ATTICA PRISON YARD

[00:00:03][snorts] What's happening everybody? Like, subscribe, hit the thumbs up, and check out plenty of my videos. Everybody, welcome back. And for those of you that have never been here, welcome. I served 17 years straight in the New York prison system. And today, we're going to talk about what it feels like to walk into the recreational yard of a maximum security prison. There's an intensity about it. There's an electricity about it.

[00:00:33]There's a fear about it. Walking into the yard of a maximum security prison like Attica is no joke. And if you don't know how to carry yourself the right way, you might be carried out of that yard. I don't say that to scare anybody or try and Oh my god. That's reality, man. If you walk into a prison yard like Attica and you are not a respectful person or think you're going to disrespect someone, you might be carried out of that yard in a body bag.

[00:01:09]You could be sliced up. You could be stabbed up. You could be jumped. And so, let me explain to you and help you visualize the scenario. So, Adica has five different yards. We're going to stick with Attica to begin with. Uh before I get into that, you could you can go to the recreational yard three times a day. They have three different periods you can go to the yard. They have the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. And everyone is entitled to go to the yard and have recreation.

[00:01:44]Um we'll talk about the feel in a minute and what goes on out there. Just let me tell you about the structure and what you're entitled to do so you can really comprehend how this works. In the morning, some prisoners may have a program they have to go to. They may have to go to school. They may have to go to vocational. They may have a drug program or a violence program they have to attend. So then obviously they can't go to the yard. But there's other people who their mornings are free. They may have programs in the afternoon, right?

[00:02:14]Because everyone has some type of program. So they have three different yard periods. This way everyone gets their chance to have recreation.

[00:02:22]I was able to go to the yard three times a day if I wanted to. I could go in the morning, in the afternoon, and night because my job, one of my jobs was a yard porter. I would take out the garbage in the yard. So my job was out there. So I was a and I did that on purpose so I can go to the yard all the time. A lot of prisoners, there's a certain amount of prisoners that are scared of the recreational yard. They won't ever go out to the yard because a lot of [ __ ] happens out there. Like I said, cutting, stabbings, drugs, drama.

[00:02:55][ __ ] happens in the yard. So, there's a lot of guys that just stay in their cell and watch TV. They don't take no part in the recreational yard. They're nervous.

[00:03:04]Uh, a lot of guys that may have a sex charge, some type of rape charge or or abuse charge of a child, they haven't been found out yet, so they hibernate inside of their cell praying no one finds out about them. They don't want to go to the yard and put themselves on display. There's all types of people that don't go to the yard, you know, and uh so you go out in the morning. I don't remember the exact times, but they may have yard from 9 to about 10:30 in the morning, you know. So, you can go out for about an hour, an hour and a half, and then they have the afternoon, which is you you go out from about 1:00 uh to about 3:00 or something like that. It's like a 2hour yard period. This is Attica. Every facility runs a little different. And then you have the evening where you can go out at 6 o'clock and you can stay out till 7:30 when they have what's called the early goback or you can go out at 6:00 and stay out till 9:30 at night. Might be a little later than that. Might be 7:00. I don't remember exactly, but at night time you get like two and a half, three hours out in the yard, right? And so that's the recreation. Attica has five different yards for the for the prison population.

[00:04:20]A block has their own yard. Block, C block, and D block have their own yards.

[00:04:26]E block has their own yards. That's how many blocks there are in Attica. A block, B, C, D, and E. And each one of them has their own recreational yard.

[00:04:36]When you go out to that yard, uh it's just a square. As you see in the picture right there, there's four square yards.

[00:04:44]Eblock is off to the side somewhere. So, and there's a tower in the middle. Uh, and there's walkways where the officers can walk up top to look down into the yard. And in the corners there are guard towers. And in those guard towers are correctional officers. And what those correctional officers have in those guard towers is they have an AR-15 uh automatic weapon. They have a shotgun, a 12 gauge shotgun, and they have a 9mm pistol. They also have a tear gas gun that launches tear gas canisters.

[00:05:25]And let me just say that I have been in the recreational yard when they have shot someone with live ammunition. Uh, a prisoner who was on top of another prisoner stabbing him. They gave a warning shot and after the warning shot they shot the prisoner in his back as he was stabbing the other prisoner. I have been in the recreational yard numerous times when tear gas was launched in the uh in the tear gas guns. The canisters were launched. Terrible to breathe in.

[00:05:57]Absolutely horrible. Um I've been in the recreational yard when there was small riots like uh 20 on 20. Uh, I've watched the the gang, the Bloods, go at it with the Latin Kings. I've watched the Jamaicans go at it with the Bloods. Uh, in in what we call small wards and, you know, little wars that lasted sometimes a month. They would continue. The prison would get locked down and we would come off a lockdown, they would go at it again, then they would lock the prison down, then they would come off a lockdown and start stabbing and cutting each other again because they had a beef with one another, you know? So the yard, the recreational yard, that [ __ ] is it's it's intense, you know. So let me get to the structure a little bit so you really understand the way this works. When you step out into the yard, the yard is segregated.

[00:06:48]100% segregated. All right? So let me not say 100%. We're going to say 98% segregated.

[00:06:58]And everyone has their own spot in the yard. The white guys have this there's tables along the the the walls of the yard. The the center of the yard is empty. In the center of the yard is grass and there's a handball court off to the side, a basketball court off to the side and then weights off in the corner, a weight room in the corner. Uh uh guys work out outside in the rain, in the snow, everything in the center of the yard is all grass and around the around the walls. Try and visualize what I'm telling you. I'll find the best pictures I can uh and try and post them with the video. Around the walls are all tables. And so the white guys have two tables over by the handball court in D block. I'm giving you exact information now. I was there for many years all over Attica. I was in A block. I was in C block. I was in D block. I never hit A block. I mean I never hit uh E block. Um anyway, all the tables are lined up around the yard. The white guys have two tables. So, and then uh next to that was the Dominican guys had a table. Then the Jamaicans have their own table. The Bloods have a couple of tables. The gang the Bloods have a couple of tables. The Latin Kings had a couple of tables. Uh you know, the Mexican guys and the Puerto Rican guys, they they would all chill together in their one area. They had a couple of tables, right? So, everyone had their own area. And when you came out into the yard, that's where you went. you directly went to your area. Boom. Everyone So they call the yard. There's 150 200 guys that go out into the yard right away and uh everyone goes to their spot, you know? It's like you checking in with everyone. Yo, what's up? Everyone's giving each other love. Yo, how you doing? Because you don't get to see each other in the prison all the time because you could be locked in different areas. One guy locks on 42 company, the next guy locks on 38 company, you know? So, you don't really get to see each other until you go to the yard and you get to see your boys, right? And so, you go out there and everybody is chilling and relaxing and everyone's on point. You know, a lot of times you put your back up against the wall this way because a lot of drama happens. And it happens, one of the times it happens is when people step out into the yard, they set it off right away. They may have a beef with someone in the prison and when they go to the yard, boom, they're stabbing each other and [ __ ] pops off, you know? And so when you go out to the yard, you get with your crew and everyone Okay, so now let's say everyone's out there.

[00:09:25]Everyone's chilling out in their crew.

[00:09:27]Then you have some guys that don't hang out at the tables with anyone, right?

[00:09:33]They don't they're not hanging out with any particular group. And those guys, what they do is they usually just walk around the yard, you know, or they hang out in the middle of the yard. And it's obvious to see they're not with a crew.

[00:09:46]There may be three, four guys. They chill out together every day. They don't hang out. They they're not they're they're not with the the Bloods or with the Latin Kings or with the Jamaicans or with the Mexicans. But let's say they just want to chill by themselves. Three dudes. Nobody's sweating them dudes.

[00:10:01]Nobody's bothering them dudes. If you have two, three dudes that don't hang out with any particular group and they want to hang out with one another, you know, but they don't come over to the areas of the groups. They stay by themselves in the middle of the yard and they hang out. Then you have the people that's called muted out. And what mudded out means is that the population has treated them like a mut. Okay? And they're not welcome by any of the areas.

