Winters' Time: A Secret Pledge, a Severed Head, and the Murder that Brought America’s Most Famous Lawyer to Vermont

by Jeffrey L. Amestoy

This study of the 1927–1928 murder trial and appeal of John Winters is an intriguing look at one of the most celebrated cases in Vermont judicial history—the time Clarence Darrow, America’s greatest advocate, appeared for the defendant before the Vermont Supreme Court. It reveals tensions of class, gender, and family, and gives the reader a glimpse of justice in the 1920s. Winters’ Time combines legal history, true crime, a cast of Vermont characters, and America's famous “attorney for the damned.”

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2025

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeffrey L Amestoy, former Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, covers the case of John Winters, accused of murdering a well-known Windsor, VT woman. The case is sensationalized by a prosecutor who brought the woman's severed head into the courtroom to show the jury. That single act was enough to cause a mistrial, but that did not happen. The case went to the jury, and a verdict was read.

The verdict brought Clarence Darrow to Vermont, where he addressed the Vermont Supreme Court in John Winter's appeal. He was, of course, eloquent in his statement, and many expected a swift reversal of the verdict.

Due to the machinations of the sitting Supreme Court Chief Justice, the verdict was delayed for months. This is a story of class, prejudice, courtroom antics, and a delay in justice. It is also a story of no justice for the victim. It would have been a good read as a fictional story, but this one is not fiction; it is the story of 1920s "justice". Read it.

[Kevin McTigue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply researched but to the point. Another amazing story in the life of America's lawyer.