Presumed Guilty
Most persons who are arrested are de facto guilty of something. This presumption of guilt, when it replaces the de jure presumption of innocence, leads to wrongful convictions. Yant, commentary editor of the Columbus Dispatch , clearly has the evidence to prove this thesis as he collects several dozen examples of justice gone awry. From Sacco and Vanzetti and Bruno Hauptmann to Randall Dale Adams (subject of the documentary film The Thin Blue Line ) and several lesser-known defendants who fell through the cracks of the criminal justice system, Yant uses a journalistic style to show how police and prosecutors, whether acting in good faith or not, sometimes abuse their power. He also offers a good review of some of the best research on capital punishment and prosecutorial error. A good addition to any criminal justice collection.- John Broderick, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.