The prison system, inherently unjust and inhumane
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Is the ultimate expression of injustice
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and inhumanity in the society at large.
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Those of us on the outside do not like
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to think of wardens and guards as our surrogates, yet they are.
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And they are intimately locked in a deadly embrace
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with their human captives behind prison walls.
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By extension, so are we.
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The terrible double meaning is thus imparted
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to the original question of human ethics
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"Am I my brother's keeper?"
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The second of February, 1980
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Began three days of misery
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A scene of retaliation
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Epitomizing violence, horror, and vindication
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Thieves, murderers, and rapists
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Inundated their prison like homicidal sadists
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Convict and guards alike would pay the price
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To them the electric chair would look like paradise
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Only degradation, torture, and cremation would suffice
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[chorus]
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A sea of agony rolled in like the coming of the tide
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The more fortunate escaped the insanity through suicide
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The screams of the dying would haunt the living to the grave
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Survivors of the riot relive the nightmare every day
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The last act of defiance
|
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With a never-ending appetite
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Barbiturates set them off like dynamite
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Eradicating informants
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Acetylene torches dealt the punishment
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Melted from skin to bone
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The fire silenced their screams to moans
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Smoke filled the air from bodies set aflame
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Begging for mercy, but their words were spoken in vain
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They weren't allowed to perish until they cherished all the pain
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[chorus]
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Guards they had taken hostage
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Were to blame for pushing them over the edge
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Their brutality would be their demise
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Like sharks in a frenzy they lashed out at their prize
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When the madness had ended
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The gore was too intense to be comprehended
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No one explained the real reason why
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For cruelty of a few, so many should die
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They knew of the flaws, but still insist the cause was justified
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[chorus]
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-----------------
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The Last Act Of Defiance
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Exodus |