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Pro Bono: The 18-Year Defense of Caril Ann Fugate
In 1958, 19-year-old Charlie Starkweather went on a murder spree that paralyzed Nebraska, shocked the nation, and left 11 people dead. With him when he was captured was his 14-year-old ex-girlfriend Caril Fugate. The question soon arose, was Caril a kidnapped victim, or a heartless accomplice?
Appointed to her case, attorney John McArthur initially accepted the assignment out of a sense of constitutional duty. But as he delved deeper, he found that the truth was far more complicated than anyone was letting on. Up against incredible odds, and with a strong conviction of her innocence, McArthur remained with Caril and fought for her freedom for 18 years. For this service, he took no pay, accepting the case pro bono.
This book follows the long struggle of McArthur, his partner Merril Reller, and John's son James as they took on the Nebraska legal system and a public that had already determined Caril's guilt before ever hearing a word of testimony. The story continues through all it influenced, such as Stephen King, who became a horror writer because of it, Bruce Springsteen, who wrote a whole album about it, Terrence Malick, Oliver Stone, Martin Sheen, and Peter Jackson, who wrote his first major movie based on the Starkweather-Fugate incident.
Pro Bono explores aspects of this incredible story that have never been revealed before, and sheds new light on these terrifying and complex events.
Appointed to her case, attorney John McArthur initially accepted the assignment out of a sense of constitutional duty. But as he delved deeper, he found that the truth was far more complicated than anyone was letting on. Up against incredible odds, and with a strong conviction of her innocence, McArthur remained with Caril and fought for her freedom for 18 years. For this service, he took no pay, accepting the case pro bono.
This book follows the long struggle of McArthur, his partner Merril Reller, and John's son James as they took on the Nebraska legal system and a public that had already determined Caril's guilt before ever hearing a word of testimony. The story continues through all it influenced, such as Stephen King, who became a horror writer because of it, Bruce Springsteen, who wrote a whole album about it, Terrence Malick, Oliver Stone, Martin Sheen, and Peter Jackson, who wrote his first major movie based on the Starkweather-Fugate incident.
Pro Bono explores aspects of this incredible story that have never been revealed before, and sheds new light on these terrifying and complex events.
414 pages, Hardcover
First published August 19, 2012
About the author
Jeff McArthur
64 books20 followersI grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, where I began writing before I could read. In my teen years I became interested in filmmaking and went to New York University to learn filmmaking. After graduating, I moved to Los Angeles to try to succeed in the film industry. After 15 years of ups and downs, I found my way back to my books, and have been writing both fiction and non-fiction ever since.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 5, 2018
Jeff McArthur does a great job in shedding light on our home state's history. In this book he takes on the most notorious crime spree in Nebraska and its most controversial aspect, the complicity of Caril Fugate with the mass murderer Charles Starkweather. Most Nebraskans know, or at least think they know, the basics of the story - a disaffected teenager and his girlfriend traveled across the state during the 1950 leaving a path of terror and blood in their wake. This book does a good job exploring the homicides and whether there should have been any legal culpability attached to the then 14 year old girlfriend, Carol Ann Fugate.
I have to admit, I approached this book with preconceived notions as to Ms. Fugate's complicity. I have read certain books on the case and did watch "Murder in the Heartland," a movie dramatization. I have also read the Nebraska Supreme Court decisions involving the case. McArthur did succeed in forcing me to revisit some of my assumptions and he did, partially, succeed in convincing me in his viewpoint. The author believed that Ms. Fugate was wrongfully convicted using unethical practices in obtaining testimony and evidence. But - I always feel that it is a dangerous practice to compare trial practice and procedures for different eras to modern criminal law. The law is an evolving science much like medicine and dentistry. The outcomes of all cases would be different involving cases from the 1950s as to the 2000s.
