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The
district attorney of Los Angeles County was convicted of bribery and
sentenced to San Quentin. His name was Asa Keyes. When he arrived at
San Quentin the authorities offered to place him on work that would
isolate him from the other prisoners, as they feared for his safety.
Inside the prison there were hundreds of prisoners serving time who
Keyes had prosecuted while he was District Attorney of Los Angeles
County. Keyes told the authorities that he would take his chances
with the rest of the prisoners.
Keyes
was an able attorney, and while in prison he acted in behalf of many
prisoners who could not afford or had no access to a lawyer. Due to
his counseling and assistance many men were able to obtain their
release from prison. When Keyes left San Quentin he said that he had
more friends inside the prison than he had on the outside. Many
prisoners claimed that they were in prison on a Bum Beef. A Bum Beef
in convict slang was a trumped up charge or a frame up, and the
victim should not have been convicted.
Author:
William J. Duffy, Jr.
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