In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance

What an amazing book! To be in jail for 44 years -- when he probably should have served only 10.5 years -- and still be able to write a book so balanced and fair-minded, takes real courage and self-restraint. This book is singularly lacking in venom. Clearly, this is a peaceful man, a far cry from the 19-year-old violent youth he once was. Be warned: this book, while very well-written, is not a book read in one sitting. You have to read slowly, because it's a heavy subject and there are lots of events, characters and legal concepts. But the book is rich in insights, of which I cite a few: -- "There is a difference between a criminal and a criminal personality." -- "I was a prisoner no longer held by force but by the person I had become." -- "The most basic law of the prison system is that as long as there is a cell, someone will be found to put in it." -- "Parole eligibility is the most effective inducement for encouraging good behavior in prisoners." -- "If you didn't want people seeing what you were doing, then maybe you shouldn't be doing it." -- "What would white folks think if white defendants were tried by all-black juries and prosecutors?" -- "A prosecutor's job is to get to the truth, not to convict." Like some reviewers, I was somewhat troubled by his specious handling of the definition between "murder" and "manslaughter." Rideau claims that his killing qualified as manslaughter because it was not intended and only occurred in a moment of excitement and passion. Fair enough, but what if that moment of "excitement and passion" was caused totally by Rideau (who brandished a gun and scared the daylights out of his prisoners, compelling them to flee and resist)? I leave that issue to the judges, more capable of splitting legal hairs than I am. The bottom line is that Rideau made the most of his imprisonment and rehabilitated himself fully. His triumph over adversity, his never giving up, his positive outlook on life should be an inspiration to us all. Rideau points out that Louisiana spends $5200 a year to educate a kid, and $52,000 to incarcerate him. I don't mean to be facetious, but this book should be mandatory reading for every kid in high school (among others). That would be one way to save money by deterring future crime and clipping the wings of the "prison-industrial complex." A provocative book for the thoughtful reader. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best life stories i ever read. The first time I heard Rideau's voice it was few weeks ago on NPR's Fresh Air. His voice and the compassion he delivered couldn't be ignored so i went and bought this book. Rideau is a great story teller, his ability to transfer his prison experience is breathtaking. His personal story change my whole outlook on prison, prisoners and the life behind bars. This is a must have book for all free people.

I have been interested in Wibert Rideau since viewing the "Farm." After reading the injustice in this case, I was flabbergasted that he had to spend 44 years incarcerated, but other prisoners (white and black) were released after 10 years 6 months, outrageous. Although, I am not condoning what he did, but the system has to be fair to all prisoners. What he did was vicious and brutal, but 44 years in prison caused him to reflect and to emerge as a better person. Wilbert's book should be disseminated to all youth in this country and abroad. It will definitely give them insight of what can happen if they make bad decisions. Many of us have not been behind bars for 44 years, but our behavior towards one another is atrocious.

