Dwight E. Abbott

Dwight "Sonny" Abbott was born within a secure Middle-Class family and was misplaced in the thick of California's abusive penal system.

At the age of nine, a family tragedy split up Dwight Abbott’s family, and forced him into the hands of the California Youth Authority. This is the chilling chronicle of his life behind bars—a story of brutality and survival; a dark journey showing how the systematic abuse of incarcerated children creates a cycle of criminal behavior that usually ends with prison or death.

In its first sterialization, I Cried, You Didn’t Listen won a Project Censored award for stories that are significant, yet under-reported in the mainstream media. This second edition contains an introduction by Books Not Bars, new pieces by the author, and writing from more recent victims of the CYA.

Dwight Abbott, has been in and out of prison since his childhood. He is now serving multiple life sentences in Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, CA.

“This is a searingly honest book — read it if you have the courage. Dwight Edgar Abbott’s story will reveal more about the self-fueling horrors of incarceration than would ten of the average criminology texts. For years this book has circulated as an almost cult underground document, a simple key to explaining the complex wretched mess that is the American criminal justice system.” —CHRISTIAN PARENTI, author of Lockdown America, The Soft Cage and The Freedom

“Sadly, Dwight’s experience echoes the stories of the thousands of young people still warehoused and dehumanized in California, but also serves powerful testament to the need for a 180 degree shift in how we deal with young people in trouble.” —VAN JONES, Executive Director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights