Additionally, a majority (54%) say they have felt stressed frequently in the past month and approximately a third felt helpless or sad (35%) or fearful (30%). He refused to take me to medical. When I went to the shower, the officer setting up my food spit in it. Murder rate suicide drugs corruption fight nights inhumane conditions restricted access to legal restricted access to family communication restricted access to medical restricted access to food staff abuse staff corruption man we experienced all that s*** and the f***** up part about it is is most of us came out of there like okay I survived that s*** and it was like a ride of passage you know I used to wear that s*** on my shoulder like a badge of honor now as Im older I realize that was just a coping mechanism for me to be able to accept and justify and understand the abuse that I went through that we all went through its not a badge of honor it was f***** up and it f***** us all up for life and most of you on here said the same thing that Im about to say right now whoevers not here right now which is very few of us are dead or in prison for life and thats what happened to all of us weve been left out of the system no one gives a f*** about all the abuse we went through and theres no m************ lawsuit for us f*** that mother f****** s*** I was in nrcc Chad Carl holton preston dewitt Nelson I experienced all that s*** so f*** you mother f****** gavin newsom and f*** all this b******* California lawsuits for m************ that experienced a tenth of the f****** abuse that we experienced and theyre getting paid but we just get left out f*** that s*** anyone wants to come together with me Im starting to coalition and were going to f****** rise up against this s*** and I got some attorneys on the team right now and were going to do this s*** email me [email protected]. I remember being referred to as a YA baby in prison due to going to CYA and consequently it came with a reputation to live up to. And most of the time he just couldnt even talk about it as an adult. Its 2022 and still feels like yesterday. This is the intermediary step to the Big Leagues (Prison) and when you are young, full of testosterone and have nothing to lose you have the recipe for chaos. I said, Come here, man. Shoulder to shoulder we hugged each other It worked. They was tim was able to engage me was life changing. Yolo I am a rehabilitated productive ex gangmember in society. I was trying to get out. did the night rounds and knocked on my door. Im sure itll be criticized and debated, but its an attempt.. CDS Code. As reluctant as I was I agreed as a vacation away from ts and chad. Fresh war. He punched me in my ribs. And he died on Friday, Aug 13, 2021. I am 1%/1000 that made it in life. Id never seen that before. So, it was just my Dad and me. I get on the floor where theres a crack under the door and Im hearing the officers say shes hot. If the images or a settlement of some kind because of the abuse us wards went through while there if you have information at all on the lawsuit thats pending or was in the past that I could get compensation for please e-mail me at [email protected] thanks my name is Greg Fawcett, I was on K&L for 7 years 86-92.. YTS saved my life. Its not allowed. Fucked up place but it made me who I am today a solid motherfuker. When youre a Black Hand in the Mexican Mafia, you cannot theres no rape. Then Chad lol. Youre kind of small. He would go to the girls room, give her some new shoes. Due to the fact that I was locked up so many times, its hard for me. When I was in the hole, it was dark. He made excellent money. Once I went to prison and became who I was, honestly, I had so much anger. It became a party house. I would like to find out the answers for my two sons. Youth Authority: California: Directed by Gabriel London. Provide students with a learning environment that provides them . In this episode, Adrin (not his real name) ascends the ranks of La Eme The Mexican Mafia as he trades violence as currency in seeking shelter from the swelling corruption he witnesses within the California Youth Authority. Adrin isnt a snitch. Among the picnickers who gathered at Yucaipa Community Park in Yucaipa, California for the reunion, was John Berge. The schools are run by the county offices of education . Reeve said the violence and lack of reform forced the state to close it. 16 years to life. I spent Two years in Gladiator School..California youth authority. Dec. 24, 1999 12 AM PT. He would ask, What type of shoe do you wear? My Dad had a good job. Its hard but Im making it. At night peeping counselors at shower windows outside. These changes to the system are a result of Senate Bill 823, which Gov. Was there medical experimentation going on at that facility in the 1970s. I fought like a man. These were juveniles. His name was Tim. The California Youth Authority (CYA), now known as the California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), is a division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that provides education, training, and treatment services for California's most serious juvenile offenders between the ages of 12 - 25. Instead of him helping me out, the psych made it worse. It was corrupt, it was horrible, and we continue to inch our way forward into more progressive forms of discipline and rehabilitation, and Im happy to see that, Reeve said. I wasnt afraid. It made me very happy because that meant I could stay at Ventura. The California Youth Authority no longer exists because it was the most brutal and abusive environment known to any juvenile detention facility in the United States of . A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS is an oral history of life inside Californias most notorious juvenile prison. Children were