Ride the Lightning: A Novel,Used

From Kirkus Reviews Oklahoma City trial lawyer Mitchell builds on a 1973 uprising at a Sooner state prison in his flawed but bleakly effective first novel. Carriagetrade attorney Eric Williams welcomes his appointment to the pardon and parole board of an unnamed Plains state not only as a form of professional recognition but also as a distraction from painful divorce proceedings. As the vaguely liberal young advocate prepares for his initial hearing at McHenry Penitentiary, the overcrowded institution's inmates are laying careful plans for a breakout. In the meantime, with an election looming, Governor David Horton and his prospective challengers maneuver for political advantage on the issue of prison reform's high cost. In his official capacity, Eric encounters a host of crafty convicts, more than a few of whom convince him that they're ready to return to the outside world. Warning that most candidates for release will never adjust to civilized society, however, the board's older hands temper the new boy's penchant for clemency. The cynics are proved right when an inner circle of cons ignites a deadly and destructive riot to provide cover for an escape. In the confusion, Eric and fellow civilians are taken hostage. As television cameras focus on the hellish disturbances in the besieged prison's yard, he's led outside the walls through a longforgotten tunnel behind the subterranean chamber that houses McHenry's electric chair. Eventually, Eric winds up in chains in a backwoods cabin with a band of homicidal fugitives who mean him no good. Then, freed by an unsentimental lawman who understands the criminal mind, the ex idealist quits his post and lights out for Colorado's mountains to come to terms with the traumatic experience. While Mitchell delivers a full measure of gritty detail on life behind bars, he stumbles with a surfeit of setpiece preachments (on redemption, recidivism, rehabilitation, etc.) and finally veers off course into didactic melodrama at the close. Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Product Description Inspired by the 1973 riot at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, one of the most destructive prison riots in U.S. history, Robert H. Mitchell's Ride the Lightning spins a fascinating web of political and legal intrigue.The blazing sun has sent the thermometer soaring over 100 degrees, and the three thousand inmates of McHenry Penitentiary, an aging, decrepit institution built to hold six hundred, are beginning to simmer. Governor David Horton, ignoring his advisors' warnings, adamantly refuses to allocate money to repair and expand the crumbling, overcrowded facility. A prison riot, however, could be just the trump card needed by his political rival Glen Tobias. Moreover, certain inmates are aware that a riot would provide the perfect cover for an escape attempt.The new player in events at McHenry is young attorney Eric Williams, who views his recent appointment to the state pardon and parole board as a boost to his career and a distraction from his disintegrating marriage. He also sees in the appointment an opportunity to help society's unfortunates, who have run afoul of the law but now are struggling to turn their lives around. If Williams is not careful, his idealism could make him easy prey for manipulative criminals, not all of whom are behind bars.With a sure hand, Mitchell ratchets up the tension at every step of the way, through the climactic riot and the shocking denouement. At the same time, the novel addresses timely questions of prison reform, rehabilitation, and the problems faced by inmates preparing to return to life outside prison. Review Mitchell is an Oklahoma City attorney and former chairman of the state's pardon and parole board. His novel was inspired by a violent riot at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 1973. The protagonist, Eric Williams, is a young and naive trial attorney, newly appointed to the state's pardon an