Prison Stories

The Slaughterhouse of the South by Judge

Stepping foot onto the most violent federal penitentiary yard in the BOP as a 150 lb. educated, white, middle class suburban kid with dreadlocks down to my ass was pretty scary, however that wasn’t the worst part of my first experience in the big house. Having to walk through a gauntlet of crazed convicts with a thirst for blood is what made my first steps in the “Slaughterhouse of the South,” fucking terrifying.

“Attention compound!  The bus will be released in ten minutes.” Those were the words heard roaring through the speaker system as our group of twenty inmates sat in the R & D (receiving and discharge) department. What awaited us, was a fate of being unleashed into a prison that was described to me as “Vietnam” by an old school con I met in transit. Following his description, he shook his head and muttered “Good luck kid!” He then merged back into the line of chained felons awaiting transport to one of the many prisons scattered throughout the United States.

The old head’s words didn’t really relieve too much of my anxiety, and when six of the other prisoners sitting with me got up and decided they weren’t going to “test the waters” and chose to head straight for protective custody, I started to shake.

You can never show fear in prison because if you do, they will eat you alive. I did my best to think of something, anything other than the fact that I could become someone’s bitch within the next ten minutes.

Two CO’s escorted us through the corridor of the Louisiana prison, the whole time making jokes about all the violence that occurs in “Pole-lock” as they called it in their southern drawl.

We all did our best to ignore their taunts, chalking it up to the cops just talking shit.  As soon as we looked out the windows and saw the fifteen hundred inmates all converged on the door we had to exit from, their boasts seemed very real.

“If you’re hot, a cho-moe, or a check in, don’t go out there cause they will get ya,” shouted out one of the overweight, middle aged good old boys that was supposed to save me if I became a human pin cushion. “And we ain’t gonna save ya,” said his partner of the same build through a mouth full of chewing tobacco.

They stood at the doors for a solid minute, allowing for an agonizing amount of time for the fourteen of us who remained, to let it sink in that we were headed straight into the storm.

“Well alright. Good luck,” said  the chew-less one as he opened the doors and fed us to the wolves.

There were those same words again, apparently uttered as a form of encouragement, as we walked into a war zone with nothing more than a white t-shirt, khaki pants, and a pair of slip on shoes to help wade through the carnage.

Most prisons will release their new arrivals quietly at night time. They send them off to their respective units so that they can assimilate themselves into their new environment. The new inmate can see who is there, and if there is going to be a problem, they can either deal with it  head up top to PC (protective custody). Night time arrival at least gives them a fighting chance at survival.

USP Pollock went to the extreme opposite end of the spectrum on their view of new arrivals. They figured let the whole compound see who is coming, and if they can’t walk the yard, the slaughtering will be quick and they won’t have to crawl very far off the compound.

The convicts parted like the Red Sea. Inmates lined the concrete walkways that ran throughout the compound. Everyone was there to see the fresh fish and the violence that was sure to follow.

Names of gangs, neighborhoods, and states started flying out from the crowd towards us.

“Bloods,” came from one area. “Dirty South,” came  from another. If you heard your set being called, you headed off to your new prison family. A brood that will more than likely be sending you off, sooner or later, leaking from holes.

“That’s that hot New York nigga from Beaumont!” came  a shout from the mob of inmates. Immediately two monstrous NY Blacks rose out of the ethers and commenced to destroying the tall, skinny youngster who didn’t heed the warnings. I swear I heard cheers bellowing from the crowd as I tried not to piss myself while the rest of us kept inching our way deeper into the heart of the beast.

A group of ten tatted up white boys appeared and pulled the three white inmates I was walking with off the walkway. The fear oozed from the pores of the unfortunate saps as I saw them pulling off their shirts while the vultures circled around them. I had just spent the last twelve hours of my day bonding with the hapless souls while we made our way across the county on con air. I started to actually like the dudes, but not enough to stick around to see what they had coming!

