It was hard Wednesday to find a prominent ex-con willing to talk openly about what life in prison will be like for Jim Black.

Several declined and several more didn't return messages.

But former federal prosecutor and disbarred lawyer Jim Blackburn of Raleigh offered Black some public pointers:

ADMIT YOUR CRIMES

"That means you don't whine, you don't make excuses, you don't blame other people. Because they didn't put you there. You don't get better -- and you don't get your life back -- unless you accept what you did."

ACCEPT THE PUNISHMENT

"Sometimes redemption requires that you be punished. It's going to very tough on Mr. Black. You can either go in and be bitter, or you can come to terms with yourself."

ADAPT TO THE LOSS OF CONTROL

"Prison is the absence of freedom. Life is very structured. It can be very boring. You're told when to eat, what to eat, and when the lights are turned off."

DON'T TAKE SPECIAL TREATMENT

"His biggest problem is that everybody will know who he is. They'll want to know whether he receives any special treatment. He should want to have none."

RELY ON FRIENDS, FAMILY, FAITH

"It's good to stay in contact with the outside world. What he needs now is unconditional friendship and love. You get that from family, you get that from friends, you get that from faith."

EXAMINE YOUR LIFE AND FUTURE

"You can learn a great deal about yourself and your life. You have to do that. Otherwise you're throwing part of your life away."

Blackburn, 61, won national fame in 1979 as the prosecutor who sent Army doctor Jeffrey MacDonald to prison for murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters at Fort Bragg.

Blackburn later lost his law license and in 1994 served several months in state prison for misusing his law firm's client funds. For several years afterward, he worked as a waiter at Raleigh's 42nd Street Oyster Bar. He makes his living as a motivational speaker to lawyers and others.

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