Page 13 - Convict Code News Today

Convict code is the code of silence. talking about gang business can get members killed. >> they got rules, and we got rules within the rules, you know. among different people or among different races. but we have to deal with it. you know, i cant elaborate too much on it. >> the subject was clearly off the table when we sat down at pelican bay state prison with raul leon, alleged to be one of the leaders of the most powerful prison gang of all, the mexican mafia. >> how powerful is the mexican ...

In every prison profiled on "lockup" our producers have found subtle differences in how inmates enforce the convict code or the unwritten rules by which they live, but one aspect rarely changes -- the position of sex offenders on the inmate hierarchy. >> murderers, robbers, theyre up here. child molesters, rapists, theyre down here. them guys on the bottom deck, most of them guys are sex offenders, you know? i dont like them. i just tolerate them. i used to beat them. i used to prey on them. >> ...

>> how the convict code applies to sex offenders. >> on main line, they walk around and they slide a knife under your door. here, kill your celly or we kill you when you come out.

Apologized that i was sorry i had to do that i was so weak. i was in a position to protect him and i didnt. >> coming up on "lockup: raw." >> a man is attract to young women. god forbid 99% of us are. >> how the convict code applies to sex offenders. >> they walk around and they slide a knife under your door. here, cell your celmate or we kill you when you come out.

Does break out, the convict code dictates how they will respond. >> its a racial situation, you have to respond according to your racial background. if im standing next to this man here and hes suddenly attacked by another racial group, even if i dont know him, hes black. im obligated by myself to assist this man. you know what im saying? >> its a white thing, then you get in it. if its with the whites and another race or something, then you got to be a part of it. but if its something else, i j...

So lets simplify things. lets close the gap between people and care. ♪ the convict code is something weve seen in most of the prisons weve visited. it comes down to you hear nothing, you see nothing, you say nothing. you do your time and mind your business. we met one inmate who observed

Inmates facing sanctions for rule violations. >> on this im going to try to get you suspended sanctions. >> while morgan lived in the minimum security level two section of the penitentiary of new mexico, he was awaiting transfer to an even less restrictive level one prison, commonly known as the farm. >> i told them, its like disney land. oh, im going to disney land. go find a ride. >> the farm is a lot more freedom. its four-foot fences. you know, youre pretty much on your own will. you do what...

The convict code but was also open about being gay, and thats a combination you rarely find in prison. >> hi. all the men in there. hey! kenneth morgan is serving nine years for forgery and drug trafficking when we met him during our extended stay shoot at the penitentiary of new mexico. >> i told him i had more legs than a bucket of chicken. i do, i tell you. >> he was known to most of the prison by his nickname, peaches. >> you going to get a tattoo on your back? >> it says peaches all the way...

For. after a fight in his dorm, surveillance video caught morgan trying to clean up the blood. >> you could be a firsthand witness to an actual crime, but if you live by the convict code, you see nothing, you hear nothing, and you say nothing, and that was the case unfortunately with peaches. he was witness to a crime. but he wouldnt cop to it. >> morgan was moved to the segregation unit pending an investigation into his role in the fight. but he denied any involvement, even when confronted by d...

Different? >> what will be different? well, i have one choice, to live, be out there with my children again, my family. or come back in. or be dead in the ghetto. thats all i can say. and i have to do it. i have to do it. i cant come back. im 39, im getting too old for this, too old. i cant do this no more. i cant do it. coming up -- >> get the cable fixed. >> an old con teaches a new arrival a thing or two about the convict code. >> what did i tell you? way ahead of time, leave that alone, le...