jailbe@rs

What would drive a law abiding citizen to commit a crime?

Let's see. Keanu Reeves was arrested for DUI (driving under the influence), Hugh Grant for lewd behavior, Larry King for grand larceny, Al Pacino for carrying a concealed weapon, and Winona Ryder for shoflifting and illegal drug possession. The list could go on.

Was it a subconscious rebellion against the tightening grip of stardom? Or simply an outing of their seamy side?

In the TV series 'Prison Break', Michael Scofield (played by Wentworth Miller, left) was a successful structural engineer who robbed a bank in order to land in jail. His motive? To free his half brother, Lincoln Burrows, who was falsely accused of murdering the American president's embezzler sibling. While most of us would prefer to simply visit an incarcerated relative once a week, Michael gave up everything he had to help his innocent brother escape death row.

Yes, Michael was one rare jailbird. Unlike the celebrities I mentioned earlier, he had an entirely selfless motive for his crime. But then, you might say he wasn't real – and that his story was pure fiction.

Then consider this list of former real life prisoners: Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Voltaire, Aung San Suk Yi, Winston Churchill, Galileo, Mahatma Ghandi, John Milton, Marco Polo, the Philippines' Ninoy Aquino, Apolinario Mabini, and Jose Rizal.

For people's rights, for the good of many, for the love of country – I can't think of better reasons to go to jail.

– In celebration of Philippine Independence Day, June 12, 1898.

(Top, right: My 'No Plan' Be@rbrick Number 5, released in 2004)

(Info from www.microsoft.com, mugshots.org and Wikipedia. Miller pic from Wikipedia)