Priest in Hell, A

"Living in jail is like living in a foreign country. The customs and culture
are different, almost alien, and so is the language." A Priest in Hell is the
compelling true story of life in the U.S. prison system. The book takes fodder
for popular reality shows (like Cops) to a new level, giving the reader a
frighteningly real sense of the tastes, sounds, smells, culture and lifestyle
of jail. On November 5, 2005, Randall Radic was arrested and charged with ten
felonies. Desperation for a monied lifestyle led Radic, a pastor in the
northern California community of Ripon, to first mortgage the home provided to
him by his church, before selling off the church itself. His crime is exposed
when a large bank deposit catches the attention of the authorities. Radic is
subsequently convicted of embezzlement, forgery, and fraud, and he spends six
months in a California jail before a plea bargain facilitates his release. At
54, Radic is well above the average age of the prison population, and his
background as a priest makes him both a target and a confidante within the
prison walls. Through the book, Radic introduces the stories of several of his
fellow inmates, detailing their crimes, cases, and struggles. He eventually
earns his plea bargain by sharing confessions of a fellow inmate with the
district attorney. Radic considers his time in jail Dante's version of Hell.
This is the gritty, painful reality of crime and consequence.