 |
The D.C. Blacks is an African-American prison gang in the United States whose members are from Washington D.C. They are allied with the Black Guerrilla Family and some other black prison gangs. The Aryan Brotherhood is one of their main rivals. [1] [ unreliable source ] Although the D.C. Blacks are one of the largest prison gangs within penitentiaries, they are small compared to the gangs outside of the prison system, such as the Bloods and the Crips. [2] [ unreliable source ]
The District of Columbia is a federal district and not a state. As a result of this, there is no statewide prison system or even a facility within D.C to place felons after sentencing as is the case in the 50 states. Since D.C is a federal district, violators serving more than one year for offenses must be transferred from the D.C custody into Federal BOP custody to serve out the sentence in one of the federal corrections facilities. The amount and concentration of these inmates into various systems, as well as the relative concentration of high crime areas in DC and the resulting familiarity of those inmates to one another has over the years created a de facto prison gang. Though referred to as DC Blacks for purposes of identifying the demographic, the actual inmates from D.C that band together, in many cases do not identify themselves as that. In most cases it is simply association through residency and mutual defense and resource sharing between these inmates in the course of their the prison experience. The D.C. Blacks prison gang is said to have originated in the late 1960s or the early 1970s. [3] [ unreliable source ] From being in prison, the D.C. Blacks became enemies with another prison gang called the Aryan Brotherhood, which is a group consisting of only convicted white men. The race wars against the D.C. Blacks raged across the federal prison system in the early 1980s and again in the 1990s when two of the high-ranking officers within the D.C. Blacks were stabbed and killed at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania by Aryan Brotherhood members. The race war in the federal system between the Aryan Brotherhood and the D.C. Blacks started on November 22, 1981 when a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, Thomas Silverstein, murdered a member of the D.C. Blacks, Robert M. Chappelle. An FBI investigation was sparked when Chappelle's body was found dead in his cell at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The race war continued when Silverstein killed the national leader of the D.C. Blacks, Raymond “Cadillac” Smith, on September 27, 1982. The violent campaign against the D.C. Blacks was at the center of the government's 2002 indictment against the Aryan Brotherhood when one of the leaders from the Aryan Brotherhood allegedly ordered the 1997 killing of two D.C. Blacks at Lewisburg with an invisible ink message written in urine. This message was sent to Lewisburg to warn their other members that the D.C. Blacks called hits on two of their members. Messages began to be going back and forth between the two penitentiaries calling hits on both gangs. [2] [ unreliable source ]
Individuals from both the D.C. Blacks and the Aryan Brotherhood have testified in court, giving the public a general idea of what life at USP Marion looked like. [4]
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate that is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has characterized it as "the nation's oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate" while the Anti-Defamation League calls it the "oldest and most notorious racist prison gang in the United States". According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Aryan Brotherhood makes up an extremely low percentage of the entire US prison population, but it is responsible for a disproportionately large number of prison murders.
The Mexican Mafia, also known as La eMe, is a Mexican American criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia did not originate in Mexico, and is entirely a U.S. criminal prison organization. Law enforcement officials report that the Mexican Mafia is the deadliest and most powerful gang within the California prison system.
Nuestra Familia is a criminal organization of Mexican American (Chicano) prison gangs with origins in Northern California. While members of the Norteños gang are considered to be foot soldiers of Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteño. Some law enforcement agents speculate that the Nuestra Familia gang, which operates in and out of prisons, influences much of the criminal activity of thousands of Norteño gang members in California. The gang's main sources of income are distributing cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine within prison systems as well as in the community and extorting drug distributors on the streets.
The United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility, commonly known as ADX Florence or The Florence Supermax, is an American federal prison in Fremont County near Florence, Colorado, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. ADX Florence, constructed in 1994 and opened one year later, is classed as a supermax or "control unit" prison, that provides a higher, more controlled level of custody than a maximum security prison. ADX Florence forms part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, which is situated on 49 acres of land and houses different facilities with varying degrees of security, including the adjacent United States Penitentiary, Florence High.
