Carol Publishing Group Description: This 302-page book is an detailed account of an innocent man's convictions for
child sexual abuse and murder and his four years of suffering and prison rapes. While there is no table of contents or footnotes, the book closes with a
chronology of the actual offender's record. Discussion: This is an engrossing and easy-to-read account of a wrongful conviction and the victim's experiences while in prison. It is also a sad commentary on American justice, media hype, community hysteria, homophobia, and police and prosecutorial pressure. The FBI agent who proved the innocence of the wrongly convicted man should get a medal for his willingness to take on the law enforcement establishment. Eventually, the actual child molester confessed to the crime and then hung himself. However, there was no restitution after the man was cleared. The state senator refused to introduce a compensation bill, claiming the man had confessed (after 13 to 14 months of daily interrogation). This is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in recent history. It emphasizes the importance of a suspect never saying anything to the police without a lawyer present and of never volunteering to take a polygraph. The book should be read by all police officers along with anyone interested in false arrest and wrongful convictions and how they can occur. Reviewed by LeRoy Schultz, Professor of Social Work, West Virginia University.
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