Mention the Heartless Felons to any player in the Ohio justice system—rival gangs, court attorneys, police officers, and most especially snitches—and you’ll feel the chill in the room. Founded by ‘LA Pone’ in a juvenile facility in the early 2000s, and mostly comprised of young Black men, they are considered the largest and fastest growing adult prison gang in Ohio. Their violence spills beyond bars: in 2015, a SWAT team needed to accompany jurors to the trial of a Felon leader; a month later, a Felon murdered three in what has come to be known as the Warrensville Heights Barbershop Massacre. The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that the Felons have ushered in an organized “crime wave in Cleveland so violent” it rivals the mob in the 1970s.

The group is also known for its intense secrecy. Which is why we at Countere have produced—to our knowledge—the first on-the-record interview with a Heartless Felon leader.

I was introduced to Byron* by a close friend who just finished a bid. My friend had gotten himself a $1000 hit on his head, so he went to Byron—the ‘Godfather’ of the Heartless Felon branch in their prison, and the highest-ranking inmate—who handled it expediently. They remained in touch. One night, my friend took me to meet Byron in East Cleveland. We met at his relative’s house. Byron was extremely wary, but after I showed him Countere and our plethora of epic articles, including a step-by-step guide to rerocking cocaine, he was down. We rolled up a few blunts and talked late into the night.

Byron is a barrel-chested Black man in his late 20s. He keeps his hands shoved in his hoodie. He sits on the tallest stool in the room, back against the wall, blowing clouds of weed smoke that his 7-year-old nephew delightedly runs through. He was especially eager to give me the names of a few snitches to print—which we obviously won’t, as it would mean instant death for them—and had insider knowledge on lots of high-profile Felon incidents like the barbershop massacre.

The only moment of tension came when I asked Byron if he had any regrets. I was met with a cold stare—not like he was offended that I would ask, more that he didn’t even know what the fuck I was talking about. He narrowed his eyes. “Like…you want to hear something fucked up? Or what?” “Sure,” I said. He then told a story about jumping a pastor while holding a Bible in his hands, ending with hysterics as he and my friend—who had personally witnessed the pastor's beatdown on the yard—mimicked the man’s subsequent seizure.

Byron is…heartless. He’s clearly a sociopath, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own values. It just means he has no remorse. Heartless Felons is not Islam, which uplifts the spirit in prison; it’s a vicious tool for survival and status. And for anyone thinking about snitching, leaving, or disobeying, barbaric doses of violence are doled out to Felons themselves—the Heartless Felon prayer is “God protect from my friends, because I can handle my enemies.”

*Name and some details changed to protect identity.

Beginning of the Bid

I was sentenced to 8½ years for an armed robbery. When I was getting transferred from county, I started learning about gangs. Especially the Heartless Felons. I told myself I’d never get into that shit. But when I got to prison—I was in a Level-3 medium security facility—I saw everyone from Cleveland that was in their 20s was in the Heartless Felons. So I decided to join.

Chain of Command

In Ohio, Heartless Felons mostly outnumber every gang in every prison. We’ve been successful because we’re dangerous, and we’ve prospered because of our numbers. The Heartless Felons have different branches. You’ve got the main branch, HF: Heartless Felons. You got LOH: Land of the Heartless. SOS: Soldiers of the Same Struggle, which they eliminated because its Founder fell out with another Founder. YG: Young Guns. YF: Young Felons. And so forth. The newest branch is FBF: Full Blooded Felon. 

Mansfield [The Ohio State Reformatory] is the headquarters of the Heartless Felons. It’s Mansfield and Trumbull, but mainly Mansfield. Mansfield got over 2500 inmates that’s Heartless Felons. Trumbull got at least 1500-2000.

In every prison, there’s a Godfather of the whole gang. The chain of command starts with the Godfather, then goes to the Made Man—that means you don’t have to do nothing ever again—to the UB—that’s the Underboss—and finally HNIC—Head Nigga in Charge.

After the HNIC, there’s captains for every branch. Some prisons have multiple branches. There’s a captain for the LOH branch, a captain for the FBF branch, a captain for the YF Branch. Every captain has a lieutenant. And then you have the foot soldiers. Foot soldiers is the ones that crash out (run up on somebody and beat them up). The Godfather gives orders to the Underboss, who tells the HNIC, who spreads it to the captain. It goes all the way to the lieutenants and foot soldiers.

You’re not supposed to know who the Godfather of your prison is. Sometimes people know who he is, but it’s supposed to be a secret, because a snitch might go and tell gang coordinators (the department in prison to monitor gangs). If you’re a foot soldier, your knowledge stops at the HNIC. You only know who the HNIC is. And the HNIC knows who the Godfather is.

Becoming a Felon

As a Heartless Felon, there’s two things that can happen. You either increase your status, or you get sent to a higher security facility. Life will get even worse if you get sent to a higher security facility—if you go to a Level-5 prison, you get one phone call a week, you’re in a cell 23 hours a day. You’re in Hell.

Every Heartless Felon has got to do three missions before they become a Felon. There’s different types of missions. There’s money missions: taking somebody’s commissary or taking their pack (drugs). You can be ordered to whack someone—to physically hurt them, badly, not necessarily kill them. One of the missions I was given in the beginning was to whack a light-skinned dude with gold grills and tattoos, his name was [REDACTED]. We had to whack him and take his pack and split it amongst us.