I agree that she should have been tried as a juvenile. Both the law and the facts of that time period would have supported this outcome. It is hard to come to any conclusion. However, I think the author down plays the evidence presented at trial that there were certain things that happened within the Caril's home that Starkweather would have not been able to accomplish, such as moving bodies, without her assistance. I also think that it is curious that he focused on who cut out the newspaper articles describing Caril's parents death rather than the fact that the articles were found on her person. It is a stretch for me to believe, and probably it was a stretch for the jury to conclude, that Ms. Fugate did not know of their deaths.
I do believe that the evidence presented at the trial that at some point, probably during or after the Ward family murders, the girl became a captive. It seemed evident to everyone who investigated the case in Wyoming that was the situation.
It is hard to imagine a girl of her age at the Women's Correction Facility, but is seems a testament to her, and the professionalism of the correctional staff, that she did so well.
Caril was very young but so was Charles Starkweather. Both of the two in the provided photographs look painfully young; but young people can, and often do, commit violent crimes.
By Caril's own statements she committed armed robbery that directly led to felony murder. This was a terrible situation that had no good solutions. While I do not agree with the execution of Charles Starkweather as a matter of principal I am certain of his guilt. While I do not agree with prison time for Caril Ann Fugate in an adult correction institute because of her age I am certain she made horrible choices that needed sever consequences.
This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in Nebraska history and criminal and juvenile law. It is well written with fascinating insights into the family life of the attorneys involved in these high profile cases. The book is well written and will certainly make a person think about the philosophy and the practice of law. I highly recommend this book!
I have to admit, I approached this book with preconceived notions as to Ms. Fugate's complicity. I have read certain books on the case and did watch "Murder in the Heartland," a movie dramatization. I have also read the Nebraska Supreme Court decisions involving the case. McArthur did succeed in forcing me to revisit some of my assumptions and he did, partially, succeed in convincing me in his viewpoint. The author believed that Ms. Fugate was wrongfully convicted using unethical practices in obtaining testimony and evidence. But - I always feel that it is a dangerous practice to compare trial practice and procedures for different eras to modern criminal law. The law is an evolving science much like medicine and dentistry. The outcomes of all cases would be different involving cases from the 1950s as to the 2000s.
I agree that she should have been tried as a juvenile. Both the law and the facts of that time period would have supported this outcome. It is hard to come to any conclusion. However, I think the author down plays the evidence presented at trial that there were certain things that happened within the Caril's home that Starkweather would have not been able to accomplish, such as moving bodies, without her assistance. I also think that it is curious that he focused on who cut out the newspaper articles describing Caril's parents death rather than the fact that the articles were found on her person. It is a stretch for me to believe, and probably it was a stretch for the jury to conclude, that Ms. Fugate did not know of their deaths.
I do believe that the evidence presented at the trial that at some point, probably during or after the Ward family murders, the girl became a captive. It seemed evident to everyone who investigated the case in Wyoming that was the situation.
It is hard to imagine a girl of her age at the Women's Correction Facility, but is seems a testament to her, and the professionalism of the correctional staff, that she did so well.
Caril was very young but so was Charles Starkweather. Both of the two in the provided photographs look painfully young; but young people can, and often do, commit violent crimes.
By Caril's own statements she committed armed robbery that directly led to felony murder. This was a terrible situation that had no good solutions. While I do not agree with the execution of Charles Starkweather as a matter of principal I am certain of his guilt. While I do not agree with prison time for Caril Ann Fugate in an adult correction institute because of her age I am certain she made horrible choices that needed sever consequences.
This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in Nebraska history and criminal and juvenile law. It is well written with fascinating insights into the family life of the attorneys involved in these high profile cases. The book is well written and will certainly make a person think about the philosophy and the practice of law. I highly recommend this book!
May 7, 2013
I was interested in this as I love the film Badlands and know the film was loosely based on this case. I've read the odd article over the years and they were always described as a Bonnie and Clyde type couple. However, this book dispels all those myths. The lawyers used real legal transcripts and the fact they KNEW Caril Ann Fugate to put this together, well, the main lawyer's grandson compiled it all in this one handy volume....
