Articles
From prisonerdavid.com
Another Day, Another Hussle, April 2008
When you were on the outs, didn’t you ever want to be a rogue, a rebel, break the rules, like steal something from work?
Being in here aint no different than being free. Everyone in the world is hustling and when you doing wrong, you already know the consequences... entire article
Can't We All Just Get Along, March 2008
I ain’t a racist. But my personal beliefs don’t matter. The bottom line is that I can’t cell up with another race. My people will discipline me, put me in the infirmary.
In California, institutional racism has led inmates of different races to not get along and fight each other over territory or matters of disrespect. It seems almost impossible to change how things have been running for generations... entire article
Pssst. Don't Drink the Water, January 2008
When an overwhelming number of inmates get sick, the Health Department is called in to find the source of the epidemic, which is often linked to high levels of bacteria in the water supply. Pissing in the cup had been an agonizing ordeal; I felt a few razor-sharp pebbles pass through me and drop into the cup... entire article
Cellmates from Hell, December 2007
Living with another man, a stranger and a convicted felon, inside a cage the size of a gas station bathroom is trying. After taking my morning dump outside at the yard toilets, since I prefer to not crap in front of my cellie, I saw Cleve standing by himself, near the bank of phones, sad, confused...entire article
Parole Granted, October 2007
Fuck that parole board! That is why I don’t even show up when they ducat me. I just want them to leave me alone. I’m content on leaving here in a pine box. Will the parole board want to talk about the way he killed his young wife, go over all the gruesome details and relive that nightmare which happened 20 years ago? ...entire article
Suicidal Tendencies, September 2007
Rodriguez opened the door and stepped inside, his shoes getting drenched with blood as he checked Danny’s pulse. One officer close to us commented, Imagine if we could get them all to do this, that would be cool! ...entire article
Sweet Escape, August 2007
Although there is no exact prison rule prohibiting recorders, just as there is no specific rule prohibiting cell phones, possession of such items would be considered contraband, subject to a serious write-up. I was once told by a veteran convict that the best way to get rid of a cell slug, was to masturbate when he is in the cell. ...entire article
Shower Time, July 2007
In the prison shower, I reflect on the luxuries I took for granted at home: Being able to shower alone, without wearing shower shoes on my feet. Not worrying about a time limit…Speaking of sexual harassment, you ever notice the new rookie female guard, Ms. Hewitt. She always seems to stand in direct view of us, when we are showering every afternoon. ...entire article
Idiot Box, June 2007
Lawmakers for years have tried to take away prisoners’ televisions, but prison guards who support this privilege will tell you that the tube is the greatest babysitter. I started to spend all my time out of the cell in the dayroom or out on the yard, disgusted at the fact that Cranky never left the cell; he remained glued to the television set. ...entire article
In the Hole, Part Two, May 2007
You need to realize where you are. In a hellhole, with killers, rapists, real criminals, ese. Sabes que? It’s every man for himself. No honor amongst thieves.
Hey homie, no disrespect, but for one, you got to cut that hair. This isn’t a country club or Woodstock Festival. You are in the joint ese—with men. The vatos will think you are weak, a homosexual. ...entire article
In the Hole, Part One, April 2007
As the cell door electronically opened, I looked inside and saw a buff bald headed Chicano convict, with tattoos all over his neck, throat, face, and body. He looked me up and down, as if I was a fresh piece of steak. ...entire article
Sleepless in Soledad, February 2007
The wife left me once she found out my sentence was 25 years-to-life. My handful of female friends slowly reduced to zero as time passed. They moved on with their lives; got married, had kids.
At the Mens Colony, I listened religiously to 91.3 KCPR FM, the local college radio station broadcast from Cal Poly, to feel like I was not housed in prison, but at a college university dorm. ...entire article
Destination ASH, January 2007
You tell the psychologist you hearin voices, that you see the devil in your cell at night, that you feel suicidal. They gonna put you up for transfer to Vacaville with the other girls who are there, fo sho!
I did lot of LSD. In fact, I hung out with Dr. Timothy Leary, the media psychologist. We organized RAVE parties in Southern California. He told me LSD was good for my mind, it would make me smarter. ...entire article
Evening Dayroom, December 2006
I fought assimilation, didn’t want to change my college guy GQ look to the prison bad boy look. Finally, after 13 years of imprisonment, I now look delinquent.
An $11 can of Bugler tobacco, the going rate at any Wal-Mart or COSCO outlet, can be broken down to make a whopping $800. ...entire article
Institutionalized, November 2006
I’ve had to adjust to years of eating crap food, not getting laid, dealing with misfits, having too much time on my hands.
You don’t need women, man, to be happy. Think about it. They are a pain in the ass, drama queens. More than half the guys in the joint are in here over some woman in some way or another. ...entire article
Soledad's Breakfast Club, September 2006
There is only one neutral area on the entire yard, where you can sit and talk to someone of another race, as a human being, an equal, without the stark reality of racial division — the toilets. Betty Bulldog is the nickname of a rogue Latina correctional officer. She is short, stocky, 40-something, who at first appears to be a lesbian, but has a husband and kids. She rides a Harley to work and is known for being an inmate hater. ...entire article
Momentary Breath of Freedom, August 2006
In the last 13 years I’ve resided in four different California state prisons. While housed in maximum security for the first six years in windowless cells, I never experienced a moment outside past 3 p.m. I missed out on sunsets, the smell of fresh evening air, the sight of bright stars or the moon. ...entire article
Jailhouse Pruno, July 2006
He started mashing up an assortment of fruits he had accumulated in a cardboard box underneath his bottom bunk — oranges, apples, grapefruits, fruit cocktail. He placed them all inside the bag, pouring water and small cartons of orange and grape juice, which we received with our morning breakfast. He finally finished by pouring a pouch of TANG inside the bag. ...entire article
Mischief in the Prison Chapel, June 2006
I soon became a regular, like a drunk at a local bar, babbling about the Ten Commandments, about the twelve apostles, about the book of Revelations and the Antichrist who will be recognized by the number of the beast — 666. I began to take bible study courses. Actually went to nightclubs and keg parties to tell the stoned and the drunk that Jesus loves them, handing them tracts to read. Most people threw the tracts on the ground. ...entire article