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Manifest Injustice: The True Story of a Convicted Murderer and the Lawyers Who Fought for His Freedom
In this remarkable legal page-turner, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Barry Siegel recounts the dramatic, decades-long saga of Bill Macumber, imprisoned for thirty-eight years for a double homicide he denies committing.
In the spring of 1962, a school bus full of students stumbled across a mysterious crime scene on an isolated stretch of Arizona an abandoned car and two bodies. This brutal murder of a young couple bewildered the sheriff 's department of Maricopa County for years. Despite a few promising leads—including several chilling confessions from Ernest Valenzuela, a violent repeat offender—the case went cold.
More than a decade later, a clerk in the sheriff 's department, Carol Macumber, came forward to tell police that her estranged husband had confessed to the murders. Though the evidence linking Bill Macumber to the incident was questionable, he was arrested and charged with the crime. During his trial, the judge refused to allow the confession of now-deceased Ernest Valenzuela to be admitted as evidence in part because of the attorney-client privilege. Bill Macumber was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
The case, rife with extraordinary irregularities, attracted the sustained involvement of the Arizona Justice Project, one of the first and most respected of the non-profit groups that represent victims of manifest injustice across the country. With more twists and turns than a Hollywood movie, Macumber's story illuminates startling, upsetting truths about our justice system, which kept a possibly innocent man locked up for almost forty years, and introduces readers to the generations of dedicated lawyers who never stopped working on his behalf, lawyers who ultimately achieved stunning results.
With precise journalistic detail, intimate access and masterly storytelling, Barry Siegel will change your understanding of American jurisprudence, police procedure, and what constitutes justice in our country today.
In the spring of 1962, a school bus full of students stumbled across a mysterious crime scene on an isolated stretch of Arizona an abandoned car and two bodies. This brutal murder of a young couple bewildered the sheriff 's department of Maricopa County for years. Despite a few promising leads—including several chilling confessions from Ernest Valenzuela, a violent repeat offender—the case went cold.
More than a decade later, a clerk in the sheriff 's department, Carol Macumber, came forward to tell police that her estranged husband had confessed to the murders. Though the evidence linking Bill Macumber to the incident was questionable, he was arrested and charged with the crime. During his trial, the judge refused to allow the confession of now-deceased Ernest Valenzuela to be admitted as evidence in part because of the attorney-client privilege. Bill Macumber was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
The case, rife with extraordinary irregularities, attracted the sustained involvement of the Arizona Justice Project, one of the first and most respected of the non-profit groups that represent victims of manifest injustice across the country. With more twists and turns than a Hollywood movie, Macumber's story illuminates startling, upsetting truths about our justice system, which kept a possibly innocent man locked up for almost forty years, and introduces readers to the generations of dedicated lawyers who never stopped working on his behalf, lawyers who ultimately achieved stunning results.
With precise journalistic detail, intimate access and masterly storytelling, Barry Siegel will change your understanding of American jurisprudence, police procedure, and what constitutes justice in our country today.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 22, 2013
About the author
Barry Siegel
26 books42 followersBarry Siegel is a former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times who won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2002 for his piece "A Father's Pain, a Judge's Duty, and a Justice Beyond Their Reach". He is an expert on literary journalism and was recruited by the University of California, Irvine to chair that school's new English program in Literary Journalism. Siegel is the author of the influential true crime novel A Death in White Bear Lake, which is considered by many to be a seminal document regarding child abuse. Siegel lives in Sherman Oaks and Irvine, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 29, 2013
Just staggering --- I was close to tears twice while reading this.
The book covers the story of Bill Macumber, who --- twelve years after a double murder --- is arrested, tried, and convicted of those murders under extremely questionable circumstances (including the possibility that his wife planted evidence against him). He always proclaims his innocence, and his case is taken up after several decades by the Arizona Justice Project.
Siegel writes the story as a moving and suspenseful page-turner and paints Macumber as a man who behaves with compassion and dignity even in circumstances that do not warrant it. I was especially moved by the evolving relationships between Macumber and his sons --- Macumber is portrayed as a gung-ho dad who loves his sons, only to lose contact with them after his incarceration.
There's a lot to take in --- the cast of characters is huge and the legal details a bit overwhelming. It's also a tough read to see how the initial arrest and trial are (mis)handled. However, it's also an extremely rewarding book.
