Dangerous Convictions for PDF - ADL

Dangerous
Convictions:
AN INTRODUCTION TO EXTREMIST ACTIVITIES IN PRISONS
Prisons themselves are the source of some of the problems because, by their
very nature, they create environments conducive to the rise of racially separated
prison gangs. These gangs prey on the fears and prejudices of new
inmates, capitalizing on the dangers and tribulations of prison life, in order to
achieve ideological and larcenous goals alike.
It is, of course, not solely because of prison Knowing that many of their allies
gangs that inmates become involved with
extremist groups. Leaders of extremist
in the free world regard them as
groups like Matt Hale of the World Church martyrs, extremists entering
of the Creator target and encourage prisoners,
using “religion” to justify their hatred.
Likewise, extremist groups and individuals
prison are often imbued with a
false sense of importance that
exploit inmates looking for contact, recruit- encourages them to continue
ing them to the cause by simply acting as a
connection to the free world. Knowing that
their associations and to become
many of their allies in the free world regard
them as martyrs, extremists entering prison
active within the prison walls.
are often imbued with a false sense of importance that encourages them to
continue their associations and to become active within the prison walls.
White supremacists and anti-government activists are told by followers that
they are “political prisoners,” “concentration camp inmates” or “prisoners of
war.” Radical anti-abortion activists are encouraged by free world support
that is not only financial but also psychological in nature and which serves to
reinforce their beliefs in extreme actions. Similarly, eco-terrorists receive support
from those outside the prison walls that convinces them their actions
were just. And members of all of these fringe movements and groups respond
accordingly, continuing their activities as much as the limitations of incarceration
allow.
These problems will not go away. There are too many members of extreme
movements willing to commit crimes for their cause—too many people willing
to burn down a synagogue or drag a black man to death—for the flow of
extremist criminals to the prisons ever to cease. There are also too many
members of such movements who are aware of the advantages that prisons
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