups in society. Here, local calls cost from $2 upwards - at that rate, if the 2 million+ prison population average four calls per week then the contractors would reap approximately half a billion dollars per year. Adding long distance charges to that figure, I estimate that inmate phone calls are a half to one billion dollar a year industry.
The cost of long distance phone calls is particularly high. In 2002 I placed a call to my parents from the Towers Jail that cost $50 for 10 minutes. Using a conservative estimate, that my call cost the phone company 5 cents a minute, implies that the profit to the phone company was in excess of 10,000%! Before my parents disclosed the cost of the call after they had received the bill, I believed that there were laws against such corporate exploitation. Now I am starting to know better, and I recently read about a phone company scam that demonstrates how the companies and State leaders entangle the prison system in their web of corruption.
In California, Proposition 66 aiming to abolish the Three Strikes law, which would have freed thousands of non-violent criminals serving life for trivial crimes, was recently defeated by a slim margin. Arnold Schwartzenegger campaigned against Proposition 66 spooking the public into believing that 26,000 violent criminals would be prowling the streets if it were to be passed. And who was one of the biggest contributers to the opposition campaign? The founder of Broadcom Corporation, which owns MCI, which has the exclusive contract with the State of California, to monopolise prisoner phone calls.
Is the overriding objective of the mass incarceration of non violent offenders the provision of effortless rewards to the prison industry’s top brass and their contractor buddies? Should inmates be serving life sentences to help MCI make more money? How can the leaders of a country based on liberty and the proposition that all men are created equal, be allowing this to happen?
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Telephone Swindle
Inmate phone calls generate multi-million dollar profits for the telephone service contractors at the expense of prisoners families and friends who are mostly members of the lower-income groups in society. Here, local calls cost from $2 upwards - at that rate, if the 2 million+ prison population average four calls per week then the contractors would reap approximately half a billion dollars per year. Adding long distance charges to that figure, I estimate that inmate phone calls are a half to one billion dollar a year industry.
The cost of long distance phone calls is particularly high. In 2002 I placed a call to my parents from the Towers Jail that cost $50 for 10 minutes. Using a conservative estimate, that my call cost the phone company 5 cents a minute, implies that the profit to the phone company was in excess of 10,000%! Before my parents disclosed the cost of the call after they had received the bill, I believed that there were laws against such corporate exploitation. Now I am starting to know better, and I recently read about a phone company scam that demonstrates how the companies and State leaders entangle the prison system in their web of corruption.
In California, Proposition 66 aiming to abolish the Three Strikes law, which would have freed thousands of non-violent criminals serving life for trivial crimes, was recently defeated by a slim margin. Arnold Schwartzenegger campaigned against Proposition 66 spooking the public into believing that 26,000 violent criminals would be prowling the streets if it were to be passed. And who was one of the biggest contributers to the opposition campaign? The founder of Broadcom Corporation, which owns MCI, which has the exclusive contract with the State of California, to monopolise prisoner phone calls.
Is the overriding objective of the mass incarceration of non violent offenders the provision of effortless rewards to the prison industry’s top brass and their contractor buddies? Should inmates be serving life sentences to help MCI make more money? How can the leaders of a country based on liberty and the proposition that all men are created equal, be allowing this to happen?
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
10 June 05
Gone With
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Gone With
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
08 June 05
Heat
On my radio, I’ve been hearing Excessive Heat Warnings issued by the National Weather Service. Outdoor high temperatures recently rocketed from 90° to 110° without stopping at 100°.
We no longer have a rec field: we have scorched earth.
The swamp cooler and fan are keeping the cell temperature tolerable - an improvement from this time last year. Soon, the heat is expected to rise above 120°, so I’ve not yet experienced peak summer temperatures in Buckeye.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
Heat
On my radio, I’ve been hearing Excessive Heat Warnings issued by the National Weather Service. Outdoor high temperatures recently rocketed from 90° to 110° without stopping at 100°.
We no longer have a rec field: we have scorched earth.
The swamp cooler and fan are keeping the cell temperature tolerable - an improvement from this time last year. Soon, the heat is expected to rise above 120°, so I’ve not yet experienced peak summer temperatures in Buckeye.
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Copyright © 2004-2005 Shaun P. Attwood
20 May 05
Latent Talents
Long Island has been studying hard. I've been sharing some of my books with him including R. Kolb’s The International Finance Reader, Graham & Dodd’s Security Analysis and S. Natenberg’s Option Volatility & Pricing (kindly provided by Guy Goo. Thanks!)
