On the Inside: Rats and Snitches

When the feds prosecute a case they are vicious. Brutal even. Ain’t no pleasantries. They out to draw blood. Inflict harm and all that. It’s like all those defense lawyers are saying, “When the indictment is coming down, it’s like a buffet. First come, first serve. So you better be first in line.” And they talking about first in line to snitch, you heard.

But you know that is just some sucker ass lawyers talking. And they are some bloodsuckers too. Working in cahoots with the government. All they want you to do is snitch, to make their job easy. The majority of lawyers, paid or appointed, will sell you out in a minute, Because this is the feds son. This is the war on motherfucking drugs.

So you know you got all these cats snitching on their cases. Trying to get that 5K1 or rule 35. It is wrong we know. It is the coward’s way out we know. But some dudes ain’t trying to do no time. They never heard of “if you gonna do the crime, you gotta be willing to do the time.” They would rather live with the knowledge of what they did to somebody’s mother, brother, sister then face up like a true soldier. Death b4 dishonor, you heard. That’s on them though. They are the sucker. They gotta look at themselves in the mirror everyday. Maybe everybody doesn’t know about them, but they know about themselves. When they wake up every morning they know they are a rat-snitch motherfucker.

But you know what I really don’t understand. I don’t understand these motherfuckers that be ratting and snitching in prison. What the fuck is wrong with them? They ain’t getting no time cuts in here. Maybe they trying for extra good time. But they must be stupid because in the feds you only getting 54 days a year.

But still you got cats in the feds, be it a low, medium, or USP, snitching on motherfuckers left and right. And they snitching on some petty-ass, trivial shit too. I want to know what the fuck are they snitching for? What do they get out of it?

Let me try to lay it out for you. The kid been around. Nine years in the feds and five institutions- Petersburg, Manchester, Beckley, Fort Dix, and Fairton. The kid seen a lot of bullshit. So let me kick it to you.

You got some chump-ass motherfuckers in here working for SIS. They got the LT’s # on their phone list. Calling them from the unit all stealth-like. Letting the man know what is going down in the unit. Who got the dope and shit like that. These cats is vicious. At some jointz they right out in the open. It’s like snitches-are-US. Like it’s a franchise or something. I’m telling you the feds are bad. It’s treacherous.

They snitching to eat first in chow or to get an extra piece of chicken. Cats snitching to get close to some government bitch. They giving motherfuckers up for a 305 contraband shot. They selling out their homiez to avoid 30 days hole time or to keep that measly 54 days a year. Shit is getting stupid in here.

I seen crews of dudes, supposedly homeboys, doing their thing you know. Making moves- or whatever. One of the crew gets a dirty or something. Doesn’t tell his homiez. The fucker ain’t trying to go to the hole. He’s scared to death of the hole. So he rats out all his homeboys to SIS and they all get pissed. The dirties come back and they go to the hole. But the one cat never goes, He snitched his way out of it.

You got dudes in here always in trouble. Always getting busted for fighting, for wine, for drugs. But they never do no hole time. They never lose their commissary, visits, or phone. They always making some excuse about how they beat this shot or that one. But they don’t ever show no paperwork. And in the feds nowadays ain’t nobody calling them on it, They just let it slide. Times is crazy. What happened to honor? To respect? To integrity?

The convicts in here are very few. There are a little more of what you could call prisoners. But the majority of people in the feds today are inmates. Straight-ass sucker motherfuckers. Scared to make a move or to defy the man. They will drop a note on you in a minute. And they ain’t just dropping notes on serious shit either. Motherfuckers will drop a note on you for a fucking onion, son.

Cats is dirty in here. Let me tell you how they do it. You might have that Grade 1 in facilities or Unicor, The grade 2 dude is looking to make a move up, This motherfucker will drop a note on your ass saying how you about to fuck-up so and so and boom- you in the hole under SIS investigation for possibly months. ”

And these snitch ass rat bastards ain’t only telling for them government jobs. They will tell to get your cell or your bottom bunk or even your pillow, dog. It is sick. They will tell because they jealous of your girl they saw in the visiting room or heard about. They tell because they be hating on you because you get mad letters at mail call. They will tell to fuck up your hustle from the kitchen or laundry. They will tell for anything. It doesn’t matter.

And don’t let these police try to take something from one of them snitches. Like they good time, they visits, they payphones, they commissary. If these police threaten them with that these cats will tell in a minute. They will tell anything. They will make it up. Anything to keep their little privileges. To keep their little luxuries.