hardened for survival at YTS, only to be returned to the streets more troubled and volatile than when they arrived. It came back and around and stopped, then the shooting started. I even went back to his cell to pay respect and to let him know I new what happen. Gavin Newsom has announced the proposed closure of the state's three youth detention centers including the one in Ventura County in the . It was normal. Get the california youth authority . I didnt see my Mom for six months. Ill give you the toilet paper when I want to, not when you need it., I was a little bit scared. Convicted 1985. CYA has also . More details about California Youth Authority According to our records, this business is located at 31 E Channel St Ste 112 in Stockton (in San Joaquin County), California 95202, the location GPS coordinates are: 37.9548822 (latitude), -121.2910291 (longitude). "J" is a prisoner in the largest juvenile-justice system in the world -- the California Youth Authority, a teen gulag with 9,000 inmates in 11 training schools, including the Nelles School, and . Close School, the Karl Holton School, the DeWitt Nelson School, and there . My experiences while in YTS gave me the edge that I needed to want more then I grew up with. My legs were hurting. I try to be positive. There was a student aid in art class. I got those keys on my belt and felt, my god, how things have changed. He bothered some people. 1978. It seemed like bad behavior was expected and respected. Learned how get up go to work at the trade I learned(plumbing). Have faith. It was a job working for the California Youth Authority part of the government, so there was a lot of forms to fill out and questions to answer. CREATIVE. Some California Youth Authority juvenile prisons were known as "Gladiator Schools" by the wards who were incarcerated there. And here comes the Volkswagen. Wards and staff were in physical danger due to the environment, abundance of contraband and a broken health care system, the report said. 1990020102 - 1990-02-05 - neg - staff training center-california youth authority. Working the graveyard shift, he becomes an unlikely father-figure to wards older than himself, as the facility faces closure from mounting costs and corruption. But it really hit hard right here in YTS. When his desire to fit in with the gang leads to murder, Luis sheds his need for protection by fighting for survival in YTS. I tell my Mom Ill do good, but I want to stay with Dad. I did what the California Youth Authority said I needed to do. I had authority over other inmates. Youre fighting fires with somebody whos watching your back. The guy sitting next to her will pretend like hes doing his homework. The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), . MacLaren has a school on site to help students earn high school and college credits. It was weird being back on the units Sacramento, kern, owens, paharo, American, Tuolumne my old cells, the visiting hall, where I would see my family cry ass they left all the crazy shit came back. After spending almost three decades inside California's toughest penitentiaries, Losno paroled from San Quentin this June as a changed man. Beautiful girl, I loved her so much. He would leave me money. Nobody said anything. I get a paper and write her a note and use the elastic string in my boxers to slide it under her door. Had that wall heater in the room that they said didnt work. The overhaul, however quickly it came, has been batted around for years as critics pushed for reform. I had made up my mind many years before, I was not going to be a victim. E: [email protected]://www.freshoutseries.com/https://www.instagram.com/freshoutseries/https://www.facebook.com/Freshoutserieshttps://www.patreon.com/Freshoutseries-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-Please watch: \"Confessions of a Former Rampart CRASH Officer - Fresh Out: Life After The Penitentiary\" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdWStRS4zv4-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- I heard about Fire Camp in 1984. Criminal Justice Journalism in the Public Interest, a mind-numbing level of controversy and scandal, phasing out the states youth prison system, Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS, signed into law on Sept. 30, legislationto close, What Really Happened To My Kids? David William Reeve is an independent writer and photographer who documents the lives of juveniles at risk. Nobodys victim. Advocacy Information [email protected]. I didnt want to work. In this episode, Adrin (not his real name) ascends the ranks of La Eme The Mexican Mafia as he trades violence as currency in seeking shelter from the swelling corruption he witnesses within the California Youth Authority. A county or juvenile facility. "An inmate named Sam was a real problem. He looked tough. In this episode, 14-year old Luis Ortega arrives in Los Angeles, lonely and vulnerable, before looking to South Centrals notorious 38th Street Gang for protection. I explained to them the way you talk to us will get you killed and me in prison for the rest of my life. After doing time in YTS CYA I went right to prison with a LIFE sentence for a gang related shooting and gang enhancements. Some of the stories about this place were true but not all. After 8 years of that crazy world many of my initial responses to little things people would do or even looking at me too long would cause my to go into a mode that I knew was not good. We continue this next episode of difficult but important testimony. Other State, county, or city-operated 24-hour custody facility. Conviction overturned 2009. Everybodys watching TV and Im sitting on the couch. The second part, after page 343, is the same complete Ten But as the dream fades, his nightmare begins, on a journey