[00:10:28]Those guys usually don't last in the yard too long. You know, for whatever reason, if a guy is a snitch, if a guy is a rat, if a guy is a rapist, if a guy is a child molester, he won't be coming out to the yard in Attica. He's not coming out to the yard in Attica. not if he's found out about. And if he is found out about, he gets sent out really quick. Okay? Uh and so this is uh now let's say I told you everyone finds their spot, everybody's chilling. Now the group breaks up a little bit. There are some guys that just hang out by the table all night. They're playing spades.

[00:11:05]They're playing peanuckle. They're playing cards. There's one or two guys that stand up around the table. They're always keeping their eye out, watching everything, making sure, you know, nobody's approaching that shouldn't be approaching. You know, if you want to approach, let's say I wanted to walk over to the Jamaicans, you know, because I wanted to go see my boy over there, my man Yush, who's the Jamaican, my man Rusty or Andrew, couple of the Jamaicans that I was real tight with, good dudes.

[00:11:29]When I approach them, their table where they're all hanging out, I make sure they see me before. You don't just walk up on someone's table. You you don't just walk up on someone's spot. That's a violation. You know, they'll see me coming because they got their lookouts.

[00:11:44]You know, everyone has a lookout. Even when the white guys are playing cards, there's two, three dudes just standing around the table shooting a Willie Bobo, but they're looking out. They're paying attention, making sure nobody approaches them. And then so as that's going on, let's say, uh, just use us as an example. We're about 20 white guys hanging out by the table, okay, in deep block. And once we we first go out to the yard, we're all chilling. Then four or five guys sit down and play cards together. I may break off, go over to the handball court, start playing some handball. A couple of the other white dudes may break off, go over by the weight pile and start working out, you know, and everyone's doing their own thing right now. And that's the way it is, you know. Guys are out there, the whole yard smells like weed. Even back then when weed was completely illegal in the country, everyone goes outside to smoke weed, you know, so the yard smells like marijuana and uh you know, people are out there smoking, people are out there shooting dice, people are out there playing basketball, people are out there lifting weights, people are out there watching TV. You know, when I used to go to the yard, I used to do two things. I used to hit the heavy bag.

[00:12:58]There was a heavy bag out there and there was a prisoner named Box and Mo.

[00:13:02]Box and Mo was no joke. Boxing Mo would knock you out in one second. I always love to hit the bag. I was hitting the bag since I was a kid. I used to go out there with Box and Mo and uh Box and Mo used to make me do rounds. He used to improve my improve my style of the Sweet Science. You know, he was really good.

[00:13:19]He was a good trainer. And so I'd go out and I'd hit the bag for 20 30 minutes, go over to the handball court, play four or five games of handball with the fellas, you know, and uh you know that would that that's a that's a prison yard, man. Um but I'll tell you some [ __ ] that happens in there, too. Uh there was a bathroom in the yard. There was a a shower in the yard because inside the prison, you were only allowed uh uh two showers a week, you know. Um, and so if you want, you could take a yard shower every day in the yard. You bring your net bag to the yard. You're allowed to have a little net bag and throw your your shampoo and your soap in there, your shower slippers and a towel.

[00:13:59]You can carry that to the recreational yard. Take a shower in the yard. There were fellas that did that all the time, you know. Um, lot of violence in the yard, man. Let's get to the violence part.

[00:14:12]I'm just talking about I I I was giving you I was explaining how the [ __ ] runs smooth. That's when it's running smooth.

[00:14:20]When you step out into that yard and there's tension or this is a different feel. This is a different animal, right? And so let me explain. Let's say there's tension inside of the prison.

[00:14:34]Like everybody knows everything that's going on.

[00:14:39]Like when we knew the Bloods and the Jamaicans were going at it with one another, they had a beef with one another. A lot of dudes won't go to the yard. They'll just stay in their cell.

[00:14:49]The officer will come around on the go around, ask you, "Where you going tonight?" Dude say, "I'm not going nowhere because they know there's going to be a beef in the yard and people don't want to be in the middle of it."

