Reportback from a Visit with Tinley Park 5 Prisoner Dylan Sutherlin

from NYCABC: We received this reportback from Bloomington Anarchist Black Cross

Last week several folk visited with Dylan for about 4 hours at Centralia Correctional.

Dylan was in good spirits. He has greatly appreciated all the mail! When he first got to Logan County Jail, he said there were several weeks in a row that he got at least three letters a day, and people were saying, “Who is this guy?!” He has received lots of letters from all over the world. He hopes those overseas feel his sincere thanks, even as he is not able to write back because the prison determines how much each letter sent outside the country costs, and it’s too expensive.

Dylan said people at Centralia are friendly, and he mostly keeps to himself. He told a story of his time in Logan County Jail when he first got there. He said there are lots of Nazi’s at Logan. The grandson of one of the “victims” was also in there and had orders to get revenge. But Dylan quickly had friends in high places. The Lt General of some gang said he was untouchable so the Nazi’s couldn’t get him. They offered $500 for the gang to turn him over from their protection, but they wouldn’t.

Dylan gets to talk to both his dad and his mom at least once a month. He has written the warden about being able to write to his brothers in other prisons because his understanding is that family members can write each other, but maybe not because they are also co-defendents. He has not heard anything back from the warden after writing three times, and recently had trouble getting in touch with his lawyer.

This month Dylan ran out of commissary. He had received two books, ‘The ABC’s of Anarchy’ and ‘Green Rage’, but the prison rejected them as “security threats”. The prison said he had to pay to return them or they’d be destroyed, and so they had to be destroyed. He said he doesn’t read too often, but he received V for Vendetta and enjoyed it. He’d like to receive the 5th and 6th Game of Thrones books. They must be paperback.

He is on a wait list for college courses, which will help to shorten his sentence, and so he is hoping to get in soon, but he has no knowledge of where his name is on the list.

Dylan loves visits and is allowed way more visits than he’s getting. Anyone interested in visiting can write to Dylan and include their full legal name, address listed on their ID, age, race, gender and birthday and ask him to add you to his visitation list. For more info about visiting you can call the prison visitation department and ask them questions.