Part 1: Prison Gang Violence in America

Serving time in prison and jail isn't always easy and it isn’t meant to be, but relatively few are supposed to get a "Death Sentence".  During the 1970-80s, there was a lot of violence in places like California which was in the middle of prison gang wars, or prison riots like Attica, NY, that left 43 dead, and a vicious riot in Santa Fe, NM, that left 33 dead.  From 1984-85, Texas prisons had 52 homicides.

In the 1980s, the overall murder rate in U.S. prisons was nearly five times as great as out in the free world.  Prison facilities were old, overcrowded, and not built with safety in mind; they were built mostly to just keep prisoners from escaping.  Because of the extreme violence in the 1980s, California created Security Housing Units (SHU) meant to keep inmates locked down for 22.5 hours or more a day and built with the input of corrections staff to increase safety.  

Some people describe SHU's as "solitary confinement" or "isolation cells", which is officially disputed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CCDR).  Convicts, and their supporters, claimed the SHU’s were cruel and unusual punishment that deprived them of freedom and social human contact.  In other words, they said that their constitutional rights were being violated.  In the summer of 2011, thousands of California inmates went on a lengthy hunger strike to protest conditions in the SHU's.  The protests eventually resulted in an agreement between inmates, lawyers, and CDCR prison officials to expedite reforms.  State prison officials say the most serious of those reforms are now in effect.  But, SHU inmates also wanted a faster way out.

For example, inmates were often given 5 year SHU terms or a specific sentence, based on having committed a crime such as murder while behind bars.  But 3,000+ inmates, particularly at the Pelican Bay State Prison SHU, are serving "indefinite terms" because they've been tagged as prison gang members or disruptive group affiliates.  They got a SHU term based on "validation criteria" and the only way out for those inmates has been a process called "debriefing" where the inmate tells gang investigators everything they know.  When they do this they are often snitching on others about prison gang activities, thus adding new inmates for the SHU program.

Like a prior court order in California to racially integrate cell mates, some experts worry violence could go up in California and other states if the balance in power is shifted and disrupts the status quo among inmates and the gangs.

California is not the only place that has experienced prison violence.

Eleven prisoners have been killed so far in 2012 inside Texas prisons, the highest number since ten were slain in 1997, despite an overall decline in violence among the prison population statewide.  Officials say the increase is puzzling since overall violence, as well as sexual assaults and number of weapons found, have all declined in 2012.  Still, it is a far cry from 1985, when 27 Texas convicts were killed, and hundreds more injured in an outbreak of violence blamed on overcrowding and prison gangs.  Most staff that were present during past bloody incidents that led up to many of the current prison policies have long since retired.  But, we should never forget what caused such rigid inmate control programs to be implemented in the first place.

The growth of prison gangs was a direct threat to safety and security of all inmates and staff.  Street gang membership is often based on a "Jump In, Jump Out" basis.  Of course, getting beat out took a lot longer than getting beat in.  But, most prison gang members originally got in on a “Blood In, Blood Out” basis, meaning they had to kill to get in, and they main way out is to die.  Being a member of a prison gang is like being a member of an exclusive club who affect the lives of a lot of people.  A good analogy might be a Wall Street country club, although there are very few who are high rollers in the stock market, they have a great effect on the rest of us.  Prison gangs also bet and invest in their future.

Prison gangs get their orders out via Associates who pass the word on to youngsters who do a lot of their dirty work.  New recruits are constantly being tested and brought into these organizations.  In July, 2012, two Mexican Mafia (EME) members, Alberto "Beto" Vargas and Donald "Sluggo" Aguilar were arrested in Orange County's "Operation Black Flag".  Officials said nearly 60 people, many of them young Sureños, faced charges including racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder, narcotic and weapons sales.  

In late 2012, during an investigation known as "Operation Wicked Hand", 27 people including two teens, were indicted and accused of crimes such as conspiring to commit assault, extortion, home invasion, robbery, and drug trafficking in Ventura County, CA.  Made EME Carnal Martin "Maldito" Madrigal was named as the main shotcaller in that case.  La EME controls most Southern California Sureño street gangs even though some cops still doubt it.  In the recent case, law enforcement officials in Ventura County said the Mexican Mafia forced rival Sureño street gangs to work together to commit violent crimes something that they had not seen before.  

