1 Pill = 28 Years

Book excerpt: This book is a true memoir written during summer 2019 - weeks after author and his Burmese girlfriend were released from Thai prisons. What started as a chronicle of our travails, ballooned into larger issues such as; overcrowding of Thai prisons, and articulating how America's DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) pays Thai authorities to imprison as many men and women as possible - on trumped-up, victimless charges. The title, '1 Pill = 28 Years' refers to one old Asian man who got sentenced to 28 years plus 3 months for getting caught, first offense, with one speed pill in his shirt pocket. He had no lawyer, no option for bail or appeal, ....not even a phone call. For two thirds of Those 247,318 hours behind bars he is confined six square foot concrete floor space, compelled to drape arms and legs over/against inmates on either side. He will die in prison. His predicament is not an anomaly. There are thousands of men and women similarly mistreated in Thailand, which ranks number 5 worldwide regarding percentage of its citizens incarcerated. The lion's share of those men and women are behind bars for bogus charges and/or victimless crimes.