Fyoder Dostoevsky had it right. Crime and punishment are inextricably linked. These links are not entirely mechanical
however. They are also emotional and as emotions change so do punishments. The mechanics call for an "eye for an eye"
while pragmatists look to understand. To the person who says "He's a murderer. There's nothing to understand" the
pragmatist asks "Why did he kill" and "Is the responsibility his alone?" Perhaps the question is "Are we more than the sum
of our crimes?"
Recently the mechanics executed Stanley Tookie Williams at San Quentin in northern California. Some pragmatists objected.
In the weeks leading up to the scheduled execution there was a showing at the Victoria in San Francisco of a movie about
Mr. Williams' life, "Redemption" starring Jamie Fox. The theatre was sold out and Danny Glover spoke hopefully of the
upcoming clemency hearing with Governor Schwarzenegger. Ten days later Mr. Williams was dead. He outlived predictions
but only by 15 minutes and this only because the "nurse" couldn't quickly enough find a vein for the court mandated poison.
"An eye for an eye" is dumb policy. It assumes the individual is entirely and exclusively responsible and that background,
neighborhood, family, timing and luck are not integral aspects. It also tries hard to ignore differences in intelligence.
If these aren't important factors we need to get the news out because almost everyone in America treats them as important,
even essential. Families that can are always moving out of problem neighborhoods. Many believe where we live will affect
who we are, what we become and what we do. Every human being on the planet knows these factors are as much a part of us as
our DNA. In court the standards are more black and white and the grays come into play only when competent defenses
introduce and judges allow them.
Prejudice has been around for a while and one of the easiest ways to act on prejudice is to impose inflexible standards on
those we don't like. People who speak non-native English and others of color often fit the bill. We do this by
separating the crime from circumstances, background and color. We provide everyone with a "fair" trial but assume each
defendant has sufficient capability and money to engage appropriate defense even when we know this is not the case. In
fact in the United States it is expensive to mount a good defense so poor people have the least access to it.
The first trial is crucial because all subsequent judicial processes are simply reviews. Highly material errors are the
requirement to overturn and courts reluctant to overrule. And new information is rarely accepted. Repeated allegations
that prosecutors withhold information suggest a truly adversarial relationship between prosecutor and defense. Somewhere
in this justice becomes an innocent bystander to over-reaching on both sides. That prosecutors do not always feel an
obligation to both sides is shameful. Nancy Grace, a former prosecutor whose lair today is CNN, is the poster child of
aggressive prosecutorial tactics and prima facie evidence of the failure of today's judicial system. Where the goal is
truth viciousness can not reside.
DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.