Havurah Shalom

Book Group Discussion of In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance by Wilbert Rideau - In 1961, Rideau, a disillusioned African American 19-year-old high school dropout, attempted robbery, panicked, and killed a white bank teller. Rideau was sentenced to death by an all-white jury in a segregated town. Rideau remained incarcerated for 44 years, many of which he suffered on death row and in solitary. Gradually he worked his way onto The Angolite, the prison’s publication, and become editor. He earned the respect of the warden, prisoners, and guards, as well as the broader journalism profession, with exposés of the politics and economics of the prison system. Life magazine declared him "the most rehabilitated prisoner in America." After scores of lost appeals, Rideau was finally freed in 2005. This book is a searing indictment of the American justice system. Discussion will be led by Maud Naroll.