Locked Down: Gangs In the Supermax Sweet-faced Armando looks like he should be sitting in Freshman English, but instead he's doing time for a murder he committed on the behalf of a prison gang. Increasingly, gang leaders held in supermax high-security prisons control the movements of younger members on both sides of the penitentiary walls. Some inmates view the supermax as their university, a place to study, sharpen skills, and build careers. Once in the supermax, a prisoner's only way out is to "debrief": denounce his gang and report its activities to authorities. To do so means risking death at the hands of their former brothers. At this American RadioWorks site, former gang members discuss gang affiliation and the stress of debriefing. Their stories offer a rare view inside the locked-down world of the supermax. (in Crime)