I have lived in Louisiana since 1980 and have followed Wilbert Rideau's story the entire time. I always believed that he should be eligible for parole at some point when fair-minded people in charge of the system believed it was time. I also saw that fair-minded people were not in charge of the system. He was too famous,too outspoken, and a black murder in a racist state with corrupt whites and blacks in power. I was glad in 2005 when he finally got out. It always seemed to me that he had changed and had proven he had rehabilitated himself with some help from the prison system amid a hellish environment. I don't think prisoners should be in a spa-like setting, but they surely should be in a humane environment and should at least have safe conditions with fair options to be rehabilitated and then freed to go into society and have a second chance. Otherwise we just reinforce the violence and anti-social actions that led them to crime in the first place. I think we should set an example of how civilized humans act. Otherwise we are no better than the criminals. Thus, it was with great delight that I saw this autobiography was for sale. Ii went to a book signing and purchased it and had it signed by the author and spoke with him slightly. He seemed a decent,intelligent, quiet-spoken older man. Now to the book itself. It is a page turner. At each sitting to read it, I have read at least 100 pages at a time. He is a very good writer and re-creates the world of the Parish jails and of Angola quite vividly. It is all so awful with immense unfairness and in truth evil that it is hard to believe it is not fiction. But it is a true. The parts that describe large and small acts of kindness and fairness from fellow prisoners and prison employees and others are very moving.I really highly recommend this book if you like true stories or any stories. It is basically a saga of determination,transformation, personal integrity, and redemption. It tells of brutal events and of tenacity and of a persons's struggle to develop his own humanity and to keep hope in the face of harsh and quite often unfair circumstances.It is also about coming to terms with having murdered a fellow human being. The man killed a person in cold blood and wounded two others. That was in 1961. He served 44 years in prison. He changed. He admits the murder was awful and wrong and really hurt others and that he feels great pain about having done it. He has become a good human being. He is a great and talented writer and reporter. Again I will say I am glad he got out and I love his book. Everyone is entitled to feel about him as they do. I am glad i gave his book a chance and read it. Taken on it's own merits, this book measures up as enthralling,real drama. It is a great read.

This is the author's life story which includes FORTY-FOUR-YEARS incarcerated in Louisiana prisons. The first thing potential readers should be aware of... and don't let the title fool you... is that Wilbert Rideau is guilty of murder. He openly admits it. But there's a difference in being guilty of murder that is judged to be manslaughter as compared to being convicted of premeditated murder. Wilbert was nineteen-years-old in 1961 when he attempted to rob a bank in Louisiana. This was the Louisiana that was still influenced by the Klu Klux Klan and other openly racist behavior. It should be noted that this was not a well thought out... highly intricate bank robbing scheme. It was a spur of the moment... immature... ridiculously... stupid... robbery attempt. Wilbert took three bank employees' hostage and left the scene in a car. He wound up killing one woman, Julia Ferguson. When Rideau was quickly caught his biggest fear was that he would be lynched... burned... and dismembered. When Wilbert went to court all the testimony was falsified which made the charge pre-meditated murder rather than manslaughter. His court appointed lawyers didn't even cross examine. The verdict handed down was the death sentence. The power and breadth of this story is not so much (though not minimizing the importance) the original maneuvers that changed the charges... but what the author lived through and shares from that point on. The next forty-four-years are spent in numerous prisons... with times in solitary confinement that broke records in their longevity... but the core... and very soul... of Wilbert's life and story resides in the "LOUISIANA STATE PENITENTIARY, MORE POPULARLY KNOWN AS *ANGOLA*"... *THROUGHOUT THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY IT WAS KNOWN AS THE MOST INTIMIDATING PRISON IN AMERICA.* Wilbert arrived at Angola on April 11, 1962. As federal and state laws changed Rideau went on and off death row. His sentence changed from death to life. The reader is put right in the middle of Angola at its worst as an example "from 1972 to 1975, 67 prisoners were stabbed to death in Angola, and more than 350 others were seriously injured from knife wounds. The violence affected one of every ten prisoners, not counting those injured in fistfights or beatings with blunt objects." Sexual perversion and rapes were far worse in actuality than portrayed in movies. "SLAVERY WAS COMMONPLACE AT ANGOLA, WITH PERHAPS A QUARTER OF THE POPULATION IN BONDAGE." Every sexual act imaginable was performed with gang rapes an everyday occurrence. How bad was it at Angola? "EVEN IN MAXIMUM-SECURITY CELLBLOCKS, MEN TIED THEIR DOORS SHUT FOR AN EXTRA MEASURE OF SAFETY. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST WAS THE ONLY LAW, AND FEAR WAS THE SUPREME RULER OF ALL." The penalty for being caught with a weapon was high... but being killed unarmed was worse. "THE ANGOLA INMATES' CREDO: I'D RATHER BE CAUGHT BY SECURITY WITH A WEAPON THAN BY MY ENEMY WITHOUT ONE." In the midst of this jungle the author found writi