He has become so enthused about the financial markets that he has begun charting stocks and indexes. We are trading (on paper) options and tallying our imaginary profits, so that he can get a feel for market movements.
There are probably many talented people in the prison system, who, if given an education could become productive members of society. Sadly, other than a few token programs and GED schooling (high-school level education) I am unaware of any other classes. Four times I have applied for college correspondence courses, and each time I’ve been denied. Until there is an emphasis on education and rehabilitation, the growing prison population will continue to be a
problem.
Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below
Latent Talents
Long Island has been studying hard. I've been sharing some of my books with him including R. Kolb’s The International Finance Reader, Graham & Dodd’s Security Analysis and S. Natenberg’s Option Volatility & Pricing (kindly provided by Guy Goo. Thanks!)
He has become so enthused about the financial markets that he has begun charting stocks and indexes. We are trading (on paper) options and tallying our imaginary profits, so that he can get a feel for market movements.
There are probably many talented people in the prison system, who, if given an education could become productive members of society. Sadly, other than a few token programs and GED schooling (high-school level education) I am unaware of any other classes. Four times I have applied for college correspondence courses, and each time I’ve been denied. Until there is an emphasis on education and rehabilitation, the growing prison population will continue to be a
problem.
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18 May 05
Orangemen Are Not the Only Fruits
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post comments below
Orangemen Are Not the Only Fruits
Email Jon at writeinside@hotmail.com or post comments below
14 May 05
Frankie Is Here
I was returning to my cell from the chow hall when a stocky Chicano requested my presence at the poker table.
“I’ve been asked to tell you that Frankie is here,” he whispered in my ear. He also divulged that Frankie is housed on the other side of Building 2, thus, I shall not be going to rec or chow with him.
Through some mutual friends I’m going to arrange a meeting with Frankie. I intend to maintain our friendship, but also to make it clear that the prison marriage he desires is not an option. Out of all the thousands of men I met in the jail system, isn’t it odd that I am now sharing a roof with Frankie?
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Frankie Is Here
I was returning to my cell from the chow hall when a stocky Chicano requested my presence at the poker table.
“I’ve been asked to tell you that Frankie is here,” he whispered in my ear. He also divulged that Frankie is housed on the other side of Building 2, thus, I shall not be going to rec or chow with him.
Through some mutual friends I’m going to arrange a meeting with Frankie. I intend to maintain our friendship, but also to make it clear that the prison marriage he desires is not an option. Out of all the thousands of men I met in the jail system, isn’t it odd that I am now sharing a roof with Frankie?
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12 May 05
The Howard League For Penal Reform
I would like to thank Finola Farrant, the Project Manager at the Howard League For Penal Reform for requesting and publishing a written piece about my time spent on remand.
The HLFPR is an organisation that works tirelessly for humane and rational reform of the penal system.
Keep up the good work Finola!
In solidarity,
Jon
The Howard League For Penal Reform
I would like to thank Finola Farrant, the Project Manager at the Howard League For Penal Reform for requesting and publishing a written piece about my time spent on remand.
The HLFPR is an organisation that works tirelessly for humane and rational reform of the penal system.
Keep up the good work Finola!
In solidarity,
Jon
08 May 05
Prison Lingo
Jarod in San Francisco has asked me to translate a passage from the Bible into prison lingo. So, as I enjoy the clash between David and Goliath, I have chosen 1 Samuel 17 (45-50).
1 Samuel 17
45 Then David said to the Philistines, “ You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of the hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
46 “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you…”
47 “Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.”
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 Then David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
1 Sammy 17
45 David called out the dude who looked like he could crank a whole lotta iron on the weight pile, “It’s lookin’ like you’re strapped with a shank and a shiv, but I’m not stressin’ cos the Big Homey Upstairs has got my back.”
46 “Punk Philistine, today your ass is out.”
47 “Bitch, all the homies on the rec field are gunna see that you’re a take-it- in-the-ass sissy boy.”
48 The puffed up Philistine moved on David, and David was squared up to handle business.
49 David broke out with his own shit; the Philistine was smashed in the head with a battery, and fell tits down on the rec field.
50 Without a shank, David had taken the Philistine out with a battery in a sock.
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Prison Lingo
Jarod in San Francisco has asked me to translate a passage from the Bible into prison lingo. So, as I enjoy the clash between David and Goliath, I have chosen 1 Samuel 17 (45-50).
1 Samuel 17
45 Then David said to the Philistines, “ You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of the hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
46 “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you…”
47 “Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.”
