Reasonable Doubt: The Fashion Writer, Cape Cod, and the Trial of Chris McCowen
“The Christa Worthington murder case on [old] Cape Cod is an unusually captivating story, and Peter Manso has expertly plumbed the depths of it to write a riveting book that true crime fans will love.” —Vincent Bugliosi,New York Timesbestselling author ofHELTER SKELTERandOutrage"Only the fearless and risk-taking Peter Manso—capitalizing on his unique familiarity with the culture of the Cape and its denizens, including the victim of this horrible killing—could have written this powerful expose of prosecutorial corruption and the conviction of a possibly innocent victim of racial stereotyping. It will shock, enrage and educate you." —Alan Dershowitz,New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Trials of Zion"Manso is a fearless enemy of hyprocrisy, a great investigative reporter. Power brokers and officials who feed off their own inflated sense of self-importance have no greater foe. If every community in America had a Peter Manso there'd be no place for the bad guys to hide." —Morton Dean, former anchor,CBS Nightly News"This is the dark side of the Cape that whispers in bad dreams, screams down the alley ... and hides out of sight on sunny days when tourists wonder the quaint old streets or lie on the sand in bliss." —Jeremy Larner, Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay forThe Candidate"Sex, courtroom drama, racism, social class, justice denied, a police procedural entwined in an exciting, well-written, true story. Don't start reading in the evening unless you're up for a sleepless night." —Nicholas Von Hoffman, columnist,New York Observer,and author ofRadical: A Portrait of Saul Alinsky"Peter Manso's account of the police and prosecutorial misconduct occurring in one case represents widespread practices that send thousands of black, Hispanic, Native American and poor whites to American prisons each day. His investigation...invited retaliation from a system that often treats its critics in the same way it treats its victims." —Ishmael Reed, author ofJuice"Probing and timely,Reasonable Doubtputs the system under the microscope and what it reveals should be read by defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges and concerned citizens alike.” —Barry Scheck, cofounder of The Innocence Project, President of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers"...A searing dissection of the 2002 stabbing death of wealthy Cape Cod resident Christa Worthington and the ensuing trial, which Manso (Mailer)convincingly shows was tainted from the start ... A gripping narrative of a system that denied justice to both Worthington and [Afro-American defendant] McCowen." —Publishers Weekly"A potent combination of the 'who-done-it'--or 'who-didn't-do-it'--a police procedural, and a scathing social commentary."--Stanley Fish“A keen observer and a talented writer…some of the courtroom scenes are riveting. Manso should be commended for taking up the cause of a long-forgotten man, whose trial raised serious questions about the strength of the State Police’s case and the fairness of the trial…An important [book] for anyone who cares about the criminal justice system.” —Boston Globe“A troubling and disturbing look inside the American judicial system, perfect reading after the Anthony trial." —USA Today