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Published Sep 12, 2024

1048: Shaun Attwood | From Raves to Riches to Ruin Part Two

Shaun Attwood reveals the brutal realities of prison life, detailing his transformation from a drug kingpin to a prison reform advocate, while critiquing the profit-driven motives of the American prison system.
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  • Gang Rules

    Shaun Attwood explains the rigid social codes and racial segregation that govern prison life. He shares an experience where he was reprimanded for working out with an inmate from a different racial group, highlighting the strict enforcement of these unwritten rules. Shaun also recounts the story of a fellow inmate serving 144 years for a series of murders, emphasizing the extreme violence that permeates the prison environment 1 2.

    You can't go and sit with the other races on the tables in the day room. So there's 45 men in an area designed for 15.

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    These dynamics create a tense and dangerous atmosphere where inmates must constantly navigate complex social hierarchies to survive.

       

    Survival Tactics

    Survival in prison requires adherence to a brutal set of rules and the ability to defend oneself at all times. Shaun Attwood describes how inmates must fight back immediately if insulted or attacked to avoid being targeted by their own racial group. He also shares his experience of writing a blog in prison, which led to threats on his life from other inmates who viewed it as snitching 3 4.

    If someone hits you or calls you a punk or a bitch, you have to go in the cell, in the stirs and fight them right away. Otherwise everyone of your race is gonna batter you.

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    Despite these dangers, Shaun managed to continue his writing, using it as a means to document the harsh realities of prison life and advocate for reform.

       

    Mental Resilience

    Mental resilience is crucial for surviving the psychological toll of long-term incarceration. Shaun Attwood discusses how he redirected his addictive personality towards positive activities like yoga and exercise to maintain his sanity. He also turned his prison sentence into an educational opportunity, reading over a thousand books to expand his knowledge and address the root causes of his criminal behavior 5 6.

    If you're not moving, you're destabilizing the physical, which destabilizes the mental.

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    These strategies not only helped him cope with the stress of prison life but also facilitated his personal growth and transformation.

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