General Discussion

That was a heck of a strange time! Maybe it is just me, but I think that some of the circumstances we are confronted with today are similar to what the Hurricane was dealing with half a century ago. When we do Good, our opposition can be counted on to respond harshly.

At the beginning of the movie "The Hurricane" shows the night they took Rubin from his cell and placed him in what can actually be called a dungeon. But as it was a Hollywood flick, not a documentary, and could not focus on many important aspects of Rubin's journey, they took the liberty of changing a number of things. (The movie was made to re-pay the Canadians for their investment in the case, hence the movie focuses more on them than the actual legal case.) This is the actual story behind why Rubin was kept in a cell that was dark 24/7, with two slices of bread and some water for his daily meal. One might question, among other things, if that would be a good way to treat a human being suffering from a severe mental illness.

Back at that time, Rubin's friends kept me updated on how he was doing. A prison guard snuck in a postcard for Rubin to write to me during those 90 days. Solitary confinement -- especially when the person is kept in darkness -- is cruel. It is worth noting that each and every day in this country, a large number of human beings are kept in solitary. In most cases, a log period of solitary has been documented to cause changes in parts of the brain. None of those changes helps the inmate to behave better -- just the opposite. When one considers the actual amount of time Rubin was subjected to solitary in those twenty years, it is amazing that he came out stronger.