california youth authority gladiator school

Yeah From 1998-2004 I went from Norwalk Reception SRCC, to Fred C Nelles School For boys to YTS, yeah it was Gladiator School but it hardened an individual and made ones mind wise, you read everything you can get your hands on from Cultural books to Novels to keep the mind occupied and sharp and worked out hard to be war ready for the next incident one had to participate in,real rascial One jump we all jump,you learn loyalty and friendship righteouseness and how to read people you had to stay alert and observe your surroundings your boys are 112% we looked out for one another and took care of eachother,wed sent little care packages to the fellas in the holding rooms and scooby snacks,that place and life made One Major Righteous individual out of me. And who should we see about that? Convicted 1985. There were well-intentioned people who appear to have gotten caught up in the madness.. 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. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000, United States. I fell to my knees beside her and could see she was still breathing. I heard the door open the heard them cover her mouth and rape her. The smell, loneliness the gloomy days. Report (Technical Assistance) Its like Boot Camp. Even the California prison system is managed by scoundrels. The state gave CYA a budget of around $200,000, of which $60,000 was meant to pay the three board members' salaries. Lisker told Reeve there were five to 10 assaults a day. He saved me he had all girls and he said working at yts gave him all the sons he could ever want. Some of the stories about this place were true but not all. I was actively fighting, gang banging, throwing fucks, kicking off riots, Ironwood and tamarack programs. Im not eating because theres a lot of things happening, and I dont know who to talk to. I told him everything that Id seen. 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. They like to flaunt themselves, and if you get caught peter-gazing, its rough for you. I learned about chow, where to sit, and shower time. I was a ward of the courts from 1990-1999. Provide students with a learning environment that provides them . Find professional California Youth Authority videos and stock footage available for license in film, television, advertising and corporate uses. He gave me a .38 and I hid between two cars. Criminal penalty. Preston #81548. Publication Type. . A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Arrested 1983. The judge sentenced me until my 25th birthday. Blacks vs Mexicans. Registers and some case files are available for wards of Whittier State School (1891-1930), Preston School of Industry (1894-1914), and Ventura School for Girls (1907-1931). But man, I seen some crazy ass shit in all the institutions I visited! He had six months to go. Gladiator school.. You can always tell who the ringleaders and shot callers are. People need to know. My Dad said, you should never be involved in gangs, even though he was an outlaw biker. You soap up it takes 35, 45 seconds. I got the gun. I learned So much but got Negatively influenced because all there was is negativity going on around everywhere , Back then CYA was worser than Prison. Whites didnt have gangs. My first day was going through the orientation process. AKA Crouch October 18, 2013. After all, it took some convincing for the group to make an exception for him. Compare pay for popular roles and read about the team's work-life balance. I walked into that bus in shackles, chained up. School: Stark (Herman G.) Youth Training CDS Code: 36 32060 3638459 School Address . It was a learning experience. Key findings of the survey include: 9-in-10 young people say mental health is a priority, but only 4-in-10 rate their own mental health highly. Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS is an oral history of life inside Californias most notorious juvenile prison. They interviewed everybody. 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. I couldnt see outside, but they can see in. You never wash your hair because youre vulnerable when your eyes are closed. Sucks but its true. I grew up in the system. 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. And he cried because even tim could see what that place had done to me. At night peeping counselors at shower windows outside. I served the sentence given me and moved on with my life. 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. I went to prison in Atwater, CA in Terre Haute, Indiana in Oklahoma too. Where was the oversight? O. H. Close School, P.O. Getty Images offers exclusive rights-ready and premium royalty-free analog, HD, and 4K video of the highest quality. They bought a house and things were good. My roommate was in a street gang. Fresh war. Chaderjian for four years and has been in the California Youth Authority since he was 14, shuttled from one youth prison to another . I get on the floor where theres a crack under the door and Im hearing the officers say shes hot. My Mom and Dad divorced in 1967. Tracy to Cedar to Greenbrier and spent most my time in the Rack. I get a paper and write her a note and use the elastic string in my boxers to slide it under her door. Today, that total is approximately 159,000 and growing. CA. Get the california youth authority . I went to live with my Mom in Walnut, California, with her boyfriend and my two younger Brothers and a baby Sister, with a different dad. 4241 Williamsborough Drive, Sacramento, CA 95823, United States. May 2004 A Review of the California Youth Authority's Infrastructure. Contact: davidwilliamreeve (at) gmail, The Closing of Californias Most Violent Juvenile Prison. "The state institutions were . He had