And you better watch out if you watching TV too. Because these cats go hard on the TV and a lot of them won’t check you to your face. If they think you are cutting into into their TV time or moving in on their government TV, watch the fuck out. It’s on. And I ain’t talking about no fighting either. Cuz most of these cats is cowards. They telling on you straight up.

Motherfuckers scared to death to go to the hole. If you really think about it sending a prisoner to the hole is the worst thing these BOP people can do. They ain’t gonna beat you up. They ain’t gonna put a gun to your head. All they gonna do is say, “You need to cooperate or go to the hole.”

Big fucking deal. Go to the hole. Don’t give them the power. Be a convict. Take the power back. Something for you players on the street. Go to trial, If everybody stood firm, wouldn’t be all these bullshit cases. Death b4 dishonor, you heard. True soldiers only die once.

Prison Weapon Design

Designing a weapon in prison takes ingenuity, creativity and delicacy. In the netherworld of corruption and violence a banger, shank or slock might be a convict’s only means of holding the predators at bay. Because life in the penitentiary is akin to living in a fishbowl with a cadre of sharks. And all guppies or little fishes will be swallowed whole and exposed. Becoming either a mark for extortion or worse a victim of rape. Prostituted out by a gang for a come up. So it pays to be prepared and take it to the wall when necessary. Here are a few design techniques for homemade prison weapons straight out of the belly of the beast.

The Slock- This prison weapon is the easiest to assemble and has the most accessible components. Basically a slock is a lock in a sock. In every cell prisoners have a wall locker to store their belongings (legal papers, photos from home, Vice magazines, books, toi1itries and commissary) so the canteens sell cheap $5.85 combination master locks, so that inmates can lock their lockers. If a prisoner doesn’t have a shank, razor or banger at hand he can just grab his lock, and put it in a sock, and whack the person he is beefing with. Other variations of a slock include attaching two locks on a laundry issued belt or putting several cans of tuna or mackerel in a sock. Batteries and gravel work too. It is usually best to double up the socks so that the lock, batteries or cans of tuna don’t come flying out if the sock rips when it’s swung. This prison designed weapon acts as a sort of medieval flail or morning star. And a couple of cracks on the dome can inflict serious damage and leave the victim with his wig split.

The Shank- A shank or shiv functions as a knife or cut card as they’re called in here. A prisoner can use a variety of objects for the blade of the shank. Any type of metal sliver or cylinder shaped metal object is the most preferred. The die cast metal frames from plastic chairs can be stripped down, broken up and used. The metal appendages or parts from a mop ringer, mop, dust broom, folding chair, typewriter or folding table can be used. As can a nail, box cutter razor, or any type of screw, pointed tool, or metal object that can be sharpened to a point that will cut or pierce the skin. But if no metal can be had prisoners will use a tooth brush, spoon, or any type of plastic utensil. Just grind it down and sharpen it to a point. Taking sliders of plastic from the big plastic trash cans that/are used to collect the garbage work well. The plastic is hard, durable and malleable. Also wood can be carved down into a pointed stake, or a chicken bone can be fashioned into a blade or a rock grinded, sharpened and shaped into a point. Once the blade is fashioned for the shank this piece will be attached to anything that can serve as a handle. Like cardboard, a rolled up magazine, or newspaper, or a plastic handle from a coffee cup. Also any type of container like a shampoo bottle or lotion bottle can be manufactured into a handle also. The blade will be attached or burnt into the handle, and then electrical or packaging tape can be wrapped around the handle to provide a grip. Or if the blade is long enough just tape can be wrapped on the unsharpened end to make the handle. A shank can be a dangerous and lethal weapon that can puncture the body and hit vital organs, killing instantly. There’s been cases of prisoners wielding sword like shanks that resemble ice picks and reach lengths of 15 inches.

The Banger- A banger can be designed with a toothbrush and the razor blade from a disposable razor that prisoners use to shave. It’s usually best to remove about 3 razor blades from the disposable razors, and then attach them to the end of a toothbrush by burning the plastic with matches until it melts, and then inserting the razor blades and dipping the weapon into cold water, so that the razor blades are set and molded into the toothbrush blade side up. A banger can inflict vicious slash/cut wounds that scar the victim for life. A slash from a banger will cut a persons skin right open and lead to heavy bleeding. Usually this wound is inflicted on a person’s neck, head, or face to leave a permanent mark of the attack.

