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nicnackerz's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
I wanted to love this, and parts were so interesting, but it got so bogged down with intricacies that I couldn't totally follow it. Also, I felt like the legal jargon was off putting in the second half of the book.
Really great premise and research, but less great execution.
Really great premise and research, but less great execution.
agmaynard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Damning and thorough indictment of Mississippi’s criminal “justice” system, while zeroing in on the incompetent and venal coroner and bite “expert” that helped ensure that injustice often prevailed. Prosecutors and judges also come in for their share. Investigative journalist and state Innocence Project director team up to lay it out. CW for child assault and murder.
bcope84's review against another edition
4.0
This is a subject that I am deeply interested in. I have read several books about the Innocence Project and I have heard about the prison rates in the south amongst people of color is quite high in comparison to the rest of the United States (it is not good in the rest but higher in the south). I cannot understand how people can be pro-death sentences when there are so many unfair practices in our justice system. This book in particular focuses on the shocking number of wrongful convictions in Mississippi due to two men: Steven Hayne (performed autopsies) and Michael West ("Bite Mark Forensics") It reminded me of the quote "The system isnt broken. It was built this way" because no one seemed to care that innocent people were facing long jail sentences and even death sentences due to the fabricated "evidence" from these two men.
Things I liked about the book:
Very through about the subject
Really illustrates the flaws in the evidence and how every step of the way people was just allowing it to continue
Liked that it focused on two stories that were committed by the same killer but were originally thought to be two separate cases.
Had a lot of medical terms but did not feel like a medical textbook (other books have not been able to do this)
Things I did not like about the book:
Could be a bit dry at time but I have no idea how a book with this much information could get that information out without coming across a bit dry
TW:
Wrongful convictions
Murder
Sexual Assault
Rape
Racism
Pedophilia
Things I liked about the book:
Very through about the subject
Really illustrates the flaws in the evidence and how every step of the way people was just allowing it to continue
Liked that it focused on two stories that were committed by the same killer but were originally thought to be two separate cases.
Had a lot of medical terms but did not feel like a medical textbook (other books have not been able to do this)
Things I did not like about the book:
Could be a bit dry at time but I have no idea how a book with this much information could get that information out without coming across a bit dry
TW:
Wrongful convictions
Murder
Sexual Assault
Rape
Racism
Pedophilia
samphiresyl's review
4.0
One of the most interested nonfiction books I've read in a while! It really goes to show how fucked up the justice system is in the U.S. ... Got the recommendation from my forensics class.
sonygaystation's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
lindsayb09's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this as an audible audiobook.
By 2020 I think most people realize that the justice system is not always just, especially for people of color. What I didn't realize before this book was just how much of that injustice was willfully perpetrated by design. It's a truly infuriating and shocking story-- how a whole state, and a smaller group of men in particular, decided that they somehow held omniscient powers of truth, and that the ends of punishing the "guilty" justified deliberately lying and falsifying information. Innocent people DIED because of their arrogance-- not just innocent people on death row, but further victims who were killed because the real perpetrators were allowed to go free. And to this day, despite irrefutable evidence, they still refuse to admit they were wrong. I will never understand how people like this can live with themselves.
The narrator is great, and conveys both empathy for the victims and incredulity at the ridiculousness of the system. I found his voice compelling, and wanted to keep listening for long stretches.
My single complaint about the book, and why I knocked off one star, is the organization. The book starts by describing the two crimes which serve as the focal point. But then it diverges into several different topics, and surveys each one chronologically before starting the next. So they discuss the history of racial violence and lack of convictions I'm the South, from reconstruction to the 1970s. Then they discuss the history of the coroner system, from the early republic to present. THEN they follow the careers of several main players, from the 1960s to present. They're all relevant topics and I found the overviews thorough and helpful, but the jumping back in time for each topic made it hard to connect all the pieces. And only after all that background info do they come back to the two cases, by which point I had forgotten most of the details, and confused all the names.
The latter part of the book is more chronologically straightforward, tracking the cases and careers in parallel. Once I got the names straight in my head it got easier to keep it straight.
This book has opened a doorway of curiosity, and I'm eager to check out more books on all of the topics discussed.
By 2020 I think most people realize that the justice system is not always just, especially for people of color. What I didn't realize before this book was just how much of that injustice was willfully perpetrated by design. It's a truly infuriating and shocking story-- how a whole state, and a smaller group of men in particular, decided that they somehow held omniscient powers of truth, and that the ends of punishing the "guilty" justified deliberately lying and falsifying information. Innocent people DIED because of their arrogance-- not just innocent people on death row, but further victims who were killed because the real perpetrators were allowed to go free. And to this day, despite irrefutable evidence, they still refuse to admit they were wrong. I will never understand how people like this can live with themselves.
The narrator is great, and conveys both empathy for the victims and incredulity at the ridiculousness of the system. I found his voice compelling, and wanted to keep listening for long stretches.
My single complaint about the book, and why I knocked off one star, is the organization. The book starts by describing the two crimes which serve as the focal point. But then it diverges into several different topics, and surveys each one chronologically before starting the next. So they discuss the history of racial violence and lack of convictions I'm the South, from reconstruction to the 1970s. Then they discuss the history of the coroner system, from the early republic to present. THEN they follow the careers of several main players, from the 1960s to present. They're all relevant topics and I found the overviews thorough and helpful, but the jumping back in time for each topic made it hard to connect all the pieces. And only after all that background info do they come back to the two cases, by which point I had forgotten most of the details, and confused all the names.
The latter part of the book is more chronologically straightforward, tracking the cases and careers in parallel. Once I got the names straight in my head it got easier to keep it straight.
This book has opened a doorway of curiosity, and I'm eager to check out more books on all of the topics discussed.
andipants124's review
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Why am I reading so many non-fiction books lately that piss me off? This was a fascinating look into how pseudoscience was used to put innocent people in jail. I learned way too much. Like did you know that coroners didn’t have to be doctors? Me neither. Great read - only complaint is that it could have been shorter.