Good Jailhouse Reading

Has the U.S. found its Solzhenitsyn? In my mind, yes, and he is a Brit named Shaun Attwood who did two years in one of America’s toughest jails—the one run by the (who else?) self-described toughest sheriff in America, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County. You probably know Joe if you pay attention to current events--his agents carry out a form of racial profiling currently under fire in the media and I believe Congress. You'd also know Sheriff Joe from watching a couple of silly TV programs he launched--Smile, Your Under Arrest, or something like that, was the name of one of them--or if you watch MSNBC's interesting but overexposed "Lockup" (or the better, competing program "Lockdown") because these prison shows can’t get enough of him, as well as life in jails and prisons across the U.S. He is best known for cladding inmates in pink boxers, feeding them green bologna and “red death” (he boasts the inmates are fed more cheaply than the police dogs) and opening Tent City when his jailhouses filled to capacity. Tent City is exactly what its name implies: a city of tents in the middle of the desert, where temps rise well over 100 degrees F in summer. A “Vacancy” sign hangs above the concentration camp—yes, that is what Tent City is---and it is lighted so passers-by can see it 24/7.




Attwood came here, to the U.S. an educated Englishman seeking his fortune in finance—and he made it, beyond his expectations. Burned out, though, by the effort it took to salt away a million or so, he dropped out of the rat race and entered the Rave scene. Raves—a lifestyle based on loud music and prodigious amounts of ecstasy—requires its participants to still earn cash. When Shaun’s fortune ran out it looks like he turned to dealing, bumping up at one point against Sammy Gravano. Shaun, arrested for some reason years after retiring from the rave scene and after he had refocused his life on day trading rather than dope peddling—takes us right into the cell. He does what the cameras can’t do -- takes us in the minds of killers and other assorted criminals and discusses politics and such, the juicy info no inmate with self-preservation on his mind would reveal on television. He paints vivid pictures and has a way with words. We feel the anxiety of jail life: dealing with fellow inmates (and strict racial laws that could get you killed), cockroaches, and I already alluded to the food. But Shaun sees the absurdity even in the most anxiety-provoking situations. I especially love the way he deftly portrays life inside the jail (where he is waiting for his trial; superstar Alan Simpson is his lawyer).
“A guard caught Sniper on his bunk with his fingers in his ass."
(He says he was raped by his cellies and was checking the damage).
Then there is a Mexican who ran around yelling Spanish because he thought the cop who arrested him was undercover in the pod.
Then there is the white “shot caller” who tried to give up a brawl prematurely, before he suffered too much bodily harm, by attempting to verbally accept defeat and running away. He did this a few times, brawling and then running, conceding defeat. A new shot caller stepped up.
Helped by the novelty of his English accent, a childhood friend named Wild Man, and the exaggerated belief he was some kind of crime lord thanks to a high-profile article written about “English Shaun” and the “Evil Empire” he ran, Shaun overall probably had a slightly easier time than the average-joe inmates.
Attwood keeps a tight rein on his book. Driving the plot engine are: how will his arrest and incarceration impact his relationship with fiancée Claudia; and what will happen to him in terms of his ultimate prison sentence. The prosecutors want to put this guy away for life.
He has sympathy for his fellow inmates, too, some seriously ill, mentally and physically, and this book will shake you up in different ways.
Ironically, Shaun turned out to have strong writing skills, which prison brought out of him, and he managed to produce this book, which many will gobble up in only a few sittings. I hope we see more from Shaun. There at least has to be a sequel: the book ends with his departure from Sheriff Joe’s domain. Now he has to take us inside prison. Shaun – keep writing.