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When Rafael Losno was growing up, he attended Catholic school in Oakland. He spoke three languages. He played sports and had a girlfriend. And he felt a deep loyalty to the place where he grew up, San Francisco's Mission District.
On June 5, 1981, a fight broke out between Losno, two friends, and some kids from a rival Daly City neighborhood.
RAFAEL LOSNO: Right here on the borderline of San Francisco and Daly City. And it got out of hand.
At the end, one person was down, clubbed to death with baseball bats and a golf club.
LOSNO: Unfortunately, it happens. There was a fight. Someone didn’t get up. And I was the one holding the keys.
At age 19, Losno was convicted of second-degree murder. He would spend almost 30 years behind bars. Losno spent time in what he calls “the hole” – or in other words, the Security Housing Unit, California’s most restrictive prison cells.
Losno described what life was like in the Pelican Bay Prison to KALW’s Judy Silber.
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Broadcast History
KALW 91.7FM:
October 25, 2011
Transcript
RAFAEL LOSNO: You hear the name of Pelican Bay, and people cringe. The stuff that does happen in there is true.
I was in there for a decade and the majority of it I was in solitary confinement in the notorious SHU… Before I was sent to Pelican Bay, I was at another institution, CMF Solano. CMF Solano sent me to Pelican Bay, where they had accused me of being a gang member, their definition of a shot-caller, a leader. But while I was incarcerated, I never laid a hand on anyone in prison. I never dictated or did anything to hurt anyone in prison…
I remember I used to weigh about 220 pounds. I’m 5'10” and I was big. When they released me, I came out weighing 165 pounds, whiter than a t-shirt. Long hair, so pale I could look into a mirror and see the veins through my face…
Those cells, they’re made out of concrete. You don’t see an animal, you don’t see a tree. You don’t get to have conta...
Read the full transcript
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