California State Prison

San Quentin, Calif. Opened 1852 Capacity: 2,642 Inmates: 3,427 males

It seemed to me, just as it usually seems to my kind, that society was simply trying to strip or rip off my shield, that it was willing to do so ruthlessly, that it didn't care about me personally, or the amount of humiliation or degradation it might inflict in the process. I stubbornly balked at being manipulated, regulated, or being compelled to conform blindly through fear or threat or punishment, however severe. Indeed, I came to question the validity of a society that appeared more concerned with imposing its will than in inspiring respect. There seemed to me something grossly wrong with this. 'We'll make you be good!'

I was told, and I told myself nobody should, would or could make me anything. And I proved it.

--Caryl Chessman, executed May 2,1960

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