It does seem as though Charlie Starkweather did scare her into going along with him on his murderous spree. The police chasing them to my way of looking at it were bloody useless. They were given tip-offs as to where they were headed and Caril attempted to leave clues too that were overlooked ! Charlie was no clever renegade but a laughable criminal yet still remained at large.
However, there were some really awful errors interspersed throughout. Adicus Finch was referred to in the very beginnning but I thought it was meant to be Atticus. The name Heflin was spelt Hefflin then Heflin. Bartlett turned into Bartelett, apostrophe errors all over the place, eluded instead of alluded, nemeses instead of nemesis, bear instead of bare more than once and the same for peaked being used twice when once should have been piqued and another peeked ! Shocking !! Baited replaced bated, August Meyer had his name altered to Meyers a few times, mislead was instead of misled, Havana became Havannah, pore was replaced more than once by pour, Roles Royces.....need I say anymore ? So a bit of an editing mess, to say the very least.
Caril's lawyer made a lot of sense in this statement-"it makes no sense for someone to go from being a child who loves her mother and takes assiduous care of her baby sister, to a heartless murderer for one week, then go back to being shy and even mousy the rest of her life". Pretty much says it all, really.
It does seem as though Charlie Starkweather did scare her into going along with him on his murderous spree. The police chasing them to my way of looking at it were bloody useless. They were given tip-offs as to where they were headed and Caril attempted to leave clues too that were overlooked ! Charlie was no clever renegade but a laughable criminal yet still remained at large.
However, there were some really awful errors interspersed throughout. Adicus Finch was referred to in the very beginnning but I thought it was meant to be Atticus. The name Heflin was spelt Hefflin then Heflin. Bartlett turned into Bartelett, apostrophe errors all over the place, eluded instead of alluded, nemeses instead of nemesis, bear instead of bare more than once and the same for peaked being used twice when once should have been piqued and another peeked ! Shocking !! Baited replaced bated, August Meyer had his name altered to Meyers a few times, mislead was instead of misled, Havana became Havannah, pore was replaced more than once by pour, Roles Royces.....need I say anymore ? So a bit of an editing mess, to say the very least.
Caril's lawyer made a lot of sense in this statement-"it makes no sense for someone to go from being a child who loves her mother and takes assiduous care of her baby sister, to a heartless murderer for one week, then go back to being shy and even mousy the rest of her life". Pretty much says it all, really.
July 15, 2013
This book tells the story of the 1958 killing spree carried out by Charles Starkweather accompanied by his one-time girl friend, Caril Ann Fugate. Charles was 19 and Caril was 14. It was a tragic story followed by tragic trials in which Charles was convicted of murder and sentenced to die in the electric chair and Caril was convicted as an accomplice and sentenced to life in prison. The tragedy of the trial was that Caril was innocent. At least her lawyer, John McArthur, believed she was innocent. The book goes on to chronicle the continued effort by John McArthur and his son, James McArthur, to win a new trial for Caril. This failing, they finally worked to secure her parole. These last efforts succeeded and Caril was released after serving 17 years for something for which she has always maintained her innocence.
If you like Law and Order type stories, you will like this book. It was written by James McArthur's son Jeff, so there are 3 generations of McArthurs involved, John, James, and Jeff. In 1981, about 9 years after Caril's parole, John died of emphysema, the result of smoking too much all his adult life. I liked his attitude upon facing death, "As for dying, [John] told James he wasn't afraid. 'I'm really more curious. I've never been a religious man, but I've always sort of had my own religion.'" (from the third to last paragraph in Chapter 15). I feel that way about death myself, that is, about being more curious than afraid. But then I'm only 72 years old, so I'm not looking it in the face. It will be interesting to see whether I feel the same way when the end is near for me, perhaps 20 or so years from now, or, who knows, perhaps tomorrow.
