SOLD FOR A CARTON OF CIGARETTES

John had no way of knowing what to expect while sitting in the courtroom waiting to be sentenced for his criminal action...embezzlement. Sure, he heard about how bad things were in most prisons, however, he felt that since he was forty-five years old, married and with kids, he would be relatively safe. What John didn't realize was that age in itself had no bearing on what the criminal gangs had in their twisted minds.

John was sentenced to five-years. As he was riding on the "Blue Bird" (prison bus), toward the prison, he began to wonder how his family would make out without his support. His wife didn't work, sure she was an educated woman, but John told her that when they got married that she would not have to work any more. She needed to stay home with the kids as he didn't want them to grow up living on the street as he had. No, his kids were going to get better than he had.

As John exited the bus, he immediately was met with cat calls. Although they could have been anyone of the sixty inmates, John felt the were directed towards him. As the sergeant started barking the orders at the inmates, his eyes were constantly moving back and forth at the inmates lined up at the fence at the reception center line.

"Hey you sweet thing, come stay with me",shouted a big black inmate. He was about 6' 6" and about 275 pounds of solid muscle. Although John was about six feet himself, he was in no condition to take on such an animal.

As John picked up his clothing at the reception center, reality set in. He was scared, real scared! As John made his way up to the second tier, he noticed some real mean characters gathered at the end of the stairs. As John walked by, one old
inmates grabbed his ass. John made the fatal error of cussing out this inmate. John had barely sat down the inmate clothes and was in a semi-bent over-position. Before John could straighten up, three inmates grabbed him and throw him on the bunk. Before John could defend himself, his pants were pulled down and the rape begun. Not one, two or three, but six inmates took advantage of his predicament.

John was left bruised and beaten lying on the cell floor sobbing. Since he was a new comer in the prison, he was wanted by several of the various gangs. The blacks made a bid of 1 carton for him and the Hispanics sold him...