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This engrossing expos? and investigation into the tragic 1988 murder of four-year-old Barbara Jean Horne and its aftermath leads readers through the facts of the case in compelling, compassionate, and riveting fashion. Award-winning journalist Thomas Lowenstein makes a convincing, evenhanded case for the wrongful conviction of Walter Ogrod, a man with autism spectrum disorder who lived across the street from the girl�s family and who has been on death row since 1996. Informed by copious police records, court transcripts, interviews, letters and journals, and more, Lowenstein relates how Ogrod�who bears no resemblance to the man described by several witnesses as a key suspect, and who is not linked to the crime by any physical evidence�was convicted based solely on a confession he signed after thirty-six hours without sleep and being insistently fed details of how he allegedly did it, provoked with horrific photos and with accusations of being �sick� and not remembering his actions. Presenting explosive new evidence discrediting the notorious snitch who sealed Ogrod�s fate, Lowenstein presents a fascinating character study of a �professional� jailhouse informant and exposes a larger pattern of prosecutorial misconduct in Philadelphia. (less)

This engrossing expos? and investigation into the tragic 1988 murder of four-year-old Barbara Jean Horne and its aftermath leads readers through the facts of the case in compelling, compassionate, and riveting fashion. Award-winning (…more)