Where (children) are pitted against one another and beaten like animals by public [], Did my tour 03 to 08 cya 88605 was in hall e and f then went to hall c and. In this episode, Bruce Lisker is accused of an unimaginable crime that casts him from the safety of his suburban Sherman Oaks home into a nightmarish new reality and the struggle to survive Gladiator School. This C.O. Editors Note: Since the Gold Rush, Californias youth prisons or correctional institutions have been characterized by neglect, violence, and abuse, despite attempts at reform. The teacher used to read the newspaper to pretend he didnt see anything, but everywhere you look a guy is sitting next to a female. One minute, I was a kid, then I did all this jail time, and I was back on the streets expected to perform as an adult!. When I was in the infirmary, they said, Why did you slice your wrist, Adrin?, Ill give you some medicine to help you out.. Jeff J., aka Huerito served three years and ten months in multiple juvenile facilities, including Ventura Juvenile Correctional Facility where in 1984 he was selected to transfer to Youth Trade School in Chino and serve his remaining time in Fire Camp. I was trying to get out. I fought like a man. So Im showering and this other inmate started hitting me, so I defended myself. They called me down to the security office and issued me a full set of keys for the institution. So the Legislature authorized continued building a 1,200-bed youth training school, the O.H. I couldnt register that what I was seeing was true. WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE 1732.8 FOLLOW-UP REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2004 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, GOVERNOR OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL PAGE 5 ORIGINAL FINDING NUMBER 1: The Office of the Inspector General found that dual-commitment wards are not allowed to attend their annual reviews and parole consideration date reviews and have little contact with the California Youth . Criminal penalty. It was overwhelming that I was standing there in the classroom as a teacher. In one fight, the former CYA ward said he was given two black eyes. It broke a rule for that officer to do that for anyone to do that. 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. Gladiator school.. By Sunday morning, my Dad comes home barefoot. School Type: Youth Authority Facilities: Educational Program Type: Information Not Available 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. 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 getrdonehauling@hotmail.com thanks my name is Greg Fawcett, I was on K&L for 7 years 86-92.. YTS saved my life. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Sept. 30, legislationto closethe stateDivision of Juvenile Justice, and replace it with local alternatives. I did not want to hurt this guy. From inmates to staff to visitors to religious volunteers. If you knew how old I was at the time you wouldnt believe me. Have faith. I knew my Dad was going to be there. So the kicked us out. Just before i graduated from Oxnard community College, a number of female wards started coming up pregnant. I learned about chow, where to sit, and shower time. Fresh war. I tell my Mom Ill do good, but I want to stay with Dad. It took me a while to come to terms with this and the whole evolution that allowed this to happen. I looked at Derrek and asked, Are you cold? Hes chattering like I was. I knocked again for my toilet paper. He was bleeding so much they thought I sliced his throat. Wed go to church because of the blind spots. The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), . His name was Tim. Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Leave me alone, I shouted and lifted my hand. In this cup was a little juice and some Thorazine. The processed records of the California Youth Authority are described in the California Youth Authority finding aid. This is prison. skip to main content. The guy sitting next to her will pretend like hes doing his homework. It became a party house. NCJRS Photocopy Services. After the cops leave, I heard the car come back a second time the Volkswagen again. I even went back to his cell to pay respect and to let him know I new what happen. You knock on the door one more time Ill beat your ass. I went on a good 6 year tour. Now the officers turn against me and told another inmate that I was a snitch for what I told the psych. If the images or a settlement of some kind because of the abuse us awards 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 getrdonehauling@hotmail.com thanks my name is Greg Fawcett, 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. 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 absolutely someone should be held accountable. Redemption my brothers! or. California Education Authority Kim Rigg, Superintendent of Education P.O. Everyone else was just associates. David William Reeve is an independent writer and photographer who documents the lives of juveniles at risk. My yts number was 33XXX thats how long ago it has been. The room was baby blue and the lights stayed on. I couldnt see outside, but they can see in. We had been out for two days, going from one fire to the next. 