5 comments about A Stranger in the Family: A True Story of Murder, Madness, and Unconditional Love.

1. This was a very sad book, you got the view of the family of the criminal in this book, how they feel about the crime of their son. It's very sad and odd, why Danny Starrett had become like that when he had a loving family??? When his mother talked about how he was when he was a kid and we see his baby and kid picutures you think how a little boy who look so nice and sweet can become like that? It's was very well wrote and a very powerful book.



2. Given a choice, I wouldn't have given this book one measly star, but I was forced to. I've just finished the book (how, I don't know) and I'm glad it's over because if I had to read one more chapter beginning with wonderful Gerry Starrett sitting in her immaculate living room, holding hands with her perfect family, reflecting on the perfect previous years and 'her Danny', I was going to puke. I found this book to be more about the trials of Gerry Starrett than her son. I never read anything about the victims and their families. And I read very little about Danny's family (except for his strange mother) and nothing about his wife after all this except the two or three paragraphs when she asked for a divorce. Personally, it sounded to me as if Gerry was just a tad obsessed with her son and even after he confessed, she didn't believe 'her Danny' did anything. The guy was a freak and if his mother and he were as close as she claims they were, you think she would have seen some abnormalities in him. Granted, I can understand her desire to help her son but she attacked everybody around him and I got just plain sick of hearing about all the injustices that he was made to endure. He did, after all, rape a bunch of teenagers and kill one of them Gerry. If the purpose of this book--and it seemed to be that Gerry was the only participant in the writing of this book--was to conjure up sympathy for 'her Danny', it failed miserably. The only sympathy I felt for him was the embarrassment of having such a weird mother. (Example: her screaming at the prosecutor for mentioning the murder victim's name when 'her Danny' fell on the floor crying) She was just over the edge. She seemed extremely shallow, more worried about appearances than anything else. I actually thought her husband handled things much better than she did and I kept wondering when he was going to unload his half-crazed wife. As it turned out, she filed for divorce. As I said, I did manage to finish this book, but if you haven't read it, I wouldn't bother with it. It's nothing but a bunch of babble. It's actually a story about an anguished mother of a murderer than anything else.



3. That's right the victim Jeannie was my cousin. We went to the beach together several times when we were kids. Now I am 32 and finally found out the previously unspeakable (in my family) details through this book. We are the same age born one month apart. I was 15 at the time the murder happened.
   
   We were very close friends, so it was interesting reading about her. Even if it was from the killer's viewpoint. It brought back a lot of memories. For example, she liked peach wine coolers, pringles chips, her favorites, just as the killer said. You could tell she was trying to please the killer with the lies she told him, typical for victims with the Hearst-like syndrome she developed after the trauma of being abducted from her home.
   
   The last reviewer was mistaken when he said Chrissy was murdered, and the book never says she was. Also the reviewer before that didn't read the book well either, Starrett clearly admitted he killed Jeannie. She did not kill herself. There were two bullets in her chest, so how could she have killed herself anyway?
   
   Anyhow, I knew her very well and she was a spunky young woman. Wild and crazy and a lot of fun. Had a lot of potential. Didn't have fear of anything, and like many teenagers believed she was invincible. She was brave and mentally strong. Once she got to know him, she never dreamed he would actually kill her.
   
   The book didn't say how much she hated the name Jean and only used it in the "runaway" note to give clues for someone to find her. She also spelled letters in her name backwards which she normally never would have done. I knew her writing, as she wrote a lot. After her disapearance, the FBI called and interviewed all her friends, including me, looking for her.
   
   True she could have escaped if she hadn't been so ballsy and if she hadn't had that "no one can hurt me" attitude. But I remember at that age I had the same attitude so I can't blame her.
   
   What I find disturbing is the mother's lack of compassion for the family members of the victims. She wouldn't even provide a picture of her son to help in the search. Even if he had been innocent she still should have provided the photo to help investigators. The mother was so wrapped up in protecting her grown son that she lost sight of the fact that several girls were abused and one was killed. And throughout the book she seems to want people to feel sorry for her. How would she have felt if one of her children had been killed? She didn't bother to consider this. All she cared about was whether her murderer son would go to the death chamber, or whether he had adequate prison conditions. She should have been more concerned helping authorities throughout the case. If she wanted to do the right thing. But she was too selfish to help.
   
   It is sad how the killer keeps making excuses for himself. He may have had brain damage from his childhood injuries, but lots of people, including myself had an untreated concussion as a child from a car accident, and I didn't grow up to be a criminal! He is a sadistic calculated rapist and murderer. Something went wrong in his brain but that does not mean he should be declared too ill to be executed.
   
   I see Jeannie's parents (it's acutally her stepdad who raised her)usually once every year. After she died, they gave me a favorite trinket of hers which I still have to this day. They didn't have any other children.
   
   She did want to become a lawyer as the book says, and I have no doubt she was more than smart enough. Too bad she didn't get the chance. She was also one of my best friends and it sure would be nice to have her around. We would have finished growing up together. I never had a large family, and most of the family I do have I am not close with. Those are other reasons why Jeannie was important to me. After we found out she was dead I was severly depressed. My grades got a lot worse and I acted out as a teenager, getting myself into a lot of trouble. Some of it I would have gotton into anyway and some I would not have. I can only imagine if it affected me so much how it affected her parents. It would be interesting to have a book from the victim's perspective, to compare.
   
