By Forris Day Jr.
Let this book serve as a warning to all the kids and young adults out there who are living what they see as a “glamorous” life of crime. “Gangster Redemption” is a personal memoir of the life of Larry Lawton, a street-wise kid who grew up in the gritty neighborhoods of the Bronx. Lawton pulls no punches in this testament to living in the gang infested streets of the Bronx where you stand up, or be crushed.
The story begins in Larry’s youth, as a kid who just wants to be a kid, but learns quickly that if you do not fight for yourself you will always be the one getting beaten. He starts hanging around with the wrong crowd, and gets into a bit of trouble, as the years go on. He tries to escape this life by joining the United States Coast Guard, but alas finds ways to make money illegally, keeping his foot in the door of crime. His time ends abruptly in the Guard when he falls on a boat injuring his back severely. Once out he gets involved in organized crime, finding it pretty easy to make money doing small jobs, which over time turn into bigger jobs. The lure of wealth turns Lawton into one of the biggest and most notorious jewel thieves America has ever seen.
Lawton is living the big life. He believes he can’t be caught. A believe that is shattered as he is indeed captured and sent to the State Penitentiary. His life plummets as he describes first hand, the atrocities that happen within the walls of the state prison system. Rapes, murders, and beatings at the hands of other prisoners and at the hands of some of the guards. He describes his lowest moment, a moment of a man who, at one time had a chauffeur, all the money he could want, drugs, women and booze, to a man strapped, naked, spread eagle to the floor with guards beating him and urinating on his face.
Many men would give up, break down and perhaps kill themselves. Not Larry Lawton. He rose and begins his fight for better conditions in prisons. Better conditions meaning no more beatings and no more being treated inhumanly. He studies some law and helps other prisoners with their cases. He comes into contact with some of the most despicable people known to man, but Lawton believes everyone still deserves to be treated like a human.
This is a story of sadness. Lawton comes to realize how much he lost in prison, when he found out his grandmother had passed away and the prison staff refused to let him know. He regrets he missed her final years and her funeral. When he left for prison, for what turned out to be 11 years, he left behind a young wife and young family. By the time he gets out, he lost it all. When released his Father was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer. He missed the years of a healthy father.
It is also a story of hope. As Lawton slowly acclimates to the outside world, it soon becomes evident that he can help guide young adults away from a life of crime by sharing his stories. He slowly finds opportunities to help kids at risk withing the court system. Over the next few years he develops his “Reality Check Program”, a program that teaches at-risk youth the consequences of traveling the road of crime. It is not a “Scared Straight” approach. It is a talk to the person approach, and it works!
Lawton’s story is an ongoing one, of hope, promise and a new direction. I highly recommend you read this book, especially any parent who is struggling with a child or young adult following the wrong path in life. It just might save your sanity.
“A story of one man’s road to destruction to his rise above it all”
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