The Predators in Gray and Blue
By Jay Goodman
In the past it has been my experience over the years to relate as much knowledge to the younger prisoners that are coming into prison for the first time. When I first rolled up to prison many years ago, your old vets were either called: old school, old head, OG, Pop’s, or Mr. When speaking to one of these old convicts you listened very carefully, because your life literally depended on knowing: the haters, traps, pit-falls, games, backstabbing, who’s who, and your place in this environment. One of the fastest ways to get yourself on a medical care flight or killed was getting in someone’s business. But of course, that’s not always the case, sometimes you put your neck on the line. You make an ethical stand, you let your pride get in the way, sometimes both. When you take this road you let the chips fall where they may.
Once again, I was talking to my law library friend, and together we have really looked at this Texas prison system, and wondered how on earth a place like this is allowed to operate? Throughout the years that I have gone to the law library, I have only gone with a few people who truly understand this prison system. Most people that go to the law library are there fighting their cases. So their main focus is just that. My friend Michael, and now my friend Lowrence Bernal, are usually studying different cases that will help us with being able to combat all of the illegal things that go on in here. My friends and I have learned that the Texas prison system will get away with whatever they can. My friend Bernal has twenty years in the system and was sharing a story with me that happened to him, when he made an ethical stand, and let his pride get in the way.
Bernal has suffered much over the last twenty years, in this corrupt prison system, and I can see it in his eyes, from time to time. He recently told me, “Jay, as I look down reminiscing of the past, I look in the mirror, and I see an old man. Jay, my body broken and used up, mind alert, heart still full of pride. I see the ghost of the past sneaking by my shadows. No one to see me cry.” I think back of how it used to be. To a certain degree it still is, the Texas prison system has just learned to hide it better. I think back about how it was, how fast and violent it was. How you could cut through the anxiety with a knife when you went to sleep the night before. When you got up in the morning, you knew something was wrong, no one had to tell you, you just knew.
I asked my friend, “What’s wrong Bernal”? He said, “Let me take you back in time when the Texas prison system had guards that were in a gang called, “The Blue Bandana Click”. These men had muscles on top of muscles. That’s how you knew steroids worked. Granted this was when we could still join the weight lifting team, so we were no slouches ourselves. I was working in the kitchen at that time, the breakfast shift. It was a Friday morning, I finished up quick, and the weekend was all mine. I left work and went back to my building. I saw a guy built like a Mack truck, in a TDCJ uniform in the picket. I waved at him to let me in my cell, this was at the old Terrell Unit. There were only two guards working; a picket guard and a rover. I didn’t see the rover at that time. I took a shower, relaxed and started getting my dirty clothes together. I’m on two-row at this time and in comes the rover. A woman so beautiful, you can only question, what the hell are you doing working here? She then calls me down to the dayroom. I can tell she’s scared, I asked,” What’s up”? She tells me,” Please, whatever he tells you, don’t leave me alone with him”. I’m about to ask who? When the Mack truck walks through the door. He then tells me,” Go to your house, boy!” Truthfully Jay, I was thinking about not getting involved until he called me, “boy”. So I gave him the universal standard Mexican response, in a situation like this, “Que?” Don’t you “Que” me, get your ass to your cell. I saw the first flames of steroid rage start building up. Was I scared, Jay? Nope, I was too stupid to be scared. Besides the pride issue, when he called me “boy”, “Go to your cell boy”. In response I told him to go “F” himself. Wrong response, “Houston we have lift off.” He rushes me, foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. We start slinging each other around the dayroom until his crew of gang members comes running in. Now, I have four guards beating me, kicking me, spraying me. Once I’m on the ground they all started to stomp on me. I feel my left knee pop, right hip, left shoulder, they all continue to beat me until I blacked out. I woke up to my cellie cleaning off my face with a wet rag. I asked him, “How long have I been out?” Six hours, he told me. Then he adds, man, I thought you were dead, was she worth it? I heard water splashing around. I asked, ”Donnie, are you washing that rag out in the toilet?” At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised. My cellie had an IQ of 58. I tried to stand up, but I felt like I was going to throw up, I’m to busted up to stand, I fell back down. Later, I hear a lady ask me if I was OK. She said her friend quit. At this point, I have no idea what she’s talking about. Each day they would come by my cell to laugh. It took weeks for me to see again. To this day I’m legally blind in my left eye. It took months for me to walk good enough to get around to use the restroom without help or passing out.
