Gone in the Night [Mass Market Paperback]

David Protess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994

When seven-year-old Jaclyn Dowaliby was murdered near her suburban Chicago home in 1988, her innocent father was convicted and jailed, and his legal team and some committed journalists set out to win David Dowaliby's acquittal, and succeeded. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This wrenching account of a terrible crime and the dreadful injustice which followed it is searing. In September 1988, seven-year-old Jaclyn Dowaliby was abducted from her home in Midlothian, a suburb of Chicago; her body was found four days later. The local police investigation was inept. With the media clamoring for action, Capt. Daniel McDevitt of the Illinois State Police took over the case and accused Jaclyn's parents, Cynthia and David, of the crime. Given the paucity of evidence, prosecutors were reluctant to act until ordered to do so by their boss, Richard M. Daley, who was about to run for mayor of Chicago. The parents were charged and there followed distortion and suppression of evidence by the authorities. At the trial, the judge dismissed the case against Cynthia, but David was found guilty and sentenced to 45 years. Into the case stepped Protess, a journalism professor at Northwestern University, and Warden, a freelance reporter. Their investigation was largely responsible for overturning David's conviction. Unsolved, the case has been reopened. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A family's worst nightmare was realized when seven-year-old Jaclyn Dowaliby vanished overnight from her Chicago suburban home and was found murdered four days later. Despite evidence of a break-in, Jacyln's parents were eventually charged with killing their daughter, due in part to political pressure to "solve" the crime. This is a tragic story, superbly narrated, of how a normal family was victimized by the criminal justice system. For while the trial judge found insufficient evidence to convict Jaclyn's mother, her father was found guilty and sentenced to 45 years in prison, a miscarriage of justice fortunately overturned on appeal. This gripping, moving book concludes with a look at a possible suspect. Highly recommended.
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Dell; 1ST edition (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044021243X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440212430
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,137,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for anyone who thinks prosecuters are always right, November 18, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gone in the Night (Mass Market Paperback)

This book must be read by anyone who thinks the police and prosecuters are always right. Not only were they wrong in this case, but they acted maliciously. It is crucial for us to realize how far off track our legal system has gone, with help from the media.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down, November 23, 2003

By 

George (Martinsville, Va United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gone in the Night (Hardcover)

Even when you know the outcome, this book is a page-turner. For all those who like a mystery and a story of courtroom justice (and injustice) this is a great read.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suspect what you hear in the news, July 10, 2003

By 

Beth - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gone in the Night (Hardcover)

The first 4/5 of this book was very frustrating to read. If it hadn't been a true story, I wouldn't have tormented myself with it. But, because it really is true and, I think, important for us to realize, I gave it four stars.

I say "frustrating" because one awful thing after another, after another, after another keeps happening for at least 300 pages. Police start the lies because they're so anxious to close the case of a missing child that they pin the blame almost immediately on the easiest targets, the parents. From there, they ignore all facts that might disprove their theory. The prosecutors do the same and claim things that aren't true. Witnesses lie. The media, with one notable exception, is a mouthpiece for the prosecution. The jury doesn't get what really happened because of inept lawyers, prosecutorial misconduct, and plain ol' stupidity.

The whole case looks just plain ridiculous when the authors point out the facts. And the whole time the defense lawyers insist to their clients that they should say nothing, to me, the most frustrating of all the frustrations.

Yet, all those frustrations are so important for us to realize. I can't think of a big upcoming court case that is covered day by day in the news that the media has not already decided for us. And, usually, their decision is based on whatever the police and prosecutors tell them. It's so easy to forget that they might be wrong. And then all the t.v. channels' Web sites have a place for us to vote on the guilt or innocence of someone who hasn't even been to trial yet.

The last fifth of the book had some positive mixed with the negative so was easier for me to read.