Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Dannie Martin 1939-2013

Obit for for former Chronicle columnist and bank robber Dannie "Red Hog" Martin at http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Dannie-Martin-dies-bank-robber-wrote-of-prison-5105636.php . Mr. Martin penned wry and emotionally honest descriptions about life in the federal prison system. His experience in federal facilities spanned the past era of relatively few, but violent prisoners, and the present reality of record breaking incarcerations, Mr. Martin observed that after an extended absence from the penitentiary that there had been three major changes:
1) Prisoners who would've gone to psychiatric hospital were now part of the general population.
2) There was more interaction between prisoners and custodial officers, unthinkable before.
3) Perhaps even the most shocking, Mr. Martin was dismayed to find that younger prisoners did not mind working in the prison. Mr. Martin firmly believed that the whole point of being a criminal was not to engage in honest labor.

In addition Mr. Martin was one of the earliest heroin addicts to have been prescribed buprenorphine and found the drug enabled him to kick opiates for good. A column about his experience with buprenorphine can be found at http://www.alternet.org/story/15998/buprenorphine_saved_my_health_and_maybe_a_few_banks . Mr. Martin believed that reducing bank robberies had to start by reducing the number of addicts.

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