In
Shangri
La
something less demanding than the Army. They feed you three
times a day, give you a new set of clothes twice a week and
you get to do sports or exercise or catch up on your reading
the rest of the time. Prison has become big business in the
U.S. It's how Uncle Sam founds new cities. In the old days it
was the covered wagons that went west. Today, it's the drug
smugglers that go north. The prison population has skyrocketed
from 500,000 in 1980 to over 2,500,000 today. If we include
ex-inmates now on parole and probation, 7 million people are
in the system. That creates lots of jobs. So if you think the U.S.
Government has any intention of legalizing drugs or easing up
on the Sentencing Guidelines, think again. It's no longer a health
issue. Now it's an unemployment issue, including the massive
layoffs it would trigger among small time drug peddlers.
- One day the warden came to the maintenance shop where I had a job entering data in a computer. He angrily
asked my boss, "Do you know what this guy is in here for? Do you know who he is?" That afternoon I lost my
job. From then on, I spent my unlimited free time researching Physics and filing motions for other prisoners.
Scientist and lawyer! Great education!
I got some 10 or 12 people out. My first success was with the impossible case of Rodolfo Pineda. The next
day I won with 58 year old Cuban Jose 'Cheo' Rosales. They begged me to have my pic taken with them. I
got Gilberto Lopez out on a technicality. The 75 year old man told me he owes me his life. The two old fellas
Cheo and Gilberto left on the same day. The entire club threw a bon voyage party for them.
The sad day came when I had to leave. I told the crowd that the accommodations and service had been
satisfactory and that I might consider returning. Some cried. But I still wonder if it was because they enjoyed
my company or because they lost their pro-bono lawyer.
| With Kiet Truong, Gilberto Lopez-Granados, and Alfred Muller |
| With Jose Rosales and Rodolfo Pineda a couple of days after they won their cases. |
| Challenging Physics |
| My Praetorian Guard: (standing) Boris Conde, Guillermo Cardona, Hugo Raufhofer. (kneeling) Rafael Reyes and Luis Serna |
| Jailhouse lawyer |
| Visitation rights |
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