[00:15:00]You know, I have to tell you this. I don't say this. I was in the yard almost every night. Love the yard. I tried to get out of that cage every time I could.

[00:15:08]Whenever I could get out of that cell, whenever I can get out of that cage and go to the yard and chill with the fellas, I did that, you know, even if there was tension, even if you know, and we go to the yard. And so, let's say you step out into the yard and everybody's back is against the wall, 250 guys.

[00:15:29]Nobody's walking around the the yard doing laps. Nobody's hanging out on the grass. Nobody's in the weight pile working out. Nobody's on the handball court.

[00:15:40]Nobody's on the basketball court.

[00:15:42]Everybody has their back against the wall. And you step out into the recreational yard and you sense this immediately.

[00:15:51]There's a difference because you go out there every night and you hear the noise, the talking, the mingling. Yo, even and pe people mingle with each other. It's not even though it's segregated and everyone's in their own group. I see my boys that are black dudes, give them a hug. Yo, what's up, my brother? Yo, my boys that are Spanish dudes, yo, what's up, brother? What's up? Everyone says hello to each other.

[00:16:10]Everyone's polite to each other. You have boys that are of different races and you get to talk to them and [ __ ] with them and chill out with them.

[00:16:17]Everyone goes to their own table when it's time to hang out. But you get in New York, everyone intermingles with each other, you know. But when you step out into that yard and there's a beef and there's tension, nobody's doing everything. Everybody's back is against the wall. And even of course the officers notice this because prison is the same routine every day, right? And so the officers noted notice the [ __ ] and they're like, "Yo, something is about to pop off. Something is about to go down and there's a lot of politics in prison. So when the situation is like that, this is when all the white dudes, we'll give an example, they all stay together in a group and all the Spanish guys will stay together. All the black guy, everyone stays together in their own group because something's about to jump off, right? In this case, we knew that it was about the Bloods and the Jamaicans. We knew that there was a beef for them and these they were about to settle this beef in the yard and the rest of us are almost there like spectators. You definitely don't want to get caught in the middle of this [ __ ] But so that's why you put your back up against the wall and then the next thing you know everything l and boom someone stab someone and it jumps off and boom it's craziness. The tear gas gets shot into the yard. It I can give you a million stories about stabbings and cutings in the yard. But I'll give you some. You guys like some of the war stories? I'll give you some of the war stories.

[00:17:44]They're endless. I spent many years.

[00:17:47]Imagine I'm in the recreational yard of Adica almost 365 days a year and I was there for many years. The stories are crazy of the slashings, the stabbings, the jumpings, the wars, the officers shooting tear gas, the my own fights that I had in the yard. I had the sickest fight in the yard with a monster. A guy three times my size. The whole yard was watching. That was a good one. Yeah, he picked it because I used to smash that bag every day. He picked the wrong time in my life to fight this.

[00:18:20]There was a lot of craziness in there, you know. So, that's a uh that's an idea of how a prison yard works, you know. Um I'm trying to think of what other story I could tell you about it.

[00:18:32]I forgot to mention the phones in the yard.

[00:18:36]These days, the prisoners have tablets.

[00:18:39]They're given small tablets and they could communicate with their loved ones through emails. We didn't have tablets uh in those days. So, if you wanted to use the phone, you went out to the yard to use the phone. And there was only six phones in the yard. One phone was for the Bloods. One phone was for the white guys. One phone was for the Jamaicans.

