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The Jailhouse Lawyer Audiobook
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A USA TODAY Bestseller!
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Public Library
“Duncan’s story is so incredible it strains belief. It is so heartwarming and hopeful that it will stay with you for a long time.” —John Grisham
"This brilliantly told story—at once maddening and miraculous—is among the most powerful indictments of our criminal justice system I’ve ever read.” —James Forman, Jr.
A searing and ultimately hopeful account of Calvin Duncan, “the most extraordinary jailhouse lawyer of our time” (Sister Helen Prejean), and his thirty-year path through Angola after a wrongful murder conviction, his coming-of-age as a legal mind while imprisoned, and his continued advocacy for those on the inside
Calvin Duncan was nineteen when he was incarcerated for a 1981 New Orleans murder he didn’t commit. The victim of a wildly incompetent public defense system and a badly compromised witness, Duncan was left to rot in the waking nightmare of confinement. Armed with little education, he took matters into his own hands.
At twenty-one, he filed his first motion from prison: “Motion for a Law Book,” which launched his highly successful, self-taught legal career. Trapped within this wholly corrupted system, Duncan became a legal advocate for himself and his fellow prisoners as an inmate counsel at the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola. Literature sustained his hope, as he learned the law in its shadow.
During his decades of incarceration, Duncan helped hundreds of other prisoners navigate their cases, advocating for those the state had long since written off. He taught a class in the midst of Angola to empower other incarcerated men to fight for their own justice under the law. But his own case remained stalled. A defense lawyer once responded to Duncan’s request for documents: “You are not a person.”
Criminal justice reform advocate Sophie Cull met Duncan after he was finally released from prison; he began to tell her his story. Together, they’ve written a bracing condemnation of the criminal legal system, and an intimate portrait of a heroic and brilliant man’s resilience in the face of injustice.
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"Calvin Duncan’s life story is a testament to a degree of courage, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to justice that few possess. In A Voice Within These Walls, he takes us inside the callous legal system that led to his wrongful conviction, and inside the prison where he forged an unbreakable resolve to seek justice not just for himself but for others forgotten by the courts. Through sheer determination, Calvin became a lifeline for countless incarcerated individuals, and deployed the law as his superpower on their behalf. This book is not only an inspiring story of one man’s battle against overwhelming odds; it exemplifies what it means to stand against oppressive forces on behalf of the least powerful among us. Calvin Duncan’s voice is one we cannot afford to ignore."
— Clive Stafford Smith, author of Injustice
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A superbly written, compelling memoir chronicling Calvin Duncan’s remarkable life and achievements as an innocent man at the infamous Angola State Prison who went on to become a self-taught, brilliant jailhouse lawyer. Although the word ‘hero’ is greatly overused in today's society, in my mind, Calvin Duncan is a hero in the truest sense of that word. I urge all who are in need of inspiration to please read this riveting account of an indomitable spirit in the face of ongoing stiff resistance.
— Jim McCloskey, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Framed -
Calvin Duncan is surely the most extraordinary jailhouse lawyer of our time. A Voice Within These Walls offers an intimate portrayal of Calvin's decades-long journey for justice, fighting for thousands of indigent prisoners against a merciless legal system. This remarkable debut is both a powerful account of Calvin’s struggle and a clarion call to end the brutal legacy of mass incarceration. Calvin’s relentless determination to champion those forgotten by justice will ignite a fire within you that burns long after you’ve finished the book.
— Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking -
If I created a fictional character like Calvin Duncan, no one would believe him and the story wouldn’t work. Fiction can be many things, but it has to be believable. Calvin’s story is so incredible it strains belief. It is so heart-warming and hopeful that it will stay with you for a long time.
— John Grisham -
Calvin Duncan’s life story is a testament to a degree of courage, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to justice that few possess. In A Voice Within These Walls, he takes us inside the callous legal system that led to his wrongful conviction, and inside the prison where he forged an unbreakable resolve to seek justice not just for himself but for others forgotten by the courts. Through sheer determination, Calvin became a lifeline for countless incarcerated individuals, and deployed the law as his superpower on their behalf. This book is not only an inspiring story of one man’s battle against overwhelming odds; it exemplifies what it means to stand against oppressive forces on behalf of the least powerful among us. Calvin Duncan’s voice is one we cannot afford to ignore.
