Description
Module 5: Violence, Gangs, & Special Housing Units
LISTEN TO: COMMENTARY ON MODULE 5
READ:
1) Atlantic: How Gangs Took Over Prisons: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/how-gangs-took-over-prisons/379330/
2) 23/7: Pelican Bay Prison and the Rise of Long-Term Solitary Confinement by Kermat Reiter: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 8 (you can skip Chapter 4)
LISTEN TO:
3) Ear Hustle podcast about living in solitary (30 minutes): https://www.earhustlesq.com/episodes/2017/7/26/the-shu
WATCH: (3 VIDEOS ABOUT FAMOUS PRISON RIOTS THAT EVERYONE WHO STUDIES PRISONS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT, especially in Texas!):
4) The Attica Prison Riot (7 minutes): https://www.pbs.org/video/unveiling-the-long-hidden-story-of-the-attica-prison-riot-1489624359/
5) The Santa Fe Prison Riot (4 minutes): https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/40-years-later-former-inmate-reflects-on-infamous-prison-riot-in-santa-fe/5642874/
6) The 1974 Huntsville Prison Siege (27 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My_RxG0Kl_4
ASSIGNMENTS FOR MODULE 5 (maximum points 50)
DUE NO LATER THAN: 3/26 (revised due date), no later than 11:59 pm
In Chapter 2, Reiter tells readers about George Jackson and maintains that the politicization of his death was a major impetus for building supermax units in California. If you are not familiar with George Jackson, take the time to google him. His book, Soledad Brother, influenced revolutionary politics in the late 1960s and 1970s. The musician, Bob Dylan, wrote a song to him in in 1971 as a tribute after his death, which is quite famous. Listen to this YouTube audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2WfzlskjYc. If you are not familiar with Bob Dylan – google! Jackson remains today a controversial figure among historians and correctional officials.
I would not trace the building of supermax cells and prisons in Texas to George Jackson. Texas was involved in a major prison reform lawsuit, beginning in the early 1970s, filed by a group of prisoners who were influenced by the prisoner rights movement that started in California. In 1980, the federal judge who decided that lawsuit ordered Texas officials to end the system of relying on prisoners to act as guards. Texas, and other southern prisons as well, used powerful, influential prisoners to guard other inmates. It saved the state many salaries! Texas referred to them as “building tenders.” Once the court ordered that practice must end, there was a significant shortage of officers. It took time to recruit and train enough officers to replace the building tenders (of which there were quite a few and they were effective and did not shy away from using force against other inmates!). Much of the research that addresses Texas prisons in that era has concluded that during that year or two-year gap, as Texas officials were adjusting to many court-ordered reforms, prison gangs gained power. The proliferation of prison gangs led to a significant investment in creating supermax cellblocks/prisons. Although there were inmates housed in isolation before gang membership exploded in Texas in the 1980s, gang activity significantly expanded that practice. Each prison system has its own history, and it is critical to understand that history in order to appreciate the present day and prison culture in that state.
NOTE: I often hear student describe books like 23/7 as novels. The term “novel” refers to fiction. 23/7 is not a novel. It is nonfiction. Be sure to start using words precisely! As college graduates, communicating correctly by using proper words and phrases is important.
When referring to authors, like Reiter, do NOT address her by only her first name (she is not your friend) or as Mrs. Reiter or Ms. Reiter. Use her last name only (Example: According to Reiter…….). Using Mr., Ms., and Mrs. Is not conventional in this type of expository writing.
Question 1
Describe what Reiter means when she makes the case that events surrounding George Jackson caused California to build supermax facilities like Pelican Bay. Write 2 substantial paragraphs.
Question 2
Chapter 3 discusses how policies led to the building of supermax facilities in California. Readers are introduced to the transition from determinate to indeterminate sentencing laws. You were introduced to that issue in the undergraduate Correctional Systems class, but this chapter does a good job of telling the story of this transition in a very understandable way. [Think of history as a bunch of interesting stories that explain why things are the way they are.] It also describes a number of prisoner rights lawsuits that California prisoners filed.
Describe Carl Larson’s criticisms of the reforms that happened in the California prison system in the 1970s. Make sure you read and note his several concerns, which are described on different pages of this chapter. Write 2 substantial paragraphs.
Question 3
What does Skarbek mean – see the article “How Gangs Took Over Prisons” – when he says that disorder is the source of the order that exists in California prisons? Write 2 substantial paragraphs.
Question 4
Chapter 5 discusses the important decision in the prisoner rights’ lawsuit, Madrid v. Gomez. Explain what Judge Henderson decided in that case and what he did NOT decide. Write 2 substantial paragraphs.
Question 5
Describe the consequences that prisoners suffer who are houses for long periods in SHU cellblocks. Take a look at Chapters 6 and 7. Write 2 substantial paragraphs.