On the bottom of my boot if i were out tending stalls. All of a sudden, they were kicking and kneeing and punching, and pretty brutally at that. Llg he and his cellmate had 22 shanks hidden in their light fixture. I try to make mine at least. 10 inches long, so i have plenta of handle room and plenty of blade. And we turned the cameras over to the inmates so they can record their personal thoughts s in private. Na if you aint strong, man, you going to crumble. Nobody want to die in jail, with their blood and their guts all around their cell. But now im in the state, locking in that tin, waking up at eight, not taking to the weight. If i cant appeal, im going to bring it to these pigs. Grab an ice pick and bring it to their ribs. Leave a scar from their belly to their jib. Some [ bleep ] make it home. Some stay for life. Some [ bleep ] live for peace, and others live for wreck. Look here, blood, you can stay on the humble or you can have a fight to the death. Thats just a couple bars, man, throwaway bars, man. Ya you know, donations, man, you know. Kn thats a dboys life. Carlton wright says he takes the rage he learned on the ar streets of plainfield, new jersey and pours it into rap. Now hes one of more than 2,000 inmates at the Wabash Valley correctional facility in southwestern indiana. Yeah, i had a great home, a c great mother. You know what i mean . But by the same token, when i by step outside my front door, its the jungle. Coming home from school, you may get into a fight, you may get jumped, you may get shot, you know what i mean, may get harassed by the police, but when you grow up around that, it becomes normal. You get accustomed to it, and some may make it out of the neighborhood, if you can see an alternative lifestyle. But a lot of people get consumed in a lifestyle that leads to prison or death. The streets dont give you too many bright endings, man. I ran the streets, man. I did the street life. Im in here washing clothes by hand and eating bull [ bleep ] chips like that. On the street i wear my white tshirtar one time and throw it away. Buy a new one. Here im washing the same damn shirt. You make do with what youve got in prison, you know . The things you think youll never do out on the street is like a luxury in here. This is everything, your kitchen, your bathroom, your laundry room, your bedroom, all in one cell. And you share it with another person. Another broman who farts and pisses and whatever else he does, you know, youre stuck in here and youre forced to deal with it. So you better pray you got a cool cellie, or it aint going to work. Being in prison, its reality, man. You know, people watching movies in prison, and you see them, oh, thats sad, and you turn it off and forget about it, but its our life. You know, we wake up every day i to this, living under these strict set of rules, no privileges, you know what i mean. This is reality. Theres no going home from this. And wright is a long way from home. This is my First Time Ever in indiana. Ive never lived in indiana prior to being incarcerated. I was here for two days before i caught my case. I originally ended up in kentucky, but i crossed the state line looking for a walmaru and i ended up in indiana. Wright might have been looking for a walmart, but his trip to indiana involved more than shopping. R i was pimping on my girlfriend well, you can cal her a girlfriend, female companion, whatever. Yeah, i was pimping. So thats what i was doing from state to state, for income. Ive got good communication skills. Io communication is my occupation. Im talkative, i meet different people. N believe it or not, a lot of people are looking to have a ve good time. My codefendant, you know, was t pretty young lady and basically, you know, sells herself. Sex is a billiondollar industry. Reporter wrights troubles began when he and his female companion met a potential john at their hotel. It was christmas eve. We went back to his home, spent time there. On the way back to the hotel, things got heated and out of control and, you know, she pulled a weapon out and she shoo him. The victim was shot in the head. Wright threw him out of his vehicle and left him for dead, but he survived, and a short time later wright and his a companion were arrested. She was sentenced to 30 years while wright received the maximum 50 years for robbery, bodily injury, and criminal e confinement. But he feels another factor contributed to his sentence. I believe the laws is more stronger on black guys here. I mean, thats my personal opinion. My whole jury was white, you know . I didnt have nobody of my peers, so they probably couldnt understand this type of crime or understand what happened. E they just associate black people with violence. Ha he did it. Th convict him. Id wright believes his race is also a detriment at wabash. Im on the wrong side of the color margin. Thats just honesty. This prison is predominantly s white people, you know what i mean . You know, im not saying theyre racist. Youve got people Walking Around with swastikas and hitler tattoos and it throws me off, like damn, this is their prison. You know what i mean . Theyre comfortable with doing it because its their prison. Gerald richey is exactly the kind of inmate wright tries to avoid. People like to dance around the racist word. Da theyll do anything in the world to not be called a racist. In i dont beat around the bush when it comes to the racist term. Im absolutely a racist. People like to say were in a quote unquote postracial society and race doesnt matter and that race is insignificant. Well, if race didnt matter, there wouldnt be different races. R, all people aint the same, you know . Ritchie is four months away from completing a twoyear sentence for intimidatioof a et peace officer. He is also member of a prison gang called the Saxon Knights. Aryan brotherhood and the saxon Knight Organization are both white supremacist organizations. They both share similar ideologies in their creeds and their oaths and in their bylaws. Saxon knights. Thats another one right there that im most proud of. My saxon knight crest with the bolts. Gh he actually was the saxon knight president for this facility at one time. These organizations start taking possession of certain parts of the facility, such as where the were working