Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates

20. Racism, Riots, and Gangs

123 ATime cover story in the early 1980’s declared the East Texas prison unit of Eastham “America’s Toughest Prison,” a distinction hotly disputed by other Texas prison units. The entire then-Texas Department of Corrections rocked after Judge William Wayne Justice ordered the building tender system dismantled as a result of Ruiz v. Estelle. Without its inmate goons to keep order, TDC was exposed as almost criminally understaffed . Coupled with the mass resignings and reassignments of many oldtime guards and wardens—who had flourished under Director W.J. Estelle’s term—the lack of supervision left a power vacuum that was soon exploited by burgeoning prison gangs. Flexing their muscles, the various gangs waged war for the right to control the prison drug trade and jumped at the opportunity to settle old scores. The murder rates rocketed as the media fueled the killing frenzy by publicly lamenting the records for violent deaths that TDCJ convicts were daily rewriting. Clemens, Ellis, I, Coffield, Ramsey I, Darrington—where a 1984 triple murder in a sunlit dayroom prompted TDC’s first system-wide lockdown as officials frantically tried to isolate gang members—all laid valid claims to the dubious title of America’s deadliest joint. racism, riots, and gangs Chapter twenty 124 Chapter Twenty As prison officials gradually identified gang leaders, isolated them in administrative segregation, and took back the cellblocks, the death rates dropped. The violence didn’t and unfortunately never will. The Texas prison system is now more violent, more racist, and more brutal than it ever was.An influx of young convicts with unimaginably long sentences has created an atmosphere where respect and reputation rarely come into play, and the resulting brutality is more pervasive than ever and contributes to an environment that stifles hope and positive growth of any kind. While it is not as deadly in TDCJ as it once was, it is not because convicts aren’t assaulting one another. There are a few reasons for the drop in deaths. First, weapons aren’t nearly as available. Through the mid-1980s, material for homemade knives was everywhere. The chow halls offered metal spoons. The commissary sold metal fans, and an enterprising convict could fashion dozens of shanks (makeshift knives) from the blade and grill of one fan. Inmates were constantly armed with foot-long, razor -sharp weapons. Now, even officers eat with plastic cutlery, and the few pieces of scrap iron in prison kitchens and laundries are tagged and disposed of—at least on the more violence-plagued units. While a determined inmate can still get his hands on a good weapon—a screwdriver or a honed piece of angle iron from the Maintenance Department—most shanks are short, light, and incapable of killing, unless one hits an eye or throat. Second, the enormous increase of guards means that TDCJ has the manpower to search convicts in a way not possible before. In 1980, two officers controlled a wing of four blocks, overseeing from 750-800 inmates , albeit with a number of building tenders. Now, five to six guards run a wing—one or two on each block, two in the pickets and two turning keys. There are guards on each gate, utility officers roaming hallways or gathered around phones and desks. On units with a preponderance of young inmates, where violence is common, there are enough guards to stripsearch inmates every time they enter the blocks or the recreation areas, especially on medium and close custody areas. Third, the penalties for assault and murder are much higher. Inmates used to kill each other and receive five and ten-year sentences, if they were prosecuted at all. The attitude used to be, “Let them kill one an- Racism, Riots, and Gangs 125 other.” While that attitude may still be paramount, there also exists a separate district attorney who does nothing but prosecute inmate offenders . It is a capital offense for an inmate to kill another as part of a gangrelated hit.Also, all sentences assessed a convict for felonies committed while in prison are stacked on the one he is serving, essentially meaning he must be granted parole on the first, or accumulate enough time to discharge it, before he even begins to amass credit on the second sentence . Accordingly, while the prison population skyrocketed from 39,000 in 1988 to 64,000 in 1993 to a mind-boggling 139,000 in 1997...