15 to Life: How I Painted My Way to Freedom - Hardcover

Anthony Papa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1932595066 ISBN 13: 9781932595062

Publisher: Feral House, 2004

Synopsis

From Publishers Weekly review:

"This tension-filled memoir by aprisoner turned activist and artist may seem familiar after JenniferGonnerman's NBA-nominated Life on the Outside, but unlike Gonnerman,Papa describes excessive imprisonment under harsh drug laws with thegrim certainty of firsthand experience. In 1984, he rashly agreed, for$500, to deliver a package containing four and a half ounces of cocainefor a gambling acquaintance. It turned out to be a sting, and Papa wasconvicted and sentenced to 15 years to life. Although at first suffusedwith melodramatic regret, the account becomes leaner when Papa arrivesat Sing Sing and describes the hazards and absurdities of thenotoriously crowded, grimy prison. He found spiritual release fromdespair and violence through educational programs on painting, writingand law. Papa's public stature rose after a painting of his wasexhibited at the Whitney Museum, and after numerous travails threatenedhis health and sanity, he was granted executive clemency after 12 yearsbehind bars. Papa has since been active with the group Mothers of theDisappeared and the movement to repeal the overly harsh Rockefeller drug laws; his paintings combine surrealist overtones with hard-edgedsubjects often derived from the prison-industrial complex, and theyreflect the material of his book memorably."
--Publishers Weekly

About this title

From the Author:

15 to Life tells a rare adventure story: how a family man,railroaded by the subterfuge surrounding the War on Drugs, was able toget an early release from prison and become a major activist againstdraconian drug laws. Offered a chance to make a quick $500,Anthony Papa agreed to deliver an envelope in a fated police stingoperation. His first and only criminal offense cost Papa a 15-yearsentence to Sing-Sing, New York State's maximum-security prison. Suicidewas contemplated when Tony Papa realized that the best years of his life would be spent clapped up in a six-foot cell. One day he discoveredpainting. It gave him hope, and he discovered a talent. When the Whitney Museum chose his painting to exhibit, he suddenly received intense media attention. Governor Pataki got wind of his case, and after 12 hard years of time, Anthony Papa was granted clemency. 15 to Life is morethan a dramatic story more than an inside look at the most dangerousprison in America today - itis also an important sociological work and a call for reform of the destructive laws of the War on Drugs.

From the Inside Flap:

"Anthony Papa's 15 to Life is a gripping story of justicegone wrong and an inspiring tale of personal triumph. It is ascathing indictment of the antiquated Rockefeller drug laws that haveimprisoned thousands of nonviolent offenders and wasted billions ofdollars of taxpayer money."
-- Andrew Cuomo, former US HUD Secretary, author of Crossroads"Anthony Papa's 15 to

About this edition

• Publisher: Feral House
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1932595066
• ISBN 13: 9781932595062
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208
• Editor: Jennifer Wynn