Paterson Family 2

Being incarcerated was one of the half-dozen most traumatic experiences of my life. Friends frequently ask me why I did not plea bargain, rather than go through the agony of two years' pre-trial, the trial itself, and subsequent imprisonment. In fact, I was offered a plea bargain, a mere slap on the wrist: no prison time, some community service. But the bargain also required that I plead guilty, and this was something I would not do. For a detailed account of this experience, consult my autobiography at the link Double Helix. For a 30-day extract from my prison diary, and for some of my meditations during incar-ceration, see the Select Writings link.