Setting: A dimly lit prison interview room at Kentucky State Penitentiary. Fleece Johnson, a convicted felon known as the “Booty Warrior,” sits across from MSNBC reporter Sarah Mitchell. The interview is part of a special segment titled “Systemic Shadows: The Prison Experience.”

Sarah Mitchell: Good evening, Mr. Johnson. Thank you for joining us to share your perspective on life inside. Many viewers may know you from your 2008 interview, where you spoke candidly about prison dynamics. Can you start by explaining what life is like here?

Fleece Johnson: “In this prison, bty was more important than food. Bty. A man’s bt. It was more important than, I’m serious, bty, having some b**ty, was more important than drinking water, man.”

Sarah Mitchell: That’s a striking statement, Fleece. It sounds like the environment here creates intense pressures. Would you say the prison system, shaped by broader societal forces like capitalism’s neglect of rehabilitation or systemic racism, pushes individuals toward such extreme behaviors?

Fleece Johnson: I ain’t sayin’ all that. It’s just how it is in here. You see a man, he look good to me, I go up to him. I say, “Hey, you. Come here. I say, imma tell you what, I like you and I want you. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. So the choice is yours.” And it was always a yes.

Sarah Mitchell: That dynamic sounds coercive, but let’s contextualize it. The prison system often fails to address root causes like poverty or racial inequities, which can trap people in cycles of desperation. Could you argue that your actions were a response to a system that dehumanizes inmates, leaving you with little control?

Fleece Johnson: I don’t know about all that control stuff. I see what I want, I take it. Like, they got this thang where they sag their pants past their butt. (continued)

and if y’know it’s sexy, to us right and see when they went for pa for this right so you say your pants for here man an somebody be up in yo butt y’know and it is just that simple.

Sarah Mitchell: That’s a vivid description of prison culture. But some might say this culture is a byproduct of a society that marginalizes certain groups, pushing them into environments where survival tactics like these emerge. The way you describe pursuing others—do you see it as an assertion of power in a system that strips it away?

Fleece Johnson: Power? I’m just bein’ me. I’m a warrior, you know? I told them cameras back then, “If y’all had been in here back then them days then an as much as I like bty, I’d probably fk one of y’all butts, and y’all could walking past me, and dare you to say something. I got no shame in my game, this is nothing I’m ashamed to admit. I am what I am, am a warrior too y’know so let that be known, I’m a warrior.”

Sarah Mitchell: Your openness is certainly bold, Fleece. But let’s unpack that “warrior” identity. In a society where systemic issues—like racist policing or economic inequality—disproportionately funnel Black men into prisons, could we view your behavior as a rebellion against a system that’s already taken so much from you?

Fleece Johnson: Rebellion? I’m just livin’. In here, it’s about what you can get. Like I said before, “Someone was going to have to give up some b**ty.” That’s how it go. Ain’t no system makin’ me do it—it’s what I want.

Sarah Mitchell: I hear you, but critics might argue the system shapes those desires indirectly. Capitalism prioritizes profit over reform, cramming men into overcrowded cells with unmet needs. Racism amplifies who ends up here. In that light, your actions could be seen as a survival mechanism, not a choice. How do you respond to that?

Fleece Johnson: Survival? Maybe. But I like what I like. B**ty’s king in here.

Ain’t no water, no food, no nothin’ more important. You in here with men, hard men, wantin’ somethin’. That’s the code.

Sarah Mitchell: That “code” fascinates me. It’s almost as if the prison environment, molded by societal failures, creates its own rules. Before we close, any final thoughts on how society could change to prevent these dynamics?

Fleece Johnson: Change? I don’t know, lady. I just know b**ty run this place. Always will.

Sarah Mitchell: A stark reflection of a broken system. Fleece Johnson, thank you for your candor. This is Sarah Mitchell, reporting for MSNBC.

>>935906413
This is just for pity