By Two and Two: The Shocking True Story of Twin Sisters Torn Apart by Lies, Injustice, and Murder

by Jim Schutze

Follows the dual murder trials of identical twins Peggy Lowe and Betty Wilson, the former a demure and happily married elementary school teacher, the latter a wild party girl whose husband's death implicated both sisters. Reprint.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Ebooks

321 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

Reviews

[Rita]

This author does his research and his attention to detail is amazing. It is a page-
turner and I highly recommend it.

[Emily]

What an intense and heartbreaking story.

With twins accused of conspiring to murder one of their husbands, an alcoholic and drug-fueled pathological liar at the center of the entire farce, and the weight of racist, Southern, and judgemental jurors, this story winds through the trial and wrongful conviction of one twin and the trial and acquittal - based on the same evidence - of the other.

For followers of the true crime genre, this is a must read. Schutze’s epilogue outlines beautifully his journey from believing in the guilt of the sisters to realizing what a horrible miscarriage of justice this entire case and trial turned out to be for Betty Wilson.

At the heart of the story was the, by all accounts, beautiful soul of Jack Wilson, who was brutally murdered for no reason.

Schutze wove together the stories of these main players - warts and all - deftly and respectfully, making this a well-written and carefully considered account of a truly shocking story.

[Aubrey]

I don't know why I continue to expect true crime books to be unbiased. Nevertheless a good read and the writing is good.

[Scott R Ficarra]

Great book! I highly recommend reading this if your into non-fiction detailed courtroom dramas. I wasn’t - until I read this. The story itself is pretty amazing - but the way it was written was what really pulled me in. Just the right level of detail - the events of the incident were told in the first half of the book while the remainder of the book was the trials of both sisters. It was an unbelievable story of lies - with reality sprinkled in to make it more believable all taking place in the Deep South (Alabama no less).
So even if courtroom dramas are not your thing - I promise you this will capture you and keep you engrossed right from the start.

[Clint]

Saga of 1993 Alabama murder-for-hire in which twin sisters were charged with murder of the husband of one of the twins. Author writes the book with his assumption the women were not guilty, though one was found guilty and one wasn’t. On the very last pages, he explains the killer later recanted (and in recent years has recanted his recantation) and provides his theory of why one jury had one finding and one another. His storytelling is fair to good but might have been better if his explanations had been up front.

[Elisabeth Brookshire]

Song, song, song of the South

A beautifully written Southern Gothic book concerning the ugliest parts of life. This book fully covers the lives and supposed crimes of two matrons. The choices they made and how those choices affected their individual trial outcomes. I can see why so many people have rushed to defend Betty Wilson. Even a black filmmaker took the time to tell her story seeing how the media and first jury got this case all wrong. This is an amazing book and I am so glad I found it.

[Lucien Bennett]

This was pretty good, and an intriguing case although I found the author’s assertion that he was on the side of the twins’ innocence to be…interesting because the author was very misogynistic throughout. I’m used to male writers and cops in true crime sharing shit opinions on women, especially sex workers but this was…I couldn’t decide if he was doing it to be salacious or to divide the characters of the twins. Still engaging and a case I’d never heard of but take his opinions with a grain of salt.

[Cathy Russell]

What a page turner! I was shocked and aghast about the travesty the first twin went through. Why should I be surprised with the mindset and racist attitudes of the people in Northern Alabama? Because the crime happened in the 90s! Not the 50s. Great story and I hope there is a silver lining to this story since the book has been completed.

[Melinda Willford]

The “Law” is a fool!

I trudged through all the legal rules and proceedings, the lies and changing of the real killer’s statements which were quite confusing. This book makes me lose faith in the legal system. It’s all about persona, race, physical perceptions, money, and prosecutors and defense attorneys playing a role to win.

[abena]

upsetting

Great book. Great writing but the way they convicted an innocent woman based on obvious lies is really upsetting. James White admitted to sexually abusing his own daughter and they felt sorry for him. They were more mad at her for being a slut and dating outside of her race. Than a child predator. This is a sick world we live in

[Kat]

A Really Sad Story

A tragic case of judgement against moral and ethical wrongs. The fact that a woman has to spend the rest of her life in prison for being a cranky selfish human at times is a crime against humanity. If the rest of humanity was convicted for being cranky and selfish at times, then the whole species if humanity would be in prison.

[Cheryl Castillo]

great but frustrating

Loved this book but was so hoping at the end of it all justice would prevail. I can’t even watch the old movie because I now believe this author and I would be more frustrated.

[LDavis]

Excellent written book

You are guilty until proven innocent and innocent people go to jail and prison because of bloodthirsty prosecutors and police. God help you in small town political games.

[Hilary Stepien]

8/10. Absolutely fascinating and infuriating story about a series of events, media coverage and social attitudes re. race, class and gender that led to a shocking miscarriage of justice in the American south.

[SB]

Riveting Read

Excellent crime reporting but dated. Would be nice to have some type of up to date summary of the ultimate outcome after appeals.

[Elizabeth Cárdenas]

Life is too short. Could not finish it. I went to Wikipedia to get the story in less than 20 minutes.

[Rebecca H Newhall]

Absorbing Read

Great book, very absorbing and definitely sad. It makes you stop and think about the justice/injustice system. This woman needs a pardon.

[Sherri Palmer]

Incredible recap of true crime story I had not heard of until this book. Another story for the Innocence Project, in a manner I had not thought existed.

[Melissa Woods]

An interesting read.

[Cari Starosta]

Fast read, well written.

[Lee]

True story of married twins, both accused of having one of them's husband killed in a murder for hire story. The outcome of two separate trials and the deal made with the perpetrator of the crime is frightening as you imagine the incredulity they feel as the situation plays out....actually, the saga continues to this day...

[Salsadancer]

This book is about the 1992 murder of a Huntsville, AL optometrist. The story has been covered on almost every 48-Hours-type tv show and will not go away because justice has never been done. Google "Betty Wilson trial" and you will find lots on this murder, trial, and injustice.

[Suzanne]

interesting because it is a local story...