Customer Reviews

Drop Him Till He Dies: The Twisted Tragedy of Immigrant Homesteader Thomas Egan

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I had the chance to meet John Egan, the author of this book, on a couple of occasions, and would not have ever heard of it if it weren't for that. Armed with only my curiosity, I purchased a copy and found an interesting story that I had never heard mentioned before. The book is about Thomas Egan, a homesteader who is accused of murdering his wife. We follow his trial, gruesome execution, and the eventual clearing of all charges against him.

The author employs a writing style that is not exactly academic, though the information is conveyed clearly enough. There is a lot of somewhat frustrating attempts by the author to know what is impossible to know. He often tries to suggest what Egan may have been thinking at a particular time, or the reactions of his neighbors, or even the way the accused may have looked at someone. There is no evidence for any of these things, and the need of the author to try to surmise them takes the reader off track. There is plenty of evidence about why Egan did not commit the murder, though the most important pieces are not introduced until the end of the story. In that way, the book plays out more like a mystery novel than an academic study. That is not necessarily a bad thing, however. It just means that the book must be read in a different way.

By the conclusion, it is easy enough to see that Egan is in fact innocent, and that a person suffered a grotesque death (you'll have to read the story to see exactly what happened--I found it to be a shocking indicment of the competence of the executioners, or possibly even Divine Intervention, if one is inclined to be believe in that sort of thing) who did not deserve that type of fate. Some large questions are asked about prejudice and the justice of the death penalty. This short book packs quite a punch when all is said and done. I admit that through the first half of it, I did not feel much sympathy for Thomas Egan, but by the time the second shoe drops, it is clear that a massive miscarriage of justice has occurred. These are the types of stories that must not be forgotten. They must be told so future generations do not make the same mistakes that their predecessors did. Congratulations to John Egan for having the perseverance to tell this one.

Thank you for writing this book, as I am a great-great-great grandaughter of Thomas Egan. This was a family event/tragedy that I was never told about until recently. Thank you John Egan.