In prison, there are certain "unwritten rules" amongst prisoners. In a way, prisoners have their own justice system to deal with situations of all kinds.
People who end up in prison who are commonly in danger of losing their life to other prisoners are:
Child molesters
Child murderers
Animal cruelty convicts
Canibals
and many others.
It's a little strange in that prisoners are there because they victimized another human being most times and yet, they will stand up for certain things that are considered "TABOO" and BEYOND the average victimization of another.
Prisoners all over the world are VERY protective of children. NEVER touch a child inappropriately and NEVER kill a child.
When Susan Smith drowned her own children and lied for many days about what happened to them, she finally came clean and admitted to drowning them.
Killing your OWN children is even worse on the scale.
Susan Smith is now in a special protected area of the prison so that other inmates cannot get to her to kill her.
Jeffrey Dahmer prayed on young gay men. He lured them into his apartment, either drugged them or strangled them and dismembered them. In some cases even 'eating' their parts. Pretty disgusting huh?
Jeffrey Dahmer, although placed in a protective area of the prison he was held in, was not protected enough. Other prisoners did.....in the end.....get a hold of him and killed him. Actions like Dahmer's are severe taboo and if the justice system will begin the process of putting people like him away, the other prisoners are sure to find a way to finish him off for his haneous crimes.
The same thing goes for Michael Vick. Just about everyone loves animals. While there are a few people in the world who could care less if they ever own an animal, they would still never want to see an animal injured or killed. When someone like Michael Vick is convicted of brutally maming and killing dogs (or any other animal for that matter), he has stepped across a line that is not acceptable in society.
So, chances are, Michael Vick will be put in a protective area of the prison he is sent to in order to keep other prisoners from brutally ending his life. It's sort of an "Eye For An Eye" concept amongst prisoners.
Many prisoners who live within the same walls as people like Jeffrey Dahmer, Susan Smith, Timothy McVae (convicted for the Oklahoma City Bombing), and many many countless others, are all in prison with life sentences themselves. They never have a chance of leaving prison. They have NO qualms about taking other prisoners out who have crossed those types of lines. The worst that can happen to them is they can be put in solitary confinement for a number of days.....maaaybe months. They really have nothing to lose.
It seems rather hypocritical that prisoners who pray on others and victimize others have a profound need to avenge the deaths or victims of certain other crimes. But, that's how the system goes within prison walls and has for as long as man has been in existance.
:)