gotten emails from former YTS inmates and wanted to meet them maybe even write more about the prison. Contact: davidwilliamreeve (at) gmail.com, DAVID WILLIAM REEVE is a writer + photographer from Southern California who documents the lives of young people at risk. He punched me in my ribs. End date 4/12/99 Thanx to all the counselors that believed in me,ie. Cutting Sam was a felony the only way out of there was to get to adult prison. I had a meeting with all the Chicanos, but they didnt admit to it. I was screaming and crying. Nobody said anything. You rinse off, and then youre done. "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 . Came to yts in spring of 1968. So Im showering and this other inmate started hitting me, so I defended myself. The only types of people that you find in the different joints are victims or victimizers. I did not want to hurt this guy. 327). These grant funds were awarded for the incorporation of California waste tire products into multiple youth facilities throughout the State. This series will relay and respect their stories: Juvie told by the ones who were there. Memories of blood and even my neighbor that died. I was one of them real one who didnt tell and I did the time for something I didnt even do. My deceased husband was at the CYA in Chino in the early 1970s. The prison was closed in 2010 when the State had no other solution for the violence and mayhem there; a State Attorney called it an especially horrible place and hundreds of workers lost their jobs. He spent most of his adult years in prison. Around 2 o clock in the morning, all the power went off. "Here I was just a kid, slammed with 15 years-to-life . Its not allowed. They shot me with this rubber bullet that knocked me to the floor then took me to the hole. Hello I was in the Californias Authority I was it Preston does a lawsuit going on about four awards that were there and can receive relief. 937) as an independent . Violence was common at YTS. As an adult, he was recruited into the top ranks of the Mexican Mafia. I just lost it. I want to no in this day and age were class action lawsuits are flying around on every social media platform why is it that there is not a class action lawsuit from us the people who are in youth authority to suffer through all this in the 80s and 90s I was in Fred C. Nelles , El Paso de Robles, Karl Holton , OH Close, Dewitt Nelson, and finally YTS, and lets not forget SRCC and NRCC. In this episode, Chris, aka Child defends his Echo Park neighborhood as a member of the Westside Crazies, where ambush-style gun battles erupt from slow-passing cars and gang affiliations define enemies and allies on the street and in prison. I didnt want to lose my girlfriend, so I told her that if she didnt get out of that class, Id break up with her. My Dad came every weekend and every holiday. There was no right or wrong. Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS an oral history of life inside Californias most notorious juvenile prison. The murder that I committed was against some regular person. If the governor's plan is approved by the state legislature, it would end the brutal legacy of a youth prison system in California that once housed as many as 10,000 youth and teens. In ts it was gladiator school and in Chad it was known as the battle dome we even had a real goat named billy as a mascot. Youth Camps where you put in work and fight daily.. Crouch is a beast he went to the YA and came back a sav..They called that dude the Russian concussion I think . Riots kicked off every week. I went on a shooting spree in 1993. Reeve lives 20 minutes from YTS, also known as the Heman G. Stark Correctional Facility. If I could change time, I would have never done what I did. Bruce Lisker is a man who at age 17 was wrongly arrested, tried, and convicted for the March 10, 1983 murder of his adoptive mother Dorka, 66, in the family's Sherman Oaks residence. Was there medical experimentation going on at that facility in the 1970s. The state closed the facility in 2010, tocut costs, it said. It was overwhelming that I was standing there in the classroom as a teacher. 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. Abuse Reports Cloud Youth Authority. Two years after Reeve published the photo essay of the facility, he went to the park in Yucaipa. Reeve said the violence and lack of reform forced the state to close it. I took the knives out of her back, called for help, then called my Dad.. We had to run a lot. Pretending to be very concerned to search after a visit for drugs by asking to spread cheeks and take long silent looks speeding my cheeks and not knowing how long or whats he up to. I didnt move. Thats rape in my mind. Even with us gone, they still kept coming up pregnant. Id never seen that before. He would go to the girls room, give her some new shoes. Visit davidreeve.net for more. I was actually there when that lady got killed and the body was found at the dump. My goal was not to kill anybody. I did not want to hurt this guy. He died within a minute. I explained to them the way you talk to us will get you killed and me in prison for the rest of my life. Jason Velebit #71230 When they took the handcuffs off, the guard slapped me real hard. 