Publisher's Synopsis
The author has written this book as a caveat to all those who are naive and hardheaded, as he once was: Sometimes unwittingly making choices without ever considering the possible adverse consequences and repercussions of those choices. This is his story of thirty-eight years behind bars, replete with detailed accounts of prison escapes, inmate violence, unethical prison guards, inadequate prison health care, and a brief commentary on the old felony murder law as it existed prior to 1980. The book also contains events and significant emotional experiences of the author's childhood and family members. It is the story of a young man in his early twenties who chose the wrong friends, started using drugs and subsequently, made several tragic errors in judgment that literally cost another young man his life. The first chapter is a thorough narrative of his crime, which began as a drug deal, evolved into a rip off and resulted in armed robbery and first-degree murder. Although three individuals committed this crime, only the author was convicted and sent to prison for life. His two accomplices used and betrayed him. One testified against him and walked away with virtual immunity, while the other was acquitted of all charges. The author gives an account of many interesting survival experiences, including his own escape and cross country trek to California, where he was arrested by the FBI after four months of freedom. While being transported back to Michigan, he once again attempts escape by breaking his handcuffs and jumping out of a vehicle traveling at seventy miles per hour. Once back inside prison walls, he spends the next eighteen months in the hole, where he finally realizes that he has always been his own worst enemy and begins making a conscience effort to become his own best friend.
