SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Federal investigators toiled for years to build a case strong enough to cut off the head of a notorious white-supremacist prison gang and end its 40-year reign over the federal and state prison systems.

On Friday, the government's efforts bore fruit: a verdict that convicted four Aryan Brotherhood leaders of murder, conspiracy and racketeering and made two of them eligible for the death penalty.

Experts Say Verdict May Not Lead to Demise of Prison Gang

of course it won't lead to the demise of the prison gang. first of all, it's nowhere near the only prison gang in the united states of america and second, it's a defense mechanism that is a direct result of the dangerous, terrifying and isolating nature of incarceration itself. until that is addressed, there will always be prison gangs, and the deadly violence that is associated with them.

although i take great exception to any kind of racial supremacy, if you actually do some investigating yourself, you'll find out that a large number of the members of the aryan brotherhood are not supremacists. racism has little to do with it, it is simply the easiest way for prisoners to differentiate themselves from one another and feel some kind of loyalty, belonging and family while incarcerated. there are african-american prison gangs, hispanic gangs, etc and a lot of their members, when out on the street, have no problem with people of other races. in fact, many members of the aryan brotherhood and other race-based prison gangs are friendly in prison with individuals of other races.

if we didn't strip these men and women of so many things that are essential to sound mental functioning, such as reasonable contact with loved ones, morale-boosting activities, and a sense of purpose, self-worth, these gangs wouldn't take shape.

as RCMP officer Thompson said in Parolees lose parachute in decision to merge parole boards says chairperson:

"Everyone wants to belong to something and a group," she said. "If they can't find a place in society to fit in in a pro-social way, the anti-social side of society will accept them with open arms, sadly."

the same principal applies while these people are still incarcerated. if they can't find a positive place to fit in, they'll get sucked into a negative place.

the only answer to the majority of problems associated with incarceration, is to finally suck it up and realize that every last inmate in the world is still a human being and should be treated as such, cause it's likely the reason they were convicted in the first place is because at some point in their lives they'd been stripped of the rights and dignity that every human being deserves no matter what.

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