Mitchell Northern

Dear World..

by Mitch Northern

My name is Mitchell Northern, and I am currently doing 25 to life for 1st degree murder, and 43 months for aggravated assault of law enforcement. I am very disgruntled and angry about these charges, so I won't go too far into details in this introduction, but long story short, I didn't do what they say I did. The killing was self-defense, and the other charge was piled on everything else, in order to help the courts railroad me. It worked. I don't have anything at all to hide, so I'll answer any questions you got if anyone decides to write back.

I'm one of a handful of white kids from the hood. Everywhere I ever lived was the hood. From Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri, Las Vegas, Nevada, Los Angeles, California, Hemet, California, then back to KC..so all I know is struggle.

I'm not going to sit here and bad mouth anyone, but in order to tell my story I have to say a few lines like "My family put the fun in dysfunctional". Personally, my existence is a result of a bad situation my birth mother put herself in, and she made sure I knew about it every day. I bounced back and forth between relatives because she didn't want me around, and that was just fine with me. I told you earlier I ALWAYS lived in the hood, so I was always having to fight my way out of crazy situations, and that ended up labeling me "That crazy white kid". And because I have always been taller and heavier than everyone else, I became an outcast, and target for everyone to bother.

Every boy bullied me because I was just a big ass poor white kid from the hood, and when I'd fight back, I'd be in trouble. So that turned me from bullied to bully. It made some people avoid me, but it drew the attention of the local gangs. I ended up joining one at 13. It was both the best and worst thing to ever happen in my life.

I got very wrapped up in all of the stuff that gets people dead, or in jail. I didn't know any better. I learn by watching. I started going into county jail at 18. By 21 I was in prison and by 24 I got this sentence I'm doing now. I did, along the way, make some good friends, who I still talk to today. They are the ones who encourage me to try to do better. I'm 40 now, soon to be 41 and I've been in prison 20 years. I do struggle. mostly because I HATE the criminal justice system.

This place/these places are not designed with the values of human growth and redemption. These places are in reality, the bowels of humanity where young men are warehoused on top of each other and assaulted by demons the rest of the world would rather forget existed. THAT is why my disciplinary record looks the way it does. Because during all this time I've done, I've been asking and begging for self-help programs, only to be told I have too much time, or asked to snitch on things that happen in here. But that snitchin' shit aint me. So I just do what I gotta do to survive. Once in a while I luck out and get granted the opportunity to do a mental health class or group. I've done a group that focused on how to retrain the antisocial brain called "Socialization', I've completed a group/class called ""Emotion Regulation" . I've done Anger Management 1 and 2--twice each. I helped develop a curriculum called positive psychology for long term males , which basically I just was interviewed and in a group setting by a very smart and caring lady who worked with us "long term incarcerated males".

I got my high school diploma, and so far I have almost 18 credits and 200 clock hours towards an associates degree in business management. Most of that is common sense. At least to me, because I'm a retired gang leader. I won't go into details, but I'm good at organizing people and their respective skills and weaknesses.

Anymore these days I just do my best to teach these young men. I teach 2 things. First and foremost, I just do my best to teach these youngsters not to end up like me. But some of them are hard set on on being gangsters. So I’ll teach them how to be the best kind of gangster and still be able to look at their face in the mirror. It’s kind of a two-edged sword and it bothers me..teaching these dudes to be gangsters, but also preaching against it. I’m doing the best I can though, being self-taught myself, and trying to simultaneously fight my cases, and these sadistic officers who perpetuate the terrors of the prison industrial complex.

Anyways..that's my story in a nutshell. Details and context available upon request.

In summary, I’m just working on myself and doing what I can to help the guys that come after me. I’m not a bad person. I just done a lot of bad stuff while trying to figure life out with no real help or guidance.

Thank you all for your time, love and blessings to you all

-Big Mitch