Jack Henry Abbott Goes Out Of Print

In his final appearance before the New York State parole board, a combative Jack Henry Abbott showed an "absolute lack of any sign of remorse" for his 1981 murder of a 22-year-old aspiring actor, according to the June 2001 decision denying his release bid. A trio of parole commissioners wrote that they were struck that Abbott also made "no mention of the pain and suffering your extremely violent actions have caused the family of the victim." Abbott, who committed suicide Sunday morning (2/10) in his prison cell, complained that the commissioners were not giving him "a serious hearing" and were "making a mockery of the law." At one point, he even reprimanded a commissioner for supposedly addressing him "with an angry voice like I have done something to offend you." During a prior prison stretch, Abbott became pen pals with Norman Mailer, who later helped the inmate turn those letters into the best-selling book "In the Belly of the Beast." As the following parole commission decision shows, Abbott was no model prisoner, having been repeatedly disciplined for drug, alcohol, and weapons violations. (3 pages)