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Lets say that I wanted to write an autobiography but some elements of my life (particularly relevant to certain choice) are illegal and I could still be prosecuted for them if my involvement became public knowledge.
How would I be able to get an autobiography like this published and still remain free from prosecution?
As a practicing attorney myself, everything people have said regarding contacting an attorney first, particularly one that deals with criminal law, is the best advice.
If you are contacting the attorney regarding crimes you have committed or been an accessory to, you have the attorney-client privilege, and the attorney cannot discuss it with anyone but you.
If it is about a crime you are committing, or contemplate engaging, the attorney is bound to report it. Refer to the situation in hypotheticals and figure out where the hypothetical person has is legal liability before you relate in real terms.
Some crimes, like sexual crimes, especially if they involve minors, can have federal implications. Tax and property crimes can have long periods of liability. Even if you write fiction, as someone indicated earlier, a hotdog prosecutor might link you to the fictional character.
FIND A RELIABLE ATTORNEY.
Isn’t that what pseudonyms are essentially for? Otherwise write it as a fiction novel.
But if you really want your real name to be attached to a true story... well, who would bother prosecuting you? You think that law enforcement officers have nothing better to do than comb through memoirs to find evidence of illegal activities? ....
Of course if your book becomes a bestseller, a young prosecutor may want to try to go after you to hitch on the celebrity bandwagon, or if your crime is very serious and would involve a homicide investigation or the FBI interest, then no don’t write it, or at least get it published posthumously...
But chances are nobody would care anyways.
EDIT
In your situation since the crime seems serious better not write it...
Anyways who reads autobiographies?
Not to be negative, but if you are not in a very unique situation, or a unique person like a Geisha, or lived something truly extraordinary, or famous already...
I can’t see more than a few dozen people, if that, ever reading it if you publish it online.
If the writing itself is cathartic, or would help you figure things out, then write it for yourself and don’t publish it, or do a vanity publication
I think it is better if you took some of those elements that shaped you and integrated them in purely fictional works like most authors do.
I think this is strictly a legal matter, specifically laws on whether or not an autobiography can be considered testimony. That may vary by your location.
Definitely look for that on a law site though.