The book covers the story of Bill Macumber, who --- twelve years after a double murder --- is arrested, tried, and convicted of those murders under extremely questionable circumstances (including the possibility that his wife planted evidence against him). He always proclaims his innocence, and his case is taken up after several decades by the Arizona Justice Project.
Siegel writes the story as a moving and suspenseful page-turner and paints Macumber as a man who behaves with compassion and dignity even in circumstances that do not warrant it. I was especially moved by the evolving relationships between Macumber and his sons --- Macumber is portrayed as a gung-ho dad who loves his sons, only to lose contact with them after his incarceration.
There's a lot to take in --- the cast of characters is huge and the legal details a bit overwhelming. It's also a tough read to see how the initial arrest and trial are (mis)handled. However, it's also an extremely rewarding book.
February 20, 2013
If you think justice is just, you should read this book along with An Innocent Man by John Grisham and Angel of Death Row by Andrea Lyon. All three are quite eye-opening.
William Macumber was arrested for the murder of two teenagers in Phoenix area more than a decade after the murders. He has spent almost four decades in prison declaring his innocence and fighting his conviction.
He had huge numbers of people fighting for him, yet he remained imprisoned. Even 40 years after the crime was committed, the fight was still active and there were updates. So much so that when I received an advance reader's copy of this book, I also received an additional chapter, pages stapled together, detailing the recent updates.
I have to admit that when I started reading this book, I had author Barry Siegel confused with the similarly named Bary Scheck of The Innocence Project. That organization tries to exonerate with DNA evidence those wrongfully convicted.
Much of this book, as well as being about Mr. Macumber, is about the Arizona Justice Project and the people associated with it. They fight the tough cases were DNA evidence is not available. What Mr. Macumber accomplished while in prison is remarkable.
The evidence presented against him, the multiple and accurate confessions by another convicted murderer that were not allowed as evidence, the mishandling and loss of evidence, the lies and hatred, the political grandstanding, were also remarkable. Leads that were not followed, experts who were biased, a comedy of errors but not so funny for the people whose lives were devastated.
I am embarrassed to be living in a state where public officials can get away with what some of my esteemed officials did and condoned.
Some of the book is repetitious, but necessarily so. In so many years of fighting, some things are gone over again and again. But I never found the book boring. For those who think police procedural fiction is exciting, try this, the real thing.
Thank you to LibraryThing and Henry Holt publishing for giving me a copy for review.
William Macumber was arrested for the murder of two teenagers in Phoenix area more than a decade after the murders. He has spent almost four decades in prison declaring his innocence and fighting his conviction.
He had huge numbers of people fighting for him, yet he remained imprisoned. Even 40 years after the crime was committed, the fight was still active and there were updates. So much so that when I received an advance reader's copy of this book, I also received an additional chapter, pages stapled together, detailing the recent updates.
I have to admit that when I started reading this book, I had author Barry Siegel confused with the similarly named Bary Scheck of The Innocence Project. That organization tries to exonerate with DNA evidence those wrongfully convicted.
Much of this book, as well as being about Mr. Macumber, is about the Arizona Justice Project and the people associated with it. They fight the tough cases were DNA evidence is not available. What Mr. Macumber accomplished while in prison is remarkable.
The evidence presented against him, the multiple and accurate confessions by another convicted murderer that were not allowed as evidence, the mishandling and loss of evidence, the lies and hatred, the political grandstanding, were also remarkable. Leads that were not followed, experts who were biased, a comedy of errors but not so funny for the people whose lives were devastated.
I am embarrassed to be living in a state where public officials can get away with what some of my esteemed officials did and condoned.
Some of the book is repetitious, but necessarily so. In so many years of fighting, some things are gone over again and again. But I never found the book boring. For those who think police procedural fiction is exciting, try this, the real thing.
Thank you to LibraryThing and Henry Holt publishing for giving me a copy for review.
April 4, 2013
Well, I couldn't put this down. I don't know why books that talk about specific cases involving the miscarriage of the American justice system interest me so greatly, but I'm horrified by the idea that someone could spend 40 fucking years in jail for a crime they didn't commit. I hope you're horrified too.
You shouldn't read this book though, if you're not into reading about lengthy legal battles and the plucky courage of a guy who did his damn best to maintain while trapped in prison. For my money, the best part of the book was when Mr. Macumber reunited with his youngest son. I shed actual tears.
You shouldn't read this book though, if you're not into reading about lengthy legal battles and the plucky courage of a guy who did his damn best to maintain while trapped in prison. For my money, the best part of the book was when Mr. Macumber reunited with his youngest son. I shed actual tears.