A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system. It has a corporate entity and exists into perpetuity. Its membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the euphemism "security threat group". The purpose of this name is to remove any recognition or publicity that the term "gang" would connote when referring to people who have an interest in undermining the system.
A super-maximum security (supermax) or administrative maximum (ADX) prison is a "control-unit" prison, or a unit within prisons, which represents the most secure level of custody in the prison systems of certain countries.
Vernon Schillinger is a fictional character played by American actor J. K. Simmons on the HBO series Oz as a major antagonist.
Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio was an American mobster who rose to become consigliere of the Gambino crime family under the administration of John Gotti.
Thomas Edward Silverstein was an American criminal who spent the last 42 years of his life in prison after being convicted of four separate murders while imprisoned for armed robbery, one of which was overturned. Silverstein spent the last 36 years of his life in solitary confinement for killing corrections officer Merle Clutts at the Marion Penitentiary in Illinois. Prison authorities described him as a brutal killer and a former leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Silverstein maintained that the dehumanizing conditions inside the prison system contributed to the three murders he committed. He was held "in a specially designed cell" in what is called "Range 13" at ADX Florence federal penitentiary in Colorado. He was the longest-held prisoner in solitary confinement within the Bureau of Prisons at the time of his death. Correctional officers refused to talk to Silverstein out of respect for Clutts.
The United States Penitentiary, Marion is a large medium-security United States federal prison for male and female inmates in Southern Precinct, unincorporated Williamson County, Illinois. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp that houses minimum security male offenders.
The United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg is a medium-security United States federal prison in Kelly Township, Pennsylvania for male inmates. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. An adjacent satellite prison camp houses minimum-security male offenders.
Barry Byron Mills was an American gangster and leader of the Aryan Brotherhood (AB) prison gang. Nicknamed "The Baron", Mills was incarcerated in the California state prison system at a young age, where he rose within the AB organization during the 1970s and 80s.
The Nazi Lowriders, also known as NLR or the Ride, are a neo-Nazi, white supremacist organized crime syndicate, and prison and street gang in the United States. Primarily based in Southern California, the gang is allied with the larger Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia gangs, and fellow peckerwood gang Public Enemy No. 1. The Nazi Lowriders operate both in and outside of prison.
The "trusty system" was a penitentiary system of discipline and security enforced in parts of the United States until the 1980s, in which designated inmates were given various privileges, abilities, and responsibilities not available to all inmates.
Clayton Anthony Fountain was an American federal prisoner, member of the Aryan Brotherhood, and murderer.
The United States Penitentiary, Victorville is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in California. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system, that has a corporate entity, exists into perpetuity, and whose membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Political scientist David Skarbekargues the emergence of prison gangs are due to the dramatic increase in the prison population and inmate's demand for safety. Skarbek observes that in a small, homogeneous environment, people can use social norms to interpret what behavior is acceptable, but a large, heterogeneous setting undermines social norms and acceptable behavior is more difficult to determine. Prison gangs are geographically and racially divided, and about 70% of prison gang members are in California and Texas. Skarbek suggests prison gangs function similar to a community responsibility system. Interactions between strangers are facilitated because you do not have to know an individual's reputation, only a gang's reputation. Some prison gangs are transplanted from the street. In some circumstances, prison gangs "outgrow" the internal world of life inside the penitentiary, and go on to engage in criminal activities on the outside. Gang umbrella organizations like the Folk Nation and People Nation have originated in prisons.
The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) is an American white supremacist and Neo-Nazi prison and street gang. According to the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is one of the largest and most violent neo-Nazi white supremacist prison gangs and organized criminal enterprises in the United States, responsible for numerous murders and other violent crimes.
The Soldiers of Aryan Culture (SAC), sometimes referred to as Soldiers of the Aryan Culture and Soldiers of an Aryan Culture, is a large American white supremacist prison gang.
The Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB), also known as the Universal Family, are an active neo-Nazi white supremacist prison gang in the United States. Primarily based out of Oklahoma, the gang also has members in federal custody, as well as in several states across the country.