The vicious racist murder in June of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas, has drawn attention to the disturbing fact that some inmates develop and spread racist ideologies as members of prison gangs. Prison officials estimate that up to 10 percent of the nation's prison population are affiliated with such gangs.

Not only do racist prison gangs jeopardize the stability of the nation's penitentiaries, but when members of these gangs are released, they continue to express violent racist rhetoric and a strong animosity toward other races. Indeed, at least two of the men indicted on capital charges for Byrd's murder are believed to have associated with members of the violent white supremacist prison gang Aryan Brotherhood during their incarceration at a prison in Tennessee Colony, Texas. According to law enforcement estimates, there are 432 Aryan Brotherhood members in Texas penitentiaries.

Inside the prison system, where inmates often segregate themselves according to race, white supremacist groups may prove appealing to white convicts looking for group protection. In turn, these racist prison gangs can raise levels of mutual suspicion and antagonism. Indeed, in the wake of Byrd's murder, friends and neighbors of those charged have said that the alleged killers did not harbor racist feelings before they entered jail.

While it is doubtful that someone with no racist inclinations would become involved with a group like Aryan Brotherhood, it is reasonable to assume that those harboring some racist sentiments -- but who may have never acted on them before -- could become more radical in a racially charged environment like prison, where groups like Aryan Brotherhood offer them group identity and protection from other gangs.

Next: Brotherhood of Hate