June 20, 2013
Ayi yai yai! At one point when I was 3/4 of the way through the book, I was certain Macumber would be released from prison and wondered what story was there left to tell? Little did I know were more twists and turns for me on this reading journey...I agree with another rater that said this book coincides nicely with John Grisham's novel An Innocent Man...both of these do a great job of detailing our justice system, but also the people who work tirelessly to exonerate the innocent.
April 22, 2013
Excellent book.
Sadly true story of a man who spent over 30 years in jail for a murder he probably didn't commit.
Because things like this not only can, but do, happen, I think we cannot practice capital punishment.
Sadly true story of a man who spent over 30 years in jail for a murder he probably didn't commit.
Because things like this not only can, but do, happen, I think we cannot practice capital punishment.
September 13, 2021
The most prestigious USA awarded writer Barry Siegel’s focus on this crime story is the attributes of emotion, love, false allegation, loneliness, mental depression, and struggle for justice. It is a kind of a movie-making technique for the readers. The main character Bill Macumber detained homicide for nearly four decades for a mysterious crime in the Arizona desert, found two bodies inside the abandoned car. The whole investigation was handled by the sheriff’s department by the constables and other officers according to the complaint made by his wife Carol Macumber, but the evidence of the incident linking Bill was questionable. During the process of the trial, Bill was found guilty and sentenced.
Injustice should be justice by justice, it is the only motive to settle the issue of Bill’s false allegation since he is on bail with his parents and doctor’s attention. However, his mind will settle on one thing soon, he would see his beautiful sons though he talked by phone. The trial is very technical and Bill’s answers are measured questioned by Kemper. Bur the allegations was made by his wife that Bill was negative affected her sons, mentally unstable, heard core phonography, and hunt and love of killing are trying to frame as guilty. On the read, my intention is Carol deliberately making a false allegation and imprison Bill unbail and get away from him with her children to Colorado.
But each wrongful conviction case, naturally, contains unique aspects. The Macumber case includes a defendant with a clean reputation and a good job who was accused years after the murder by an angry former wife, a confession to the double murder by a known criminal who then died young and was ignored homicide investigators who apparently forgot how to use logic as they sorted through the evidence. And that’s just for starters.
Many senior lawyers’ criticism is many courts not practicing the art of cross-examination and many lawyers are prone to defense. It is not the debate rule of prosecution before the eye of the law. The author picturized the court scene reality with the immense cross-examination by the character Douglass. Seems Carol obtaining a divorce where she is dating Dennis Gilbertson but, she denies it. Here, I must register a point the legal profession is not a contract between the lawyer and the client, it is service-oriented (ancient Romanian law) if the client prefers can drop some (gold) coins in the toggle (like a pocket) on the backside of the cloak. Today the legal profession is a major corporate business on the planet.
Beautiful nature created for humans to feel and enjoy. Over the smart questions on August 28 sixteen-hour interrogation between the prosecutor and both Diehl and Calles, so many conspiracies hidden behind the mysterious answers. The clock is the tireless labourer, Bill’s son Ron Kempfert orbited 26 times around the sun, father promoted as a grandfather, but the unfortunate is there was no communication between those two to share bond and emotions freely, the author’s letter to the father and the reply to the son at the glance.
In my conclusion, justice, however late, is still justice, Bill Macumber was freed after thirty-seven years by Judge Cohen, it was a family day for Mr. Macumber. He is getting to start his normal life started paying homage to his parents at were gravesite in north Phoenix. Reactivating his civilian process including social security, medical coverage, and clothing. I am very proud of Bill’s psychological strength because from the beginning to the end he was standing firmly on his own truth of each and every trial, finally, sanity would prevail. Thanks a lot, to my colleague/friend Yasodhara Kapuge for sharing your unique interest in books with me all the time.
Injustice should be justice by justice, it is the only motive to settle the issue of Bill’s false allegation since he is on bail with his parents and doctor’s attention. However, his mind will settle on one thing soon, he would see his beautiful sons though he talked by phone. The trial is very technical and Bill’s answers are measured questioned by Kemper. Bur the allegations was made by his wife that Bill was negative affected her sons, mentally unstable, heard core phonography, and hunt and love of killing are trying to frame as guilty. On the read, my intention is Carol deliberately making a false allegation and imprison Bill unbail and get away from him with her children to Colorado.
