"I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS THE MOST POWERFUL TALE OF HORROR WITHIN THE WALLS OF PENAL INSTITUTIONS SINCE 'PAPILLON.' THE TERRIFYING ASPECT IS THAT IT DESCRIBES AMERICA'S JUVENILE SYSTEM" - Alden Mills, ARETE MAGAZINE "THE AUTHOR'S WELL-WRITTEN STORY COMES AT THE READER FAST AND FURIOUSLY; SHOCKING READERS INTO AN AWARENESS OF THE INHUMANITY OF AMERICA'S JUVENILE PENAL INSTITUTIONS."- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS A POWERFUL INDICTMENT OF A SYSTEM THAT MAY HAVE LOST TRACK OF ITS PURPOSE."- Don Davis, THE SAN DIEGO UNION An early Winner of the "Project Censored" Award of Excellence"; I Cried, You Didn't Listen is a powerful story. It is shocking, haunting and brutal. Although it is a rare and valuable document, what is exceptional is not Dwight Abbott's experience, but his clarity and courage in sharing that experience. Dwight tells the disturbing tale of a very young child, first committed to the care of the state because of family tragedy and bad luck. Once institutionalized, he must learn to live within the cruel dynamics of a system that grants power through violence and leaves children at the mercy of predatory adults. He is continually faced with the need to choose between dehumanizing options: Be predator or be prey. Even in Dwight's description of racialist violence we see the effect that the social system has had on him - cementing stereo-types and prejudices that become self-fulfilling prophesy. Dwight's account is terrifying. Upon reading it, one must recognize that, faced with the stark choice between victimizing another and being a victim oneself, the morals and values that make sense in freedom fall away. Perpetrating violence appears as the best option for self-preservation. This is the fundamental dynamic at work in Dwight's institutional life. I Cried, You Didn't Listen shows that, within incarcerating institutions, violence in all its forms - sexual assault, cliques, crews, gangs, emotional abuse - is essentially about power and control both over and above one's own sense of self. -Books not Bars "THIS IS A SEARINGLY HONEST BOOK - READ IT IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE. DWIGHT EDGAR ABBOTT'S STORY WILL REVEAL MORE ABOUT THE SELF-FUELING HORRORS OF INCARCERATION THAN WOULD TEN OF THE AVERAGE CRIMINOLOGY TEXTS. FOR YEARS THIS BOOK HAS CIRCULATED AS AN ALMOST CULT UNDERGROUND DOCUMENT, A SIMPLE KEY TO EXPLAINING THE COMPLEX WRETCHED MESS THAT IS THE AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM." - Christian Parenti; American investigative journalist; writer of many widely published articles and author of: "LOCKDOWN AMERICA," "THE SOFT CAGE" AND "THE FREEDOM." "SADLY, DWIGHT'S EXPERIENCE ECHOES THE STORIES OF THE THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE STILL WAREHOUSED AND DEHUMANIZED IN CALIFORNIA, BUT ALSO SERVES POWERFUL TESTAMENT TO THE NEED FOR A 180 DEGREE SHIFT IN HOW WE DEAL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN TROUBLE." - Van Jones, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ELLA BAKER CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. "CONSEQUENCE": the aftermath is the sequel to: "I Cried, You Didn't Listen". It is the story of the 'few' incarcerated children who 'survived' the California Youth Authority's 'Training camps'; only to become societies 'worst nightmares'. It is the 'sunset' of life for those who were: Innocent until "Made" Guilty".
At the age of nine, Dwight Abbott's carefree life ended dramatically, his childhood thrown into chaos when his parents were nearly killed in a car accident late one night in the hills above Pomona, California. Dwight was taken to Los Angeles Central Juvenile Hall, where he was soon after beaten by his peers, and raped by the counselors his care was entrusted to. It wasn't long before he understood he had to decide if he'd remain prey or become the predator. He shares his childhood with us in his book, I Cried, You Didn't Listen, written upon toilet paper while in Solitary Confinement for five years at the Oregon State Penitentiary. And now, with CONSEQUENCE, for the first time, he shares what he and the children growing up with him went on to experience. The scary part is the nightmare he writes of is the fate of boys and girls today being raised inside California's juvenile penal system. Today, in place of knives and zip guns, Dwight battles with pen and paper, choosing to believe, as he did in the beginning, 20 years ago, that readers learning of the consequences of unchecked authority inside juvenile institutions will rise up and demand reform. Dwight has spent most of his 69 years behind one set of bars or another, and is presently serving four 25 Year to life; consecutive sentences at The California Health Care Facility in Stockton. "THIS," he shares, "is in large part the consequence of, to name a few, Nelles, Paso Robles and Preston; spawn of California's Youth Authority."
