This book is dedicated to the fi ne men and women working in corrections and law enforcement, particularly those employed by the State of Nebraska at the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center, the Lincoln Correctional Center, the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, and the Nebraska State Penitentiary.
Additional thanks go to the multiple inmates at all of
the above named locations for unintentionally providing a
great deal of the material on which this book is based. No,
you do not get a cut.
Also, to Russell Zywiec, who died of heart failure
leaving his post, on May 19, 2006, and Thomas Roti, who
died of a brain tumor on April 17, 2007. Russell and Tom
were two of my academy classmates.
All errors are mine and mine alone, but I would like
to thank my editor, mentor, and hero, Dr. James E. Ossian,
for taking the time to help me with this project. If I were Charlotte, I would weave "Some Editor" in the corner of
his offi ce.
Thanks Dad.
With the exception of the Psychology of the Snake piece,
the sketches in this book have been provided by the fi nest
illustrator on the planet, my brother, Richard E. Ossian.
The maps and assorted photography were ripped out
of the Lincoln, NE phone book, taken by me, or borrowed
from the Internet.
Additional thanks to Jim Jarvis of Jarvis Fine
Photography for his work on the cover.
The Nebraska State Correctional forms are either
completely true, or somewhat doctored.
Dear Reader,
It would behoove you to study the 10-codes and
correctional jargon glossary at the end of the book, prior
to reading it. Not that you would gain signifi cantly better
understanding of the text, or fi nd all of the codes and
glossary's samples embedded in the text. It would simply
give you a chuckle as you preview what is to come.
Why Do I Have To Leave?
Why do I have to leave?
I wish I could stay
Nobody bothers me
The World leaves me alone
No child support
No rent, no taxes
No bills, no high gas prices
No pressure to get a job
I don't drink
I have all the pornography I can stand
Why do I have to leave?
-- Anonymous inmate
"It gives me tremendous pride to work for the only
Correctional Department in the country whose sole means
of execution is the electric chair."
- Wishing to remain anonymous, "Please don't tell
anybody I said that." - O