Due Process For Dan Doyle
On May 31, 2022, Daniel E. Doyle Jr. was released from the Adult Correctional Institute (ACI) in Cranston, Rhode Island, after being incarcerated for a period of four years and 10 months. Mr. Doyle has steadfastly maintained his innocence and vows to continue his pursuit of justice in the courts and other forums for as long as it takes to be fully exonerated.
Mr. Doyle's case is presently under appeal.
Since Mr. Doyle's release on May 31, he has received a considerable number of inquiries, including specific interview requests, regarding his prison experience and future plans. Given the volume of inquiries, Mr. Doyle has asked Cranbrook Strategies to prepare and issue a series of posts on this site over the course of the fall.
Mr. Doyle was extremely active in prison, perhaps in an unprecedented manner. He kept busy writing, creating space for contemplation and the fostering of ideas, developing and implementing various projects, reading, exercising, observing a strict diet, mentoring inmates of various ages, carefully observing prison optics ranging from acts of kindness to abject cruelty, praying the rosary each morning, aiding a number of inmates with their re-entry into society plan, taking a variety of courses including "Anthropology" and "American History to 1877," serving as prison law librarian and lunch porter, and planning the future.
Books In Progress.
I. “Behind The Cloud” (A Silver Lining)
A book detailing Mr. Doyle's prison experience.
Title taken from John Milton's “Comus” (1634).
(Note: In response to a frequent request of fellow inmates, Mr. Doyle's daily writing of "Behind The Cloud" is now accompanied by interviews with individuals who have experienced the ACI and/or the Rhode Island Parole Board in some form.)
A detailed overview of "Behind The Cloud" will be posted in due course. [Among many features of the book will be the strategies Mr. Doyle employed to turn his outrage into positive purpose.]
Current status: While the book is well under way and Mr. Doyle is making daily progress, he wishes to confirm that there is much left to do.
II. "Dr. Jim and the Court Wizard" (Dr. James Naismith and Bob Cousy)
Children's book which tracks Dr. Naismith's invention of basketball in 1891 to Mr. Cousy's retirement from the Boston Celtics in 1963, and his post-retirement activities leading to his being awarded America's highest civilian honor in 2019, The Presidential Medal Of Freedom.
Key historical events along the way will be addressed, some within the context of the lives of Dr. Naismith and Mr. Cousy.
Examples: Dr. Jim
Dr. Jim's service as a volunteer chaplain in France during World War I and his horror upon personally observing the deployment of chemical weapons, including the consequences suffered by baseball great Christy Mathewson.
Dr. Jim's joy upon learning that his treasured sport had been accepted into formal competition at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Dr. Jim's attendance at the 1936 Games, and his pride in watching his American team take gold in the rain by defeating Canada 19-8. (Note: the 1936 basketball competition was held outdoors.)
While walking back to his Berlin hotel following the gold medal victory, Dr. Jim's transmutable experience of encountering a forlorn member of the U.S. track team by the name of Marty Glickman.
Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Jim's growing outrage over the realization that the 1936 Olympic Games served as a cosmetic for Hitler's subterfuge.
Dr. Jim's advocacy for girls and womens basketball.
Examples: Bob Cousy
Mr. Cousy being born into extreme poverty, his early years residing in a rodent and roach infested New York City apartment with no running water.
Mr. Cousy speaking only French for the first five years of his life.
Mr. Cousy breaking his right arm at age 11, and with the encouragement from his first coach, Morty Arkin, using the experience to develop his left hand for basketball purposes.
Mr. Cousy being cut from his high school basketball team, not once but twice.
Mr. Cousy dealing with and overcoming a childhood speech impediment.
As an adult, Mr. Cousy’s marked impact on his adopted hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Mr. Cousy’s enlightened views on race, e.g. the book will cite the famous Bob Cousy/Chuck Cooper 24 hour train ride from Charlotte, North Carolina to New York City via Syracuse.
Mr. Cousy’s decision to start the NBA Players Union, and the obstacles he had to overcome in the three years it took to gain NBA owners approval.
"Dr. Jim and the Court Wizard" will also address the meaningful nature of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, and pay tribute to the five former NBA stars who have been awarded the medal:
Bob Cousy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Jerry West.
Current status: While the book is well under way and Mr. Doyle is making daily progress, he wishes to confirm that there is much left to do.
(Note: The foreword of “Dr. Jim And The Court Wizard” will include reference to Mr. Doyle's friendship with Ian Naismith, grandson of Dr. James Naismith, and the many vignettes Mr. Naismith shared about his beloved grandfather. The foreword will also address how much Mr. Cousy's support during this ordeal has meant to Mr. Doyle and the Doyle Family.)
III. "The Waggling Dancer."
Children’s book in detailed outline form.
Inspired by a current ACI Corrections Officer and his father, a retired ACI Corrections Officer and former World Scholar Athlete Games coach.
Overview: In 1959, a retired Negro League baseball player and current beekeeper moves to East Brookfield, Massachusetts, hometown of baseball legend Connie Mack. He is the first person of color to reside in this rural town. Residing right next door is a widow of the Korean War and her nine-year-old son.
Lessons of beekeeping, baseball and racial awakening in the form of the trio's 70-mile journey to Fenway Park in the beekeeper's shiny red and gray 1941 Plymouth to meet up with his old friend, Pumpsie Green, and Pumpsie's teammate and Korean War veteran, Ted Williams.
(Note: Upon completion of “Dr. Jim and the Court Wizard" Mr. Doyle will complete “The Waggling Dancer”.)
Post II
The next post will be published on September 22. This post will address the three plays Mr. Doyle wrote while incarcerated. The post will further address the premiere of one of the three plays in conjunction with a program Mr. Doyle crafted while incarcerated entitled “Theatre To Prisons”.
Post III
The third post will address the music Mr. Doyle wrote and recorded prior to his incarceration. The post will also address a song Mr. Doyle wrote while in prison and confirm which of the songs will be featured in the plays.
Future Posts
Future posts will address a variety of issues including a documentary series on the Rhode Island Criminal Justice System and the revival of the World Scholar Athlete Games.