by Errol Morris
Penguin
Trade Paperback
In this profoundly original meditation on truth and the justice system, Errol Morris—a former private detective and director of The Thin Blue Line—delves deeply into the infamous Jeffrey MacDonald murder case. MacDonald, whose pregnant wife and two young daughters were brutally murdered in 1970, was convicted of the killings in 1979 and remains in prison today. The culmination of an investigation spanning over twenty years and a masterly reinvention of the true-crime thriller, A Wilderness of Error is a shocking book because it shows that everything we have been told about the case is deeply unreliable and that crucial elements of the case against MacDonald are simply not true.
*On My Radar signifies a book that is not in my to-be-read stack, but looks very interesting.
From the review, the words 'depressing' and 'frustrating' spring out at me, but that is not to say that the book would not be interesting - it's just that the reader probably needs to be a certain 'space' before attempting it. I recently read a Swedish novel with a similar theme: the man was convicted of a murder he could not possibly have committed simply because the police in charge of the investigation wanted a result. After spending ten years in prison, the man was released but, for the rest of his life, as soon as there was an unexplained murder, the finger was pointed at him. His life, in other words, was hell on earth. The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald would be even worse because, if I have understood correctly, the poor man is still in prison after more than thirty years.At the moment, I am not in that 'space', but I will keep the book in mind.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone is convinced MacDonald is innocent. I had my doubts of his guilt after reading a previous book about this case. My mind is open…I'd like to see another trial.
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