USP Pollock was considered an “Independent” yard. This meant that it was run by convicts that weren’t in a gang. This particular group of shot callers decided that white gang members couldn’t even walk the yard. Any fish that hit the compound was quickly snatched up and scanned for gang patches. If they found one, well, it got pretty vicious.

I continued my trek through the festivities, which included musicians playing guitars and homemade hooch sold out of iced down trash cans for five dollars a bottle. The inmate’s stares dug into my  bones as I silently prayed to make it to my unit before someone figured out I didn’t belong with the REAL convicts and they pulled my card. I was certain at any moment I’d get clubbed over the head and dragged into some corner, caveman style, where my ass cheeks would get mistaken for an all night diner open for all.

The beating and buggery never took place. I got lucky and made it all the way through the gauntlet unscathed. My dreadlocks fooling any would-be booty bandits or preying Nazi’s. No one was sure if I was White, Black, or Spanish, so nobody wanted to jump out there and “test my gangster” until it was clear who I ran with. I made it into the unit, and my cell without a single word spoken to me, and I couldn’t of wished for anything better. This  was only my first five minutes behind the wall of my first United States Penitentiary.

25 Comments

  • Laylo says:

    Lol nice article man

    • David says:

      Can I please know how to find this dude. He writes perfect.my father was a guego in l.a during the status. In Clanton 14.im looking for someone to help me write a screenplay. It’s worth millions. My father robbed over 49 banks.amg I can prove ot

    • Aaron Knill says:

      which Laylo?
      not with the grey hair?
      I used to work with JC on the softball fields, i was the best softball player in pollock the 4 years i was there 2010-2014. hmu on twitter @cbwsolutions6 i’m in baltimore

  • Todd jeffs says:

    I was there from 06 to 10 I made the knife that killed a man along with 100s more I got 95 months for attempted murder in 08 I was known as the best knife maker on yard with multiple stabbings under my belt. I knew eceryone

    • tom says:

      todd i was in c-2 with you you would get moonshine from me ,billy,brandon white dudes in corner room. if your tall white dude from N.Y, only knife maker i remember in my unit anyway

      • Cecil Curtis Oakes says:

        I was on c2 when L got killed pollock was a eye opener for me 39 1/2 yrs behind bars from 9yrs. Old to 46 yrs old been home 5 yrs now Pollock will make u a man believe that for uses that don’t think shit stink. Big un from NWK, NJ

      • Whats up Fla tom? Todd yall this is Springfield I finally made it out in June 2020, how yall been? I been struggling but I’m alive, i live with 3 other fed inmates and we all off paper. What yall been up to???

    • Whats up celly? This is Springfield, just got out june of 2020. Its s bitch trying to shake the pen mentality with all these disrespectful liars out here. They look at me like im crazy or something. Whats u been up to, I heard u got time for that shit with la kid and Eq was singing? That’s true or no?
      Keep ya head up homie

  • DYLAN says:

    Call me…names Dee 540 510 5040

  • Ashley says:

    I was there from 2009 to 2013. I spent lots of time in the law library. Do you know any of the following people there: Rambo, Brian Ratigan, Efriem Harris (aka Base – he worked as tutor in education building), Stoney, Rooster, Mike Estergard, De Mario Griffin, Kyle Williams, Gene Gotti? Some of these guys I was closer to than others. But these are the names I most remember.

    You’re a very good writer! You have an awesome story of overcoming the obstacles to tell. Bloody Pollock! I will never forget that place. I’m so glad it’s all behind.

    • Everyone knows me says:

      I was there with at that time too.i know all those people. When people ask me how prison was. I use to tell people a few of the stories/ things I’ve been threw or seen. Most people dont even believe me and just dismiss me as if I am making shit up. So now I just tell them it was crazy. But they will never truly understand. Unless they end up in a place like that . Pollock was last of a dieing breed. The penitentiaries can never be like Pollock.. not even Pollock. Glad I went to Pollock. And even glader to be out on the streets. I’ll always have some stories to entertain people with.

