"Let the hand of the law strike me down if it will, but I ask that my story might be heard and considered;  not that I wish to avert any decree the law may deem necessary to vindicate justice, or win a word of pity from anyone.  If my life teaches the public that men are made mad by bad treatment, and if the police are taught that they may not exasperate to madness men they persecute and illtreat, my life will not be entirely thrown away.  People who live in large towns have no idea of the tyrannical conduct of the police in country places far removed from court;  they have no idea of the harsh and overbearing manner in which they execute their duty, or how they neglect their duty and abuse their powers."