Jack and Norman

Back when Norman Mailer was writing "The Executioner's Song", he started a correspondence with an inmate named Jack Abbott, who's life story was similar to that of Gary Gilmore, the subject of his book. Abbot had spent the majority of his life in reform schools or prisons, often exacerbating a light sentence by breaking prison rules and getting additional time tacked on. Mailer was so impressed by Abbott's letters and the fact that he was self-taught that he championed his cause with the parole board and offered him a job if he was released. Abbott got out of prison and was unceremoniously dumped in a dangerous part of New York. He had a hard time adjusting to life out of prison, and Mailer found he was much more charming in letters than in person and started pulling away from him. For a while, though, Abbott was the toast of the New York literary set, publishing a well regarded book on prison life called "In the Belly of the Beast". Just as the book was set to be released, however, Abbott committed murder, brutally slaying a twenty-two year old man outside a restaurant and then fleeing. He went on the run and eluded capture for awhile, but was eventually caught and returned to prison, where he stayed until he committed suicide. It's a fascinating story, I'd vaguely heard about it (I read "The Executioner's Song" many years ago) and it was nice to get some backstory.