   Due to politics and the legal system this man was not put to death like he should have been. However, from the book Starrett seemed to dislike living in prison so perhaps his 10 life sentences will be a fate worse than death. I hope so. Even if he is "suffering" then at least, lucky for him, he gets to live out a full life unlike Jeannie who didn't have the chance. I can tell you his suffering in prison, of which he and his mother complain, will never equal the amount of suffering Jeannie's family has endured outside of prison.



4. The authors of this book have researched this book very thoroughly, and their style of writing is excellent. They compare and contrast the views of both the main characters that leave the reader wanting to learn more. This is a page-turner book in which you don't want to put down until it's finished.



5. I am an avid reader of true crime, but this is the worst specimen of such that I have ever seen. This book focuses not so much on the crimes committed but how this serial kidnapper & rapist, once murderer, was treated so poorly behind bars. And the second story of this book focuses on how his mother worked dilligently to right those wrongs. The kidnapped, raped and murdered victims are but backdrops to this 400 page whine about the injustices suffered by the accused. This is the first work I have read by these authors and will most definitely be my last. Steven Naifeh & Gregory White Smith: Get out of the trime crime writing profession...leave it to the true professionals like Ann Rule, Corey Mitchell & Steve Jackson.
   
   Last but not least, I must say this: many, many times we hear the accused blame negligent mothers, domineering mothers, or absentee fathers. Most times, I personally feel that this is one more attempt at ridding themselves of personal responsibility for their actions; more specifically, their choices. However, after reading this book I firmly believe that Danny Starret was the result of a over-worrisome, over-indulgent mother that, with her high-falutin' attitude, thought that her family was above evil doings. The statement that shook me the most was when discussing his case with defense attorney Bud Siemon, she made the statement "Danny is basically a good boy-" That one statement sums up the attitude of Gerry Starrett and her "perfect son."

5 comments about The Rape of Kuwait: The True Story of Iraqi Atrocities Against a Civilian Population.

1. This harrowing book recounts the stories of individual Kuwaitis who suffered horribly in the days just after the Iraqi invasion in 1990. The focus on individuals makes the book all the more moving; the author's knowledge of and sympathy for the subject country comes through clearly. One can't knock the stories of the Kuwaitis; I was a little disappointed in the author (mention is made of the Kuwaiti government's lack of democracy, which she rationalizes by resorting to the old "a nation's internal policies are no one else's business" excuse, also used by none other than Saddam Hussein). For this, I was forced to deduct a star from the rating.



2. I know this author, Jean Sasson, from her PRINCESS Trilogy, and from her last book, ESTER'S CHILD. I had a difficult time finding this book, but was not disappointed with a second-hand copy. Although the book is obviously written in a hurry due to the situation at the time, and certainly not up to the quality writing of her last 4 books, you can tell that Jean Sasson cares passionately about these human beings and wants their stories to be told. I was surprised at her ability to interview so many high-ranking government officials but after reading her bio and seeing that she lived for 12 years in Arabia, I realized that she probably knows the "ins and outs" of the area. For certain, she is one brave lady and does not seem to concern herself with her own safety. Admittedly, she does seem to try and please everyone just a tad much, but I wonder if that is her Southern background--friendly and warm.
   At any rate, I do admire this author and I think it was a story that needing telling by someone who obviously liked the Arabs being interviewed. The author seems to have a knack to not judge, and to try and get to the heart of the matter.
   I recommend this book in light of the ongoing situation with Iraq. Who knows when Saddam will decide to go back to Kuwait? This author tells the truth of that invasion straight from the mouths of the people who survived a very brutal day. Let's just hope a second book about a second invasion is not in our future!



3. This was clearly a quickly written book, but gave good details. The suffering endured by the Kuwaitis reminds me to be relieved that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power! But, what caught my interest the most was the author's knack for traveling alone throughout the Middle East. It's not unusual for tough male reporters to do that, but for a southern female, someone who is not even a reporter, to travel with such abandon is simply amazing. I was struck more than once by her bravery. Not only that, Jean Sasson seemed to be able to interview whomever she pleased, from the highest ranking Kuwaiti official to the ordinary citizens. I'd like to read this author's personal story myself. Is there such a book? If so, I would buy it.



4. After reading all of Jean Sasson's other books (including her most famous "Princess") I was very glad to pick up, "The Rape of Kuwait." This is Jean's first book. The author describes how Desert Storm effected the Kuwaiti people. It's atrocious, and very sad and shocking in some parts, but also a riveting tale that should be told. I could not put this book down. I look forward to reading Jean Sasson's next book as she is one of my favorite authors!!!



5. Totally cherished this book. the link said that the book was used, when i got it, it looked very new. couldnt believe it was used !

5 comments about Predator: Rape, Madness, And Injustice In Seattle.

1. I'd expected the book to be good, but it was excellent. I highly recomend it to all true crime fans. The book gave just enough background, just enough of the trials, just enough opinions etc. It was very informative and such a compelling read. I was already familiar with the wrongful conviction of Steve Titus, and found Olsen's account to be quite accurate and compassionate.



2. I am a fan of thrillers and suspense books. Books such as this go far in proving that real life events can be far more terrifying than anything we read in fiction. Any fan of real life crime, criminal psychology or of books about our criminal /judicial system really need to read this book.

