Upcoming Chicago literary events (Hussein's best friend

March 22: Jeanne Bishop will discuss her new book, "Change of Heart: Justice, Mercy, and Making Peace With My Sister's Killer," with Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. 4 p.m., Seminary Co-op Bookstore, 5751 S. Woodlawn Ave., semcoop.com, 773-752-4381

New Book Tells How a Public Defender Reconciled with Sister’s Killer

Change of Heart arrives at a time when the nation is having an important and wide-ranging conversation about overly-harsh sentences in the criminal justice system, joining other books on the topic such as Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy and Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.

Jeanne Bishop is a public defender in Cook County, IL, and an activist for the abolition of the death penalty. She writes regularly for The Huffington Post, and her work has been featured by CNN.com, Chicago Sun-Times, and Chicago Tribune, among others. She has spoken around the world on issues related to crime, capital punishment, juvenile life sentences, and restorative justice.

https://www.pcusa.org/news/2015/2/24/new-book-tells-how-public-defender-reconciled-sist/

From the title, it seemed as if the family of one of the persons killed by the Weather Underground may be there, but no.

"Nice" of the Lib-brary to invite some pro-murderers though.

"First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, then they even shoved a fork into the pig Tate's stomach! Wild!" -Bernadine Dorhn

Pajamas Media: You stated in your interview in No Place to Hide that you wanted us to "imagine sitting in a room with 25 people, most of which have graduate degrees, from Columbia and other well-known educational centers, and hear them figuring out the logistics for the elimination of 25 million people." A lot of people have now had the opportunity to listen to you and contemplate the horrors these people planned. Can you recall who these people are by name, and who the ringleaders of this plan were?
Larry Grathwohl: Conversations regarding this occurred in Cincinnati, Detroit, Flint, and Buffalo. Participants included Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Mark Rudd, Linda Evans, Jeff Jones, and many others.
Pajamas Media: Was this merely an academic matter to them, or were they serious about killing 25 million Americans that would not bend to their political will?
Larry Grathwohl: I suppose you could consider this a purely academic discussion in that the Weathermen never had the opportunity to implement their political ends. However, I can assure you that this was not the case. There was an absolute belief that they, along with the international revolutionary movement, would cause the collapse of the United States and that they would be in charge. Nixon was of great concern and how his end would be conducted. This may sound absurd in today's context, but the Weatherman believed they would succeed....
Pajamas Media: Scattered news accounts on the Internet note that you were instrumental in foiling Weather Underground attacks in February of 1970, in Detroit. The Weathermen built two bombs targeting the Detroit Police Officers' Association (DPOA) building and the 13th Precinct. Were the goals of these attacks symbolic property damage as were some other Weathermen attacks, or were these targets selected to kill police officers?
Larry Grathwohl: The instructions I received from Billy Ayers was that the bombs to be used in Detroit must have shrapnel (fence staples, specifically) and fire potential (propane bottles). The intention was to kill police officers....
Pajamas Media: One of the Detroit bombs was to be placed on the side of the DPOA building, and the blast was likely to cause damage to the adjacent Red Barn Restaurant, which had mostly African-American customers. Who ordered the attack, and what did he say when you told him that innocent civilians would be killed?
Larry Grathwohl: When I objected to Billy Ayers that more innocent people would be killed in the restaurant, he replied, "Innocent people have to die in a revolution." Billy also acknowledged during a criticism session in Buffalo that Bernadine placed the bomb at the Park Police Station which resulted in the death of Police Officer McDonnell.
Pajamas Media: Bill Ayers came out of hiding around 1980, became a college professor, and has served on numerous boards and foundations. Do you think he's changed in his radicalism?
Larry Grathwohl: Has Billy changed? I hardly think so.

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