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. Can you fight? They would put swastikas on, but there was no Aryan Brotherhood. Well that was 40 years ago. He turned the camera monitor off and came inside and started hitting me. You either take mess or you dont. Im a retired U.S. Army Ranger and I served seven combat tours. . They sent in a psychiatrist who asked, How come youre not eating, Adrin?. She couldnt say anything to the teacher because other girls would turn on her and say she was a snitch. Youre going to come with me and have 5 minutes to talk to her.. Convicted 1985. I was one of the few of my friends that had a dad. You see that the Blacks are in one section; the Whites and Chicanos are on one side. 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? tattoo on my hand for Southern United Raza. It came back and around and stopped, then the shooting started. Find professional California Youth Authority videos and stock footage available for license in film, television, advertising and corporate uses. He had fought with my homeboy so when he came at me I just put out a knife and stabbed him. And most of the time he just couldnt even talk about it as an adult. This series will relay and respect their stories: Juvie told by the ones who were there. In this episode, Jeff (aka Huerito) is short timing when he leaves the comfort of Ventura Youth Correctional Facility to arrive at Fire Camp. Youre not going to slice your wrist anymore, are you?. DJJ, formerly known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), has a long history of scandal, horrible conditions, terrible outcomes and excessive spending. Lisker told Reeve there were five to 10 assaults a day. Remember what they taught us? I looked at him and he looked at me, and I didnt even care. Then Chad lol. 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. starved and neglected. I fell to my knees beside her and could see she was still breathing. ca.gov. I was screaming and crying. Report (Technical Assistance) In the morning, thered be a piece of paper on your cell window. Its hard but Im making it. He told me whenever youre drunk, but you still want to drink, pour your beer out and put water in it. I wanted to respond with absolute violence so bad and at the same time i internally didnt really want to hurt anyone. Cold as fuck out on that bench in a thin jumpsuit in the cage to get air outside. Two years after Reeve published the photo essay of the facility, he went to the park in Yucaipa. I had a girlfriend whose name was Suzanna. I heard the door open the heard them cover her mouth and rape her. It all becomes very complicated; its not good guys versus bad guys, Reeve said. I wrote in the letter, I know what happened.. They can be found under the bound volumes inventory of the Youth Authority and the Office of the Secretary of State. Even the California prison system is managed by scoundrels. Ive been a Ironworker for about 14 years. They shot me with this rubber bullet that knocked me to the floor then took me to the hole. Nobody had any honor. We were tortured in there. Sharing stuff, talking, playing cards. He wants to provide former wards, guards, teachers, and administrative staffat YTS the space to tell stories, some of whom have never had that chance, he said. You dont peter-gaze, you dont do anything. I remember my mom sent me Tres Flowers Hair Grease because I used to comb my hair back. I thought I was going to freeze to death. I aint gonna lie. By 1980, my Dad was working in Los Angeles and I had no supervision. I served the sentence given me and moved on with my life. I didnt want to fight and get more time but I had to do something. I was going to hurt people if I had to. I recently, went back in to O.H. 327). And he cried because even tim could see what that place had done to me. I was a teenager, so I knew everything. 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 . We got so big that the staff started letting us meet for Bible studies.. The Whites they were called Woods. The inmate population of California, in 1977, was 19,600. He looked tough. When you first go in, you have to know the rules and regulations, and theres always somebody willing to give all the information. "Despite popular myth, CYA and then DJJ, have not been 'gladiator schools' for the past two decades," Ramsey said." I barely made it, but Im here taking care of my 5 kids. One thing that place taught me was move first or be moved on. The next day you go to school and you see a girl wearing Nikes that they dont sell in the commissary, beautiful Air Jordans. In 2001, I went to Pelican Bay State Prison. 