[00:19:02]One phones were for the Latin Kings. One phone was for the Spanish guys. And then there was a neutral phone that anybody could use. But there was a line for the neutral phone that where you would never even be able to get on it. And everyone controlled their own phone. You didn't pick up someone else's phone. That was a good way to die. That was a good way to get cut up. Yeah. Even if no one was using, let's say, uh, uh, the Spanish guys, no one was using their phone, you couldn't just walk up to their phone and use it. It didn't work like that. It wasn't your phone, you know. It didn't belong to you. And uh, so yeah, that's the way it worked. There was a lot of beef over the phones, a lot of stabbing over the phones. I told the story uh uh about my man Carl. I'll end with this story just to explain the drama of an Attica prison yard and how fast it happens. I was working out in the weight pile and Carl came over. Carl was a black dude. Had twist in his hair. Old twist in his hair. Good dude. Carl's a great dude. Love Carl. I love Carl to this day. I spoke to him uh well I forget when it was been a while. Anyway, let me get back to the story. Carl had 50 to life. 5-0. He had 50 years to serve. He didn't have anything to lose.

[00:20:33]And he was like 50 years old already.

[00:20:37]And Carl came over to the weight pile to work out, but the someone's jacket was laying on the bench, the weight bench that he wanted to use, the incline bench. So Carl said, "Yo, whose jacket is this? I want to use the incline bench." And this big, huge muscle dude, huge dude, one of the biggest dudes in the prison. And I don't say that to make the story better. He was a big dude, man. And he thought because he was a big dude, he could have a nasty attitude and disrespect people. So he tells Carl, "Yeah, that's my jacket. I'm going to be using that bench in a few minutes, man.

[00:21:10]Don't touch it." And Carl looks at him, you know. Carl goes over, starts doing some dumbbells in another area, but he looks and that dude left his jacket on the bench. He never went over there and used it. 10 minutes pass. So Carl says something again. Yo, can you grab your jacket so I can just use this bench? You ain't even using it. You just using it as a coat hanger. And the dude starts mingling off to Carl like serious. Yo, I told you I'm using that [ __ ] bench.

[00:21:34]Da da da this that. So Carl picks up his jacket and just moves it. And the dude is like, "Yo, what you touching my [ __ ] for?" Da da da. And so Carl steps off and he when he left, I'm I'm in the way pile working out, too. When he stepped off and he left, I said to myself, Carl's going to come back. I know Carl's going to come back cuz I know him. I mess with him inside of the prison. I chill with him, you know, and uh he's on my company, you know, and we we we ate together many times. We hang out together. We played cards together. I know Carl is a good dude, and I know Carl is serious. And I know Carl don't let nobody push him around. And Carl was like me. Don't ever mistake kindness for weakness, man. And Carl left. And he came back with two pieces of steel.

[00:22:25]And I mean, they were as long as a ruler. You know how long a ruler is about 12 in, you know, and both of those pieces of steel, the tips were sharpened to a point and the handles a bed sheet so you can grab the handle. He didn't come back with one of them. He came back with two of them and he put one down on the weight bench and he told that big dude, "Grab that."

[00:22:53]And the big dude looked at him like he was crazy. Carl said, "Grab that. Let me see how tough you are. Let me see what's up. You want to mouth off to me? Pick that up and let's see what kind of man you are. And when he bent down to like grab it off the weight bench, Carl stabbed him right in the throat.

[00:23:10]I never seen Carl again.

[00:23:13]They took him out of there in a pair of handcuffs.

[00:23:16]That happened almost every night in Adica prison. Maybe not a stabbing every night, but there was fights every night.

[00:23:23]There was slashings. There was stabbings. It was it was a crazy place, man. It was an intense place. You know, that's a little feel of the attic yard.

[00:23:37]The stories are endless, man. The stories are endless. I don't know how I survived that [ __ ] Yeah. Crazy place.

[00:23:45]Stay out of there. One wrong decision could get you there. Do you understand me? I'm not kidding when I say that. Pay attention to your behavior. Live in society with discipline, no road rage, no [ __ ] Stay off of the drugs. Get a freaking job. Live the right way.

[00:24:04]Because the next thing you know, you could be on a bus up to one of them spots right there. Chill out, man. We're here on this earth one time and one time only. You want to live your life in a cage? You want to enjoy that one life in a cage?

[00:24:20]I was in there for all my 20s, all my 30s. got out in my 40s. Come on, man.

[00:24:26]I'm still suffering the repercussions, all that. I want you guys to live the right way, please. But that's part of the prison yard. I'll talk to you guys later.