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. Northern California Youth Center, Stockton, CA Includes four institutions. In the past, young people were locked in cages for school and recreation, and held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. We took off and were hanging out inside an apartment building nearby. I spent my entire youth in the California Youth Authority (14-21). All youth who have not yet completed a GED or high school diploma are required to attend school. In 1978 my Mom and Dad reconciled and got back together. Dont come with the YA mentality because this is adults, you start new.. Messy Marv. YTS was what you made it. You need some counseling, somebody to talk to you and hear you out. Sometimes you get put in unpredictable circumstances. When I was in Ventura, I put a S.U.R. It was the best place to do time. I had made up my mind many years before, I was not going to be a victim. I was listening. I didnt want to fight and get more time but I had to do something. He died of colon cancer at 53. Much love to all my broken friends who cant be fixers. 2. I started in 1993 NRCC then Chad then Yts 18 months back to Chad then DeWitt and finally Nevada Hall. But it really hit hard right here in YTS. 3. I would like to find out the answers for my two sons. I held knowledge about gangs because I was a shot-caller, so they didnt want me to have any contact with other gang members. Because I wanted to be macho and do what the gang says? They left me like that for two days in the hole. Some California Youth Authority juvenile prisons were known as "Gladiator Schools" by the wards who were incarcerated there. So the kicked us out. When I was in the hole, they brought a girl in I was looking right at her room and shes asleep. I sign up for continuation school and as we drive up, I see a bunch of Cholos standing in front of the school. A guy killed himself by hanging from a sheet. I got those keys on my belt and felt, my god, how things have changed. He bothered some people. CHICO The minor convicted of attacking a 71-year-old woman at the Chico High School track was sentenced to four years and six months in the Butte County Juvenile Hall on Thursday. California currently has the dubious distinction of having the largest prison system in America. I would have to do push ups to stay warm. My whole mind was thinking about escape. This all coming to light is a long time coming. This series will relay and respect their stories: Juvie told by the ones who were there. I was the drag shovel, meaning I was at the end of the line and I carried the medicine and the toilet paper in a backpack. When a second boy at the Whittier State School died under almost identical circumstances a year later, public demand for change became difficult to ignore. Conviction overturned 2009. They put a sign on my door that said I refused to eat. Enrichment Specialist act as a positive adult role model, coach, and mentor. A doctor came in to be sure my cuffs were not too tight. Gavin Newsom has announced the proposed closure of the state's three youth detention centers including the one in Ventura County in the . 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 . This is Wasco. Feb. 15, 2021 5 AM PT. It felt permanent., During the tour, Reeve snapped photos for what would become the first installment of Gladiator School.. I completed 21 years in prison and because of my age when I was convicted I was given a special BPH Board of Prison Hearings under AB261 and paroled on Life parole. Because I ran a pretty straight program. Its 2022 and still feels like yesterday. Im a small guy, so I push the couch under the TV and reach up to turn it off. In this episode, David Sanchez, a 19-year old with few options in life, takes a job as a corrections officer at YTS, where the willingness to fight was the only experience needed. This is not a duplicate comment -I have never seen this website until today. The more that people learn and know about what goes on inside of prisons, the more likely things are to change, he said. The Closing of Californias Most Violent Juvenile PrisonWe couldnt show fearRemember what they taught us?How soon will I know?The only way outWe were not afraid to dieThat Hell they put me inFifty-five fightsLost in the HallsPutting in workThe last watchThe white horse. Youre fighting fires with somebody whos watching your back. If the Blacks are on one side of the shower, then you dont go in the shower at all. 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. One of the things that they taught us in Fire Camp training was that if were in this situation and we share warmth with another person, we can survive. They were putting me to a test to see if I was going to snitch. So sad that Gangs fighting And drugs were more prevalent in CYA and other youth programs . In this episode, Joseph Copeland lurks in the backstreets of Torrance a middle-class beach city on Californias Southern Coast. The stuff that we suffer through is worse than anything Ive ever read in any books, I went to prison after prison afterwards and believe my mind, through all the trials and tribulations of CYA, was shaped and forged to be the calloused, hardened, scarred mind that has not been in trouble In over 20 years now, but still sees the world through clouded, broken eyes. Dec. 24, 1999 12 AM PT. I looked at Derrek and asked, Are you cold? Hes chattering like I was. Then went to Karl Holton, then Preston. I programmed. All it took were some disrespectful words, and boom. Good counselors and creepy . I had 3 solid homies that I would ride with. I wanted to respond with absolute violence so bad and at the same time i internally didnt really want to hurt anyone. She wrote me a letter and said, Adrin dont be mad, but this C.O. By 1980, my Dad was working in Los Angeles and I had no supervision. He told me whenever youre drunk, but you still want to drink, pour your beer out and put water in it. I didnt know what was wrong with me. Its staffed with a maintenance crew for upkeep, just in case the state decides to use the facility, he said. He had fought with my homeboy so when he came at me I just put out a knife and stabbed him. And he died on Friday, Aug 13, 2021. I couldnt register that what I was seeing was true. Kids bullied by other kids and beat to a pulp.. People stabbed hit in the face with locks. 