Sam Melia’s diary of his experience in jail and the probation period afterwards is a compelling read for a few reasons.
The first reason is obvious. Sam’s case itself gained international attention and condemnation when he was convicted, not for committing any physical crime but for his supposed intent to cause negative feelings about race, whilst organising stickers for distribution with legal political slogans on them. Anyone interested in how this could happen in a supposedly free country will enjoy this book simply for answering this question from a victim’s perspective.
A second reason this is a compelling book is related to the first. Many people will have concerns about how Sam’s case might affect them personally. Worries about finding themselves in jail for thought crimes in the future and how they might be treated if they are, ensure that any diary about that experience will be a read that many will plough through simply to prepare for a possible future they might have to face.
Diaries as a worthy read in and of themselves, though, tend to be hit or miss. The chronological format helps to provide a narrative structure, but how well an author presents information about events he goes through are still subject to his skill and literary style. In this last aspect, Sam’s book also succeeds in being a compelling read.
Legal, Truthful, Guilty is coherent in both its presentation of events that take place and the thoughts of the author about those events. It has a nice mix of Sam detailing things occurring to his family and self whilst he’s in the prison system and wider events happening in the world that he reacts to whilst incarcerated.
Sam has various jobs and tasks in prison, and must interact with a wide range of characters and personalities. He’s a morally driven man with a firm set of values placed in an environment where he’s surrounded by people who value only what they can take from life.
There is a constant tension in the book between what Sam believes and the pressures put on him by inmates, the parole board and child protection services to survive in the prison system and be with his wife and children again.
He does a great job of detailing the human side of inmates he becomes friends with, contrasting it with his repulsion of their moral values, actions and addictions and fear of being institutionalised by his growing relationships with them.
The interactions Sam describes with the authorities convey the stupidity, wilful blindness and petty vindictiveness of the people involved and draw the reader into Sam’s world with instinctive skill to place them in his shoes, seeing through his eyes and feeling both the author’s emotions and bringing out the reader’s own.
Legal, Truthful, Guilty is also an easy read and can be binge read in a day or two. As a piece of political work, it is valuable not just for its story but also because Sam expresses his political opinions succinctly and skilfully.
Many activists with similar opinions to Sam’s will find a few gems to quote to help their own arguments. It is also valuable as a propaganda tool as it makes a great gift for family members and friends who appreciate books as presents at Christmas or birthdays. They will enjoy the read even if their current political opinions don’t align.
All in all, Legal, Truthful, Guilty is a great book and I highly recommend it.
Legal, Truthful, Guilty is available for direct purchase here, or on Amazon.
Stephen Wells also spent four months as a political prisoner in solitary confinement in South Australia last year, you can find his own account of his time in prison here.