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 Then David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
1 Sammy 17
45 David called out the dude who looked like he could crank a whole lotta iron on the weight pile, “It’s lookin’ like you’re strapped with a shank and a shiv, but I’m not stressin’ cos the Big Homey Upstairs has got my back.”
46 “Punk Philistine, today your ass is out.”
47 “Bitch, all the homies on the rec field are gunna see that you’re a take-it- in-the-ass sissy boy.”
48 The puffed up Philistine moved on David, and David was squared up to handle business.
49 David broke out with his own shit; the Philistine was smashed in the head with a battery, and fell tits down on the rec field.
50 Without a shank, David had taken the Philistine out with a battery in a sock.
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03 May 05
Xena Responds
After reading the comments posted to the blog Bon Voyage Balls, Xena responded:
Anatomy check for those who do not know what a vas deferens is: the extension of the epididymis of the testis that ascends from the scrotum and joins the seminal vesicle to form the ejaculatory duct. It is enclosed by fibrous connective tissue with blood vessels, nerves and lymphatics, and passes through the inguinal canal as part of the spermatic cord.
The operation was not done because Gina hated herself or wanted to cause any self-harm. She truly feels at peace, having performed her makeshift surgery, as I would considering her personality.
Yours truly, Xena
Comments can be posted below or emailed to: writeinside@hotmail.com
Xena Responds
After reading the comments posted to the blog Bon Voyage Balls, Xena responded:
Anatomy check for those who do not know what a vas deferens is: the extension of the epididymis of the testis that ascends from the scrotum and joins the seminal vesicle to form the ejaculatory duct. It is enclosed by fibrous connective tissue with blood vessels, nerves and lymphatics, and passes through the inguinal canal as part of the spermatic cord.
The operation was not done because Gina hated herself or wanted to cause any self-harm. She truly feels at peace, having performed her makeshift surgery, as I would considering her personality.
Yours truly, Xena
Comments can be posted below or emailed to: writeinside@hotmail.com
23 April 05
Frankie’s Imminent Arrival
Frankie has been approved for this unit. There are two buildings here, each containing four fifty-man pods, so there is a one in eight chance that I’ll be sharing a pod with Frankie, and a one in four chance that I’ll be going to the chow hall and the rec field with him ( two pods at a time eat together and attend rec together). Regardless of where he is housed, I will inevitably see him soon.
Following the sandwiched love letter I received a second letter from Frankie:
“What’s up? Did you find yourself another esposo [husband]? How are things going on at your end besides you cheating on me? I thought it was all about you and me. It’s all gravy cause nobody can lay pipe like me. Tu esposo [Your husband]”
After being approved for this unit it usually takes between one to two months to get transported. Now that Frankie is approved he should be here soon.
Frankie’s Imminent Arrival
Frankie has been approved for this unit. There are two buildings here, each containing four fifty-man pods, so there is a one in eight chance that I’ll be sharing a pod with Frankie, and a one in four chance that I’ll be going to the chow hall and the rec field with him ( two pods at a time eat together and attend rec together). Regardless of where he is housed, I will inevitably see him soon.
Following the sandwiched love letter I received a second letter from Frankie:
“What’s up? Did you find yourself another esposo [husband]? How are things going on at your end besides you cheating on me? I thought it was all about you and me. It’s all gravy cause nobody can lay pipe like me. Tu esposo [Your husband]”
After being approved for this unit it usually takes between one to two months to get transported. Now that Frankie is approved he should be here soon.
17 April 05
Ganja: should it be legalised?
My reading has led me to believe there are various solutions available that would go some way to solving the problem of prison overcrowding. In this blog entry I am going to suggest a simple government policy change that could reduce overcrowding. Although this idea will be considered radical by some, it is supported by such people as Milton Friedman.
According to the book You Are Being Lied To there are more prisoners incarcerated for marijuana charges in the US than the entire prison population of Europe. A solution to prison overcrowding could be the government legalising weed and selling it at cost. What would that achieve? Imagine the reduced stress on the justice and prison systems if all nondangerous
pothead prisoners were freed and all prosecutions against those on remand were discontinued. Prison overcrowding could be ended almost overnight.
The benefits to society would be enormous, but vested interests have sensationalised the dangers of weed in order to maintain the status quo. Marijuana is not the most dangerous of drugs. Highly addictive nicotine is the biggest killer, yet it is legal. Alcohol causes half of the total deaths from traffic accidents each year. The Founding Fathers grew hemp, yet adults are now jailed for lifestyle choices that do no harm to other people. I am amazed that potheads are being arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned by people who either smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol or pop prescription pills. (Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist was addicted to sleeping pills.)