If you’re whacking someone you could jump them in the bathroom, or while they’re sleeping in the morning…you could even be ordered to whack a CO (correctional officer). When they say it has to be done, it has to be done. 

If you try to join the Heartless Felons, and you don’t do your three missions, you will get whacked yourself. If you’re ordered to take out a CO in broad daylight, you have to do it. Even if it means you’re guaranteed to get sent to a hole and sacrifice the chance of having your status increased. You’ve got to be heartless. And if you’re ordered to whack your friend that you grew up in school with, you have to whack him—or you get whacked out.

Rites of the Heartless Felons

After you do three missions, you’re labeled a foot soldier. There’s a pledge you take: “You got to have the heart of thousand men,” is what we say. We also had the ‘Ten Golden Rules.’ You can never violate them. Things like “Never treat your comrade (we call each other comrades) like a pawn or junkie.” “Never cheat or lie or steal from a Felon.” “Never conduct no homo activity.”

The Founders are mostly from Cleveland; one is from Youngstown. 216 (Cleveland’s area code) stands for “Born a Felon.” Get it? The numbers match with the letters…

Becoming a Godfather

I was never clout thirsty to get ranked. I was a foot soldier for at least five years. But I started using my mind more, maneuvering to get drugs. As time came I became Godfather. 

As a Godfather you’re supposed to have the most money and the most respect. You got to make sure you’re bringing in money to the gang, make sure everyone’s eating, everyone has the drugs they want. You work with the people who [smuggle drugs in], and you get a cut. When I got the Godfather spot I went straight to extorting everyone else that had more drugs than me in the joint.

Anything the Godfather says goes. You cannot question it. Or you will be whacked. You can give out punishments to other Felons: 36 punches, things like that.

What is being a Godfather like? It’s a headache and it’s something you might love. Because you have control over people under you. I had control over life and death for 112 men. It’s a good powerful feeling. At the same time, I felt stressed because it’s liable to slip out who the Godfather is and the police will know. And other Felons will try to steal your spot.

There was a dude named Duke. He joined the Heartless Felons in the juvenile facility. He wound up beating up each Godfather in every prison he went to—he’d be a low-ranking Felon, but he would go for the top position. And he would get it. Duke wound up committing three murders at [the Warrensville Heights] barbershop. He’s in prison right now doing life.

The Godfather is supposed to be the smartest one. He knows how to use his mind; anyone can crash out on somebody. There’s another dude named [REDACTED] doing life in prison right now. He’s a Godfather that every prison would like to have. He immediately becomes Made Man or Godfather at any prison—Felons will vote for him. He’s a physical person but his mental is very strong. He moves like the 48 Laws of Power. Wherever he go, he’s going to provide for the Heartless Felons.

I worked on my mental too. I read books. The Art of War. I learned that I could make things move without physically touching them.

How to Run a Gang in Prison

Having a position as a Godfather, you got to know how to feed your whole team. So you need money—you got to bring something to the table. Every branch got to have a ‘kitty.’ It’s a pot that everyone chip in to. You got to put a certain amount of money in your kitty. That money goes to giving your comrades drugs and food to eat.

At the end or beginning of the month we’d have a meeting. The Godfather, the Made Man, the Underboss, the Head Nigga in Charge, and the Treasurer, who keeps track of all the money. We’d have conversations: “He need to get violated cause he stole,” or “He need to get whacked out because he didn’t go on his missions. Make sure he gone.” 

When you the Godfather, you don’t report to nobody. There are Founders of the Heartless Felons, but most of them are doing life in maximum facilities. So the Godfather of each prison is pretty much on his own. But you can send word to other Godfathers of other prisons if you need somebody whacked or if y’all trying to get some drugs. You can tell them to look out for another inmate or make sure a Felon gets a ranking position.

You got to do things that are hard. You might have to whack an elderly inmate. Or order someone to whack a CO. And if they don’t do it, you order them to be whacked. I ordered hits and watched foot soldiers carry them out who didn’t even know I was the Godfather.

The Pastor Beatdown

Sometimes you had to disguise a hit. There was a snitch in the prison who became a pastor. I wanted him whacked. But the only way to get this dude out of the block was to use a Bible. I walked up to him and said “Man, I’m ready to confess my demons, I want to change my life around, to find my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…but I need you to come out, let’s go on a walk.” So went into the yard and were just talking for 15-20 minutes. He’s reading me Bible verses. The whole time I’m waiting for my comrades that I ordered to do the hit.

They punched him at the same exact time. Clean. Knocked him out. He collapsed under the table, went into a seizure. Spit coming out his mouth, snot coming out his nose. They had to pour water on him. Fuck him.

Future Heartless Felons

A lot of Felons nowadays is not heartless. They get in gangs and they can’t handle the pressure. But there’s still a select few Felons that’s heartless and strong.

After I got out, I didn’t communicate with any Felons. Every Felon is not your brother. There’s things in prison you gotta leave behind. A Heartless Felon will either get whacked out of the gang, or they let you walk away because you have respect.

But once you a Felon, you forever a Felon. It’s in your blood. If you a good Felon and you doing life, or you a Felon and they tried to whack you out…you always a Felon. 

There are Heartless Felons on the streets. They still have meetings, they still come together, and there’s a Godfather out here. I don’t know who he is. Just the other day I saw a dude throw up the Heartless Felons [gang sign]. But I ain’t doing shit. I’m cool on that shit.

Follow Zachary Emmanuel on Twitter.