Whitey Bulger.....a break from politics

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/us/james-whitey-bulger-killed/index.html

So Whitey Bulger was killed in prison this past weekend....probably had it coming.  He was the kingpin of the Boston underworld for many years.......eventually convicted for 11 murders.  These guys are interesting to me because they were extremely successful at what they did.  The part that's interesting is that they could likely have been just as successful in a legal life....where did they go sideways?

I worked undercover for 5 years with a DEA task force in a previous life (it just feels that way).  I locked up a lot of good drug dealers that were really charismatic, smart guys.....leaders.  My theory has always been that they would have been just as successful in a legitimate business if life would have dealt them different cards. 

I found an article about 3 kids who did a project on Bulger as a great leader......and he eventually wrote to them that his life was a wasted one, and that if they wanted to make a living in crime that they should become lawyers.....great insight, and the kids were suitably impressed with his words of wisdom from prison.

No point here really......except that we should probably look at prison differently......some folks that we have locked away have value. Maybe Bulger is a bad example here because he killed people, fork him....I get it.  But,  many are locked away for non-violent crimes.....really smart people.  We should give them the opportunity to use it.