— Clive Stafford Smith, author of Injustice -
If I created a fictional character like Calvin Duncan, no one would believe him and the story wouldn’t work. Fiction can be many things, but it has to be believable. Calvin’s story is so incredible it strains belief. It is so heartwarming and hopeful that it will stay with you for a long time.
— John Grisham -
Calvin Duncan is surely the most extraordinary jailhouse lawyer of our time. The Jailhouse Lawyer offers an intimate portrayal of Calvin’s decades-long journey for justice, fighting for thousands of indigent prisoners against a merciless legal system. This remarkable debut is both a powerful account of Calvin’s struggle and a clarion call to end the brutal legacy of mass incarceration. Calvin’s relentless determination to champion those forgotten by justice will ignite a fire within you that will burn long after you’ve finished the book.
— Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking -
A superbly written, compelling memoir chronicling Calvin Duncan’s remarkable life—an innocent man incarcerated at the infamous Angola State Prison who became a self-taught, brilliant jailhouse lawyer. Although the word ‘hero’ is greatly overused in today’s society, in my mind, Calvin Duncan is a hero in the truest sense of that word. I urge all who are in need of inspiration to please read this riveting account of an indomitable spirit in the face of ongoing stiff resistance.
— Jim McCloskey, coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Framed -
Calvin Duncan’s life story is a testament to a degree of courage, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to justice that few possess. In The Jailhouse Lawyer, he takes us inside the callous legal system that led to his wrongful conviction, and inside the prison where he forged an unbreakable resolve to seek justice not just for himself but for others forgotten by the courts. Through sheer determination, Calvin became a lifeline for countless incarcerated individuals, and deployed the law as his superpower on their behalf. This book is not only an inspiring story of one man’s battle against overwhelming odds; it exemplifies what it means to stand against oppressive forces on behalf of the least powerful among us. Calvin Duncan’s voice is one we cannot afford to ignore.
— Clive Stafford Smith, author of Injustice -
Duncan’s well-told story is full of fraught moments . . . An eye-opening look at prison life from the point of view of a true warrior for justice.
— Kirkus -
If I created a fictional character like Calvin Duncan, no one would believe him and the story wouldn’t work. Fiction can be many things, but it has to be believable. Duncan’s story is so incredible it strains belief. It is so heartwarming and hopeful that it will stay with you for a long time.
— John Grisham -
“The legal system tried to destroy Calvin Duncan. But rather than submit, he used the law to fight back, both for himself and for hundreds of other incarcerated men. This brilliantly told story—at once maddening and miraculous—is among the most powerful indictments of our criminal justice system I’ve ever read.
— James Forman, Jr. -
Calvin Duncan is surely the most extraordinary jailhouse lawyer of our time. The Jailhouse Lawyer offers an intimate portrayal of Duncan’s decades-long journey for justice, fighting for thousands of indigent prisoners against a merciless legal system. This remarkable debut is both a powerful account of Duncan’s struggle and a clarion call to end the brutal legacy of mass incarceration. Duncan’s relentless determination to champion those forgotten by justice will ignite a fire within you that will burn long after you’ve finished the book.
— Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking -
The truth is a powerful force, but without advocates, it dies. And Calvin Duncan is an advocate for the truth unlike any you’ve ever encountered—not simply on his own behalf but for hundreds of others caught up in the unending disaster of our American gulag. The book he and Sophie Cull have written with such precision and vividness and heart is a testament to that advocacy which no judge or court can deny. Read it and weep. Books that change the way you see the world are few and far between. The Jailhouse Lawyer is one of them.
— Adam Haslett, author of Mothers and Sons -
Calvin Duncan’s life story is a testament to a degree of courage, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to justice that few possess. In The Jailhouse Lawyer, he takes us inside the callous legal system that led to his wrongful conviction, and inside the prison where he forged an unbreakable resolve to seek justice not just for himself but for others forgotten by the courts. Through sheer determination, Duncan became a lifeline for countless incarcerated individuals, and deployed the law as his superpower on their behalf. This book is not only an inspiring story of one man’s battle against overwhelming odds; it exemplifies what it means to stand against oppressive forces on behalf of the least powerful among us. Calvin Duncan’s voice is one we cannot afford to ignore.
— Clive Stafford Smith, author of Injustice
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About Aaron Goodson
Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic’s Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors’ unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England.