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Jack Henry Abbott , January 21st

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1944 , February

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10th 2002 , was

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an American criminal and author . He

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was released from prison after gaining praise

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for his writing and lauded by a number

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of high profile literary critics , but

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almost immediately he committed a murder

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and was locked up for the rest of his life

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. He was born on a

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US Army base in Michigan to

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an American soldier and a Chinese woman

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. As a child , Abbott

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was in trouble with teachers and later the law

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, and by the age of 16 , he was

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sent to a reform school Prison

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and release . In

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1965 , age 21 , Jack

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Abbott was serving a sentence for forgery in

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a Utah prison when he stabbed a fellow

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inmate to death . He was

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given a sentence of three to 20 years for

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this offense and in 1971

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, his sentence was increased by a further 19

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years after he escaped and committed

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a bank robbery in Colorado . Behind

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bars he was troublesome and refused to

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obey guards' orders and spent a lot

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of time in solitary confinement . In

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1977 , he read that author

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Norman Mailer was writing about convicted

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killer Gary Gilmore . Abbott

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wrote to Mailer and offered to write about his

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time behind bars and the conditions

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he was in . Mailer agreed

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and helped to publish in the belly

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of the beast , Abbott's book on life

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in the prison system , consisting of his letters

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to Mailer . Mailer

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supported Abbott's attempts to gain parole , which

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were successful . In June 1980 , when

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Abbott was released , he went

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to New York City and was the toast of the literary

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scene for a short while . Norman

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Mailer was subjected to some criticism for

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his role in getting Jack Abbott released and

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was accused of being so blinded by Abbott's

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evident talent for writing that

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he did not take into account Abbott's propensity

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for violence . In

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a 1992 interview in the Buffalo

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News , Mailer said that his involvement

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with Abbott was another episode

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in my life in which I can find nothing to

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cheer about or nothing to take pride

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in Murder

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and return to prison . On

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the morning of July 18 , just six

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weeks after getting out of prison , Jack

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Abbott went to a small cafe called

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the Binny Barn in Manhattan . He

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clashed with 22-year-old Richard

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Aden , son-in-law of the restaurant's

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owner , over Aden's telling him the restroom

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was for staff only . The

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short-tempered Abbott stabbed Aden in

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the chest , killing him . The

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very next day , unaware of Abbott's

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crime , the New York Times ran a positive

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review of the belly of the beast . After

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some time on the run , Abbott was arrested

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and charged with murdering Richard Aden

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At his trial in January

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1982 , he was convicted

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of manslaughter and given 15

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years to life . Apart

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from the advance fee of $12,500

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, Abbott did not receive any profits

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from the belly of the beast , as Richard

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Aden's widow successfully sued him for

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$7.5 million in

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damages , which meant she received

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all the money from the book's sales . There

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was a tragic irony to the murder not

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lost on the community of aspiring writers

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and actors in New York . While

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Abbott was an accomplished writer , Aden

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was both an actor and a playwright whose

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talent was just beginning to be recognized

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. Shortly before his murder , his

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first play had been accepted for production

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by the La Mama Theater Company . Final

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years . In 1987 , Abbott

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published another book titled my

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Return , which was not a success

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. It contained a great deal of

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self-pity , but no remorse for

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his crimes . In fact , Abbott

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blamed his crimes on the prison system and

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the government and said he wanted an apology

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from society for the way he had been

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treated . He appeared before

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the parole board in 2001 , but

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his application was turned down because

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of his failure to express remorse and

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his lengthy criminal record and disciplinary

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problems in prison . On February

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10 , 2002 , Jack

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Abbott hanged himself in his prison cell

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using a makeshift noose constructed

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from his bedsheets and shoelaces . He

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left a suicide note whose contents

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have not been made public .