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The Factory: A Journey Through the Prison Industrial Complex
In the 1950s, Bobby Dellelo was sentenced to the notorious Lyman School for Boys reform school, a place where children were forced into gladiator-like combat on the weekends to amuse the guards. The winner got a candy bar. Child prisoners preyed on other child prisoners and the guards abused them all. He was only 13 years old. Unbeknownst to him, he had secured a place on an assembly line that all but pre-determined his future. By age 18 he was in maximum security at Walpole State Prison, and by age 22 he was serving life without the possibility of parole.
Over the course of 40 years in prison, Dellelo escaped three different times, rose to the top of the prison hierarchy, became the prisoner’s union president, and was one of the architects behind the prison uprising in the 1970’s. He won his freedom in 2003 by writing his own appeal.
Dellelo’s story is not just the story of one prisoner, but rather, the story of an industry whose success is dependent upon the continued failure of more than two million Americans. It is the story of an industry that built an assembly line that takes 13-year-old boys and transforms them into violent, habitual offenders, leaving both them and society as a whole to deal with the consequences of their dangerous product. Bobby Dellelo’s life experience is the story of that process. It is the story of The Factory.
Over the course of 40 years in prison, Dellelo escaped three different times, rose to the top of the prison hierarchy, became the prisoner’s union president, and was one of the architects behind the prison uprising in the 1970’s. He won his freedom in 2003 by writing his own appeal.
Dellelo’s story is not just the story of one prisoner, but rather, the story of an industry whose success is dependent upon the continued failure of more than two million Americans. It is the story of an industry that built an assembly line that takes 13-year-old boys and transforms them into violent, habitual offenders, leaving both them and society as a whole to deal with the consequences of their dangerous product. Bobby Dellelo’s life experience is the story of that process. It is the story of The Factory.
- GenresNonfiction
366 pages, Paperback
Published January 22, 2016
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May 12, 2024
THE STORY OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHO ULTIMATELY SURVIVED THE PRISON SYSTEM
Robert (‘Bobby’) Dellelo had a very extensive criminal history, starting at age 13. This 2016 book interweaves the words of Dellelo with author Christopher Lordan. (Dellelo is white, by the way.)
Dellelo recalls that “To me, as a kid, [the cops] were the biggest thieves. They had their own rules. They had their guns and they did what they wanted. You get in the police station and they’d beat the sh-t out of you. The concept of law and order was a myth, it was just nonsensical. There were people that believed that, but most people I knew didn’t go along with that after a while. The court systems were a joke, and the cops were a joke.” (Pg. 19)
Lordan notes, “Bobby had proven himself during his time in reform school. It became general knowledge that he may be small but he could fight, and was not to be messed with---Lyman School for Boys had turned him hard. Lyman taught Bobby both how to establish himself and how to resist his captors. Later, at Walpole State Prison, those lessons became crucial to his survival.” (Pg. 39)
He notes that when Dr. Jerome Miller was appointed at commissioner of the ‘fledgling’ Department of Youth Services,’ “Miller’s vision was to move away from the traditional punishment model and transform juvenile corrections into a more humane and genuinely rehabilitative process. He believed troubled kids must be handled with dignity, fairness, and compassion to produce positive results… Alternative programs which threatened the reform school system’s stability were never seriously considered… Miller disliked how juvenile punishment applied disproportionately to poor and minority children… In Miller’s view, this disparity revealed the unspoken explanation as to why juvenile institutions were so resistant to change. In order for society to distance itself from the difficult work involved in juvenile rehabilitation, the offenders must be viewed as irredeemable… To address the real issues of social class and racism would require caring, dedication, time, and funding---all resources the public didn’t want to squander on criminals.” (Pg. 41-43)
When Dellelo was paroled as a young man, “Bobby’s re-entry plan into society was to make a fast score. While serving time, he didn’t acquire any legitimate jobs skills. None were available. The only thing he had learned in the past few years was how to be a better criminal.” (Pg. 77)