One of the reasons why weed is not legalised is because the game of cops and pushers generates money for various agencies and contractors. Legalisation would deprive the DEA and other law enforcement agencies of billions of dollars of taxpayers' money. Pretending to stop drugs is big business. The money that is being frittered away should be going to education, healthcare, and the pension system, instead, it is wasted on a charade that is having zero effect on drug crimes.
Just over a century ago Western governments were selling opium – a more dangerous drug than pot – to the population of China. Our governments use propaganda to justify whatever is most lucrative to them at the time. Locking up nondangerous potheads seems to be a senseless waste of economic resources that profits elite vested interests at the expense of the majority.
I would like to hear your views on the above,
Jon
Send comments to writeinside@hotmail.comOr post them on the site yourself below
Ganja: should it be legalised?
My reading has led me to believe there are various solutions available that would go some way to solving the problem of prison overcrowding. In this blog entry I am going to suggest a simple government policy change that could reduce overcrowding. Although this idea will be considered radical by some, it is supported by such people as Milton Friedman.
According to the book You Are Being Lied To there are more prisoners incarcerated for marijuana charges in the US than the entire prison population of Europe. A solution to prison overcrowding could be the government legalising weed and selling it at cost. What would that achieve? Imagine the reduced stress on the justice and prison systems if all nondangerous
pothead prisoners were freed and all prosecutions against those on remand were discontinued. Prison overcrowding could be ended almost overnight.
The benefits to society would be enormous, but vested interests have sensationalised the dangers of weed in order to maintain the status quo. Marijuana is not the most dangerous of drugs. Highly addictive nicotine is the biggest killer, yet it is legal. Alcohol causes half of the total deaths from traffic accidents each year. The Founding Fathers grew hemp, yet adults are now jailed for lifestyle choices that do no harm to other people. I am amazed that potheads are being arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned by people who either smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol or pop prescription pills. (Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist was addicted to sleeping pills.)
One of the reasons why weed is not legalised is because the game of cops and pushers generates money for various agencies and contractors. Legalisation would deprive the DEA and other law enforcement agencies of billions of dollars of taxpayers' money. Pretending to stop drugs is big business. The money that is being frittered away should be going to education, healthcare, and the pension system, instead, it is wasted on a charade that is having zero effect on drug crimes.
Just over a century ago Western governments were selling opium – a more dangerous drug than pot – to the population of China. Our governments use propaganda to justify whatever is most lucrative to them at the time. Locking up nondangerous potheads seems to be a senseless waste of economic resources that profits elite vested interests at the expense of the majority.
I would like to hear your views on the above,
Jon
Send comments to writeinside@hotmail.comOr post them on the site yourself below
15 April 05
Anal Virginity Threats: Kenny’s Come-on
(Threat level: moderate)
During a recent yoga session with Popcorn, I was approached by Kenny, who is a rare sight on the rec field. Kenny offered some stretching advice.
After rec, Long Island divulged that he had noticed Kenny ogling my behind when I was bending over to do yoga postures.
The next day, I received a letter from Kenny.
Hi [Jon]! This is Kenny writing from afar. There’s been a lot on my mind that I’ve wanted to share with you for a very long time. At least it feels like a v. long time. I’m not afraid of too many things in this world, and I usually prefer to look someone strait in the eyes when I’m talking about something that means so very much to me, but in this case, I am afraid. I’m scared to hear you tell me (however tactful) that I’m offending you, or that I’ve got no chance in hell, and that’s where I should go, or maybe you’d be kind and say “…we can still be friends.”
Rejection scares me when it comes from someone I admire [Jon] you know I’m gay, and until you tell me otherwise, I have to assume you are strait. But for so long now, ever since I first seen you; first heard the sound of your voice, I’ve wanted to be closer than just a friendly acquaintance. You are sooo handsome to me, and intelligent, and rather self confident-a strong man. You have all the things I admire - most, anyway since I’ve never seen you with less than shorts on!! Yes [Jon], you know where this is going. I want you to read this - keep it to just you and me. Please do not betray my trust/secrecy. Even though people know I’m gay, I do not want anyone to know who I have feelings for, and I do not want anyone to know who I ‘get together with, when, where, or what exactly happens between myself and a guy that’s willing to give me a chance to show him excellent pleasures. I’ve been gay since about 12 years old, and I love myself just the way I am. When someone strait trys to understand, its impossible! Try explaining a colour to someone born blind.
