The co-authors of The Mormon Murders explore the murder trial of multimillionaire Cullen Davis, who killed two people at the Fort Worth mansion and used his power and wealth to protect himself from murder charges. Reprint.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
This story is remarkable not for the actual amount of money that T. Cullen Davis had, but for the way in which he was allowed to spend it during his murder trial. Not only did he bring into Dallas the best, the flashiest, and the most vindictive defense attorney money could buy, he also was allowed to turn the whole trial into an unbelievable (at least outside of Texas) circus in which even the jury members were treated to prime steaks every night, courtesy of the defendant. Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith deliver this tale with both tact and panache: they discover the sad substance beneath the surface glitter, they bring to life the many eccentric characters involved, and they have a fine sense of the absurd.
From Publishers Weekly
The Pulitzer Prize- winning coauthors of Jackson Pollack examine the disturbing case of Cullen Davis, whose wealth enabled him to skirt several murder charges.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scary and true to life,
By A Customer
This review is from: Final Justice: The True Story of the Richest Man Ever Tried for Murder (Paperback)
At the time of the Davis murders, I was living in Fort Worth and had a second-hand acquaintance with some of the people involved. Smith and Naifeh got it exactly right: not merely the facts but the "feel" of the case. Texas is a microcosm of the U.S., with all our best and worst qualities exaggerated. The Davis case exemplified our fascination with sex and sleaze, our love/hate relationship with the wealthy, and a legal system that's as much showmanship as The Majesty Of The Law -- and the results were an ironic commentary on what we truly value. (Somehow, the fact that Priscilla Davis was a mother whose 12-year-old daughter was brutally murdered got lost in the shuffle.) The book is engrossing and truly scary, and I highly recommend it.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid and very well written,
This review is from: Final Justice: The True Story of the Richest Man Ever Tried for Murder (Paperback)
This is a fascinating and disturbing tale that illustrates just how hard it is to convict somebody who has a lot of money and power. Cullen Davis, warped little rich boy dominated by his incredibly wealthy and megalomanic father, grows up to inherit most of the fortune and position. What does he do with it? He chases sex kitten type women, showers them with lavish gifts, and abuses them. Naifeh and Smith raise the true crime genre to something close to literature here. We have the usual litany of sickies and psychopaths, the usual police incompetence, prosecutors who can't prosecute, etc. The "final justice" in the title is somewhat ironic since multimillionaire Cullen Davis is never found guilty of any of his crimes, the worst of which was the cold-blooded murder of his wife's 12-year-old daughter; the least of which, perhaps the killing of her kitten. The juries in Texas just would not convict him (although they have put a number of poor people on death row). Instead they admired him for his money, stupidly since he just inherited it. And before the book is over, he blows most of it. We get a terrible sense here that people with riches in positions of power really can get away with murder. People look up to them regardless of their crimes. It helps us to understand how murderers like Sadaam Hussein and what's his name in Yugoslavia continue in power. It's not just that people are afraid of them, they look up to them and find ways to excuse their crimes. This is the human tribal mind at work: better our corrupt and evil leader than theirs, and better a corrupt and evil leader than no leader at all. The women in this one come off as particularly subject to manipulation by power and money, although that was not necessarily the authors' intent. They wanted to show just what a sick, sick man Cullen Davis is, and they succeed in that. But incidentally they revealed the women around him, especially his gold-digging wives, as sad, sad creatures who would be abused and wallow in it for the sake of being close to all that money and power and maybe getting a little of it. One has the sense that they couldn't help themselves. This is a good read that will rouse your sense of indignation.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW just WOW,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Final Justice: The True Story of the Richest Man Ever Tried for Murder (Hardcover)
I had seen the lifetime movie a while back and wanted to learn more about the crime. This book leaves nothing untruned. I was so greatful to find it (tried all the book stores to no avail). You will not want to put it down!!! It was just so incrediably good!!! You think stuff like this never happens in real life!!
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