But each wrongful conviction case, naturally, contains unique aspects. The Macumber case includes a defendant with a clean reputation and a good job who was accused years after the murder by an angry former wife, a confession to the double murder by a known criminal who then died young and was ignored homicide investigators who apparently forgot how to use logic as they sorted through the evidence. And that’s just for starters.
Many senior lawyers’ criticism is many courts not practicing the art of cross-examination and many lawyers are prone to defense. It is not the debate rule of prosecution before the eye of the law. The author picturized the court scene reality with the immense cross-examination by the character Douglass. Seems Carol obtaining a divorce where she is dating Dennis Gilbertson but, she denies it. Here, I must register a point the legal profession is not a contract between the lawyer and the client, it is service-oriented (ancient Romanian law) if the client prefers can drop some (gold) coins in the toggle (like a pocket) on the backside of the cloak. Today the legal profession is a major corporate business on the planet.
Beautiful nature created for humans to feel and enjoy. Over the smart questions on August 28 sixteen-hour interrogation between the prosecutor and both Diehl and Calles, so many conspiracies hidden behind the mysterious answers. The clock is the tireless labourer, Bill’s son Ron Kempfert orbited 26 times around the sun, father promoted as a grandfather, but the unfortunate is there was no communication between those two to share bond and emotions freely, the author’s letter to the father and the reply to the son at the glance.
In my conclusion, justice, however late, is still justice, Bill Macumber was freed after thirty-seven years by Judge Cohen, it was a family day for Mr. Macumber. He is getting to start his normal life started paying homage to his parents at were gravesite in north Phoenix. Reactivating his civilian process including social security, medical coverage, and clothing. I am very proud of Bill’s psychological strength because from the beginning to the end he was standing firmly on his own truth of each and every trial, finally, sanity would prevail. Thanks a lot, to my colleague/friend Yasodhara Kapuge for sharing your unique interest in books with me all the time.
November 29, 2020
Manifest Injustice Barry Siegel
Books about the work of getting someone OUT of prison are rare. Siegel takes on this challenge and by taking a story that covers how an innocent man who served almost 30 years for a murder he did not do. Siegel walks us through the legal stuff. There’s certainly some content about the facts but the book goes beyond telling a court room story.
He writes in a straightforward style about what Bill Macumber and a group that worked to investigate a court room decision and then work to undo the decision. The book moves forward with the how the legal system worked and how the specific case worked its way through the system.
And it moves slowly. We get a little info about the language of the court system. We also get a sense of what layers who do this work believe: If you don’t have no success then you use another strategy.
Of course it has agood success. But, the reader needs to be patient. And there’s very little info about the characters beyond what we know they do. For example, we don’t get much info about the man’s family until chapter 15 (in a book with 27 chapters).
This is a challenging read. It could be a good gift for a someone thinking about a life as a lawyer, even if they want to the a trial layers. For the rest of us, it’s a good book to sharpen our reading skills and to challenge what we think we know about the law.
Mani festive Injustice is a good book for anyone who is considering a career in the law or someone who wants to make an change to an important and challenging career.
Books about the work of getting someone OUT of prison are rare. Siegel takes on this challenge and by taking a story that covers how an innocent man who served almost 30 years for a murder he did not do. Siegel walks us through the legal stuff. There’s certainly some content about the facts but the book goes beyond telling a court room story.
He writes in a straightforward style about what Bill Macumber and a group that worked to investigate a court room decision and then work to undo the decision. The book moves forward with the how the legal system worked and how the specific case worked its way through the system.
And it moves slowly. We get a little info about the language of the court system. We also get a sense of what layers who do this work believe: If you don’t have no success then you use another strategy.
Of course it has agood success. But, the reader needs to be patient. And there’s very little info about the characters beyond what we know they do. For example, we don’t get much info about the man’s family until chapter 15 (in a book with 27 chapters).
This is a challenging read. It could be a good gift for a someone thinking about a life as a lawyer, even if they want to the a trial layers. For the rest of us, it’s a good book to sharpen our reading skills and to challenge what we think we know about the law.
Mani festive Injustice is a good book for anyone who is considering a career in the law or someone who wants to make an change to an important and challenging career.
June 21, 2022
I love true crime and also books about innocent victims who are convicted so this book was a natural for me. I had my doubts that Siegel could keep my attention - or find sufficient material - for an entire book but he more than delivered with this hard-to-put-down work of nonfiction. Since I live in the Phoenix area, many of the names and places were familiar to me but that's not what kept my attention. What had me riveted to this book was the rage I felt as I tried to understand what Bill Macumber endured for almost 40 years. A very interesting book indeed. My thanks to whoever left this book in my little library - I will put it back in hopes that others will read and enjoy it.
