However, the the events of 1971 are more than a historical curiousity. They are important to understand in light of the pressures that are being faced inside the prison system today. Indeed, the Department of Corrections compared the two eras itself when it banned media from interviewing specific prisoners. Given who he was, parole was only a slim possibility under the indeterminate sentence law, either before or after his political awakening. His situation was not that different from many who face the Three Strikes law today.
Prison is the past, present, and future for many who are both inside and outside the walls.
Their beliefs and their actions will be shaped by it. One in three black males are subject to some aspect of the criminal justice system. The political potential of the growth in the prison population is enormous. In 1995, a federal court found that the prison violated basic constitutional standards, including the use of excessive force. Violence and racial tensions continue to play their role inside the system.