Review by Booklist Review
The American criminal justice system is designed to protect the innocent and prosecute the guilty. Sadly, that isn't always the case. When it comes to investigating and adjudicating crimes, the government, in the form of district attorneys, judges, and law enforcement, holds all the cards. In their zeal to identify someone accountable for a violent crime, individuals in the system often fall prey to personal bias, corrupting influences, incompetence, and negligence that result in outrageous abuses of power. When that happens, blameless men and women are incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, spending their lives in prison while the real criminals remain free and unfit criminal justice employees continue to perpetuate their subversive and profoundly destructive behavior. Rudolf, a veteran defense attorney, has dedicated his career to protecting the accused against government overreach. By sharing first-hand accounts of people falsely accused and unjustifiably prosecuted, Rudolf vibrantly demonstrates just how quickly and how permanently an innocent person's life can be destroyed. This is a sobering, infuriating, and essential examination of the flaws and failures of the country's legal system.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Defense attorney Rudolf debuts with a searing look at systemic failures in the U.S. justice system. He notes that over the past three decades, nearly 3,000 people were exonerated and released from prison for crimes they had not committed, and delves into the factors behind these false convictions, including racial bias; the so-called trial penalty, which incentivizes defendants to plead guilty in order to avoid the likelihood of a harsher sentence should they be convicted at trial; and a reliance on suspect testimony. Rudolf also documents shortcomings in forensic science, describing, for instance, a case in which an expert witness grossly exaggerated the statistical likelihood that two hairs found at a rape scene belonged to the defendant. Noting that a false conviction leaves the real culprit free to commit other crimes, Rudolf laments that potentially exculpatory DNA evidence is not a factor in most crimes, and claims that the cases in which he and other defense attorneys have been able to win civil settlements and official declarations of innocence for their clients are just the tip of the iceberg. Enriched by Rudolf's firsthand experience and heartfelt compassion for his clients, this is a harrowing call for change. (Jan.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A prominent defense and civil rights lawyer indicts the criminal justice system as he recalls his work with clients such as Michael Peterson, the novelist who inspired the Netflix series The Staircase. Rudolf once helped to negotiate a $9 million civil settlement for a man who had been held without a trial for 14 years on the basis of a "confession" so articulate it might have come from an English professor although the prisoner had an IQ of less than 60. That story is far from the most startling in this potent critique of systemic errors and misconduct by police and prosecutors that have led to wrongful convictions nationwide, many in North Carolina, where the author practices law and racial biases have long plagued the justice system. With keen moral force backed by clear and persuasive examples from his work or that of groups such as the Innocence Project, Rudolf shows how mental, physical, or legal influences can subvert justice. Police corruption is only one. Psychological factors like confirmation bias can cause police to trust their "intuition" about a suspect in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Misunderstandings about the limits of forensic science can result in overvaluing fingerprint or other "pattern-based" evidence. Even well-meaning efforts like Crime Stoppers hotlines can taint trials by tempting people to lie for rewards. An overarching problem is that jury trials in federal criminal cases are "essentially extinct," with 97% of cases resolved by plea. Consequently, a defense lawyer's job is "primarily to explain to the defendant the incredible cost of being convicted after a trial and the great benefit of pleading guilty as soon as possible"--even if they are innocent. For readers seeking to top up their outrage about abuses in criminal justice, this book makes a fine companion to Bryan Stephenson's Just Mercy and Emily Bazelon's Charged. A stellar--and often shocking--report on a broken criminal justice system. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
