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From the Bottom of the Heap

By Robert Hillary King & Terry Kupers &
From the Bottom of the Heap by Robert Hillary King & Terry Kupers &  digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

In 1970, a jury convicted Robert Hillary King of a crime he did not commit and sentenced him to 35 years in prison. He became a member of the Black Panther Party while in Angola State Penitentiary, successfully organizing prisoners to improve conditions. In return, prison authorities beat him, starved him, and gave him life without parole after framing him for a second crime. He was thrown into solitary confinement, where he remained in a six-by-nine-foot cell for 29 years as one of the Angola 3. In 2001, the state grudgingly acknowledged his innocence and set him free. This is his story.

It begins at the beginning: born black, born poor, born in Louisiana in 1942, King journeyed to Chicago as a hobo at the age of 15. He married and had a child, and briefly pursued a semi-pro boxing career to help provide for his family. Just a teenager when he entered the Louisiana penal system for the first time, King tells of his attempts to break out of this system, and his persistent pursuit of justice where there is none.

Yet this remains a story of inspiration and courage, and the triumph of the human spirit. The conditions in Angola almost defy description, yet King never gave up his humanity, or the work towards justice for all prisoners that he continues to do today. From the Bottom of the Heap, so simply and humbly told, strips bare the economic and social injustices inherent in our society, while continuing to be a powerful literary testimony to our own strength and capacity to overcome. The paperback edition includes additional writings from Robert King and an update on the case of the Angola 3.

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About Robert Hillary King

From the moment of his release, he has worked tirelessly to spread word about the innocence and the continued plight of his two remaining comrades, both held in solitary confinement for forty years. Robert Hillary King has spoken at universities, conferences, and other venues. He has made appearances on radio and television, traveled to seven foreign countries, and addressed members of the European Parliament. He has worked to win the release of his comrades, the release of all political prisoners, and an end to the new slavery that is the Prison Industrial Complex.

Terry Kupers

Terry A. Kupers, M.D., M.S.P. is Institute Professor at The Wright Institute, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and besides practicing psychiatry at his office in Oakland, he consults to various public mental health centers and jail mental health services.

Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of a police officer. Prior to his arrest he was a Black Panther Party activist, cab driver, and journalist. Since his conviction, his case has received international attention and he has become a controversial cultural icon. During his imprisonment he has published several books including Live from Death Row.

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