George Critchlow - The Lifer and the Lawyer: A Story of Punishment, Penitence, and Privilege

A Story of Punishment, Penitence, and Privilege

by

George Critchlow

with

Michael Anderson

C hains bound my clients feet to his hands and neck. He stood at counsel table, immobile, bent and sad, dressed in a bright yellow jumpsuit, surrounded by a small police force and a mob of reporters anxious to scribble the final words of a terrifying drama. An indignant judge would soon sentence him, a judge who hated his violence, his audacity, and the color of his skin. The judge believed Michael to be depraved and irredeemable, and almost everyone agreed. They wanted him to die in prison.

The sentencing was a long time ago and it is strange to think that it occurred before I had lived most of my life. Now, I am nearing old age, looking back more than ahead. My client, too, is getting olda great-grandfather, a committed, longtime man of God, and still behind bars after forty-two years, even though he has killed no one and has been a law-abiding, model prisoner for three decades. His name is Michael Anderson and he inspired me to write this book.

Anderson has spent almost , days in a prison cell where he is officially known as Prisoner # 287309 . I have spent the same time practicing law, teaching law, and exploring the world. The irony is that I believe he has traveled further than I, and his reachhis potential for impacting lives, for doing goodis greater than mine. I am not envious because I would never have wanted to trade places. But I look at him with wonder, I respect him, and he has become my friend.

As a child, Michael never once heard anyone tell him I love you. For him, this is very much a story about emerging into the light out of a dark background, a story about trauma, redemption, transcendence, and learning how to love. For me, a product of privilege, the tale of our connected lives raises questions about how we become who we are. Is it our nature or is it determined by the conditions to which we are born? Can we change who we are by an act of will? And what is the role of faith? For forty years, I wondered about the consequence of our different skin colors and family histories. Most significantly, I questioned whether Michaels spiritual and moral metamorphoses came from correctional coercion, inborn will, or divine influence.

We imagine our paths are freely chosen. But there is a need to account for biology and history, the random intercession of other people, culture, race, and the mystery of the transcendent. The variables make it difficult to predict the course of any individual life even though there are those who claim expertise in such matters.

This book is a collaborative account of my long journey with my old client, and what we have learned: about the effects of childhood trauma, the importance of communicating love, the pernicious effects of racism, the purpose of punishment, and the redemptive power of faith and self-knowledge.