In the Belly of the Beast: Letters from Prison Chapter Summary & Analysis - American Violence/American Justice: The Legal System Summary

American Violence/American Justice: The Legal System Summary and Analysis

It is unsurprising to Abbott that Americans have a hunger for "true crime" stories such as Norman Mailer's Executioner's Song, for Americans are violent and so love violence. For some Americans to feign shock and outrage at murders and other violent crimes is like a prostitute expressing outrage at premarital sex. Only when Americans become outraged at true violence, such as Abbott's plight in prison, can the cycle of violence stop.

Abbott mocks Vietnam War veterans for being "proud" of serving their country. He likens the war to cruel butchery, the "mutilation" of a "doll-like people," in which case shame should be felt instead. America is the most oppressive regime on the planet, much more so than the Soviet Union.

Abbott next provides an extended analogy, comparing a dog trainer training an animal through punishment, and the prison system leading a prisoner through incarceration. Through all of the justice system,...
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