When sentenced to Walpole State Prison at age 21, “The primary goal for any man serving time there was simple: survival… anyone without physical capability or willingness to defend himself was quickly identified as prey… A man didn’t need to actually be a killer, being PERCEIVED as one was what really mattered.” (Pg. 105) Later, “Bobby learned the drug trade in prison… he knew his success depending on building and maintaining important contacts, which included both guards and inmates.” (Pg. 137)
Lordan notes, “Hearly half of the prison population was prescribed the narcotic Talwin, a highly addictive drug… The benefits of having a large segment of the inmate population of Talwin were apparent; men who were physically dependent on the drug became easy to manipulate and control.” (Pg. 145)
He observes “The proliferation of drugs and the new breed of inmates it created in the 1970s eroded the old school core of the prisons… when the drug addicted population shifted … to roughly 85% of the entire population… The old way of doing things was a clear failure… Today, the old school is no longer an influential presence in the prisons. The relatively few old timers … have quietly faded into the background… Rather than passing on … their life skill to newer and unworthy convict, they prefer to see their own eventual extinction.” (Pg. 159-160)
He explains that the Departmental Disciplinary Unit (DDU, or ‘Solitary’) “provides a lonesome existence without the benefit of peacefulness associated with solitude. Incessant noise makes rest nearly impossible… Empty corridors amplify sound, making the noise of the guards’ hourly rounds loud enough to wake even the heaviest sleeper throughout the night… inmates believe the noise is unnecessary and intentional---a result of their solitary-induced paranoia and hyper-stimulation.” (Pg. 205-206)
He points out, “In prison, men turn to violence, manipulation, homosexuality, lying, and drug use---all of which may be abnormal activities to him on the street. But prison is an artificial environment where the rules of normal behavior do not apply. Behavior which may appear to be insane or irrational to a free man is routine and completely normal for prisoners.” (Pg. 251)
He suggests, “[In] the mid-1970s… the prison population rate increased sharply… But the actual reasons for the sudden expansion were not the result of a spike in crime rates or a response to a particular crisis… As business interests permeated the prison system in pursuit of profit opportunities, its supporting industries also experienced rapid growth… Prisons themselves became the new factories, a massive apparatus which required thousands of workers to operate. Prisoners would enable that growth and development.” (Pg. 292)
He continues, “Private prison corporations pursue the twin goals of earmarking budget money for prison construction and to pass laws which increase the prison population.” (Pg. 302) Later, he adds, “The Prison Industrial Complex [PIC] would not exist without the statistical manipulations, media falsehoods, and political scare tactics its beneficiaries routinely use to gain support… the public has largely accepted the PIC’s … notion that imprisoning more criminals reduces crime and makes the pubic safer… suggesting that crime rates are on the rise, and that increased measures are necessary to fight crime.” (Pg. 310-311)
He concludes, “The prison system is a factory, one which creates and nurtures its end product: the criminal. Once a young kid is caught up in that system, the chances of emerging unscathed are incredibly low. He will be taught how to be a criminal, how to be violent, and how to manipulate. He will then be thrown back out onto the streets without skills, education, money, or any means of legitimate support. He will fail and he will eventually end up right back in prison where he started. He will pass through this cycle again and again throughout his life. He is a product of the factory. Bobby Dellelo’s journey is a compelling story … mostly because he is a living exception to the rule. He … fought for his dignity in the face of hopeless circumstances… and did not return to crime after his release into society. Most exceptional of all has been his ability throughout to maintain a positive outlook on life, and to carry forward .. with a meaningful agenda.” (Pg. 353-354)
I’m not nearly as sympathetic to Dellelo as Lordan is (he had innumerable ‘decision points’ in his earlier life, and he certainly could have made different choices); but this book is a fascinating look at the prison system, and contains many valuable criticisms of it.
Robert (‘Bobby’) Dellelo had a very extensive criminal history, starting at age 13. This 2016 book interweaves the words of Dellelo with author Christopher Lordan. (Dellelo is white, by the way.)
