I sometimes think it’s easier to write a novel if you don’t know what you’re up against. Our correctional facilities are full of such people; they have nothing but time.
But it also helps when you’re encouraged to pursue your dreams, regardless of your predicament...
It doesn’t matter that you killed your best friend, rolled her up in a rug and dumped her body two counties away. You were sixteen. Your life careened out of control when you left your home at the age of twelve—not that your home life was a Norman Rockwell painting. Injecting heroine at an early age, sharing needles with your mother, undoubtedly steered you down that path of disturbing wrong.
A female corrections officer (whom I met not too long ago) had encouraged you to keep writing. It did not matter that you were involved in a 100 million dollar lawsuit against the State of Michigan for the sexual abuse of female prisoners, it did not matter to this female corrections officer that some of her peers would lose their jobs (even when she didn’t know whether they were guilty or innocent). She became your surrogate mother. She took an interest in you. In return, you acknowledged her.
In 2006, Triple Crown Publications accepted and published your book. Whether you or your daughter see any money from the settlement is not important. Sure, it would be nice to have the money, to help your daughter lead a better life, but what really matters is that the profits from your book, the fruits of your labor, will go to your daughter. I’m sure she’s proud of your accomplishment.
15 comments:
You definitely have a quirky sense of cynicism. :-) I hope his daughter does actually benefit in a positive way from this, because his life before was horrific. Imagine coming from such a thing...
Fron an old country song:
We don't make the pictures
We don't write the books
That paint a gay picture
Of gansters and crooks.
...But apparently, it's quite a business.
This is my point. Life is what it is. My home life was horrid. The things that went on in my house would make most people become ill or deeply depressed. I know, I was there. As children we haven't much choice as to what we must bear. I do believe as an adult we must realize the choices are ours to make and though our lives were tough when we were young, we must recognize that it does not have to rule our lives.
Now, I was not saying before that they should not pay the price or even profit from it. But what if they had been encouraged as a young person? Would their path be different now? Could the mere offering be a way of regret and showing that at least at one time they were not a murdering creature, but human.
I don't know Jr, I guess I am trying to see that there are parts of us that are good, its just that sometimes they get pushed down so deep that we don't see them anymore and when we cannot see them, we feel we have no other choice.
Maybe I am taking you down a path that isn't the direction you meant. But here I am.
T
Sometimes you want to just chuck it all. This is one of those times.
FYI, no, you won't get any viruses from me or my sites, but the site I got it from seemed completely legit & I didn't have to download anything. I just went there & BAM. The 1st thing it did was disable Norton & even after reinstalling & updating it, it never detected this virus. I recommended downloading the AntiMalware program because (for most computer users,) the only other option for removal is a complete System Restore. You never know when you might end up on an infected site & if you don't want to have to start from scratch, the few seconds it takes to download AntiMalware is MORE than worth it.
1. Is this author still incarcerated?
2. If she sells well won't the state charge her for her incarceration against profits from the book?
3. I still don't know what the hell to think about the whole hundred million thing...if it happened then there needs be prosecution before restitution. I haven't heard of any prosecutions coming out of this ergo...
Michigan Settles Female Prisoner Sexual Abuse Lawsuit for $100 Million
Five hundred female prisoners who filed a class action suit against the state of Michigan, alleging sexual assault by prison guards, have won their case. A $100 million settlement was reached Wednesday, July 15, with the state, ending the 13-year-long legal battle.
Toni Bunton, one of the women who filed a complaint alleging that she was repeatedly raped and groped while at the Scott Correctional Facility in Wayne County, was awarded $3.45 million in damages.
The settlement monies will be paid out over five years.
JULY-17-09: Michigan Settles Female Prisoner Sexual Abuse Lawsuit for $100 Million [FREEP: $100 MILLION ENDS PRISONER SEX-ABUSE SUIT]
Another site: http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid100333.asp
Move over, Pope Benedict.
Judas Priest!
J.R.-the whole thing leave a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe a glass of wine would help....
So wait let me get this straight... if these women were raped by guards its okay? Because they are criminals the rapes should be allowed and go unpunished? I don't think so!
Now if they sue and win money should they have to use that money to pay for their stay in the jail? Yes, most definitely and the same would apply if they wrote a book and received money for it. The money should be used to support their stay in the jail.
I may be getting this all wrong and if so someone please enlighten me. However, just because people are criminals does not give anyone the right to do things against them either. All that does is lower them to the standards of the criminal.
Talk about a bad taste.
T
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Tanika Lynch is still in prison.
Oh I agree with you. But I still can't justify murder. And I don't think you are trying to either. Compassion tears down the same walls used to shush a life.
Tara...I assumed that one of the conditions of the settlement with the state would be that the state is unable to recover from the settlement the cost of incarceration. I don't know that for a fact but I do believe a competent attorney would insist on it.
Profits from a book though are another story, the state should and would recover from that amount.
I don't doubt the veracity of some of the claimants, maybe even all 500 of them. But I would that before the state went to trial (and they did start a trial) on the civil merits of this case I would have liked to have seen the results of criminal prosecutions of the alleged rapists.
No convicted felon, male or female should be subject to rape by any person within the control of MDOC, but I believe the incidence of male on make rape probably happens far more often than Guard rape of females.
Again...wow. Your posts make my hamster wake up and start running on the wheel. I'm a bleeding heart when it comes to people with rough childhoods, and I'm all for second chances. But as a writer, I have to admit that I grind my teeth at the story of publication.
I don't know this person, so I can't speak about her life. But I know a lot of people who have similar backgrounds and horror stories (shooting up at the age of eight, raped, etc.). Yep, I know them through certain places where I have volunteered. Some of them are actually promising writers.
But they didn't kill anybody.
They're also still wading around in slush piles with the rest of us. What makes this woman special? Is her writing that good? Is she just getting noticed because of her background? I don't know, but it makes me wonder. I get the same reaction when some Hollywood star publishes a "book." I know it's all market driven, but it still gripes my ass.
"What you're up against" is the perfect title for this post. Thanks, JR. I get where you're coming from. I don't know the prison system, but I know the writer angle. Boy, do I get that:)
Post a Comment