All prisons seem to have the same foundations of being managed from the inside and outside. An inmate is judged by his crime. At the USDB is was no different. For example you had the whites, blacks, and latinos/asians in their own groups. Inmates with violent crimes or unrelated sexual offenses were usually the leaders of these groups.
Since the old United States Disciplinary Barracks closed, nicknamed the “Castle”, things had changed. As I mentioned before, the the Castle could hold over 1000 inmates while the new one around 600. Therefore, many lifers and long timers had to be transferred to the civilian Federal System. This changed the structure of who should be the leaders and become a “Heavy”. I had heard many cried and tried to submit new appeals in order to stay in the DoD prison system.
In my view, the USDB commanders’ loved this because they didn’t have to deal with a heavy weight, if things got out of hand. The leaders of my group were qualified to lead. They all had been taught the ropes by their predecessors. There was not any turmoil amongst us. As time went by more and more started to be transferred. As inmates we hoped there wouldn’t be many transfers, so more of us could be paroled. This thought never transpired. Violent offenders were hastily transferred after their appeals were finished, while sexual offenders outlasted the others due to their treatment. This was slowly changing the groups structure.
For example, some child molesters were gaining a voice in the white group. Because all the long timers with violent crimes had been transferred. This left some drug dealers in charge that were non-violent nor aggressive to lead. I saw some of this change in late 2006-07.
A few years after I had been released, my friend who stayed behind told me about a death of a fellow inmate. An inmate who was a trustee about to be released was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat. The incident happened during a softball game, while the victim was umpiring a game. I have no information as to the motive. This was the first homicide at the new USDB. Allegedly, a heavy from the white group, gave the order to a newbie to commit the act. This is one example, as to why the DoD, Department of Defense wants to transfer the leaders.
Military Prison Experiences 