Dellelo recalls that “To me, as a kid, [the cops] were the biggest thieves. They had their own rules. They had their guns and they did what they wanted. You get in the police station and they’d beat the sh-t out of you. The concept of law and order was a myth, it was just nonsensical. There were people that believed that, but most people I knew didn’t go along with that after a while. The court systems were a joke, and the cops were a joke.” (Pg. 19)
Lordan notes, “Bobby had proven himself during his time in reform school. It became general knowledge that he may be small but he could fight, and was not to be messed with---Lyman School for Boys had turned him hard. Lyman taught Bobby both how to establish himself and how to resist his captors. Later, at Walpole State Prison, those lessons became crucial to his survival.” (Pg. 39)
He notes that when Dr. Jerome Miller was appointed at commissioner of the ‘fledgling’ Department of Youth Services,’ “Miller’s vision was to move away from the traditional punishment model and transform juvenile corrections into a more humane and genuinely rehabilitative process. He believed troubled kids must be handled with dignity, fairness, and compassion to produce positive results… Alternative programs which threatened the reform school system’s stability were never seriously considered… Miller disliked how juvenile punishment applied disproportionately to poor and minority children… In Miller’s view, this disparity revealed the unspoken explanation as to why juvenile institutions were so resistant to change. In order for society to distance itself from the difficult work involved in juvenile rehabilitation, the offenders must be viewed as irredeemable… To address the real issues of social class and racism would require caring, dedication, time, and funding---all resources the public didn’t want to squander on criminals.” (Pg. 41-43)
When Dellelo was paroled as a young man, “Bobby’s re-entry plan into society was to make a fast score. While serving time, he didn’t acquire any legitimate jobs skills. None were available. The only thing he had learned in the past few years was how to be a better criminal.” (Pg. 77)
When sentenced to Walpole State Prison at age 21, “The primary goal for any man serving time there was simple: survival… anyone without physical capability or willingness to defend himself was quickly identified as prey… A man didn’t need to actually be a killer, being PERCEIVED as one was what really mattered.” (Pg. 105) Later, “Bobby learned the drug trade in prison… he knew his success depending on building and maintaining important contacts, which included both guards and inmates.” (Pg. 137)
Lordan notes, “Hearly half of the prison population was prescribed the narcotic Talwin, a highly addictive drug… The benefits of having a large segment of the inmate population of Talwin were apparent; men who were physically dependent on the drug became easy to manipulate and control.” (Pg. 145)
He observes “The proliferation of drugs and the new breed of inmates it created in the 1970s eroded the old school core of the prisons… when the drug addicted population shifted … to roughly 85% of the entire population… The old way of doing things was a clear failure… Today, the old school is no longer an influential presence in the prisons. The relatively few old timers … have quietly faded into the background… Rather than passing on … their life skill to newer and unworthy convict, they prefer to see their own eventual extinction.” (Pg. 159-160)
He explains that the Departmental Disciplinary Unit (DDU, or ‘Solitary’) “provides a lonesome existence without the benefit of peacefulness associated with solitude. Incessant noise makes rest nearly impossible… Empty corridors amplify sound, making the noise of the guards’ hourly rounds loud enough to wake even the heaviest sleeper throughout the night… inmates believe the noise is unnecessary and intentional---a result of their solitary-induced paranoia and hyper-stimulation.” (Pg. 205-206)
He points out, “In prison, men turn to violence, manipulation, homosexuality, lying, and drug use---all of which may be abnormal activities to him on the street. But prison is an artificial environment where the rules of normal behavior do not apply. Behavior which may appear to be insane or irrational to a free man is routine and completely normal for prisoners.” (Pg. 251)
He suggests, “[In] the mid-1970s… the prison population rate increased sharply… But the actual reasons for the sudden expansion were not the result of a spike in crime rates or a response to a particular crisis… As business interests permeated the prison system in pursuit of profit opportunities, its supporting industries also experienced rapid growth… Prisons themselves became the new factories, a massive apparatus which required thousands of workers to operate. Prisoners would enable that growth and development.” (Pg. 292)
He continues, “Private prison corporations pursue the twin goals of earmarking budget money for prison construction and to pass laws which increase the prison population.” (Pg. 302) Later, he adds, “The Prison Industrial Complex [PIC] would not exist without the statistical manipulations, media falsehoods, and political scare tactics its beneficiaries routinely use to gain support… the public has largely accepted the PIC’s … notion that imprisoning more criminals reduces crime and makes the pubic safer… suggesting that crime rates are on the rise, and that increased measures are necessary to fight crime.” (Pg. 310-311)
He concludes, “The prison system is a factory, one which creates and nurtures its end product: the criminal. Once a young kid is caught up in that system, the chances of emerging unscathed are incredibly low. He will be taught how to be a criminal, how to be violent, and how to manipulate. He will then be thrown back out onto the streets without skills, education, money, or any means of legitimate support. He will fail and he will eventually end up right back in prison where he started. He will pass through this cycle again and again throughout his life. He is a product of the factory. Bobby Dellelo’s journey is a compelling story … mostly because he is a living exception to the rule. He … fought for his dignity in the face of hopeless circumstances… and did not return to crime after his release into society. Most exceptional of all has been his ability throughout to maintain a positive outlook on life, and to carry forward .. with a meaningful agenda.” (Pg. 353-354)
I’m not nearly as sympathetic to Dellelo as Lordan is (he had innumerable ‘decision points’ in his earlier life, and he certainly could have made different choices); but this book is a fascinating look at the prison system, and contains many valuable criticisms of it.
March 18, 2016
This is an incredible read. Bobby exposes the dirty details that nobody hears outside of the Prison. He learned quickly how to work the bureaucracy but did it in a way that benefited him and his fellow prisoner. He never paid attention to anyone's ethnicity which made him an efficient leader and figure among the prisoners. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, especially in these times.
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