A Question of Freedom

talked about his book A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison (Avery; August 6, 2009). In this memoir he tells how he came of age in prison and reflects on violence, freedom, crime, race, and the justice system. He committed a carjacking at the age of 16 and served in an adult prison until he was 24. He talked about how a lack of realization in his poor neighborhood of the opportunities that he actually had contributed to his crime and that efforts to teach young people about the possibilities before them could be efficacious. Mr. Betts, a published poet, also talked about the importance of reading.