Not only are they involved in a lot of violence in prison, La EME is also very active in violence out on the street.  They pushed for young Sureños to wage war on Blacks, not just Crips and Bloods, but what amounts to a racial purge of Southland neighborhoods.  There is also a lot of violence that is directed towards rival Carnales and Camaradas of warring EME factions with a process known as "cleaning house" in and out of prison.

In November, 2012, a federal grand jury in Sacramento charged twenty people in the Nuestra Familia prison gang's Sacramento Regiment, including NF shotcaller Vidal "Spider" Fabela.  That same month, a high-ranking NF leader Alberto "Bird" Larez from the Salinas Regiment was arrested.  He was one of two high-ranking NF Captains who were released from federal prison in 2010. Larez and Henry "Happy" Cervantes from Lodi, CA, (and a former King Co. Jail inmate in Seattle) both faced life sentences in the FBI's sweeping Operation Black Widow conspiracy case in 2000.  Instead, they received 10-year sentences in a plea deal negotiated by the gang's leaders after problems surfaced with star prosecution witness, Daniel "Lizard" Hernandez due to his role in a murder at Cap's Saloon in Salinas.  Cervantes was arrested late last year and charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of two men found in a burning Oakland apartment.  Both Cervantes and Fabela were previously housed at the Lewisburg federal prison and communicated system wide with NF and Norteños in prison as well as out on the street.

The new breed of prison gang members today are more tech savvy and they make brand new networks.  A recent Federal investigation into the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) uncovered cooperation between them and the Mexican Gulf Cartel.  ABT James "Flounder" Sharron confessed to serving as a go-between for the gang and the notorious drug trafficking organization.  Sharron also admitted to moving hundreds of pounds of meth over the border into Texas for distribution.  Prison gangs are also very hard to break up because they often reinvent themselves with new members and leaders.  In late 2012, the Feds once again claimed they dealt "a devastating blow to the leadership of ABT."  

However, despite numerous federal prosecutions anything short of the death penalty seems like little deterrent for groups and members that get more power from going to prison and doing time.  They also get a chance to meet during trials and communicate via their case lawyers. Several members of the AB Commission in California and their aligned counterparts in the Feds were targeted for a RICO case trial that started in 2006. One longtime AB shotcaller, Barry "Red Baron" Mills, allegedly ordered, authorized or carried out 15 murders and very likely has ordered even more since.  During the trial AB were able to catch up on penitentiary politics, find out who was still with the Brand, and who was out in bad standings. 

Authorities often claim that shipping members out of state takes them away from their power base, but the truth is it often expands it.  As they get shipped out of state, prison gangs like the AB recruit younger members or new gangs may form to emulate them or protect themselves from them.  It should be noted that the California AB started first and is separate from the ABT; they are similar in nature and name but generally don’t like the other faction. They may tolerate each other especially if it is a racial issue against Blacks.

A violent gang war also appears to have taken over parts of an Idaho private prison with some inmates contending prison officials ceded control to gang leaders in an effort to save money on staffing.  Officers who work private prisons are also generally not paid as well as in state facilities.  Eight inmates at the Idaho Correctional Center are currently suing the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), contending the company worked with a few powerful prison gangs to control the facility located south of Boise.   Inmates in the lawsuit point to investigative reports from the Idaho Department of Correction that suggest gangs like the Aryan Knights (AK) and the Severely Violent Criminals (SVC) were able to wrest control from staff members after prison officials began housing members of the same gangs together in some cellblocks to reduce violent clashes.

The Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) was the most political of all the CA prison gangs and the most dangerous towards Police and Corrections Officers in the late 1960s through the early 1970s. The BGF was started after the death of George Jackson when he was killed in a bloody escape attempt from San Quentin Prison's Adjustment Center-High Security Unit in August of 1971. The BGF was very active during the SHU hunger strikes and it has also been responsible for a lot of violent crime in the state of Maryland during recent years.

The Texas Syndicate (TS) officially formed at San Quentin and Folsom Prison during the early 1970s.  While the TS prison gang was small, they were the most feared on the yard because of their propensity for violence and serious assaults.  Prison gangs like the TS are still responsible for a lot of violence today.  Even more so are the births of newer gangs like the "Tangos" which are homeboy cliques from Texas.

Next blog post we will talk about possible remedies to help deal with prison gang violence and current efforts to try and break the cycle of membership.