Acknowledgements Editorial Conventions Foreword: Jonathan Aitken CHAPTER ONE: CONFESSION AND CONDEMNATION Whoever comes into the witch prison must become a witch or be tortured until he invents something out of his head Johannes Juniuss false confession, 1628 We justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken Too little too late: the Salem witch trial jurors apologize, 1697 Either kill me or accept me as I am, for may hell freeze over if I ever change The Marquis de Sade refuses to change, 1783 The people, one day disillusioned, will rejoice in being delivered from a tyrant The Angel of Assassination, 1793 The only thing that lies heavily on my heart is your sorrow The assassination of Alexander II, 1881 I do know I shal [sic] have to answer before my Maker in Heaven for the awful crimes I have committed The Baby Farmer, 1896 Its too late now to rake over ashes in the hope of finding some live coal Edith Thompson accepts her fate, 1922 I felt excitement, a thrill. I was going to kill a person Richard Hickock admits to the Clutter murders, 1961 'We all made it that night but barely! The great escape: an Alcatraz escapee comes forward, 2013 CHAPTER TWO: INJUSTICE If I am a monster, God be merciful to me The trial of Rebecca Lemp, 1590 I want to do justice to myself and to others Escaping slavery: Anthony Chases harrowing story, 1827 I do worry about customers watches left in the empty house Corrie ten Booms clock code, 1944 One day Mummy and Daddy will return and you will no longer be orphans without a home Nelson Mandela comforts his daughters from afar, 1969 He was free for a while. I guess thats more than most of us can expect A Soledad Brother, 1970 It would not be right to return him to prison The Maguire Seven and the Guildford Four, 1980 I did my best to fight the injustices I found in my society The Ogoni Nine, 1994 I demand that we be treated like human beings, not slaves Nadya Tolokonnikovas hunger strike, 2013 No one knew where Id fallen; I was entirely cut off from the outside world Ai Weiweis house arrest, 2016 CHAPTER THREE: NEGOTIATION An old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus Paul the Apostle urges Philemon to forgive, 5762 CE Try me, good King, but let me have a Lawful Trial Anne Boleyns final plea, 1536 The frail flesh incites me continually to call to your Grace for mercy Thomas Cromwells fall from grace, 1540 He esteemed it to be of greater value than all else that he left at Gardiners Island Captain Kidds lost treasure, 1699 Do not force me to be my own executioner Written in blood: a letter from the Bastille, 1761 Your petitioner therefore prays that his sentence of transportation across the seas, may be carried into effect, with as little delay Prison in pastures new: George Hey transportation request, 1845 It will be to your interest to come and see me Billy the Kid strikes a deal, 1881 I have consequently resolved to escape Winston Churchills prison break, 1899 I was not a responsible leader, and as such do not feel myself guilty Adolf Eichmann refuses to accept responsibility, 1962 CHAPTER FOUR: LIFE BEHIND BARS Our longest day coincides exactly with your shortest; and vice versa An exile in Botany Bay, 1791 Never before have I witnessed [sic] such disgraceful proceedings Christmas in the workhouse, 1868 Suicides are as common as picnics here Ohio Penitentiarys night druggist, 1898 I took the drama, the most objective form known to art, and made it as personal a mode of expression as the lyric or the sonnet Oscar Wildes De Profundis, 1897 I hope to be home this year unless this blessed war never finishes or we get blown off the map William A. Alldritts secret code, 1916 I saw myself, for the first time for over three months, the other day, and it is quite amusing to meet yourself as a stranger Constance Markievicz keeps her spirits high, 1916 Being prisoner of [war] does not agree with me John Alcock finds himself in enemy waters, 1917 I have given up the bad habit of imagining the war may be over some day Bertrand Russells pacifist protests, 1918 Between Dev and freedom there is only this key Eamon de Valeras festive escape, 1918 I was in prison thirteen months in all Adolf Hitler serves time for the Munich Putsch, 1925 I play my music, until 3 P.M., and from 3 P.M. I write songs Al Capones Alcatraz band, 1938 My love, Im not bored, Im very cheerful Jean-Paul Sartre sunbathes behind bars, 1940 You must go on.. Be strong! Charles Salvadors words of support, 2017 CHAPTER FIVE: TAKING A STAND The blood of the poor murdered people sits heavy on their heads The Peterloo Massacre, 1819 Society has used her ill and turned away from her, and she cannot be expected to take much heed of its rights or wrongs Charles Dickens home for fallen women, 1846 A sight so inconceivably awful as the wickedness and levity of the immense crowd collected at that execution could be imagined by no man Debating public executions, 1849 You would at long last be able to breathe the air of liberty again, for over here the air is as free as it ever can be in a capitalist society August Bebel becomes a socialist celebrity, 1887 The terror of a child in prison is quite limitless The plight of child convicts, 1897 I am afraid they may be saying we dont resist. Yet my shoulders are bruised with struggling whilst they hold the tube into my throat Sylvia Pankhurst keeps fighting, 1913 Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963 If were supposed to become the nails in the coffin of a tyrant, Id like to become one of those nails. Just know that this particular one will not bend Oleg Sentsov makes a stand, 2016 In my isolation I can only build a fragmented picture of what the world outside looks like Alaa Abd El-Fattahs absentee convention address, 2017 When will I be able to fulfil my duties as a doctor in fighting the menace of Coronavirus? Coping with COVID behind bars, 2020 CHAPTER SIX: FROM THE SCAFFOLD I am to be executed like a criminal The last words of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1587 Thy mourning cannot avail me, I am but dust Sir Walter Raleighs last will and testament, 1603 I experience the tranquillity of mind ever attending a guiltless conscience Marie Antoinette faces the guillotine, 1793 The quick rattle and heavy fall of the axe Byron and the Master of Justice, 1817 The head which was creating, living with the highest life of art, which had realised and grown used to the highest needs of the spirit, that head has already been cut off Dostoevsky avoids the firing squad, 1849 The sentence of The Law shall be Carried out in Due Form by me as Executioner William Marwood and the Long Drop, 1873 It has allways [sic] been my one desire to become the Hangman Applying to be an executioner, 1910 I played my last match last week and lost. Tomorrow I am to be shot The Easter Rising, 1916 Dont let my body lie here get me back to the green hill by Murlough The man hanged for a comma, 1916 20 years which quickly passes so they can come out, and do their slaughter again In support of the death penalty, 1938 The special moments keep me hopeful The letter James Foley never wrote down, 2014 CHAPTER SEVEN: SEEKING REDEMPTION Not by this path will I return to my native city Dante in exile, 1315 Come now and spend your last happy years in your homeland, surrounded by great peace and glory! Benvenuto Cellini entices Michelangelo to return home, 1560 I am a year and a half old in misery Francis Bacon tries to save his reputation, 1621 We have known each other now for more than four years. Half of the time we have been together: the other half I have had to spend in prison Oscar Wilde: love and scandal, 1897 I have tried to think of everything knowing this will be my last letter to you The Crippen affair, 1910 I can safely tell you that he will rob no banks, but it is his firm intention to travel in the path of righteousness Public enemy number one: John Dillingers road to redemption, 1934 Can you imagine how I feel to be treated as a little boy and not as a man? And when I was a little boy, I was treated as a man Growing up in the system: Jack Henry Abbott lends his life story to fiction, 1981 I will stand in front of you and bleed my heart and mind for you to just try and grasp the realities, the effects and the damage of an abused child/woman A victims appeal: Emma Humphreys seeks justice, 1994 Copyright Acknowledgements Prison Book Appendix About the Editors