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. I didnt have any life skills or money. If you said you were Indian, we believed you.. The Collapsing Circus & California Government Violence and Murder | Christopher Maffei. When I went to the shower, the officer setting up my food spit in it. Tons of memories some good and bad. I only cut him one time by his ear. Good counselors and creepy . Below is a list of Youth Authority Facilities in California that you can browse, rate, review or contact to deal with all education affairs and issues related with studying.We provides basic and advanced information about Youth Authority Facilities and similar high schools including name, address, phone number, school district and detailed contact information to both the school management and . YTS was what you made it. Records concerning juveniles are restricted. "The state institutions were . I went on a shooting spree in 1993. After doing time in YTS CYA I went right to prison with a LIFE sentence for a gang related shooting and gang enhancements. PASO ROBLES, Calif. . During the bad old days of the mid-1990s through to the early 2000s, when Californias youth prison system was known as the California Youth Authority, or CYA, the system was plagued by a mind-numbing level of controversy and scandal that included a wave of youth suicides and graphic reports of horrific abuse by staff. I got the gun. Im a small guy, so I push the couch under the TV and reach up to turn it off. He was there at Chino from about 93 to 2000. They like to flaunt themselves, and if you get caught peter-gazing, its rough for you. Some of the stories about this place were true but not 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. This is called initiation! Was there medical experimentation going on at that facility in the 1970s. Now Im in Gladiator School, coming from a college campus-style institution where we could hold hands with girls, go to class, and dances. 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. I needed some toilet paper to use the bathroom and I knocked on the door, calling for the C.O. In this episode, Jaime Morales is an ambitious youngster making a name for himself on the streets of South East LA. The first class I went to was English class. They left me there. Whoever stole my Tres Flowers fuck yer mom, fuck yer dead homies.. Give me the gun, I said to my buddy. Eventually, my Brother went to the Army; my Sister was married. My Mom and Dad divorced in 1967. I spent Two years in Gladiator School..California youth authority. I remember crying talking to myself , playing with the ants, playing marbles with peanuts from my lunch. And who should we see about that? 62558 1992-1993 juniper ,buckeye shatout to the staff and to all the people who believed in me .my counselor senior oficer and my bakery supervisor . I suffered so bad. A doctor came in to be sure my cuffs were not too tight. At Ventura, half of the unit is for guys and half of the unit is for ladies. Then went to Karl Holton, then Preston. The state gave CYA a budget of around $200,000, of which $60,000 was meant to pay the three board members' salaries. I wanted some way out. Programs for young offenders. In 1941, the state legislature created the California Youth Authority (CYA) as a "completely new method of dealing with youthful criminals," according to the Healdsburg Tribune, Aug. 13, 1943. He would leave me money. 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. The judge sentenced me until my 25th birthday. Editor's note: This is Part 9 of "Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS" an oral history of life inside California's most notorious juvenile prison. #77766 (1996 to 2005) SRCC, Fred C. Nelles, HeMan G. Starks YA BABY !!!! Tracy to Cedar to Greenbrier and spent most my time in the Rack. at like 3 a.m until whenever. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000, United States. I get a paper and write her a note and use the elastic string in my boxers to slide it under her door. They shot me with this rubber bullet that knocked me to the floor then took me to the hole. They took the teardrop off of my face with a laser. Theres so much abuse that Id been through. In the 1990s there were 10,000 youth incarcerated in the juvenile prisons with another nearly 10,000 youth in CYA's parole system. My goal was not to kill anybody. Nations First Standalone Prison Campus Celebrates Graduation, $2.1 Million Grant Will Expand First AmeriCorps Program for Formerly Incarcerated People, Inmate shuffle: How California bounces around its mentally ill prisoners, In Wrongful Death Settlement, Family of Shaylene Graves Will Get $3.5 Million and a Platform to Urge CAs Prison Officials to Implement Policies That Better Protect Women in Custody, System-Impacted Youth Leaders Push for LA County to Fund Youth Justice Reimagined. Riot during shower time in CYA. Gang affiliations defined enemies and allies on the street and in prison. If you dont leave that class, its because you like him touching you!, You have a girlfriend on suicide watch, an officer said. My deceased husband was at the CYA in Chino in the early 1970s. It was only a matter of time. Around 2 o clock in the morning, all the power went off. He made excellent money. Snoop himself spent time inside California's notorious "Youth Authority" - the CYA - which in recent years has come under court order for abusing and failing . Came to yts in spring of 1968. 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. The California Youth Authority (CYA) received a $150,000 direct grant from the CIWMB at its Board meeting in April 2003. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. My Dad had a different girlfriend, raised a different family, but was always a part of my life. I had friends, but I couldnt relate to them. Kids bullied by other kids and beat to a pulp.. People stabbed hit in the face with locks. I was actively fighting, gang banging, throwing fucks, kicking off riots, Ironwood and tamarack programs. It closed in 2010. He was married and had a young child. I sliced him. In response to recent disclosures concerning the California Youth Authority, on May 16, 2000, the Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees held a joint oversight hearing. A bullet went through the side of my face then hit my friend in the stomach, but the bullet didnt penetrate him. 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. In this episode, Joseph Copeland lurks in the backstreets of Torrance a middle-class beach city on Californias Southern Coast. C. Hood 64961. You rinse off, and then youre done. My Dad said, Whatever you do, dont kill yourself. We had day passes and he would take me to the beach. But it really hit hard right here in YTS. Conviction overturned 2009. I felt I wasnt going to see all the violence that I had seen before, but it was worse. A beef had started with Echo Park. Jesse Ferguson, a 22-year-old from Richmond, has been at N.A. In this episode, Chris (aka Savage) is sent to The Hole for hiding a shank under his mattress, when the prison suddenly breaks out into riot. Something started happening with me. You are going to learn to fight, to make deals and negotiate for survival because many of them were headed towards adult prisons like San Quentin or other hardened prisons.. They put me on home probation and said I could no longer live with my Dad. I was able to write a book about my experience to help with the PTSD. 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. Blacks vs Mexicans. I used to get love letters and stuff like that. You go through CPR training and fire rescue training. Youre a gladiator, youre a YA baby, they said. We had pizza. Child receives a dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine at an event launching school vaccinations in Los Angeles, California on November 5, 2021. 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. I was sent to the hole, but I earned my respect. They sent a therapist in to talk to me. I said to them, Ten years ago I was sitting in the same place you are sitting.. CREATIVE. The facility was opened in 1959 with the goal of educating and rehabilitating wards between the ages of 12 and 25. He told me whenever youre drunk, but you still want to drink, pour your beer out and put water in it. The California School Directory contains information about California public schools, . Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS an oral history of life inside Californias most notorious juvenile prison. Gladiator School - California Youth Authority #CYA #YouthPrison #california I spent my entire youth in the California Youth Authority (14-21). When I tell you to stand up, youre going to stand up. She would have sex with guys in exchange for $100 worth of commissary. It was so hard working. I was a ward of the courts from 1990-1999. It was really bad. I had to confront the Blacks and the Whites. There was a student aid in art class. would approach whoever he thought the prettiest girl was. Im sure it fucked us up worse. Every weekend, homies would come through from their visits. Its 2022 and still feels like yesterday. I was walking in slow motion, like a zombie. "An inmate named Sam was a real problem. He had been arrested for beating my Mom. I held knowledge about gangs because I was a shot-caller, so they didnt want me to have any contact with other gang members. Youre going to shit when I tell you to shit. To my brothers, Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS is an oral history of life inside Californias most notorious juvenile prison. You want some Nikes? Lol. Contact: davidwilliamreeve (at) gmail (dot) com, DAVID WILLIAM REEVE is a writer + photographer from Southern California who documents the lives of young people at risk. I realized I got hit. 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. She just disappeared one day. At Fire Camp, somebody stole my shoes and money, and nobody would admit to it. It was a program at YTS in Units C and D. They train you to be a firefighter verified with the State. The smell, loneliness the gloomy days. In a historic and sweeping move, Gov. I got along with gangsters better than people that were my friends. He brought me pizza and soda; he and my Mom came it was the first time they had been together in over a year. Its a way to communicate codes we speak when we dont want officers to know. Im 40 and still remember even the damn address. It helped me to see what life was like, even though everything had changed. You always look up. Everybody from Los Angeles got along. 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. These men who survived should tell their stories any way they can. . "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 . 0:45. I didnt know what was wrong with me. He told the officers what I said. 'I have had three different proposals of marriage over the years . I was arrested for burglary and went to juvenile hall for the night. Everybody from the Inland Empire got along. It was a learning experience. Contact: davidwilliamreeve (at) gmail (dot) com, DAVID WILLIAM REEVE is a writer + photographer from Southern California who documents the lives of young people at risk.