(#75) WILKEN & LEVERETT:

Edition of 2154 of which 300 copies are signed 1-300, 26 are signed A-Z as artist's proofs, and five sets are signed as progressives.

August 8, 1978 Six colors 18" x 24"

Client: Claudia Wilken & Sarah Hodges Leverett, 1919 Addison, Berkeley CA 94704. Telephone (510) 644-3361 A-Z: Artist's own use

When a person is given a fair trial in a duly constituted court of law, all proper forms having been observed, and he is convicted, there can be no further talk of "innocence." He is, by definition, guilty. That is not to say that he is guilty in the eyes of God of the crime of which he was accused and convicted. That is not to say, indeed, that he was guilty of the crime in any absolute sense whatever.

The discovery of objective truth is not possible here on Earth. The discovery of absolute truth, furthermore, is not at all what a court of law is set upon. What a court of law is set upon discovering is this: which side has the better lawyer. That's the rule. Once convicted and condemned, it is perfect nonsense to insist that an innocent man might be suffering.

The law is not concerned with guilt or innocence. The law concerns itself solely with whether the accused was fairly, reasonably and lawfully convicted of the crime of which he was accused. If he was, then he can be punished.

To answer Pontius Pilate when he asked, "what is truth," we may confidently answer, truth is what a court of law decides. No more, no less. And may God have mercy on your soul.