My brother recently was sent away to prison. It is his first time and he is a little bit taken back by the whole thing. I guess he had a certain expection of what its like and it is proving to be way futher than what he has ever dreamed. My brother is 510 170lbs and he is been there just a few weeks and is averaging 2 to 3 fights a week. My brother did some boxing in high school so he is pretty good at protecting himself. The problem is him being white in a mostly black prison population. He has told me this seems to a big problem.That and the fights are starting to leave him somewhat busted up having to try and fight someone fresh everytime. He told me that another guy he came in with also white who had a problem with drugs has already quit trying to protect himself.My brother knows that sooner or later they will have to get tired of the trash talk and the fighting he just hopes its sooner.Can you not trust the other races at all in prison?

From what I hear, the races are kept pretty separate in the prisons just for reasons like your brother is having trouble with. I'm not sure why they put two white guys in that position. I'm sure others here can answer your questions better.

Welcome to PTO! We're glad to have you with us and you'll find lots of good information and support here. Try posting questions about this in the Georgia forum and maybe someone will have suggestions there about how he can avoid this problem.

I did time at MDC Los Angeles. On arrival, they put me in a two-man cell with a huge black bodybuilder that wanted to kill me. When I got back from court the next day, I had been moved to another cell with another white inmate. They are aware of racial difficulties, but it is up to you to make peace with as many people as you can regardless of race. I started conversations with black guys and found they didn't want too much confrontation either. I started an informal yoga and meditation class which everyone came to; blacks, Mexicans, Russian mafia, even white rednecks like me. Use what you have, pray and pray for those you are threatened by.

Even the people who are outwardly hostile would rather do something positive while locked up.

I was recently released from an Oklahoma penitentiary. ODOC assigns cell partners "randomly". We were asked to fill out a "Housing Assignment Form" asking us if we had any known enemies or racial differences. However, we were threatened with loss of earned credit level if we refused to house with someone we didn't want to.

The advice given to me was - "Keep to your own and mind your own business". That seemed to work for me just fine.

It was a strange sight though...seeing a dining hall divided right down the middle - one side for whites and one side for "others".

Hope this helps!

Does your brother have any tattos that might make the CO's think that he might be affilaited with a black gang on the outside? Sometimes they do "mix races" for that reason

My first question is, how old is this guy. This sounds like something that goes on in juvenile camps. I am not saying that it does not happen in other prisons, but by far most fighting are amongst younger boys, many of whom have aggressive nature, as teenagers of all races are. I was down in jail for almost a year before my sentence, and by far the most fights were with juvies. And many times, when a white teen is placed in a cell with blacks, a fight usually breaks out. The problem is that the officers KNEW this would happen, and did it anyway. This open up a clear case of neglect, which is contradicting the role of the officer. The officer's duty is first to establish protection and peace. Those officers knew what they were doing was wrong. This also opens the door for some easy lawsuits, because the state prison system still has a responsibility to protect every personin jail. This is a very, very serious problem, and I think you need to move on this immediately. That guy did not lose his right to protection just because he was sent to prison. If he is not the cause of the fights, it is clearly the responsiblity of the prison to protect him. If he requests to be moved, or placed in protective custody, they should look into it. He can also file a grievance stating his case, but most prisons don't handle the grievances fairly. I suggest you getting on the typewriter and getting some letters out immediately to prison officials or congressmen. If he is a teen, and have already been in 2 or 3 fights, how many more before something very, very serious happens? And when it does, I guarantee you that the prison will not fault themselves, they will fault him. If something happens and he defends himself, and it results in him killing someone, even if by accident, the prison will not see it that way, and he could end up doing 20 years or more. Trust me, that has happened; guys can catch more time while doing time. I don't even want to give you the other extreme of who could be killed. He should not have to deal with any of that, and one of the prisons main goals is to insure security. If I may be so bold, get him some help immediately before it is too late. That sounds extreme, but I would much rather say it now than sit here apoligizing to you about what can happen.