These are the 3 most commonly made or designed weapons fashioned in prison, but a lot of other things are used depending on the circumstances and the combatants location in the prison. In the kitchen area real knives, pots and pans come into play. In the rec yard softball bats, or even a guitar, or pool balls might be used as a weapon. Pool cues, broom handles, and mops can and have been used as weapons in prison fights. In facilities or the prison factory there are a number of tools or accessories that could be used as weapons. That is why tool accountability in prison is extremely important, and a missing screwdriver, or hammer could lead to an institutional lockdown until the tool is found.

Another favorite weapon or attack mode that prisoners use is to throw boiling hot baby oil on victims. This concoction or brew is usually boiled in a coffee cup and can include any type of mixture of the following- baby oil, lotion, piss, shit, cleaning agents, scouring powder, shampoo, or medical creams like Acne 10, or bacteria cream. This concoction is brewed together and boiled in the microwave, or with a stinger (a prison made heating device) and then thrown on the victim. The effects are quite horrendous. The concoction can literally melt a person’s skin off leaving major skin deformations, and if thrown in the face, or eyes can do irreparable damage. This is often referred to as a devils brew, or liquid acid.

Prisoners are also known to use straight razors to cut or slash, mop wringers to bash an opponent, or even broken broom handles to spear somebody and inflict maximum damage. Old magazines or newspapers can be molded into weapons also by being repeatedly wet and rolled up and left to dry again and again. As it dries it will keep getting harder, and after several times through this process will become almost club like.

Prison is a gladiator school, and the maxim is “boys fight, men kill.” So dudes will go hard to get their respect. If they know a confrontation is imminent they will get strapped up. This entails taping layers of magazines to the torso to act as body armor under a prison issued jacket and taping shanks to the hands so no dropping of the weapon will occur in battle. Prisoners strapped up like this can go at each other like warriors. And the designs of the weapons are all up to the prisoners ingenuity, creativity, and ability to adapt to their surroundings and make use of the things in their environment.

Prison Dictionary
The following is a list of terms and saying commonly used in federal prisons across the nation.

gump- a homosexual, or used as an adjective like, “That’s some gump-ass shit,” as in meaning, its some foul shit.

blicky- It could refer to a knife, or shank, or any type of object like even a candy bar as in “Gimme that blicky” or Aids as in “He got the blicky.”

check-in- To check into the hole or PC, like you would check into a hotel, because you can’t pay a debt, or you need protection as in, “Dude checked-in because the vatos rolled up on him.”

check-in move- This is when you do something in front of the cops hoping to get busted, so that you can go to the hole, because you can’t pay a debt, need protection, or want a transfer as in, “Dude pulled a check-in move, because he owed big money.”

rough it off- To go hard and take, or get something by brutal measures as in, “Dude wasn’t giving it up, so they roughed it off.”

clowned- to make fun of someone in a disrespectful way as in, “Dude clowned him like he was a bitch.”

lunchin’- As in “Dude was luchin’.” To be tripping, or otherwise acting a fool .

hot- It’s used like “That dudes hot.” As in he’s a rat, or jailhouse snitch.

carried- To carry someone, as in “you carried me.” Meaning you took advantage of, or took someone for granted in a bad way.

in the car- As in to be riding as a part of a group or crew. Used like “You trying to get in the car or what?”

man- Someone who keeps it thorough in all aspects of prison life, as in “Don’t fuck with him. He’s a man.”

boy- As in faggot, fuckboy, punk. They got a saying in here it goes, “Boys fight. Men kill.”

Big Willie- a prisoner with status or money as in, “Them Mafia dudes are on Big Willie status in the feds.”

cut- Used like “you some cut.” As in you’re some shit like the bullshit used to cut cocaine or heroin.

kyte- a letter or note sent from a prisoner in the hole out to the compound to let dudes know what’s up, or word sent from one joint to another via a transferring prisoner to let homeboys know what’s up as in, “I sent my homey a kyte about that hot muthafucka.”

in the cut- To be back in the corner, or out of site of the cameras. Used like, “I punished dude back in the cut.”

shot- This is an incident report written by a staff member for an
institutional violation or infraction committed. As in, “Fuckin1 cop wrote me a shot for hooch.” It’s like getting a ticket from a traffic cop except you go to the hole instead of paying a fine.

dancefloor- As in “I’ll be on the dancefloor this weekend.” Meaning the prisoner will be in the visiting room with their people.

get your swell on- to get big by lifting weights as in, “I’m trying to get my swoll on.”

jacking rec- It means to jack off any activity be it sports, somebody’s hustle, a card, or chess game, or interrupt a TV program as in, “These dudes is jacking my rec.”