×
You have 2 more free articles available this month. Subscribe today.
The Terror
THE TERROR
The still air of my prison cell, thick with smoke, swallows my brooding thoughts, spitting them back at me stinking of loneliness.
I stare at tobacco stained fingers, wondering at how I can bemoan the years taken from me, and yet steal some more.
And somewhere still, in an endless night, I am a woman's nightmare. Never a day gone by without testimony of her fright.
The years tumble onward, over an over one another.
Over and over she floods her mind, hoping to wash away the stubborn terror that wears my face.
D.P. (A social prisoner convicted of rape.)
The still air of my prison cell, thick with smoke, swallows my brooding thoughts, spitting them back at me stinking of loneliness.
I stare at tobacco stained fingers, wondering at how I can bemoan the years taken from me, and yet steal some more.
And somewhere still, in an endless night, I am a woman's nightmare. Never a day gone by without testimony of her fright.
The years tumble onward, over an over one another.
Over and over she floods her mind, hoping to wash away the stubborn terror that wears my face.
D.P. (A social prisoner convicted of rape.)
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- One Day School Boycott at Monroe
- Parole Board's 0.100 Abuses
- The Terror, by Dan Pens
- Study Finds 23% of Young Black Men Under Criminal Sanctions
- New Prison Spending Jumps by 73%
- Did DOC Employees Murder Michael Franke?
- Ex - Con Charged in Francke Murder
- Most Punished for Exercising Right to Jury Trial
- Guard Charged With Aiding Escape
- Only Five States Not Under Court Order, Study Says
- Prisoner Gets $500 in Records Suit
- Filthy Cell Violates Eighth Amendment
- $241,000 Damages Upheld in Beating
- Requirement of Buzz Words on Envelope of Incoming Legal Mail Killed
- Walla Walla Installs Fourth Bunk
- Witnesses at Disciplinary Hearings
- Who Are We, by Ed Mead
- SRA Offenders Get Good Time Off Term
- Prison Revolt in England
- Hungerstrike in Spain
- Political Prisoners Beaten
- "The Other Face of Europe"
- Mark LaRue Gets 14 More Years
More from Dan Pens:
- Federal Religious Freedom Law Passed, April 15, 2001
- South Carolina Prison Chief Fired as Scandal Widens, April 15, 2001
- Bag'm, Tag'm and Bury'm; Wisconsin Prisoners Dying for Health Care, Feb. 15, 2001
- Food Strike Puts Washington DOC on Spin Control, Feb. 15, 2001
- Fraud Charged by Washington DOC Whistleblower, Feb. 15, 2001
- CMS Fined Nearly $1 Million in Virginia, Dec. 15, 2000
- Death as a Salesman: Benneton Ad Campaign Comes to Death Row, Dec. 15, 2000
- Illinois Supermax Hunger Strike, Dec. 15, 2000
- Whistle-blowing Doctor Shakes Up Nebraska DOC, Nov. 15, 2000
- Corcoran Show Trial Ends with Acquittals, Nov. 15, 2000
More from these topics:
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- $2 Million Settlement Reached for 12-Year-Old’s Gang Rape in Detroit Juvenile Detention Center, Feb. 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Monell Liability.
- $4 Million Paid to Former Rikers Island Detainee Whose Reports of Repeated Rapes Were Ignored, Jan. 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Security Systems, Deliberate Indifference.
- $52,500 for Trans Florida Prisoner Sexually Assaulted by Cellmate, June 1, 2025. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Failure to Protect (Transgender).
- Almost $4.4 Million for Illinois Prisoner’s Failure to Protect Claim, June 1, 2025. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Informants (Failure to Protect).
- No Charges in Alabama Prisoner’s Torture, Rape and Murder, Jan. 15, 2025. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prison/Jail Murders, Deliberate Indifference.
- Indiana Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Corruption, County Pays $328,000 to Jail Detainees for “Night of Terror”, Oct. 15, 2024. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Settlements, Violence Against Women Act, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- $500,000 for Texas Teen Sodomized in Jail, July 1, 2024. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (Juveniles).
- Government Accountability Office Issues a Report on DOJ and DHS Use of Facial Recognition Technology, June 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Texas Detainee Raped in Jail Sues Macy’s for False Facial-ID Match That Led to Arrest, June 1, 2024. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, False Arrest, Electronic Surveillance.