destined for YTS. I knew my Dad was going to be there. I left with two other friends of mine who were in the same cottage in Ventura. Find California Youth Authority stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. But i was only given 18 months. Rafael "Al" Losno Jr. came to prison during the era when phrases like "battle gyms and gladiator schools" were the norm. After discovering that his grandfather consulted for the prison, he tried to get a tour. I try to help people now. skip to main content. Then covid hit and I havent been back. He bothered some people. Cutting Sam was a felony the only way out of there was to get to adult prison. I got mad at her and said you gotta get out of that class. If I get in a fight with the guy that touched her, theyd move me to a prison. He had gotten emails from former YTS inmates and wanted to meet them maybe even write more about the prison. I went straight into the street life and didnt care about anything. I became a shot-caller for the Sureos gang. An inmate named Sam was a real problem. If I wanted to buy beer, I could go to the bar and put it on his tab. We were tortured in there. The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), . If you dont leave that class, its because you like him touching you!, You have a girlfriend on suicide watch, an officer said. I would love for you to contact me at [email protected] I truly need help with certain things that are happening under the site of Correctional officers. He was there at Chino from about 93 to 2000. I didnt love myself no more. She called Youth Authority and said, if something happens to my son, Im going to sue you guys. They called from Sacramento and they transferred me. When they took the handcuffs off, the guard slapped me real hard. It's called Gladiator School for a reason, when the worst of the worst kids are too young for Prison they are sent to Youth Authority. The C.O. I did not want to hurt this guy. He used to go there every morning and they paid good money. Below is an account of photographer David Reeve's "Gladiator School" project, a collection of portraits and stories of the daily lives of the boys now, adult men who spent time inside one of the most notoriously violent lockups run by the California Youth Authority: the Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility, known as the . I grew up in the system. You either take mess or you dont. The anger I felt, the violence, the heartlessness, the cages, the smell, the water, the blood, the impact of being shot by beanbag guns, the riots, 1 one 1s, broken hands, the tension in the air just before it kicks off, staff assaults, drugs, alcohol, death. These men who survived should tell their stories any way they can. Around 2 o clock in the morning, all the power went off. He told me whenever youre drunk, but you still want to drink, pour your beer out and put water in it. After a number of violent incidents that included themurder of a counselorin 1996 the state began scrutinizing the prison, he said. As of now, he has published seven parts on Medium with more on the way. Since publishing the story The Closing of Californias Most Violent Juvenile Prison, survivors of YTS have come forward to tell stories of daily life inside. close and Chad to work with some of coming back to Alameda County Oakland. He spent 22 monthsat YTS before returning as an adult, working as aVocational Instructor, and later as an Institutional Gang Investigator. I wanted to show them how to make life work for them like I had done. I no longer participate in self destructive behaviors/beliefs and have a career working as a substance use counselor at CRC Norco prison for Amity Foundation. We all road out together. My body is still burning from the pepper spray. Yeah I want to know what all these lawsuits going around where the f*** are our lawsuits I was in that mother f***** for almost 5 years straight I went in a child and came out of man I f****** witnessed and participated in numerous acts of extreme violence all of us even those of us that say man YA saved my life it didnt save your life bro You got m************ Stockholm syndrome all of us for those of you guys that ended up getting raped or for even you m************ that was raping those dudes every single one of us was a victim of f****** abuse and we should be on a f****** class action lawsuit we should be the one saying f*** that s*** if you were in ya in the 90s we experienced the worst prison systems in the United States had to offer second to f****** Louisburg Federal penitentiary back in the 80s. After I took my shower, I couldnt find my hair grease. I went three days without eating. Three days later her body was found in the Chino dumping grounds. I was telling the officer that I needed to go to medical, please, please. They cuffed me up and hung me by my feet in the shower. Child receives a dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine at an event launching school vaccinations in Los Angeles, California on November 5, 2021. When I got transferred to YTS, Im with nothing but men and everybody is sizing you up. We were not going to learn; we were going to see our girlfriends and give them a kiss. I was one of the few of my friends that had a dad. NRCC in 1996. This has repercussions throughout the whole youth authority, statewide. I would love to see a lawsuit where we are the victors not the victims of a broke, violent system that should have been extinguished long ago. My buddy got hit, too. He has been married for 25 years and has raised six kids, including a son who became a LAPD officer. From there I went to Ventura. Rough Times Back then. They like to flaunt themselves, and if you get caught peter-gazing, its rough for you. 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