After a few months, I got the whole story of why the female officer was so scared that morning. It seems she waved off steroid boy’s advances. So he got a little physical with her, then me. I never really paid attention to what the female guards were going through. When I did start looking at what was happening, I was really disturbed by what I witnessed. A woman could be married and giving off no signs of attraction to any of the male officers. But did this deter your good old boys that worked here? “No”. If anything, it made them act up more. Where else can a sexual predator work and not worry about getting charged for sexual harassment? Touching women, grinding on a woman, showing women their penis, or just flat out sexually assaulting them. Think this is crazy? What about the female guard at the Telford Unit that was raped by a Lieutenant? Then, over a year later, the lieutenant was fired but was never indicted for the rape. She won a settlement though. An assistant warden at the Telford Unit, sexually harassed a female guard, playing like he was masturbating and intercourse, in his office. Even “sexting” a picture of his penis to her. What about the female Sergeant at the Allred Unit in 2015? The Major, Johnathan Eastep, had videotaped evidence against him that showed him pinning the sergeant against a fence grinding his hips into her buttocks. Now that’s some serious predatory type of behavior! Think this is an isolated incident by a major? As Bernal asked me this question, my mind was going back in time to a major that worked here at the Stevenson Unit, named Major Jackson. He had sexually assaulted numerous female guards, teachers, even a lady who worked in our commissary. I have already written a chapter on Major Jackson, over a year ago. So, of course, I already knew first hand that what Bernal was telling me was 100% true.
Bernal said, “Jay, sexual predators have M.O.’s just like serial killers do”. Do you think this is only the peaons or low man on the totem pole with this type of behavior? What about the incident that happened in 2004? When the Assistant Director of the Texas prisons, Sammy Buentello, was accused of raping a co-worker, and groping another, and exposing himself to other employees. Did he get convicted for this? Sure did. But listen to this Jay, he was sentenced to probation, and of course, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice allowed him to retire with his pension. Did he have to register as a sex offender? I’m not sure. In 2003, former prison gang expert, Mary Ann Denner, won her sexual harassment lawsuit. And has now filed against TDCJ, in 2017 for providing false background information about her work history. She was fired for breaking “The Code of Silence”. She should of used PREA Standards, it’s designed to protect anyone from sexual violence in prison. On a low ball number, TDCJ that we know of has paid out $1,033,000.00 for sexual harassment/rape/sexting. But look at how many of these sexual predators have been charged. How do they even start to explain to the taxpayers of this state, what they have allowed to happen. And even worse, continue to happen. Oh, I forgot, they don’t have to explain to anyone but TDCJ. And that is one of the biggest reasons this prison system has gotten away with so much. Look at what used to happen at the Coffield Unit. Around 2002/2003, the Office of the Inspector General started an investigation on sexual harassment. Both Majors were shipped off. During this investigation, Assistant Warden Sizemore was caught stealing from the metal fab.
As my friend, Bernal and I finished talking, I couldn’t help but wonder. What had happened here at the Stevenson Unit some years back, when a sergeant, who was the Gang Intelligence Officer was arrested, for repeatedly raping a young prisoner. It’s not just the women who have been sexually assaulted, but prisoners too.
I have asked myself, over and over again, what is it going to take for the Federal Government to step in once again? How many more people have to be abused, physically and mentally? How many more have to be set-up with drugs or weapons? How many more have to receive fake disciplinary cases, because the prison Wardens, ranking officers, or guards want to look good? How many more prisoners have to starve, because the kitchen Captains are feeding our food to the staff? Or the Wardens are stealing it? How many more prisoners have to be cooked to death, before they put A/C in our buildings? How many more female guards or prisoners, have to be sexually assaulted or raped before something is done, and these animals are charged? How many more of us have to be murdered? When is the Federal Government going to look at the hundreds of thousands of Grievances and Ombudsmans complaints and finally say, “ENOUGH!”