      • $pider says:

        I was gone 16 years, Pollock was the best prison I was ever at. It’s crazy but I had allot of fun there. I was there 3 years, think I only slept a year and a half the whole time I was there. The other half I was wide awake.😳👀 This is X-A.C 🕷️ I got sent to the SMU after there fight with baby gator

    • Jason says:

      This is Ky I was there with u lived with Buck

      • Max says:

        Sup ky….
        This is La. Max,A-3….these guys are bringin back some memories. 09″-15″ was a helluva ride.had to be a good standup Man to last on that yard.Saw alotta blood through those yrs and several bodies,dude is absolutely right….no more penitentiarys like Pollock will ever be around ….dying breed.shit….it wasnt a bad place to do time as long as you were a straight up dude.shitbagz got the business….Lol

        • Kevin Padgett says:

          Hey , you fools it’s nice to see you all out and fuckin be here too, I seen Laylo up there , ant Tom 05 – 09 is where that bitch earned name , and it does bring back the memories. all this shit on here. WOW , I just closed mine out , over 20 fuckjn years. That’s NOT why I’m here , I have seen stuff that dudes put up and they were fuckin vic’s, ??? I never have too tell you dudes who walked that bitch, but I’d like to remind everyone …. careful what you say peckerwoods, leave some of that there where it’s been for years, it dont belong in the light of day, I got to prison with my mouth closed , and I’m take some of that shit to my grave. Let’s talk about the GOOD TIMES, and the good people. Let’s talk about makin it home, I did two tours then released from Haz. HERES MY SALUTE TO YOU , ALL OF YOU , you know who you are. We laughed and cried together, bleed together and survived together, there and in the rest of the war zones, I LOVE YOU MUTHERFUCKERS, noone understands but us my friends . TO YOU THAT WISH TO GIVE THE WORLD THE “TELL ALL” VERSION OF THOSE YEARS AND EVENTS?? DONT, BECAUSE A RAT IS RAT….NOW , if you’ll excuse me… I got hot pussy and cold beer waiting on me to pit this thing down.

    • Arron says:

      Hey Ashley my name is arron paschal I was there with you, you got me a tutoring job there right before you left. Please leave a message so.i can find out how to get in contact with you

  • Suzzie Greenburg says:

    How can we apply to get our family behind bars a newsletter?

  • Sterling says:

    I was there from ’03 to ’07.
    While it’s a LOT of what you say I think this is a LITTLE extreme. I didn’t feel any angst or anything and having started my bid with 3 years at Elreno FCI you can imagine how people talked about USP’s. And Pollock, the new Bloody Beaumont at that. Lol
    I’m black and white and pretty large (6’4″ 225lbs) so maybe that’s part of why it didn’t feel so daunting to me. Plus I guess I wasn’t technically a “fish” considering I had already been “down” for a few years.
    Sterling

  • Sterling says:

    I was in B4 by the way. And I consider Pollock to be the best place I ever did time. Because the convict code was so concise. There were no grey areas.
    Sterling

  • Daddieslittleprincess says:

    My father just got placed at this facility. I have been trying to do some research to know what kind of situation he’s looking at. Seems like a place he may need protection. Is that accessible? I just need him to survive until his release date.

  • Rick says:

    Polly know had all the perks of a high . You knew your cello was good. You knew the respect was there cuz your paperwork’s straight. C/is let the yard run on our terms and truth be told….some of the best people you will ever know, live there

  • Lilfoot says:

    Its a stressful thought to sit here and worry about a loved-one on the other side of those walls. From the article on here, to ex federal inmates comments an experiences
    In my opinion tell ya pops to never fold an stay on his toes. Dont catch a debt..
    Sleep on his back.

  • $pider says:

    And who is this cat writing that little scary story, Redbeard ? Just saying, that’s the only White Boy I new with dreads around there.

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