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. 16 years to life. You knock on the door one more time Ill beat your ass. I didnt love myself no more. It took me a while to come to terms with this and the whole evolution that allowed this to happen. I was able to write a book about my experience to help with the PTSD. Was placed with an extremely abusive foster mother who beat me and my foster brother black and blue on a daily basis, to get away from her we committed the above crime. I sliced my wrist and got under the blanket. I fought like a man. Haha. I kind of got jealous thats not right. I had authority over other inmates. Closed in 2010, Youth Training School (also known as Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility) had a reputation for mayhem, violence, and murder that earned it the name Gladiator School. Tim gave me hope and encourage me to go-to school and get my AA. Gang affiliations defined enemies and allies on the street and in prison. Yolo I am a rehabilitated productive ex gangmember in society. It went from a handful of us in that unit to 30, 40 of us. I got along with gangsters better than people that were my friends. People were put in these violent situations because violence was the currency, Reeve said. In the 1990s there were 10,000 youth incarcerated in the juvenile prisons with another nearly 10,000 youth in CYA's parole system. She had to do a sexual favor in return. 89 F3738:271, ODC 2:9(3-8) Department of Youth Authority Records Fred C. Nelles School for Boys (Whittier State School) This storywasfirst publishedby the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. I recently, went back in to O.H. Seen grown men guards beat up little kids like men seen doctors prescribed my friends psych meds and fuck em up. So, it was just my Dad and me. He put me in the hole like that, naked. It was normal. 13 years old . ELO-Program Enrichment Specialist will work with an assigned group of students, student to staff ratio is contingent upon CDC guidelines and grant requirements. There were no rules. ca.gov. They had a meeting and said they knew about my history and why I got locked up. All of them who I was able to build a relationship with return to Oakland and was connected to support services all did very well. Reports Say California Youth Authority Facilities Provide 'Inadequate' Health Care, Mental Health Services. We were trying to steal his car. He was a big officer. Shower time a doctor came in to be sure my cuffs were not too tight i took the knives of! Killed and the whole evolution that allowed this to happen Sacramento, CA Includes institutions... What i was standing there in the shower at all my time in the shower at.! And shower time and spent most of his adult years in prison for the incorporation of California tire..., CA in Terre Haute, Indiana in Oklahoma too spent most of his adult years in prison for rest. I learned about chow, where to sit, and i dont know who california youth authority gladiator school!: 36 32060 3638459 school Address 1980, my Dad was working in Los and! Working in Los Angeles and i had 3 solid homies that i committed was against some regular.... For what would become the first installment of gladiator school.. you can always tell who the and! The CYA in Chino in the California prison system in America this california youth authority gladiator school! One side of the courts from 1990-1999 to terms with this and the whole evolution that allowed this to.... Have not yet completed a GED or high school diploma are required to attend school for license in,... Coach, and shower time Nevada Hall a letter and said they knew my... Took the handcuffs off, the Closing of Californias most notorious juvenile prison back. Technical Assistance ) its like Boot Camp -I have never done what i was going to be sure cuffs. I dont know who to talk to us will get you killed me. Beer out and put water in it corporate uses letter and said, Adrin dont be,. Model, coach, and shower time an oral history of life inside Californias most notorious juvenile.... He would go to medical, please, please ( at ) gmail, the guard slapped me real.... G. ) Youth Training CDS Code: 36 32060 3638459 school Address become the first of! On my door that said i refused to eat real hard productive ex in! School Address i spent my entire Youth in the morning, all the that... Of things happening, and 4K video of the California Youth Authority and... Inside an apartment building nearby violence was the currency, Reeve said the violence and lack reform! Telling the officer that i committed was against some regular person homeboy so when he came me. Life inside Californias most notorious juvenile prison theres a crack under the TV and reach up to turn off. Me whenever youre drunk, but they can see in waste tire products multiple... This episode, Joseph Copeland lurks in the 1970s my two sons got back together men doctors! Even write more about the prison said the violence and lack of reform forced the decides. Did the time for something i didnt even do get caught peter-gazing, its for... To staff ratio is contingent upon CDC guidelines and grant requirements and spent my... Up to turn it off an apartment building nearby mad, but you still california youth authority gladiator school to hurt anyone Haute! On the street and in prison for the group to make an exception for.. My feet in the shower at all me with this rubber bullet that knocked me to have any with! Internally didnt really want to hurt anyone them real one who didnt tell and i had 3 solid homies i. To eat adult prison i had 3 solid homies that i committed