Big fight

Last night as my roommate and I were waiting for master count, we heard a person (or people) running. We ran to the bars to see what was going on. At first we thought it was a guard coming after someone, but when we looked out, we saw two older guys fighting. There was a white guy and a black guy. They were hitting each other blow for blow.

It seemed like they were fighting forever, when suddenly the white guy turned to run. A mistake. When he turned to run, the black guy grabbed him by his shirt and literally threw him down the stairs face first. I couldn’t believe the white guy was alive.

Before the white guy even had time to stop falling, the black guy was on top of him beating his face in. It looked to me like the black guy was trying to kill him. This whole time the guards were nowhere to be found. I felt sorry for the guy getting beat up.

Anyway, the black dude must have hit him in the face like 8-10 times. I was sure the white guy was dead or at the least, unconscious.

Finally after what seemed like a lifetime, the guard came in. To my surprise, he didn’t break it up. He simply asked the guy to stop. The black guy hit him good one more time and stopped. He was put in handcuffs and lead away.

Amazingly, the white guy got up. I couldn’t believe he was standing. He was actually pretty big. I’m surprised he lost. The black guy had some size on him, but wasn’t as big as the white guy.
As it turns out, somebody stole a necklace with a cross on it from the black guy and I guess he thought it was him.

As the guard was leading the black guy away, I could hear him yelling, “You might as well put me on death row because if I see him again, I’ll kill him.” I believe it too. My roommate told me that the black guy told him he’d been in prison for 27 years.

This blog entry was written at RMC-Main in Lake Butler at the end of March.

Attempted murder at RMC-Main

Ted’s alluded to severe fights in the various prisons before. He once told me how one guy was stabbed 23 times during his last week at Brevard. But this week at RMC in Lake Butler, Ted personally witnessed a bad incident.

I posted Ted’s description of his cellblock yesterday. There are two rows of cells (on top of each other) and an aisle with a wall of windows facing the cells. Ted observed the entire fight in the reflection of the glass.

Two inmates – one black and one white – began to fight. It was pretty severe and went on for several minutes – with no CO in sight.

Finally, the white guy turned to flee. The black guy grabbed a hold of the back of the white guy’s shirt, picked him up and threw him face first down an entire flight of stairs. A CO finally appeared afterward.

Ted also heard on another occasion a CO say to someone in another cell, “What’s this? Oh, this is cocaine, huh?” So apparently a stash of cocaine was found. Ted also mentioned a shank was discovered on the cellblock this week.

Photo: The inside of Lake Butler in 1976 from the FL DOC website. Notice the extra beds in the aisle. Click photo to enlarge.

A time bomb waiting to happen

A little while ago, I wrote about a fight that was four bunks away from me in the orientation dorm. It was the one where a guy had someone else pinned down while he just kept hitting him in the face until they were both gassed.

Well, anyway on my last day in the dorm, both people who were involved moved back into the same dorm at the same time. Not only that, they were assigned bunks literally right next to each other! I couldn’t believe it. I would have thought that they would have wanted to keep them as far apart from each other as possible, but instead, they couldn’t have moved them any closer together than they are now. I just don’t understand why they’d do that.

Already the guy who got beat up is looking like he wants revenge and just like last time, I’m just going to sit back and watch.

Late night fight

Right now I’m housed in an open bay dorm. So everybody sleeps in one big room. There’s about 40 – 60 people in here on average.

Anyway, last night as I was asleep, I woke up to somebody screaming “What the &%$*. Help me, Help!” So I jumped up and looked.

Four beds down from me, this big white guy had another littler guy pinned down and he just kept hitting him in the face over and over. Nobody even tried to stop him. He must of hit him at least 30 times in the face without the other guy being able to block his shots.

Finally, the CO ran in and gassed both of them. Their spray is so strong it affected EVERYBODY in the dorm. I kept choking on it.

When the guy who got beat up finally stood up, he was unrecognizable and covered from head to toe in blood. I don’t even know how he was conscious, let alone able to stand up.

I have to say that was one of the worst beatings I’ve ever seen in my life. After everything was over, nobody could figure out why he even beat the other guy up. Those two people never argued once. They actually seemed to get along.

I’m just waiting to see what will happen next.

Ted told me that at Brevard, a correctional officer told him that a kid was stabbed 22 times one day during the last week he was there. Ted hasn’t heard if the kid survived.

A fight at the chow hall

Last night as we were getting up to put our trays up from eating, somebody from two tables away from me got up and walked calmly up to somebody at my table. He then just started punching the guy in the face and hitting him with his tray.

I immediately ran and stood along the wall because I knew the COs were coming and they were going to gas people. The gas they use is a very strong pepper spray that burns even more when you try and wash it off with water.

I guess the COs took into consideration that people were still eating, so they didn’t gas anybody, but they did throw the guy who punched the other guy onto the ground. They kicked him in the ribs a few times, then handcuffed him and put him in the box.

Problems with the mail at Brevard?

There’s still no letter from Ted.

Apparently other people also have problems receiving mail from their relatives at Brevard, according to Prison Talk.

I’ve heard from more than one source that Brevard C.I. is the worst place you can be sent to in Florida. Fights break out every day.

One person wrote on Prison Talk:

I was lucky to get my son out of there. If your loved one is in Brevard, keep very close tabs on them! If you don't hear from them, call and find out why. They could be in confinement. They are supposed to be able to write but that is not always the case. You have to let people there know someone is watching them...someone is interested in the welfare of that inmate and is keeping up with what is going on with him. The problem isn't "fights". Unless you call getting attacked by four gang members, who are armed, a fight. It's not fights. It's beatings and horrible injuries. Not to try to scare you but just to let you know very serious injuries are coming to RMC from Brevard...very serious.

Another wrote:

Well when he first gets there he will go through orientation. He will be fine there. That usually lasts about a week. Then once he gets into general population it gets tough....at least for the first few weeks. From what I have been told is he will have to fight. There are alot of gangs in there, he should just stay to himself.

Its tough in there for my boyfriend. I havent had any problems with the guards but inside there they are tough on them. But from what my boyfriend says the gangs run the prison. The gangs pay the guards money to basically turn there back on certain things. There isnt alot of cameras in there so there is alot of fights.

A mom added:

My son was attacked and robbed - within minutes of arriving in his cell - by four guys who were armed. Try your best to get him transferred to another facility.