   There are two aspects to this story...more if you want to start considering the many rape victims left in Mac Smith's wake. The first aspect is Mac Smith himself. The story goes very far in explaining how personalities such as Mac Smith's are formed. Jack Olsen portrays Mac as a well-rounded individual, even a likeable person. Yet, Mac is truly twisted and sick. Extremely manipulative. It is frightening to know that this person could be out on the streets in another 4 years...

   Then there is the story of Steve Titus. This is, perhaps, the most frightening part of the whole story. It really makes you wonder how often innocent people are convicted of another's crimes. This man suffered for 8 months...through his arrest which he jokingly thought was all a mistake, a trial, a conviction, and finally numerous postponements of his sentencing before his innocence was finally proven with the assistance of a news reporter. His life was destroyed....he lost his job and eventually the woman he loved.

   This book is a truly compelling read. I read it in one day of nonstop reading. After reading this book, the next time you hear someone in jail profess their innocence, you will hesitate before you sneer and say, "Yeah...that's what they all say..."




3. If you are a fan of True Crime, then get your hands on this book. Jack Olsen is one of the best True Crime writers around. Not only will this book keep you on the edge of your seat, but it will also enrage you at the injustice put upon one man. I highly recommend this book.



4. This was a case of police creating evidence to fit crimes. As I first began to read Predator, I thought it was going to be a shallow account of mistaken identity, but as I got further into it, I was totally caught up in it. How sad that in the police's efforts to clean up a case, a man's life was ruined. Nothing can make up for the railroading of Steven Titus and how it ultimately affected his life and death. Jack Olsen succeeds in delving into the case and all the personalities involved. This is an excellent book.



5. I first read this book many years ago and the feelings of rage and injustice are still very sharp. My late father was an Army MP and then a deputy sheriff and I remember how my world was turned upside down by what happened to poor Steve Titus. And of course I always felt that the cops should have been punished somehow. Not just for what they did to him but because of all the women who landed in the crosshairs of a serial rapist who went undisturbed by a real investigation.
   Whenever I hear people gossiping about the justice system and how we coddle criminals and how lawyers are morally as corrupt as their clients, I always ask, " Do you remember the Predator case?" To date, nobody I've ever asked has ever heard of it. When I tell them, they tell me it's not true, or that Titus must have done SOMETHING!! Some will question me about being related to a victim, or being one of the attorneys. For the record, I work in a warehouse and I don't know anyone in the book.
   This book was the first in the genre I ever read, and got me hooked on true crime. I recommend it to everyone, especially as a first attempt at non-fiction.
   I also recommend 'All sHe Ever Wanted' by Aphrodite Jones (it's the book that was made into the movie 'Boys Don't Cry" with Hilary Swank; and 'The Michigan Murders' whose author I don't recall.

5 comments about Convicts, Jailbirds, and Reform School Girls: True Life Tales of Crime and Punishment in the 1950s.

1. Convicts, Jail Birds and Reform School Girls is a wild ride through the most sensational and lurid true crime cases of the 1950s --- and a few before that. Many different crimes are covered but the outcomes are all the same: prison or death for the criminal and a deeply satisfying feeling for the reader.



2. 
   This book is like "the cycle of life" for criminals! From the youthful discretions of a juvenile delinquent destined for reform school, to a cold-blooded double homicide from a harden jail bird who's murderous actions condemns him to a meaningless and violent existence as a convict on death row; all stages and facets of the "left-hand path" are vividly detailed from this collection of detective magazine articles from the 50s.



3. "One shot, one gas bomb and all 5 of you screws die!" So boast an prisoner leading his escaping gang to freedom; only to end up in a full blown riot complete with National Guardsmen, tanks, search lights, tear gas and machine guns. This rebellious attempt at a big bust out is just one of the 30 exciting stories convicts running wild; until, that is, they are captured and put to death in the gas chamber. I recommend this book to any fan of George Raft or James Cagney movies.



4. 
   A bunch of two-fisted prison stories focusing on what hard-bitten cons do best: kill snitches and blast their way out of the stir. Once free to flex their oily muscles, they gleefully break every law of man and God until the weight of law comes crashing down, burring them six feet under. There are also some reform school debs thrown into the mix, but their delinquent and promiscuous antics seem to pale in comparison to the wanton, testosterone-fueled violence of the other stories. There is also a companion volume,Hellcats, Vixens, & Vicedolls: Women, Crime, and Kink of the Fifties , that's keeps the havoc going!



5. 
   The cons, lifers, p.c. punks, jailhouse lawyers, snitches, cellblock queens, inmates; all hustling for scraps, all scrapping for survival until that big day when freedom beckons. Whether it is in the form of a parole decree or a daring break-out, they will be free to repeat the abhorrent behavior that landed them in the clink in the first place. Like a shiv to the ribs, this book will penetrate your preconceived notions about life behind concrete walls.

2 comments about White Women, Rape, and the Power of Race in Virginia, 1900-1960.

1. This all to typical account makes the base argument that every single trial between 1900-and 1960 in which a black man was accused of raping a white women was a sham. Full of clichés such as `white mobs' and `lynchings' which were actually the exception and not the rule this book argues that because white men dared to say they were defending `white womanhood' that therefore they were enacting white patriarchy and suppressing blacks who they felt were `inferior'. This argument goes on to further show that the `white patriarchy' tried to enforce a feeling of conflict between civilization and barbarism thereby enflaming racist passions.

