Let me recommend David Oshinsky's Worse Than Slavery; Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice which describes the "justice" of Mississippi before Parchman was built, the leasing of prisoners to work for plantation owners, in the swamps, in the mines, etc. Then he describes Parchman and all its horrors. Leadbelly and "Son" House also served hard time there. On the page with Bukka's picture Oshinsky writes: "Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White was one of several bluesmen to serve time at Parchman. A former prizefighter and minor league baseball player, he was convicted for shooting a jealous rival in 1937. Well, I had a '38 Colt... and I let it loose, he recalled. At Parchman, White escaped much of the heavy field work by performing for the inmates and trusties. He even taught the camp sergeant's son to play guitar. Released in 1939, he moved to Chicago... (etc.)"

This is a well-written, well-researched and very disturbimg book, now available as a remainder from Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller, in Falls Village, Connecticut. I don't have his web-site bookmarked, so I can't provide a convenient "blue clicky thing" for you, but Yahoo'll find it.

Sandy