In this introspective exploration of former boxer Joey Torrey's life, his past, his murder conviction, and his more than 30-year incarceration in a California state prison are each fine-tooth combed. Nearly five years after his original memoir, this new edition is re-written as a biography and delves deeper into circumstances surrounding Torrey's alleged murder of his boxing coach, the lengthy prison sentence handed down, his undercover collaboration with the FBI on "e;Operation Matchbook"e; in support of John McCain's proposed Professional Boxing Amendments Act, and the inner workings of the prison system in general. From his days as a Compton gang leader and an Olympic boxing hopeful to being tried as an adult rather than a 17-year-old minor, this compelling narrative reflects on his life as a parable as well as examining the strategies used in his conviction, such as establishing the motive as robbery despite a lack of evidence linking the opening of safe to the murderer. And after more than three decades as a model prisoner--and saving the life of a prison guard--Torrey has prolifically written hundreds of letters to Joe Biel, who finds himself in the unlikely situation to share this story.