   The end conclusion here is that the trials pitted not just race but also class against each other and that the courtroom eventually gave blacks accused of crimes he right to confront their white accusers. And in essence the question of interracial relationships is raised, turning the white female victims into heroines for daring to have inter-racial relationships during a time of segregation.

   Yet problems persist in this simplistic and textbook account. The question of white men raping black women is never addressed. Why? Because apparently that subject doesn't fit the traditional argument. This book should have shed light on this all to common phenomenon, one at the heart of Strom Thurmonds own extra-familial relationships. Thus the other side of the coin is never looked at. And furthermore the text never addresses the fact that some of the women actually may have been raped. The text takes it for granted that every single women was lying and that the `racist' white mobs simply assumed victim hood. But perhaps the truth is that many of these women weren't lying and actually were victims of a crime, now glossed over to serve a traditional view of the pre 1960s south.

   Seth J. Frantzman




2. Frankly, I'm flabbergasted by the shallow and inaccurate reviews of this book that have appeared on this site. Dorr does not excuse all black men accused of raping white women. Nor does she commit the "Harper Lee Fallacy." Lee's novel popularized the notion that all black men in the South lived, constantly, under the shadow of lynching. If they even looked at a white woman, they were doomed. While this fear was a cultural truism that held great power in the black community, it simply was not an accurate representation of reality--not every case, every time, (although it did, tragically, occur all too often). But we've known that since Ida B. Wells proved that less than 1/3 of lynchings resulted from charges of rape.
   
   Dorr instead provides a vastly more nuanced argument. She PROVES, through fine-grained research in court records and newspapers, that the interactions of black men and white women that resulted in rape trials became important theatrical spectacles that ultimately upheld the culture of segregation. White male legal officials orchestrated trials to calm local tensions in the short term. Often (roughly 75% of the time), convicted black men were later pardoned. These men were not all lynched. They also were not all executed in a "legal lynching." Instead, complex negotiations--that were seldom about justice--determined their fate. At the same time, white female accusers fell under intense scrutiny--their race provided no immediate shield against questions about their morality. And, while the alleged assailant might be convicted, he might also be pardoned and released back into the community to warn other women whose "respectability" placed them beyond the pale of protection.
   
   This is an incredibly well-documented book that upends the traditional verities surrounding black-on-white rape. People on both sides of the issue (that black men rape white women regularly/that no black man is crazy enough to rape a white woman) SHOULD find their beliefs challenged.
   
   This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how invidious, pernicious, and unfortunatley durable the culture of segregation was in America during the first two-thirds of the 20th century.

No comments about Consequences, the Criminal Case of David Parker Ray.

5 comments about Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit.

1. I have read the book twice. This is a first hand account of one of the worst cases of injustice in American History. Kerry Max Cook has brilliantly written his own book about life before and after death row and the scars that he still carries with him from the experience. I highly recommend this book to all. I have already bought copies for all my friends.



2. Kerry Cook had a few scrapes with law enforcement as a teenager in a small Texas town - joyriding, kicking out the windows of a store that falsely accused him of armed robbery. Thus, police "knew" they had their man when his fingerprints were found at the scene of a grisly murder.
   
   The abuse of justice started immediately, continued for two decades, and nearly ended with Cook's execution. First it was merely physical - police slamming him into a wall, holding his head underwater in a toilet, arranged beatings by fellow prisoners, refusing showers and clothing, and sleep deprivation to force Kerry to confess. More serious abuses then occurred - withholding evidence from Kerry's attorneys, coaching witnesses to slant/fabricate testimony against Kerry, providing scientifically unfounded testimony that "aged" Kerry's prints to the time of murder, solicited false testimony from fellow inmates that Kerry had confessed - culminating to Kerry's arrival on Death Row in 1978. There Kerry was raped three times, and attempted suicide after each. Then his appeal stalled for eight years, and ultimately was denied.
   
   Finally, things started to go Kerry's way. The prisoner who initially testified Kerry confessed, decided to come clean. An FBI expert provided an affidavit stating that scientific fingerprint "aging" was not possible, information was uncovered that a pathologist had told police that the victim's librarian prior boyfriend had ordered a book describing how she had been mutilated (police ignored, and did not provide to Kerry's defense), the major Dallas newspaper printed a major expose of how Kerry had been railroaded, a foundation funded Kerry's successful re-appeal.
   
   The judge in the retrial, however, prohibited introducing most of this new evidence, the foundation funding Kerry's defense ran out of money (his attorney worked pro bono, but could not afford expert witnesses), and after a mistrial (deadlocked jury) and third trial it was back to Death Row for Kerry.
   
   Fortunately, this conviction was reversed again, and Kerry was offered a "No Contest" plea in exchange for time served. His initial decision was to refuse and go back to trial - however, Kerry accepted the deal after learning that the potential jurors generally thought he had gotten out on a technicality and that they were there to "make it right." Finally, after being freed, results of a DNA test came back, exonerating Kerry and pinning the crime on the librarian originally identified by an eyewitness who had been coerced by prosecutors to change her testimony. Yet, prosecutors continued to contest his exoneration when interviewed.
   
