Customer Reviews

When the Husband is the Suspect

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I could give this book two stars just because I disagree with some of Bailey's conclusions; I hardly think anyone other than Bailey still believes O.J. Simpson is innocent!

But more importantly, I've read more than half of this book and am not sure I will be able to finish it, because it contains so much unbearably awful writing. Sentences that don't make sense, no matter how many times I re-read them, annoy me. In some places, a comma is used instead of a semicolon, creating a run-on sentence; in some places, a clause is repeated twice; in some places, Bailey will refer to "that person" (Marilyn Sheppard had sex with "that person") without first telling us to whom he is referring.

I find this book, like so much true crime, difficult to recommend.

This book is extremely biased. Apparently, Mr Bailey believes that every one of the subjects in this book is innocent and that they were framed. At least that was my impression before I got sick of reading about these "victims". I know defense lawywers are supposed to believe that the client is innocent but this book is just so much garbage.

This subject is so interesting to me, and the approach this book takes is just excellent. The overview of the cases - many cases I am familiar with, but Bailey has added more details in background and court information - and the knowledgeable, objective analysis is so interesting. I could not put this book down and having read it I have a much better understanding of the tragedies these cases were to all involved.

In the jacket material of this book, we are proudly told that as a criminal defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey has a conviction rate of a mere four percent.

In this sense, Bailey's treatments of the cases he covers is much like hearing about the history of American politics from either an ardent Democrat or an ardent Republican. This phenomenon is particularly on display where Bailey talks about his time on the O.J. Simpson case. In a several page precis, Bailey for the defense attempts to convert us to why the verdict was, after all, not just gamesmanship and actually was a supposed innocent's victory.

It was one a few places where I found myself looking up from what I was reading and litterally taking it with a grain of salt.

That being said, Bailey has been part of that upper echelon of Uber Lawyers for defense, the type of guys imitated in plays like Chicago and partly feared and partly admired in the way Americans only seem to be capable of partly fearing and partly admiring those at the peak of morally ambiguous activities.

In this way, Bailey's insights on the great trials that have characterized husband murder and alleged husband murder are well worth the price of admission. This is particularly so with his treatment of the Sam Sheppard case where Bailey's activities themselves were the cause of Sheppard's freedom.

I think Bailey was also strong where he concentrated on other cases -- for want of a better phrase -- that you may have actually heard of or cared about. Good examples of this included the Robert Blake case (which resulted in an acquittal) and the Scott Petterson case (which resulted in conviction AND a sentence of death).

Being brief, this is not only an excellent "airport book" but observations from a master himself on one of the more unseemly and interesting niche areas of the law.

When I opened this book, I sighed with disappointment. I have read another book about each and every one of these cases! Several are the same as featured in Dominick Dunne's "Justice". However, F. Lee Bailey's commentary at the end of each case makes it all worthwhile. At first, I couldn't help but laugh at how blatantly conceited this man is but then I stopped and remembered he is the most famous and renowned defense attorney in the U.S....sorry GerEGO and J. Cochran...
I began to enjoy his take on these pathetic men who take down women they can't control through brutish violence. More power to men writing about savage losers who wind up caught and strung up to dry!

F. Lee Bailey is one of the best-known trial lawyers in America. His conviction rate in his murder trials was a low 4% compared to the national rate of over 90%. The twenty cases in this book range from the innocent to the guilty. When a wife is killed the husband becomes the first suspect (`Preface'). When the husband is found innocent many people still assume guilt. Most people are murdered by someone they know, women are murdered by husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends. Guns are the weapon of choice (p.8). Neither the media or the investigators are ever embarrassed in wrongly suspecting the husband.

Some of these twenty cases are more famous than the others (`Contents'). A missing person (like Jennifer Wilbanks) can create a media frenzy in blaming her boyfriend (John Mason). Its as if the media wants to create interest to attract viewers. [That classic play "The Front Page" can be a tutorial about the media.] This book shows how a messy and infuriating divorce is always better that a murder trial (p.205). Bailey's advice to any man whose wife is murdered is to immediately get the best lawyer so you can avoid an indictment and save a lot of grief, embarrassment, and a trial. Beware of giving a false alibi! If you are acquitted a large segment of the population will think you were guilty but got away with it.

There is no index and no pictures in this concise summary of the cases. Bailey's comments alone make this a very interesting read. His earlier book "The Defense Never Rests" is better reading. The twenty "Suspects" are discussed on 258 pages. There names are: Dr. Sam Sheppard, Dr. Carl Coppolino, Dr. Jeffrey Macdonald, Claus Von Bülow, Dr. Robert Bierenbaum, Steven Sherer, O. J. Simpson, Rabbi Fred Neulander, Mark Winger, Allen Blackthorne, Michael Schiano, James "Jeff" Cahill, Rae Carruth, Kenneth Fitzhugh, Richard Sharpe, Robert Blake, Michael Peterson, Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, and John Mason.

The OJ Simpson Trial is the best known. Page 93 does not mention the couple that found the body around 11:45pm. A report said the grand jury was dismissed because they would not indict OJ on the evidence (p.97). The limo driver's testimony led to a `not guilty' verdict (p.102). The author points out the other connected murders (p.103). Bailey explains the "low-speed chase" (p.105). The media created a bias of guilt similar to Dr. Sam Sheppard. Bailey says there is a lower quality to reporters today, unlike Dorothy Kilgallen (p.106). [What caused that?] Bailey challenges the reader to consider four points: the `time line' , the demeanor, the interrogation, and the trial testimony (pp.107-110). The jury was shielded from the nonsense in the press. Bailey said the defense chose to hold back significant evidence (p.110).
[Was this trial over-publicized to distract Americans from the job losses from NAFTA?]