White Supremacists Sentenced to Life as California Prison Violence Exposes Gang Power and Systemic Failures

Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang, were sentenced to two consecutive life terms for various gang-related crimes orchestrated from their cells at California State Prison, Sacramento (CSP-Sacramento), including the murders of a Latino inmate and a member of a rival white supremacist gang.

With the use of smuggled cellphones, Ronald Yandell, 62, of Pinole, and William Sylvester, 56, directed drug trafficking activities, ordered murders, and oversaw other criminal activities inside and outside CSP-Sacramento.

In 2015, Yandell allegedly orchestrated the murder of Hugo "Yogi" Pinell, infamous for his role in the 1971 San Quentin Prison escape attempt, during which he reportedly slashed the throats of two correctional officers. Months before his attempted escape, Pinell fatally stabbed a correctional officer to death in another California prison.

According to Mercury News, Yandell's trial exposed allegations that prison officials may have been complicit in the conspiracy, which was carried out by two white inmates seeking to secure membership in the Aryan Brotherhood. Yandell sustained his innocence throughout the trial, blaming California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officers for orchestrating the homicide.

Months later, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) intercepted a call in which Yandell bragged about directing the murder and sponsoring Pinell's killers. He also used money earned from Aryan Brotherhood criminal activities to support his inductees.

Yandell's partner in crime, Sylvester, was also tied to the murder of another CSP-Sacramento inmate, Ronald Richardson, who was reportedly affiliated with a rival white supremacist gang known as the United Society of Aryan Skinheads. The homicide happened on October 7, 2001 and earned Sylvester his membership in the Aryan Brotherhood.

Sylvester planned the murder meticulously with another inmate and manufactured his own weapons. During the trial, investigators revealed Richardson received around 31 stab wounds.

CSP-Sacramento is a high-security state prison in California known for housing dangerous offenders and gang-affiliated inmates. Violent crime and homicides are commonplace within its cells.

On Monday, CSP-Sacramento reported its most recent inmate death. Lamar Scott, 35, was fatally stabbed with an improvised weapon by fellow inmate Jason Brannigan, 47. Another inmate was also injured in the attack.

In recent years, CDCR introduced a policy which places inmates from different rival gangs in the same housing and yard areas to encourage rehabilitation and reduce segregation. Criminal justice advocates cited an uptick in violence following the policy change, arguing that it endangers inmates by forcing them into potentially hostile environments without adequate safeguards.