   Kerry, however, is not blameless in this miscarriage. Throughout the trials he lied about how his fingerprints got on the victim's door, instead of simply admitting she had invited him up there. (Kerry claims his father told him not to admit this; however, such an action makes no sense whatsoever.) Finally, while Kerry also should be commended for writing the book himself, continually referring to his parents as "momma" and "daddy" was both infantile and aggravating.
   
   Bottom Line: This book seriously questions the wisdom of the death penalty in America.



3. A first-hand account of how and why innocent men and women can spend decades on death row in the United States that should be read and discussed by both pro-death penalty proponents as well as abolitionists.
   Kerry Max Cook is a modern Dante/ Job. His story is of one who travels to hell and back, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, but who in the end has the strength to emerge as an enlightened, if wounded human being. The tortures he endures after being wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of a young woman he only knew casually are simply inconceivable. Not only does he have to contend with the fear of losing his life on a daily basis, (the fear of execution, and the fear of being stabbed) but he also must survive psychologically the tragic deaths of loved ones in the outside world while he is in prison.
   The depth of police and prosecutorial misconduct Kerry describes is nothing less than infuriating, shocking. Yet, the presentation of his case is not intended to be an ideological rant against "the system." Merely by stating the facts, Kerry can convince us of the depth of the flaws.
   Besides being an eye-opening account into injustice, Kerry's book is also
   told in a way that draws us close to him, a human tale that cuts deeply into our hearts. It is a face-paced read that will keep you turning the pages, one that will haunt you and make you want to live each day of your own freedom to the fullest.



4. Read the Innocent Man and thought I could never be moved so much by a book-really a life story. Saw the movie The Exonerated and heard about Kerry's life. I started reading the book for about 2 hrs a few nights ago... Last night I actually read from 9 pm to 3 am and then got up snowy day here) and read from 8 am finishing the book. I felt I couldn't put the book down until this whole ordeal was over-like my not finishing it still had held him in a deplorable state on Death Rown. When he is handed his belongings and the 1.28 check from his Trust Fund I bawled like a baby. I never really thought this was a just world but never really considered how injust men could be. Amazing life story of a man overcoming and rising above horrendous acts of injustice!
   A Must Read!



5. Kerry Max Cook met young Linda Edwards in 1977 and was invited back to her apartment for a drink, where he left his fingerprints on the sliding glass door. Four days later, Ms. Edwards was found brutally murdered, and Cook was immediately arrested for the crime. In one of the worst examples of police and prosecutorial misconduct in American history, Kerry Max was put to trial with coached prosecutorial witnesses, bunk expert testimony about the "age" (six to twelve hours) of the fingerprint, and suppressed evidence that would have favored the defense. The state declared that Kerry Max was a repressed homosexual (at a time when homosexuality was a mental illness, and in rural Texas, no less) who raped and butchered a female out of repressed rage - a theory, incredibly, they stuck to even during re-trials two decades later, in the 1990's!
   
   Chasing Justice is the story of the framing of Kerry Max by the Texas justice system. The narrative was written in Kerry's own hand (1,200 pages at first draft) and condensed into a powerfully personal 350-page account of life on death row - desperation, abandonment, rape and sodomy, stabbings, and attempted suicide. The prose isn't depressing; rather, Kerry Max just fights on, always waiting for the next turn, building his cadre of supporters. Texas death row has been ruled in federal court to constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Kerry Max fought for a full two decades for his freedom, through three outrageous trials, with not a penny to his name. While the major Dallas newspaper was decrying the railroading of an innocent man, he was convicted again and again and again. To date, he is still not eligible for reparations from the state of Texas because he has not been officially pardoned, which would require the unanimous concurrence several bureaucratic offices unwilling to admit their culpability in the grave trespass of justice against Kerry Max Cook. (By the way, the state spent $5 - $7 million over two decades in their effort to execute Kerry Max).
   
   The reader will question - why Kerry Max? In his book, the author does not devote his energies to answering why, rather, he uses his energy to fight. From some brief research on the case, I have determined that the real culprit hired a very expensive, well-connected good ol' boy lawyer, requiring the police to find another suspect to satisfy the anger of the community. I can only begin to wonder how the Texas justice system conspired for 20 years to keep an innocent man behind bars. During each of his three trials, judges continually approved motions by the prosecutor and denied those of the defense, even to the point at which the court had contradicted itself on which evidence should be suppressed or allowed and for what reason!
   
   Kerry Max's remarkable story is a damning indictment of the death penalty and the Texas justice system. Right before the publication of his memoir, national crime show Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman featured forensic experts "solving" the Edwards murder based on false evidence from the prosecution. Even 10 years have Kerry Max's exoneration in the national eye, misinformation is still being spread by those in power. Kerry Max Cook's experiences should serve as clear warning not to blindly accept the word of authority.

5 comments about Trespasses: Portrait of a Serial Rapist.

1. Swindle handles a disturbing and incomprehensible subject with the vivid and intriguing storytelling ability of a novelist. He presents his subject, which readers look at like they would observe a horrific scene with face-covered hands, barely seeing through the cracks of their fingers, with a reverence of the oppression women endure. He handles the gruesome facts without painting an unnecessary violent picture of the details, although the violence is very real, rather implied without being glorified, whenever possible.

