Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Contributor) "The practice of law can drive you crazy sometimes: what starts out as logical can end up surreal..." (more)
Key Phrases: King County, Gary Ridgway, Mary Rita (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After a two-decade investigation, Gary Ridgway, America's "most prolific serial killer," was arrested in November 2001. Prothero became one of his attorneys. A Seattle-area DNA expert who emerges as an affable and humble family man, Prothero argued successfully against the death penalty for Ridgway. Aided by veteran journalist Smith (The Search for the Green River Killer), Prothero probes the psyche of a monster who appeared to be a devoted husband, son and brother. Did Ridgway's mother corrupt him as a teenager when she washed his genitals after he wet the bed, or did years of inhaling paint fumes on the job impair his judgment? Prothero, who confronted the banality of evil when his miserly client explained that he killed some of his prostitute victims just to get his $20 back, concludes that Ridgway killed between 48 and 71 prostitutes to gain power and control over women and authority figures. The bird's-eye view into the legal wrangling is sometimes obscured by repetitious and unwieldy text, and it's clear that Prothero and Smith aren't in the same league as Norman Mailer, Mikal Gilmore and Ann Rule, who famously humanized Gary Gilmore and Ted Bundy. And unlike in Rule's Green River, Running Red, the victims here are ciphers. (June)
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Review

"...both sober and titillating." (The Seattle Times, June 2, 2006)

Defense attorney Prothero joins Smith (The Search for the Green River Killer) to give us a detailed account of the trial and conviction of Gary Ridgway in the Green River killings around Seattle, which occurred over approximately 30 years, ending in the 1990s. In late 2001 police arrested Ridgway, a longtime suspect in the case. Prothero became his lead defense attorney shortly afterward. Originally he was skeptical about Ridgway's guilt, but physical evidence, including DNA analysis, proved that Ridgway had killed at least 48 women, mainly prostitutes, and may have murdered as many as 71 between 1982 and 1989. Prothero's tactic changed from proving Ridgway's innocence to sparing him from the death penalty. The authors present the story in a well-paced, straightforward manner and provide sturdy insight into this complex case. Particularly interesting are details about the infighting among members of the Ridgway defense team. Also good is the discussion on how Seattle and Washington state politics shaped the trial. In November 2003, Ridgway was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
—Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Lib., Parkersbur (Library Journal, March 15, 2006)

After a two-decade investigation, Gary Ridgway, America's "most prolific serial killer," was arrested in November 2001. Prothero became one of his attorneys. A Seattle-area DNA expert who emerges as an affable and humble family man, Prothero argued successfully against the death penalty for Ridgway. Aided by veteran journalist Smith (The Search for the Green River Killer), Prothero probes the psyche of a monster who appeared to be a devoted husband, son and brother. Did Ridgway's mother corrupt him as a teenager when she washed his genitals after he wet the bed, or did years of inhaling paint fumes on the job impair his judgment? Prothero, who confronted the banality of evil when his miserly client explained that he killed some of his prostitute victims just to get his $20 back, concludes that Ridgway killed between 48 and 71 prostitutes to gain power and control over women and authority figures. The bird's-eye view into the legal wrangling is sometimes obscured by repetitious and unwieldy text, and it's clear that Prothero and Smith aren't in the same league as Norman Mailer, Mikal Gilmore and Ann Rule, who famously humanized Gary Gilmore and Ted Bundy. And unlike in Rule's Green River, Running Red, the victims here are ciphers. (June) (Publishers Weekly, January 16, 2006)

"...Prothero had something unique—almost daily contact with Ridgway, which gives his book its power and relevancy over the others." (King County Journal, 2006)

"Prothero offers his perspective on what remains a troubling case. He knows as much as anyone about the "nasty, tricky little man..." (Associated Press, 2006)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 558 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (May 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787981060
• ISBN-13: 978-0787981068
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,109,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Increasing understanding, December 29, 2007

By	Carol Sandoval "cegiraffe" (Burien, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer (Paperback)

Well written book. Authors had a good understanding of Gary Ridgway and yet did not lose caring about those whose lives were ended or forever changed by his behavior. By reading this book, it became clear to me that Gary Ridgway was a person who had no ability to perceive his victims as real people. Those who cared for the victims are desperate for bits of information about what happened to them. Gary doesn't know--he killed them and dumped their bodies and that's all he knows. This book gives a good understanding of the grueling months of trying to gather information and find bodies and the toll it took on all involved. I would have preferred a little less of the verbatim interviews with Gary--the book was overly long. I also didn't see the relevance of all the information about the Prothero family and their swimming skill. All in all, however, this book is recommended to those who are still trying to understand these murders which were so horrific for so many.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Defending Gary, October 10, 2006

By	M. Anderson (Kent, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an amazing book!!! I started reading it and could not put it down! After living in Seattle for all of these years and having the fear of the Green River Killer in my own "back yard" I had many un-answered questions. I finally had all of them answered after reading this book.
This is also a "must read" for anyone studying psychology. Many people studied Gary but few really understood him.

16 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Incredible Lightness of Being a Defense Attorney, July 4, 2006

By	Tina Trent (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Any defense attorney who finds room to include more than one full-size photo of himself in swim trunks while consigning the photos of some of the Green River killer's victims to thumbnail-sized rows squeezed into two horrifying pages (noting that several other victims' photos have simply been left out) is perhaps not as much a victim of bad media and resentful families as he depicts himself here. The very premise of the book seems to be that it is Prothero and the Green River Killer himself -- and not the raped and murdered women -- who are to be pitied for being misunderstood. Morally repulsive and embarassingly self-indulgent.