If you like Law and Order type stories, you will like this book. It was written by James McArthur's son Jeff, so there are 3 generations of McArthurs involved, John, James, and Jeff. In 1981, about 9 years after Caril's parole, John died of emphysema, the result of smoking too much all his adult life. I liked his attitude upon facing death, "As for dying, [John] told James he wasn't afraid. 'I'm really more curious. I've never been a religious man, but I've always sort of had my own religion.'" (from the third to last paragraph in Chapter 15). I feel that way about death myself, that is, about being more curious than afraid. But then I'm only 72 years old, so I'm not looking it in the face. It will be interesting to see whether I feel the same way when the end is near for me, perhaps 20 or so years from now, or, who knows, perhaps tomorrow.
October 1, 2015
It was for the most part very interesting - the bottom line is why has a frightened fourteen year old been blamed for "failing" to stop Charles Starkweather, when dozens of police also could not end his rampage until the afore-mentioned girl ran to the nearest cop - who did not even realize anything was wrong up to that point, and had not noticed the two men fighting over a gun!
Not to mention, at least 8 of Starkweather's victims confronted or attempted to get away in some way. All were killed by Starkweather, some right in front of Caril. It's no wonder she was frightened out of her mind and thought that maybe, just maybe, if she was quiet he wouldn't hurt her.
This would be an excellent book if the author gets a decent editor for the next edition, but attributing quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird to "Adicus" [sic] Finch, and repeated mentions on "pouring over" documents when he intends to pore over them - these are just the tip of the editing nightmare that is this book. Caril deserves a book that does not detract from her experience.
Not to mention, at least 8 of Starkweather's victims confronted or attempted to get away in some way. All were killed by Starkweather, some right in front of Caril. It's no wonder she was frightened out of her mind and thought that maybe, just maybe, if she was quiet he wouldn't hurt her.
This would be an excellent book if the author gets a decent editor for the next edition, but attributing quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird to "Adicus" [sic] Finch, and repeated mentions on "pouring over" documents when he intends to pore over them - these are just the tip of the editing nightmare that is this book. Caril deserves a book that does not detract from her experience.
August 8, 2018
This is not something that I would usually listen to, but it sounded interesting and I decided to give it a try. Boy, am I glad I did. I do like true crime stories, but I don't usually read them. This was interesting because of the story of the murder spree, but also because the writer and narrator of the book is the grandson of the lawyer that defended the girl/woman in the case. Besides just the court and police notes being read, the book also included emotions and events that were occurring within his family at the time of the trial. He also included the impact the trial had on others.
Although Jeff McArthur obviously isn't your usual narrator for an audiobook, I do think, however, that his personal connection to the story was a plus. There were several editing errors in the audio, but had little impact on the story. Overall, a captivating experience!
I was given this audio book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts on it are my own.
Although Jeff McArthur obviously isn't your usual narrator for an audiobook, I do think, however, that his personal connection to the story was a plus. There were several editing errors in the audio, but had little impact on the story. Overall, a captivating experience!
I was given this audio book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts on it are my own.
August 21, 2019
I like non-fiction, true crime stories, but I don't usually read them. This was a very interesting book for me. Being born and raised in Lincoln, NE until my teen years and hearing my family members talk of the fear they went through during the murder spree, I literally could not put this book down. I have read most of the books, that I know of, on Starkweather & Fugate. My Mother went to school with Caril. My Uncle worked on the Trash Truck with Charles. Family members lived in the same apartment building as Charles. I have always heard Caril was a voluntary part of the murder spree from family members. After reading this book, I now questioned these statements, but understand too that many who went through the fear at the time also had these same beliefs in Nebraska. Very well written from a historic legal perspective. Having a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice field, as well as worked in the field many years, I found this a very good book and would highly recommend it. I am now on to the book “The Twelfth Victim” about Caril Fugate.