   We see into this sick world without having to re-live the victim's overwhelming and terrorizing experiences almost vicariously, which may be the reason I was able to not only eagerly finish the book, but even broach reading about the subject to begin with. Subjects such as stranger rape, being attacked in the supposed safety and sanctity of one's private space, chills most women (and probably most men; however, I would venture to point out that it is not a frequent occurence for most men and thus men probably do not share the same level of terror with women for themselves, but possibly share some level of fear for the safety of their loved ones.)

   Reading a book about rape runs the risk a lot of women aren't willing to take: that this is a topic that, even though a part of life, women don't want to explore. Everyday experiences such as the trepedation of entering a home alone in the dark are all too frequent reminders of the fear that rape invokes. Many know that this subject runs a great risk of stirring up complicated emotions few women want to ponder.

   This is a must read for the realistic and inquistive mind, ever wanting to know more about human nature and the psychological and social forces that drive us, even when those forces are severely disturbed. For some readers of the subject of rape, it is almost as if gaining ab understanding of an issue allows some readers to lose, somewhat, the level of fear usually associated with such topics. It is for those indiv! iduals who want to solicitously broaden their dimension of knowledge about rape that I would recommend this straight-forward and expert handling of an extremely sensitive and terrorizing subject.




2. This is the most enlighting book I have ever read. Maybe because my husband is the dective that is portrayed in this story, never the less it sure woke me up to the facts of life. I had my daughter and granddaughter read it as well. you never know who to trust. I am looking forward to reading others by Howard Swindle.



3. this book is excellent. it is so detailed and once you start reading it, you can't put it down. it explores the profiles of serial rapists, how the police create profiles, and it gives you the chilling feeling like you are there observing the crime scene.



4. Swindle has done an excellent job here of walking the reader through not only the investigation of the rapes committed, but the background and personality of the criminal, Gilbert Escobedo. The fact that Swindle was able to visit and interview Escobedo several times during his incarceration was, I am sure, immensely helpful. I feel that books like these can actually help prevent crime...in this case rape...by arming potential victims with crucial knowledge. The first thing they have to realize--and this is immensely obvious in the book--is that they ARE a potential victim. Escobedo committed upwards of 100 rapes, and even managed to maintain some "normal" relationships on the side...even going so far as to initiate not only an intimate relationship, but also a business relationship with an unsuspecting woman who, coincidentally, was previously one of his victims. She never even knew until he was finally arrested. You really can't make this stuff up.



5. I am a Dallas native who grew up around the time the Ski Mask Rapist was hunting in North Dallas, so I was very interested to read this book. It was so scary to read about my neighborhood in this book. But the book is great, very readable, and gives a great insight into the mind of Gilbert Escobedo.

5 comments about Doc.

1. This is a book where my ancestors lived. This is a wake up to what is going on and how many people will pretend and do not wake up to what is really going on by professionals. They do not believe the victims and how many of us are really out there, keeping quiet? Give the victims a yahoo.



2. DOC is one of the most horrifying true stories of the abuse of power and trust that I have ever read! Dr. John Story chose to build a family practice in the small Wyoming town of Lovell, where there were no other doctors available and where half the population were fundamentalist members of the LDS or Mormon church. Known for his concern for his patients and strong morals rooted in the Baptist religion, Dr. Story was also known by many women as a doctor who ordered frequent pelvic exams that often lasted 30-45 minutes or longer. Preying upon the vulnerability of a population of women that possessed little sexual knowledge or experience, Dr. Story began raping his female patients. He never allowed a nurse or another third party to be present in the examining room during these pelvic exams, most of which were performed on Mormon women or women who used his clinic for a single visit while passing through town. In this way, he assurred himself years of unrestricted access to female patients who would be unilikely to understand what was happening or too afraid to report the sexual assault.
   
   When two brave sisters united in an effort to alert the Wyoming Board of Medical Examiners to this abuse of position and power, many more women began to come forward. By the time police investigators and the district attorney were ready to bring Dr. Story to trial, there were 50 confirmed victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault, and another 50 cases involving women who were willing to speak of their experiences but were unwilling to be involved in any legal proceedings. If this sounds almost unbelievable, consider that these were ONLY the women who came forward!
   
   The Wyoming Board of Medical Examiners denied ever receiving complaints about Dr. Story prior to those filed in 1983. However, one women produced a copy of the letter she mailed to the board in 1972. Another woman stated that she notified the board of the sexual abuse of her daughter well before 1983. In addition, the Board of Medical Examiners also refused to review this case until there were at least 5 separate complaintants. (Apparently, one rape victim is permissable, but 5 rape victims... well, that could be a problem!)
   
   Although his license was revoked, Dr. Story was allowed to continue to practice during the appeals process and continued to practice until he was arrested and convicted on sexual abuse and sexual assault charges in a court of law. Never at a loss for words, Dr. Story continued to proclaim his innocence from prison and those who supported him continued to believe that such a "good and moral man" was incapable of these atrocious crimes.
   
   It is interesting that some of the defense theories presented were outrageous and would have required absolute idiocy to accept. If Dr. Story were the unfortunate victim of a "Mormon Conspiracy," would not every non-Mormon professional also have been targeted? No one was targeted for punishment other than Dr. John Story. The defense also claimed that it would be physically impossible to rape a woman who was lying in a prone position on an examining table for a pelvic exam. My response to that? Like hell it would!
   
   Story did go to prison, but his arrogance knows no bounds. With an ego the size of Mt. Rushmore, Story is a despicable man. Although a prison term of 15-25 years hardly seems adequate, I hope his "time" is spent less than comfortably. I hope Dr. Story was gang raped two or three times. I hope he was impotent during every conjugal visit with his long-suffering and naive wife. I hope no one ever called him "Doctor" again.
   
   For those of you who have never read a Jack Olsen book, DOC is an excellent first choice. The daunting 542 pages read like a book of 250 and was never boring. It is unfortunate this spectacular book is no longer in print, for it is True Crime masterpiece!



3. Dr. John Story has been a general practitioner in Lovell, Wyoming for decades. The little town's one industry is its sugar factory, and its social life doesn't just center in its churches; its churches quite literally are Lovell's social life, so being put out of one's fellowship must be avoided at any cost. Many of the local residents are Baptists, the fundamentalist kind, like Elder Story as he is also known. Many more are Mormons, including Arden McArthur. Almost from Story's arrival in town onward, rumors about him have circulated; but Arden has never listened, and has trained her children not to do so, either. Whenever she sees "Doctor" (he hates having his title shortened to "Doc," and hates being "first named" even worse), the two friends engage in friendly but passionate debates about their respective beliefs. Sure, Dr. Story gives a lot of pelvic exams (including to patients who come in for treatment of sore throats, for high school physicals, and suchlike). True, those exams drag on for hours sometimes, and there's never a nurse in the room. But Arden tells herself, and her daughters when they complain, that "Doctor" is just being thorough. They're lucky to have such a caring physician, who's saved countless lives over the years and who absolutely refuses to be hurried while he's with a patient.
   
   There's another side to Dr. Story, but people who see it either learn not to talk about it or they move away. When the moment comes for Arden McArthur to realize her mistake, she finds herself up against her own church's hierarchy as well as just about everyone else in town. Or so it seems to her at first - but as Arden starts digging, the until now silent citizens of Lovell begin talking to her. The more she learns, the madder she gets. It sometimes seems like a fool's crusade, because being shunned by one's church in Lovell means social isolation. Eventually it gets downright dangerous, as Story's supporters - egged on by well-meaning but clueless religious and civic leaders - escalate from shunning to violent threats. As a trio of brave public officials investigate what sounds to them like a series of rapes, and Story goes on practicing while appealing the Medical Board's decision to revoke his license, women reared to submit themselves to male authority without question start realizing that they do have recourse. Women kept too ignorant of sexual matters to describe Story's actions in anything but the most euphemistic terms learn that denying what happened won't make it go away; and those who have kept silent for years join Arden McArthur in fury at realizing that their silence has allowed Story to victimize others who might have been warned. Through it all, Story maintains his innocence. When it finally comes to trial, the rape case splits Lovell apart; and afterward, as "Doctor" files his appeal, those who go on believing in him mount a defense that moves the case into national press limelight.
   
   What could easily have become nothing more than another sensationalistic "true crime" book turns instead, thanks to author Jack Olsen's skilled storytelling, into one of the saddest and yet most hopeful human dramas I've ever read. Easy to live through with the victims? No. Of course not! But worth the discomfort? Absolutely. If ever a story proves the Biblical claim that "the truth will make you free," this one surely does.



4. When I started to read this book, I tough that is going to be boring, but, to my surprisse, I was not.



5. As a student of Mormon history and theology, I thought that this book might potentially be an interesting read--certainly, the silence about sex in the Mormon community, as well as the strict patriarchal structure can tend to be problematic in instances...I believed that this book would be about a man who took advantage of the "Mormon system" so to speak. Indeed, I was correct on this count, but truly, this book is grotesque, written like a shoddy V.C. Andrews piece...I felt dirty simply for reading it. It truly has no merit...though what happened to these women is certainly horrific, I hardly think that this book handled the situation with the gravity it deserved; rather, Mormon women were fetishized, and molestation and rape were handled in the most gratuitous way. Indeed, the writing itself is almost mastubatory--it is indeed revolting and I was certainly suggest that anyone thinking to read this book would look elsewhere.

5 comments about Honor Killing: Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's Spectacular Last Case.

1. I really enjoyed this book and I applaud David Stannard for doing the research. Few survivors of the period are still alive; oddly enough, many of the main characters were young in 1931 and so live on today, and reading all the trial testimony carefull and collected the archives of the news accounts, as well as keeping an ear to the ground, has allowed David E. Stannard to expand, in an extraordinary way, our knowledge of this tragic affair beyond any preceding account. You can almost smell the frangipani, hear the ocean roar. As the Massies get drunk at the Officer's Club, you can almost sense the aimless confusion of those living beyond their means.
   
   Even the bizarre details ring true, such as when Thalia Massie, recovering from her "injuries" in a Honolulu hospital ward, asks the nurse to satisfy her curiosity about if Asian women are "built sideways."
   
   I think Thalia lied. However, Stannard is relentless in besmirching Thalia Massie, and his attack amounts to Hearst-style overkill. He had credibility going in, but there's so much detail about how awful she was that after awhile, two words spring to mind: character assassination. Had Stannard attempted to give us a more balanced, well rounded portrait of Thalia, her infamy might have registered more fully. As it is, I suspect that at least some good traits have been suppressed, because no one, not even Hitler, is as evil as he portrays Thalia Massie.
   