out, the Saxon Knights will say they own that part of the facility and no other offenders are allowed to a go on that turf without paying some sort of consequences. Richie and two other white inmates recently dished out . Consequences when they attacked a black inmate. Coming up the three white guys running around assaulting the one guy here. G prison staff break down gerald richeys assault while two other inmates bridge the racial divide. Theyve been doing this on camera, its a jeopardizing situation. Almost 185pa pounds of somethin real vicious and i dont think they want to see [ bleep ]. The game doesnt end after that insane buzzer beater. Because with Nba League Pass on xfinity you can watch the out of market games you want all season long. And with the allnew xfinity sports zone, you get everything nba all in one place even notifications about your favorite teams. Watch the dropped dimes, monster blocks, and showstopping dunks. Plus get instant access to your teams with the power of your voice. Thats simple, easy, awesome. Say Nba League Pass into your voice remote to upgrade for a great low price or go online today. At the Wabash Valley correctional facility in southwestern indiana, prison officials allowed us to give cameras to some of the inmates in order to let them record personal thoughts in the privacy of their cells. Among them was Carlton Wright. Doing sometime a [ bleep ], man. Its nothing but you and your thoughts and these brick walls. You feel me . And if you aint strong, man, youre going to crumble. You know what i mean . Until you walk in my shoes and did this, you cant tell what its like, man. Its hard. Doing time is hard. During his time at wabash, wright says hes felt vulnerable because of the color of his skin. Other prisons ive been at, its more populated with hispanics and blacks, you know what i mean, but this is a heavily populated white prison. Its a culture shock. But not every inmate at wabash is concerned with maintaining a racial divide. Adrian davis and tim harris have found some common ground. Particularly when it comes to personal style. Davis regularly helps harris figure out what to do with his afrolike hair. Its harder to braid a white dudes hair than black guys. So ive got to part it certain ways and ive got to put more rubber bands in it to hold it. My hairs only been growing for five months, so ive only got it braided two or three times now. But its starting to get to the length where i can get it the way i want it. Probably in another month or so, ill be able to do a little more with it. But both men know that their friendship comes with risks. I mean, there are some white guys in here that wouldnt get it. So white guys who do get it, braids, they usually mess with black guys, period. They chop it up with us. They conversate with us. And the ones hon dont you going to know because they either got swastikas or they just got even doing this on camera is a jeopardizing situation for real. People will be like, man, why you do that on camera . Why you braiding another dude hair . You know what i mean . Anything can pop off from this situation. [ bleep ] you know, you got haters everywhere you go. Why do you do it then . Because im not afraid of nobody. Ive got 30 years. What you going to do me that i cant do to you . Im almost 185 pounds of Something Real vicious, and i dont think they want to see that [ bleep ]. Daviss 30year sentence is for dealing cocaine. Harris has ten years for theft and burglary, but hes been crossing racial lines long before prison. You know, you have, you know, your White Organizations and then you have your black organizations, and then you have, like me, im a White Organization thats affiliated with a black organization. It says white boy from the hood. That is where im from. I cant never change where im from. I can change where im going in life, but not where im from. My nickname is i. G. Im an insane gangster. You know, they call me i. G. Been calling me that for probably about ten years now. I mean, we have black members in the insane, but more white than black. Its more white people. Were g. D. S are more our black branch, you know, right there, as far as we are. Were just a branch off of them. Brothers with a struggle, you know . We struggle to survive together, and, you know, were here for each other. Me personally, i dont have too many problems. I havent had words with nobody since ive been transferred here. Its been more or less peaceful for me. You know, i hang out with a little bit of everybody. A lot of blacks, a lot of whites. You know, i meet in the middle with everybody. Gerald ritchie, a member of the white supremacist gang the Saxon Knights, doesnt believe such harmony between blacks and whites is possible. Were two different beings from head to the toe, from root to crown. And were not compatible. We are not compatible. The only time a white dude is compatible with a black dude in a cell is if, a, hes a fag or, b, he wants to be black. Thats the cold, hard truth about it. People are going to watch this on the news and hate me for it. Believe that. And prison officials believe racial pride might have contributed to a recent assault that landed ritchie in the secured confinement unit. What you see here is youll see ritchie, and theres another guy, a guy out here, and basically theyre just hanging out. They already know whats playing. I mean it was premeditated. The men are waiting for a black inmate to exit his cell. Hes immediately met by ritchie. He was actually standing at his door waiting for the door to be opened. And he assaults him and chases him around with another this guy here is just kind of being a spectator at this point. Youll see another inmate come running from this side that also aids. Now youve got the three white guys running around, assaulting the one guy here. And finally, they corner him and get him down and all three of them get on him before the officers can actually respond and activate their chemical agents. The victim received treatment at a nearby hospital and ritchie was transferred to the segregation unit. He has been extremely disruptive and disorderly in our general population. And ive given him multiple chances, so thats the reason i chose to place him in administrative segregation. Ritchie feels the prison went too far, and during his interview had something to say to staff about it. With all due respect, you know, to you guys, you know, mind your business, man. Mind your business, man. If im not killing this man or little joey down on the range aint getting raped, man, just be cool, man. Be cool. We dont want no trouble. We live here. Ritchie claims the fight wasnt racially motivated, but over a small debt. It was over a couple dollars. Thats about what it comes down to. There was a few choice words and i really dont want to delve too deep into it because im not the only one involved in this. I dont want to implicate or talk about anybody else or anything of that nature. Coming up this is what i dont like to see. Those are razor blades. Inmatemade shanks and one of the inmates who makes them. If it was big enough to put in your hand with a little left over, it was big enough to be sharpened into a weapon. In my neck of the woods, if youve got a problem with a guy you you you and mind you, nobody nobody calls the cops. You go outside. One of you get beat up. You go back into the bar, and the guy that won buys the beer. My name is Joshua Coffey, but everybody calls me country. Why do they call you country . Because i was raised in the sticks. I stole some copper from a local junkyard, and the proprietor of the junkyard owed me some money, and like an idiot, i stole from him instead of trying to go about it the correct way. Figure i learned that lesson the wrong way. Joshua coffey has served more than four years of his sixyear sentence at the Wabash Valley correctional facility. His job in the kitchen helps him stay focused and out of trouble. Thats crazy. I came in at 4 30 this morning, and ill leave about 5 30. So i work 13 hours. Stacking the line the reason i do it is to get out of my cell, you know, come down here, get a little freedom. You know, eat a little better. The food that they serve doesnt taste bad, but its appeal is horrible. Some of the food they serve us looks like cat food. And im not even joking. I swear, if you put the food that they give us in a bowl and put a can of premium quality cat food and put it there in front of the inmate im not even saying a cat put it in front of a person thats locked up, theyre probably going to eat the cat food. Tonights meal is macaroni, mixed vegetables, bread, butter, and a cookie. While not everyone agrees on the best meal, there seems to be a consensus on the worst. The sloppy joe is bad, but that chicken a la king, oh, my god i was getting the ready to say, i swear you could take a can of alpo and dump it on a plate, and i would rather eat the alpo. Coffey will soon be able to broaden his food choices. He is due to be released on parole in three months and has a message for his future self. Youre a dumbass, aint you . Look, you sitting on the couch drinking a beer right now laughing at yourself, arent you . You idiot nice hands, baby short of being released, the strongest sense of freedom most wabash inmates ever experience is their time on the Outdoor Recreation yards. See that left hand . For the record, we won that game. While rec is a time to enjoy some fresh air and exercise, it is also one of the times inmates are most likely to exchange contraband, including shanks. Tell us whats going on out here. Well, right now theyre patting down the convicts that are going back in from recreation, to check and make sure they dont have any weapons. I guess theres been a tip that there was going to be some trouble. The officers just line them up, pat them down one at a time, make sure they dont have any weapons on them, pretty much as they come back in, and youll find a bunch of times after that happens, theyll find a bunch of stuff thrown in the grass. As the patdowns are conducted other officers walk the yard searching for discarded weapons. Go around where the inmates were standing watching the game. On this bench over here is always a good place. Youll see a shank. It could be buried just right underneath the grass. Thats usually the place where theyll drop it and hide it and maybe kick it with their foot into the grass. They want to dispose of it before we pat them down. This is what i dont like to see. This right here. Those are razor blades. Thats not something you want to step on. Really not something i like picking up. I dont care if you think thats a harmless piece of plastic, but they can literally melt that into here, and then youve got a slashing tool. Toothbrush handles and stuff like that. Theyre quite good at that. One inmate in particular at wabash has developed a reputation for his prolific production of homemade weapons. Brandon siverly has been in possession of multiple weapons multiple different times, which has eventually landed him in administrative segregation. Not only does he make the weapons, but he also stores them for organizations or individuals of organizations. At one time him and his cellmate had 22 shanks hidden in their light fixture. Brandon siverly would craft knives out of nearly any object he found on prison grounds. If it was big enough to put in your hand with a little left over, it was big enough to be sharpened into a weapon. Usually i would just keep it on me because its no good if its hidden somewhere. If somebody comes on to you and [ bleep ], you aint got it on you, you cant tell him, hold on, let me go get my knife. Thankfully, ive never had to use one. Usually if somebody sees one, its enough to keep them at bay. So you dont usually have to use it. I was prepared to use it. Siverly was 17 years old when he and a group of friends broke into a home and beat and robbed the occupant. He accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to 20 years. While at wabash, however, he received an additional fouryear sentence for possession of a dangerous device, a seveninchlong shank. Thats a baby. Thats a baby. Before that, i always tried to make mine at least 10 inches long. That way i had plenty of handle room and plenty of blade. Siverlys history has resulted him in being housed in the highly restrictive secured confinement unit. While he doesnt like it, he does understand it. From their standpoint, how can you have somebody who keeps repeatedly getting caught making mass quantities of knifes in population and keep population safe . Even if that person