August 1, 2018
Audible:A fascinating look at the lawyers side of the trial of Caril Ann Fugate.That they stuck with her thru 18 years is wonderful.Sadly a 14 year old girl was railroaded for a media show.Charles Starkweather ,our mass murderer/star was truely insane.Having lived through years of mass murders we can now see it.He was the first.Jeff McArthur was a fine narrator.The only issue was that there were many repeats of sentences.I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
August 20, 2023
Great details of the capture of Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate (pronounced carol). The majority of the book looks at the public’s desire to paint Caril’s involvement in Starkweather’s murder spree as an equal participant. They ignore her being 14 and go along willingly despite Charlie changing his story multiple times, the prosecution leading Charlie in a clearly rehearsed testimony. Upon her conviction, the remainder is spent looking at the decades long battle to free her and clear her name.
October 5, 2023
I couldn’t finish the book as I found by the time I had read 50% of it, I was bored with the repetitive details. It started out extremely interesting and I was keen to know more about Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate and the crimes. However it seemed to get bogged down with trials and he said/she said and the prosecutor said this and the defence said that.
The crimes were very cold hearted and I’m convinced Caril was innocent but in the end I closed the book and gave up.
The crimes were very cold hearted and I’m convinced Caril was innocent but in the end I closed the book and gave up.
June 7, 2019
Oh man I don't know. It was a bit of a nail biter sometimes but a bit too straight to the facts. I like more of a story and from characters point of view.
I also am not sure of her role. Not because of some others stories but because I can see it going so many different ways.
I also am not sure of her role. Not because of some others stories but because I can see it going so many different ways.
December 22, 2012
A real good followup to Caril, this work by the son of one of an attorney for Caril, this covers the years to her release not in the book by Ninette Beaver. While maintaining her privacy, this does let on she relocated Michigan and entered nursing. Beside having a ringside and lifelong seat to the legal battle, James developed a friendship with the companion of Charlie Starkweather and is able to provide many personal details about her. Also, James goes into some length on films, plays, and books written on the crime spree, both fiction and not, and judges each for its veracity.
September 13, 2012
I did find information in this book that I had not read before about this famous case. The author made his points fairly well, but I did note some editing errors. For example, actor Brian Dennehy's name is consistently spelled Denehy. As of this date, the pictures in the ebook do not load.
I hope people read the book with an open mind and try to judge the case based on facts, not rumors or assumptions. I do have a bias of my own, since Caril attended my church and I did testify at her first parole hearing.
I hope people read the book with an open mind and try to judge the case based on facts, not rumors or assumptions. I do have a bias of my own, since Caril attended my church and I did testify at her first parole hearing.
March 3, 2013
This was a very interesting book! Written by the grandson of the lawyer who represented Caril Fugate. Aside from being an excellent book about the life of a young girl mixed up with a crazy killer, it represents many things that started to change in America. After the killings, people felt they lost their innocence and could no longer keep their doors unlocked. Caril in many ways was one of the first people "tried in the media", definitely a sad trend to begin.
September 22, 2013
This is an amazingly well-written and compelling look into a case that captured the attention of the nation half a century ago, but now is largely forgotten. Before I picked this book up, all I knew about the Starkweather case was a single line written by Billy Joel, but Mr. McArthur has taken the saga of Caril Ann Fugate and made an easy to read and interesting book. I literally could not put this thing down.
December 15, 2012
An interesting look at the legal justice system during the 50's and the role of the media then. Some improvements but the media and rumor still play a big role unfortunately in truth rather then facts in determining events. Guilty or not we will never know but the system failed Caril.
January 21, 2013
This was an informative book however, I felt it repeated itself over & over. Granted it is based on a trial which I am sure that is why the repeating. Altho it was informative I was glad when I was finished reading it.
October 11, 2012
Fascinating look at the case and the system. Very detailed and fair presentation of the facts.
Want to Read
December 1, 2012$0.0
January 7, 2013
Well-written, engaging, and factual telling of the Fugate trial.
January 14, 2013
Excellent book if you remember the Starkweather years in Nebraska
April 5, 2013
I learned a lot about a case I knew nothing about. If you are not into law this is probably not up your alley. I found it interesting.
July 23, 2014
An interesting book not only for the story but also the history of American law. It provided a reminder of how recently the rights of accused criminals weren't protected.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews