Mockery of Justice: The True Story of the Sam Sheppard Murder Case [Paperback]

Cynthia L. Cooper (Author), Sam Reese Sheppard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

Recounts the case of Dr. Sam Sheppard, wrongly convicted in 1954 of murdering his wife--the story that inspired the TV series The Fugitive--and includes a new chapter, not in previous editions, that names the latest suspect.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1996, Sam Reese Sheppard spoke on All Things Considered: "My mother and dad were very flamboyant people.... They were out of step ... in the Bible Belt of Ohio at that time, but, very quickly, and it happens today, a high-profile case spins out of control, and hatred and hysteria rise in the community. When a pregnant woman dies in an ugly way in our community, people are stricken with fear ... the blame on my dad got pinpointed by the newspapers." Dr. Sheppard was convicted of the 1954 murder of his wife. In 1966 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he'd been denied a fair trial. He was re-tried, found innocent, then died a few years later. Mockery of Justice goes into all the details: Dr. Sheppard's own account of that night, the role of a powerful coroner, the media frenzy, the mysteries surrounding the case records, and the recent investigation of a likely suspect for the murder. The analysis of forensic riddles posed by the complex crime scene makes for especially intriguing reading. The book includes map, timeline, footnotes, and index.

From Library Journal

Just as the O.J. Simpson case is the trial of the 1990s, the Sam Sheppard case was the trial of the 1950s and 1960s. Because of pretrial publicity and the police department's sloppy investigation, Dr. Sheppard was convicted of murdering his wife, Marilyn. The police and the media never considered any other suspects in this case. Sheppard proclaimed his innocence and appealed his conviction. F. Lee Bailey, unknown at the time, took over the case when Sheppard's lawyer died and successfully argued for a new trial because of the pretrial publicity and the "rush to judgment" on the case. The Supreme Court decision set the standard for future trials and procedures. Cooper, a lawyer, and Sam Reese Sheppard, the doctor's only child and a death penalty opponent, present their case that Sam Sheppard was innocent and suggest others who were never investigated as possible suspects. Officially, the case on Marilyn Sheppard remains unsolved. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor is currently reviewing the facts in the case to determine whether it should be reopened. Expect demand because of the subject and increased demand should the case be reinvestigated. Strongly recommended for all libraries.?Michael Sawyer, Clinton P.L., Ia.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451407636
• ISBN-13: 978-0451407634
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cynthia L. Cooper is an award-winning author and playwright, living in New York City. She frequently writes about human rights, equality and justice, drawing upon her background as a lawyer and journalist. She hails from Cleveland, Ohio. More about her is at www.cyncooperwriter.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A MYSTERY NEVER SOLVED, January 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mockery of Justice: The True Story of the Sam Sheppard Murder Case (Paperback)

While this book doesn't prove who really did kill Marilyn Sheppard, it does provide us with enough evidence to believe, beyond a reasonable doubt that, that Dr. Sam Sheppard was truly innocent. Unlike, Fatal Justice, which attempts to "prove" the innocence of Jeffrey MacDonald, Mockery of Justice does provide us with "hard" evidence indicating that someone else was involved--not Sam Sheppard. Whatever your beliefs regarding the case, the book is well-researched, informative and thought-provoking.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to imagine..., March 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mockery of Justice: The True Story of the Sam Sheppard Murder Case (Paperback)

It is hard to imagine why the City of Cleveland and the media there still refuse to acknowledge the horrible error made in 1954 when Dr. Sam was convicted. As this fine book shows, there was much evidence to show that Dr. Sam killed no one--and no convincing evidence that he ever killed anyone, much less his wife. It is truly a tragedy. Not only was a woman murdered and her murderer never caught, Dr. Sam's life was ruined; his mother committed suicide; his father's demise was hastened--and on and on, down to the present day with the pain suffered by the son. If there was ever a good argument against the death penalty, this book is it--and I have long supported the death penalty in certain cases. This book should become a classic among fans of true crime stories.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sheppard case ineptly told, August 15, 2002

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mockery of Justice: The True Story of the Sam Sheppard Murder Case (Paperback)

The Sheppard murder case is probably the most famous in America, certainly the most famous prior to O.J. Dr. Sam Sheppard, a relatively prominent doctor from suburban Cleveland, was accused of murdering his wife. The case was tried in the newspapers, and he was convicted before the trial even began, served a dozen years in prison, and then was acquitted by a second trial. There are still legal proceedings going on in this trial (his family wants a full exoneration for him) and interest in the case continues.

Dr. Sam (as he is known to distinguish him from his son, Sam Reese Sheppard) was apparently wrongly convicted, and according to police investigators in the book, never would have been indicted under similar circumstances now. A more thorough investigation of the other people in the lives of the Sheppards would have been conducted also. The authors make a good case that the investigation in 1954 was very sloppy and incomplete, apparently because they'd already decided who the culprit was.

Unfortunately, this is all told in wooden prose, almost unreadable at times. Further, in the first half of the book there are numerous flashbacks (or flashforwards, depending on your point of view) with the action shifting between 1954 and the 90's. The second half of the book jumps between several suspects that were looked at in the investigation conducted by Sheppard's son (who's one of the co-writers) along with a host of other people, including the other author of this book. It's all not very well sorted (I found myself leafing back and forth trying to remember who various people were, and losing interest, to be frank) and somewhat confusing, though the conclusion seems obvious enough.

There is much to like about this book. Unfortunately, most of what is likable about it is buried under a mass of barely-readable prose, and told in such a way as to make it considerably less than compelling. Frankly I wish I could give this book a higher rating. Reality, however, has to set in. It's not that good a book, except on the level of exonerating Sam Sheppard.