November 19, 2025
This was a very well written book about a man wrongly charged in a double murder in Arizona and his long road to freedom. I couldn't put this book down because as the story unraveled my interest deepened as I awaited the final outcome of this man's fight for freedom. The author went into a great deal of detail into all the investigations done on yhis man 's behalf. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in true crime stories.
July 25, 2020
A must read for anyone interested in the criminal justice system. Thank goodness more care is given to preservation of crime scenes and evidence.
I was shocked to learn about Macumber's subsequent convictions, but also believe (like his son Ron) that he is innocent of the murders.
I was shocked to learn about Macumber's subsequent convictions, but also believe (like his son Ron) that he is innocent of the murders.
May 15, 2018
Great Book. I Loved it!
Great Book Must Read! Fascinating Riveting I knew Bill Macumber from when I was a Corrections Officer in the AZ Department of Corrections in Florence AZ.
Great Book Must Read! Fascinating Riveting I knew Bill Macumber from when I was a Corrections Officer in the AZ Department of Corrections in Florence AZ.
January 1, 2019
As the story builds, it becomes clear how much our legal system is open to corruption. If this were a fiction, it would be hard to suspend my disbelief - as a non-fiction account it's horrifying.
November 29, 2025
Read before learning what Bill did after prison. Stars based on book/author effort alone
July 12, 2016
The first book I read by Barry Siegel was Claim of Privilege , I was absolutely mesmerized by the book. Amazed that the government could withhold information from family members on the loss of their loved ones.
Manifest Injustice, like Just Mercy tells the story of a man caught in grips of a legal system gone awry. It is hard to understand exactly how our legal system gets so messed up. After reading Unfair I understand how juries are manipulated by lawyers,expert witnesses and judges that have agendas.
What interests me was it Bill Macumber who was the sociopath or was it his wife that lied? Nobody seemed to care that his wife lied. What was really going on between those two?
Obviously spending 37 years behind bars has to have an effect on one's personality but it saddened me to find that Bill Macumber was found guilty of child sex abuse less than 12 months after he being released from prison, very sad indeed.This review was originally posted on The Pfaeffle Journal
Manifest Injustice, like Just Mercy tells the story of a man caught in grips of a legal system gone awry. It is hard to understand exactly how our legal system gets so messed up. After reading Unfair I understand how juries are manipulated by lawyers,expert witnesses and judges that have agendas.
What interests me was it Bill Macumber who was the sociopath or was it his wife that lied? Nobody seemed to care that his wife lied. What was really going on between those two?
Obviously spending 37 years behind bars has to have an effect on one's personality but it saddened me to find that Bill Macumber was found guilty of child sex abuse less than 12 months after he being released from prison, very sad indeed.This review was originally posted on The Pfaeffle Journal
August 3, 2013
Wow, wow. This is a well-written book that makes sense out of a complex case, but the writing mostly just paves the way for an incredibly memorable narrative. I have only the 350 pages of the book on which to make a judgment, not the years of research and analysis conducted by many of the principals, but it seems objectively true to me that the book's title perfectly describes what happened to a man who was accused of murder by his estranged wife 12 years after the fact, convicted under the loosest standards of evidence possible, with someone else's repeated and clear confessions withheld from the jury, and then locked away for just shy of 40 years. So many individuals contributed to this injustice, from low-ranking law enforcement staff all the way up to Arizona's current governor. What must their interior worlds be like when they think about this case? Thankfully, their collective actions and choices were balanced by those of the many people who poured their energies into achieving some small measure of justice for this man at the end of his life. I highly recommend this book as a searing portrait of American society.
January 4, 2014
I had heard a piece on NPR about this case last spring and it intrigued me. I got the book, started it, then saw a Dateline story on it the very week I started it, which had the reverse effect of causing me to lose interest. I put it down a few times, but just managed to finish it. It got very interesting toward the end where the Justice Project goes head to head with the unlikely alliance of those who advocated for the victims and two of the convicted man's three sons, and ex-wife. The author's clear bias is for the protagonist, the convicted man who serves 37+ years for a crime he did not commit. The questions I was left with was why would those in power go to such great lengths to put the man in jail, a common working man? What did the ex have on them?
February 5, 2013
I have received a free copy of this book through a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.
