Fred Winn had the sort of job that would make for interesting conversation at a dinner party. As a librarian at a prison, he has come in contact with some very colorful characters. At the same time, he has also heard and seen the saddest of stories, including the unfair treatment of Black and poor

A long white line runs down the center of the main corridor at Soledad State Prison. I walked that line every day. This facility, located in the Salinas Valley of California, housed three thousand inmates. Each inmate had a tale of woe, which explains the circumstances leading to their confinement. That’s three thousand unique stories