I do regret that we didn't make it out your way, for his book tour. It was odd: he was injured in an auto wreck very similar to the way I was (both of us smashed by someone not paying attention to the road, due to cell phones). With me, it was the lower back; Rubin's neck was injured. I really don't think his health ever came back after that.
For a while, he had to stay laying down in bed. While he found that frustrating -- really frustrating -- it provided many hours to talk on the phone.
Today, I've been looking through documents from Rahway, when Rube was the director of the inmates' council. Some were between Carter and the warden, about conditions there. One poor young man was in solitary, when a hot water pipe burst; he was literally boiled to death, and not found for many hours. That really upset Rubin.
Others include letters to state officials, and a long one to a senator's aide. Rubin had the support of a lot of the guards; he had saved the lives of the warden and two guards during the Thanksgiving 1971 riot there. As you remember, there was the potential for very real prison reform in that era ..... including preparing men with the skills needed to make an honest living on the outside, and thus prevent them from returning. But the prison industry today requires a large number of inmates, to make a huge profit.