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Six Questions for Dale C. Carson on Staying Off the “Electronic Plantation”

By Ken Silverstein
Harper’s Magazine

Dale C. Carson, a former FBI agent and now a criminal defense lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida, authored the new book, Arrest-Proof Yourself. Funny and very politically incorrect, the book is a how-to guide for staying out of jail—which Carson says should be of concern not only to career criminals but to “people with lapses in judgment, bad manners, a taste for marijuana, and no knowledge of how the criminal justice system operates.” Being arrested might not necessarily lead to a prison stretch, but it will lead to permanent placement in the “electronic plantation,” the term Carson uses to describe the growing web of federal and state criminal databases. Once you’re on the plantation, he says, you can look forward to a lifetime of low-wage jobs and trouble with authorities. In the old days, Carson writes, “All anyone had to do to escape youthful indiscretions was blow town. Nowadays, that doesn’t work. Once you’re in the ‘puter, my friend, you’re there for life.” I recently spoke by phone with Carson about the many pearls of wisdom contained in his new book.