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Commentary

Prison Gang Drop-Outs Being Threatened…If They Refuse to Snitch

By Harold Austin

In the course of my confinement at MCSP, I’ve been placed in ad-seg, six different times, on a long list of conspiracy theories ranging from “conspiracy to stab another prisoner as a contract hit”, “conspiracy to assault guards when Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams was assassinated”, “conspiracy to incite other prisoners to attack guards”, “conspiracy to harm…

April 17, 2008 2 min read Free to read

In the course of my confinement at MCSP, I’ve been placed in ad-seg, six different times, on a long list of conspiracy theories ranging from “conspiracy to stab another prisoner as a contract hit”, “conspiracy to assault guards when Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams was assassinated”, “conspiracy to incite other prisoners to attack guards”, “conspiracy to harm a cellie who was a pedophile”, “conspiracy to introduce drugs to a prison”, and now, “investigated for gang affiliation”, all of which (except for the last one) have been proven untrue, unfounded and totally fabricated!! In every instance I was vindicated of any misconduct, however, each trip to Ad-Seg also brought a visit from ISU. And every time, I refused to play the role of informant or answer any questions that strayed from my moral standard as a proud black man who chose to retire from a lifestyle that was not for advancement of a race that needs more black men to take a stand!!

It’s not my desire to advise the next prisoner as to what is right or wrong conduct in these cages. All I’m able to convey to those who are considering the “escape” that debriefing offers those sitting in the isolations chambers of super-max prisons like Pelican Bay and Corcoran SHU as well as all the other similar institutions that are designed to torture the human spirit into submission, whatever your reasons to retire & extricate yourself from whatever it is you have lost within yourself, please remain aware that these people are never going to stop attacking you, striving to crush your uniqueness, to break your will and seek your complete submission to assimilate your strength into the weak nature of the snitch mentality. When you come to this side, come prepared to fight the one enemy who has remained focused on attacking us from day one – The System!! Your identity as an individual and a convict who refuses to become an inmate is at stake.

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