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Joe Friday
(24.73.39.216) on 8/30/2005 - 7:13 p.m. says: ( 5 views
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""Don't think you've come up with a new angle. "
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There's nothing new about being a thief; the state prison's full of 'em.
"Let me tell you about one of them. The first time I met him he was 16--just about your age. His name is Jim. He went to school in North Hollywood. We picked him up for shoplifting. We talked to his parents; seemed like a nice family; so we let him go.
"A couple of months later we picked him up again. He was at the wheel of a stolen car. They put him on probation. It looked like he was going to straighten out. He didn't.
"A couple of weeks later the owner of a liquor store picked him out of a showup. He'd held up the store with a .22 rifle his father had given him for his birthday. I didn't see much of him after that; that was eight years ago. But I know he put in two years with the California Youth Authority.
"He got out and went home. His buddies from high school were all in college, married or thinking about getting married…and they didn't want to have much to do with him. Honest people don't like to be around thieves. The only people who'd associate with them are other thieves. And when thieves get together they've only got one thing in mind: to steal something from somebody.
"They tried their hand at holding up a supermarket. They didn't make it--but they did manage to kill the manager. "Jim's up at San Quentin now; he's 25. He's spent one-third of his life in jail. It's doubtful he'll reach his 26th birthday. His lawyers are trying to get the sentence commuted to life, but right now he's scheduled for the gas chamber on September 8.
"Ten years ago I told him what I'm telling you: When you live in a society you either live by the rules or by democratic process you change 'em. You don't break 'em!"
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