Beyond Prison Part Four

J.3 T.22
20:51 ...I don't think there is any in-between in prison. You are either predator or prey...I don't want to be prey, I don't want to be a predator, but if the time came, I would stand up for myself as much as I could.

G.2 T.12
:03 the guy he had a beef with was a black guy dude, he was probably 260lbs. He was a big dude.

G.2 T.12
:23...The black dude, after work, he used to come back to the pod, well, this time he didn't come back to the pod. He stayed down in the yard, did this, did that, waited for about half an hour, before he came back to the pod, b/c he knew, he knew there was going to be a problem.

J.C. T.38
5:25 I was in pretty good condition, working out on a regular basis, I was about 6%...The point I made to him, I didn't care if I got my ass kicked or not, I wanted to give this guy what I considered a fair one. I didn't want to hit him when he was down, use any weapons, I didn't want to take any cheap shots.

G.2 T.12
:23.... He knew he ran his mouth to the wrong person and when he came up on that he came up on that pod and J said, 'what's up now motherfucker?' And punched him right in his face.

G.2 T.12
1:14 the guy stumbled back, he was a big dude, and he tried to take his shirt off, and J hit him again, BANG, he hit him again, the guy stumbled, he stumbled, he hit the ground, when he hit the ground, J put the boots to his chest. BOOM.

J.C. T. 38
6:08 ...he ended up getting hurt pretty bad. He had a couple of teeth knocked out, swelled up his grill pretty good. I had gotten so wound up in the fight, b/c he had grabbed me around the throat at one point, I lost it. And when he did fall, he basically started having a small seizure, and I just proceeded to kick him. there was blood all over the pod, all over me, that's all I saw, it was out of control.

G.2 T.12
1:14... he was knocked out cold...and I said that's enough, back up.

J.C. T.38
11:30 ..I didn't know what was going on except there was a threat in front of me. And I started kicking him. and someone grabbed me and it was like he's had enough, he's had enough. Once I got away from that little bubble I was in I was like, 'oh, shit. What the hell just went on?'

The fall-out from the fight was extensive.

Both inmates spent time in solitary confinement.

Rumors spread that the brawl was racially motivated.

But Mike was well-known throughout the prison, and he played the role of mediator and tamped down tensions.

James came back to congratulations from many whites for battling a black man.

But James says he had no interest in the racial politics inside the prison.

He withdrew into his cell and his regular routine.

Pursuing education, hatching post-prison plans and perhaps the most unusual part of that routine- the weekend parties he and Mike hosted.

CLUB NIGHT
J.1 T.18
:05 ...Every Saturday night was club night, he was there so long, he was one fo the only guys on the tier that had a radio still, and we would have the old 70's and 80's music playing, pissing off the old guys in the pod and the young guys would be out there dancing.

G.2 T.15
3:25 boogie woogie, Grand Master Flash, Double Dutch Bus, a bunch of different disco songs, Donna Summers, Of course Barry White was great. I loved Barry White.

G.2 T.15
1:45 ...I'd hook up all kinds of crazy wires and we'd listen to classics for 3 hours...I'd put a red cover over my light and stuff, I would just blast a stereo. I would be in my cell dancing. Pop out of the cell, dancing, people would just walk by crazy, out of his mind. That was one of my...serenity, my peace. Have club night, listen to all the old classics from Victor Perussey.

Whether it was moments like Club Night, or the course work, Mike liked what he was seeing in James.

But when it came to James' relationship with his family, he wasn't meeting Mike's expectations.

The older inmate was indebted to his family.

They bought his school books. They paid his tuition to get his bachelor's and master's degrees in prison.

Mike pushed James to reconnect to his folks.

FAMILY
J.3 T.23
:23 he didn't make me, but he would egg me on to call my parents. And...:55 talk to them about stuff. If there was anything they did that pissed me off, he would say I don't want to hear it, why don't you call them. It was his way of me opening up a channel of communication.

G.2 T.5
1:53...you only get one family in life and I could see he wanted t omake things right with his family. The way he invited his mother in to see his first weight lifting competition and him wanting me to meet her, I could see they were trying to make things right and trying to make amends, and people make mistakes. Maybe he did some things wrong, maybe they did some things wrong, but you can't go back, you've got to go forward. And that's all it is...and I think that's what everybody did...he forgave them, they forgave him. who's to blame? Who knows. Who cares, it's done. He survived it and that's the important thing.

GIL. T.12
2:50 the first time I ever met Mike...

That's Rose Gilbert, James' mother.

....at the prison was, J was lifting weights and I met M at the weightlifting. And he said he had met J and they were cellmates, and I honestly believe...I went home feeling so good b/c I just, I really liked how positive M was, how smart M was, how he always mentioned family this, family that. And he talked about, 'yep, family is everything. I tell J how important family is. And I just thought on my way home, 'oh, what a gift! What a positive influence he has on J's life.' I honestly believe that might be why I could see some changes going on with J.

G.2 T.6
3:32 the mother started to show some emotion towards him and vice versa. And all those emotional interactions, and variables that he had missed as a child started to come back, and I believed he craved them, he wanted that emotional support. And that love from the family and the pat on the back from the father, and he started to get all that. As he got closer to the end of his bend, and started to straighten out, started educating himself, and letting them know his plans. He did that, and that's when things started to go away and get better.

Since James was a pre-teen, his father Ed Gilbert believed prison would save his son.

While discussing how to raise kids, Ed stumbled onto the formula that helped James change.

GIL. T.21
4:31 if the child doesn't have a parent, the child has to find someone who will give him what the parents won't give him. the child needs to have guidance...and love. Guidance and love. They need to be in their parameters, they function so well in their parameters...and if the parents aren't giving this to them, they need to find someone who will.