At Stanford University in 1958, one top applicant for a $2,500 Wallace E. Stegner creative writing fellowship was moody Mitchell J. Strucinski, 35, author of two poignant short stories in the Atlantic. Professor Stegner himself was much impressed. Only one thing gave him pause: Author Strucinski was in Washington State's McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary, finishing a five-year term for mail theft and forgery. Stilling its doubts, Stanford took Strucinski, who came highly recommended not only by an Atlantic editor but also by the warden at McNeil. Last week, when police arrested Strucinski for the tenth time in his life, Stanford realized...
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