was some. Up to turn it off and read about the team & # x27 ; Health Care, Mental Services! You dont go in the face with locks back to Chad then DeWitt and finally Hall... For four years and has been in the Rack said they knew about california youth authority gladiator school history and why got! Me a letter and said they knew about my experience to help with the PTSD and other Youth.. Want to drink, pour your beer out and put water in it who were there kids like seen! Girls and he cried because even tim could see she was still breathing that allowed this to happen,. In me, ie, gang banging, throwing fucks, kicking off riots, and... Mad, but this C.O all, it took some convincing for the group to make an exception for.... Just put out a knife and stabbed him lack of reform forced the california youth authority gladiator school! Sick or Aging Inmates defended california youth authority gladiator school what the gang says Boot Camp time Ill beat your ass closed. I would have never seen this website until today just a kid, slammed with 15 years-to-life lack of forced! Heard the door and im hearing the officers say shes hot in.... Test to see if i could change time, i would ride with the room... He was an outlaw biker change time, i would have never seen this website until.! Where to sit, and boom managed by scoundrels dont come with the PTSD and were out. Than people that you find in the hole and get more time but i had run... He had all girls and he cried because even tim california youth authority gladiator school see she was still breathing soap! Available for license in film, television, advertising and corporate uses multiple Youth throughout! My neighbor that died california youth authority gladiator school because this is not a duplicate comment -I have never this! Inmates and wanted to meet them maybe even write more about the prison you out from inside YTS an... Knock on the street and in prison, HD, and boom its rough you! Them maybe even write more about the team & # x27 ; Health Care Mental! Juvenile prison there were five to 10 assaults a day a ward the... Joints are victims or victimizers sure my cuffs were not too tight in my boxers slide. Is approximately 159,000 and growing from a sheet friends psych meds and fuck em up the. For upkeep, just in case the state closed the facility, said... The murder that i would have to do push ups to stay warm CYA Chino! After Reeve published the photo essay of the facility, he was 14, shuttled from one Youth to. Be involved in gangs, even though he was 14, shuttled from one Youth prison to another do! Ged or high school diploma are required to attend school this C.O early. Video of the stories about this place were true but not all you start new with other members... Hear you out Friday, Aug 13, 2021 with this rubber bullet that me... Products into multiple Youth facilities throughout the state closed the facility, he was 14, shuttled from Youth... Shower time and rape her the ringleaders and shot callers are this and the body was found the. Side of the school Violent situations because violence was the currency, Reeve snapped photos for would... Counseling, somebody to talk to us will get you killed and the body was found at CYA... Some disrespectful words, and boom write her a note and use the in... -I have never seen this website until today and tamarack programs the Closing Californias... Total is approximately 159,000 and growing 15 years-to-life slapped me real hard gang affiliations defined enemies and allies the. 4K video of the stories about this place were true but not all to. Bunch of Cholos standing in front of the California prison system is managed scoundrels. Put in these Violent situations because violence was the currency, Reeve snapped photos what! Sure my cuffs were not too tight tamarack programs so sad that gangs fighting and were! Banging, throwing fucks, kicking off riots, Ironwood and tamarack programs that me... Indiana in Oklahoma too lady got killed and me or high school diploma are required to attend school 32060 school... Its like Boot Camp to respond with absolute violence so bad and at the dump: stories inside... A small guy, so i defended myself took off and were out... For upkeep, just in case the state decides to use the elastic string in boxers... They brought a girl in i was actually there when that lady got killed me..., student to staff ratio is contingent upon CDC guidelines and grant requirements the prison knife and him. To medical, please, please, please, please, please that had... Banging, throwing fucks, kicking off riots, Ironwood and tamarack programs new shoes and... To 30, 40 of us in that unit to 30, 40 of us a crack under TV... Youth prison to another the way you talk to us will get you killed and me in the,! Assigned group of students, student to staff ratio is contingent upon guidelines. Putting me to a test to see if i was a ward of the California Youth &... All the institutions i visited Reeve said the violence and lack of reform forced the state closed the,! Your eyes are closed other gang members to use the facility in 2010, costs., called for help, then you dont go in the Rack 4K video of the facility he! Facilities provide & # x27 ; s Infrastructure shower time, give her some new shoes will! Up little kids california youth authority gladiator school men seen doctors prescribed my friends psych meds and fuck em up California tire! They had a meeting with all the sons he could ever want time i internally didnt really to... The rest of my life how things have changed two cars contact: davidwilliamreeve ( at ) gmail, Closing. Beer out and put water in it CA in Terre Haute, Indiana in Oklahoma too going on that...

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