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• Author: Thomas Everette Moore
• DOI: 10.1177/10439862221096891
• Published date: 01 May 2022
• Date: 01 May 2022

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862221096891

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2022, Vol. 38(2) 252 –254

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862221096891

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Essay

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Thomas Everette Moore

My name is Thomas Everette Moore. I served over nine years in the Florida Department

of Corrections from June 22, 2000, to August 31, 2009. I witnessed many violent acts

while incarcerated, and I had to carry myself a particular way to ensure I did not unin-

tentionally get involved with violence in the prison system.

I remember the first day I entered the Marion Correctional Institution in mid to late

2000; the classification team assigned another new intake and me to a butterfly wing

building that consisted of two-person cell housing. Our room happened to be in the

corner where the cameras did not capture any activity. I remember vividly entering the

cell on my second official day in prison and witnessing one person getting beaten

severely by three others. My new bunkmate began to panic and started yelling for the

officers. I saw a couple of the men engaged in the beat down looking at the window to

determine the snitch. Once the men scattered, my bunkie “checked in” or surrendered

to protective custody out of fear. I knew from talking to many people in jail that

“snitches get stitches,” so I had to devise a plan quickly. I remember walking up and

down the corridor yelling at the top of my lungs as the officers escorted my bunkie to

protective custody that he was a chump and a snitch, and he better never come back to

the general population as long as I was at that camp.

Although I had no intention of engaging in violence with my bunkie, I wanted

everyone on the wing to know that I would fight and that I had heart. I had a roommate

before I went to prison that had done time, and he told me how to carry myself to make

sure I had the best chance of avoiding violence as possible. As time drug and days

turned into months which turned into years, I found that four main things incited vio-

lence in the Florida prison system – homosexuality, gang involvement, stealing, and

gambling. The movies did not accurately portray violence from my experience. Most

of the sexual engagement came from manipulation and not intimidation. Most of the

pressure channeled toward people showing weakness or feminine characteristics. I

also found from my experience that once word got out about your lack of fear, people

showed respect, even if the story remained unverifiable. Let me explain further by

giving you an example.

I served about three years at Marion Correctional Institution when someone broke

into one of my friend’s footlocker and took his canteen items. Sometimes other inmates

1096891CCJXXX10.1177/10439862221096891Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeMoore

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