Why was Schillinger so brutal in the very beginning even if he hoped for parole?

Question

In the TV series Oz, Vernon Schillinger (leader of the Aryan Brotherhood) raped the new prisoner and former laywer Tobias Beecher. Also, he tattooed him with an swastika.

If Beecher wanted, he could have proven that this really happened and Schillinger did this.

However, in later episodes of Season 1, it was revealed that Schillinger was hoping for parole, hence he behaved good and keeps out of everything; in particular he did not put up a fight against Beecher when Beecher went crazy.

Why did Schillinger behaved in that way? If he wanted to come free, the raping of Beecher was too much a risk in the first place!

Answer 1

In terms of character development, Schiilinger had to come out of the box as a sociopathic skinhead. Shillinger didn't care much about anything in the beginning. It wasn't until his children died that he started to have a somewhat softer side, although he was always quite crafty and manipulating throughout the series.

I guess you could say that as The Brotherhood grew (particularly after they were moved out of Em City), he did less to put himself at the center of an action and instead ordered other people to do it for him. Robson took over as the more-involved Enforcer figure.

Answer 2

When the series starts, Schillinger is the head of the Brotherhood and really self confident, so he doesn't expect that Beecher will rebel against him. He may have done this before, and he keeps having this behaviour later with Franklin Winthorp. So at this time, even he is hoping for parole and he knows he had to keep a low profile, he has no idea that this affair with Beecher will degenerate this far.

He is also described as a sexual maniac and raping, humiliating weak and new inmates is a way amongst others to maintain the pressure as a dominant group. It is a common practice to make prags (prison fags) of these inmates.