   Not only that, but OK, he doesn't believe her rape claim. If you relied on this book, you would think that the crime of rape never actually happened, that each accusation was false, or at least that no men of color had ever raped a white woman, anywhere in the world. Stannard doesn't make blanket statements, exactly; he just shows us that until the Massie case, no Hawai'ians had ever been convicted of raping a white woman, and that afterwards, whatever convictions have been obtained were tainted by the case and thus should be thrown out and all the rapists pardoned. Here, again, I think he goes too far. He all but says that ANY woman who has been raped was not raped, but only lying. Sad.



2. Although you'll probably find this book in the "True Crime" section of many bookstores, "Honor Killing" is far more than an account of an alleged rape, a murder, and two trials. Instead, Stannard provides a thorough grounding in Hawaiian social history--background without which the significance of this case would be incomprehensible. As Stannard summarizes in the notes, the Massie affair was "a pivotal moment in the history of Hawai'i, one that exposed a white supremacist social order both locally and nationwide."
   
   The facts of the case are complicated; any summary necessarily reduces things to an entry in a police blotter. In 1931 Thalia Massie, wife of a Navy officer (and--this is oddly important--an impoverished relative of Teddy Roosevelt and of Alexander Graham Bell) claimed that she was raped by a gang of five Hawaiians. Almost immediately, five locals (not all of them were even Hawaiian) were rounded up, in spite of their fairly substantial and tight alibis. Their is little doubt that Massie was lying about her experience that night--whatever may have really happened--but the truth of the case became less important than the outrage of the white aristocrats of the island and their American military backers, who rushed to the defense of this young member of one of the nation's leading families.
   
   When the trial of the young men ended in a hung jury, Thalia's husband and her mother, along with two cohorts, conspired to kidnap and murder one of the accused assailants. During the ensuing circus, the remaining four men were locked up in a prison cell to ensure their "safety," while the murder suspects were treated as celebrities by the local politicians and military authorities and given accommodations judged proper for their stations. Eventually, Clarence Darrow arrived to defend the "honor killing"--a performance that sullied his reputation among his usually left-leaning supporters.
   
   What's enviable about Stannard's book is his ability to take this case and transmit its page-turning essence while simultaneously describing the social history of the islands, recounting the alarmingly racist reaction by the mainland media (including, but not limited to, the Hearst newspapers), and conveying the importance of this case in transforming Hawaii's political structure. The retelling of the case itself is so effective that I was stunned by the outcome of the second trial--which is not what the reader is led to expect, but which is, ultimately, all the more shocking.
   
   One might argue that Stannard overstates the case's importance to the eventual overthrow of the white-dominated oligarchy--certainly there were other factors and events changing the social fabric (and the book touches on some of them). But it can not be in doubt that the Massie affair played a galvanizing role; in the short term, many of the organizers (particularly naval officials) on the "wrong" side lost their positions and had to leave the island, the ongoing attempt to militarize the islands failed, and the case helped to unite the previously quarrelling Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese communities. In the long term, some of the principals on the "correct" side of the case went on to play prominent roles in Hawaii's "Revolution of 1954"; it is not a coincidence that the territorial Senator William Heen was chief counsel for the defense of the five accused men.
   
   "Honor Killing," then, is something of a marvel: it succeeds as a detective story, a political thriller, and a social history. I couldn't put it down.



3. Hot, sexy story. I took it to the beach and sorry I wasn't in Hawaii. Kept thinking about what happened down in Aruba. I was drawn to the exotic place and the danger...makes me think that part of the fun is the danger. The book also brought up things like racism...but I know that is the way it was and in many ways still is...at least at my college. I love this kind of thriller...what could be bad about being naked and vulnerable...A must read for those who like intrigue and naked bodies, and heat, heat, heat.



4. HONOR KILLING; Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's Spectacular Last Case
   By David Stannard
   
   David Stannard's recounting of the Massie Affair is a lively courtroom drama, social and personal history, and examination of the social structure of the Hawaiian Islands during the pre World War II period. It is based on the true story of the alleged rape of a white woman by a group of young Hawaiian men; the kidnapping of and murder plot against one of them; and the legal entanglements that followed. The story reads like a novel, with characters like Admiral Stirling, the head of the Navy establishment; Raymond "Boss" Coll, Editor of Honololu's most influential newspaper; and Clarence Darrow , the famed advocate for the defendant in the Scopes monkey trial. Stannard examines the social interaction between the Native Hawaiian population and the white "haole" business leaders who called the political shots and dominated the economy. Stannard backs up his engaging writing style with thorough research based on contemporary accounts and interviews with people intimately familiar with the case.
   In many ways, the issues raised in the Massie Case: elitism; paternalism; isolationism and racism... foreshadowed the Hawaiian Statehood and Independence movement a quarter century later. ****Stars Philip W. Henry/ Rialto, CA



5. I read this book while working in Hawaii and found it absolutely riveting, not so much because of the true crime story (which was bizarre) but because the author captured Hawaii's "society" of the early 20th century. I must admit I was ashamed of our military's behavior at that time--and in this case--and equally appalled at the bigotry and arrogance that flourished among the Americans then living in the Islands. Overall it was a compelling story written with a view to the whole era.