Being a fan of crime books, I am very impressed with the writing by Barry Siegel. Whereas some books are only written from one person (usually a lawyer) and rather on the dry side, Siegel really did his homework and gives you several perspectives of those involved.
What a roller-coaster ride. From downright terror that the justice system can fail so badly, to the hope of justice being served, only to be filled with frustration to have it fall short once again. I dare anyone to read this book and not be affected.
Being a fan of crime books, I am very impressed with the writing by Barry Siegel. Whereas some books are only written from one person (usually a lawyer) and rather on the dry side, Siegel really did his homework and gives you several perspectives of those involved.
What a roller-coaster ride. From downright terror that the justice system can fail so badly, to the hope of justice being served, only to be filled with frustration to have it fall short once again. I dare anyone to read this book and not be affected.
July 3, 2013
What to say about Barry Siegel and his compelling narrative? First off, I was deeply impressed with the amount of detail he went into. He talked to Bill Macumber and his team, and also the prosecution. He explored the justice system and explained how sometimes people are not treated fairly. He got into Bill's mind, by using interviews, testimony and journal entries. He leaves it up to the reader to decide Bill's guilt--what really happened out in Scottsdale that night? The suspense and the emotion he is able to generate is further evidence of what a great story it is.
I do not want to spoil the book for anyone wanting to read it, so I'll stop here.
I do not want to spoil the book for anyone wanting to read it, so I'll stop here.
April 8, 2014
The book covers the story of Bill Macumber, who --- twelve years after a double murder --- is arrested, tried, and convicted of those murders under extremely questionable circumstances (including the possibility that his wife planted evidence against him). He always proclaims his innocence, and his case is taken up after several decades by the Arizona Justice Project. I must say it broke my heart when Governor Brewer did not sign off on the appeal. And of course we know Katie Pazauskas!
February 4, 2015
"No Contest"
Before I give my review, I have to reveal that I am a cousin of one of the murder victims although we never met, and the family stories regarding the main character differ substantially from the book. In addition, a subsequent accusation against the main character by his supportive son calls into question how his friends described him.
Nevertheless, it is a well researched book that describes the legal process in detail.
Before I give my review, I have to reveal that I am a cousin of one of the murder victims although we never met, and the family stories regarding the main character differ substantially from the book. In addition, a subsequent accusation against the main character by his supportive son calls into question how his friends described him.
Nevertheless, it is a well researched book that describes the legal process in detail.
March 27, 2014
This book was about the murder case of a man who could have been framed for the murder and innocent. The author did an excellent job researching and writing this book. The only problems I had with the book were a few boring stretches and the man was never proven innocent in the end. Two thumbs up.
February 18, 2013
Not as much of a page turner as I thought. It starts off great with an intriguing mystery (one never solved by the end of the book). But the book loses it's pace along the way and the ending never provides the triumph or emotion as would be expected.
April 27, 2013
Judge Bruce Cohen joined our book club and gave us the inside scoop and background to this story. I find it so sad that this man didn't get to raise the sons he loved so much, and had a life so different from what he deserved.
August 27, 2013
terrific book. Infuriating. Evidence against the defendant was thin, and another guy confessed. But judge excluded the confession. Defendant spent 38 years in prison. Well written, explores all the developments.
October 5, 2013
A fascinating story told in a little bit of a plodding manner. In the author's defense, that may be because it took so damn long to get this obviously innocent guy sprung from prison and what we are left with is a chronicle of legal maneuver after legal maneuver after legal maneuver ad infinitum.
April 19, 2015
Heartbreaking
The issues with the American system of justice are very disheartening. Thank you, Mr. Siegel, for writing about this case to highlight the injustices and the awesome people out there who work so hard to correct the injustices.
The issues with the American system of justice are very disheartening. Thank you, Mr. Siegel, for writing about this case to highlight the injustices and the awesome people out there who work so hard to correct the injustices.
January 19, 2016
If ever there was a book that proved this is a scary country to live in, the justice system is not perfect, and Arizona politics are a product of uneducated media whores, this would be it. Well written and showing all sides of human thought, this book appropriately leaves the reader disturbed.
February 18, 2013
This was a really clear - though not unbiased - account of Bill Macumber's conviction and jail time in the face of a crime with lots of complications.
July 27, 2013
A fascinating start to finish look at what clearly seems to be a wrongful conviction and almost-exoneration.
March 3, 2013
Extraordinary story of a man unjustly convicted. It reads like a novel, and will have you thinking about how the criminal justice system actually works.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews