Life in Black — Phillip Lesbirel

Billy was a white kid growing up in the black ghetto's of Chicago and ran with a black gang. He had been sentenced to Juvie twice and had done 3 years inside. One night the gang decided to go to the clubs in town but all were broke so decided to rob a service station; but the robbery went wrong and two men were killed. Billy and the rest of the gang were charged with 1st degree murder, but to add to Billy's woes, the local Sheriff's deputies decided to show Billy who was boss and gave him a hot bath filled with a dark brown leather dye; he was now permanently a deep dark brown like his gang mates. Billy now had to learn to be a black man and live in C Block; the block allocated to black prisoners. The deputies also changed his name on the charge records to Abraham Moses Johnson; a black prisoner killed in prison a few months before, who was a 2 time offender, making Billy now a 3 time offender and Life without parole. The story tells of his survival, his escape and his new life with Ned and Rebeca later to become his wife and bear him 6 children, but not all is so rosy and the FBI arrest him and return him to Maynard Prison.