Being in prison for years on end, without the sexual pleasures of a woman, leaves most men frustrated and left with what they feel is no alternative than to fantasize with some long-ago fantasy and a magazine in the company of their own right hand. That gets old after years and years.
To finally decide to give a guy like me a chance to do the very same things (most things) a woman can do leaves a guy realizing he should have let me please him long ago.
[Jon], someday, somehow, I would really love to get together with you. I’ve admired you for so long. And when I watched you do that yoga, in all those positions, all I could do was dream of how wonderful it would be, to be with you, in a room, just you and me, in total privacy….
Since being with you would be our ‘first time’, its best, if you would give me a chance, to go slow, and show you what I can do for you a lttle at a time. When you were out there doing that yoga, and the morning sunrise made all that hair on your legs shine - as I watched you from a distance, I imagined how fine you must look if you were with me and….
This would be our secret. And the things written here are our secret too. Please do not betray my trust. This is no work of fiction. Return this to me. If you would ever want this to hapen, you know where I live, and the thing to do, is to come over here when everyone goes to rec. [Jon], in the privacy of my room, there is nothing (nearly so) I would not do to please you. I have other fantasies too. If you wish, I will write them in my next letter.
How do you feel about Kenny’s approach? What should I tell him that won't hurt his feelings?
Cheers! Jon
Anal Virginity Threats: Kenny’s Come-on
(Threat level: moderate)
During a recent yoga session with Popcorn, I was approached by Kenny, who is a rare sight on the rec field. Kenny offered some stretching advice.
After rec, Long Island divulged that he had noticed Kenny ogling my behind when I was bending over to do yoga postures.
The next day, I received a letter from Kenny.
Hi [Jon]! This is Kenny writing from afar. There’s been a lot on my mind that I’ve wanted to share with you for a very long time. At least it feels like a v. long time. I’m not afraid of too many things in this world, and I usually prefer to look someone strait in the eyes when I’m talking about something that means so very much to me, but in this case, I am afraid. I’m scared to hear you tell me (however tactful) that I’m offending you, or that I’ve got no chance in hell, and that’s where I should go, or maybe you’d be kind and say “…we can still be friends.”
Rejection scares me when it comes from someone I admire [Jon] you know I’m gay, and until you tell me otherwise, I have to assume you are strait. But for so long now, ever since I first seen you; first heard the sound of your voice, I’ve wanted to be closer than just a friendly acquaintance. You are sooo handsome to me, and intelligent, and rather self confident-a strong man. You have all the things I admire - most, anyway since I’ve never seen you with less than shorts on!! Yes [Jon], you know where this is going. I want you to read this - keep it to just you and me. Please do not betray my trust/secrecy. Even though people know I’m gay, I do not want anyone to know who I have feelings for, and I do not want anyone to know who I ‘get together with, when, where, or what exactly happens between myself and a guy that’s willing to give me a chance to show him excellent pleasures. I’ve been gay since about 12 years old, and I love myself just the way I am. When someone strait trys to understand, its impossible! Try explaining a colour to someone born blind.
Being in prison for years on end, without the sexual pleasures of a woman, leaves most men frustrated and left with what they feel is no alternative than to fantasize with some long-ago fantasy and a magazine in the company of their own right hand. That gets old after years and years.
To finally decide to give a guy like me a chance to do the very same things (most things) a woman can do leaves a guy realizing he should have let me please him long ago.
[Jon], someday, somehow, I would really love to get together with you. I’ve admired you for so long. And when I watched you do that yoga, in all those positions, all I could do was dream of how wonderful it would be, to be with you, in a room, just you and me, in total privacy….
Since being with you would be our ‘first time’, its best, if you would give me a chance, to go slow, and show you what I can do for you a lttle at a time. When you were out there doing that yoga, and the morning sunrise made all that hair on your legs shine - as I watched you from a distance, I imagined how fine you must look if you were with me and….
This would be our secret. And the things written here are our secret too. Please do not betray my trust. This is no work of fiction. Return this to me. If you would ever want this to hapen, you know where I live, and the thing to do, is to come over here when everyone goes to rec. [Jon], in the privacy of my room, there is nothing (nearly so) I would not do to please you. I have other fantasies too. If you wish, I will write them in my next letter.
How do you feel about Kenny’s approach? What should I tell him that won't hurt his feelings?
Cheers! Jon
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