Shaun Attwood

Shaun Attwood is a former stock-market millionaire and Ecstasy kingpin turned public speaker ^[1] author and activist. His story was featured worldwide on National Geographic Channel as an episode of Banged Up Abroad called Raving Arizona. ^[2] Random House published his life story as the English Shaun Trilogy. ^[3] "Hard Time" was published in 2010.^[4] and documents his time in Maricopa County Jail that is run by "America's toughest Sheriff" Joe Arpaio. His second book "Party Time" was released in the UK on 11th April 2013 and documents his rise as an Ecstasy kingpin. His third book "Prison Time" is published on 27th February 2014 and documents his time served in the Arizona Department of Corrections. ^[5]

Life

Attwood grew up in Widnes, Cheshire a small industrial town in northwest England, but moved to Arizona with the intent of becoming rich working as a stockbroker. However in Arizona, having a stressful job, and having had prior experience with the English rave scene, he began to use, and later distribute Ecstasy, which eventually became his primary source of income. His main competitor in the Ecstasy market was Salvatore Sammy the Bull Gravano, a Mafia mass murderer and former under boss of the Gambino crime family. ^[6] Attwood operated in association with and under the protection of the New Mexican Mafia. He eventually gave up dealing after Sammy the Bull Gravano's crew knocked the teeth out of Attwood's top Ecstasy salesperson. The attack and various threats by rival gangsters convinced him that the danger was too great. He retired to his then-girlfriend's apartment. However evidence had already been collected against him from his years as an Ecstasy kingpin, and on May 16 2002 he was arrested at the apartment. After serving two years in Maricopa County Jail prior to sentencing, and with a maximum two-hundred-year sentence on the table, Attwood eventually struck a plea deal for nine and a half years and served the balance of his sentence in the Arizona Department of Corrections. ^[7]

While imprisoned, Attwood began documenting the conditions and smuggling his accounts out of the prison in legal correspondence, which he passed to a relative. These accounts were posted online, on a blog titled "Jon's Jail Journal" to preserve his anonymity; this began to draw international media attention ^[8] to the conditions that prevail under Sheriff Arpaio.^[9] In 2007 Attwood was released and deported to the UK, where he continues to maintain his blog, now under his own name, where he publishes letters and accounts sent to him by other prisoners.

Attwood now gives talks to schoolchildren ^[10] and other groups about the negative consequences of drugs and crime, and advocates against Sheriff Arpaio and his methods.^[11] He has appeared on the BBC Sky News and Australian television to talk about issues affecting prisoners' rights.^[12][13][14]

Sources

• www.shaunattwood.com
• www.jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com

References