"Don Reid," a cub reporter once wrote admiringly, "can see as much humanity in the messy murder of a shady lady as the coronation of a queen . . . ." Reid was a strong but gentle man, wise and compassionate, and his discerning eyes observed all the degradation and nobility mankind is heir to in his thirty-five years of covering the Texas prison system for the "Huntsville Item" and the Associated Press. For many years he was publisher of the "Item" and later in his life spent much of his time writing and making public speeches. Reid, who died in 1981, was survived by his widow, Frances. The...