G. D.’s would most likely kill him at anfacility where a board member is held.nThe gang leader immediately approachednFrank and reported that thenhit would be issued soon. The guy wasnnonthreatening, and relayed the informationncalmly and without a hint ofnmalice. Like in The Godfather, this wasnbusiness, nothing personal.nFrank was also told that the hit hadnbeen delayed because communicationnamong the board members had beenntemporarily disrupted: a board member’sncellular phone had been confiscatednin a shakedown! I had long knownnfrom my years of contact with Frank thatngangs in prison occasionally operated byncellular phones. Officials at the centralnDepartment of Corrections in Springfield,nIllinois, profess that all measuresnare taken to curtail interprison communicationnbetween gang leaders, but thisnis untrue. When I heard about Frank’sntransfer to a facility with a board member,n1 immediately called the prison tonrequest that Frank be placed in isolationnfor his own safety until another transferncould be arranged. The lieutenant Inspoke with sympathized with Frank’snplight, and then openly acknowledgednthat some wardens and officers will “looknthe other way” regarding special privilegesnfor board members if in return thengang leaders will help to control prisonnviolence. He candidly admitted that cellularnphones were sometimes part of thisninformal quid pro quo.nWhen I was told that the request forna transfer would have to come from theninmate and not from me, and after hearingnfrom Frank two days later that hisnrequest to speak with prison officials hadnbeen ignored, I called the internal affairsnoffice in Springfield. The bureaucratnI spoke with doubted my story, particularlynthe part about cellular phones,nbecause “such things are against thenrules.” I then identified myself as a journalistnand recounted the conversation Inhad had with the all-too-candid lieutenantndownstate. The clerk was shockednsilent, after which he assured me thatn”the matter would be looked into.”nAfter two more weeks in solitary confinement,nFrank was transferred to yetnanother medium-security prison. Again,nthis facility had a G. D. board member,nand once more I set out to request protectionnfor Frank. This time, upon callingnthe prison, I learned that Frank hadnalready been placed in isolation, not fornhis own safety, but because he was an6/CHRONICLESn”troublemaker.”nI immediately assumed Frank hadnbeen in a fight, but I didn’t know fornsure until he called the following weeknand gave me the complete story. Hisnproblems began the day after he arrived,nwhen he was awakened at 7 A.M. and instructednto report to the prison’s psychiatrist.nFrank told the guard that henhadn’t requested such a meeting, butnhe was ordered to go anyway and ton”quit smarting off.”nThe psychiatrist was, in Frank’s words,nan “Iranian or Arab of questionablencompetence.” After a quick perusal ofnFrank’s record, the doctor concludednthat the young man’s many transfers andnfights with gang members were the resultnof an inability to socialize with othersnand to express anger in nonthreateningnways, problems for which he hadnjust the cure. Awake for five minutesnand taken from his cell against his will,nFrank was less than receptive to psychoanalysis,nand his lack of cooperation onlynreinforced the doctor’s faith in his diagnosis.nWhen Frank refused to takenthe drugs the doctor wanted to prescribe,nand exclaimed that he didn’t believenhe had a psychiatric problem to beginnwith, the doctor cried “Denial—thenfirst sign of a problem!” The doctornthen added, “It is clear to me that younare indundated with problems.” NownFrank is no Samuel Johnson, but henknows enough English to realize thatnhe’s never been “indundated” with anything.nIt was because of this standoffnthat the doctor filed a report aboutnFrank’s “recalcitrance.”nAn incident that followed a couple ofndays later only confirmed for the wardennthe doctor’s diagnosis. While waitingnto hear about his request for anotherntransfer, Frank was assigned a job in thenprison kitchen. The inmate managingnthe kitchen took a liking to Frank, andndetermined that the new kid “needed anfriend.” Frank was uncertain whethernthe cook was insinuating a homosexualnrelationship, but in any event he toldnhim that he didn’t need any “friends,”nthat he simply wanted “to be left alonento do his time in peace.” The man thenncracked jokes about the Rodney King riots,nat which everyone in the kitchen exceptnFrank laughed. The cook assumednhe had been “dissed,” and an argumentnensued, during which Frank verbally exploded.nThe many transfers, the threatnon his life, the many months in isolation,nthe runaround he’d had with thennnprison psychiatrist, the news that somenof his personal belongings (his letters,nbooks, and radio) had been lost duringnhis last transfer—the strain and frustrationnof these matters all came to a head,nand contributed to the anger he unleashednon the cook. Frank was reprimandednfor unruly behavior and placednin solitary confinement the followingnday.nFor his “proven inability” to livenpeaceably in medium security, Franknspent a month in isolation and was thenntransferred back to maximum security.nActually this was exactly what Frank hadnwanted, for only maximum-security prisonsnhave formal facilities for inmates innprotective custody. Of the two institutionsnhe could be transferred to, the protective-custodynarea at one of them consistsnmerely of another wing of the samenbuilding housing the general prison population,nand security for the p.c. inmatesnis extremely lax; the other prison is safer,nwith the p.c. population housed in a separatenbuilding. If sent to the least securenof the two facilities, Frank had littlenhope of surviving his sentence withoutnan attempt on his life.nI again contacted Springfield and requestednthe safer of the two prisons. Inlater found out that Frank’s transfer hadnbeen changed at the last minute, apparentlynto accommodate this request. I’dnlike to think that the original assignmentnwas changed because of the state’s concernnfor Frank’s safety, but no doubt mynphone call had an effect. It’s one thingnfor inmates to be killed in prison; it happensnevery day. (In fact, as I write,nFrank’s prison is on a 90-day lock-downnbecause of two violent incidents, one involvingnan argument over a homosexualnliaison and the other concerning a fightnbetween rival gangs; the casualty countnafter three days: one inmate dead, fourninmates wounded, and three guards hospitalized.)nBut it’s quite another matternif someone “from the outside,” and especiallyna journalist, not only knowsnabout a forthcoming murder, but hadneven informed the prison beforehand ofnthe danger to the victim’s life.nWhich brings us to the present.nFrank was accepted into the protectivecustodynprogram at the maximum-securitynprison where he currently resides.nHe has formally requested that hisn”good time” be returned, which was suspendednbecause of his many transfers.nIf approved, Frank could be releasednnext January; if denied, he’ll be releasedn