An Expendable Man: The Near-Execution of Earl Washington, Jr. (Hardcover)

by Margaret Edds (Author) "SHARDS OF CRYSTALLINE LIGHT exploded inside Marie Deans's skull..." (more)
Key Phrases: Earl Washington, Rebecca Williams, Fauquier County (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Best work of non-fiction about Virginia or by a Virginia author."

- Manasas Journal Messenger

"Edds's powerful telling of Washington's experience uses court documents, personal interviews, and a variety of other sources to illustrate the political and social circumstances surrounding this extraordinary case. This book invites the reader to think about how due process is carried out and implemented. An Expendable Man is a valuable study of not only the Virginia legal system, but also that of the United States."

- Virginia Libraries

"Explores the dark side of the system of capital punishment. The book not only goes into great detail in recording Earl Washington, Jr.'s near-execution but also incorporates some history of the Virginia legal system."

- Criminal Justice Review

"The book is provocative for its vivid characterization and its study of the death penalty's inherent flaws."

- Newport News Press

"Somewhere between the personal narratives found in H. Bruce Franklin's collection Prison Writing in 20th-Century America, the critical work of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the recent profusion of sociological studies of America's accelerated prison economy, An Expendable Man gives us a moving portrait of a broad-based struggle on behalf of one man, and implies ways in which the halls of justice might become more just."

- Trial & Error

Product Description
"Read this book. Whether you support or oppose the death penalty, you need to understand what almost happened to a man named Earl Washington. Margaret Edds tells his tragic, arresting story with remarkable sensitivity and a clear-eyed understanding of the stakes not just for Earl Washington, but for all of us."
—Larry J. Sabato, Director, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

How is it possible for an innocent man to come within nine days of execution? An Expendable Man answers that question through detailed analysis of the case of Earl Washington Jr., a mentally retarded, black farm hand who was convicted of the 1983 rape and murder of a 19-year-old mother of three in Culpeper, Virginia. He spent almost 18 years in Virginia prisons—9 1/2 of them on death row—for a murder he did not commit.

This book reveals the relative ease with which individuals who live at society's margins can be wrongfully convicted, and the extraordinary difficulty of correcting such a wrong once it occurs.

Washington was eventually freed in February 2001 not because of the legal and judicial systems, but in spite of them. While DNA testing was central to his eventual pardon, such tests would never have occurred without an unusually talented and committed legal team and without a series of incidents that are best described as pure luck.

Margaret Edds makes the chilling argument that some other "expendable men" almost certainly have been less fortunate than Washington. This, she writes, is "the secret, shameful underbelly" of America's retention of capital punishment. Such wrongful executions may not happen often, but anyone who doubts that innocent people have been executed in the United States should remember the remarkable series of events necessary to save Earl Washington Jr. from such a fate.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814722229
• ISBN-13: 978-0814722220
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,463,497 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Reporting, February 26, 2004

By	David C N Swanson (Charlottesville VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Margaret Edds does a superb job of telling the story of how an innocent man, Earl Washington, was put on Virginia's death row and ended up spending 18 years in prison. I know she does a superb job because some years ago, when Washington had still not been pardoned but when things were looking hopeful, I researched this case and wrote a series of articles about it in the Culpeper News, the small-town paper in the town where Washington had been tried and convicted in January 1984.

Edds is a professional reporter and writes like one, with very little commentary on the facts. As a result, the facts speak very powerfully for themselves. And what commentary Edds does offer I agree with. But I would quibble a bit. The main point she tries to make is that the errors made in this case were not unusual but a part of the system, that while a series of extremely lucky circumstances led to Washington's exoneration, there are likely many innocents who will never be freed. So far, I agree. But Edds also suggests that no one did anything really egregiously wrong, that everyone just did their job in a flawed system and the result was tragic.

I beg to differ. Earl Washington was set up by the cruel and dishonest acts of the police and prosecutors. One of the policemen responsible for what happened in 1983 and 1984 is currently Sheriff of Culpeper, and Edds goes very easy on him. Read my articles and Edds' book and see what you think.

Yes, we need to reform the system, but we also need to hold individuals responsible, and ultimately this book has that effect. A brilliant job of reporting!